April's due in April

     It’s been a little over 12 weeks since I last wrote a blog post. Since that time, a lot of very exciting things have happened. In my last post, I mentioned that I had five needles in my body in five days. It ended up being a lot more. In all, I had 12 shots of Bravelle to produce eggs, three shots of hCG to ovulate, and eight blood draws to check hormone levels. I had two follicles present at ovulation. Two chances to conceive. My husband and I decided to try having sex to conceive instead of the recommended IUI, because we wanted one try to be “normal”. That meant, we had to abstain from sex the day of my hCG trigger shot, and then have sex the next three days in a row. As fun as that may sound, that’s a lot of work. In addition to the 15 shots, I was put on estrogen pills and progesterone vaginal suppositories. These supplements are supposed to maintain a pregnancy if there is one, but they need to be started before pregnancy can be confirmed. The estrogen was nothing new, but the progesterone was disgusting! Twice a day I had to lie flat on my back for half an hour while this pill dissolved into a cream, which continued to leak out of me all day. It’s very unpleasant!!! But, I was diligent, because I knew the goal.

     A week after my trigger shot, I went to the doctor to discuss what our next cycle would be, assuming that I was not pregnant. Our doctor strongly encouraged us to move to IUI next cycle for better odds. We agreed that was probably best. The day before this appointment, I had some spotting, which I noticed shortly after sex. I assumed that the spotting meant a period was coming soon, and that this cycle was a bust. But, my heart was prepared. This was our first cycle at this clinic, and there was absolutely no way it would work that quickly.

            On Friday July 27^th, I went back to the doctor to simply have a pregnancy blood test.  Nearly the entire week before the test, I had all the classic early pregnancy symptoms (nausea, peeing a lot, fatigue), but that’s really common with the hCG shot, because you’re injecting pure pregnancy hormones into your body. I didn’t have high hopes, though my husband did. I went to work as usual and waited. At 11:30, the clinic called me. I WAS PREGNANT!!! I promised my husband that he would be the first person to know, and I didn’t get off until 2, so that was a long time to hold in the good news, but I did it. After work I bought a cake and had the decorator write “We’re Pregnant!” on it. I took it home to my husband and we celebrated. My way of celebrating was cake; his was sex (such a guy).

     Shortly after celebrating, my husband had to go to work. Around 7:30 pm, I went to the bathroom, and noticed blood on the toilet paper and in the toilet. I was TERRIFIED! This was the first day of our pregnancy, and it was already over. I called the emergency number at our doctor’s office to report the bleeding. Our doctor was fairly confident that I was bleeding post sex, just like the week before; but as a precaution, she increased my estrogen to twice a day, and put me on bed rest for the weekend. It’s standard procedure when using fertility treatment to repeat the pregnancy test four days later to ensure that you are not having a chemical pregnancy. I was on bed rest until Tuesday when I would have the tests repeated. That weekend, I didn’t move unless absolutely necessary. I was desperate to keep the baby in. On Tuesday morning, my blood work revealed that not only was I still pregnant, but that my hormones had tripled over the weekend. They only need them to double. It was official. I was pregnant and due April 3^rd.

     At six weeks, we had our first ultrasound. Our clinic does ultrasounds every two weeks for the first 12 weeks. At the first ultrasound our baby looked a lot like a lima bean hanging in my uterus. But, the coolest part was hearing the baby’s heartbeat. That has to be the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard in my life. This ultrasound also confirmed that I was only carrying one baby. The second follicle was still in my ovary, but was shrinking, so there was no cause for concern.

     After the ultrasound, we met with our nurse Nicole. Nicole is amazing! She gave us all the information we needed, and answered a lot of questions we had. Nicole was assigned to our case, which meant we would be seeing her after every visit we would have at the clinic until we were released to our regular OB at 12 weeks. I’m so thankful for her, because she was literally there holding my hand to see me through the tough first trimester.

     Speaking of the first trimester… Morning sickness is a lie! I’m sick all day long. The mornings are worst, but I’ve thrown up in the middle of the night when I’ve woken up to pee. Besides the morning sickness, I’m exhausted worse than I knew I could be. But, all these symptoms have actually helped me. Every morning that I wake up nauseous, I know that our baby is still wiggling around in my belly (something we witnessed for the first time at our eight weeks ultrasound).

     After our 10 weeks ultrasound, the doctor ordered blood work they call “the panel”. This group of tests includes everything from cystic fibrosis to genetic disorders that I could be a carrier for. These tests do not prove the baby will have any genetic disorders; it only shows the mutations that could complicate my pregnancy. My husband and I elected not to have genetic counseling done to test if we were both carriers for genetic disorders, but this test could help save the pregnancy if there were any complications, so we agreed to it. It turns out that it was a good idea to have these tests done, because I actually do have two different genetic disorders. The first mutation is called MTHFR, and effects 50% of the population. It basically means that my body doesn’t absorb folic acid properly, which is necessary for baby’s brain development. To combat this, I have been prescribed an additional folic acid supplement. The second mutation is called Factor V (five). This one is a lot rarer and a lot scarier. Factor V is a blood clotting disorder that has been known to cause late term miscarriages. In order to prevent the blood clots, I have been prescribed a daily injection of blood thinners. These injections are injected daily into my stomach, and burn like a fire in my abdomen. Even worse, the injections bruise my stomach so badly that I look like the baby I'm carrying is half Cullen. It is possible that I may not have to continue the injections, but I won’t know that until I meet with the high risk pregnancy specialist that I have been referred to. If I do have to continue the injections for the duration of the pregnancy, I will be induced at 38 weeks, instead of being allowed to go into labor. The day before I am induced, I will stop the blood thinners, so that I don’t bleed out during delivery.

     On Thursday, we had our final appointment at the fertility clinic. It’s truly amazing to see how much our baby has grown since that first ultrasound. And, the heartbeat is still the best sound I’ve ever heard. Friday, we went to our first OB appointment. And, Wednesday we will see our specialist. As scary as these first 12 weeks have been, our OB feels confident that we can start spreading the news of our little miracle.

     This baby is truly a miracle. An answer to prayer. Thank you, Lord for being the artist You are. A musician who knows that a beating heart can bring anyone to tears. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to bring this child into the world and raise it in His love. Amen!