More Heartbeats (with video & sound!)

We had our 3rd ultrasound this morning. Both embryos have grown, though #2's sac is still smaller than normal, so we will continue to wait and see. Baby #1 is measuring at 7w5d, with a heartbeat of 160 bpm. Baby #2 is measuring at 7w3d, with a heartbeat of 147 bpm. We took our camera with us and recorded video of each embryo's heartbeat to share with all of you. Every time the camera began to record, we'd lose the heartbeat shortly thereafter and have to try again, but each video caught enough to hear them clearly.

Baby #1 (Jebidiah) Click on video below, then click play button:

Baby #2 (Virgil) Click on video below, then click play button:

Here are the ultrasound photos.

Both embryos:

Baby #1:

Baby #2:

Heartbeats!

This morning Bob and I went in for the second ultrasound to see if either or both sacs had grown. Baby #1 (aka Jebidiah) grew impressively in just one week. Last Monday the sac measured at 4 weeks, today it is at 6 weeks 3 days and we could see the fetal pole (aka baby to be) with a heartbeat of 128 beats per minute (average bpm the doctor wants to see at this stage are 110 to 130). Baby #2 (aka Virgil) also grew in size to practically catch up with #1, measuring 6 weeks 2 days with a heartbeat of 122 beats per minute, though the sac is still smaller than normal, so the doctor will be monitoring that closely the next 2-3 weeks before we know if #2 will truly have a chance of becoming a Nelson. It feels alot more real now that Bob and I were able to see and hear the little 4mm flutters of heartbeats this morning.

Below is the ultrasound photo, and once again I edited it so you could find what you should be looking at (you can now see the actual fetal poles - the white blobs inside the dark spots):

1st Ultrasound & It Could Be...

TWINS!!!


We had our first ultrasound yesterday morning. Bob and I are still in shock. There are two sacs in my uterus, though one is a lot smaller than the other. (We think that is the lazy one that took it’s time fertilizing at the beginning.) I had blood work done as well, and my HCG level (9932) shows that both sacs have a chance to become our wonderfully well-behaved children. We will have a better idea next Monday (2.18.08) when I go back in for another ultrasound to see if both sacs are growing well. I edited the photos from the ultrasound so you can find what you are supposed to be looking at. The uterus is the white kidney bean shape, and the 2 dark spots in it are the sacs. The dark spot in the upper right hand corner is just a partial view of one of my ovaries that is quadrupled in size.

In the photo below you can see the names we have tentatively picked out:


Our child(ren?) will learn from the beginning that we have a strange sense of humor.

Here we are, right after exiting the doctor's office still in shock:


Bob may be more overwhelmed than I am:

We have been married (happily still) for 2 years as of today, and we may have 2 babies on the way after trying for so long.

IVF Cycle #1

We started our first IVF cycle on December 17, 2007. It was a daunting and informative journey, which we hope will end in a baby. Between doctor visits 3x's each week and self-inflicted shots every night, it is a wonder that I had time to continue working unaffected (aside from the time spent in the hospital and bed rest).

Below are self-inflicted shots #1-16 (Lupron - suppression), then #17-36 (Lupron and Follistim - stimulation), which I have compiled into group photos to conserve space in this post, which will be lengthy despite that. I started on 12.17.07 and finished these shots on 1.11.08.

The above shots were for suppressing ovulation and stimulating follicle growth for the egg retrieval procedure.

On Saturday, 1.12.08 at 10:00pm, I gave myself the trigger shot of Ovidrel to induce ovulation for the egg retrival that was scheduled for Monday, 1.14.08 at 10:00am.

I then had one day of rest from all the needles. It was strange, after 4 weeks of life revolving around shots.

The egg retrieval was very easy, since I was under anesthesia for it and remember nothing but looking at the clock once I was on the table in the operating room. Below are some highlights from that day in the hospital.

Hospital fashion:

My first IV:

2nd attempt at waking from the anesthesia (it took 3 tries, and I have no recollection of taking this photo):

The doctor was able to retrieve 11 eggs, 9 of which were mature, and all 9 fertilized into Grade 1 embryos (highest quality).
We went back to the hospital 3 days later for the embryo transfer. Again, we took our camera to capture more fun moments in a hospital room.

More blood work:

We had 3 embryos put in to maximize our chances of a pregnancy:

3 hours doing this after the embyos were transferred:

What Bob did during those 3 hours:

It was then time for my first intramuscular shot, and we convinced the nurse who had to administer it to let us document the moment with our camera.

Once we were able to leave the hospital, I had to be on bed rest at home for 3 days.

Here is a photo of how I looked after not being able to shower or get up for anything but bathroom breaks for 2 1/2 days:

Once I completed the bed rest, it was back to the routine of blood work 3x's a week at the doctor's office. I got to do 2 intramuscular shots on my own at home, which of course we photographed:

It's easier than you think to be able to jam a needle that large into your own muscle. These hurt less than some of the ones to my stomach, though the aftermath was much worse the next day. It was a tender area to sit on.

It was finallytime to find out if our first in vitro fertilization had worked. I had a beta blood test on 1.28.08 and again on 1.30.08 to confirm the HCG levels were not just from the booster shots. I was also peeing on home pregnancy tests at home because it was hard to sit back and just wait for blood test results.

The results?

I'm pregnant!!!

Our first ultrasound is scheduled for next week. I will post again when we have more news and possibly some photos from the ultrasound itself.

Now we just get to relax and hope this pregnancy will continue in a normal and healthy way. Thank you all for your continued support.