Looking Good!

After a VERY anxious night, I went in for this morning's ultrasound with more than a little trepidation. This is the point at which we previously had two pregnancies fail after seeing a heartbeat, so I'm sure you can understand why I'd be nervous! Even though I knew that more than likely everything would be fine, it's still so scary to face the possibility that it might be bad news... I doubt I'll ever go into an ultrasound room without at least a few butterflies.

Fortunately my fears were completely unfounded and everything was fine! More than fine! The fetus was moving around and waving its little arms and legs and looking perfectly normal in every way. It had a nice strong heartbeat of 170 bpm and had grown significantly since last time. It's now measuring 9w5d which is much closer to the expected gestational age of 10w3d. And since I know I ovulate 3 days later than is typical, it's barely off at all now. The gestational sac also looked much larger and normal sized.

Starting to look like a baby!

Dr. A was very pleased with my progress and released me to my perinatologist. I am going to stay on the progesterone in oil injections for 2 more weeks until the placenta is fully able to take over however. And of course I'll be on blood thinner injections for the entire pregnancy.

We also did bloodwork for the MaterniT21 test, which is a new screening test to check for Trisomy 13, 18, and 21. It also reveals the baby's gender. So we should have a better idea of whether or not we need more invasive testing within the next couple of weeks. Hopefully everything comes back normal and we can plan on a less risky amniocentesis at 16 weeks instead of a CVS within the next two weeks.

Anyway, I'll update with the bloodwork results when I get them or my next ultrasound on July 16, whichever comes first!

Still a Waiting Game...

I wish I could be more optimistic today, but this morning's ultrasound still wasn't ideal. The good news is that the embryo is still growing and has a very strong heartbeat of 165bmp. The not so good news is that it's still measuring small at 1.04cm, which is consistent with a gestational age of 7w1day. I should be 8w3days. Also, the gestational sac is also on the small side (although still within the normal range). That said, since we don't know the actual conception or implantation dates, it's still possible that everything is normal.

From my research and taking everything into account, I think we have about a 75% chance of everything being fine. We will just have to wait and see for the time being. My next ultrasound is on July 3rd.

And now for a cute Eli pic just because. =)

Happy boy!

Cautiously Optimistic

Good news! My ultrasound today went relatively well! The baby has a strong heartbeat of 121 bpm, however it did measure a little small. It was 31mm which is consistent with a gestational age of 5 weeks, 6 days. I'm currently 6 weeks, 5 days from my last menstrual cycle. However, since we don't know my actual ovulation date since this was an unmonitored cycle, it's entirely possible that it's just fine. I also wasn't on blood thinners from the start which could have caused early growth to be restricted. We will have to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks. Dr. A. recommended being cautiously optimistic as this is a great start!

My next ultrasound is on June 19th. I'm crossing my fingers that everything goes well!

-Sarah

May/June Update

Has it really been 5 months since I last updated??

We have had a very busy spring between Eli getting sick practically every other week and both Chad and I crunching at work at the same time. Recently, Eli finally seemed to be staying healthy, but last week he went downhill again and was sick ALL week with a fever and slight cough. His pediatrician saw him twice, but couldn't find any explanation other than a virus. His fever finally broke on Saturday and he was well enough to go to daycare today. Hopefully his immune system will get into gear soon!


Eli is talking ALL the time now in a semi-clear manner. He can't pronounce "l" or "th," which makes for some silly sounding words. Lately he has been obsessed with the word "no" in typical toddler fashion...

Eli getting attacked by the tickle monster! Thanks for the photo, Tracy. =)

Our other news is something that I've been hesitant to write about since it almost always seems to end poorly. A couple of weeks ago I had what I thought was a full period, but afterwards I continued spotting for a week and was completely exhausted. I finally took a home pregnancy test and to my surprise it was positive!

Last week my doctor ordered a couple of blood tests to confirm and started me on progesterone and lovenox (blood thinner) injections. Anyway, my first two blood tests showed my beta HCG was increasing, but barely within the normal range at a rate of 67% over 48 hours and a doubling time of 79 hours (viable pregnancies increase at a minimum of 66% and ideally double within 48 hours, however that slows down around this time). However today's blood test showed that my doubling time had decreased to 57 hours, which is well within the normal range. We have an ultrasound scheduled for Friday afternoon to look for a heartbeat and to make sure it's not ectopic as that's still a possibility (although looking less likely at the moment).

IF this actually turns out to be a viable pregnancy, I'll be due at the end of January. I'll send another update after the ultrasound.

-Sarah

Update

I've been holding off on updating about my pregnancy since it's remained abnormal and frustrating. Over the last couple of weeks, my beta hcg number has been steadily rising, albeit in an extremely slow, non-viable manner. We have been very concerned that this is an ectopic pregnancy, which could cause me to need emergency surgery and lose a tube, or even be life threatening if not treated in time.

This morning I had an ultrasound to look for the pregnancy location and see if I have any blood in my abdomen. The good news is that everything looks normal and there don't appear to be any pools of blood. The bad news is that we're still not sure where the pregnancy is located. We saw an extremely tiny dark circle in my uterus that might be a sac, but it could also be a pseudosac or other anomaly that can present with ectopics. Dr. A said that right now he's not concerned about the possibility of an impending rupture at least. 

The plan now is to wait another week. Next friday we will check my beta levels as well as run a full blood panel including organ function. If my hcg is still rising and I'm otherwise healthy, then they will administer methotrexate to terminate. Hopefully I'll be over the worst of it by the holidays and we start another IUI in January.

I don't look silly at all!

In Eli news, he is now 16 months and is doing great as usual. We are sad to say that we will be moving him to a new daycare in the new year. While we love our current provider, Bethy, she is located by our old house. So, our commute to work is now 40 - 45 minutes instead of the 10 - 12 it would be if we could drop Eli off somewhere closer to the new house. Fortunately we were able to find Shirley's daycare, which seems wonderful and is located in our new neighborhood. Eli will be the youngest of 12 children at the daycare, but there are lots of toys, a nice big backyard with play equipment, and lots of books. Shirley runs it as a preschool and the day is fairly structured for the older children. Eli will be able to partake in the activities as much or as little as he wants. The biggest transition will be napping. Currently he still sometimes takes a morning nap. At the new daycare they only take one afternoon nap. We think he will adapt pretty quickly to this though as he skips his morning nap most of the time lately.


We took him to a salon for his first haircut last weekend. I was sad to say goodbye to his beautiful curls, but Chad felt like he was looking too feminine. He certainly looks like a little boy now!

What are they doing to me?!

Handsome boy!