1st Ultrasound

Yesterday was our first ultrasound.  We officially have one little sac growing.  Part of me thought that twins would be really great considering how much trouble we've had getting pregnant, but I have to say that I'm really happy that it's just one.  It's nice to be able to enjoy a normal pregnancy and a single baby when it gets here.  Twins would have been amazing, but I think this is the best way to enjoy my first pregnancy. 

The sac looked just like it should at this point.  It had a nice, thick outer layer.  We'll go back in two weeks at which point we should be able to see a fetus and a heartbeat.  Once we get to that point, the Dr said that it's pretty safe to start spreading the news that I'm pregnant.  The risk of miscarriage drops to about 5% at that point.  For now, he's offered us a cautious congratulations.  He said that over the next few weeks I'll probably start experiencing more pregnancy symptoms.  He said to expect lots of bloat, tiredness and nausea.  Sounds fun.  Actually, I really can't wait.  I'm ready for some "evidence" that I'm pregnant.  We'll see if I still feel that way by my next post ;)

5 Weeks Pregnant

I am officially 5 weeks pregnant as of today.  So far, I have not had too many pregnancy symptoms.  I've been more tired than usual, and have definitely been sleeping longer at night.  If I don't eat frequently enough, I get light headed when I stand up.  Otherwise, I'm feeling really good.  I started walking again this weekend.  Throughout the entire IUI process I was so afraid of doing anything that might effect getting pregnant, I pretty much stopped all exercise.  We had pretty nice weather this weekend, so I was able to get outside and walk on the Katy Trail.  It felt great to get some fresh air and movement.  I walked for about an hour each day.

Our first ultrasound is rapidly approaching this Thursday.  I don't think that we'll be able to see or hear a heart beat yet, but it will still be comforting to see the little sac in there.  If we get to take home a picture I'll post it later this week.

Below is my 5 week belly pic...

We're pregnant!

If you know me, you're probably aware that it has been a long road to get to this point.  After trying on our own to get pregnant for close to two years, we finally visited a fertility specialist last March.  I was diagnosed with a uterine wall, scar tissue from my appendectomy and endometriosis.  In May I had surgery to correct all of these issues.  In August when I was still unable to get pregnant on my own, we decided to go back to the fertility doc for some extra help.  That began our journey with IUI.

IUI is short for Intrauterine Insemination.  That basically means that I take meds to help me ovulate and produce more eggs, and with very careful timing, they inject the washed sperm directly into my uterus.  The first try I failed to ovulate.  The next two trys I had successful ovulation, but no luck getting pregnant.  For the fourth try they switched me from oral medication to injections (woo-hoo).  But, this seemed to do the trick as I am currently 4 weeks pregnant.

I had my fourth IUI on November 28th, so that means that I was supposed to wait until December 12th (two weeks) to take a pregnancy test.  Well, I'm not so good with instructions.  After a mere 10 days, on December 9th, I was feeling "weird" at work all afternoon.  I can't really explain what was weird, or why I felt that way, but something just seemed off.  I decided to take an early response pregnancy test when I got home from work.  As soon as I took it, I hid it under the sink for three minutes so I wouldn't go crazy trying to watch for a second pink line to develop.  After three minutes, I went to look fully expecting one pink line with a sea of white around it.  To my very great shock, this is what I saw instead.

I took it out to show Kevin, who was in the kitchen, and we both just stared blankly at it and each other.  After three years of negative tests, we were afraid to believe a positive one.  I called my fertility doc and made an appointment to come in the next day for a blood test.  The hcg beta came back at 34.  Anything over 25 is considered positive for pregnancy.  They scheduled me to come back in 4 days to see if my numbers were doubling.  They like to see the number double every 48 - 72 hours for a viable pregnancy.

Four days later (after taking a pregnancy every morning in between to make sure I was still pregnant), I went in for my second blood test.  The hcg beta came back at 201.  This means my hcg is doubling every 37 hours, which is very good.  My next appointment is next Thursday on the 22nd for our first ultrasound.  I can't wait to see the little dot and know that it is really there.  At this point everything still seems surreal.  I'm definitely excited, but it's going to take a while for it to sink in that I'm really, truly, finally pregnant!  Stay tuned for the next 9 months, I'm sure it will become more real!

Here is my first belly picture at 4 weeks pregnant.  I will try to post one every week to see the progression.

I know, I know, it already kind of looks like I'm pregnant but that's just my regular 'ol belly. ;)  I can't wait to see a real baby belly develop!