Getting Pregnant

So here I am 2 days from being 17 weeks pregnant with twins. And so far (and we all knew this would happen) my slacker ways have followed me into pregnancy. I bought a journal the day I found out I was pregnant in the hopes of filling it out and chronicalling my pregnancy. That journal is buried on my desk that is in DESPERATE need of organization. Brian really needs to buy me that cabinet we talked about for all my "stuff" that I get to keep.

Here's a summary of my pregnancy so far. My Egg Retrieval was on January 23, 2010. This is what most people would call conception day. For people who like to do things the old fashioned way, this would be the day that the sperm finally meets his destiny with the egg and fertilizes it. For those who enjoy high tech medical procedures, this is the day where they suck all the eggs a woman's been producing for about 10 days from the ovaries, and they are united in the lab with your dear husband's sperm. On January 25 I got the call from my nurse that our Embryo Transfer would be on January 26. I was devistated. I didn't want a 3 day transfer...I wanted a 5 day transfer. This started my crappy two week wait in just the right fashion!! So January 26 we went in (I might add Brian was late in leaving the office to pick me up and I got angry) and the doctor put back an 8 cell and a 7 cell embryo. Our chances 50/50 that we'd end up pregnant. No one even considered twins with Day 3 embryos!

Fast forward to January 30...the day of the car accident. Here is Sarah, already in a fragile place, not knowing what was happening inside...and bam, woman rear-ends us. She didn't even get a ticket...the officer sited the snow fall as the reason for the crash. Her car, barely a scratch (of course she was in a huge Dodge Ram or something), my car, let's just say the rear end will never be the same. Of course my first thoughts had nothing to do with the car...instead the 2 embryos that may or may not be implanting right at that very moment! I was ready to go for BLOOD! So we get all the car stuff straightened out, and brace ourselves for the second and third Blizzards of the year.

(this would be a good time for a stretch break...there is a lot more to go...sorry!)

I was scheduled for my first blood test on February 10. Well on February 9, I had this really strange craving for nachos...you know meat, beans, cheese, sour cream, all on top of tasty tortilla chips. I had left work a little early that day to brace for the 3rd of our Blizzards, went to Giant, and because I had this strange feeling, went down the aisle where they keep the pee sticks. First rule of IVF...don't pee on a stick...Second rule of IVF...refer to rule number 1. Well, I bought one anyway. There happened to be 1 test that wasn't locked away in an annoying plastic case, so I was able to hop in the self check out line, without having to get that stupid case unlocked before leaving. I put it in my purse so Brian wouldn't know. I raced home, dumped the groceries down stairs, and ran to the bathroom. But here's the thing...I already kinda suspected it. I was peeing in the middle of the night, and I was getting queasy, not to mention the cramping that felt like normal cramping, but not really (hard to explain really!) I broke open that stick, and peed...and instantly there was a plus sign. I didn't know what to think about it...so even though I didn't want Brian to know I had broken down, I brought it immediately to him to ask if he saw what I saw, and he did!

There was no way to get to the clinic on the 10th, and the clinic actually had called us the day before and asked us to reschedule. The 11th was the new day...I tried hard to get there, but after getting stuck in the snow, I felt it was an omen to stay home. Finally, the 12th came, and I went in for the blood draw. I expected a phone call after noon...when the call came in at 10 I was amazed. The nurse wasn't like you're pregnant, no, I believe her exact statement was "You blew it out of the water!" I screamed yes...but considering the positive pee stick, I already knew (and I admitted to her I already knew, and she knew based on my reasction I already knew!) She didn't want to say anything that day about the possibility of twins...but trust me, the thought was in both of our minds. I had repeat blood tests on the 15th and 17th, both returning with doubling numbers (hcg is supposed to double early in pregnancy.) We scheduled our ultrasound for February 22 (which put me at 6 weeks 2 days pregnant.)

As soon as they got the wand in place we all immediately saw two sacs. There was no hiding. They both jumped out on screen announcing themselves to mommy, daddy, the RE, and the lovely ultrasound tech Margaret, whom I had wanted to kill most of my first IVF cycle. All of the sudden even she wasn't that bad! A week and a half later, this time with my RE and nurse, we saw our two little embryos again, and were sent along our merry little way to a happy and healthy pregnancy.

And that is the story of the art of getting pregnant...look for more posts shortly on the fun of my first trimester!!