Perfect.

This was how the perinatologist described the baby this morning. Perfect. He was happy to hear that my blood sugar has been under good control. I had an endocrinologist appointment last week and my A1c was 5.5. I have never had such tight control and as much as the continuous glucose monitor drives me nuts with it's contstant alerts I have to attribute the control to that.

I didn't take any video this time because I was by myself and they really just looked at and measured the body parts and organs. I was asked if I was finding out the sex but I was strong and said no. It was very tempting but I think it will be more exciting to find out on the big day.

There was only one problem that I saw with the ultrasound. I'm not big on reality tv and I absolutely hate Jersey Shore. I think that those people are an embarrassment to America. The problem is this:

16 weeks 1 day

I've got a fist pumper on my hands. Apparently it's big in Jersey.

Ugh. Just looking at that picture makes my skin crawl. Not sure how to fist pump? Well, here's an instructional chart so you can practice at home:


Consider yourself informed.

Better late than never

So, I meant to do a post about my perinatologist's appointment a few weeks ago. Whoops. Everything was fine. They did an ultrasound (including a 4D one as well...creepy, but cool!) to measure the nuchal fold on the back of the baby's neck. They tried an abdominal ultrasound at first, but the baby was head down and she couldn't get a view of the back of the neck. So, a vaginal ultrasound was done instead. I think the vaginal ultrasound is clearer anyways so I was happy to oblige. She had no trouble getting several measurements that way. She said that a measurement over 2.0 (mm, I'm assuming) would be an indicator of Down's Syndrome and all three measurements she took were under. They also took some blood to run more tests for Down's Syndrome. They called me last week to tell me that my chances of having a baby born with Down's Syndrome when I walked into my appointment were about 1 in 400 but after the ultrasound and the bloodwork my chances were now 1 in 6,000 or so. Insert sigh of relief here.

Courtney was able to come with me for the appointment so he took a couple of videos of the ultrasound. This first video is of the abdominal ultrasound. You can kind of see it squirming around in there. I think it looks like a shrimp in this video. :)


12 weeks 2 days (but I measured 12 weeks 4 days)

This video shows some of the 4D ultrasound. You can hear the tech saying that a part of the placenta was right over the baby's head so either it blocks it or when she moves it she loses part of the head. So, the baby does indeed have a fully intact head. This was the vaginal ultrasound and I think there is a huge difference from the other one.

We got a bunch of pictures from this appointment but the best one was this one:

It's a picture of a picture, so it's a little blurry...sorry!

A couple people said it looks like the baby is giving a peace sign or a thumbs up but I have different opinion. Do you remember the show "The Kids in the Hall?"

Loved that show. Anyway, there was a sketch on that show about a guy who crushed people's heads with his thumb and forefinger.

My baby is going to be a head crusher.

The most beautiful sound...

...has to be this:



I may be a bit biased, but can you blame me?

Also, she gave me a due date of June 1, 2011 and that I am actually 9w6d along rather than the 9w4d that I thought I was. She based it on the day of the IUI rather than the first day of my last menstrual cycle. Either way, she wants me to deliver between 38 and 40 weeks so it may be in May. It doesn't really matter to me but I would prefer to not be induced. Ideally I would have a natural birth. I do reserve the right to change my mind at any given point but this is something I plan on sticking to.

I have my monthly appointments with them scheduled through March and have a referral to my perinatologist to do the nuchal translucency test in a few weeks. I'm feeling good, just tired. All day long tired. It's exhausting being so tired all the time. I think I could nap most of the day and still be tired enough to sleep all night. I don't have any nausea, I just get a little "iffy" around mealtimes still, where nothing sounds appetizing. Once I eat I usually feel better. I know I could have it much, much worse and I am definitely not complaining. I'll take my tiredness and be thankful.

I'm thankful regardless. :)

Graduation Day

Today I have officially graduated from the fertility doctor and have been released to my regular OB/Gyn! We had our final appointment with Shady Grove Fertility today for an ultrasound. It was amazing. It actually looks like a baby now. Last time it looked like a fried egg but now you can clearly see little arms and legs as well as a head. The flickering heart was still visible and the little one was squirming around in there.

Check out the video:




My doctor forgot to mention what the heart rate was but you can see it on the video. It was 180.



And of course, a picture!

8 weeks 6 days

Before leaving they gave us a nice little photo holder card that had another copy of the ultrasound picture in it. I let Courtney bring it to work with him. I gave him the ok to share the news with whoever he wants. Which isn't too many people. I think the only people he hasn't told are a few friends of his back in California.

After the appointment my mom (who came with us) and I went out to breakfast. She started telling me that my dad was starting to stress out about how much money she was going to spend when she finds out what were having. I told her he shouldn't worry too much because we aren't going to find out. She asked if just she could find out but again, the answer was no. We have waited 4 years to have a healthy pregnancy. We can wait another 7 months to find out what's growing in there. I'm not saying I won't be tempted. It would make certain things a lot easier but I'm really looking forward to that moment in the delivery room when we finally find out. 7 months isn't that long.....right?

Video!

Everything went well! It was not a thorough u/s or appointment. I think it was just to check that it was a viable pregnancy (which we are!!!). Everything looked good and there was only one and he made sure to check twice. You can hear him in the video saying that he asked Hope (the u/s tech) twice. The heartrate was 138, which he said was normal and would be beating much faster at our next u/s, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 28th at 9:30 again.





Without further ado, a picture:

6 weeks 5 days!

And a video:

So, lots of appointments coming up in the next few weeks. On Tuesday, October 19th I meet with my endocrinologist (I've had to adjust the settings on my pump quite a few times because my body needs a lot more insulin than normal now). On Thursday, October 28th I go back to my fertility doctor for a second and final ultrasound with them. On Tuesday, November 2nd I go to my regular OB/GYN for a routine OB exam (and hopefully another u/s!). I called the high risk OB and left a message with their nurse (the one who got me the new pump) so I'm sure I'll be going to see them soon as well. That's an appointment a week for the next three weeks. I'm wondering if this is a trend for the next 8 months? We shall see.

Final bloodwork numbers are in...

1321!!!

So far so good! My first ultrasound is scheduled for Wednesday, October 13th at 9:30 am. Courtney will be able to go and I am crossing everything that a beautiful heartbeat will be at least visible if not audible. I am bringing my camera (which has video, too) with me and am really hoping they will let me use it.

In the meantime I am getting bloodwork done next week for my endocrinologist regarding my thyroid and then I have an appointment with her on October 19th which was already scheduled but happened to work out perfectly because she told me she wants to know the second I find out I was pregnant, which I did...well maybe not the second I found out but soon after. She wanted to ensure my blood sugar was doing ok. I mentioned that I've been having some big spikes after eating and she had me change some settings on my pump, which has helped. At that point I had already cut out heavy carbs from my diet and tried to eat more meat (chicken and turkey...I don't eat red meat or pork) and veggies so that helped, too.

I also have two more pregnancy tests at home to help keep my sanity over the next two weeks.

Green light

I had my first monitoring appointment this morning to check my follicles. I thought the tech said she saw four. Not positive. We tentatively set up our appointment time for the IUI on Wednesday for 11 AM with a 9 AM drop off time for the "sample." I would take the Ovidrel trigger shot tonight (took the Bravelle shot on Saturday...no different than an insulin shot) as well as have "intercourse" and then tomorrow would be a free day. We just had to wait for the confirmation call from the doctor saying we were cleared to go ahead with the IUI.

We got the call!

She mentioned me having three mature follicles, measuring 18 mm (I think it's mm...), 21 mm and 24 mm. Maybe I have four but the fourth one wasn't "mature?" Who knows. So, as planned, we will "clear the pipes" tonight and rest tomorrow and be ready to go on Wednesday. I'm feeling good about this. Really good. All the signs seem to say this is right and it will work. I forgot to ask when I would be able to test but it should fall around the due date I had for my first pregnancy. I'm going to take that as a good sign.

This is happening. This is finally happening.

It’s a go!

I had my day 3 blood work and sonogram appointment this morning.  My ovaries looked good…no cysts.  Not that I was worried about it, but the tech said that was what she was checking for.  I have my timeline for what will happen through day 11:

Day 3-7    Take 50 mg of Clomid each night

Day 9        75 IU shot of  Bravelle

Day 11      8:00 am appointment for blood work and sonogram

If everything looks good then I would take the trigger shot of Ovidrel, otherwise I would come back the next day and each day thereafter until my follicles are ready.

I was given the prescription for Clomid and was told that I would receive a call this afternoon letting me know if this cycle was a go or not.  By 1:00 I was getting nervous about getting the prescription filled so I went ahead and got it filled.  It was free with my insurance so either way, it didn’t matter if I had waited.  But, as soon as I got home I got the call letting me know that this cycle was a go.  Perfect timing.

While at my appointment this morning I saw the parents of one of my students from last year.  Their son just graduated to the 3 year old class.  I didn’t get to talk to them but I did wave hi.  You just never know who you will run into at the RE!

So, I took my first dose of Clomid earlier and so far so good.  No side effects that I’ve noticed.  I have a wicked cold so aside from being stuffed up, sneezing, coughing, and having a sore throat I feel great!  I asked about any drug interactions with Clomid and she said that the only thing I should avoid is decongestants.  Damn.  The one drug I would like to take right now.  Oh well, I will suffer without complaint.  I think I have some nose strips and vaporub.  That will at least get me through the night.  Hopefully.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Losing weight

I've lost some weight recently.

Not so much weight off my belly or thighs (although I did lose some off my belly and thighs, too) but off my shoulders.

It's been a whirlwind of doctor's appointments lately but I had the best one yesterday. I went to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist to discuss my diabetes and how it would/could affect pregnancy. During my appointment the nurse mentioned that she believes that my insurance now covers continuous glucose monitors. I seriously wanted to hug this woman. I had checked with my insurance before about this and at that point they didn't cover it. I was over the moon estatic hearing this news. She said that she would call the Medtronic rep and take care of everything for me and that I should hear something by today.

I just got off the phone with a lady from Medtronic and I am 100% covered! I'm so giddy I can't even contain myself! I get a new insulin pump and the continuous glucose monitor is built into it. I just need to wear a sensor on my stomach. I had a choice of 5 colors: clear, blue, smoke, purple (which I have currently) and pink. I chose pink. They just have to obtain authorization from my insurance and then it will be mailed to me. I'll have to get some training on how to use it but it shouldn't be too hard. ]

This is what it looks like (except it will be bubble gum pink!):

This little device will be such a weight off my shoulders. When (notice how I used when and not if) I get pregnant again I will feel more confident about my control. This is perfect timing because it looks as if we will be going to be doing an IUI next cycle.

I had my initial visit with the RE and then went in for my Day 3 bloodwork and ultrasound this past Saturday. I had a mock embryo transfer (to measure the angle and depth of my cervix and uterus and the thickness of my uterine lining) today as well as some more bloodwork because my prolactin was a little elevated and my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was just above normal and they really want that to be perfect. They said that they just wanted to test it again to see if it was just a fluke or if we need to address it. I'm hoping it was a fluke. But if not it shouldn't be difficult to correct. Courtney is doing his semen analysis on Friday and I believe that is the extent of our appointments for now. We just have to wait and see what the results are.

Hurry up and wait

Hello, My Love,

This morning was agonizing. I thought it would never be time for me to leave for my appointment. Plus, it was snowing and I was afraid they would shut the office down. I just kept looking at the clock and crossed my fingers it would stop snowing . But, finally, the time came and I left work to make my way to the doctor's. On the way, I talked to your dad and he surprised me and said he was on his way to the appointment and needed the address. Needless to say, I was very happy he was going to be there with me.

So, after all the paperwork, the weigh in, height check, urine sample, talking and all that routine stuff, it was time for the exam. I expected her to check my ta-tas and nether reigons but a finger in the pooper, I did NOT! Hello! Nice to meet you! I'm hoping that was a one time thing.

She started with an abdominal ultrasound and could definitely see a sac with a little blob in it. You were very small so she did a vaginal ultrasound to see if she could get a heartbeat. We could see your fetal pole but could not hear your heartbeat. She said that you were measuring small but it could be that I conceived later than I thought. She was also concerned that she didn't see the blood flowing around your heart. On the ultrasound there are different colors that show up where the blood flows and she couldn't get any colors to show up around your heart. But I definitely saw it flickering. As of right now, you are alive. Please stay that way.



My original appointment was supposed to be next Friday, the 13th and now I am going back for a follow up on the same day. I also had blood drawn today and am going back this Friday to have it drawn again to make sure my HCG numbers are doubling.

So now we wait. Again. I guess that's the way it's going to go for the next 7 months. If I'm lucky. I am part Irish....