Finding out we're pregnant

Ok, so this is a few days late but we wanted to make sure we were ACTUALLY pregnant before starting a blog.

Back in December, Brandon and I decided that we were going to try IVF (in vitro fertilization) to get pregnant after 4 long years of trying. We went through rounds of fertility testing, chromosome testing and found out that we were good candidates for this approach. I began with hormone shots which led to stimulation shots. My ovaries were taken from the size of halzelnuts to the size of softballs. Not the most comfortable thing to do but luckily I haven't had to work yet so I have been able to practically live in sweat pants. :-) On February 4th, I had an egg retrieval surgery which left me in some pain but manageable. My eggs were then fertilized on the same day and checked in a lab daily for viability. When it was all said and done, we had 3 embryos survive. On February 9th, I had another procedure to implant 2 embryos and freeze the last one for future use. I had to wait a LONG 8 days to find out if it had all worked.

On February 17th I went in for the first of 3 blood tests. I had to wait 2.5 hours for the results and it was the longest 2.5 hours of my life. Finally, the doctor called to congratulate me that I was pregnant and that my HCG level was at 54. Although elated, I was still worried about the other 2 tests since I have miscarried before. I had the 2nd blood test on February 19th and got the call that my HCG was now 107. This news was great because the levels are supposed to double every 2 days. Today I had my final blood test. I couldn't believe that my HCG level was 452!!!! WOW! I am so excited! I will have my first ultrasound on March 8th where we will find out if there are 1 or 2 babies inside me.

I am feeling pretty good so far, although very tired most of the time. It hasn't really hit me yet that I am pregnant but I am hoping that will change at the first ultrasound........stay tuned!