Relief

HUGE DEEP BREATH TODAY. My HCG more than quadrupled in 4 days, it came up from 1545 to 7545. I'm so relieved and so thankful for Heather L who is not my doctors nurse, but another nurse in the practice that I already know. She was so kind to look up my result early in the morning and call me right away to ease my mind. I wish she was MY doctors nurse. So, the spotting is okay I guess and it's just something I'll have to get used to and try to ignore. Now, I'm just ready to have my ultrasound next friday and see that everything is on target and it would be an extra blessing if I was lucky enough to see the heartbeat. It's still early and only sometimes can you see it that early, but I'm hoping I'll get lucky because I heard that the chance of miscarriage drops dramatically after you see the heartbeat, so that would certainly make me feel good.

SO FRUSTRATED!

so, the lab freaking forgot to run an HCG (or the DR forgot to order it), so now I might not know until tomorrow. GRRRRRRRR. Don't people know I'm going CRAZY here? They did a progesterone which has been increasing nicely- up to 17.3 now, but what I really wanted to know was that the HCG was still doubling every 48 hours and that baby was still doing ok. I've had more pink spotting today, and I could really use the reassurance to keep me from going totally insane. I am completely debilitated when I'm this stressed and I wish the doctors office could be more understanding of that. I need to know what that HCG is to feel like the baby is okay and the spotting is nothing to worry about. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH

belly pics

started taking belly pics last week. This is starting out at 4 weeks with no belly (a before picture). I didn't take one this week because there are no changes. I'll post another when there is something to look at

scary spotting

On friday after many phone calls to the lab and the doctor searching for my lost in space results (what a disaster). My HCG came back at 1545 which is more than double in 48 hours. So, baby is still growing and my progesterone was 10.6 which is still low, but apparently is good for having just 24 hours of supplements. So, she left me on the same dose and I have to take it throughout the first trimester. I was so relieved. But then yesterday at work, I had a streak of pink spotting and FREAKED out! I called my doc and she said it's probably just some uterine or cervical changes and some slight spotting is normal in the first trimester, but she had me come in this morning to have my levels checked again just to be sure. UGH I just got over these nerves and now this! I'll be glad when this trimester is over. So scary.

Low progesterone

so, I had my HCG and progesterone levels checked on Tuesday and my HCG came back good at 582 (normal 5-426 for 4 weeks), but my progesterone was dangerously low at 6.6 (normal is above 20). I immediately started oral supplements and had my levels checked again today, but won't know until tomorrow. I'm really anxious to know my HCG tomorrow because one of the reasons for low progesterone is that the baby has quit growing and therefore quit telling my body to produce it. This is my biggest fear and the only way to know is the HCG. It should double every 48 hours, and if it doesn't that usually means you will miscarry. So, it should be about 1164. My other worry is that my doc put me on oral supplements and everyone I've talked to says the suppositories or injections are much more effective. I asked about it, but the only thing my docs nurse said was "she doesn't do suppositories", but didn't give me a reason. I'm just very nervous and have taken the day off work tomorrow so I can be home when I get the results (in case they're bad). I'm just praying praying praying. I want this baby soooooooo bad. I am grateful that my doctor ran those tests without me even asking, because I guess not all do. I would have surely miscarried without progesterone. For those who don't know, this is the hormone that keeps a pregnancy going, it builds up the blood lining for the baby, prevents contractions and a period and suppresses my immune system so I don't attack the baby. HCG is the baby hormone that is detected on a pregnancy test and shows that the baby is alive and growing.

TWO PINK LINES

so, I didn't start spotting on day 11 or 12 like I usually do, and I checked my temp on day 12 and it was higher than it's ever been, and at that point it should have been going down if I was going to start a period. So, early friday morning (day 12) I pretty much knew my dream had come true. I began crying tears of joy before I had even confirmed it for sure. So, I went and bought a test on Friday and held in my pee from 9am-4pm so it would be as concentrated as possible. At 4pm I peed on the stick and the two lines came up immediately. I began jumping up and down and crying and immediately my mom called and I was so hysterical I could hardly talk. I told everyone right away, and my parents got me a gift and took us out to dinner and then we headed out to see Eriks parents and told them. We are just so thrilled! I'm 4 weeks today and due July 25. I can't wait.

SMILEY FACE!!

I decided to take an ovulation test six days ago because a friend from work had given me some that she didn't need anymore. I took one last Tuesday because I thought I was getting close to ovulating and it was negative (as usual). Then, I decided to take one again on Friday at noon and a big smiley face popped up. I couldn't believe it. I've never seen a positive test before. This is a digital one that does the reading for you, so I took the strip out to see what the lines looked like, and I honestly would have called that negative if I had been reading it myself. The lines didn't match perfectly. The test line was slightly lighter than the control. So, I'm glad I had a digital one, otherwise I don't think I would have caught it. I took a picture of it, and then wanted to take another at about 8:00pm to show Erik, but that one came out negative. Those LH surges don't last very long I guess. So, I think I actually ovulated on Sunday morning and we timed things perfectly Friday through Monday and now I'm in another two week wait. Ugh. I should know something by Nov 14th. I took my temp and saw that I got a rise to verify ovulation, but I'm not going to take it anymore until I either get a period or a BFP because I don't want to obsess and freak out about every little temp change like I did last time. I'm trying not to get my hopes up because we timed things perfectly last time too, but I didn't get pregnant, so I'm not holding my breath. I'm just thrilled that I ovulated on my own two months in a row so I could have some chances to try. This is a miracle for me. Unheard of! I'm wondering if the clomid jump started my body into a rhythm. Last time it was CD 31 and this time CD 25 (Sep 25 and Nov 1) CRAZY. It could be the clomid, could be that I've relaxed about the whole thing, could be the weight watchers, could be that I've been doing some real praying. I don't know, but I'll take it.