Today I am pregnant

Today I am pregnant.

I have a million posts floating around in my head, so you can expect a lot of reading coming up. ;)

I spoke to my clinic today about my beta results.  The first thing the receptionist said was, "Have you seen your results?"  I told her I had, but I didn't know if they were great, and she went on to assure me that they were fantastic because they had quadrupled.  According to a beta doubling calculator, that is 24.4 hours doubling time.  Because I had "done so well," she told me they don't need to see any more beta numbers.  They don't even need to schedule me for an early ultrasound.  Since the clinic is closed for 2 weeks over Easter, I am booked for an ultrasound on April 10th.  I will be about 8 weeks by then!  It's a long time away, and I'm sure I'll have moments of freaking out between now and then, but everything else has gone so well.  I have faith that we will go in on April 10th and see a healthy heartbeat and a growing baby. 

I have so much else to say, but it's all swirling around in my head right now.  DH was so happy when I told him the news.  I called him since I was at work, but I could hear his tears on the other end.  Tonight we are going to celebrate... and relax. 

I'll fill you in on symptoms, and other stuff over the weekend, so stay tuned! 

Beta #2

The numbers are in!  Beta #2 = 215

It definitely doubled but of course I'm still worrying that its too low and that we are repeating last year all over...

But that's a good number for 14 DPO right?  Or, according to my clinic 16DPO. 

BFP

This is what I woke up to this morning. I think I am in shock.

(Note: I bought a silly digital test, which I don't like.  The number is how many weeks pregnant you are - after ovulation).

Beta #1

PEOPLE.....

We have a beta!!!!!

Beta = 55

It's low (bringing back worries of repeating what happened last year all over again...), BUT, I am 99.9% positive that I didn't ovulate until 2-3 days after my IUI.... which means that today is only 11 or 12DPO.  55 seems like a fine number for that early in the game...right???  Please help me out here! 

Of course, I will have to wait 2-3 more days to test again to see if we have doublage or not...

And of course, I had to work late today and missed talking to my clinic about my results (I arranged to speak to them first thing in the morning... thank goodness for online results!)

I'm going for a walk to blow off some steam, but I'll write more soon.

Happy Friday!

Happy weekend everyone!  This weekend could not come soon enough.  If it wasn't enough that we're waiting out the two week wait... this week threw all sorts of other stresses our way!  My client load this week was heavy and burdensome.  I think I had mentioned before that we had a new international exchange student move in.  We had planned to take on another one as well, and due to a falling out he had with his host family, he asked to move in yesterday.  So our home went from 2 to 4 in a matter of weeks and I am now the only female in a house full of boys.  Ei yi yi!  I tried to take care of myself all week, going to bed on time and lightly exercising, but today I've come down with a bit of a sore throat.  I really hope it doesn't last as I had grand plans for this weekend!  With all the changes taking place these last few weeks, I just need to get things back in order for myself.  I made a spring cleaning list and wanted to tackle some organization this weekend.  Nothing like grasping for some control during a time when all the control seems stripped away...

In TTC news... I haven't really had much to report.  Since the last time I updated most of my potential "symptoms" have gone away.  There have been a few things here or there, but nothing much to report.  I've been closely watching my BBT to see if that gives any clues.  This morning it skyrocketed up quite high after a drop a few days ago.  If it stays up, that could be a great sign (though I feel like it has done this before too).  Here's my chart if anyone wants to take a peek.

I think we might test at home sometime this weekend... but I'll keep the suspense till we get our official results on Tuesday!

I did receive a nice surprise in the mail today!  A blog friend named Jenny sent me a bottle of CoQ10 (which hopefully I won't need now) and a book called Conquering Infertility.  I've only read a few pages, but it nearly brought me to tears already.  I feel like we have come to some resolution with our emotional struggle with infertility, but I completely resonate with the words I have read so far and I am excited to read more.  Jenny, consequently, is the one who won my blog give-away.  I never posted a picture of the cowl that I knit, but I'll show you now, and also a few other pics for your viewing pleasure. :)

The cowl

Thanks Jenny (aka Sprout) for the package!

Coffee date with DH last week

Spring flowers

Do you watch Downton Abbey?  Last week I had some friends over and watched it while we drank tea and ate scones.  Mmm!

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Waiting out the two week wait

Can. Time. Move. Any. Slower. ????

I figured it's time I sat down and figured out a way to get through this next week and a bit.  It's great that I am already almost a week along, and only have 8 more days to go before testing day!  In the past, though, I have made myself lists of things to do during the 2ww in order to keep myself sane (see here for that list).  Nothing like a list to add some sanity to my life. 

We had a busy, busy weekend filled with lots of people events.  It was fun, but it has left me tired starting this week.  Part of me just wants to plow through the week, but I know that if I have some intentions, I will enjoy myself more and stress out less.  So this is what's in the plans (not just for this week, but for the next few weeks to get me through):

1.  Do you remember last year at this time, I hoped to host a Spring Tea Party for some of my girlfriends.  Then I had the whole pregnancy stress and miscarriage, so that got taken off the list.  Well, I have planned it again this year.  A friend actually sells tea and has these home parties, so I have organized a ladies dress-up event in a couple weekends.  I won't have to plan much, except a simple menu and decorations.  I'll keep you posted on that!

2. Planning my trip to Australia - I need to purchase my Visa, and make some final travel arrangements.  Then I need to figure out what I actually want to do while I'm there.  Have you been?  Any suggestions?  I'll be mainly in Sydney with a little weekend trip up to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast.

3.  Shopping!  I'm sure I need a few new outfits to take to Australia.  Plus I should go through my summer clothes to see what still fits and what I can take with me.  On that note, I need to have my suitcase repaired before I go too.

4. Spring cleaning!  My house isn't that dirty, but it's about time to tackle those jobs you never seem to want to do.  Pull out the fridge and stove and clean behind, clean out the fridge and oven, shine up those windows.  Plus, I'd really like to do a thorough purge of the house and organize closet spaces, etc.  I hate having so much stuff!  I'm not too good at purging though.  I told my BFF that if I am pregnant, she's coming over for a weekend to help me cull anything I don't need.  We are also having a new furnace put in in a couple of weeks, so that will give me a chance to re-organize the laundry room and tidy it up.  The other problem is getting rid of my husband's clutter...hmm...  (For a look at someone who is super crazy organized, with 5 kids... check out this blog.  It blows my mind!).

5. Plant some seeds in the garden!  This year I'm just going to plant them right outside rather than starting them inside and we'll see what happens.

6. Finish some sewing projects.  I need to finish the aprons I'm making for my sis-in-law and niece, and whip up a baby blanket for my new nephew, who is due in April.  I'm also recovering a cushion in the house.  Hope to get these done soon!

7. Plan a visit to Vancouver to see my BFF (and maybe do some shopping!).  This will definitely keep my insanity at bay.  I think I will plan it for after I get my results.  That way, we can either celebrate together, or mourn together with a bottle of wine. 

Wow, that is definitely a lot to keep me busy.  What's funny is that I looked over my post from last year when I was going through this same thing.  Not much has changed.  A lot of my intentions are exactly the same as they were a year ago.  In fact, our first IUI was less than a week away from this past IUI... March 1st.  How bizarre, how bizarre. 

(In other news... there are a few symptoms showing their face, which I believe I have seen before... maybe my mind is playing tricks on me... but it's helping keep me positive!  And this time I didn't have a trigger shot to blame the symptoms on.  It could just be hormones though too.)

3dpiui

Well, I made it to the end of this week.   I'm still seriously questioning the timing of this IUI. Since they didn't check my follicles, I have no idea how "ready" my eggs were when we did the IUI.  Also, my BBT still hasn't spiked.  I mentioned it to my TCM today when I had acupuncture and she suggested I call my clinic before the weekend just to calm my nerves.  When I called I spoke to the receptionist who I always speak to (she knows me well by now!) and she reassured me that what they consider most important is the blood Lh surge, which I had on Monday.  She said it wouldn't hurt to keep "working" on our own (baby dancing) just in case... but she said I shouldn't worry.  I just think it's odd that my temp hasn't spiked yet when it always does like clockwork.  Has anyone had this happen?  Anyways, my acupuncture was great today again, but afterwards I started having terrible cramps.  They were to the point where I couldn't walk and just had to lie down for a bit.  I almost feel like they are ovulation cramps.  Or there's just lots of eggs and activity going on in there!  (DH is trying to convince me there are 6 eggs and they are all fighting about who gets to implant where).  Whatever it is, I plan to try to relax and enjoy myself this weekend and try not to worry about timing any longer.

I do need a few more ideas to get me through the rest of the 2ww.  If anyone has suggestions, help a girl out!  I am working every day so that keeps me busy, but I need something else to occupy my mind a bit so I don't get caught up counting the time. 

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!