81, 295, 891

81 = First hCG beta at 8dp5dt (8 days past 5 day transfer (age of embryo))


295 = Second beta at 10dp5dt


891= Third beta at 12dp5dt






What do those numbers mean? Well, for starters, I am pregnant!  hCG usually doubles every 48-72 hours and my current doubling time is ~30hrs. So that is good news. I am excited but cautiously so.


I first took a HPT (home pregnancy test) on May 15 at 5dp5dt (basically 10days past what would have been ovulation - which is really early to test) and there was a squinter - meaning that I could barely see it. I described it to Jason as looking at the sky and seeing a star out of the corner of you eye but then trying to look directly at it and not being able to see it. That is what the first test was like. So of course I went and bought another test that was more sensitive and held my pee for as long as possible and there was definitely something there. I have seen so many negative HPTs that I knew that any hint of a line meant something. I tested each day until my first beta and the line continued to get darker. I stopped testing for peace of mind because I had a few freak-out moments where I wasn't sure if the line was darker. My dear friend Jessica came to visit me and thankfully she was able to reassure me. What a life- saver having her there.




So now, I can keep testing my hCG to see that the numbers rise appropriately but I am not sure I want keep checking. Part of me wants to just believe that it is all going to work out. I have the best OB in the world and she offered to have me come in early for an ultrasound but I don't want to go in until 7 weeks when we will be sure to see something. June 9th is when I'll be 7 weeks I'll wait until then to go in for the ultrasound to see the heartbeat and if there are one or two babies taking up residence in my uterus.




As far as symptoms - it is hard to tell if I am tired due to jet lag or pregnancy but I am definitely very tired in the afternoons. My boobs are sore and I have had a little indigestion and I am definitely peeing a lot more. Today I have a horrible taste in my mouth. I have been feeling jittery for the last week and I am not sure what that is about so I had my blood pressure checked and it was a little high for me at 102/67 as normally I have VERY low blood pressure. Otherwise I totally feel normal. I am only 4weeks 4days pregnant so it is still really early to feel much of anything. Trying to remain positive and really believe that this time it will all be ok. It is really early to announce but as I have been blogging through the whole process I wanted to continue to do so. We are not announcing it on FaceBook or anything like that just yet but for those loyal blog readers, you get to find out early!


As of now, the due date is Jan 26, 2017, which is Jason's 40th birthday!! I am sure it will change but who knows!!




Thank you for the continued support. I really really appreciate all the love.

PUPO

PUPO = pregnant until proven otherwise 

Today we transferred 2 excellent blastocysts. The newest donor had 6 embryos fertilize and 2 made it to day 5. We talked about transferring both of those from the new donor but with the frozen PGS tested embryo, we felt that this would give us the best chance to get and stay pregnant. Yes, it's a bit odd because of we end up with twins they'll have different genetic mothers but if we end up with twins we'll be ecstatic!!!

The frozen blastocyst was hatching and the fresh one the embryologist kept saying how perfect it was. The doctor who was suppose to do my transfer was really busy so some other doctor did the transfer - I don't even know her name! She did say that the transfer was really easy and went great. 

I had acupuncture this morning before the transfer and then again this afternoon. Now I am back at the flat, keeping my feet warm and thinking sticky baby thoughts. Actually, I've been picturing my uterus as an orange (as that is the color of the sacral chakra) filled with sticky rice (as that was the emoji I sent to Jason when he said to think sticky baby thoughts). Silly but whatever. 

So, now we wait. Send me all your sticky baby thoughts. 

First days back in Prague and first appointment

Have I mentioned how much I hate flying? All in all, my trip wasn't that bad. I had a meltdown in DIA but managed to pull though with some inspiring words from a friend and a sweet DIA therapy dog. I totally cried while petting this dog but I definitely felt better after. I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep on the long flight from Chicago to Frankfurt and when I arrived Sunday night in Prague, I felt pretty good. I checking into my Airbnb rental and dropped my bags and headed to the best burger place ever, Dish. It was every bit as wonderful as I remember. With a full belly, I headed to sleep.

Outside of the flat, the sunset with St. Vitus Cathedral in the distance

The best burger EVER.

To start out day 2 in Prague, I headed to one of our favorite breakfast spots, Monolok and then headed to my favorite park, Riegrovy Sady for a bit of exercise. It was a perfect day out. All of the trees are blooming and it smelled so good in the park. I met up with my friend, Jana, and her daughter at a playground near our old flat. It was so wonderful to see friendly faces. After, I headed to a small bread/pastry shop we liked to call "Free Bread" because it was so cheap it was almost free! While I was sitting there enjoying my yummy treat, I decided to try and see or do something new each day while in Prague. I headed the 100 yards over to this odd looking church that Jason and I probably saw most everyday while in Prague but never managed to make in inside as it has weird hours. The doors were open so I walked into Kostel nejsvětějšího srdce Páně.  Mass was going on, so I only stayed for a few minutes but I was definitely glad to finally see inside. I finished off the evening eating at Masala and had the best Chicken Makahni ever. Jason and I were just talking about this place last week. It is so yummy. Night 2 of sleep didn't come as easy and is probably the reason day 3 started off the way it did.

The classic view from Riegrovy Sady

 Later in the day at the same park. The flowers were electric!

Not the church i went into... This one is at Namesti Miru.

On Tuesday, I woke up with a bit of anxiety. I had a small breakfast at the flat and then headed out to get my public transport pass. When we were here last, Jason got our passes so it took me a little to figure out which station I could purchase a longer pass from -- which meant that I rode the metro to one stop and then was told to go to another stop and at that stop was then again sent to another. I ended up at the train station to get my pass and after perused a bookstore in search of an easy reading book. I am currently reading All the Pretty Horses but I wanted something a bit lighter as well. I didn't find anything and decided to head over toward Iscare for a quick lunch before my appointment. 

At my appointment, I first met with the travel IVF coordinator, Beatriz, which was a little funny because I had been there many times before but now that I am not living in Prague there was a little more hand holding. She started explaining to me what we were going to do. She is very nice but I was just ready to finally meet with the doctor. I was happy that my appointment was with Dr. Marika Jarzembovska. She was the one who I met with prior to my last transfer and suggested putting me on prednisone and blood thinners. She also did the actual transfer and said to me - be pregnant this time. She said this time I want you to stay pregnant. While trying to coordinate what medications to take from afar, there was a little push back from the coordinator and Dr. Hulvert regarding the necessity of me being on a blood thinner. I kept asking if they had consulted Dr. Jarzembovska and Beatriz said she had... During my appointment I asked about it again and mentioned the blood tests I'd had done which showed a +APA and Protein C deficiency and she immediately said, yes you need to be on Fraxiparine starting today. The coordinator looked a bit shocked and I was relieved to finally feel heard. Then she did a vaginal ultrasound and said my lining looked perfect and my ovaries were quiet (aka had not begun to develop follicles). She made sure I had stopped the Leuprolide injections (which suppress the ovaries) and gave me a rundown on all the medications. I take 8 different pills in the morning, one at lunch and two pills at night plus the Fraxiparine injection. It feels like a lot to manage with out Jason. I really wish he was able to be here with me. The other thing we discussed is the lack of donor eggs we have so far. They have another plan, there are several women who are coming in as part of the frozen oocyte program - meaning that they do not have someone they are specifically donating their eggs to and they want to possibly use one of these women for a fresh transfer in addition to the frozen transfer. She said though that she wants to decide which donor to use after they see how many eggs are retrieved. They will only fertilize if the retrieve a high number of eggs. There is one going in on Wednesday and one on Thursday. They will let me know that day if there are enough eggs.

After my appointment, I headed to another bookstore and purchased The Rosie Project as well as a Life After Birth: What Even Your Friends Won't Tell You About Motherhood. The latter of the two was in the used section and I thought why not totally freak myself out about this thing I have been struggling so hard to obtain - motherhood. I found a good bench to sit and read on while I ate my almond croissant. Then I wandered into the Jewish Quarter and visited the Old New Synagogue - my new activity for the day. Historically - impressive. Visually - simplistic. Then I headed to to the Rudolfinum where the Czech Philharmonic plays and inquired about tickets but the box office was closing. Then, out front, there were people arriving for a military concert. Quite impressive. I had dinner at new place called U Bulínů right next to the flat. It has good reviews and local Czech fare. My pancreas was a little irritated after the croissant, I think, so I had a simple soup and salad for dinner. It was perfect. 

Speaks for itself.

Franz Kafka monument

The Old New Synagogue

 Rudolfinum and the procession for the military concert.

Just another doorway in Prague. So beautiful.