Believing the Unbelievable

I've been thinking about writing this post for over 3 weeks now.  Actually if I'm being honest I've been dreaming of writing this update for over 2  years.  But let me start at the beginning.

At my last update we were just starting our calendar for our first CCRM cycle.  After we induced my period with progesterone I was testing for ovulation so we'd know when I could start the estrogen patches for priming.  I started testing on cycle day 9.  The nurse instructed me to test in the morning with second or third morning urine.  I splurged and bought the expensive clear blue easy ovulation tests with the smiley faces.  I've used those before and felt they were much clearer than struggling with the lines on the other tests.  So cycle day 9 nothing, cycle day 10 nothing, cycle day 11 nothing.  Not even the blinking smiley face that leads up to the solid one that indicates ovulation.  Just for kicks I decided to test again on day 11 in the afternoon.  And I got a solid smiley face.  WTH?  How could I go from nothing to ovulating in less than a few hours?  I called CCRM and they basically said to continue testing the next couple days (through the weekend) and to call them back on Monday.  I continued to test but never got another positive reading.  On Monday they sent orders for me to get an u/s to check and see if I had ovulated.  So I went in on June 15th for that ultrasound and it showed that I had, indeed, ovulated.  So YEAH!  I started the estrogen patches and then on cycle day 25 started the ganarelix injections which I took for three days.  I was scheduled to start my period on June 28th.  Of course that didn't happen.  I was in complete panic mode about how that would affect things.  I called my nurse at CCRM right away on Monday morning and she said we could make some adjustments if it starts within a few days.  Then miraculously it started the very next afternoon!  I was so relieved.  I called my nurse right away and we scheduled the suppression check ultrasound for Wed. of that week.  If we were clear of cysts we'd start STIM drugs on Friday and I'd be on a plane to Colorado on Monday morning!  I was still in shock and could not believe this was finally happening!

I went in on Wednesday for the suppression check.  I told the ultrasound tech that I had started my period on Monday afternoon but it had been very light.  I had my orders from CCRM and was so nervous as I've had a cyst before that delayed my cycle.  The ultrasound took FOREVER and once she was finally done she told me to sit tight that the doctor may or may not want to see me.  My heart immediately dropped.   I was certain something was wrong as I never see the doctor during monitoring appointments.  So after a few minutes the u/s tech came back in and told me to get dressed and then she'd take me to a waiting room and the doctor would come talk to me.  By this point I was starting to really freak out.  Did they find something terrible like a big ol' cancerous tumor??  Did my ovaries get eaten by all of the drugs I've taken the last two years and disappear??  I was regretting not having D come with me to the appointment.  I was so freaked out I called him and told him something was wrong.  Right as I was losing it to him on the phone the doctor walked in.  I will never forgot her words as long as I live.  "I have some surprising news - you're pregnant".  I immediately told her that I can't get pregnant that's why I'm there.  She then filled me in on the fact that they had seen a gestational sac in the ultrasound and that it was early but I was indeed pregnant.  I just sat there staring at her in complete shock.  She said that I could go to the lab to get the bloodwork done that CCRM had ordered for me (e2 and progesterone level check) and that they were adding a HCG test to that as well.  At some point I started crying and she said she'd give me a few minutes to pull myself together.  The walk to the lab was a complete blur.  All I could think of is that the ultrasound had to be wrong and the HCG test would prove that.  I gave a high level explanation of what was happening to the girl drawing my blood and she told me that we'd have the results in an hour.  So I left and literally went and sat in my car.  I didn't want to call D back because I didn't know what to say!  So I text him and just told him all was fine.  He totally bought that because I may have a tendency to over react on a regular basis.  As I was sitting there trying to figure out what to do with myself (because obviously there was no WAY I could go back to work) I got a text from my sweet friend Amanda just checking in on me.  Her timing could not have been more perfect.  I completely unloaded on her and even though she had to be in complete shock as well she totally talked me through it.  I called back in an hour and got my HCG level.  They told me it was 4200.  Once again - WHAT?  That was WAY too high.  I asked if they didn't mean 420 and they said no it was definitely 4200.  After a quick consult with Dr. Google we discovered that number was in line with being around 5.5 weeks pregnant and since I had started my period on June 1st and it was currently July 1st we thought I was somewhere around 4.5 weeks.  I called CCRM and gave them the news.  After they received all of the information from my doctor's office here my amazing nurse Cindy (does anyone else have her?!  If you EVER end up at CCRM and are a patient of Dr. Schoolcraft requrest this woman!  She is an angel sent from heaven specifically for all of us infertiles).  Cindy was completely ecstatic for me while also managing to be cautious.  She told me her initial thoughts were that with a HCG level that high they should have seen more than just a gestational sac.  She felt as if a fetal pole and yolk sac should have been present.  CCRM's protocol was to wait a week and have another ultrasound done.  After I got off the phone with her I went and bought a pregnancy test.  I had to see it with my own eyes.  I got one of the digital ones that says pregnant and then tells you in weeks how far along you are.  I knew taking it in the middle of the day vs. first morning would probably affect the results but I just had to see.  Sure enough it came up pregnant and said 2-3 weeks (which is from conception, not from your last period). Even after all of this I was still in denial.  I was finally starting to believe I was actually pregnant but I also knew that there was a disconnect between the HCG level and the ultrasound.  I finally went home to wait for D.  When he walked in the house I told him that I figured out why I had been feeling so awful the last week or so (I had been SO moody, emotional, and three mornings in a row was so nauseous I couldn't even eat breakfast - I had chalked it up to the estrogen patches).  I showed him the test and he just looked at it blankly.  He finally said "I don't get it".  When I told him I was pregnant it was with my usual "cautiously optimistic" attitude.  Yes I was pregnant but this was still me.  And of course it couldn't be cut and dry.  I explained everything that happened and told him that basically all we could do is wait for the ultrasound to see if things were progressing.  Neither one of us smiled or laughed.  We didn't celebrate.  We were both crippled with fear.  This was everything we've been wanting, dreaming of, right in front of us.  Could we really be this lucky?  It just didn't seem likely.

So the next morning when I got to work I decided to call my OBGYN to inform her of what was going on (I was being monitored for CCRM at the local hospital since it's right next door to my work and super convenient).  Once I filled in the receptionist she said that she would let my doctor know and someone would call me back.  I guess I should also mention that my OBGYN is A-MAZING.  She has an IVF baby herself and she completely "gets" it.  She called me back HERSELF in just a little over an hour and said why don't I come in tomorrow morning.  So I made an appointment for Friday morning.  When she walked in the exam room she happily hugged and congratulated me.  I immediately corrected her and explained that the HCG numbers and the ultrasound weren't adding up.  She quickly dismissed my concerns and told me that she had a patient with an HCG level of 16,000 and they couldn't see anything in the ultrasound.  She said that every person and every pregnancy is different.  Then she asked if it would provide some comfort if we did another ultrasound on Monday.  After I burst into tears I finally told her that would be amazing.  So she had them draw some blood and then told me to come back on Monday and we'd draw again and do the sono.  For whatever reason surviving the weekend knowing we'd have an answer first thing Monday morning was WAY easier than waiting until Thursday like CCRM ordered me to do.  The weekend passed in a blur of nerves and fears and Monday came quicker than I thought was possible.  As D and I sat in the waiting room I was literally shaking.  We had talked it to death and were prepared for any outcome.  We had chosen to look at this as a "bonus" opportunity and were taking it as a good sign.  I got pregnant.  On my own.  If this worked than we were one of the lucky ones.  If not, then we'd continue to move forward with our CCRM plan.  We saved the money, we knew our odds, and if this didn't work out it changed nothing.  When they called us back to the sono room I thought we both were going to throw up before we made it.  The tech introduced herself and started to explain that being only 5 weeks along we most likely wouldn't be able to see much.  I quickly filled her in on the situation and watched as her expression turned serious.  I found myself reassuring her that we were prepared either way and just ready for some answers.  Once we got started she turned the screen and with a very relieved voice quickly pointed out the baby to us.  She did some quick measurements and the baby was measuring right at 6 weeks on the dot.  6 weeks!!  WHAT the WHAT?  Then she got super excited and said that she could even see the tiny flickering of the baby's heart.  I was still recovering from the 6 week shock and evidently was squeezing D's hand so hard he had to tap me on the shoulder so I'd release some pressure.  When I turned and looked at him I saw the biggest smile EVER on his face.  The tech kept asking us if we saw the heart beat.  We both said yes even though we confided in each other that neither of us could really see it.  All that mattered was that SHE saw it!  I got dressed and my OB was waiting outside the door for me with a huge hug.  She took me back to an exam room and we had our first official appointment.  Since I was a new OB patient for her she said she wanted me to come back in 1-2 weeks for another appointment.  I asked if we'd do another sono and she said we could if that would ease my anxiety.  Seriously I would have kissed this woman if she would have come close enough!  So I made the appointment for the middle of the following week knowing there was no way I'd make it two weeks but trying to make it longer than one.  We were on cloud nine for the rest of Monday and actually most of Tues.  By Wednesday the fear had set back in and on Thurs. afternoon I was having some cramping.  I left work a little early and went home and took a nap and it seemed to improve.  Friday I decided to work from home and the cramping started up first thing in the morning.  Around lunchtime I finally broke down and called the doctor's office.  I know some mild cramping is normal but this was definitely more than mild.  The nurse at my doctor's office said she was delivering a baby and they don't have a sono tech on Fridays anyway.  She instructed me to drink a lot of water, stay in bed, and if they became severe to go to the ER.  We contemplated going several times but when push came to shove I knew there was nothing they could do to STOP it if I was miscarrying so I chose just to stay in bed and take it easy.  By Friday night the cramps had definitely gotten better.  Saturday I just had a couple of small episodes.  Sunday and Monday I felt GREAT.  Which only worried me more.  Monday afternoon I called my doctor's office to see if they could move my Wed. appointment up to Tues morning.  They shifted some things around and were able to get me in at 10am on Tues. Sitting in the waiting room that morning felt the same but also different than the week before.  Before we were both still in shock and denial I think.  After seeing the baby and being told it's heart was beating we were far more invested than the week before.  We were both too nervous to even speak in the waiting room.  We just sat there clutching hands.  They called  us back and I felt like I was on an episode of Groundhog Day when I told the cheerful tech that I had some significant cramping last week and we were very worried.  However this time as soon as the wand was inserted and the baby came into focus you  could CLEARLY see it's tiny heartbeat going so fast.  Huge sigh of relief and some tears on my part.  The baby's heartbeat was 129 which they said was great.  At 7 weeks it's typically supposed to be between 90-110 and at 8 weeks between 120 and 160.  We were 7 weeks 1 day at that point.  She was trying to get some measurements but the way the baby was situated in the sac was really hard.  The measurements came in at 6 weeks 5 days so behind schedule.  The tech nor the doctor were concerned since the heart beat was strong and the baby wasn't really cooperating.  So more celebrations in the office (seriously can I just move in there for the duration of this?).  We went over all of the first trimester screening options and she said to come back at 10 weeks and we'd do the blood work for that.  D just flat out said "She's not going to make it until then".  My wonderful, caring, amazing doctor just laughed and said how about you come back in two weeks and we'll do another ultrasound.  Seriously I may leave D for this woman.  I'm not sure I've ever loved another human this much.  So...here we are.  They are telling me I am 8 weeks 2 days pregnant.  There's still a huge part of me that can NOT believe this is happening.  Obviously I'm still terrified.  I have at least one major breakdown per day.  But I also have fleeting moments of hope and happiness.  This is further than we've ever gotten before.  Three retrievals, five transfers of 8 total embryos.  One chemical and one miscarriage.  During that pregnancy my beta started SO low (12, 59, then 177).  At the 7 week ultrasound there was nothing there.  I most likely miscarried soon after the third beta. But here we are.  We are THAT couple.  The one that conceives on their own after YEARS of treatment and trying.  It seems completely impossible.  This is the kind of stuff that happens to everyone BUT me.  And while I'm hopeful, I really truly am, I still can't force myself to let my guard down.  We all know what it feels like to know too much, to want this SO bad.  And honestly the only ending I"m familiar with is the bad ones.  I know how to keep trying.  I know how to prep myself physically and emotionally for the drugs, the side effects, the stress.  What I don't know is how to be pregnant.  It's something I'm praying I can learn.

*~*~*~*DISCLOSURE - If you know me in real life we are obviously not ready to tell ANYONE this news yet so we ask that you please keep it to yourself ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*