Well, it is official! Most of you know by now that Chris and I are expecting our first babies sometime around December 2010 to January 2011. And, yes...I said "babies" for a reason. We are expecting twins!!
I want to give you all a little background about our situation so that you can understand what an absolute joy this is in our lives. Chris and I have been trying to start a family for 4 years now. We have been through a world of infertility treatments and I have tried things I never thought I would have.
There are some of you who can remember that after my miscarriage, I swore that I wouldn't do IVF treatments. I was going to adopt rather than go through all of the treatments and shots that come along with IVF. Well, life happens and every day you learn something new about yourself. Chris and I really did think about adoption for a long time. We unfortunately had some doors close that were going to take a while to reopen. In the mean time, we found out that our insurance covered a SIGNIFICANT portion of IVF costs. So, we said, "Why not? When one door closes, sometimes another one opens."
After our first meeting with the doctor, he sent us straight back to the lab for blood work. Little did I know this was a preview of things to come. I had 23 vials of blood taken and Chris only had 6!!! Well, things just progressed from there...For every 1 thing Chris had to do, I had to do 20. (Not that I am bitter. Love you honey!) :)
We did end up finding out that I have endometriosis and some hormonal issues. (I guess this explains why I have been so even keeled...haha.) The doctor tried Round #1 of IVF and my body just wouldn't respond to the hormones. So, we switched it to an IUI cycle and didn't expect much.
Round #2...We doubled and tripled all of our hormone injections and finally got some response! They pulled out 15 eggs and only 5 were viable... We were a little disappointed, but 5 is still a good number. So, we put two of the "grade A" embryos in and hoped something would take. These were the best of the best. So, surely something would happen...But, unfortunately neither one took...
So, Round #3...Luckily this round was a little easier. We already had the embryos (3 left). So, we just had to take a couple of small shots and go in for the transfer day. My mom was so excited about this because the transfer happened on her anniversary day (May 6th). She said, "It's going to work. I can just tell. It's a good day." Despite her optimism, I was still skeptical. I mean, we already put in our "Grade A" babies. All we had left was our "B minus" babies (as I affectionately) call them. We decided to put all 3 in since the doctor told us there was no chance of triplets.
2 weeks later we go in for our first pregnancy test and GREAT NEWS! The nurse called me and said that we were pregnant! She gave me my hormone levels at the time (which were 800) and I asked what they were supposed to be. She said "Well, we like them to be at least 75 by now." So, we blew that one out of the ball park!! Hormone levels continued to double as they are supposed to and here we are today!
I am officially 9 weeks pregnant and already showing some at this point. None of my clothes fit, but I couldn't be happier! We have never made it this far before with a pregnancy and the doctors are saying everything looks great so far. Heart beats look strong and the babies are measuring right on target!
So, now you can understand what a joy our "B minus" babies are! We have affectionately named them "Frick" and "Frack" for now (much to my Father's dismay). So, please follow us on this journey! We would appreciate any prayers you can send our way too. This is all new for us and it is coming really fast! Plus, we would really like prayers for the continued growth and development of the babies and prayers that I would continue to be a good home for them as long as possible.
