6/29/2015: Beta #3

My levels (16dpo) went from 69.5 to 235! Doubling time is 40.97 hours.

Wednesday will be beta #4.

6/28/2015: Telling the family

J and I decided to tell my side of the family today. We know it's super early, but if God-forbids anything should happen, we will need their support.

We were having some family photos taken and beforehand decided to give my parents this:

Of course we filled it in for them. We have 36 weeks left until our estimated due date (EDD) of March 5, 2016 (based on LMP and when the IUI took place). 

Needless to say, my Mom started tearing up and my Dad even looked like he was about to. I am on strict orders to take it easy. Everyone is really excited for us which is great. I can't wait until we can meet the newest member of the family!

6/26/2015: Beta #2

My second beta level (13dpo) is 65.9!!! It has a doubling time of 40.53 hours. Next draw is Monday!

6/25/2015: Beta Results

My beta results from yesterday (11dpo) are 29! Yay! 

I go back in tomorrow for another blood-draw. We need the number to double. 

6/25/2015: 12dpiui

Still waiting on the phone call from the Doc (they just opened lol). I'm interested in seeing how my beta level compares to yesterdays' faint positives.

Here is today's FRER:

That's a pretty strong line. Compared to the others, it is much darker which is a great sign. 

6/24/2015: 11dpiui

I decided to POAS again today. This time I busted out one of the FRERs I have stashed away in addition to one of the Answer hpts I bought yesterday.

There is a faint line on all three tests (the strip is harder to see because it's so small).

Today we had an appointment with Dr. K to talk about next steps if this cycle doesn't work out. Basically, we can continue the protocol we are using, add injections, or move to IVF. Regardless of what we choose, I need to be focused on losing weight. I haven't been doing too well in that department, but I know it needs to be done and I'm just sick of feeling like crap.

J and I were going back and forth about mentioning the positive home tests to the Doc, but it did come up and we were honest. Dr. K decided to run a quick urine test and do the first blood-draw today. The urine test was positive and darker than the tests I took this morning (seen above).

Unfortunately, the machine was done for the day so they can't run my blood until tomorrow. I hope we see a nice strong first number!

6/23/2015: 10dpiui

I know it's super early, but I'm anxious for answers about this cycle so I've been POAS since Saturday, which was 7dpiui (days past IUI). I also have some cheap strip tests from Amazon that I'm trying to use up since they were not the Wondfos I thought I was getting and I just want to have everything related to trying out of the house if we end up taking a break (read: this cycle doesn't work).

I thought I saw the faintest of lines on the two cheapies I took this morning so I decided to test with a more sophisticated one when I got home from work. I was able to take this test around 6:15pm after a 4 1/2 hour hold:

Trying not to get my hopes up, but that's a definite line albeit a faint one. My beta isn't until Friday. 

6/18/2015: Progesterone Bloodwork

I had my blood drawn early this morning so they could determine my progesterone levels this time around.

The nurse just called to let me know my level is at 6.5, which does confirm ovulation. Unfortunately, the level should be greater than 10 in order to sustain a potential pregnancy.

Last time around my level was 5.5. This time around, I started the suppositories before they even checked the level so that could be the reason for the increase.

I will have my beta pregnancy test next Friday. Fingers crossed.

6/15/2015: Trigger vs. O Confirmation

Since we are paying out the nose just for the chance of a baby, I've been meticulous about tracking different information such as the time between trigger and when O is confirmed. Obviously, this doesn't show exactly when I O'd but it does show how long it takes for the trigger to have an impact. 

IUI #1

--Triggered 3/9 at 7am; Ovulation confirmed 3/11 at 7am = 48 hours

IUI #2

--Triggered 4/11 at 7pm; O confirmed 4/13 at 8:30am = 37.5 hours

IUI #3

--Triggered 5/10 at 9am; O confirmed 5/12 at 7am = 46 hours

IUI #4

--Triggered 6/11 at 8pm; O confirmed 6/13 at 9am = 37 hours

On average it takes 42.125 hours from the time of trigger to visually confirm O. 

6/13/2015: Another scan and IUI #4

According to the scan, my follicle has released what is hopefully a spectacularly healthy egg! My lining grew a bit more to 11.6mm so I hope that will give the embryo a nice cushy place to implant. 

Thankfully they were able to do the IUI just a short while later--we didn't even need to leave the office! The sperm analysis showed some great results. J even gave the boys a little pep talk before they were drawn into the catheter. I hope it works.

Sample #4 Analysis:

--60.8 Million Count

--59% Motility

--.5ml Volume

--18 Million Motile Sperm

There were almost twice as many motile sperm this time versus last time and the motility was about 10% better. Since I got pregnant with the last sample, I'm hoping this is good sign. 

I will go in for blood-work to check my progesterone levels this Thursday. In the meantime, I was able to convince them to let me start progesterone supplements on Monday, given last month's lost pregnancy. The nurse said it can't hurt. 

6/12/2015: Scanning for O

Our IUI won't be today. My follicle is still going strong, though it was a tiny bit smaller at 26mm. My lining grew a bit thicker to 11.5mm. Though the tech didn't say anything, I could see what looked like a cumulus oophorus which means I should ovulate sometime in the next 24 hours.

I hope we are ready to go for tomorrow, because the RE's office isn't open on Sundays.

6/11/2015: Mid-Cycle Check

Well, today is CD 13 for me. I am glad my mid-cycle scan was today, because my lining is at 10.7mm and I have one follicle on the left side that is measuring at 27mm!

I am supposed to trigger tonight between 7pm and 9pm. I'll be going in for a re-check tomorrow morning and, hopefully, we will have IUI #4 later on tomorrow.

6/1/2015: CD 3 on Cycle #4

My period showed up with a vengeance on Saturday. This has been one of my most painful periods in recent memory. Nothing like salt in the wound, right?

Everything looked good this morning for CD #3. I'll be back on June 11th for the CD 13 ultrasound. 

I hope this time works and the baby sticks.