Can you believe it?!? After a two year battle with infertility we were lucky enough to meet Dr. Riggs. At our initial meeting, in early September, he told us that we had a 1-3% chance of conceiving on our own. He told us that since we had already received other infertility treatments that IVF would be our best option. It was a hefty emotional, physical, and financial undertaking but one that could potentially give us our second baby.I began giving myself nightly injections mid-September through mid-October. We had a successful egg retrieval on October 14th. On October 19th Dr. Riggs recommended that we transfer this one, beautiful blastocyst back to avoid complications of a twin pregnancy. It was a rough decision (Kasey can fill you in on my Valium induced comments) but in the end we trusted Dr. Riggs.
measuring right on track and even moving around a bit with a healthy heart rate of 189!
This is our first baby picture of W2!
After what felt like a very long wait I took a home pregnancy test that came back negative. I was crushed. A couple of days later I went back to Dr. Rigg's office for my first beta blood test. I was SHOCKED when I got not one, but TWO, phone call to congratulate me on my pregnancy! I was warned to be cautiously optimistic because my HCG level was low. Four days later I went in for my second beta level and received a phone call that it did not rise appropriately and I would probably lose the baby. My third beta did rise appropriately but it was still low.
We went in for our first pregnancy ultrasound at 5 weeks 5 days and saw a gestational sac and a yolk sac. I asked Dr. Riggs if he ever saw women with inappropriate rise in beta levels go on to have healthy pregnancies. He said, "Yes, but it is not typical." He asked us to come back at 7 weeks to check for a heartbeat. Kasey and I were scared, disappointed, and anxious to move on to the next step. When we went back in at 6 weeks and 6 days we were so surprised to see a flickering on the screen of 125 beats per minute! All I could say is that Kasey and I make the toughest kids! This time we left feeling optimistic for the first time in a while! We went back in for one more ultrasound at 8 weeks 4 days and saw this little gummy bear:
measuring right on track and even moving around a bit with a healthy heart rate of 189! Today I am 13 weeks 5 days pregnant! The family visited my OB today and got to see the baby again! Logan was very concerned that Dr. Burrows was putting jelly on my belly and was very happy when she wiped it off! The baby had a heart rate of 169 and was moving all around for us. After many tears and countless prayers we feel very blessed to be expecting this little one on July 6th! I will start P17 injections in two weeks to try to ward off any preterm labor.
Big brother Logan keeps reminding me that my belly is "gettin' bigga." He is very excited about his baby brother or sister. He tells us what toys he wants to get for his baby and how when the baby gets bigger he will play with him/her. He has decided on a name: Chips. Kind of catchy, don't you think!
A video clip of baby W2 at 8 weeks 4 days
Woohoo! Congratulations you guys! Will be praying for a long and healthy pregnancy! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Sara & Casey. The heartbeat sounds like a little girl. Prayers coming your way for a healthy and carefree pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteI could go on and on about how happy I am for you two! You are both so strong emotionally to have gone through all of this...and look where you are now :) I can't wait until you find out what the sex is, but I'm even happier that your baby "Chips" is healthy and doing so well! I love this blog Sara! It's so infomative and has great pictures of your beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys!