Ultrasound #2

Today was our second ultrasound and our final meeting with the doctor. Everything went great! I am officially 7 weeks today, but the little shrimpy measures at 7 weeks, 2 days and the heartbeat was 147 bpm. We have an overachiever already! We were able to see the yolk sack (which is what feeds the embryo until the placenta is completed) and the shrimpy's head, torso and tail. Very strange. We were officially "released" from the IVF practice and can now see a regular ob/gyn.

The doctor was great and remarkably honest. He admitted that the outcome of our egg retrieval was not optimal, which was due to the error of the surgeon (we got only 2 eggs out of a possible 11). We knew it! He also admitted that this surgeon has had mixed results in the past...which begs the question, "If she sucks, why are you still allowing her to be part of the practice?" Oh well, not much we can do about it now. So there is no point in wasting our energy on it any longer. He also said that given our situation we definitely beat the odds...it typically doesn't work out when you only have 1 fertilized embryo. He said everything looks very positive and I get to stop taking the gross progesterone that I've had to take 3 times a day for the last 5 or 6 weeks. Yay!

In the last week side effects have been mild, although I am exhausted no matter how much sleep I get. I've had a few minor bouts of nausea so far, but we stocked up on the cheezits, goldfish and wheat thins to help. I've also started doing prenatal yoga and pilates a few times a week, which feels great.

Our next appointment is April 3rd with a new ob/gyn. I am not sure if it will just be a paperwork thing or if I will get another ultrasound. I think they become fairly few and far between at this point. I will update the posts with the ultrasound pictures we have so far when I figure out how that is done.

TTFN

Ultrasound #1

I had my first ultrasound on Monday, March 10th. Jeff got to come into the room too, which was great! We got to see the heartbeat and the tech said everything looked great. She also gave us a picture, which just looks like a few small blobs inside of another larger blob.

After the ultrasound we met with the nurse practicioner. She said that as of Monday I was 5 weeks, 5 days along. However the embryo was measuring at 5 weeks, 6 days and the heartbeat was 90 bpm. So that was very good news. Although Jeff and I thought I was a few more days along than I really was. So as of today I am officially 6 weeks. She also told us that the due date looks like it will be November 5, 2008. Wow, quite a long time from now.

We go back on March 19th for the second ultrasound. Then we get to meet with our doctor. If everything looks normal he will release us to the regular ob/gyn at that point.

We haven't met with the doctor since early January I think. We've only seen nurses, techs, phlebotomists, secretaries and other doctors for the last 2 months. Jeff says he is a robot and has clearly been in the shop for repairs. I equate him to the Wizard of Oz...he is the man behind the curtain. It will be nice to finally meet with him again.

We'll have another update late next week.

Whitney