Boy, Oh Boy

Instinctively I guess I've known all along. Mothers have a way of sensing these things, as do siblings! From day one, DS has been absolutely insistant that we were having a brother and we found out yesterday that he was right! As badly as I would have loved to hear that baby number 2 was a little girl, my excitement at the thought of DS having a little brother outweighed any disappointment I may have had. I also figure that this is a good excuse to try for just one more little miracle!

As of today I am 22 weeks and feeling better than I have since February. While the summer time heat isn't always agreeing w/ me, it's a good excuse to stay inside and clean my way overdue house! DS has been getting lots of trips to the pool out of the deal so he is a happy camper and DH doesn't mind me once again doing my part of house wife!

I am measuring right at 22 weeks and gaining weight at a steady rate. I was pleased to hear that I have only gained about 2 and half pounds since my last visit... after vacation I was sure that I must have gained at least 10 pounds just that week! My blood pressure has been staying put and after 8 weeks of prescription vitamin D pills, my levels are once again normal.

I look forward to the next half of this pregnancy, enjoying every minute I have left w/ my only child. Now begins the task of sorting through tubs and tubs of baby clothes and making room for Baby Boy #2!

A quick beta-HCG update and more...

I spoke to the clinic about my beta values recently. On June 2 I went there because AF was missing and my beta level was less than 1. On June 15, the day of my HPT BFP, my beta level was 1890. The doctors figured that I was about 4.5 weeks along at that point. So, I calculate I was around 17 or 18 DPO. Then two days later, my beta was up to 3380. If you look at the charts here, that seems to be pretty good. I know beta levels can be deceptive so I'm really waiting for my first ultrasound to see how things are progressing.

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The clinic called me today and my first pregnancy ultrasound will be on July 5th. I'll be just past 7 weeks then. I am pretty nervous about it. Mr. Pharmasaur is coming with me, thank goodness! Last year, our first ultrasound was pretty devastating. It was the first clue that something was wrong with the pregnancy and that it would end in miscarriage.

This is a different pregnancy and we are hoping for a much different outcome this time.

I've been trying to keep calm and relaxed and not to over think what could be happening. I've been doing some guided meditations from a CD I have which I am enjoying. I am also journaling and I find this helpful too. I even got a new cell phone to help keep me busy!

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I am focusing on staying positive and practicing all the patience I can muster until our ultrasound appointment. Please send us lots of sticky vibes!

It´s a Girl!!!

I had a feeling that the little one was a girl, but Mr. Lillysaur was certain that it was going to be a boy. Today´s scan at 17 weeks confirmed my suspicions. I was thankful not to have the dildo cam come into play today, and the belly wand was not bad. The gel was a little cold, and the baby wasn´t into cooperating at first, but after going for a nice walk, she was in a better position to be viewed and measured. So far things are looking good. I like hearing that. So.....

ups: I am beginning to feel movement, which is kind of an odd sensation sometimes. We are having a girl! I´m not tired anymore. I can eat, eat, eat again.

downs: round ligament pain is not a lot of fun...on Monday I went to the doctor after I got stabbing pains in what I was sure was my cervix. The doctor took a look, measured my cervix, looked at the baby and said everything was fine. She told me to get used to the weird pains and told me to start taking 600 mg of Magnesium a day...

weight gain: according to the scal at the hospital I have put on a little less than a kilo since my visit four weeks ago. Hopefully this will appease my regular gyno.

maternity clothes: Mostly, though I have some regular clothes that I can still wear. My belly hasn´t definitely gotten bigger this past week.

favorite moment: watching my little girl "kiss" my uterus today. I even got a picture of it.

A miracle!

One year ago today, June 15, 2009, Mr. Pharmasaur and I got a BFP. Sadly, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage on July 24, 2009.

This morning I was on my way to the fertility clinic for blood work and an u/s to clear the way for me to get a prescription for Provera to start my missing AF.

I got up at 4:30 a.m. to POAS just for the fun of it and this is what I saw:


Needless to say, I wasn't able to get back to sleep! Actually, I did the internet test first. And I tried not to wake up Mr. Pharmasaur but I did wake him up at 5 a.m. and then neither of us could get back to sleep. Then I did the Shoppers Drug Mart test next and Mr. Pharmasaur took the picture of them together. The results were pretty instant. We were pretty shocked! And of course very happy.

So, the fertility clinic did an u/s and only saw a thick lining. The doctor said that it is still too early to see anything else yet. They did a beta-HCG and my level is 1,890 which the nurse said was very good. I am going for a follow up beta on Thursday. If all goes well, the clinic will want me back at 7 weeks for an early ultrasound.

The nurse told me that my doctor consulted with another doctor at the clinic "to figure out how this had happened" and that they figured I was about 4.5 weeks along.

I got the positive tests on CD52! I think I ovulated late in the cycle because I had a negative beta on June 2nd. We used 100 mg of Clomid on CD3-7 and I supposedly had an LH surge on CD8. I think I had another one later too!

We are trying not to get too excited until we get past a few firsts - the first ultrasound where we hope to see a heartbeat, the first point past beyond which I miscarried last year (10 weeks) and the first trimester. We plan on being cautious about telling family and friends for now.

Neither Mr. Pharmasaur nor I could believe we got this BFP one year to the day of our first one. We both feverently hope that the outcome this time will be a healthy baby.

Please send us lots of sticky baby dust! I really must go to bed now - it has been a very long and eventful day.

Waiting...........

Today is CD43 and I am still waiting for AF to arrive after my first Clomid cycle. My beta-HCG blood test was negative.

When we saw the fertility specialist on May 17th, she did not recommend continuing with Clomid for the next cycle. I didn't respond very well to it, which is not a surprise as my FSH was 14. The doctor recommended that we try injectable fertility medications. Specifically, Puregon (Follistim in the USA) to stimulate my ovaries, Orgalutran (ganirelix) to hold off my LH surge until the follicle(s) get to the right size and Ovidrel (HCG) to trigger ovulation when the time is right. This past cycle, I had my LH surge too early - at CD8 when my follicle was still quite small. The doctor also suggested that we consider using IUI instead of timed intercourse with the injectable medications.

Mr. Pharmasaur and I had previously said we wouldn't use Clomid. Then we said we wouldn't use injectable drugs. We talked and thought about this decision for several days before we decided to try the injectable drugs. We also agreed that after using the drugs, we would like to increase our conception chances by using IUI. There is nothing wrong with Mr. Pharmasaur's sperm analysis, but the IUI will be effective in by-passing my cervical fluid which has not been very abundant lately.

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I went to the fertility clinic again this past week to get some help in locating my missing AF. My progesterone level was 14 and my endometrial lining was thick which means that AF is on her way soon, I hope! The fertility specialist checked my thyroid hormones again and decided to increase my medication. I hope this gets the levels where they should be and keeps them there. I will get the test repeated in about a month or so to see if it is working.

I have the injectable medications ready to go. Now, all we need is AF and a CD3 blood level of FSH lower than 14 to go ahead. Wish us luck!

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15w3d

I can´t believe I´ve made it this far, and I can´t believe that I can finally brush my teeth again without gagging, open the fridge without wanting to run to the sink, actually have fond thoughts about food, and go a whole day without napping! Wow.

How far along: 15w3d

Total weight gain: haa, I haven´t weighed myself this week, but at my 14 week appt. I had only gained 200 grams....I got a scolding. I´m sure that now I´ve begun to feel like eating again, I´ve finally put some weight on, but I´m not worried about it. I eat when I´m hungry and that´s enough for me. I figure my body will do what it´s supposed to do if I just let it.

How big is baby?: I´ve read something about a naval orange. The doctor didn´t acutally tell me how many centimeters the baby was measuring, just that it was looking good.

Materinity Clothes?: Well, I wore my regular pants up until last week, and I suppose I could still wear them, but the under belly jeans are more comfortable. I still wear some of my regular tops, although lots of them aren´t long enough to go with the under belly jeans. Today I wore a pair of my shorts that were "too big" with a t-shirt an they fit fine. I don´t really look pregnant, maybe a little pudgy.

Sleep: I sleep through the night unless I need to go to the bathroom, but that usually happens around 5 am now. So I sleep from 10-5. My back is beginning to hurt, and my knees bother me, but I haven´t been able to find a body pillow to use yet.

Movement: I can´t feel any movement, but the little one is always moving all over the place at my scans. We´ve seen head stands and other acrobatic feats.

Food cravings: Mexican!

Belly button: my belly button is an innie.

Best moment this week?: I don´t know that I`ve had just one "best" moment, but I´ve finally begun to look at baby things, and that´s pretty nice.