My last blog post was mid-November when I was prepping for the transfer. Surprisingly, everything worked as it should — my lining was the right thickness at the check and the transfer went as planned on Dec. 9. Then it was a 10-day wait to the first blood test on Monday, Dec. 19.
Originally, I was going to do the test at a LabCorp site by my Mom’s house because we were planning to already be up in Pennsylvania for the holidays by the test date. However, we ended up delaying that a bit because my husband got Covid (somehow I did not), and so I had to switch to a LabCore site near my home for the blood test (and by then, my husband was past the isolating date). That also meant that if the result was good, I’d need to do the second beta test while on the road — and luckily there was a LabCorp site in Roanoke (where we stop overnight) where I made a just-in-case appointment. I also had my clinic send me the lab order for the second beta so I could print it out in case I needed it, because I wouldn’t have access to a printer once we hit the road.
I used to receive test results same day when I was able to use the local hospital, but that’s not an option anymore, and so I was at the mercy of LabCorp. I knew if I didn’t hear from anyone by 3:30pm that my doctor’s office wouldn’t call until the next day. I waited and checked my phone every few minutes, but there was nothing - no missed calls, no portal notifications. Earlier that morning, I had given in and taken an early response pregnancy test and it was immediately positive — the first time I’d ever seen that result in my life — but I wouldn’t be able to believe it until the blood test results came back.
The next morning we hit the road to start the two-day drive up north. I hadn’t heard from my doctor’s office yet, but by the time we pulled into our first rest stop, there was an email from LabCorp telling me my results were ready to be viewed. (Thank you auto-notification processes.) The beta result was a good number! I couldn’t believe it! I sent the number over to my clinic via the client portal and they confirmed! It meant the transfer seems to have taken!
The second beta test I did two days after the first one, and that result came through from LabCorp within a few hours, thankfully. It was also good! The number had at least doubled, which is what the clinic wants to see. That meant I had to do a third beta test a week later (there’s nothing like waiting over the holidays to see if a transfer was sticking or not).
On Dec. 28, we went for my third beta test at a LabCorp site near my Mom’s house. Results did not come in that day (that wait is impossible), but they DID come in the next morning before we hit the road to head back home to Georgia. And the numbers increased the way the clinic wanted again. Holy crap!
With the three betas complete and the numbers where they should be, the next step was an ultrasound. As I was finishing up packing the car (well, really just moving things because my husband wouldn’t let me lift anything at all after that first beta test came back showing a positive result), the office called to schedule it.
That ultrasound could be held anytime between Jan. 5 and Jan. 11. My husband was out of town for a conference until the 8th, so I made the appointment for the afternoon of the 9th (today). That wait between the third beta test and today’s ultrasound was excruciating. I think I had my least productive work week in years, partly because my ability to think about anything except the upcoming ultrasound was nil, partly because I am exhausted no matter how much I sleep, and partly because I just feel generally uncomfortable.
Nobody told me that cramps during early pregnancy are normal, and so every time I’d get a twinge or a really bad cramp — and they’ve been pretty constant for a few weeks plus back pain — I’d try not to panic thinking it was the beginning of a miscarriage. And then there are all the things that can go wrong: the tests could show chemically that I’m pregnant, but the ultrasound could show an empty gestational sac or it could have implanted in the wrong place and not be viable. Did I eat something I shouldn’t have and that caused things to stop growing? (I know that’s a ridiculous thought, but they still come.)
Finally, we made it to the appointment earlier today. And … we could see the tiny flutter indicating a heartbeat. Did I burst into tears after the nurse technician left? Absolutely. I’m 7 weeks, 1 day, but it’s measuring 7 weeks, 4 days. They said everything looked really good. I go back for the next ultrasound in 2 weeks, and after that will “graduate” to my normal ob-gyn (once I find a new one since my previous one’s office closed last year). I’ll stay with the same medication protocol — nightly shots — for another two weeks and then will start a process to slowly wean off of them.
Now I know it’s still super early and people usually don’t say anything until after the first trimester because that’s when the chances of a miscarriage decrease significantly. So it’s still possible that this won’t work out, but from what I’ve read it goes down the chances of a pregnancy loss decrease there’s a heartbeat. Or at least I hope it does. I was also reading a book recommended to me that said women who experience nausea are less likely to have a miscarriage, and well, that’s the first good thing I’ve seen about my current relationship with food.
So here we are. After five years of IVF I can finally say I’m pregnant. I can’t quite believe it. And I probably won’t believe it entirely until I see a baby.