Vanishing Twin

If you have been reading this blog for a bit you know that this first began as 1 then twins and now it is back to one baby.  The second one is classified as a "vanishing twin."  

In looking at the untrasounds and discussing things with Dr. Lee at Rachel IVF, there was only the gestational sac.  No baby was ever inside of it so there shouldn't be anything to concern ourselves with about extra cells or something combing with the current baby.  *fingers crossed*

Pregger Symptoms

I have been quite lucky so far so if, during your pregnancy, you suffered through months of Pregger Puke, read no further because I am sorry.

I have been very lucky in that I have not had ANY morning/day/noon or night sickness at all.  I have thrown up only once (today) from being in the back of a taxi that kept breaking every 100 feet all of the 4 miles home on a full stomach.  Other than that, no puke, for which I am grateful.

I do feel queasy and nauseous especially if I am walking around outside and something smells awful.  If Joseph has too much garlic or eggs, I can't stand it.  So we aren't eating garlic for awhile. The eggs only gross me out if I see him put them in his smoothie (raw) or see him eating any on a plate.

Good Bye Rachel

This week, Thursday, July 31st was our last day as patients at Rachel IVF.  Joseph was on vacation this week and was able to come with me to this last appointment.  Together, we heard and saw the baby's heartbeat and were able to see it moving inside the sac.  It still doesn't seem real yet, but it will soon enough.

And Then There Was One

Went to my weekly doctor visit today and had my weekly sonogram to check on things.
The doctor said the first baby is doing great. The heart rate is normal and perfect and size is perfect. All things going well.
The second baby is no longer in its sac. The sac was empty and smaller than last week. The doctor said it is normal. She explained that over a 2 week-ish period the sac will continue to shrink and then disappear all together.
She prescribed my usual weekly medicine of baby aspirin and endometrium suppositories. Hopefully this is the last week I will need to do those.
We talked briefly about which hospital would be best, etc. for the baby's care and eventual birth and Dr. Lee gave me 5 top Seoul hospitals for Joseph and I to review and discuss.
We are neither happy nor sad about the second bean. It is what it is and that is okay.
Dr. Lee and I also discussed my dietary needs and when I can begin exercising again. Thus far the only exercise I am allowed is walking. Come week 10 I can begin swimming. Yay! An hour a day of laps in the pool. I cannot wait. I have missed swimming!
In the second and third trimester I can add Pilates and light prenatal yoga.

Heartbeat #1

This past Friday I went again to Seoul to go to the doctor.  I will go every week until whenever.

This past appointment the doctor and I listened to the first baby heartbeat.  It was the weirdest and coolest, most amazing moment ever.  I could actually SEE the heart beating in the sonogram.
The heartbeat is 134 bpm and the doctor said it was normal.  The other baby is still too small to hear or see anything other than the black blob.

Baby 1 is 5.74mm long and the sac it is in is 23.50mm.
Baby 2 is not growing as well as the first.  It went from 6.66mm last week to only 9.61mm this week.  The doctor said it is still too early to tell what's going on so we will give it more time.

I go again this coming week on Thursday.

Exciting!!

Glad Tidings?

I have intentionally not posted anything the last couple of weeks.

The 2ww was really hard this time.  Harder than the first time because it felt more was at stake this time.  To me anyway.  Joseph was just not thinking about it which was sometimes a bit frustrating.

I went back to Rachel EARLY on Friday, June 27, 2014 and had a blood test.  They called that morning about 11am to tell me the results: 176.28 is the first beta result.  This is a good sign.  In reality though, this number means nothing until the 2nd beta test.

Blog Reader Questions: IVF: How Much and Price Differerences

There was a question posted on this blog about semen analysis and why there were more than one and about the price difference, etc.
The question was asked on the January 5, 2014 blog post.
Joseph has had a total of 3 such analysis.