The Chronicles of a Pregnant Vera - Part 1

So I'm pregnant. Now what?! Haha. As my pregnancy progresses, I'm learning things about myself, my body and being pregnant in general. Here are some of the things that's been happening to me.

• After my embryo transfer I refused to pee for a couple of hours (even when I was dying to!) for fear that the embryo would 'fall out'! How silly was I?! :D
• My all-day sickness started at 5 weeks. I refuse to call it morning sickness because I am sick morning, noon and night, sometimes even when I'm already in bed sleeping. It was worst from 9 to 10 weeks. I still get sick nowadays but not as severe as before. Thank God! Hopefully my good luck continues.
• I don't like the smell of food, especially meat and chicken being cooked. I get really, really nauseated. It's a good thing my husband does all the cooking. I'm so lucky, I know! :)
• I lost my appetite at the same time my all-day sickness started. It hasn't come back yet but I'm so waiting for it to. Nothing tastes good. Even water tastes awful. There was a couple of weeks I was so dehydrated because I was having difficulty drinking water. And I think I've already lost weight since being pregnant.
• I can't wait to get to the 'craving stage' so I could eat anything I want. Hopefully by then I already have my appetite back.
• We bought a fetal home doppler off eBay just so my husband and I can hear our bub's heart beat anytime we want to. Since it arrived from China we've only used it once though. It was so exciting to hear it! A bub's heart beat is almost double that of an adult's. Our bub's was 175-180 bpm. Cool!
• My husband is hoping that our bub is a boy. I honestly don't have any preference. All I'm praying for is a healthy and normal bub. :) 

That's all I can think of right now. I'll add to the list as I discover new things. :)

7-week Scan

We had our 7-week scan on 9 June. It was our first scan, also called the dating scan. My husband and I were a bit nervous going into the clinic. We didn't know what to expect (hey, we're first time parents! :D) but of course we prayed that our bub's healthy and growing nicely.

Bee @ 7w1d

Our FS (fertility specialist) did an internal ultrasound since it was too early to see our bub with a pelvic one. After a few minutes of looking, he then said our "jellybean" is alive and kicking. I didn't know I was holding my breath until after he said those words and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Although for the life of me I couldn't fathom how our bub was kicking. Haha. I guess he meant bub has a strong heartbeat. :D

We were originally given a due date of 24 January, 2012 but our FS changed it to 26 January. Just a couple of days off, no biggie. :)

Next up, our 12-week scan/Nuchal Translucency Screening. Thank you, Lord! :)

P.S. For now, we've decided to call our bub Bee since the first movie he/she "saw" is Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon. In 3D, no less! :) 

HPT Gallery

Note: This entry was written on 18 May but I've only just decided to publish it today. :)

Hello! It's been a while since I last made an entry about what happened to our IVF/ICSI journey. Well, it's been an emotional roller coaster all right. My husband and I felt a whole gamut of emotions, especially me since I was the one injecting myself with all those drugs. BUT overall, I feel that it has really been a great cycle. Yes, I had some minor side effects like headache and cramps but they were manageable even without taking any medicine. And we also have two great frozen embryos (for later :)). For all of these, WE PRAISE AND WE THANK THE LORD!

First Response, Early Result / 14 May

 This was the first HPT (home pregnancy test) that I took. As you can see, I labelled it 7dp5dt. It means 7 days post 5-day transfer which basically is a week after a 5-day embryo or blastocyst was transferred to me. I used a FRER (First Response, Early Result) pregnancy test. This HPT is very sensitive that it can detect the pregnancy hormone, hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) 6 days before the missed period. I actually wasn't supposed to test that early but the night before I dreamt that I tested and that I got a BFP (big fat positive!!!). That dream felt so real. The emotions I felt were so real. So when I woke up that morning at around 5:30, i took the test. And I couldn't believe my eyes! It said I was pregnant! To make sure that I wasn't just imagining things, I woke my husband up. It was too early for his liking and it was Saturday but he had no choice. We were over the moon with the results. This was the FIRST TIME EVER that I have gotten a positive result in a HPT.

Confirm / 15 May

 I again tested the following day, but using a different HPT -- Confirm. This HPT is not sensitive like FRER. Infact it said on the leaflet that it can detect pregnancy 14 days from conception of the first day of missed period. Had it said something like that in the box, I wouldn't have bought it. I thought it was also like FRER but only found out that it's not after I have opened the boxes (we bought 2 boxes = 4 tests). I thought the test wouldn't even be able to detect the hCG in me because it was only 13 days since my egg collection. But it did, albeit the faintest line. 

Confirm / 16 May

 I tested everyday until my blood test on the 18th of May. I was afraid the result will change. LOL. I was also sending daily emails to my sister back home just so they are up-to-date with what's happening with me. The result line on the 9dp5dt test was noticeably darker than that of the the day before. :)

Confirm / 17 May

As at 17 May, I have done 4 HPTs. As you can see, the result line is getting darker everyday. 

Confirm / 18 May

This was the last one I took before I had my beta hCG and progesterone blood test that same morning (18 May). And so, as the results of my blood test say, I AM PREGNANT!!! My husband and I are so thankful for this blessing. A huge THANK YOU to all the people who prayed for us and for the success of this cycle. Please continue to do so, that my remaining 8 months of pregnancy be healthy and happy. I can't believe it, I'm going to be a mum! :))