We Did It!

Nine days ago doctors put two embryos in me and today, I'm four weeks pregnant!  Ah, the miracles of science - they can even warp time.

We did it!  You probably saw my home pregnancy test result two days ago, but today it is official.  The donor egg process worked!  We are now in the same place as any twenty-something couple who gets pregnant (since the eggs are from a twenty-something).  That is, we have a 90 - 95% chance of having a baby.

But no matter how good the statistics are, Adam and I can't feel anything but a little relief that we made it past the next step.  It is just burned into our psychologies that pregnancy equals death.  Our minds can get over that, to a certain extent, but not all the way.  So I feel glad, but not elated or excited. Adam's reaction shows how it is for both of us:  I took the home pregnancy test while he was still sleeping.  I woke him up to tell him I was taking the test and he said, "uh-huh" and went back to sleep.  Then I woke him up with "I'm pregnant," and I think he said, "good."  Then I made him open his eyes to look at the test stick.  He barely got them open, he grunted, and he went back to sleep.

But I am happy to know that my beta level is very high for how far along I am (and yes, I am considered four weeks pregnant in the crazy dating-scheme that the obstetrical profession has developed).  For those in-the-know, it is a dazzling 363.  The doctors look for 50-100 at this point to determine pregnancy.  No wonder I was able to get a positive on the home test two days ago - this pregnancy is just rockin' right now!  This makes it feel a bit more real.  In fact, it makes Adam and I think we're having twins, and that level of beta hCG does indicate that twins are a realistic possibility.  Well, then.

I have virtually no pregnancy symptoms, as usual.  A few days ago I did have a ligament pain in my abdomen that is associated with pregnancy, and I'm tired, but that's about it.  I don't even have the ravenous hunger yet, but I'm looking forward to that.

We've conquered the evil progesterone injection problem - I switched to a different oil medium and a lower concentration of progesterone.  We now have to do shots twice a day, but the pain is so much less.  I can definitely handle this for another month.

I'll have another beta test one week from now, to make sure the levels are increasing appropriately.  Then, on February 8, I'll have my first ultrasound. I'll only be seven weeks along by then, and I've lost pregnancies a little later than that, so a good result still won't make me comfortable.  But it will make the doctors at the infertility clinic comfortable, and they'll release me to my ob-gyn.  I'm going to demand another ultrasound a couple of weeks later, even if my insurance doesn't cover it.  If we make it that far, I might break out the baby name books.