We had our follow-up ultrasound on May 29th to determine the progress of Twin B (and to see a thriving Twin A - yippee!). We were able to FaceTime the scan again and I was actually able to have the scan sans "weenie-wand"! WooHoo! The warm goo on my belly shot me right back to when I was pregnant with my own children and how excited I would be to see them on the screen. It's different this time around, as I am now more excited to see the reaction of K&J of their little one on the screen. Don't get me wrong - it is still SUPER fun to see, but seeing the parents watch their child is the most rewarding part of this whole journey so far.
The ultrasound showed us the same thing as last time - one sac with a magnificent heartbeat (176!) and another smaller sac with no heartbeat. It appeared to me that the second sac hadn't grown at all, but HOLY SMOKES did Twin A get bigger!!! And a MOVER, too! That little gummy bear was wigglin' all around!
This ultrasound marked a big step for me in this journey - I got to be released to my own OB rather than be monitored via the IVF clinic. I have to say, I was really excited to get to this point. I really like my OB and her nurses and was excited to share this experience with them; they all have been so excited to be a part of this journey as well!
I had the ultrasound report faxed over to my OB for her review and for my records there. She called me the very next day and said that she'd like to have another ultrasound in a week to further monitor Twin B - she, too, doesn't believe it will be viable (and I think we're all on the same page at this point). So, we'll have our 3rd ultrasound this week on the 6th of June. From there, I really need to get on them about scheduling the NT scan (another ultrasound and blood test combination that screens for any biological complications such as Down's Syndrome). This special risk assessment is a time-sensitive matter and needs to be completed before I am 13weeks6days along -- right around the corner!! And, I'd like to get this scheduled ASAP since K (and possibly J) will be coming for this appointment and they'll need to book a flight and make travel accommodations!! I can't wait to see them!
So, I said that there was a lot going on these past two weeks. The ultrasound turned out fabulous and I was finally released to my super-fantastic OB - all good things. There were, however, some not so fun things happening during this time.
To preface, I want to remind everyone that I am still on lots of medications to help make this IVF pregnancy successful. I am on a hormone regimen that consists of two different types of Estrogen and a Progesterone supplement. The Estrogen has been simple - take a pill twice a day and change a patch every 3 days. No big deal. My Progesterone supplement was awful. I was taking Crinone (a vaginal suppository) twice a day. Not that I have to explain this, but that area is quite sensitive and after about 10 weeks of adding a foreign substance to it twice a day can begin wreaking havoc in there. That said, my area was beginning to hurt (burn is more like it). On Monday, May 27th, I was in touch with my nurse at the IVF clinic and she (sweet, sweet soul) recommended taking a tub and letting it soak while trying to remove all the "excess" Crinone and sleep sans panties for a while to let it "air out". I almost cried after reading her response. Those are all things that I did on a regular basis and it didn't work. I decided to suck it up and put on my big-girl panties for the next day or so.
Nope. This is not going to work. The pain has gotten worse. I contacted the IVF clinic again on May 29th (after our ultrasound) to pretty much say that I was done with Crinone and that I couldn't tolerate the discomfort for the next 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately, I hadn't heard back from her all day and took it upon myself to go see a doctor. As I was on my way to the appointment, the nurse from the IVF clinic phoned and said that she is swapping out the Crinone for Progesterone In Oil (PIO) injections. I couldn't have been more relieved. I was dreaming of the injections for quite some time now because of my disdain for Crinone. I let her know that I was on my way to the doctor to be sure nothing more was going on in there.
At the doctor, I was diagnosed with at urinary tract infection (UTI) that was ultimately caused by the stress of the Crinone on my body. Good thing I followed my instinct and went to the doctor! An internal exam was performed and my poor area - it was raw, irritated and inflamed. Good riddance, Crinone. No more "what goes up, must come down (but in a less attractive state)". No more being wet. No more burning. No. More. Crinone! WooHoo!
The next day, I received my couriered med delivery (yes, this lovely woman drove my med package to my home all the way from Massachusetts). Sweet, sweet lady. I gave her a bottle of water and some cookies for her time.
I can't explain my next reaction upon opening the package - was it relief to finally not have to do Crinone any more? - was it astonishment and fear when I took a look at the syringes they packed for me? - was it denial that I couldn't have used a syringe that big when I did PIOs before? Yep. It was all of the above.
The syringes they supplied me were GINORMOUS!!!! I was horrified! There was no way that I used those before. I wasn't just in denial since the last needles I used were the small ones from the Lupron. These needles were freaks of nature.
Luckily, I had saved (and I don't know why) my old - but never used, of course - syringes from our failed attempt in December. I ran upstairs to compare the two needles. Much to my relief, they were different! The needles I used back in December were smaller - thank GAWD! I counted to make sure that I would have enough of the smaller ones for the next 2 weeks of injections - phew...
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| I believe this is self-explanatory... |
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