Week 13 Belly Bump

We got our results back from genetic testing and everything came out low risk. So baby is developing normally and the heart rate was 159 bpm. Baby was 2.9 inches, and weighs .81 oz....which is the size of a peach.

The dr. did say that Chris had a fibroid tumor, but he didn't think there was cause for concern; however, Chris has had some lower back pain, which we think may be the fibroid tumor putting pressure on her back.

We went to the family doctor and she recommended a warm compress and perhaps an adjustment by a DO. I guess time will tell with this one.

For Christmas, I got Chris a pre-natal massage so hopefully that will help her back a bit.

Merry Christmas

From Baby Crescenzi

Week 12 Genetic Testing

December 15 , 2010

On our dating anniversary, this is Chris getting ultrasound # 5 done. This was part of the genetic testing which consists of a high tech ultrasound, baby measurements and blood work.

They check to see if you are at risk for birth defects. We should know by Monday or Tuesday if we are high risk or low risk. The ultrasound was amazing! We saw the baby suck it's thumb and wave and kick it's legs. I never knew how early a fetus develops the physical traits of a baby. When the ultrasound tech, who had no personality by the way, blew up the pic on the monitor, we could see the baby's chin, lips, mouth, forehead, feet, hands etc. It was such an amazing experience. I can't wait till we find out the gender. We ask the tech to look but she said it was too early. I think that is bullshit and she just didn't want to look.

I guess we will have to wait another few weeks for that. We did take the over the counter intelligender test and it said it was a boy. I guess we will soon find out!

Week 12 Belly Bump

So this is week 12...we are approaching the end of the first trimester. On Monday December 20th we will start Week 13 the 2nd trimester. I guess this is the time where most people feel like they are out of the danger zone... I am still nervous of course.

This week we will have genetic testing done on 12/15/10 @ 2:45 pm.

Telling the Family Part II

The rest of the poem.....

Telling the Family part I

I wrote a poem and we surprised the family. We got an awesome reaction! The video is in two parts so see part two for Aunt Ne-Ne screaming " Chrissys pregnant!!" LOL

Week 11

This is what baby looks like at 11 weeks.




Week 11 Belly Bump..... baby is getting bigger.

Baby Bump 9 Weeks

We told my mom's side of the family at Thanksgiving. Most of them already knew. When we read the poem it was like crickets because my dad had already went and told most of the family before we had the chance to. We hardly got any reaction on my mom's side. So we are planning to tell my dad's side on x-mas eve. I hope the cat isn't out of the bag before then.

We are scheduled for genetic testing with an ultrasound on 12/16 @ 2:30pm. Our next OBGYN appointment is scheduled for 12/22/10 @ 7:45pm.

I can't wait to see the baby again!

Week 8.5

Week 8.5 Baby Bump

Week 8

Baby Bump Week 8 - We told the whole family this week...on Chris' side anyway. I wrote a poem and we read it aloud at Gia's B-Day party. We got a wonderful reaction.

Baby Bump Week 7

Baby Bump week 7

Week 9 Ultrasound 4

After week 8 we were passed onto the OBGYN so we scheduled our first appointment for my birthday November 22nd.

The baby had grown to like 2.31 cm ( which is .9 inches). We didn't get a heart rate this time because they didn't have a doppler but the Nurse Practitioner said that the baby looked great!

So now we have to wait like 3 or 4 weeks to have genetic testing done and we will have another ultrasound done at that time. This will be around 12 or 13 weeks. We are hoping to be able to find out the gender of the baby by then as well.

Our next OBYN appointment is on December 22nd. Can't wait to see baby again!

Our third ultrasound was on November 11, 2010 @ 5:45pm. We were anxiously waiting to see if everything was alright due to the bleeding.

When the Dr. inserted the ultrasound we found out immediately that Baby B was no longer with us. It was clear that the second sac was not there.

The Dr. confirmed that the bleeding was due to a miscarriage of Baby B; however, Baby A was looked very strong and healthy at 12.50 mm and a heart rate of 154 BPM.

I guess we both had mixed feelings about twins so it was disappointing to hear the news but we both knew it was for the best.

Week 7.5

Our 2nd ultrasound was scheduled for Tuesday November 9th at 7:45pm; however, on Sunday the 7th DP woke up with some slight bleeding. Needless to say our hearts were crushed...we thought for sure she was having a miscarriage. So we call the Dr. to see if we could have an emergency ultrasound. They took us at 9:45am the next morning.

So the second ultrasound was done on November 8, 2010 @ the beginning of the 7th week. As we held our breathe and crossed our fingers, the doctor inserted the ultrasound. My mind was racing as of course I thought only the worst. Oh was I surprised! We actually found a second sac...meaning TWINS!

Unfortunately, the development of baby B was 1 week behind and the Dr. wasn't able to get a heartbeat. At that point, the Dr. said it was probably a sign that pregnancy B wasn't going well and she might miscarry. He mentioned that the bleeding was probably due to baby B and not to worry about baby A.

The good news was that Baby A was doing very well. It grew to 9.29 mm and the heart rate was 133 BPM.

The Dr. also said that miscarrying Baby B would not affect baby A...we were relieved.

Later that night DP had some more bleeding and it was more than the first time. We had to wait 3 days till the next ultrasound.

Ultrasound #1

This is ultrasound # 1 @ 6 weeks. November 1, 2010.

The baby was 3.95 mm in length and we heard the heartbeat for the first time. It was 107 BPM. The Dr. said that was right on target for 6 weeks.

Monday October 18th Beta Blood Test

Dr. confirmed positive HTP through a Beta Blood test! We are Preggo......

We told immediate family and a few close friends only....the rest of the world will find out on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We should know if it's twins in a couple of weeks and we will know the sex by 20 weeks. I can't wait!


To be continued..................

Taking the HTP

So about a little less than a week after the transfer I got itchy and decided to ask DP to take a HTP. She reluctantly agreed with the concern that it was way to early and she could still have some of the Ovidril in her system. I acknowledged the fact that is was a possiblity to wanted to give it a shot anyway.

So on Wednesday 10/13 she took an HTP. It came back with an extremely faded line. We were not sure if it was even positive because the second line was so light.

We remained hopeful and decided to wait a few more days to take another one.

For the rest of the week DP started having many symptoms.... cold sysmptoms, fatigue, constipation, burping, congestion etc. So on Friday 10/15 we decided to take another HTP.

Low and behold it was definitely positive this time. While the second line was a bit lighter than the first one, it was indeed darker than the one she had taken on Wed.

So later that night DP took another one just to double check and again it came up positive.

The next morning DP took another one Sat morning 10/16 and again a positive result.

So now we are just waiting for the BETA blood test at the doctor to confirm the positive HTP.

The Transfer

So the day of the transfer the dr. told us that the eggs looked good; however, at the morula stage he recommended implanting two. With the two eggs we have a 40% chance for twins and a 60% chance for a pregnancy. If we only put in one we had a 50% chance of pregnancy.

This was a hard decision to make but we decided to implant two. We figured if we have two we will have both our children at once and be done with this whole complicated process.

So DP layed on the table with ultrasound equipment on her belly and we watch as the RE Dr. implanted to two tiny little eggs. You couldn't actually see the eggs but the liquid they were in was visable on the ultrasound so we got to see where the eggs were. It was facsinating to see.

After that DP had to lay for 30 mins and then we got to go home. She had to be on bed rest for two days with several restrictions on her physical activity.

So then we just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best!

The retreival

So we both took off from work on 10/4 as the retreival would last about 30 mins and recovery would be about an hour.

Before I knew it the retreival was done and DP was in recovery. They told us they got 13 eggs with 2 being slightly immature. They told us that the eggs would be put in an incubator and exposed to the sperm which 39 million mobile ( great number). Then they watch the eggs for a few days hoping to get to a day 5 blast, typically the stage right before hatching and the best change for implantation.

By Thursday afternoon they called us saying that we have 10 of the 13 dividing and at least 3 were grade 1A quality....or in other words the best you can get! Day 5 would have been sat but they said they thought it would be best to put them back in DP because a woman's uterus is a better incubator than the one in the lab. So the eggs were in the Morula stage, which is the stage right before Blast.

We were scheduled for the transfer on Friday 10/8.

IVF Adventure Part 2

Well we found out we were approved for IVF around the last week of August. DP's insurance would cover it all...I guess this is due to her Endometerosis. So had to take a few more tests so that she could donate an left over eggs if we were successful in the first try.

So not long after she came home with this enourmous box of medicine, which she was required to take in the next two week. The injections were much more complicated and some of the medicine she had to mix on her own. DP is a trouper, never complained once. In addition to all the needles, she also had to go in to the RE office for blood work like every other day.

We went to the RE on Sat to see if DP was ready for the retreival. Apparently they have to check and see if the eggs are growing properly and responding to the medicine. So when we got there one of the RE's, a woman dr. that we hadn't met before said that DP was lookin good and that we had 9 mature eggs.

She recommended starting another shot later that day and then coming in again the next day to determine day of retrevial.

We went home that day, hopeful but also not really knowing what day the retrevial would be.
Low and behold we got a call about an hour or two after we got home and was the IVF nurses telling us that we the retrevial would be on Mon. 10/4 at 10:45 am.

Wow! we did not expect it but we were elated!

Try # 5 IVF part 1

After the 4th try with injections didn't work we decided to have another consultation with the RE. After discussing the options he immediately recommended IVF provided that DP insurance will cover the procedure.

So it looks like try #5 will be IVF as long as we get improved by the insurance. We will have to take an hour long class to explain how to do the many shots that are needed to do an egg retrieval.

The process is complicated and involved but has a 47% chance of working compared to 20% or less with IUI so I guess we will see.

One of the interesting options with this kind of treatment is that we are able to freeze the extra eggs in the retrieval for a price of course. Then we can use those eggs to do additional inseminations without doing an egg retrieval, which will save some money.

So now we are debating on whether or not to implant one or two eggs at the time of insemination. The twin rate is 25% with this procedure, which is a risk but at the same time we will end of increasing our chances of pregnancy.

To be continued....................

Try #4

We are on try #4...this time shots everyday for 8 days ( Folitism) and lots of ultrasounds. DP had to go for an ultrasound the first day she started the shots and several times thereafter. We ordered medication through the mail and DP had to inject herself with a pen like needle everyday for eight days.

We went to the RE to see if her eggs were maturing..... By the second ultrasound we had 4 mature follicles... 2 were 15 and 16mm on the left ovary and the other 2 were 23 and 24mm on the right side. The doctor said we had a good shot this time.

DP went for her ultrasound today and RE says her uterus lining looks good for pregnancy...this is good news although we aren't getting our hopes up.

I read an article that said that women with endometriosis have a reduced chance of getting preganant due to toxins that are released by the lesions caused by the disease. The experts say that IVF is more effective.

I guess we will find out soon enough. We are in our 2ww ....we should know by June 15th.

DP- Symptoms
mood swings- but she is a Capricorn so who knows
swore breasts0 definitely a symptom that she normally doesn't have during PMS
food cravings...but she loves food so I'm not sure about that one LOL

Other interesting things that have happened but they are supersticious....

1. We ate Chinese food the other night and we both got the same fortune...this has not happened once in 10 years by the way. The fortune was " Everything will now go your way."

2. We had our tarot cards read and the reader told us that we would get our wish in Mid to late Spring.

So we are crossing our fingers and hoping the Universe likes us this month.

Mommy and Mema

Cycle III- Clomid and HCG Shot

Well we went for try number 3 hoping that the 3rd time would be a charm but to no avail we crashed and burned yet again.

This cycle was the best with 3 mature follicles above 20mm. The count was great with 100% motility..... so what went wrong? We have no idea.

The 2ww is like waiting on pins and needles....this time we were hopeful but not optimistic. Low and behold AF came on Saturday 4/24...bummer.

So now we have a consultation on Monday 4/26 to meet with RE to discuss more options. At least DP has good insurance 100% covered....that is some good news.

Cycle 2- AF Arrived

Well it is always disappointing news when AF comes. We didn't expect AF to come because DP was 4 days late with her period but I guess we have to hope that the third time is a charm.

Our RE says 3 times with just clomid and hcg shot and after that we are moving on to something else...injectables I assume. DP is not looking forward to another cycle because she feels like she has had AF non-stop. It is really disappointing to get your period after a hopeful 2ww.

So DP is starting her clomid for cycle # 3......our fingers are crossed.

Cycle II- 2ww

Well we are at the end of our 2ww and DP still didn't AF yet. We aren't sure what is going on because she tool 2 pregnancy tests and both were negative. She took the first one 10DPO and the second one 12DPO. It is last in the day and she still hasn't gotten AF so I guess that is a good sign.

DP also says she has a weird hot or burning sensation in her uterus and lower back pain. Don't know what that is all about.

So I guess we just have to keep waiting. This whole process is very stressful!!

Cycle 2- Clomid from Hell

This is our 2nd cycle with Clomid and this time DP had some major side affects. She had horrible mood swings, headaches and major PMS symptoms. She said it was uncontrollable crying and depression. After about 10 days after the Clomid the symptoms lessened a little. We hope it works this time. Chris ordered her HCG shot via phone and it was delivered to our house last night.

Going to RE tomorrow morning to have the ultrasound done. We have to see if the follicles are matured to the right size. If so she takes the HCG shot and we wait for insemination #2 on Monday March 15th.

Cycle 1- Feb 23 till AF came

During our 2ww we got anxious and decided to take a pregnancy test..big mistake. DP still have the HCG in her system from the shot and it gave us a false +. So we waited till like the 26th to take another test and low and behold DP got AF really light. At first we thought it was implantation bleeding but soon discovered that it wasn't. It was really disappointing when DP got AF. We really had our hopes up.

So now DP has to get more Clomid and the cycle starts all over again...joy :(

Feb 18th- Cycle 1

When we got to the RE we ended up waiting for like 45 mins because they had to prepare the specimen. It seemed like we waited 2 hours because we were both so anxious. Finally they called us in the room. We had to sign some papers and then wait some more. The actual procedure took 2 minutes but the wait seemed like forever. They said the mobiliy was 68% and about 30 million count, which is good. After it was done we both had to go back to work...neither one of us wanted to at that point.

Cycle I- Pre IUI

Feburary 17th- We are TTC and this is our first cycle with IUI and Clomid. It took about 6 months to do all the fertility testing to make sure DP was all clear and now we can finally do the IUI. Met with our RE and everthing thing is good to go. We are both really nervous and have little idea what to expect. DP took her HCG shot, had the ultra sound and tomorrow morning we are off to the RE for the insemintation with our fingers crossed.