Today it has been 11 days since we learned that Greg and I were having twins and boy has it been a rollercoaster these last 6 or 7 months. Don’t get me wrong, we are ecstatic to have heard such news from our doctor; but words can’t really explain the emotions we are feeling since it has really been an uphill battle up to this point and future issues and problems continue to pick at our thoughts everyday. Let me explain.
Greg and I decided probably 3 or 4 years ago now that we wanted to start a family but it wasn’t until the beginning of 2009 that we realized that it just wasn’t working. After months of testing and failed attempts of fertility drugs, our fertility doctor (Dr. G) told us that the chances of us conceiving naturally were very low. Based on the reproductive “things” that were working vs. not working, Dr. G recommended that we pursue in vitro fertilization (IVF).
IVF may be one of the hardest things I have ever done. It was draining, physically, emotionally and financially. But in January 2010, we began the process of self-medicating with injections (yes; SHOTS) two or three times a day. I wasn’t able to give myself the injections because it gave me the creeps, so Greg happily administered them.
After a couple of weeks of injections, we were nearing the egg retrieval day. Everything was looking great but then one Monday when the nurse called to tell us we could take our “party” shot that night (the middle of the night might I add), she also mentioned that we would have to do a “freeze-all” instead of an embryo transfer two days later. My body actually responded too well to the stimulating medication. My hormones were so out of whack, that there would be little chance that I could sustain a pregnancy. This turned out to be pretty devastating news for me because it meant that we would have to wait a whole extra month before we could transfer the embryos. I know that doesn’t seem like devastating news and it could’ve been a whole lot worse, but I was just ready to be pregnant!
On Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2010, we went across town to retrieve the eggs from my ovaries. While the procedure itself was totally painless, the next few days were not. I was definitely not prepared to be in so much pain but my ovaries were enlarged and water retention and bloating made everything 10 times worse. But the good news was that the doctor managed to retrieve 12 viable eggs. The bad news is that only 6 eggs were fertilized.
On Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, our embryo transfer was scheduled. Again, we drove across town to transfer the embryos. That was also a rather interesting experience considering I nearly peed on my doctor. I was required to go into the transfer with a partially full bladder. Well even after relieving nearly 8 ounces, I still managed to have, not a partially full bladder, but a completely full bladder! You can imagine the discomfort that resulted in, as well as the muscle work-out it required to not just pee all over the place.
A few days later, we learned of more bad news. None of the remaining embryos that we did not transfer survived. So, like Greg said, we had all of our eggs in one basket. This was our only chance! But I am thrilled to say that two weeks later, I took a blood pregnancy test, and that afternoon we learned we were pregnant!!
So both Greg and I instantly hit the internet and the books. Talk about being overwhelmed. Not only was there so much information out there but after telling family and some of our closest friends the news; we were bombarded with un-processed information. Like I mentioned earlier, I constantly thought about problems that might occur, especially miscarriage.
Another couple of weeks went by and on Monday, Mar. 29, 2010 we had our first ultrasound. I was so nervous that my blood pressure was through the roof. I had, in the days earlier, experienced some spotting and one night, had some excruciating pain in my side. So that explains the nerves, right?!?! Well it also had the doctor a little concerned and the first thing he did was look for an ectopic pregnancy. Thankfully nothing of the sort existed, and instead he said, “would you like the good news or the better news.” Greg said that at that moment I lit up and I’m sure by blood pressure began to drop down to a normal ratio. He said that there were two babies!!! We are having TWINS!!
Baby A was at 6 weeks 6 days in size and had a heartbeat of 122 bmp. Baby B was slightly smaller and was at 6 weeks 2 days with a heartbeat of 113 bmp. The doc said everything looked great and that they were both were as they should be!
