Monday, March 31st was the single best day of my life to date. After testing out my trigger shot twice - this is important to ensure that you are not reading the HCG in the trigger instead of HCG being generated by the baby - I anxiously waited until 9 days post-transfer to test again, as that is the earliest date a majority of IVF patients will see a positive result on a home pregnancy test. Darrell told me the night before that he was *positive* I was pregnant: I've been up at night a *lot* to use the restroom (which is not the norm for me), and exhausted beyond belief. I was a little less certain - nothing I have felt so far (until the last couple of days - more on that later) was not attributable to he medication I am on to promote implantation and support early pregnancy.
I awoke a little early and anxiously waited for the little hourglass on the test to stop blinking. Truthfully, I expected to see another "Not Pregnant" - that's all we've seen for the past 18 months, and I've been trying so hard not to get my hopes up too high. One final blink... and the word Pregnant appeared. Moments later "1-2" appeared directly beneath it (the type of test I used estimates the time since conception based on the level of HCG it registers). With a little yelp, I ran into the bedroom and more or less threw the test at Darrell. And then... waterworks. Both of us.
We wanted to wait until the result of my beta test - which quantitively measures the amount of HCG in my blood - to be sure the pregnancy was progressing normally. For four loooooong days, and many, MANY more pregnancy tests, we grinned at each other and marveled at the miracle of this child. The beta test brought more great news: while our doctor hopes to see 100 units at 13 days post transfer, my count for 452! This can mean one of two things: One very healthy, robust embryo cranking out a lot of hormones, or the embryo divided and we are expecting twins. We won't know until our 8-week ultrasound!
Telling our parents was amazing. Mine are in Minnesota, so we called them - they were overjoyed. Since Darrell's parents live in the same city we do, we went to their house (in the guise of returning mail I had collected for them last week) and told them I'd brought them something from my trip to Cambridge. In truth, the bag contained a sign: Grandma and Grandpa's House - Memories Made Here. Mom pulled out the sign and said "Oh, I hope it's true" - to which I replied "It is." And then... waterworks. Happy, elated, joyous waterworks.
We know that most people wait awhile before the announce a pregnancy. But the truth is, so many people have travelled this journey with us, hoping and praying for a positive outcome, and we wanted to celebrate our joy at the life we have created. We know that a lot can happen between now and December (when I'm due) - but we also know that this child is a miracle and an answer to so many prayers, and he/she/they deserve to be celebrated.
Here's to the next 35 weeks.
Here's to our Tiny Human.
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