Defining "very" pregnant.....

As I laid there on the table I knew something was up.  My IM and the nurse were looking the other way and talking.  Then I heard a low sigh/groan from the RE that no one else seemed to notice.  That couldn't be good....  30 seconds or so passed and then he said "well.... you've got 3 in here".  Triplets!  OMG!

But there are some complications.  First of all the singleton and one of the twin have strong heartbeats.  The other twin is a little smaller and has a slower heartbeat.  So it may end up that that one self reduces in the coming weeks.  In that case I'll carry twins.

The other issue is that the twins appear to share the same sac.  We'll know more after more ultrasounds.  There are a few problems with this type of twin pregnancy.  There is only one placenta so one baby may take the bulk of the nutrients leaving the other one with the leftovers which won't give it enough to develop correctly.  Also, being in the same sac means they could get tangled up in each others umbilical cords.  C-sections are mandatory.  Hospital bed rest and constant monitoring is usually required.  And these types of twins are usually delivered early (26-32) weeks because they're actually safer on the outside at that point.  However, that means that the healthy singleton would be at risk as well.  There is also a good chance that if we continued the pregnancy and one of the twins passed then my body could miscarry all 3. So, if the 2nd twin doesn't self reduce we are more than likely dealing with a situation were the twins would be selectively reduced to provide the best outcome for the singleton.

Wow.  That's a lot to process huh?  As I'm typing this I'm second guessing if I want to put all of this out there....  knowing that there are 3 babies and that 1 if not 2 will not survive is very hard.  I hope that I'm not judged harshly if we have to reduce.  That's why I hesitate to "publish post".  But on the other hand, I prefer to be open and honest about this experience.  Otherwise there wouldn't be much point to this blog.

So right now we're in a holding pattern.  We have another ultrasound next Wednesday.  I'm feeling okay.  I'm confident that everything is going to work out.

7 week update

Wow.  I've been slacking!  But really I've been too sleepy to put much thought into composing an update.

Let's see..... We're now 7 weeks along.  I'm still sleepy and my new favorite thing is to take a 2hr nap on the couch any chance I get.  I'll be feeling fine and then BAM!  I'm starving and I must eat immediately or it could be a disaster!  Also, as of a couple days ago I started feeling slightly nauseous.  It comes and goes and it never actually feels like I'm going to get sick, just makes me feel woozy.  Oh well, could be way worse!

Our first ultrasound is Tuesday morning.  Can't wait! Hopefully we'll find out just how "very" pregnant I am.  So funny story - L admitted to me that if I am carrying twins then it's all her fault and I can blame her.  A night or two before the transfer she was sitting out in her backyard and saw a giant shooting star.  You can probably guess what she wished for.  But then 30 seconds later there was another one and out of reflex she wished for the same thing!  Oops!

Pregnant!!!!!

Wow.  Here's a recap of yesterday....

I went to the lab at Kaiser and had my blood drawn at 8am.  The paperwork from UCSF said to run the test "STAT" and then fax them the results.  UCSF would notify L and she'd let me know.  I asked Kaiser how long it should take and they said they'd have the results to UCSF within the hour.  So needless to say, my morning was spent staring at my phone, willing it to ring.  I drank a ton of water in the morning and I was so nervous to leave my phone long enough to go use the restroom!

Finally, around 10:30 I get a call from UCSF asking which lab I went to because they still don't have the results!  I gave her a number for the Kaiser lab and she went off on a mission to track down the test.

And then I got the call from L!  I am "very" pregnant!  My beta number (the quantitative measurement of the pregnancy hormone in my blood) was high which may indicate twins.... but we won't know, and therefore won't freak out, until the ultrasound on May 24th.

I'm so happy for my IP's!

Not as optimitic today

Sigh....   the blood test is tomorrow morning and then by mid-day I should know the results.  I'm so nervous now.  I haven't really felt anything in the last few days that could be early pregnancy symptoms.  That headache I was having morphed into a cold that the whole family came down with.  I'm not nearly as tired anymore or eating like a horse.

But, I know that I did everything that I could to make a nice home for the embryos (by taking my meds) and aside from that it was really out of my hands.  Just have to wait and see what transpires tomorrow....