Our First Ultrasound

It was an interesting day. I met with the OB doctor today for my first appointment and first ultrasound. First, I'm glad to say that I like my OB doctor and don't have any immediate desire to change doctors. This is quite a miracle in itself.

Below is the first photo of the baby. I'm sure you are wondering if there is anything actually in this picture - you can't really see much. But that little kidney bean is the baby. I'm not really sure how to label this ... good or bad. I think its fairly good. The doctor confirmed I was pregnant and there appeared to be a heartbeat. There was a pulsing on the screen in the exact spot it should have been that was apparent to everyone in the room. However, I have no idea what a heartbeat should look like at this stage or at any stage. The only downside to the visit was that the baby measured at 6w1day rather than 7 weeks- which is on the small side. But I've read in numerous places that an error rate of +or-6 days is fairly common.

The doctor simply said that he can't really determine anything from this one ultrasound and said for me to come back next Thursday - they are going to hook me up to the big ultrasound then and see how the baby's growing. So I will keep everyone posted.

7 weeks

Do I look tired? This is how I feel most afternoons - like you couldn't pay me to lift my bottom out of a chair.

Today I’m 7 weeks pregnant and according to the world wide web baby croom is measuring at ½ inch long. So far symptoms have been very minimal. More than anything I am fatigued. I feel great in the morning and by 1pm I’m exhausted and stay that way for the rest of the day. There are some days where I am less tired, but I can never tell what type of day I’m going to have.

If I had to add anything else to the list of symptoms it would be increased belching – that is it went from zero times a day to about 4 times a day. And it seems that just in the last 2 days my stomach has decided that bloating is an effective way to begin looking pregnant. I’m starting to feel round and full in the abdomen. The size 8 pants I’m wearing today – which just started to fit again last month – are now feeling too tight.

Weight gain so far – 0 lbs and hopefully staying that way for a few more weeks. Based on my Body Mass Index (BMI) the experts recommend gaining no more than 15-25 lbs during the entire pregnancy since I am already considered overweight. I don’t think the experts considered the 6’3” frame of my husband or his large head when they made they estimates. But I’m still shooting for no more than 25 lbs – and we will just all have to see what happens.

Yesterday I had two people tell me I was glowing. All I could think was "yeah, right." I am completely convinced my glowing had more to do with the fact I wore mascara for the first time in 3 months than it did with being pregnant.

Choosing an OB Doctor

Aggravation would be the best word to describe how I feel about the process of finding a doctor for this pregnancy. I had no idea I would find it so frustrating.

First, let me say I do know exactly where I want to go – the Birth Cottage here in Tallahassee. It is a wonderful, pleasant home with a couple midwives. They have two birthing rooms that are more like the rooms in your house, and birthing tub as well. In the end, you get a lot more options when it comes to delivery than you would at a hospital. Plus there is no IV stuck in your arm and you can eat if you want. They will also come to your home to deliver as well. However, this was quickly put to a halt when I realized my insurance will not cover it. Yes, that’s right; my new insurance coverage that picked up all that great infertility testing does not cover midwives or birthing centers – even though they are less expensive in the long run. However, the coverage I had before, the one that wouldn’t cover any infertility testing would cover it. It seems I can never get what I need at the right time.

On the flip side, if I go the doctor’s office/hospital route my insurance covers 100% of my entire prenatal visits – with no deductibles and no copayments. Each visit is completely free of charge to me; it just costs my patience and time.

So for the time being I called my OB/Gyn office. It just seemed simpler than pressuring myself to figure out which doctor office to choose and I really wanted to get in for a first appointment.
Today I had “orientation” – which should have been labeled something like mounds of paperwork and a waste of your time. The doctor’s office was not convenient. And parking was worse. It took 15 minutes after I arrived to park and walk in to the building. Then I had to listen to gossip from the nurses for about 5 minutes. I was pressured to fill out an application for a federally subsidized program I was not interested in (of course I didn’t). I had to wait around in the lobby for one of the nurses to see me – one who was busy talking to about 5 other nurses. Then my appointment started.

They checked my urine for proteins, sugar and something else – all clear. Checked by BP – 110/70. Checked my weight – not sharing.

During this appointment I asked what my progesterone was when they did the blood panel and pregnancy test. I did this because I also had the infertility center do bloodwork and they had called back to put me on progesterone suppositories because it was on the low side of normal. The doctor’s office never called about my progesterone. It turns out, they couldn’t find it – I was told they either forgot or failed to take a progesterone test. The nurse wasn’t sure what happened. So I am super thankful I also had the fertility office do this – since it was low and I was prescribed progesterone suppositories.

I also learned during the appointment that my insurance covers 100% of “allowable expenses”. When I asked what allowable expenses were – they could not tell me. I asked if the ultrasound I was having next week would be covered and was told that they didn’t know, but if it wasn’t covered the cost would be $200.

I was incorrectly misinformed by the nurse that they like to rotate the patients between doctors so that if “my doctor couldn’t come to the delivery and I had to use a back-up doctor I would be familiar with him/her.” When in all actuality, I know that the doctors rotate at the hospital and I get whatever doctor is on duty at that time at the hospital. After I questioned her on this, she confirmed I was correct.

I answered a few more questions about relative history and my medical history. Then I left, and spent another 10 minutes getting out of the parking lot and then was back on the road to head to work.

So all in all, it takes 30 minutes to get to the doctor’s office. It costs me aggravation. I have to deal with people I’d rather not deal with. I’d have to delivery in the hospital that I don’t like. But I would pay $0.

OR

I can get to the Birth Cottage in 10 minutes; wait zero time in the lobby; have access to quality midwives; enjoy the atmosphere; have more flexibility during delivery; but have to pay out of pocket.

I’m looking at a cost differential to us of about $3,000. (Of course, the hospital route is much more expensive in total – just not to us because insurance covers it) So, with all this in mind, I’m thinking my best option is to try and find a new doctor’s office ... or just have the baby at home and then go to the hospital. Anyone willing to help deliver?

More on the beginning

I wanted to post just briefly on more details regarding the new pregnancy.

I have had an absolutely great week. I feel wonderful, jut a little tired here and there. But honestly not much to speak of.

My HCG numbers from Monday came back at 699. The fertility nurse decided it didn't need to be repeated because it was high enough and exactly where it should be.

My progesterone numbers came back a little on the low side but still normal - at 10.6. So I've been given progesterone suppositories.

I'm really not having any symptoms of pregnancy at all. A couple times I felt kindof yucky but it was so mild I couldn't decide for sure if I felt bad at all. So I probably shouldn't count it as anything.

And everything is going really well. I'm still going to CrossFit. The advice I saw online was to be sure you can carry on a converstation while you are working out, otherwise slow down. So I'm following that advice and taking lots of breaks as needed.

For any couple out there dealing with infertility who might run across this blog on the world wide web. I want to mention that we really did see some great results from a lot of prayer and switching to a high-raw diet. I wish I could measure how much my body changed - I know it changed to be well enough to get pregnant - which is really the best result. I tested abnormal for the protein that helps the baby stick around just 6 months ago with the Etegrity test. And we have had 1 failed IVF, 1 failed FET, and 1 failed IUI in the last couple years.

My dear husband has been eating high-raw as well, with lean meats and eggs. And everything on his SA changed from abnormal to normal to even above normal -- including morphology, motility, viscosity. And his motile sperm count increased more than 600%. I am in absolute shock about this. I have seen so many studies and never seen results this high. That in itself is a miracle.

I'm so thankful that I felt led to change our diets drastically this spring! And we received a ton of support for the changes we made which made it so much easier. So thank you everyone!

Drum Roll Please ....

I was thinking my next post on here would be tomorrow. After all, we have just concluded several months of testing and had an appointment with a fertility specialist tomorrow at 9am. I thought by tomorrow evening we might could post on some type of plan for the coming months.

That was until today happened. Today, we found out we are PREGNANT!
Yes, 100% completely naturally we were given a miracle. We are ecstatic, and majorly shocked - this is after 5 1/2 years of trying to get pregnant.

This morning was pretty crazy. I took two tests at home and as soon as possible called the doctor's office. I'll have to admit I didn't quite comprehend or believe the first test, and immediately said "um, read this" and handed it to Thomas. (It was very hard to read, it simple said "pregnant.") =)
The doctor's office was great about getting me in today for blood work, and by this afternoon we had verification that we are pregnant!

It is still early, I'm just 5 weeks. So we have a long way to go...until Valentines Day to be exact.

This could have never happened outside of God's will. And we are also pretty sure our lifestyle changes helped make the difference.

We don't have a way to check on my health and if it improved. I was still having some slight pain from the endometriosis the last couple months, but not as bad. But today while we were at the fertility clinic doing the blood tests we asked for the results from the most recent semen analysis - and they drastically improved, more than even imaginable. Based on that alone, I would encourage every couple out there dealing with infertility to try shifting their diets to no processed foods, no dairy, no grains, and lots of raw fruits and vegetables.

Redirect to Another Site

I had a dream. It was vivid and exciting, and it involves a new blog.

As a result, the purpose of this post is to redirect you to a new blog address. I think you will be very happy with the changes.

There will be more information. There will be more topics covered, including: the ever important children, food, recipes, nutrition, exercise, projects, sewing, 30 day challenges, adoption, foster care, and so much more. And to make it even better - it will be organized by category so you can find what you are looking for!

There is much more to be done on it, but it is officially started.

So please, go take a peek and be sure to save it on your favorites.
GO HERE!!!

And just so you know, this website will be updated occasionally with information related to infertility and other things of the sort.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY!