2nd & 3rd Beta Results!

I swear, once an appointment finally gets here, the next one feels like forever away and the wait starts all over again. We had our 1st beta last Tuesday, October 23rd and the results came back at 286. Thursday, October 25th was our 2nd beta so E and I were e-mailing and texting non-stop all day. We were so darn anxious to see if our numbers were higher because if they are it means that the pregnancy is still active. The beta level are supposed to double every 48-72 hours so we were both hoping for 600 and we thought we were shooting high with that. It was taking soooooo long to hear back from the clinic! Finally after all the nervous texting back and forth (ex: "C'mon already, Call Us!" ... "sick to my stomach") I was literally feeling uneasy that we were not hearing back and I thought for sure I was going to throw up. My stomach wouldn't stop turning and I couldn't get my mind focused on anything else. We Got The Call! 713!!!!!! Yes! E and I ended our conversation with a big fat WE DID IT! That number just confirmed that the embryo(s) are getting comfortable and taking to their short-term home very well! Ahhhhhh Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It was such a breath of fresh air to hear that number and it was such a high one! I never expected the 700's so that was insane to me...maybe twins?!!!!!! For E and A, I hope so!!!! I don't think the numbers can completely tell you the amount of embryos that actually took but seriously I can not wait to get to that next appointment! That seems to be what we anxiously await now a days, lab work after lab work, just the excitement to hear those next numbers.

Okay, our last lab work came back at 713 for our beta but we didn't hear how the progesterone turned out. They don't call us with the results anymore unless they are bad so I suppose no news is good news! I went in for lab work again today for our 3rd beta which was the quickest appointment yet here in our hometown. I am very thankful every time we do not have to drive to Chicago just to get blood work done. It saves so much time, money, and finding childcare so that is always a plus! The wait this time wasn't as bad as our 2nd beta but that is because Ben and I made a day trip to do a little pre-christmas shopping. This time I was eager to hear the numbers BUT I knew I was pregnant! The pregnancy symptoms are ON -- I have the sore breasts which seem to already be bigger...Or I could have just made that up (you know how you start to look at things on your body differently after you know something true, like being pregnant, so you start to 'think' you see changes when maybe it is just all in your head!) Well, at least I admit it :) Can you say sense of smell!! I should say 'scents' everything is so potent lately! My daughter and I were visiting my parents a couple days ago and I saw her little face start to get red as she was playing with her toys. I said, "Ava, are you pooping?!" (in a fun playful voice) and as if I interrupted her she crawled as fast as she could into the kitchen 2 rooms over where none of us could see her. I laughed and waited a minute and all the sudden 'Wooooff!' All I could smell was her stinky little tush! UGH! Then. here comes Ava happy as can be crawling back into the room. Ha!

Anyhow with the slightly larger becoming breasts I had mild cramping a few days out of last week but nothing that was overbearing. I have had many people tell me that each pregnancy is different so I have been nervous to see how this pregnancy will compare to Ava's. I did not have any morning sickness at all with my 1st pregnancy so I'm hoping for the same with this one (knock on wood! so far so good!) Okay Okay I wont make you wait any longer, our 3rd beta is 2433! This is great news! Our numbers are continually rising and that is all we can ask! I am now scheduled for our first ultrasound next Tuesday, November 6th! How exciting, I didn't expect it to be so soon but I'm not sure what to look forward to seeing because I'm not sure how far along I am exactly. With Ava, I didn't have an actual ultrasound until 21 weeks gestation, that was the only one I needed. I will be attending the ultrasound locally for us so we wont need to travel again this time. It is very strange being able to stay here to get these things done because we have been so used to the long trips and it is bringing back memories of my 1st pregnancy. E and A will not be attending this appointment and she described why in a much better way than I could have ever saw in their perspective. "Your best interest is our priority...being there will not change the outcome...as long as you call me with great news after!" Simply put but they will be going to other appointments later on which is also fine with us. Sometimes we think more contact would be good and other times we think less contact would be good but ultimately we want E and A to be comfortable and we want to accommodate their needs/wants as much as possible.

Ironic Story! Ben and I have both been excited about finding out how many embryos took or if any split. I think it would be such an awesome experience to be able to carry twins because the chances of me ever doing it on my own are very slim. Last night, Ben was in the kitchen preparing to make breakfast for dinner and he cracked open the egg and TA DA it was a twin! HOW CRAZY! (: It is a sign...it has to be a sign! I don't think I've ever seen that before so how random! Love it!

I am now a pineapple juice junkie! I have been buying the orange/pineapple juice lately and yum! I pour it into a cup and put it in the freezer for a couple hours...Sooo Good! E e-mailed me and told me that she is eating pineapple for me too! (: Great Team Work! I went to the store today and bought fresh lettuce for my salads and V8 Juice because my diet this past week has been awful! I was stuck on the Velveeta macaroni which is no longer allowed in our home, hehehe. I am going to try hard to keep my weight down this pregnancy and under 30 pounds total. I have so much water retention with Ava though that I'm worried that I will have to work extra hard with my diet to prevent more gaining. I need to step on a scale now to see where my starting weight will be and then go from there. I had so many cravings with Ava and I truly didn't think I would get fat but 50 pounds later proved me wrong!

I have been keeping in touch with 2 women I meet in the initial research for surrogacy back in April. I am in the middle between both ladies as one is 22 weeks pregnant and the other is just starting her journey.I suppose you can call them my surro friends/sisters but it is so nice to be able to go to someone if I have questions and also to be there for someone if they have questions. It makes my journey that much better to have others to turn to who know exactly what I am going through and who can relate on that deeper level. I am very thankful to be able to have that!

Eeeeeek! I can't wait until Tuesday for our first ultrasound!!!!!

Love,