Good News!

I almost went to bed without updating!

I got the call at work today at about 3pm. The nurse said that my HCG level had risen appropriately. Actually, she kind of scared me by saying "your level skyrocketed". Ummm, isn't that bad? Then she said, "Oh no, I mean it was just fine."

Anyway, after some prompting she gave me the actual numbers of 275 last Friday and 1216 on Monday 72 hours later. I love this graphic at babymed that you can plot:

So I know it's too early to decorate the nursery but I'm pregnant! And excited. :) She said the will have me keep my mid-April appointment (sans ultrasound) at about 9 weeks and the best I can hope for is that maybe they can hear the heartbeat by doppler. Ugh. This no ultrasound is gonna kill me.

News Tomorrow, I Hope

Thank you all for your prayers, thoughts, and check-ins. I really, really appreciate it!

I have been feeling pretty good, actually. The bleeding is totally gone. Following the first discovery I did have a tiny bit of spotting this weekend but always brown. Now I haven't seen anything the last two days. And I'm also very happy to report that the cramping is gone. That had me worried well into the weekend.

I went for my second blood draw today (although the 11 inches of snow we got last night almost cancelled that!) and I very much hope to hear results tomorrow. I promise to post tomorrow night if I hear.

Thanks again, friends. :)

Update 2

Sooo...

I don't know what's going on. There has been no more bleeding since what I found yesterday at lunch time. There's been maybe some residual but nothing like what I saw that freaked me out. So that is good. But unfortunately I have had a lot of cramping today. Ranging from mild to moderate.

I went to my OB's office today to get a blood draw for HCG and I'll repeat on Monday so they can determine whether the level is rising appropriately. Did I tell you that they normally don't do an ultrasound until 20 weeks?! I think if my levels are appropriate that I may be demanding one now.

That's all I got for now; just playing the waiting game and hoping it will work out.

Update

At lunch time I found I was bleeding. Brown; more than spotting, less than a period. It has stopped but I have moderate cramping too. Not looking good. Waiting to see...

Prayers and good thoughts please.

Wow, You Guys

"Geez, she had one negative pregnancy test and disappeared off the face of the Earth."

I know. But seriously guys, it's been a crazy few months. My little department of two at work turned into one. The guy who recruited me to work with him resigned after 23 years with the company! And he had the nerve to have his last day on my one year anniversary with the company! You may remember that my company had a very bad year last year but luckily things have been much better. I am very impressed by our new CEO and we would all surely be out of jobs without her. But we still have a long way to go. Anyway, I could go on and on about how stressful my job has been but suffice it to say... I've been stressed.

Couple work stress with raising a two-and-a-half-year-old and baby making has just taken a back seat this time around. It is all I can do to use my OPKs early and often enough. Seriously, I could tell you my cycle day, BBT, and anything else cycle related every day last time. This time I have had to look back at the calendar and try to recruit hubby into helping me remember the first day of my last period.

Then things weren't happening quickly like I expected. That first month I had a positive OPK but then a BFN. Then the second month it turned out that ovulation was probably going to happen over our Christmas trip. When I was super sick. And we were sleeping in the guest room at my in-laws' house. With our toddler in the same bedroom. Right next door to MIL and FIL. It was not a conducive situation, to say the least. We gave it a last ditch effort the day we got home but too little, too late it seemed. Month three seemed to bring about no ovulation. So I got doc to up it to 100 mg of clomid for this month.

And then... anybody still reading? This morning I used what was supposed to be a super sensitive pregnancy test (10 mIU/mL detection limit). One of the dip kinds. To an amateur it would have looked negative but my keen eye saw the faintest little line. On my lunch break I got a digital test (supposedly less sensitive at 25 mIU/mL detection limit) and lo and behold, after three minutes there was the one word: Pregnant.

I'm pregnant you guys! By my calculations I am 3 weeks 4 days. I know; it's extremely early. So I'm quite nervous yet given my 50% success rate of pregnancy leading to an actual baby but I'm throwing it out there to y'all anyway. I'll keep you posted. :)