Bloat

So even though I've lost a few pounds my pants were uncomfortably tight this morning so I improvised.

My stomach has been very upset all day, I got hungry once and got a salad after a meeting but then after a few bites I had a stomach ache and had to stop eating. Then I had to do some research because the salad had gorgonzola cheese on it, apparently though the vast majority of cheeses, including soft cheese, in the US are pasteurized, its only high end cheese that is not, this was not high end.

I got my hair cut after work, and had to run pick up some prints,  I'm exhausted, can barely keep my eyes open, its going to be an even earlier night than usual I think

Doctor and Ultrasound

First and foremost; there is a baby in there! and it has a heartbeat, 123 to be exact!   The ultrasound went really well.  The setup at my doctor's office is nice, they have a screen on the wall right in front of the exam table that shows the image from the ultrasound so you don't have to try to twist around to see the tech's screen while she is working and has a probe up your hoo-ha.  So here she is, she is measuring at 6 weeks 1 day and apparently I ovulated from my left ovary, good to know(?).  

Then had to wait an hour to see the doctor, that went about as expected except because I am old and fat I have to take the test for gestational diabetes right away, even though I've never had blood sugar issues.  Blah. Anyway, got lectures on not gaining much weight, don't eat candy or much fruit (wtf?) and making sure I exercise. Oh and don't eat much processed food. I told hubby and doctor both that by the time I make it home from work I'm too tired to cook!

Lot's of blood work ordered, I don't have the list in front of me right now.  We also talked about getting the blood test that looks at the fetal dna to look for downs and other trisomys. Received a whole packet of brochures and information, got the OK for the trip to Mexico next month was just told to bring snacks for the plane, get up and move around and don't get overheated. 

I'll call tomorrow to schedule my tests. 

Oh and that dating means I got my bfp at 9dpo, so super early! 

oh, and no more hcg or progesterone test, Doc said that pregnancy is established now and there is no need, kind of a bummer was looking forward to seeing my hcg number. 

zzz

It's 8:30, I have to go to sleep tomorrow.
Ultrasound and Dr. appt tomorrow. I'm excited and scared.

I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning...

yeah, I tend to think in songs. Woke up feeling pretty good, I caught up on some sleep; came home from work and slept 2 hours, got up and ate (more on that later) and watched some TV, went back to bed around 11 and slept until 7:30.   Mid morning while hanging around the house I started getting light headed, we went out to run errands and get lunch and it got worse.  Just been resting since I got home.

I haven't really been hungry, well that's not exactly true, I'll get VERY hungry but eat a few bites and be done. The only thing I've been wanting to eat is protein.  On the way home from work I decided I wanted sloppy joes of all things, I haven't had those in years! I stopped and got the stuff and after I woke up from my nap I made them, it was good.

Weight has been staying about the same, I've been struggling to say well hydrated since my stomach has felt off. I'll take a new pic in the morning.

Fatigue and boob soreness has fluctuated.  I've had a few more bouts of nausea but nothing crazy. Worst one was at Costco today, the whole place smelled like fish, I had to get out of there quickly.

3rd Beta

Results are in, 3rd beta was 980! Doubling time of 35 hours! Great news!  I have my first ultrasound at 6 weeks (after I pushed a bit) on 3/30.

Worry...why do I let myself worry

Any Patsy Cline fans out there?  Her song Crazy is running through my head because that's how I feel.  So many things to worry about.
My uterus feels sore and crampy, is that normal?
*frantic Googling*
Okay, that is normal.
Next day, its not sore and crampy TODAY is  THAT normal?
*frantic Googling*.
Rinse and repeat for boob soreness, fatigue, nausea, heartburn, discharge, the list goes on and on

My 3rd beta is tomorrow and I'm hoping after that they will agree to an early ultrasound (after 6 weeks so I have a chance of seeing the heartbeat but before 8 weeks because I'll go nuts).

I took my last First Response (FRER) test today, the test line was darker than the control line but not blaring, figuring that is because I had to get up at 1:30 to pee and then woke up at 5:30 having to pee again so it was really only a 4 hour hold and not really FMU (first morning urine).

I'm still doing my BBT (basal body temperature), no lectures, it makes me feel better! Temp is maintaining which makes me feel better about my progesterone. Still debating on whether or not I want to ask to have my progesterone checked again when I get my blood drawn tomorrow.

Speaking of temperature, my body is not used to a temp this high (I run low normally) and I get overheated very easily these days, I was freezing all day yesterday though.

So, actual symptoms (trying to be objective)

Nausea/appetite- Some waves of nausea, a couple pretty strong. For the most part I have not been at all hungry but sometimes I get ravenous then I'll eat and after a few bites I'm done.  Weight has maintained, I think some of it is bloat though as my pants feel tighter.  My nausea  gets worse as the day progresses and is worse in the evenings, nothing out of hand yet. I did have some serious heartburn, I had to get up at 1:30 and take Tums.

Fatigue- I've done pretty well throughout the days, a little tireder than normal but not horrible like the first few days, but by 8pm I am done and need to go to bed.  I was out at a club meeting until 9:30 last night and driving home I thought I was going to fall asleep behind the wheel.  I have to do the same tonight and am seriously considering taking a nap in my office during lunch.

Boob soreness- Sunday it was bad, almost cried when I took my bra off before bed, that could have been because I went to the zoo that morning and had my heavy camera bag slung across my body for several hours.  The soreness fluctuates from day to day gets worse towards evening.

Discharge- guess this falls into the TMI category but had a LOT of cervical mucus for several days, still some but not as much, its fluctuating throughout the day and day by day.

Guess that's about it for now, will update tomorrow after I hear from my beta.

progression is good

For someone who has gone through a loss, getting a BFP only to see it start fading the next day, this progression is beautiful and reassuring.  I've stopped testing every day, only doing every other day now. I have my 3rd beta hcg on Thursday (4 days from now).

So symptoms: Freaked out yesterday because I thought my boobs were slightly less sore and I was not as fatigued, was afraid my progesterone was dropping. Well by the time I went to bed those fears had been put to bed as well. Boobs were SO sore and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I think it was just that I had been able to get some rest.  Woke up with super sore boobs, tired and a little bit of nausea.  I headed out to the zoo for a bit and accidentally walked though the ape house and about threw up, had to get out of there.  Finished there and went to the grocery store, home now, waiting on the fish sticks I wanted for lunch to cook, I'm STARVING! We'll see how much of it I actually eat.

That's about it, a few random pains in my lower abdomen, not really cramps, just kind of sore like pains. Hard to describe.

Tired, so, so, tired

 I'm 4 weeks pregnant today.

The fatigue is.... overwhelming. By 3pm at work I am barely able to function.  I came home from work today at 3:30 and immediately went to sleep and slept until 6. It's 8:30 now and I'm ready to go back to sleep.  I'm comforted by the fatigue though because it means I'm still pregnant, yay!

The other comfort is my sore boobs. So new fact about me, I have large boobs, quite large actually and this is not because I'm fat, they stay around no matter how much weight I lose.  Sore boobs means my progesterone is staying up, progesterone worries me so the sore boobs make me happy.  I'll confess, I'll poke them periodically just to make sure they are still sore.  I had my progesterone tested the day I had my first beta, it was fine at 15.7, I have my 3rd beta schedule for next Thursday, I think I'll ask for another progesterone check then too just for my peace of mind.  In the meantime I poke my boobs and every time I go to the bathroom I look for blood.

I haven't really been nauseated yet, just a couple waves of queasiness.  I have however had some instances of diarrhea but that is not surprising as I have IBS-D.

I have begun having increased cervical mucus and I've been peeing a lot.  Oh and the crying at commercials has started.

Welcome

Welcome! Thanks for joining me on what I hope will be a healthy and happy journey to motherhood.  A little bit about  me... I'm 40 years old, well technically 40 years and 4 months. I'm fat, not just a bit overweight, I'm fat.  I'm just under 5'7" and as of the day I got my positive HPT I weigh 241 pounds.  And as you have guessed, I'm pregnant!

It's been a long journey getting here, we have battled with infertility for over 3 years, I'm not going to bore you with that whole story, but if you want to read about it, head over to http://anivfblog.blogspot.com/.  What I will say is that we had a loss last November so my panic and paranoia are in full swing already.

What can you expect here?  Well, I've never done this before so I'm doing this as much for myself as I am for others, I want to keep a record of this journey. I'll try to be honest as possible, there will probably be times that I overshare.  I may post every day or I may go some time between posts, I don't know yet.  I will post some pictures. Feel free to subscribe to get updates.

That's all for now... stay tuned.