tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88110730673564108192024-03-13T04:47:53.145-07:00My Crappy TubesI have infertility caused by crappy tubes. It's a little sad, a little funny, and a lot overwhelming.Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-24277690477514524762013-06-25T14:30:00.002-07:002013-06-25T14:30:35.332-07:0017w Drumroll, Please....<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And the babies are….<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">TWO BOYS!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’re so excited – both of our families are very girl
heavy, so having boys makes things feel even more special!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus I am pretty excited for the (at least
temporary) reprieve from all the complicated baggage that comes with raising a
strong, confident girl in this crazy world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hopefully I'll get a chance one day, but I think I’ll be better prepared with a few years
of parenting under my belt first!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anyway, as an apology for not writing so much lately
(three things happened at once: I got a promotion, we bought a house, and my
pregnancy got really boring... and then we went on vacation), here are some ultrasound pictures of our boys!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pW7_8vAJRsg/UcoLlmj8qSI/AAAAAAAAAKM/789pI0c4iLA/s1600/BabyA3D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pW7_8vAJRsg/UcoLlmj8qSI/AAAAAAAAAKM/789pI0c4iLA/s1600/BabyA3D.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby A</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pd2B2mu2iuo/UcoLmnnInEI/AAAAAAAAAKU/zstKRdiIftU/s1600/BabyAProfile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pd2B2mu2iuo/UcoLmnnInEI/AAAAAAAAAKU/zstKRdiIftU/s1600/BabyAProfile.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby A</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vOuG0N8do7w/UcoLnu5pN2I/AAAAAAAAAKc/ddXtVEHpDos/s1600/BabyB3D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vOuG0N8do7w/UcoLnu5pN2I/AAAAAAAAAKc/ddXtVEHpDos/s1600/BabyB3D.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby B</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9f_oBtPJ0gM/UcoLo1wXeEI/AAAAAAAAAKk/quHTHk7iX24/s1600/BabyBProfile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9f_oBtPJ0gM/UcoLo1wXeEI/AAAAAAAAAKk/quHTHk7iX24/s1600/BabyBProfile.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby B</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-37531426121194663562013-06-10T10:11:00.004-07:002013-06-10T10:12:02.609-07:0014w6d: Reading MaterialNo big updates at the moment, but I just wanted to share this Washington Post Magazine story - I started reading it when I got to work, then had to stop because I was tearing up. Then I went back to it while I ate lunch, and sure enough it made me ugly-cry at my desk.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/for-men-infertility-often-becomes-a-private-heartache/2013/06/05/049e33ca-ba6b-11e2-b94c-b684dda07add_story.html">For men, infertility often becomes a private heartache</a><br />
<br />
It also comes with this absolutely gorgeous picture of sperm and egg, which really reminds you of how amazing and miraculous the whole process is.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hqg43PLWmeg/UbYIpe2f1MI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/T_IcTBopk0Q/s1600/wapo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hqg43PLWmeg/UbYIpe2f1MI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/T_IcTBopk0Q/s1600/wapo.JPG" height="258" width="400" /></a></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-82869536157203893132013-05-31T14:13:00.002-07:002013-05-31T14:13:29.007-07:0013w3d: Shopping Time
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First of all, my NT scan went great – before the scan, due
to our ages, the babies had a risk of down syndrome of about 1 in 700.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, baby A’s risk is about 1 in 7,500, and
baby B’s is 1 in more than 10,000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it
seems pretty safe the say that we’re in the clear!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Risks for all of the other trisotomies are
way down, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only hope going in was
that the risk of a problem after the scan would be less than the risk of
miscarriage with an amnio so that we would know not to do the amnio, and I’m SO
happy that it worked out!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The ultrasound was a little long, but spending an hour
looking at the babies was fun – we even started to get a sense of their
personalities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby A is going to be our
troublemaker; no matter how much the tech jiggled my stomach, she refused to
get into the right position (at one point, the tech even thought she might be
holding her feet in her hands!), and the entire time we were looking at her
face she was opening and closing her mouth… I’m wondering if that means she’ll
be hungry, talkative, or both!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby B,
meanwhile, was super cooperative, and even waved to us!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, sort of… he made a hand movement that
the tech described as “saluting” us, and Henry thought looked more like he was
giving us the finger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haha.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And no, despite the fact that I assigned them
genders here, the tech would not make any guesses on sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I get to go back in three weeks for
them to start checking my cervix, and she said they will most likely be able to
tell then!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This weekend I’m going on a very important shopping trip:
maternity clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s time; I pretty
much exhausted my closet finding things to wear to work this week, and I’m
doing only slightly better outside of working hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point that I really need maternity
clothes was really driven home this morning as I dressed for work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I planned to wear a pair of khakis that have always been
a little too big, but I hadn’t worn in a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I ironed them (and I almost NEVER iron so you know I was desperate) and
proceeded to get dressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pulled up
the pants, tried to close them…. and a good three inches remained between the
button and the button hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I considered
it for a second, sucked in everything that can be sucked, and just managed to
get them to close.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until I
turned around – there on my butt was the world’s most obvious panty line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And could you even sort of make out the
pattern on my underwear through the thin pants?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yup, you could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I signed heavily,
walked over to my underwear drawer, and started searching for the pair of nude,
no-line briefs I’d bought for a wedding with a thin bridesmaid dress, all the
while wondering if I’d be able to button the pants again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No luck on the briefs, but there staring up
at me was another possible solution to my problem: my one and only thong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know some women love thongs, but I am not one of them;
I’ve just never been able to get comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And this was a particularly evil thong, a cheap novelty thing I got as a
gift at my bridal shower when my butt was at least a size smaller than it is
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it was a light color and would
mean my ironing efforts were not in vain.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, that’s how I ended up walking around all day with
pinching pants and a permanent wedgie from a too-small thong with the word “bride”
emblazoned across the crotch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t wait to go
shopping!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-40751818747031962512013-05-29T11:57:00.002-07:002013-05-29T11:57:40.780-07:0013w1d: Confidence Rising<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, after that last post, I realized how silly I was being
and decided to tell the rest of my friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I called them up, everyone was happy, and I haven’t worried since!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, right.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, after that last post the achiness in my pelvis
continued to nag at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t hurt
much but it was constant and didn’t seem to be improving, and I started to
worry that I had a UTI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally I
decided to call my doctor to ease my worries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everyone online calls their doctor and is told, “If it doesn’t hurt more
than menstrual cramps and there’s no spotting, it’s normal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t and there wasn’t, so I made the
call confident I’d get that reassurance and be able to move on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t - instead, the nurse said, “We have
an appointment open at 9:15 tomorrow, would you like to come in then?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once an appointment was offered I couldn’t say
no (obviously they suspected something was horribly wrong if they weren’t
giving me the standard line about spotting!), so I made plans to go in the next
morning.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, when I woke up the next day the pain was almost
gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But since the missed appointment
charge is almost as much as my co-pay, and I’ll never pass up the opportunity for
an ultrasound, I decided to go in anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The doctor was really nice (I’ve now met three out of the four doctors
in this practice and like them all) and told me not to feel silly about coming
in; since they have the ultrasound machine right there in their office, she
said that they don’t mind taking a quick peek when we’re worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that’s what we did and – shocker – the babies
were fine, even moving around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also
checked my cervix and – shocker again – it was long and closed, just like it’s
supposed to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was there for less than five minutes but it was very reassuring,
especially since at the time of that ultrasound I was past the 12 week mark so
starting to be in the range where some people say that the first trimester is
over. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with that reassurance, we really
did tell a LOT of people over the weekend!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are still a few friends left in the dark, but just because we
haven’t seen them in person since we started telling and haven’t gotten to the
point of calling people with the news yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I even told my coworkers!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And,
amazingly, I haven’t had my post-telling panic attack thinking that we jinxed
everything!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of telling, I also figured out the solution to a
problem that’s been nagging at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See, I’ve
been torn about what exactly to do when we “announce” on Facebook (I’m not a
huge fan of Facebook “announcements” but whatever).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to acknowledge my infertility in some
way, since I’m sure there are others out there having problems and I want them
to know that they’re not alone, but I don’t want the news of my infertility (which
has been kept 100% OFF Facebook) to overshadow the happy news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically I’ve been trying to figure out a
secret code that only infertiles will be able to decipher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I’ve finally decided to do is to “like” my fertility
center on Facebook at about the same time that I announce my pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always wanted to like the center, but
haven’t been brave enough to publically do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By doing it at about the same time as I go public, I figure that anyone who
is curious will put two and two together, and people who don’t think about
infertility probably won’t even notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
really happy with this plan, and Henry even said that he is going to do the
exact same thing!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we’re almost ready to go public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assuming everything goes well at our NT
screen tomorrow, there will be nothing holding us back!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-15499457210987388922013-05-21T07:54:00.001-07:002013-05-24T11:57:33.495-07:0012weeks: Superstitious<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Want to hear about one of my family “scandals?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't get too excited - I use scandal in the loosest sense of the
word, since the only one who thinks it’s more than a juicy tidbit of family
history is my 91 year old grandmother.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you ready?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My grandmother was born as the result of a
tryst between my great-grandmother and – gasp! – a Jewish man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jews and Catholics are, of course, not all that different
– we’re all <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/03/in-which-i-prove-that-blueberries-are.html">neurotic</a>, feel guilty a lot, and have <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/02/mothers-are-crazy.html">overbearing mothers</a> (joking, of course!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So being one eighth Jewish was never something
I considered much until recently, when I discovered how superstitious Jews are
about pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most superstitious Jews,
it turns out, won’t <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">reveal a baby’s
intended name before the bris, won’t buy anything for the nursery until the
baby is born, and have all sorts of customs to ward off the evil eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Jewish co-worker tells me that when she
was pregnant, her own mother wouldn’t even look at the ultrasound pictures.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Jews, it turns
out, are excellent at not counting their chickens before they hatch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in that sense I am 100% Jewish.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">I am 12 weeks
today and, <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-ob-appointment.html">despite what I said in my last post</a>, still not comfortable telling anyone about my pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The dull, consistent ache I’ve been feeling
in my uterus for the last few days hasn’t been helping matters, even though
intellectually I know that it’s probably the result of my uterus growing really
fast + me doing a lot of walking this past weekend.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one at work other than my boss knows, most
of my friends don’t know, my dad’s family doesn’t know, and Facebook most
definitely does NOT know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cringe
whenever someone gets excited or squealy about the babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry and I are getting close to buying that <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/04/adjusting-plans.html">house I wrote about before</a>, and it makes me so nervous to make such a big life
change for two beings the size of limes whose heartbeats I haven’t confirmed in
nearly two weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t even want to
post about the pregnancy here, because I don’t want to jinx myself by saying
everything’s fine when I haven’t had recent reassurance that it is.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though my lips are sealed, the not telling is
getting a little ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
starting to show enough that my friends have been pulled aside by acquaintances
who ask if I’m pregnant (the “or getting fat” remains unspoken).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The majority of my pre-pregnancy clothes don’t
fit; in a few days, I’ll be down to one pair of work pants and one pair of non-yoga
casual pants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As my exhaustion eases up
and I go out into the world more, I won’t be able to help people finding out,
whether it’s me or my belly doing the telling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or, more likely, Henry, who feels no such qualms about announcing the
status of my uterus to everyone he sees on the street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, dear God of Jewish superstition, please just grant
me nine more days of secrecy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On May 30, I
will have my NT screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will see the
babies, hear their heartbeats, hopefully be reassured about their health, and
recharge my faith that this pregnancy is real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And then I’ll come home and, I promise, tell everyone I see before I
have the chance to get worried again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-15200103030161238082013-05-10T08:51:00.001-07:002013-05-10T08:51:54.601-07:00First OB Appointment<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something about having my first OB appointment yesterday
seems to have flipped a switch in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Suddenly, I actually believe that I am PREGNANT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m even tempted to put it on Facebook (I’m
not that crazy, but we have roughly doubled the number of people who know).</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Part of my excitement is because of the 10 week
milestone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it’s not as big as the
one that I’ll hit in a few weeks, a lot of things that I’ve read point out that
10 weeks is when the baby makes the jump from embryo to fetus, and risks go
down significantly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My odds of
miscarriage, it seems, are now down to about 2-3% – still greater than the .5%
risk after the first trimester is over, but pretty small.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I think mostly, it was the OB appointment itself that
made me feel so good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor I saw
is part of the same practice that <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/02/awesome-gyn-visit-part-2.html">my other wonderful doctor</a> (who is now on
maternity leave) is part of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked
this doctor as much as my previous one – she was funny and energetic, and she
has a set of IVF twins so immediately understood how I was feeling and answered
a lot of my questions before I asked them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Aside: Fun </span>moment from the exam room…. I’m sitting on the edge of the table in the very warm, very small room waiting for the doctor to walk in, when I’m suddenly hit by one of my most awkward pregnancy <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/04/symptoms-at-8w3d.html">symptoms</a>: incredibly stinky gas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I turn to Henry and whisper, “I really have to fart so the doctor is probably going to walk in right…” And then the door opens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having an exam while clenching is NOT FUN, but I managed to save us all from the misery of my pregnant gas.</em></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But the very best thing was that she treated me like I
was a boring, low-risk patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t
even take an exact reading of the babies’ heart rates – she eyeballed them,
said they looked good, and that was that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She quickly measured the babies, and when I mentioned my concern about the small
sac, she looked at it, said it seemed fine, and moved on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She checked my cervix and felt my uterus,
declared all was as it should be, and I was on my way out the door with a bag
full of vitamin samples.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yes, eventually I’d like to get to spend a little more
time with the doctor, ask lots of questions, get all of my measurements, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But after spending the last ten weeks getting
way too much information at the fertility center, it was such a relief to walk
out of a doctor’s office with absolutely nothing to worry about or Google.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh, and the very best thing (besides, of course, my healthy
babies!)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was cleared to stop taking my
estrogen and progesterone supplements!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are no words for how wonderful it feels to walk around without the
progesterone suppository slowly leaking out of my vagina; I am panty liner-free
and it is AWESOME.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry had better
watch out – between stress and my less-than-fresh-down-there feeling, I haven’t
been much in the mood for husband and wife special snuggle time (no, we don’t
really call it that).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With no worries
and clean lady parts, that might be changing soon!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-86906793306253914502013-05-06T11:53:00.001-07:002013-05-06T12:25:02.120-07:009w6d: My Day So Far<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>I was away from home this
weekend, which meant that I ate pretty badly and my body feels a little
out of whack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Then, w</span>hen we got home
I took an awesome nap, but it meant that I wasn’t that tired when it was time
to go to bed at 10 and I did a lot of tossing and turning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we accidentially left our pillows in the car
and didn’t feel like going to get them, which meant we were sleeping with fewer
pillows on the bed than we are used to, which further exacerbated the sleep issues. Here's how my day has gone so far with all of those factors working against me...</em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">7:00 a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wake up
after a horrible night's sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have awful
taste in my mouth from the crackers I ate in the middle of the night when I
felt nauseated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go downstairs to eat
breakfast but there’s only a tiny bit of milk for my cereal because we didn’t do
our normal Sunday grocery shopping.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">7:30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get in
shower, feeling like a zombie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fantasize about calling in sick, but don't because I'm already taking Thursday off for my first prenatal appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beg Henry to walk the dog, which is usually
my morning chore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">7:45<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get out of
shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Headache hasn’t gone away; guess
it’s here for good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fantasize about
going back to bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">8:00 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank Henry
for walking the dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get dressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My shirt is tight; this might be its last
wear for the next nine months.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">8:10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grab few
remaining pregnancy-friendly foods (last apple, cheese stick, granola bar) to
take to work. Tell <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/01/snow.html">dog</a> sorry since he still thinks I'm going to walk him, especially after I reach for my umbrella (which is right next to his leash). Leave for work.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">9:00 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arrive at
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Decide that I’m not going to be a
martyr – Tylenol is safe during pregnancy, and I have a horrible headache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Raid the office first aid kit.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">9:30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Headache is
gone but Tylenol has upset my stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I <em><strong>hate</strong></em> being nauseous. If I was offered a deal where I could escape all morning sickness in return for not being allowed an epidural during childbirth, I would take it in a second. Unfortunately no one arrives to offer me that deal and the nausea persists.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">9:40<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eat all of
the food I’ve packed in the hopes of watering down the Tylenol and settling my
stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It kind of works.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">10:00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try to make
grocery list for after work trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thought of grocery store makes me want to vomit, then take a nap.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">11:00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get e-mail
from Babycenter about this week in my pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How big is a kumquat? Add kumquats to grocery list.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">12:00 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Office
meeting briefly distracts me from feeling horrible.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:00 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Head down to
deli for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plan on getting a BLT on
a bagel, but there’s no bacon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have
choice between deli meat (listeria!) or tuna (mercury!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Decide on tuna since everything that I’ve
read has said its ok to eat in moderation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Feel guilty anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also get a
ginger ale and a bag of chips.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:05<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Google eating
tuna when pregnant before biting into sandwich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
Thanks to a typo, instead pull up information about playing the tuba while pregnant.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:10<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tuna is
delicious!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Ahh, m</span>y stomach
feels so much better! But I’m still exhausted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe I can put my head down on my desk for a second and take a little
rest?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:31<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, that’s
really uncomfortable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:32<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I
sure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m really tired.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1:33<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, that
just doesn’t work.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2:00 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nausea has
returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doubt tuna will be delicious
on the way back up.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2:30<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wonder if I’m going
to get any work done today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably
not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>2:35 Decide my only hope of feeling better is to complain on my blog.</o:p></span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-13790702164784980712013-04-30T10:08:00.001-07:002013-05-06T11:58:06.257-07:009 weeks: Graduated!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sad news first: we lost Baby C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a huge surprise; at my last
ultrasound – the only one where we saw the third heartbeat – he was measuring a
week behind, so we knew it was a possibility.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s sad, but I’m also a little relieved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three is more complicated than two in every
possible way, from big, scary things like the babies being born very prematurely,
to smaller, inconvenient things like the near impossibility of finding a decent
triplet stroller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are two parents,
we have two arms, I have two boobs – we can handle two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I really do think it’s for the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby C was also the identical twin of Baby B,
so in a weird way I don’t really feel like we lost a wholly distinct baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assuming B continues to do well, I’ll never
wonder whether C would have been a boy or a girl, what color eyes or hair they
would have had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know C would have
developed his own personality, but genetically I still have him with me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, onto happier news!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, my appointment went really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby A is perfect, in a nice big gestational
sac with a heart rate of about 184 beats per minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s exactly where she is supposed to be
right now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRlImen7q6w/UX_5dwxizdI/AAAAAAAAAJA/HKNxFy4aGbA/s1600/9w+ultrasound.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rRlImen7q6w/UX_5dwxizdI/AAAAAAAAAJA/HKNxFy4aGbA/s1600/9w+ultrasound.JPG" height="320" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby A</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Baby B is the one that’s going to keep worrying me – although
he is the right size, his heartbeat seems a little fast at 205, and his sac is measuring
about a week and a half smaller than it should be at his gestational age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s what I’m thinking:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">First, the heart rate - He was moving around a lot (so exciting to see!), which
can increase the heart rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the
doctor said that 9 weeks is about when the heart rate peaks, so we might have
just caught it at its fastest point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
also haven’t read much about problems with fast heart rates, only slow ones.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Second, the sac – Babies B and C were in the same sac, but
separated by a membrane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When measuring
Baby B’s sac, the doctor only measured from the membrane over, even though there
was still a lot of the sac still being taken up by Baby C.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse thinks the sac was crowded because
there were two, and as Baby C and the membrane dissolve Baby B will take over
his real estate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Makes sense to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, the sac did grow since last time. Not as quickly as the baby, but it is bigger.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, I think baby B is higher up in my uterus, where I’ve
heard it’s harder for them to get a good image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My uterus is also a little tilted, which from what I understand makes
things even harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the image might
not be that reliable.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, Baby A also had a slightly small sac last time, and
it definitely caught up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So maybe Baby B’s
sac will catch up, too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time to drink
even more water!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So even though Googling “small gestational sac” can
give you nightmares, I’m not too worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As I Google more and more things, the main determining factor in
outcomes seems to be whether or not the doctor is worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever I read a story, if the woman’s
doctor isn’t worried, she’s usually fine; if the doctor is worried, often there
turns out to be something to worry about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That has been true for me: the doctor </span><a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/04/beta-hell.html"><span style="font-family: inherit;">wasn’t worried about my betas</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and
they were fine; the doctor said that Baby C might not make it because of
measuring behind, and he didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
doctor isn’t worried about the heart rate or sac size – he said that everything
looked good and that the important thing is that the baby is measuring on
track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I’m going to stick with that!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, the most exciting news of all: I’m a
graduate!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m officially done with my
fertility center and get to go to a normal OB starting next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were lots of hugs, and promises to send
pictures and come back to show off the babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m going to miss my little fertility center family!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-30525632976025797562013-04-26T07:49:00.001-07:002013-04-26T11:15:47.450-07:00Symptoms at 8w3d<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I thought I’d write a little bit about my symptoms at
8 weeks (8w3d, to be exact). I’m still not feeling as many symptoms as I think I
“should,” but they’re definitely present.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Tiredness</strong>: This peaks after lunch, at about
1 p.m. I have to fight the urge to fall asleep at my desk. For a while I
thought I wasn’t very tired in the evening, but I think that’s because I’ve
been resting - one night I was out and about and had to go home at 8 because I
was so tired. Then last night I went to a friend’s house to catch up on Mad Men
and got home at 10:15, and you would have thought I was coming home at 3 a.m.
by how “late” it felt.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Boobs</strong>: Nope, not sore, although they might
be a tiny bit bigger.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Peeing constantly</strong>: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m definitely peeing more, but I am also
drinking a ton of water – I have a cup at work that holds 20 ounces, and my
goal is to finish three of them before I leave for the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I keep drinking in the evening but don’t
keep track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figure I end up drinking
at least 80 ounces of water a day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So am
I peeing more because I’m pregnant, or because there’s all this water sloshing
around in there?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knows.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Hunger</strong>: I have to force myself to eat my breakfast, but
once it digests for about an hour I’m suddenly starving. I stay starving until
about lunch, and after that slowly get less and less hungry throughout the
afternoon.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Nausea</strong>: I still only get this a tiny bit, when my stomach
is empty or I’m confronted with one of my food aversions (see below). I can prevent
the hunger-nausea in the morning by eating breakfast (toast with peanut butter
and a glass of milk – aka a mix of carbs and protein) as soon as I wake up.
Sometimes it gets a little worse later in the evening, but even then I wouldn’t
call it nausea as much as lack of desire for food.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Food aversions</strong>: Chicken salad – the thought of it can
gross me out. In fact, just did. Other than that, I’m turned off by anything I
ate yesterday; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>yesterday I ate and liked
almonds, and today they made my stomach turn. Tomorrow I’ll probably like them
again. I also don’t like eating in restaurants – the two times I’ve done it have
been my worst days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first theory was
that it’s the grease in the food, but getting take out doesn’t cause the same
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So maybe it’s just the smells
of a restaurant subtly turning my stomach?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or maybe being out makes me more tired and that upsets my stomach?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a mystery! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, I used to love dessert but now, while
I don’t hate it, I don’t really care about it.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Food cravings</strong>: Impossible to tell. Yesterday a cheese
stick was the most delicious thing to ever cross my lips. Today it was a
cranberry nut muffin. I consistently love classic Utz potato chips, though. So
salty and delicious! At the moment I really want a BLT on a plain bagel. We can
put some avocado on it, too, since that’s a “pregnancy super food.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And cheddar, for some calcium and a little
more protein.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mmmmm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the record, a BLT on a bagel was pretty
much my favorite hangover food before pregnancy, so it’s not that strange that
I want one now.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Cramps</strong>: Yesterday I felt crampy for the first time in
about 5 weeks. Of course I immediately started worrying, so I Googled it. Turns
out that 8 weeks is about when another round of cramps shows up because your
uterus is starting to expand even more. It was great to be a textbook example
of something!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Other</strong>: This isn’t directly related to being pregnant, but
I tried to make the switch to a “natural” deodorant without aluminum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, apparently my body prefers the
chemicals, because my armpits are currently covered in a red, scabby rash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And they stink. </span>Gross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So those are all of my symptoms! I feel so incredibly
lucky – they’ve barely interfered with my normal life at all. The nurses have all been shocked that I feel so great with triplets growing in there. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Woo for being 2/3
of the way through the first trimester!<u1:p></u1:p><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One more sonogram with my RE next Tuesday,
and then I “graduate” and am like every other pregnant person (well, every other person pregnant with triplets).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once this last
sonogram is past we’re going to start telling a LOT more people, so that will
be really fun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-31242788737883953342013-04-22T14:21:00.000-07:002013-04-22T14:22:40.580-07:00Adjusting Plans<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Sorry for the long silence!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole triplets thing has thrown us into a
bit of a tailspin, so we’ve been really busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While we’re happy, it was completely unanticipated and changes a lot of
our plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one, where we will be
living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our current house simply cannot
handle triplets, so we have to move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Moving brings up the question of, “To where?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We currently live pretty close to Henry’s family, but
about two hours from mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Henry’s
family (and he does, too, of course), but my family just has more of a culture
of helpfulness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To sum it up in a really
stereotypical and possibly offensive way, I come from a big sprawling Irish
Catholic family, and Henry’s family is very WASPy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sense?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, on top of the fact that my family is the kind of
family where you walk into a gathering and are immediately handed a baby, my
mom doesn’t work and is really excited about helping out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My siblings are all younger and don’t have
kids, and are all really excited about helping out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My two cousins in the area have four kids
under four between the two of them, and there’s a lot of baby sharing and play
dates and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it just makes more
sense to live down there with triplets.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As luck would have it, the perfect four-bedroom,
three-bath, two-acre yard house is on the market for a price we can afford in
the middle of the cute little downtown of my family’s town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could make an offer tomorrow!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Except.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Except, the town is a little bit isolated, and Henry
doesn’t have a job lined up for down there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Neither of us wants him to do the grueling hour-long commute into DC, so
we want to wait until we’re sure he’s going to have a somewhat-convenient job
before making an offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all the while
there’s another family circling the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So he’s frantically looking for a job in the hopes that we can beat the
other family and get this house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It’s
really a great house, and makes moving out of the city and to the middle of
nowhere MUCH less of a sacrifice.)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But at the same time, I’m not exactly excited about the
thought of betting large sums of money that I’m going to STAY pregnant with
triplets – my last ultrasound was only at 7 weeks 2 days, and even though we
saw strong heartbeats we still have a LONG way to go before we’re out of the
danger period for losing one, two, or all three babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have another ultrasound at 9 weeks exactly,
so hopefully we will know more and feel more confident then.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if I am really having triplets, we have to act fast
on everything, because having triplets cuts two months off the end of the
pregnancy, and probably another month off for me because of bed rest. Considering that I'm already 8 weeks into the pregnancy, I'm already feeling a time crunch!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, it’s just a lot to think about, and you can probably tell
by my writing that we’re feeling a little crazy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know it’ll all work out, but it’s just a
little wild right now while we rethink everything but also try to wait and see
what's really happening.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And all this before we’ve even told our friends…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-88281521009197592442013-04-18T13:57:00.002-07:002013-04-18T13:57:50.720-07:00Three.It's official: one of our eggs split. At my ultrasound this morning there were three heartbeats.<br />
<br />
Holy crap, this is WAY more than we bargained for. I'm still sorting it out.<br />
<br />
TRIPLETS.<br />
<br />
TRIPLETS.<br />
<br />
TRIPLETS.<br />
<br />
We always did want three kids, I just never imagined we'd be having them all at once.Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-42084443146639134722013-04-09T14:21:00.002-07:002013-04-10T11:06:23.076-07:00One, Two... Three?
<span style="font-size: small;">This morning, in the shower, I was shaving my legs in
anticipation of my ultrasound. (I always
figure it’s a good idea not to give the doctor rug burn as he comes at me with
the wand.) I was distracted and nervous
and using a new razor, and cut my ankle – not just a nick, but one of those
cuts that seems to take out a whole chunk of skin and bleeds forever. Gross.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It felt like a bad omen.
All I could think about was how if this was a movie, that blood would
symbolize the fact that I was about to get bad news. Needless to say, I was feeling a little dark.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And then Henry walked into the bathroom. “I feel like we’re
going to get good news today!” he said.
I showed him my foot. “Well, that’s
the bad thing, and the ultrasound will be the good thing,” he said, WAY too cheerfully
for how nervous I felt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">As we drove to the doctor, my dad, my mom, and my cousin
Tracy (<a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-personal-worst-pregnancy-announcement.html">who is having her baby tomorrow</a>) all texted me. WHY had I decided to tell my cousins,
again? It just felt like more people to
disappoint if we saw something bad on the ultrasound. (For what it’s worth, I had told them about
my pregnancy, but spilling the ultrasound news was all my mom’s doing). Tracy told me that, at 6 weeks exactly, I
should be able to see a heartbeat.
Great, more pressure for my uterus.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We waited nervously in the waiting room, and then got
called back to the ultrasound room. I
barely had my pants off before the doctor walked into the room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“How are you feeling?” he asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Nervous. I was a
little bit scared by that last hcg number.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Why, because you think it might be twins?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“No! I’d love
twins! Because it slowed down so much.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Oh it wasn’t that bad.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And thus ended the saga of the slow-rising beta (though
not before Henry and the doctor ganged up and did a little teasing about my
propensity for Googling).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“What can we expect to see on the ultrasound?” I asked
the doctor. I’d done my Googling, of
course, but wanted to hear what he expected so that I wouldn’t freak out if we
saw less than what I was hoping for.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“We should see a gestational sac and a yolk sac. Maybe a heartbeat,” he said. I laid back on the table, forcing myself to
acknowledge that if we didn’t see a heartbeat, it didn’t mean anything
awful. We only MIGHT see one.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A second later the ultrasound wand was inside of me, and
up on the screen appeared…. TWO gestational sacs! TWINS!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The doctor set to work measuring the more visible one,
and then we could see it: the tiny little flicker of a heartbeat. So much relief, so much happiness, I teared
up. It was even strong enough that the
doctor was able to pick up the sound of it with the ultrasound wand; we couldn’t
hear anything, but we could see the little sound waves, pulsing at a perfect
pace of 103 beats per minute. Everything
measured exactly right.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Then he moved up to the other gestational sac.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“I don’t want to alarm you,” he said, “but I see two yolk
sacs here.” I started laughing, making the ultrasound
jump all over the screen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">TRIPLETS?!?!?!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Only maybe – in the double-yolk sac, the doctor only
found one heartbeat. It’s possible that’s
it’s too early, and it’s also possible that one of them didn’t make it. I asked if the vanishing triplet could have
caused my wonky numbers, and he said yes.
That’s my theory of the moment. Henry
says that clearly the twin that might have eaten his twin is the evil twin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Baby number two was measuring a few days behind – at 5w4d
– which is pretty much fine at this point from what I read. We didn’t measure the second heartbeat but it
looked similar to the first to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, in conclusion, everything is wonderful and I have at
least two adorable little beating hearts inside of me! The only bad thing is that we were in SUCH a
state of joy and shock that we walked out and I forgot the ultrasound picture I’m
pretty sure they printed for us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But I get to go back and see them again next Thursday, so
hopefully I’ll get a picture then!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-70554757929573229492013-04-08T12:23:00.004-07:002013-04-08T12:25:42.225-07:00Only Me<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here’s one for the “it could only happen to me” file.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday, I went to my friend Chloe’s birthday
party. It was her 30<sup>th</sup>, and
she had decided to relive her 10<sup>th</sup> birthday with 90s themed decorations,
food, and games. One of the games that
she and her husband had planned was a massive Capture the Flag battle. Fun, right?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, except for the fact that they had re-imagined it into
a drinking game. Instead of flags, we
were retrieving bottles of booze, which we had to bring back to our safe zone
and chug in order to win.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Oh, and the bottles each had our names on them, so that
there could be no cheating by not having someone drink their own bottle.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Oh, and the bottles had all been pre-filled, so I couldn’t
fill mine up with something non-alcoholic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Oh, and Henry was not on my team to help me be sneaky. In fact, most of my teammates were people I
didn’t know very well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Henry and I were giggling SO HARD when the rules for the
game were explained. I’d been pregnant a
week and was suddenly in one of the hardest to get out of drinking situations
of my life?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Thankfully, Chloe knows we’ve been trying (though not the
details of my infertility) and is used to me occasionally being a teetotaler for
a week or two, so I was able to just pull her aside and say “What if you’re not
drinking?” There must have been
something different in my voice because she said “For real this time?!” but
thankfully she recovered and said that I didn’t have to answer that before I stammered
out something awkward. She gave me
permission to pour out my bottle instead of drinking it, which I did and all was well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, the rumors have probably started. (Really, they
probably started last week when I passed up the opportunity to have $1.25 good
beer, but I was able to use the Lent excuse that time).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, ultrasound tomorrow! I’m feeling much better about my beta
numbers, so thank you all for the reassurance.
It’s so easy when you’re reading stories on the internet to focus on the
ones that turn out badly instead of the ones that turn out well. When I forced myself to look only at the ones
that were closer to my actual situation, it seemed like those usually ended up fine. Next time I do this, I might just ask for the initial beta number but then only have the nurse tell me if I'm rising at an acceptable rate. Too much information = too much stress.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">All that is not to say that I’m not still very nervous; however, I will be exactly
six weeks tomorrow so there’s a pretty good chance that I will get to see a
heartbeat to ease my worries. Henry is
hoping for two, but to me and my nerves that just seems greedy. I say let’s stick with one good one.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I promise to keep you updated!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-20826548445436310972013-04-04T06:31:00.003-07:002013-04-04T07:58:19.759-07:00Beta Hell<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Yesterday was my fourth and last beta, and I was hoping
for a good strong number to fortify me for the wait until my ultrasound (which
has been scheduled for next Tuesday).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Instead I got 2,543.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now, actually, this is a fine number, it’s the doubling
time that has me worried. Based on beta
doubling calculators, between my first and second beta (305-621 over 2 days),
there was a doubling time of about 47 hours.
Between second and third (621-1634 over 3 days), it increased a little
to 51 hours. But between the third and fourth
(1634-2543 over 2 days), it went allllll the way up to 75 hours. That’s means that it’s suddenly taking a
whole extra DAY to double!! That’s scary.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I am really, really trying not to freak out. I am also failing miserably at not freaking
out. But, to make me feel better, please
indulge my list of reasons not to freak out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Why Chelsea Shouldn’t Be Freaking Out</u></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The nurse said it was fine. Actually, she didn’t say fine, she said
great. The word “spectacular” was used.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">When I called the nurse back to ask for reassurance, she said
that when the doctor saw the numbers he was not at all worried by them. I’m pretty sure that his years of experience
with hundreds if not thousands of betas trumps my Googling.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The nurse also said that, after everything that I’ve been
though, it’s normal to be anxious. That
could be part of it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">According to <a href="http://www.countdowntopregnancy.com/tools/beta_doubling_calculator.php">this website</a>, normal doubling times are
31-72 hours until the number gets to be about 1,200, then 72-96 hours. I seem to be sticking to that perfectly. The nurse also mentioned that the doubling time can
slow down as the number increases.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve also read online that, once you get to about the 5<sup>th</sup>
week of pregnancy, you can’t rely on betas as much anymore and ultrasounds are
better. Yesterday I was 5w1d.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">If my clinic hadn’t insisted on testing me until I got to
2,000, everything would have looked perfect.
A lot of people only get two tests, to make sure the number is doubling,
and I would have aced that. I might just
have too much information.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">It still rose 900 over two days, which is more than it has
risen over any other two day period. So not only is it still going up, it's still snowballing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I haven't had any spotting or over-the-top cramping that would indicate a miscarriage. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I’m starting to wonder if my body just doesn’t produce as
many hormones as some other people’s. My
estrogen <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/03/numbers-rundown.html">never doubled very fast or got very high</a> while I was stimming, either, but I still did ok.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">2,543 is a good, healthy number. Lots of pregnancies destined to fail never get that high. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">From my Googling, I’ve found plenty of people who had
similar numbers and went on to have healthy babies. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Why Chelsea Should Be Freaking Out</u></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The rise seems to have hit the breaks very abruptly. I would expect the normal slowing to be more gradual, wouldn't you?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">All the people on the internet seem to double with lightning speed well into the 10,000s.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">The nurse said that they want to see it double in three
days. Although she didn’t seem very
concerned about this, at the current rate it would take a little more than
three days to double.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">From my Googling, I’ve found plenty of people who had
similar numbers and went on to have miscarriages.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Hydros increase the chance of miscarriage. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">WHERE ARE MY SYMPTOMS???? All I want to do is throw up. it would make me feel so much better. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It’s going to be a loooooong five days.</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-17860673457248183572013-04-02T06:40:00.003-07:002013-04-04T07:55:37.498-07:00Still Pregnant<span style="font-size: small;">I’m still pregnant!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That pretty much sums up my feelings lately – happy, but
like it could be taken away at any second.
Even though, intellectually, I know that the chances of miscarriage at
this point are only about 1 in 5, I’m still super paranoid and afraid of
jinxing anything. It doesn’t help that
I’m not really feeling any symptoms. I have some off-and-on cramping, but
that’s actually subsided a lot since the implantation window. My boobs are
occasionally a little bit sore, but not alarmingly so. I haven’t really noticed
being any more tired – I think the fact that I’m energized by my happiness and
the fact that spring has finally arrived is counteracting any pregnancy
fatigue. It’s still a little bit early
to be feeling much but I think I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I woke up one
morning nauseated, exhausted and unable to touch my boobs without wincing. Everyone tells me it will come.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">However, outside of my paranoid brain, things actually
seem to be going really well. Here’s how
my betas have progressed:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">10dp5dt: 305</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">12dp5dt: 621 (doubling time of ~47 hours)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">15dp5dt: 1,634 (doubling time of ~51 hours)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Since the internet tells me that betas are supposed to
double every 48-72 hours at first, and every 72-96 hours once you’re above
about 1,200, I seem to be right on track!
Of course I’m a little paranoid because I feel like everyone else’s
betas are tripling and quadrupling every 5 minutes, but my clinic seems happy,
I’m well within the normal range, and everything I read tells me that you
really can’t compare betas between people.
So I’m going to stop worrying. (HA! Like I could ever manage that).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My clinic monitors betas until you hit 2,000, so I have
one more blood draw tomorrow before I’m out of beta comparison hell and into
“but how am I supposed to know everything is ok?” hell. And then, once I hit 2,000, they’ll schedule
me for an ultrasound. My nurse said
something the day of my first beta about possibly having the ultrasound this
Friday, and so far my numbers have tracked with what she estimated they’d
be. I’m really, really hoping my
ultrasound ends up being on Friday – I’m dying to know what’s happening in
there, and I think I’ll believe this pregnancy a little bit more once I’ve seen
it on a screen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Until then, I’m going to appreciate every day that I’m “still”
pregnant!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-355245717594405212013-03-28T06:52:00.001-07:002013-03-28T10:54:52.569-07:00Results Show<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sorry to make you wait! But not that sorry, because I’m
going to make you wait a little longer while I take us back in time to Monday,
a couple of hours after I wrote that last post.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On Monday Baltimore was hit by a freak spring snowstorm,
and my office was closed for the day. I was home alone all alone with the
pregnancy tests, with nothing planned to occupy my time. By the early afternoon, I was going crazy. Since the snow had turned to rain and I still
needed to complete my outfit for my niece’s baptism on Sunday, I decided to go
shopping.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I pulled on some jeans, put my hair in a ponytail, and
went to the bathroom. And when I wiped,
I saw it: the tiniest little bit of blood, that amount of spotting that only
someone who really wants or really doesn’t want their period to arrive can see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I wasn’t sad; I was angry. After this cycle, where everything has seemed
to go so perfectly, THIS is how it was going to end, with my period overcoming
the power of the progesterone supplements to start a full three days
early? I’d been so good about not
testing, and yet I was STILL going to find out I wasn’t pregnant while I was alone
and sitting on the toilet? No way was I
going to let that happen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I pulled our step ladder out of the closet, dragged it
over to where Henry had “hidden” the tests, and pulled them down. I went back to the bathroom, grabbed a cup,
and managed to squeeze out just enough urine to submerge the tip of the
test. I dipped it before I had time to
think. I braced myself for the tsunami of disappointment that was about to hit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And then, slowly, it appeared: that second line that I
never really believed was there. For the first time in my entire life, I had
produced a positive pregnancy test.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I wasn’t even really happy, I was just confused. I had braced myself so hard against the
disappointment, and I couldn’t switch gears that quickly. So I snapped a
picture of the test and texted it to Henry, with the caption “Henry…” I think his reaction was the same as mine,
because he texted back “Is that real?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I assured him that it was. We talked some more. I practiced smiling, which felt wrong, like
by showing any sign of happiness I was going to jinx it. I called my nurse and left a message in case
she wanted to move my beta to Tuesday. And
then, because I suddenly had a LOT of nervous energy to spare and there really
wasn’t anything else to be done at that moment, I continued on my shopping
trip. It was a little surreal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now what you have to understand is that at that point I
really didn’t know whether or not to believe it. First of all, there was that spotting to
contend with: what was that? Second of
all, after <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-little-bit-pregnant.html">what happened last time</a>, I didn’t really trust the positive. I never took a HPT last time but I’m assuming
that at a certain point I probably would have tested positive. I didn’t want to get too excited, only to
have the tests get lighter instead of darker, or have the nurse say once again,
“Well, it is a positive, but it’s a really low positive.” So, at that point, it felt less like a
guarantee than just a glimmer of hope, another piece of good news in the
process, like a great fertilization report.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Henry and I tiptoed around it for the next two days. I practiced saying the words “I’m pregnant,”
which felt weird. I started a secret
Pinterest board and began repinning anything with “Things You Need to Know
about The First Trimester/Pregnancy/Childbirth/Newborns!” in the caption. I lied to my mom, told her we had decided not
to test until the beta (which was still on for Wednesday). But the spotting never reappeared, and the
tests (4 in all) got darker.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Wednesday morning I went for my bloodwork. I showed the nurse a photo of my most recent
pregnancy test, and she complimented the nice dark line. I was nervous all morning at work. I added my due date to my Babycenter profile,
then deleted it ten seconds later, afraid of angering the gods before the
number was in. Finally, the call came…. 305!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I called Henry. I called my mom. After work I talked to my brother, my sister,
and my best friend. Henry called his mom
and dad. I said “I’m pregnant” with a
little more confidence. And I immediately
started worrying about the next step, and all the things that could still go
wrong – a number that doesn’t double, a period that starts anyway, an ectopic
pregnancy, a blighted ovum, a miscarriage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My next beta is tomorrow, so I’ll hopefully get some
reassurance then. But, as I keep
reminding myself, today I am pregnant. I’m going to enjoy it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--GvJF29Ny60/UVRK9vMuTwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/CD69XAoE6R4/s1600/test.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--GvJF29Ny60/UVRK9vMuTwI/AAAAAAAAAIw/CD69XAoE6R4/s1600/test.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10dp5dt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-70401658711520145912013-03-25T07:32:00.002-07:002013-03-25T07:41:08.419-07:008dp5dt: To Test or Not To Test<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m now 8dp5dt, and my beta test is in less than 48
hours.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also have three
pregnancy tests in the house.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Henry has <span style="font-size: small;">declared</span> himself the
“Arbiter of Pee Sticks” (I imagine that this is a title conferred by the same
organization that anointed Lily “Slap Bet Commissioner” in HIMYM), and put
himself in charge of when I’m allowed to test so that I don't go crazy. He also hid the tests from me, and although I know where they are
(and he knows I know),
they’re up too high for me to reach without some effort. However, I’m fairly certain that I could
get him to “let” me test anytime.
“Let,” of course, being subjective, since I <i>can</i>
get the tests down myself.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, in summation, I can test whenever I want. We’re to the point where whatever result I get would
probably be the correct one, and I keep going back and forth on whether I want
to test before my beta.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here’s my pro/con list:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>For Testing Early:</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’ll find out sooner.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I won’t find out at work. I’ll probably cry whether it’s positive or negative, and I’d
rather not cry at work.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Henry and I can find out together.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can have some time to get used to the idea, whatever it
is, before the phone rings.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We can not tell our parents that we tested early, and have a
day or so when the news is private to me and Henry.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's not fair for the nurse to know before me.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All the people who get pregnant naturally get to find out from a pregnancy test. Is this really yet another thing that infertility is going to to take away from me?</span></span> </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>Against Testing Early:</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s easier to find out “no” on the phone than from a
smug little pee stick.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My nurse told me not to, and she hasn’t steered me wrong
yet.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No squinting to see if there’s another line or trying to
talk myself into the idea that it’s too early – assuming there aren’t any
<a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-little-bit-pregnant.html">questionable beta issues</a> again, I get an answer, and that’s that.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even if it’s positive, I’m still going to worry about my
beta numbers, then my numbers doubling, then the ultrasound going ok, then
something else… I might as well stay in this stage of worry a little longer.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After seeing so many negative pregnancy tests, I have an
irrational fear of them and am sort of convinced the very act of testing early
will make it be negative. Crazy,
but I can’t help it. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In my brain, those lists pretty much cancel each other
out. The truth is, if the result
is positive, I’d rather find out early (more time to celebrate!), but if it’s
negative, I’d rather wait till my beta and just do it like a band aid. But of course, there’s no way of
knowing without testing, so I have this conundrum! Can’t someone just come and secretly test my pee for me and
tell me what to do?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think what Henry and I have settled on is that I’ll test
the morning of my beta. Then we
can find out together, at home, but still keep all the emotions confined to one
day. That feels right to me.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And how am I feeling?
I’m actually feeling pretty positive… I’ve been sort of crampy, which
didn’t happen so much last time and I read is a good sign. Usually I don’t cramp until after my
period has started, so I don’t think it has anything to do with my period. I haven’t had any other symptoms, but I
think that’s fine… I realized that other day that after my trigger shot there
was a whole lot of hcg in my system, yet I didn’t have sore boobs, nausea,
etc. So why would I get those
symptoms now, when even if I am pregnant my hcg isn’t up to those levels yet?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway, it’s all a mystery for the next two days. Honestly, I’m terrified of Wednesday.<i> </i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>P.S. I never wrote about it, but I found out a little while ago that three of my embryos made it to freeze! If I'm pregnant now, there's a pretty good chance I will never go through an egg retrieval again. No complaints there!</i> </span></span>Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-87739825449928686852013-03-21T08:52:00.004-07:002013-03-21T08:54:12.909-07:00Idiocy Averted<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I was such an idiot this morning. See, I’m taking an estrogen supplement right
now. I have a reminder on my phone set up to go off at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. so that I remember to take it. I’m
also taking progesterone, but that one’s three times a day – when I first wake
up, when I’m about to go to bed, and in the middle of the afternoon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This morning was my first day back at work since my
transfer. Sometimes, when I haven’t been to work in a while, I sort of forget
what my morning routine is. The alarm
will go off at 6, and instead of hitting snooze till 7 while Henry showers like
I normally do, I wake right up and am out of bed before I remember that I can
sleep a little longer. That’s what
happened this morning; </span><span style="font-size: small;">I
usually leave for work about 8:20, but </span><span style="font-size: small;">I ended up about a half hour ahead of my normal
schedule.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Before I left the house, I checked to make sure I had my
progesterone in my purse. I did, and I was on my way. I got to my office, took
my phone out of my purse, and there it was: “Reminder: Take Estrace!” Fuck. I’d left for work too early to get the
reminder before getting in my car, and my new schedule had thrown me off and I’d
completely forgotten to take it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So there I was with two options: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">1.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Drive all the way home to take a miniscule 2 mg
pill.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">2.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Stay at work and wonder what damage I had done.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Of course I chose option #1 – I don’t want there to be
anything I could have done differently or better this cycle to make me feel responsible
if it is a negative. I sent a few
e-mails so that people would know I’d been to the office, added a meeting to my
calendar for 9-9:30, and twenty minutes later my car was parked in front of my
house with the flashers on while I ran in for probably less than ten seconds to
swallow a tiny little pill. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At least I don’t feel guilty!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-41544855922579355772013-03-18T15:53:00.000-07:002013-03-21T08:51:32.466-07:00"It Doesn't Get Any Better Than These"<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My transfer yesterday went great! There are officially two good-quality
hatching blastocysts in my uterus – as the doctor said, “It doesn’t get any
better than these.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My nurse called me on Friday (day three after my retrieval)
with my final update on my embryos. I
had one 4-cell, one 6-cell, one 7-cell, and three 8-cells. The 4- cell was obviously a little behind,
but the other five were great – even cells, no fragmentation. As we were about to hang up, the nurse added,
“If they look on Sunday morning and they’re all early blastocysts, they’ll call
and push you back to Monday.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At first I figured that the
possibility of a day 6 transfer meant that my embryos were so great that they
could spare an extra day for them to show which was best. But then I started Googling, and realized that
while a day 6 transfer is still pretty good, the very best embryos will be hatching
(and therefore ready to put back) by day 5.
So, the possibility of the day 6 transfer had given me something new to
worry about. Ugh.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday Henry was running a half marathon in DC, so
that was a great distraction. A few members
of my family were running, too, so my mom was there, and my sister-in-law and
her husband brought my six-month-old niece out to cheer for Henry. The weather at race time was supposed to be cold
and rainy but ended up sunny and warm – Henry and I took it as a sign that luck
was on our side. Later, on our way home,
a ladybug flew through the sunroof and landed on Henry’s leg. Another sign?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next morning, I woke up nervous about the possibility
of getting pushed to day 6. The nurse
said I’d get the call between 6:45 and 7:15 if I was going to be delayed (we
had to be at the hospital at 8 for my 9:15 transfer), and it wasn't until 7:16 that I finally let
myself believe that the transfer was that day. I got all dressed in my green for St. Pat’s Day, and Henry put on his
lucky clover underwear.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We got to the hospital at about 8, and as soon as the
nurse saw me she started pressuring me to fill my bladder asap. But I’d been fooled before - during my last
transfer I filled my bladder too much too early, and was literally in physical
pain before, during, and after my transfer.
I was determined to not make the same mistake again. And I didn’t! In fact, I managed to achieve
the perfect level of fullness. Here’s a
step-by-step on how I did it:</span></div>
<ul style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Take 20-24 ounces of water with you to the hospital. DO NOT DRINK IN THE CAR.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Empty your bladder right when you get to the
hospital. Your nerves might make you
feel like you need to pee, but you’re probably empty.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Start drinking about an hour and ten minutes before your
scheduled transfer time. Don’t drink too fast, and don’t let the nurse pressure
you to drink more or faster.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Continue drinking slowly but steadily, so that you’re
done about a half hour before your scheduled transfer time. By transfer time, you’ll probably be at a “I’d
go if I could, but can still manage to distract myself” level of fullness.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, at some point before the transfer the doctor (not
my normal one) came back to go over everything before he knocked me up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;">“Today we are transferring two good quality hatching
blasts – it doesn’t get any better than these! Are you sure you want to transfer
two?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Yes”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>:::stern stare:::</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Yes. I <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/12/waiting-day-one.html">transferred two last time</a> and neither one took,
so I want to transfer two.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“But were they this good?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Well, no, but I’m sure”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Okay…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I took this as a very, very good sign.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">He also said that one of my embryos was being frozen that
day, and they were watching two more to potentially freeze the next day. Not to get ahead of myself, but I may never
have to go through a retrieval again!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And then there was the transfer, which seemed to go fine,
and a day of napping and watching movies and <i>Arrested Development </i>reruns on the
couch, which was great. I have the next
few days off of work for “spring break” (ah, working at a university), so I’m
trying to lay around, not exert myself too much, and just be happy. Today I watched <i>Zoolander </i>and did crafts with
my sister and tomorrow I’m going to lunch and a movie with my mom and sister. YAY RELAXATION!!!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Nine more days till my pregnancy test…</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-75889129137638629572013-03-14T11:34:00.002-07:002013-03-14T11:39:35.139-07:00The Petri Bunch<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">All six of our embryos are sill doing great! So, I wrote a little song for them (to the
tune of the <i>Brady Bunch</i> theme):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here’s the story, of a lovely lady</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Whose tubes had closed up and gone bad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">She couldn’t get knocked up, despite trying</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And it made her sad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here’s the story, of a man named Henry</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Who wanted to be a dad one day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">His swimmers swam their best, but with no luck</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There had to be a way</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And then one bright day this lady and this fellow</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Went to a doctor with a hunch</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That he could help them build their family</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And that’s the way they all became the petri bunch!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The petri bunch</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The petri bunch</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That’s the waaaayy they becaaaame the petri bunch!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">As you may have guessed, Henry and I have named our six
maybe-babies after the <i>Brady Bunch</i> kids: Marsha, Jan, Cindy, Greg, Peter, and Bobby.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">According to the report I got from the nurse today, Marsha, Cindy, Greg and Peter are all absolutely perfect.
(Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, amiright?). Bobby has 5% fragmentation (which the nurse assures me is
still pretty good). And Jan has moderately even cells rather than perfectly
even cells. (Oh, JAN!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So I’ve got four perfect embryos, and two pretty good ones. I’ll take it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">On the advice of my doctor, and another doctor in the
practice, I’m going to go ahead with the transfer instead of having <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/11/decisions-decisions.html">surgery</a>. The push for surgery has always come from <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-love-plans.html">me rather than my doctors</a>, so I’ve decided to just give it up and trust them. My doctor’s gut just tells him that my hydro
isn’t causing a problem – he doesn’t really see it on the ultrasound, and he’s
never seen any fluid in my uterus. The
other doctor I talked to, who is sort of crazy but I like him, put it more
simply: “Oh, the tube is open? Then you don’t need the surgery. Don’t let
anyone tell you that you need the surgery.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, a 5-day transfer of two blasts is on for this
Sunday. Let’s hope that St. Patrick’s
Day brings this Irish girl luck!!!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-78413152801939309662013-03-13T08:32:00.004-07:002013-03-13T08:34:04.418-07:00Egg Retrieval Results<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I don't have time to write much, but wanted to give the results to anyone out there who might be wondering:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">10
eggs retrieved, 6 mature, 6 ICSIed, and - as of this morning - 6 embryos! </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I was hoping that slightly more eggs would be mature but wasn’t expecting 100 percent
of the mature eggs to fertilize, so it balances out and we’re right on track for where I was hoping to be! To compare, at <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/12/brightsiding.html">this point last cycle</a> I had
ONE embryo, and three more eggs that were being “rescue ICSIed” (two of which would
become embryos, but I’m convinced not very good ones). So I’m thrilled!!!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">My retrieval was actually a pretty funny day so I'm planning on writing about it when I get the chance. Let's just say that it started with porn and ended with getting high on Vicodin. Who says IVF takes the fun out of baby making?!?!</span></span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-48490235065665563042013-03-11T13:32:00.000-07:002013-03-11T13:38:34.639-07:00TMI Photo<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I don't have time to write much because I'm busy getting everything at work set so that I can be out for my EGG RETRIEVAL TOMORROW but I just wanted to share this incredibly gross photo of what my stomach looks like after ten days of stims.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Don't worry, it's Instagrammed in black and white so technically that makes it art.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fsvtcMRq9To/UT4-N9KnulI/AAAAAAAAAIg/QrFgQ1sfm24/s1600/stomach+fertility+drugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fsvtcMRq9To/UT4-N9KnulI/AAAAAAAAAIg/QrFgQ1sfm24/s1600/stomach+fertility+drugs.jpg" height="198" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't do (fertility) drugs, kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Thoughts on this photo....</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">No, those dots aren't all needle marks. I'm just freckly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">And no, that's not an especially dark bruise in the middle, my belly button is a just a black hole. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">If you found this blog because you're about to start IVF and now you're terrified, don't worry - none of these shots hurt when I got them, and none of the bruises hurt now. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">For some reason I was much brusier this time than last time. Maybe because of the increased doses?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Henry is better at doing shots than me - I had to give myself three of the shots and I think I left two bruises.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">There are a few bruises from early in the process that have faded, so this isn't even all of them. And some of these aren't as dark as they were a few days ago.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">But on the bright side, my arms did so much better this time. The nurses hit my vein on the <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/12/this-cycle-is-trying-to-ruin-my-life.html">first try</a> every time, and I could even wear short sleeves around someone unobservant.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Cross your fingers for my retrieval tomorrow! This morning there were 9 follicles in the right size range, but my estrogen is still holding steady in the 1300s, which indicates 6-7-ish eggs. So I'm curious to see how things go. Either way, <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/01/i-love-plans.html">everything is getting ICSIed</a> (despite what our insurance thinks is necessary, so bye bye, $500), so hopefully we'll get <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/12/maybe-babies.html">better fertilization</a> and by this time Wednesday I'll have lots of maybe babies snug in their petri cribs!</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-28493994721108418592013-03-07T11:53:00.002-08:002013-03-08T06:22:06.505-08:00My Personal Worst Pregnancy Announcement<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyone want to hear the story of the worst pregnancy announcement
I ever heard? Yes? I’ll take that as a yes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was last August.
I was going to the beach with my family for a week, and Henry was coming
to join us about halfway through. Also
due about halfway through the week? My period.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I hadn’t told anyone in my family that we were trying. However, I’m close enough with them that I would
have told right away, so I was excited about the possibility of announcing a
pregnancy on our annual family vacation.
I’d already worked it out, and if I was pregnant I’d be due around mid-April.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At this point I had monthly battle with myself over
whether to take a pregnancy test before my period. Every month, encouraged by women who posted
on message boards about getting that second line seemingly hours after implantation,
I would start testing four or five days before my period was due. When the test was inevitably negative, I
would exist in a state of see-sawing depression and hope, alternately crying and
reading discussion threads with titles like “<a href="http://community.babycenter.com/post/a17541345/anyone_get_bfp_after_bfn_at_14dpo">Anyone get a BFP after BFN 14DPO?</a>” There was always someone, so
there was always hope, but my period always came.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I decided to force myself to wait this time by having
Henry bring the tests if my period hadn’t started by the time he was coming. Without the option of testing, I figured I
could get my mind off of my possible pregnancy and relax. It would have worked, too, if my boobs hadn’t
started hurting on the drive to the beach.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This hurt was unlike any pre-period boob hurt I’d ever
felt before; I once read someone describe pregnancy boob soreness as feeling
like little zaps of lightning, and I swear that was exactly what I was
feeling. The whole four-hour trip, I
would smile each time I felt a zap, certain that it was my body starting to
build the milk-making machinery I’d need in nine months. I didn’t need any test to tell me- I was
pregnant!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The whole week I planned my announcement. I created <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/11/bye-bye-booze.html">complicated mixing schemes</a> to
ensure that it wasn’t only my 16 year-old sister getting the virgin
drinks. I texted Henry “Make sure you
bring the tests!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">When he arrived, I
ran into the bathroom, peed on a stick and… one line. My heart broke. I’d been feeling symptoms for days; if I was
pregnant, there were enough hormones to get a positive. I told myself that I’d try again in the
morning, when the hormone would be more concentrated in my urine, but deep down
I knew that it was over. I emerged from
the bathroom and tried to act normal as I watched a movie with my family. When it was over, I went into my and Henry’s room
and cried myself to sleep.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The next morning I woke up early with dark circles under
my eyes and a splitting headache. I took
the second test into the bathroom. Still
nothing, except for a little bit of pink when I wiped; I was officially out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My mom is also an early riser, and whenever I am sleeping
in the same place as my parents we spend the hour or so before everyone else is
up on the porch with our coffee. I knew
I’d never be able to get back to sleep, so I joined my mom outside. I couldn’t decide whether or not to tell her;
the words came to my lips several times but I chickened out at the last second. I just wanted her to ask what was wrong, and
finally she did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Honey, you seem sad. What’s wrong?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">[Bursting into tears] “Henry and I have been trying to get
pregnant and it’s not working!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Oh, well, that’s exciting! It’s ok, it’ll happen. How long have you been trying?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">[I’m crying too hard to answer so I hold up four fingers]</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Four….” I see the wheels turning as she realizes that it
can’t possibly be four years, “… months?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">[Nodding]</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Well that’s not that long, sometimes it takes a little
while, especially with the first one.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“But I really thought it had happened this month! And it
doesn’t seem to take long for Tracy!” (Tracy is my super-fertile cousin who was
pregnant within three months of getting married, and whose second baby had just
recently turned one)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Well, yeah, Tracy’s weirdly fertile, but It’ll happen
for you when its time. Jeeze, from the way you were crying I thought Henry had
cancer or something!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We talked for a little while and I felt better, but still
pretty sorry for myself. The pity party
lasted through the morning, until it was time to go back down to the beach
after lunch. Henry and I were walking
ahead of everyone else, so I had a few minutes to breathe. “I’m not going to
feel sorry for myself anymore,” I thought. “I’m in one of my favorite places in
the world, and I am not going to let this ruin my week. It’ll happen eventually. I’m going to drink a very strong pina colada
and have fun.” I could literally feel
the weight of the disappointment coming off of me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I swear I’m not lying when I say that not two minutes
later the rest of my family walked down to the beach, my sister running ahead. “Did
you hear?” she said. “We just got a text – Tracy just found out that she’s
pregnant again! She’s due in April!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Fuck. My. Life. I
grabbed Henry and said “Let’s go for a walk!”
As soon as I was out of sight of my family, I sat down on the beach and
sobbed in front of all of the tourists.
It was the worst I would feel until <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-hsg-part-2.html">the day I found out I needed IVF</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So, WHY am I telling this story now?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Because <i>that’s</i>
the baby shower I’m going to on Saturday.</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-14841421384240527932013-03-05T07:27:00.000-08:002013-03-05T16:29:15.840-08:00In Which I Prove That Blueberries Are Good For Fertility<span style="font-size: small;"><i>My internal monologue as I packed blueberries in my lunch
this morning:</i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Are blueberries good for fertility?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Well, they have antioxidants.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Are antioxidants good for fertility?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In the werewolf romance novel I just read the witch who
is healing the werewolf keeps giving him blueberries because she says they are “ruled
by the moon.” Is fertility ruled by the moon?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Well menstrual cycles are pretty much the same as lunar
cycles, so maybe it is.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What does “ruled by the moon” mean, anyway?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Du<span style="font-size: small;">h, i</span></span>t was a romance novel<span style="font-size: small;">, it didn't mean anything</span>. She probably
just wrote that because blueberries are round, like the moon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My follicles are round, too.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">And probably about the same size as
blueberries.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So maybe blueberries are good for fertility. I’ll grab an
extra handful.</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8811073067356410819.post-63036017057723708392013-03-04T14:08:00.004-08:002013-03-08T11:46:37.426-08:00Numbers Rundown<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Estrogen</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At baseline: 47</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Saturday: 82.4</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Today: 241</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">(on Wednesday: 615)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(on Friday: 1064) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Follicles</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Today:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">6 on the left (!!!!!! Way to go lefty!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">4 on the right</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I think I saw him measure one or two, but for the most
part they weren’t measurable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(On Wednesday:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">8 measurable on the right (biggest coming in at 13)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">1 measurable on the left</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">A few more unmeasurables on each ovary)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(On Friday:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">8 measurable on the right, from 11-16 mm</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Five little ones on the right</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Lefty has some unmeasurables, but seems to have mostly dropped out) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<u><span style="font-size: small;">Dosage</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Gonal-F: 187.5 iu</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Menopur: 150 iu</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Ganarilix: Starting those tomorrow morning. Oh joy, another daily shot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/02/time-to-tell.html">People I told</a> about our IVF: 1</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;">(It barely counted - it’s a long story but Henry and I
have been going to a personal trainer…. I actually told her a while ago that I
was doing fertility treatments as an explanation for why I was going to
eventually drop off the face of the Earth, and since tonight is going to be my
last visit for a while I told her details last week when we were scheduling this
week. So YES I did tell someone but it’s
not really someone I see on a regular basis.)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Times I <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/02/awesome-gyn-visit-part-2.html">cried </a>while telling people about our IVF: 0!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Times I was at brunch with my mother in law and I wasn’t
sure whether I should give her an update because I know she’d like to know the
status but is too polite to ask, but it also seemed like a weird <span lang="EN">non sequitur</span><span lang="EN"> </span>to
announce the status of my uterus and ovaries to my WASP mother-in-law
in the middle of a fancy restaurant, so I just dropped a casual reference to “my
nurse” in the middle of conversation as a hint that it was ok to ask but she
didn’t so I guess that’s that: 1</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Times I managed to <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/02/mothers-are-crazy.html">avoid a conversation with my mom</a> by
texting her after my appointment before she got a chance to call: 2 </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Years Henry has been alive as of today: <a href="http://mycrappytubes.blogspot.com/2013/01/timelines.html">35</a> Happy birthday
Henry!!!!!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Drinks I had this weekend: 2</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;">(One at Henry’s birthday
dinner with just the two of us, and one at his birthday dinner with his dad
because his dad’s girlfriend is always very interested in whether I’m drinking
and I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with her suspicion and how much can one
glass of white wine hurt at this point?)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Times Henry injected me in my car this weekend (and no
that’s not a euphemism): 2</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Bruises on my stomach from the sho<span style="font-size: small;">ts</span>: 3 </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Days until my next appointment: 2</span></div>
Chelseahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06409088542824757294noreply@blogger.com0