October 2020 Last IUI Try

I had my thyroid checked again in early October and found out it was at 2.6 and was bummed. I called the nurse to let them know and received a call back. I was unable to answer as I was at work but checked the voicemail and it said to proceed taking the same meds for 90 days and we can test again after that or upon pregnancy. I was very confused because we were checking my levels so we could do our last IUI try. I was able to call back and talk to someone and she told me we were okay to proceed forward but I questioned her as my levels were 2.6 and needed to be at 2.5 or less and when they were at 2.56 we couldn’t proceed. She said she would double check for me but explained to me that they now knew I was negative for some other test which essentially meant my body was not attacking itself so therefore she thought we were okayed to proceed with my levels where they were at. And that same afternoon, October 5^th, I got my period. I tried calling them again as I never got a call back but it was after hours. I left a message and a nurse called me back. She was incredible with explaining things to me so I got it and listening to everything I had to say. She told me she guessed I would be okay to go but could double check in the morning when she got to the office. She said to plan to proceed and she would call me with the plan once she got into the office after 8 A.M. I received a call back and she asked me if I would be able to come in on October 8^th (Day 4) for my baseline ultrasound at 7:15 A.M.! I agreed and quickly put a plan in place to make this happen as it is a 3-hour drive one way! 

After school on October 7^th I ate supper with my family and then drove down and stayed at my in-laws. They were not home so the house was completely and empty and quiet. It was weird as that never happens. Paul stayed with the kids and got them up and to school the next morning by himself which he hasn’t had to do since they switched to MHLT but it went well. My ultrasound was quick and easy. They said everything looked great and that I would be scheduled to come in for my midcycle ultrasound on October 16^th (Day 12). I scheduled that for 10:30 A.M so I could still drop the kids off and pick them up at school as I have Fridays off so I wouldn’t need to miss any work! After the baseline ultrasound, the clinic put in orders through a mail order pharmacy for my HCG Trigger Shot and my Progesterone suppositories. Then I turned and burned and made it back to work at 10:25 A.M. 

October 7th- On my way to the infertility clinic to start the process for our last and final try

The rest of the week went well. I took letrozole at the lowest possible dose for 5 days starting on Day 4 and ending on Day 8. I definitely was moodier and more easily crabby! I was also quite tired. But otherwise I was fine. I did what I needed for the mail order pharmacy and they shipped the meds to me and they came on October 14^th. 

On October 16^th we woke up to snow! I was shocked. We got the kids to school and away we went. I asked Paul if he would want to come with and he agreed but was nervous we wouldn’t make it back in time to pick up the kids from school. I was not worried about that! I was thankful he came with for support and to drive even though he wasn’t not allowed to come in at all due to covid. On our way we saw 2 cars that had rollover accidents and marks where someone went into the ditch! It made me nervous but our travels were fine and we made it safely. 

October 16th- On our way to my appointment

I went to my appointment and got to see Dr. Whitmaak for the first time since I was there pregnant with the twins! He said let’s hope there are good follicles and I told him yes but not too many because I have had that problem in the past! 😊 He said my uterus looked amazing and everything looked great. I had no follicles on my right and 2 follicles on my left! I couldn’t have been happier to hear this! 2 is amazing and we can definitely work with that. I was relieved! One of them measured 32 and the other measured 35. Then we made the plan… I was to trigger shot that night at 9 P.M. and return for IUI on October 18^th (Day 14) at 9 A.M. The nurse came in and gave me a refresher on doing the trigger shot as it had been so long. She also drew a circle on me so we knew right where it went. I felt much better about everything. We made a plan for his parents to watch the kids Saturday afternoon until Sunday. This allowed me to go down to his parents on Saturday and stay the night and go to the appointment on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, Paul has to work on Sunday. Paul and I stopped in Wausau on the way to kill some time as we had extra time! We got the kids from school and told them they would be going to the cabin the next day and of course they were thrilled. We did not tell them anything about any of this as they don’t know how to keep it to themselves and this whole process is hard because it takes away the surprise element and telling people. The only people that know are Paul, his parents, and my good friend Jo. Saturday, we woke up to snow and more of this time! I was kind of nervous about so Paul took the kids to the cabin for me so that I could cut down my driving a little bit. I left around lunch time and stopped in Wausau. I go myself a diamond art kit of a heart to help pass some time at his parents. I have heard great things and wanted one and had a gift card so I did it. Then I got Texas Roadhouse to go but was disappointed. They forgot to give me my drink and I didn’t realize it in time. The loaded mashed potatoes were cold and the burgers and bun were hard and cold. They also did not give me any utensils! I made it to Paul’s parents and spent the evening working on my first diamond art. I loved it! It definitely is tedious though. I wasn’t hungry for supper so ate a few more rolls from Texas Roadhouse. I sat in a bath and then went to bed but it was hard to get solid sleep! 

Texas Roadhouse Rolls

My first ever diamond art

On Sunday, October 18^th (Day 14) I arrived through the main entrance of the hospital as the other entrance is closed on weekends. I knew were to go but got to the one and only elevator in the hospital that goes to the infertility clinic and it said it was out of order! I had no idea where to go from there so I went back to the main desk and informed her. She helped me get to the right stairs to get to the infertility clinic. But this made me even more anxious and nervous and I didn’t need that! I was taken back and all went very well. There was no struggle with the catheter and I had little to no uncomfortableness. The nurse told me I could lay there for 5-10 minutes or as long as I wanted. I had always laid for 20 minutes so decided that was going to be what I was going to do. Just as I was getting dressed she knocked and asked if I was okay and I informed her I was and had just finished getting dressed. As I walked out, I saw the doctor in his jacket and all ready to go! Oh well! I walked to my car, reclined my seat, and sat out in the parking lot for another 15ish minutes. Then I drove back home. I got home about 10 minutes before my in-laws pulled in with the kids! I tried to lay low the rest of the day.

October 18th- IUI Day!

Per orders, Paul and I had sex that night and the next night. The 2-week wait to wait and find out is the worst! Every little cramp, twinge, etc. sends your brain wondering! 

On October 24^th, I had some minor cramping and some pretty intensive but short lived tingling in my left boob. 

On October 26^th, I woke up and went to the bathroom and had some very minor pink spotting. That afternoon I had my progesterone labs done. I looked at the results online that evening and saw they were 3.2. With a quick google search, I quickly found out that this was NOT a good result. I was pretty disappointed but tried to tell myself to wait until the infertility clinic called the next day. I waited until around 10 A.M. and never received a call so I called them and informed them I had labs done and would like to talk to a nurse about them. They said they would leave a message. They called me back right around 2:00 P.M. and I was able to talk to them. The nurse stated that I ovulated but when I got my period would really explain a lot. I told her this was our last try. She then told me she knew that and she was very sorry. She stated that my labs were uncharacteristically low. I asked her about the progesterone suppositories I had already and she said at this point, it really wouldn’t even matter. I called Jo and started crying to her. I was absolutely devastated. I came home and cried to Paul. I sobbed so much and so hard I could not catch my breath. The way things looked, it was over for us. Jo continued to message me on and off and never lost hope. Unfortunately. I think the worst and that was no different with this situation. 

I thought our last chance was another failed attempt thanks to my lab results

Tuesday, October 27^th, the kids and I got in the car to head to school and Karley said to me “Mom remember when you laid the seat back when you tried to get a baby? Don’t you have 1 or 2 more tries?” I started crying and couldn’t help but tell the kids that we did our last try and it didn’t look like it was going to work. Bentley started crying with me and was very upset stating “I wanted a girl baby so we could name it Auntie Gloria and we could have another Auntie Gloria and Grandma Gracie could have another sister again.” It was so hard. But they were so loving and understanding. \

On Wednesday, October 28^th, I used the bathroom and again had a small amount of pink spotting. Throughout the week the kids were very sweet. Karley continuously put stickers on my belly. She never lost hope through all of it. 

My mom called me the evening of Thursday, October 29^th and I started crying to her and explained everything. She cried with me but it was a good talk. 

We were going to the cabin on the weekend and I was supposed to test on Sunday morning. The cabin has no running water or electricity so I would be testing in an outhouse via my phone flashlight… plus some of Paul’s family would be there. I decided, with Paul’s thoughts, to test Friday morning. So on October 30^th, I tested and waited. And then the digital clear blue pregnancy stated “pregnant!” To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I called Paul and told him and he was like wait… what?! I felt the same way. I messaged Jo and she was ecstatic. I asked if at this point it could be a false positive and she said no. I called the infertility clinic and let them know. They stated I tested early and were about as shocked as I was. I informed them why I tested early. The got orders for me to get labs done for my hcg and progesterone locally. I went and did them in the morning. On the way to the cabin, I had a full, uncomfortable feeling and some minor cramping. I stayed up that evening to see my results online. My HCG was 47 which meant I was for sure pregnant. My progesterone was at 19.9. I wasn’t sure what it should be at but I was very pleased to see it had risen so much. We enjoyed the weekend at the cabin. 

The very first pregnancy test I have ever taken that was positive!
(I never took one with the twins as we did a blood test instead!)

On Sunday, November 1^st, I attempted to take the 2^nd pregnancy test just because I had bought a pack of 2. But it errored out! Thankfully we already knew! 

Monday the infertility clinic with my lab results. They said that they want my progesterone to be at 15 and were pleased with my labs. They said my HCG looked good and asked me to repeat it that day. 

Monday, November 2^nd, I did my 2^nd labs for my HCG. That evening I got the results of 318 and I was pleased but panicked. We know for sure I am pregnant and things look good but with a large increase like that, I am afraid we will have multiples again. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the twins and would do multiples again in a heartbeat but the pregnancy wasn’t all that great. I can’t even imagine hospital bedrest now with 2 kids at home. Then add in covid and they wouldn’t even be allowed in the hospital so I wouldn’t get to see them! And then the NICU stay again and the rollercoaster of that. So if someone could promise me an almost full term pregnancy with no hospital bedrest and NICU stay, I would do multiples again but we all know that no one can promise that. So I am nervous! 

My mom called that evening and asked for the results of our pregnancy test and I told her. She almost didn’t believe me at first! We had a nice talk and she was happy. 

Since all our parents except for my dad knew, I called him on Tuesday, October 3^rd and let him know the news. He was very excited. 

Wednesday, October 4^th I went and my 3^rd labs for my HCG. They came back at 995 which is another large increase. But with each day that passed, I did get more excited and let myself enjoy it more. 

On Thursday October 5^th the infertility called and said my HCG numbers are increasing very nicely and look good. She said the next step was an ultrasound to check viability of the heartbeat and we would do a progesterone lab. I asked if Paul could come with as he hasn’t been allowed at an of our other appointments and she said yes; 1 healthy adult was allowed. I scheduled our 1^st ultrasound for Wednesday, November 18^th.