pre-IVF anxiety... Help!!

[Megan0625]

Thank you everybody! We are definitely getting a lot more excited now. I can occasionally feel her from the outside now when she kicks but I feel her internally ALL the time. We've got a ton of clothes for her and recently went a little crazy with the Carter's semi-annual sale lol. @WinterBub I think I gained about 7 pounds during stims! It was mostly bloat and water weight but it did take a little bit to get back to normal. I was pretty uncomfortable at the time I went in for my fresh transfer, I was still a little tender in the abdomen and had some weight gain. My FET was much more comfortable and easy than my fresh transfer, especially because you have to go in with a full bladder and they do an abdominal ultrasound, which still was really sore after my egg retrieval. That's a good idea to start walking! Don't do anything more than that until you feel ready Your body did just go through a lot between the massive influx of hormones and the egg retrieval, which is technically a small surgery. Since I did go right into a transfer, I don't think I really did any physical activity other than normal daily tasks

@elencor how are you feeling?

 

[elencor]

Wow 7 embryos! That’s great I’m sure there will be some healthy beautiful blastocysts among them, I’m so happy that everything is going great for you so far. Btw I gained 2 kg during the stimulation and I still haven’t lost any of it.

Megan that’s such a beautiful baby picture and I’m so glad they aren’t concerned about the blood pressure for now.

Sorry I disappeared for a few days, we’ve been travelling a lot, to visit relatives and also to a wedding! It was harder than I thought to hide a pregnancy in a wedding lol, but somehow I managed to make it look like I was drinking although I wasn’t. We haven’t told anyone yet, we told our relatives that we’d probably do a delayed frozen transfer and that we’d tell them only when there’s something to tell. But I’m thinking about telling my boss and coworkers that Im pregnant tomorrow, as I have things to organize regarding safety at work. Im very nervous about it, I’m not sure what’s the best thing to do as my contract needs to be renewed in just a few weeks, so doesn’t look like the best time to tell them but I’d be more relaxed knowing I’m not going to have to do dangerous stuff.
I have good news, the strong pain went away a few days ago! But now I have nausea and vomiting instead, which is hard and another reason why I might have to tell them at work, I’m vomiting a couple times a day at the moment.
I had the scan today at 5+3, it went fine as the sac is intrauterine and we could see a yolk sac, but I’m a little worried that we couldn’t see a fetal pole, the doctor said everything looks ok but I can’t help to worry. Next scan will be in a couple of weeks.

 

[Megan0625]

@elencor Thank you! It's starting to feel so real now that I can see her face so clearly and I'm feeling a ton of movement constantly. I totally understand your concerns about work. My contract just renewed last week, but I told my boss when I was 7 weeks pregnant because I work with a lot of hazardous chemicals and needed him to know that I would no longer be able to do certain duties and I needed to be more careful. He ended up being incredibly understanding and has allowed me to do some work from home on days when morning sickness was really bad etc. It did relieve some pressure after I told him because my morning sickness was all day starting around 10 weeks, so there were some days I just could barely function at work. And I started having migraines during second trimester, which sometimes render me useless when they get really bad, so it helped to have him in my corner. It's totally understanding if you want to wait until after your contract renewal to tell your boss though. Unfortunately I couldn't wait because I had more than 3 months from the time I found out and I would have been working with some very hazardous chemicals otherwise. It's good that you are starting to have morning sickness symptoms, that means things are progressing! But yes, I know those can definitely interfere with normal day-to-day functions. I refused to let myself vomit at work in our public bathrooms, so I either went in after I was done vomiting (which was usually 4-5 times in the morning), or I would try to work from home if I wasn't feeling better. And don't worry too much about the fetal pole, for many people it isn't visible until 6 weeks or later. My friend's wasn't visible yet at 6 weeks+1 day but it was visible at her next ultrasound and they found a heartbeat . It's very difficult not to worry though, especially at those early ultrasounds. I was always a bundle of nerves until the 20 week mark, and even now I feel nervous before ultrasounds!

 

[elencor]

Thank you Megan for your kind words. It’s so cool that you feel her moving around constantly! That must feel so good and reassuring .
Ever since a wrote my message yesterday I’ve been reading about ultrasound’s stuff and I am loosing my mind. Thing is the doctor was saying constantly that she didn’t find a good view of the yolk sac, and she kept measuring it and saying 1.2, 1.8, 2mm. I’ve been reading that the yolk sac should be at least 3mm, and apparently it a terrible sign that the yolk sac is irregularly shaped, and mine seems irregular. I don’t know deep down I want to think that it’s just probably too early to have a good look at the yolk sac, and that it’s probably not irregular and it’s just the position of the picture she printed. But I’m panicking real bad I feel like crying and can’t stop thinking about it. Do you have any information or experience with these kind of things?
How are the rest of you doing? Winter do you feel better?

 

[Bevziibubble]

 

[WinterBub]

Hi! Yes, I finally feel good again. It was probably a week where I felt pretty rough. Not sure if I really had mild OHSS, or just a tougher recovery than some. Either way- happy now and just waiting for my next round of results. Finally less bloated, too!

So glad that you're doing well, Megan! It gets wild when they get really big at the end and you see your whole belly twist and distort when they move around! I'm so excited for you, and hope the rest of your pregnancy is smooth. I am so jealous that you're in the exciting set up the nursery/buy tiny baby clothes phase! Do you still need a lot of things for the baby? My big tips are: simple bouncy seat (so you can shower with them in the bathroom with you), and lots of swaddling blankets/muslins for spit up.

 

[WinterBub]

Elencor: take a deep breath. Step away from Google! I think that you've had a long journey to where you are, and you're going from thing to worry about to thing to worry about. And the problem there is that with pregnancy, and then a baby, there's always something coming up that you can get really worried and anxious about. It isn't a good frame of mind for your own mental health, and I promise that the anxiety doesn't make a difference to how anything will go.

To the specifics about the sac: there's a million things that impact a scan (shape and position of your uterus, quality of the machine they're using, full vs empty bladder etc). So, nobody can give you perfect guarantees: but everything you've said so far sounds great. The pregnancy is in the right place, you had good beta numbers, your symptoms are progressing... Everything looks good! Please remind yourself of that, and don't obsess about the scan. The scan size and shape isn't as important as the fetal pole/baby will be, and you are just too early to have seen those things because they are not there yet! Stay away from Google, and I really believe that your next scan will show you a baby and a heartbeat. The anxiety is a really hard cycle to end, so please try and stay calm while you wait out the next couple of weeks. We have no power over how the baby develops- you just have to trust all the positive signs you've seen to date. IF you get bad news, you will deal with it then, but I really don't think it will happen- so don't waste these hopeful weeks on worrying! Wish I could give you a big hug!

 

[Megan0625]

@elencor I absolutely understand your worries, but try to take a deep breath! Your scan was very early, so it is totally possible that your yolk sac just became visible via scan. We don't know exactly when implantation took place, and that could make a difference too. The good thing is they saw a gestational sac, the beginnings of a yolk sac, it is intrauterine, your beta levels are very good, and you are having normal pregnancy symptoms . I honestly don't know anything about irregular-shaped yolk sacs but it's very possible that they just couldn't get a good view of it yet because it's so early. Very early scans are super nerve-wracking because there's very little they could see. My first scan was 3 days later than yours and the heartbeat had just become visible, and they saw strange debris in the gestational sac that they said could be nothing or could cause problems later on. By the next scan, that strange debris was gone! Like winter said, Google is not your friend this early, trust me! I lived on Google during early pregnancy and drove myself absolutely crazy. I was always coming up with crazy scenarios in my head because of the stuff I read on Google. I had spotting at 5-7 weeks and I convinced myself I was going to miscarry, I would Google every little twinge or cramp but ultimately, every single person is different and every pregnancy is different. I find myself going on Google now whenever I have weird pains and have to force myself to get off because I'm literally growing a human inside me and figure it's normal to have lots of stretching and abdominal pains. Try not to worry until the doctors tell you you have something to worry about. Ultimately it's out of your control right now unfortunately, as difficult as it is. I have a feeling your next scan will be great and they will find a heartbeat!

 

[Nima]

Hi everyone how are you doing?
@elencor I've been there too in the Google anxiety phase, I know nothing will help but a good scan soon. Maybe you can try and get one? You can probably see a heartbeat already and this would be reassuring.

@WinterBub when are your results supposed to arrive? Are you planning an FET next month?

@Megan0625 so amazing that the little one is so present already. I keep waiting to feel the baby but I'm still not sure if it's gas or baby lol...

I had a scan and did the NIPT test (the extended costly one) and waiting for the results. In Ultraschall everything loomed great and baby was moving constantly so it took forever, which I didn't mind because I just enjoyed looking at it. The doctor said she's 70% sure it's a boy, but we'll know for sure next week with the NIPT results.

 

[Bevziibubble]

@Nima Good luck for the results

 

[WinterBub]

I just got an email with my results! 5 healthy: 3 boys/2 girls! I'm so happy. Like over the moon happy!

Good luck for the NIPT results, Nima! I'm sure all is well, but it is so reassuring to have that confirmation. And (most likely) a Boy!! That's so exciting Have you had a feeling on whether it was a boy or girl?

How are you doing, elencor?

 

[elencor]

Thank you, your advice is much appreciated you’re right it was probably too early. My next scan is in 10 days, it’s going to be a really long wait, I can’t have it any earlier as all the private Ob/gyns in my area have longer wait lists than that so I just have to try and relax a bit which I’m very bad at lol. I’ll at least stay away from Google.

@WinterBub good luck with the PGD results! Do you know how long do you have to wait before the frozen transfer? And @Nima good luck with the NIPT
EDIT oh I hadn’t seen you already have your results!! Such great news!! 5 healthy out of 7 is so amazing!! I’m so happy for you

 

[Bevziibubble]

I just got an email with my results! 5 healthy: 3 boys/2 girls! I'm so happy. Like over the moon happy!

Good luck for the NIPT results, Nima! I'm sure all is well, but it is so reassuring to have that confirmation. And (most likely) a Boy!! That's so exciting Have you had a feeling on whether it was a boy or girl?

How are you doing, elencor?

That's great news!

 

[Nima]

@WinterBub that's amazing news! I'm so happy for you! 5 embryos is simply awesome. You did so well in this one shot you had, you must be so relieved.

@elencor 10 days is a long wait but it will pass. I hope you manage to stay away from Google. Be strong!

I did have a feeling it's a boy but since I had that feeling with my daughter too I disregarded it... so maybe this time I was right. Looking forward to hearing from them, though, it's kind of weird not to know if everything is OK once you do test.

 

[WinterBub]

Thank you! I'm really happy- those results were better than I'd even dared to hope for! I will go in this week and discuss the FET process. I think it takes a while from what they last said. So if I get started now, it won't happen until late November or December.

I used to be able to guess genders for everyone really well! Now I haven't been right in like 5 years for anyone it'll be exciting to get your results, Nima. I'm sure everything is good

You can get through the next 10 days, elencor. You've come this far! 10 days is nothing. Just remember that everything you know so far has been good news.

 

[Nima]

So the NIPT results are good, and it's really a boy! We are very excited. The first man in the house lol

 

[elencor]

Such great news Nima! Congratulations!!

 

[Bevziibubble]

So the NIPT results are good, and it's really a boy! We are very excited. The first man in the house lol

Yay, congratulations!

 

[WinterBub]

Wonderful news, Nima! So glad your little man is healthy!! So exciting to be able to look for names and little clothes for him now I hope that you're feeling really happy knowing that he's doing well!

 

[Nima]

Thank you all, yes it's really a relief and now we can start thinking of names and tell our daughters it's a little brother on the way (she didn't really understand how we don't know, but she wanted it to be a boy very much)