So, I definitely left you on a cliffhanger on that last post… for a really long time. Much longer than my two week wait. Sorry about that!
To recap, Charles and I had our 4th transfer at the end of August 2023. After changing our protocol, everything went perfect. I was feeling optimistic going into the two week wait. Well, optimistic, and terrified, and excited, and scared. All the things! As with the other transfer, my clinic recommended taking that day and the following day off and just relaxing and channeling all the positive vibes. Neko (my cat) isn’t normally a cuddly cat, but that day, she was my snuggle buddy.
To test or not to test
One of the toughest choices after a transfer is whether to take a pregnancy test or not. During my last transfer, I chose *not* to test before beta day. (Beta day is where you get a Beta-HCG – or a pregnancy test via a blood draw, which will confirm pregnancy). I was a hot mess. My anxiety was off the charts and I felt like I was going to bust. Additionally, it made the negative results even more devastating. So, this time, I decided that I was going to test.
Since I had decided to test, the next question was when do I start testing? There’s a risk of having a false positive if you start testing too early since you inject hcg (the pregnancy hormone) around ovulation. Some women will actually “test out” the hcg, taking a pregnancy test every single day after taking the injection so they know when the injection ends and a true pregnancy test happens. I did not do that…
4 & 5 DPT
4 days after the transfer (or 4 DPT), I just felt different than the other transfers. I couldn’t pinpoint any specific symptom, just a feeling. So, I decided to to take a test. The earliest a test can be positive is 3-5 days. But, again, there’s that pesky HCG injection to consider as well. Nonetheless, I took a test and got the faintest of positives, but it was a positive! I felt fairly confident that it wasn’t the HCG injection because it had been 10+ days since the injection, and the good ‘ole Google machine told me that it would almost certaintly be out of my system by then.
I took a picture of the positive test, just in case! You can’t even tell it was positive in the picture and as you can tell by my smile, I was very cautiously optimisitic. I didn’t tell anyone about the test, because I didn’t want to get excited if it didn’t stick. The next day, I took two more tests. And they were getting darker! Getting darker is a great sign, as it shows that the HCG in your system is getting stronger and is not caused by the hcg injection.
6 DPT
6 days after the transfer, Charles and I had plans to go to Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs to do some touristy things, including visiting the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, and a cog-train up to Pikes Peak (a 14,000ft mountain)! I woke up earlier than Charles and took a pregnancy test. It was very obviously positive and again darker than the day before. I finally decided that I could share the excitement. So when Charles woke up, I showed him the test and told him I was pregnant – IT WORKED! We then took our first picture as a family.
Beta Day!
As we waited for the official testing day, I continued to test every day to make sure the lines were getting darker, and they were! At this point, Charles, Neko, and I were the only ones that knew. I had my family on a bit of a delay for the results so that Charles and I could process the results ourselves and tell them when were ready. 10 days post transfer, I went into the clinic for the official beta test.
A beta test is something that many clinics will do to ensure that the pregnancy is progressing as expected. Unlike a pregnancy test where you get a Positive/Negative, a beta test will give you a numerical value. This value should double every 48 hours in early pregnancy. By 10 days post transfer, your value should be >50 (at a minimum).
On the morning of my beta test, I sprang for the expensive pregnacy test that I had been saving. The one that said “PREGNANT”. I had watched my lines grow darker each day, so I wasn’t overtly nervous, but I was still cautious about what the number would be. Fortunately, the clinic calls as soon as the results come in. They called me early afternoon and my result was 384! I went in 48 hours later to make sure that my values were doubling, and my value was 823! It was for real. I was pregnant and my due date was May 13, 2024!
Telling my family
I was obviously elated. After 4 transfer and 3+ years, I was finally pregnant. I wanted to tell everyone immediately. Charles wanted a more traditional approach. I decided to tell my family right away. I had deciced to FaceTime my mom and show her my new fall decorations that I just put up and end with the cutest little gnome holding the pregnancy test. In the world of infertility where almost nothing is a surprise, I feel like we did get a bit of surprise out of her! I then texted my siblings a picture of the gnome holding the pregnancy test. They all called immediately and Charles and I got to share the excitement. It was such a joyous night. We all got a good laugh when we talked about the May due date… we already had 5 May babies to celebrate! The more the merrier, I guess.
Telling Charles’ family
We decided to wait to to tell Charles’ family in person. We booked a trip to Michigan for the following month. By that time, we already had our first ultrasound, so we got to share that with them in person. Charles’ brother happened to be in Michigan that weekend as well, so we got to tell all of them together – it was so special.
Fun side story — In Charles’ hometown, there’s a little store downtown that I like to go to when we visit. In April 2022, with our upcoming May 2022 transfer, I saw this adorable pregnancy announcement card and took a picture of it, hopeful for what was to come. Obviously, the transfer didn’t work that time, but when when we back to tell Charles’ family, the same card was there and I took another picture of it, this time actually pregnant! It was a full circle moment for me. We hadn’t actually told Charles’ family yet though, so I was trying to sneak in this picture without my mother in law seeing it, so I wouldn’t ruin the surprise!
All Things Pregnancy
After the beta test, all things suddently shifted from infertility to pregnancy. I knew infertility inside and out but knew practically nothing about pregnancy – I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so I never did any research. My first ultrasound was scheduled one month after my transfer with my infertility clinic to ensure baby was in the right place and verify a heartbeat. Once again, I was optimistic, and terrified, and excited, and scared. All the things.
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