7 WEEKS PREGNANT | THE HOOK EFFECT

Does anyone know anything about the hook effect? Following on from my pregnancy test lines coming up super weak, someone advised me to read up on it and try diluting my urine before testing. The top test is undiluted urine, and the others are diluted bit by bit. As you can see, the more I dilute my urine, the darker my test lines get!

Could this be the hook effect?

Jess. xx

DISAPPEARING TWIN SYNDROME

Last Thurs a few of my pregnancy symptoms disappeared. By Friday morning I was very suspicious. I took 3 pregnancy tests and the lines were coming up much weaker than before. I had an emergency scan at the EPU and they couldn't find one of the twins. The sonographer said there is a chance that it's hidden behind the other. He kept thinking he could see a second heartbeat but was not sure if it was part of twin 1. 

I have been warned to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Sadly my test lines seem to be getting weaker by the day, so despite twin 1 measuring above what it should and having a very strong heartbeat it's looking like I might lose both. 

Could this be disappearing twin syndrome? If it is, what chance does twin 2 stand? 

Jess. xx

6 WEEKS PREGNANT WITH IDENTICAL TWINS! | UPDATE

I cannot believe I get to write these words, but not only have we conceived naturally. We are also having identical twins!!!!! It's like a dream come true. Something beyond a miracle! Here's how we found out....

The day after I wrote the last blog post I woke up, went to the toilet and when I wiped there was bright red blood. Horrified, I rang the Early Pregnancy Unit and told them that the brown blood had now changed. They were very kind and offered to bring our 6/7 week scan forward to that day. I was 5+1 and of course my fiance and I were expecting the worst. We thought it was going to be game over....

But nope! It was far from game over because when the sonographer did the internal scan it revealed two very strong heartbeats! We couldn't believe it. I was crying. The sonographer was crying. Obviously she knew a bit about our history and the pain we had been through a few months before.

Not in a million years did I think this was going to happen to us, especially as I've been obsessed with identical twins for most of my adult life. This was the dream. That's all it was though. I never thought it was actually going to happen!!!

I'm really starting to believe in the law of attraction!

Now I understand why my pregnancy tests were so strong early on. I got a 3+ on a Clearblue test when I was only 4+5. As this test measures from the day you conceive that would have meant I was actually more like 5+4. But I didn't think I was that far gone. Sure, when I saw the super strong line on the First Response test I did think 'ohhhh, there's lots of hgc. That's a nice strong pregnancy'. For a second I also wondered if it was twins but that thought was instantly dismissed as I could never be that lucky!

Even when I posted pics of my tests on parenting forums, telling them I'm 4+5 the penny didn't drop. Everyone was saying 'you can't be 4+5, you must be further on'. As I said previously, I just thought it meant I have a nice strong pregnancy and high levels of hcg! Anyway....

This week's symptoms have been:

Acid reflux.

Terrible diarrhea.

Waking up frequently during the night with stomach cramps (because of the diarrhea). On a good day it's every 3 hours. On a bad it's every 30 mins. It's exhausting.

Feeling very thirsty.

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach.

Sore boobs. (Mainly on the sides).

Feeling too hot, then too cold.

Nausea.

Headaches.

Extreme tiredness.

Heightened sense of smell. (Everything stinks!).

Food adversions - I can't bear the idea of eating or smelling roast dinner. Usually my fave!

Very light brown discharge when I wipe.

I've been taking Pregnacare Max for 18 days now (ever since I found out I'm pregnant). Yesterday I went to the docs and explained about the diarrhea etc and she told me to swap to Pregnacare Original. I didn't take it last night and I feel better already. There was no 3-5am wake up call or nasty stomach pains throughout the night. I think those tablets were making me really ill you know!

Jess. xx

5 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Good morning! Today I've been feeling really nauseous and have been throughout the night. I managed to get 9 hours sleep but kept waking up and when I did I felt sick. It's now nearly 11am and I've not eaten a thing. I'm not too bad if I keep still but as soon as I move it starts!

TMI - but I also have diarrhea. I can't work out whether this is pregnancy or if I'm actually ill. Also I'm suspicious of the Pregnacare Max tablets I'm taking as I've had diarrhea related issues ever since I've been pregnant and taking them.

Anyway....

The tests above were taken a few days ago when I was 4+5 and 25 DPO. I was so happy to see a test line stronger than the control line on the First Response and the 3+ on the Clearblue. I was expecting 1-2 as it measures from the date you conceived rather than how many weeks pregnant you are. I'm hoping this means I have a nice strong pregnancy and high levels of hcg.

This week's symptoms have been:

Feeling very thirsty.

Feeling bloated / heavy stomach.

Mild period-like pains / cramps.

Just under the nipples hurting (on and off).

The nipples stinging (on and off).

Pinching / stretching on both sides of the womb.

Feeling to hot, then too cold.

Peeing all the time (which now seems to have stopped since giving up de-caf coffee).

Heightened sense of smell.

Very light brown discharge when I wipe.

I've found the above symptom the most worrying and called the Early Pregnancy Unit for some reassurance yesterday. They said it's very common in early pregnancy and not to worry unless I'm in pain, it get worse or turns into red blood.

I don't get it every time I wipe but just every now and again. It's happened at least once a day for the past 5 days. Triggers seem to include going for a walk or for a number 2!!!

You've gotta love the TMI here. Lol. 

Jess. xx

4 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

I'm still in shock from finding out that this miracle has happened! ☺

Since we got our BFP last Friday I've been creating a pregnancy test progression line which is proving to be very reassuring. Today I'm 20 DPO (days past ovulation) and about 4 weeks gone. The test line came up as strong as the control line which was amazing to see. They get darker and darker every day. I feel so incredibly happy right now!

So far the only symptoms I have had is acid reflux and mild period-like pains/cramps. I get these on and off every day. It's the same as that feeling when you're about the come on. Yesterday I had the tiniest amount of brown (barely there) blood when I wiped. It was so light I could hardly see it and it only happened once. I also think things are starting to smell a bit too. Twice now I've wondered what the smell was and my fiance and I laughed as we kinda forgot it's part of being pregnant. 

In other news, we have our first scan booked for 19th Feb when I will be 6+6. I feel very blessed to be having one so early. When I had my miscarriage back in September 2017 the nurse at the Early Pregnancy Unit said if I ever get pregnant again I can have as many scans as I like. How kind is that?

Anyway, fingers crossed everything works out this time and I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Jess. xx

MIRACLES HAPPEN!!!!

Hey guys.

I know it's been a while! I hope you're all okay?

Just a quick update - my fiance and I were about to undergo a second IVF treatment but privately. This month was our last attempt at trying naturally. However, I can't believe I'm writing this - we got a BFP this morning. We have conceived naturally!  :)

I know it's very early days, but miracles do happen!!!

I just wanted to share our news and give hope to anyone that needs it! xx

Jess. xx

P.S: I have no pregnancy symptoms at all other than acid reflux at night! Totally different to last time when we had IVF. It was like symptom central back then.

The only thing I have had is a strange pulling sensation when I roll over in bed. I had that once last time and have had it twice this week. 

6 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

Today we're 6 weeks and I'm counting down the days until the first scan which is a week tomorrow.

Several things have happened since I last blogged. Firstly I spoke to our clinic about the awful stabbing/ripping type pains I was getting. The nurse was lovely and reassured me that they are probably nothing to worry about. We agreed that it's more than likely down to the changes going on in my body and my ovaries recovering from egg collection. Luckily I haven't felt these pains for 9 days now. 

Another thing that happened was I took a second pregnancy test. Silly I know, but the paranoia kicked in and I needed to see that the pregnancy is still there. The funny thing was the control line and one of the lines in the test window were very weak. I was in a sulk for about two hours thinking the test line was faint. Then after Googling I realised it was the test line that was very strong not the other way around. I hadn't looked at the packet properly!

After that little incident I became super happy again and all reassured. However, all I seem to do is worry. So far I've been scared that the stabbing pains are an ectopic pregnancy, that the period-like cramps are a miscarriage (or even part of an ectopic pregnancy) and that if I cry and get a bit emotional that this could lead to a miscarriage too. 

I get so many strange aches and pains and they seem to fuel my paranoia even more. For example today I sat down on a chair and it felt like someone had stabbed me in the bum! What was that all about? Who knows!

Over the past 7 days symptoms have included feeling very emotional (where I want to cry for no reason), hot, nauseous (this seems to be getting worse!) and incredibly thirsty all the time. I've also had period-like cramps, continuous sore boobs and some really strange dreams. I urinate all the time (I got up about 7 times one night!) and am incredibly very tired.

Today I'm feeling a little bit ill with a mild sore throat and have been sleeping on and off all day. 

Roll on to when we hit 12 weeks as apparently that's when all the crazy symptoms start to get a little bit better. At least that's what one of my best friends told me, who I happened to confide in during this week. So now my mum, sister and one of my friends know. 

Jess. xx

5 WEEKS PREGNANT | UPDATE

We're officially 5 weeks today and I'm going around like the cat that's got the cream! I still can't believe that we're this lucky and IVF worked for us on the first go. I feel so blessed. Of course it's early days so we can't get too ahead of ourselves just yet. We have the first scan two weeks tomorrow at which point I'll be 7+1.

A few days after the clinic confirmed our positive blood test I decided to POAS (pee on a stick!) just so I could get the feeling of seeing a positive result. The second line came up straight away and it was amazing to see after years of viewing negative results.

In terms of symptoms I'm getting very mild acid reflux at least once a day, mild nausea and feeling very tired so I usually take a nap in the afternoon! I also feel really thirsty and urinate frequently. On the day my period would have been due I had really bad period-like cramps which felt just like when I'm about to come on. Since then these have eased up a lot and I'm barely noticing them anymore.

I'm still getting these awful stabbing/ripping type pains though (mainly on the lower left side but sometimes on the right) which I believe are something to do with my ovaries. I'm not sure why this is happening but I'm guessing it could be my body recovering from egg collection. I'll ask the clinic when I go in a few weeks.

Another thing I've noticed is I'm still incredibly bloated which I believe is partly down to the progesterone I'm taking. My belly looks very pregnant which is crazy considering I'm only 4 weeks. I went to a party at the weekend and was really paranoid that people might wonder why I look so fat. It's that bad that it's hard to disguise and when I saw the photos afterwards I couldn't help but think 'wow, I am looking pretty big at the mo!'. I'm normally a size 10 so having a large belly is a bit alien to me.

That said, this could be a good thing as it might mean that both of our embryos have embedded. Fingers crossed! Apparently twin pregnancies are very different to singletons and you get everything in double from the get go! So that's double the bloatedness, weight-gain, pains, tiredness, nausea and anything else I might be experiencing at the time. If I really am pregnant with twins I'll have progesterone coming from each one as well as the the extra progesterone I'll be taking throughout the first 3 months!

Exciting times!

Jess. xx

THE PREGNANCY BLOOD TEST RESULTS

We didn't have too long to wait for our pregnancy blood test results as the clinic called at 12.30. I'm really pleased to say that it was positive so we're officially 4 weeks pregnant! I'm really excited and we have our first scan booked for a few weeks! 

Jess. xx

IVF BLOG DAY 50 | OFFICIAL TEST DAY

Today is our OTD (Official Test Day) so this morning we made the one hour drive to the hospital and I had a HCG (Pregnancy) blood test. We now have to wait for the results to be forwarded to the Fertlity Clinic and a Nurse Co-ordinator will ring us with the news by the end of today.

I'll be sure to update you all once I know!

Today I'm feeling: Nervous. 

Jess. xx

I CAVED AND TOOK A PREGNANCY TEST!

Around 12 noon today I randomly decided to take a pregnancy test. Yes I am only 3DPT after a 2DT, however I feel like if I know when the Ovitrelle is out of my system then any positive tests will be for real. Just in case you don't know Ovitrelle (the trigger shot) can cause pregnancy tests to show up positive. As a rule it can take up to 10 days to leave your system after injecting it.

Anyway, the test was negative so I guess that means it's well and truly gone. My trigger shot was 7 days ago so that sounds about right. Now I just need to try and avoid testing until my official test date. Although it would be lovely to see a positive test I think seeing lots of negative ones would be soul destroying. 

If you've had IVF did you make it through the 2 week wait without testing?

Jess. xx