Let Me Start Over

First, my 4th beta results are 625! So it didn't exactly double but it went up 92% and that's good enough for me (technically 66% is good enough). My progesterone was 230 (anything over 20 is considered good) and this makes an ectopic unlikely. He did an ultrasound but couldn't tell anything (as expected) but he did say the lining of my uterus looked thick (uh..ok) and very promising. He said everything looked good for being 4 weeks and 6 days pregnant! I'm still cautious but now with more optimism. So, after the first beta results and before the numbers started acting funky, I had written the following:

the results are in...

and I am pregnant!

I love the clever stories about how women tell their husbands they are pregnant. But when you are scheduled to take a blood test, as in the case with IVF, it takes the element of surprise out of the equation. On Friday morning I went to the lab for my first beta test. I was told my nurse would call by the end of the day. Chris was working late that evening and I didn’t want to tell him over the phone, good or bad. I also didn’t want to wait until he got home. So, we made a plan to meet for a bite to eat at 4pm.

Knowing my doctors office closed at 4:30 and being afraid they would forget about me I couldn’t help but call at 2:30 to check in (did I mention I called at 10am to check when the office closed?). I was told my results were not in but they would call. Well, as I was driving to meet Chris I still hadn’t heard anything. At 4:15, with Chris sitting across from me, the phone rang. My heart started beating really fast and I answered on the first ring. It was my doctor. He started by saying ‘you’re pregnant’ and then by interpreting the significance of the beta number (which I was already very familiar with). He went on to say that anything over 5 was pregnant but that they hoped for over 50. I knew right then my beta was low. Then he went on to say it was 102!

Chris said I smiled when he told me I was pregnant and that my lip started quivering and eyes started watering when he told me the number. When you wait so long to hear those words they are actually quite surreal. We debated to tell anyone else but decided to wait until the second beta test results on Monday. So off Chris went back to work and I went home to get ready for a fundraising gala sans husband.

That night I was so excited to see there was sushi. Then I remembered pregnant people can’t eat sushi or so I’ve heard. Why have I not been eating tons of sushi prior to now? Probably because half of the last two years were spent waiting to see if I was pregnant. Though I must say I was happy to have a reason to avoid the sushi (and the champagne)!


Contrary to the cartoon, I have not peed on a single stick! It's quite amazing really. I just wanted definitive numbers that only a blood test could reveal. However, I have three home tests. One because I just really want to see both lines turn pink. And the other two just in case I need some reassurance that I am still pregnant.