Pregnancy after LT TTC #11

something for your ms. You'll need to eat several slices with a cup of tea and your feet up and DH doing the washing up for maximum benefit :D

Dutch Ginger and Almond Slice

260g plain flour, 220g caster sugar, 150g coarsely chopped glacé ginger, 80g blanched almonds, chopped, 1 egg, 185g butter melted, 2 tsp sugar for the topping

Preheat oven, grease a 20-30cm tin, extend paper up sides. Mix all ingredients except butter, then stir in butter. Press into tin, cook, put topping sugar on when cold.

It’s not cake, it’s MS reduction medicine :shhh:

My goodness! Behind again, I'm a shocker...

Maggie - Hi! :hello: Wonderful to see you in here, and to hear that the bleeding has stopped, & HCG is skyrocketing! What a relief for you. Hope you're feeling OK and your first day back at work isn't too exhausting - maybe you too can find ways to sneak in lunchtime naps?

Lise - hope you enjoyed the movie last night, and the girls weren't too painful. Had to laugh about DH watching out from next week on, you go girl! The funniest thing I've heard for inducing labour was to wear your best pair of knickers, as Murphy's Law dictates that that is when your waters will surely break... they added that this was not a proven fact - no, really?!

LondonMiss - I'm with all the others - lock the door and sleep! You've sooo made me want to go and see Prince of Persia, I lerve Jake Gyllenhal... :D That recipe looks divine too, I'm gonna have to make it.

Brunette - can't believe its 11 weeks already, only 1 more week of house arrest :dance: How exciting for you! Hope you're feeling OK.

Juniper - got :crossfingers: for your BT tomorrow, but by the way your tiredness sounds, that bub is going great guns! Would another alternative for work be to see if you can start later in the mornings and have a sleep in? I've been finding that if I sleep in, I can get away without a nana nap during the day. Just a thought. Or sleeping in a work car sounds good! I'd be sleeping in that car trip to the GC too...

Wantbaby - glad that Monday is not far off for you now, hoping it'll be great news for you! Just a question about your tummy - did the muscle separation happen before pg, or during? Sounds painful, what you're going through.

Loula - hope you're feeling good! There are a few ladies getting towards the pointy end of things, how exciting for you all!

S'rose - when is your scan? Hope its really soon so you can put your mind at ease. Hope your tiredness isn't too overwhelming.

CK77 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY for yesterday! DH sounds like a sweetie. So sorry that you've woken up with a cold this morning though... not fair! Thanks for your advice on the sizing, am feeling more confident now (had another scan yesterday - see below). You made me laugh about the ultrasound "dildo" - thats excactly what I called it in my head. DH's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw it for the first time last week :o PS your new due date is my DH's b'day - they're lovely people, those 19/12ers!

KitKat - glad your scan went well! Thats great news.

Glenny, MissK - :hello: hope you're well! Sorry and a big hi to anyone I've missed.

AFM - had my first OB appointment yesterday, what a whirlwind! But I like him and he seems very knowledgeable (sp?), quite serious, but I guess you don't want a comedian around while you're trying to get a baby out of you?! Had another scan (woohoo) and the little chickpea is now 17mm, right on target for my due date. Heartbeat was 179, which I was very relieved to see, as it looked on the slowish side last week. So, YAY :dance: everything is going well, just tiredness, and a bit of MS in the last couple of days. The next hurdle is an early GTT, I hate those things. :doh: Feeling more confident that the chickpea will stick, I'm even going to get some PG books from my girlfriend tonight! Ooh-aah!

Have a great day everyone, sorry for the long post!

I stay away for 24 hours (if that!!) and look what happens, this is too much for my late pregnancy brain to cope with ;)

Okay - SATC2 review: I'll start off by stating although I watched the TV series, I don't have it on DVD and I didn't like the first movie. I found this one much better, though still a bit OTT in places I thought it was much more real to the TV series. Be mindful though ladies it does go for almost 3 hours so choose your time carefully. I saw it at 9pm, which is almost bed time for me anyway so I was rather tired. And the whole way though I was conscious that the Chicklet seemed to be doing somersaults (no idea how, he's very squashed in there - maybe he was letting me know his thoughts on taking him to a chick flick???) the ENTIRE way through the movie, plus the seat was uncomfortable, though I think that's just me these days anyway, and I really needed to pee for most of the movie. So I guess what i'm saying is avoid the movies later on in the piece and see everything you can in the second trimester when you're feeling great :)

Wantbaby - hope you're feeling a bit better and the pain has gone away. I have a permanent pain under my left boob, kind of feels like I have gravel rash or something there but I can't see anything. I wish it would go away!

Juniper - I was totally exhausted the first trimester and had a nap as soon as I got home from work every day. I tried to walk during lunch to get some endorphins into my body and stay awake - is this something you could do? I did find however that by 9 weeks I was okay, so hopefully it's short lasting.

LondonMiss - you SO need to ignore your neighbour and get your rest. I've started turning my phone onto silent when i'm napping (can't quite bring myself to turn it off completely, tragic I know) so I can have a good rest without interruptions.

Brunette - enjoy your jail break - nice to have something to look forward to during the week!

Maggie - glad your numbers are looking good and the bleeding has stopped. Make sure you take care of yourself and don't get too run down, it's hard enough being pregnant without being sick.

S'rose - I worked part-time for most of my first trimester so I got to finish work about 3pm and go home for a nap. I found it really helped and I was able to get through the day knowing that i'd be leaving early.

Renee - sorry you're experiencing MS. I know there are some kind of bracelets you can wear, and yet again i'm going to push the benefits of acupuncture...!

Chrissy - hope you had a lovely birthday and got thoroughly spoilt! And don't wish you had MS, I think we should count ourselves very lucky...

Leabie - glad the scan went well and the chickpea is growing nicely!'

Big hello to everyone else, sorry if i've missed anyone, i'll just blame it on the chicklet :D

Not much happening for me ATM, just hanging around waiting for this baby to come, even though he's not due for several weeks. It's a bit dangerous actually being on mat leave for so long - I keep buying expensive products I really don't need but tell myself I do...

Hi Chrissie, happy belated birthday for yesterday, firstly! Sorry to hear you're coming down with a cold. I got one a few weeks ago which developed into a secondary sinus infection (prob because I'm on prednisone and therefore not much resistance to germs) so had to get a script of amoxil from the docs, and while I was there I got the flu jab, too - all free for PG women, which was good. I too am scared senseless about my nuchal scan. I had to book mine through a place on Wickham Street; it's not at my FS's clinic. But it's not until week 12 and 5 days! With the change in you EDD, it sounds like yours next Tuesday will be around about the same time - a little earlier, 12 weeks and 2 days? I am a little older than you, and once you hit that damn 35-year-age mark you become a virtual dinosaur in the fertility game, with increased risk of Downs etc. This time my FET embryos came from July last year, so I was then only 36. Still, I can't help worrying about whether everything is going to be okay, and if not whether to do the CVS or amniocentesis. Hard to believe tomorrow is week 11. I see my FS on Monday and I have a zillion questions to ask. I was thinking about going back to work week 12, but was only going to go back for two days and I figured that would be a little silly if I was upset about bad results with the nuchal scan. So I might take one more week off work and then start going back gradually from week 13. I haven't heard about this 4D thing related to the nuchal scan. Whereabouts are you going for yours? BTW, I pee about 20 times during the night - ridiculous! Think it eases up in the 2nd to get worse again in the 3rd!

Leabie, I can't see from this screen how far along you are, but you say your FS told you your bub's heartbeat. Wow! How exciting! What is an early "GTT"?

Renee, not long now - hopefully - till your MS is over? Must be very difficult when you feel nautious and you have to work through it. I haven't had the pizza yet; Dad's birthday is the Queen's holiday Monday week, but I think I'll probably play it safe and sniff everyone else's pizza :)

Maggie, that's great news about your Hcg level and the fact the bleeding has stopped.

Juniper, are you on any hormonal support ie prog pess which might be making you extra tired?

S'rose, he keeps mentioning it and it's really starting to turn me off. I know what others mean, though, about the transvaginal scan being shoved up there and turned all around (and it's not exactly on the small side) and yet then the FS says "no sex" but I'm thinking maybe it's also about orgasms as well (sorry if TMI; it's like when you're totally anonymous you can almost say anything; sorry if offending) that might be a bit of a worry when bubs are still attaching? I am so glad your DH will be at your next scan. Can I also be nosy here and ask whether you are on any prog pess support? I am whacked on so many drugs but still struggle to sleep - well definitely through the night but then struggle to have a nap. Can't turn my brain off, but then again I'm at home and not at work either.

Re movies, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was one of the best movies I have seen this year, but parts of it were quite disturbing. I think it's still on at some cinemas. I also loved Precious, but again parts were pretty full on. I was thinking about seeing Robin Hood at some stage.

Lise, thanks for review of SATC2? Think I'll also wait (FX) till 2nd tri to see it, as it does go for soooo long. Not long for you to go now, hey? Watch out to your DH :)

Hi and belly rubs to all I've missed.

lise glad to hear you enjoyed Sex & the City 2 however, 3 hours long!! OMG!! That is a very long time to sit without a toilet break. My session tomorrow night is at 7.30pm so not too late but still! Should have just waited for the dvd. Tickets have been bought now so too late:doh:
wantbaby#2 glad to hear your DH got some info out of the antenatal class. Hope my DH does too. I have been reading lots but he hasnt. He just believes he will be a natural at everything. As for the snacks, real bonus. Didnt think they would have anything.
Juniper hope your feeling better today. Tiredness was the only symptom i had during the first trimester (and only the first trimester, left me at 13 weeks or so). Every afternoon after lunch at work without fail i would struggle to keep my eyes open. Try get as much rest as you can at night and hopefully you will be right.
loula great to hear from you. Must stalk the other thread and read up on how you are doing.
Smithy thanks so much for popping in and checking in on us all xx
LondonMiss im with Smithy. Lock the doors up and pretend your not home. As for movies. Have heard great reviews from friends about Back Up Plan and not so good ones from Wog Boy 2. Havent seen either personally though.
Brunette my obs doesnt have a scan machine in his rooms that i know of so dont think ill be getting a scan just yet but im sure if he has a feel around of my belly he will get some sort of indication on how things are progressing. They are usually pretty good like that.
Maggie fantastic news!! :dance:
Renee so cute that the kids draw you pics to wish you feel better. Thats so sweet. What year do you teach? Hope the sickness leaves you for good as soon as you hit the 12 weeks.
Chrissy Happy Birthday for yesterday! Hope you start to feel better soon.
leabie that is fantastic news that all seems to be pregressing really well with bub:dance:

Have been feeling lots more movement again today. Belly has been moving around in waves. So have one very active little girl in here!! Looking forward to next week so lets hope tomorrow goes by real quick.

Is it wrong that I'm totally p*ssed off about having to drive myself to and from this meeting tomorrow afternoon? The other person going has decided she is going to work from home in the morning and meet me there to "save unnecessary travel". Geez, my repeat beta had better be perfect tomorrow or they'll have to find someone else to go at short notice...

Leabie, I'm glad the appointment went well.

Lise, I hadn't thought of walking. I could do that. Thanks for the suggestion.

Brunette, yes, I'm on 3x 200mg progesterone pessaries daily. My progesterone was through the roof at last week's beta (620). The nurse suggested I'd probably be stopping those after tomorrow's repeat beta, which I feel a bit nervous about. I thought it was normal to continue them at least until the placenta had formed.

I've done well all week, but now I'm getting nervous about tomorrow...

Lise - Thanks for the movie review. I expect it to be a little OTT so sounds like it will be quite fun.

Juniper - I have walked at lunch time the past couple of days, and it seems to help me get that little bit further through the day without crashing. Although being winter, I anticipate this being a short term option :)
I agree that its really hard to let go of the things we believe are holding our bubs in place... But if your body has responded this far so well it can do this on its own. And they are always there to go back on if things get rocky. Hang in there apple seed!!

Leabie - Great news that things have picked up and you have a little more confidence. Glad you are comfy with your OB too. I'm sorry about the GTT - I've only heard horrible things about having those so :hug:

Brunette - I think of it like the transvaginal ultrasound is more gentle, it's not like something beating on the cervix which could maybe open it up and risk the bub. No expert but that would be my worry more than anything. And if they're already concerned, who needs to add more worry. I would be so cross if I were you honestly, if my DH was so disrespectful he would get a very serious conversation!! Sorry, serious soapbox. It takes us so long to get here, how can they not get that!
My cycle was a natural FET, the only thing I took was Letrozole. But I was also seeing a Natural Fertility Management Naturopath for about 4 mths before this cycle which I fully believed enabled this pregnancy. My FS came to the party and understood my body does not take well to being seriously messed about. I think this is also why I have been feeling so well thus far. My body was as well supported as it could be for this cycle. I was so lucky Wendy came back to my town to work!
I'm struggling to sleep too, so tired, but I seem to only sleep in short blocks through the night. Not very helpful but I guess the brain has so much to process it's hard to stop.

Scan is now 3 sleeps away - 5.30pm Monday, which means it will be way later than that but DH will be nervously holding my hand which makes me feel better. I have anxious dreams which are making it hard to relax and stay calm. DH has caught the cold, only his is a bit more cough like which seems to be worse. Poor fella has been working so hard and still is trying to take care of me when he needs to be taken care of. Don't think he quite understands me in bed at 8.30pm though, but he'll just go with it thankfully.
As for working less... I've found the lunch time walk helps, and while I am not falling asleep at the desk, I will see how far along I can get. My boss is fantastic, and if I need to reduce she won't even blink which is sensational. I just know how much we need to get done so am going to try and get through for as long as possible.

Had my repeat beta this morning and just got the result - 3,622! They wanted to see it increase 10 times (from 278 -> 2,780), so she said I did well. :dance: Progesterone had dropped to 461. I have to wean off the pessaries over the next few days, so hopefully I'll start getting some more sleep. Hello early bedtime!! I feel a bit less nervous about stopping them after the FS said that each pessary only contributes 10 to that level.

We're booked in for our first scan in 2 weeks from today. DH's mother has been asking questions, so hopefully we can work out how to keep her in the dark until then, but to be honest I think she'll guess. If the scan goes well we'll hopefully be able to get a photo (even if it means using the phone to take a photo of the screen) so we can email it to my parents (who just left on a 2 month trip on Tuesday) and show it to DH's parents.

ETA: Does anyone know where to get some non-alcoholic champagne?

Fantastic news Juniper, so very glad you feel more at ease about coming off the pessaries. And such a great number is wonderful news.

Hi Juniper,

Congrats on the Beta! I've just noticed that we have the same due date. I'm booked in for my first scan next week and I really can't wait to hear if everything is going well at this point.
Were you on a natural FET with this cycle? If it's a natural one I think they can stop the progesterone early because your corpus luteum will be producing it. I was on an HRT cycle so my body isn't making any of its own and I'll have to take 400mg 2x day for most of the first trimester.

Ladies, thanks for your encouragement. No bleeding since. One thing it did help with though was to put thinks into perspective for me. I'd been stressing about all these things in my life and the bleed showed me that none of that is as important as what's happening with the bubs. I'm a lot more zen now.

Maggie

Juniper - that's fantastic news about your numbers! And glad that you're OK about weaning off the pessaries. I was told progesterone over 100 was good, so you'll be fine sweetie. You should get a printout of the ultrasound when you have it, I think most of those machines have that capability. And as for the champagne - I bought some from Woolies, called Edenvale, it tasted sort of like the real stuff too!

S'rose - hope your 3 sleeps fly by! KWYM about the anxiety, I was so nervous until I had mine, had nightmares the night before it.

Paula - how exciting that your feeling lots of movement, she does sound active! Hope time is passing quickly for you, and the weekend flies by.

Brunette - hope you enjoyed your jailbreak today! Did you get to the movies? A GTT is a Glucose Tolerance Test, and they're a bit yuck :doh: Its testing for blood sugar abnormalities / diabetes, you have to fast, then drink this super-sweet lemonade, then they test your body's reaction to it over 2 hours. Fun fun fun. I've had a couple before, as I have insulin resistance linked to PCOS. I think every pregnant woman has to have one at some stage, to test for gestational diabetes?

AFM - been struggling with MS the last few days. Have been wearing my acupressure bands, helps a lot. Also had acupuncture today and she targetted my nausea points, boy it makes a difference, you're right, Lise!

Hi :hello: and :bellyrubs: to everyone I've missed, have a great weekend! Or if you're in Sydney like me, hope you stay afloat...

Maggie - sorry, didn't see your post - glad you're feeling more zen, and the bleeding has stopped. GL and enjoy your scan next week, hope time passes quickly for you, too.

Maggie, this was a fresh IVF cycle. We never get many embies, so we have had to keep doing fresh cycles... Are you due 2 Feb too? DH is a little miffed about the EDD because it's his older brother's and younger sister's birthday. ;) His brother's daughter was also born a few days after that, so it's a busy birthday time in his family.

Hey Juniper, out of interest, you changed FS and had success - who did you change from/to?

Chrissy, we used to be with Dr Kilvert. He was lovely, but refused to investigate whether I had endo (said it wouldn't alter his treatment protocol and I later found out he could only diagnose endo, not remove it). We switched to Dr Molloy who is a bit of an endo guru and the first thing he did was a lap to diagnose and remove endo in March. This was our first IVF after that lap.

I find it so amazing how much/little info we get given from different FSs. I am referring to the talk about progesterone levels. I did a HRT FET this cycle. The only time I found out my progesterone level from a BT was when I was almost 6 weeks. My prog level was 160. Since then, my FS was not really interested and never requested any more blood work; just did the transvaginal scans.

Juniper, good news that your prog level is so high and you can be weaned off them feeling confident. If you're too tired to drive, that is a health & safety issue which I think you should raise with your boss - but then I suppose you have to tell him/her .... Hmmmm ..... Sick day?

Leabie, I am reassured that you have heard a prog level over 100 is good! Glad that the acupuncture is helping with your MS. I saw SATC2 and had lunch - had a great day, thanks for asking.

AFM, I'm seeing my FS on Monday and we are discussing weaning me off drugs I think from week 12, which scares the pants off of me. I have a zillion and one questions for him. He's off on hols soon so I need to be extra prepared with my questions. Poor man.

Hi to all the other lovely ladies out there!

Leabie, I was actually told that they just wanted to see progesterone over 50. I wonder why they differ? I'll check Woolies for that Edenvale too, thanks!

Brunette, fortunately I wasn't as tired yesterday, so the drive wasn't too bad. Of course, then I was worried about the fact I was less tired. :rolleyes: I'm trying to hold off telling work until after we tell our parents (which is after the scan). I may have to tell them earlier if this nausea gets too much worse though.

So, no morning pessary today, which meant I slept in until 9am!! It's now 2.30pm and I'm completely ready for a nap! Yep, that sounds like a good idea. :shhh:

Afternoon ladies, hope you're all having a lovely weekend. It's a gorgeous sunny day here today so i'm sitting at my dining table in the sunshine, so nice.

Brunette - glad the jail break was good. So what happens after this week, is it back to business as usual or building up to normal?

Paula - the chicklet is very busy inside also, and I thought they were supposed to slow down towards the end. I guess it's a sign for me that i'm not close enough yet...

S'rose - it's good that your work is supportive. At this early stage, I still say if you need to rest then rest up - nothing is as important as keeping yourself well during your pregnancy.

Juniper - congrats on your levels, you must be relieved! As for the pessaries, I have absolutely no idea as I stopped taking the crinone as soon as I got my BFP. Glad you're able to get some more sleep now you don't have to wake up at certain times during the night :)

Maggie - glad you're feeling a bit more zen - you might have to spread some around to the rest of us!!

Leabie - glad the acupuncture was of some help in relieving your MS, hope it continues to stay away for you!

AFM - have had cramps and a sore back for the last couple of days which of course i've googling like mad in the hope that it's a sign that labour is imminent, and although it can mean that they're also just symptoms of late pregnancy, so i'm not getting my hopes up. Well I am getting my hopes up but trying not to or it's going to be a very long 3 weeks, especially if the chicklet is late..!!!

Hello and belly rubs to everyone else xx