17dp5dt. Still no symptoms?

30th Aug 2013 (Fri)

17dp5dt

I woke up feeling paranoid today.

Sleep quality was bad last night. Even though my eyes were drooping off by 11pm in bed, my brain was alert and unwilling to fall into deep sleep. Not sure what was going on there. My tummy was uncomfortable prob from all the gas builtup.

Got up at 1am to pee.
Got up at 4am to pee.

Despite having a good bowel movement earlier in the eve, fart like hell last night. Long loud ones and packed with omphf!Gotto be the black bean soup I had for last night.

I finally fell into deep sleep by about 7am, but my alarm woke me at 9.30am for my estroferm pill intake. I groggily took my pill and fell back asleep till 11.30am. Time for progesterone vaginal insert. Then I had the greatest sexual urge ever and before I knew it, I had an orgasm. Feeling guilty there since i read that it is unsafe to have orgasm during 1st trimester due to contractions. Well it isnt my fault my body is behaving this way!

Putting it behind me, since what is done cannot be undone...cooked myself some chicken lunch with rice. To top up my evil list for today, i drank a fresh coconut. All Chinese mothers will tell you its a No No because coconut is thought to be too cooling and will dislodge the baby. I might regret this but I couldnt help myself. I needed the drink. I wanted the drink.

Read alot about blighted ovum last night.
I am kind of concerned if it might be my case since I have no symptoms, no cravings, and its progressing as if everything was per normal. Like I said yesterday, pee stick is my only reminder of my pregnancy but that doesnt tell me if my hCg levels are rising normally.

I have said before that when I get too excited about something, it always gets taken from me? That's what I am really afraid about this baby. Maybe I am too happy way too early.

Take for example, I was just planning what to do on a nice relaxing weekend by myself this weekend as my husband was supposed to head to India for a fren's wedding. He had everything booked, visa paid etc, and just 2 days ago, suddenly he told me plans cancelled due to his biz trip on Monday. So there goes my weekend alone.

That kind of seriously jolt me back to reality and got me worrying abit if I had been thinking too much about baby's future in my head that it might be taken away from me.

I know people will mock me at my silliness and superstitious nature.
However, unless u are in my shoes to experience all those "let downs", you wont understand this inexplicable fear.

So I pray.
I pray for a safe first trimester, and a safe healthy delivery....

Symptoms

Hard to fall asleep. Hot flushes in the middle of the night.
Farts...plenty of farts.
Decreasing appetite

Cooking recipe for pregnant ladies. Chicken broth porridge.

I just thought I would share some of the simple light easy to digest food I have been cooking for myself. It's so frustrating to plough the web and see alot of sites that say eat well without telling you how to make them.

So for those who might like chicken broth porridge, I am sharing my recipe here.

Hope other pregnant ladies searching for a change in flavor will find it usual.

Chinese likes porridge because the nutrients are easily absorbed by the body.

It fills you up nicely too and the soup makes it easier to swallow down food and low calories.

I would poach leafy greens separately and add them into the final produce towards the end.

Recipe: Chicken Soup Porridge with minced pork and fresh prawns.

Note: You can play around with the ingredients to include other seafood as you like.

The key to this is having a nice chicken broth to make the meal tasty, without the use of sugar or excessive salt.

You will need to prepare the chicken stock before hand.

Chicken stock preparation

Ingredients for chicken stock

- 2~2.5 litre of water
- 4 fillet of chicken breast.
- 1 inch of smash ginger, without skin
- 3 stalk of spring onion, only the lower white half.

Chicken stock cooking steps

1. Boil 2.5 litre of water. Add the smash ginger and spring onion. Bring to boil with lid cover
2. Add the chicken breast and turn the flame down to medium and close lid to boil.
3. After 30mins, the soup should taste of chicken stock, reduce flame and boil for another 45mins to hour at small flame. Once the soup taste naturally sweet, you are done.

Ingredients to make the porridge

- to serve 2 pax,
1 cup of jasmine white rice.
- minced pork, portion for 2
- 1 red carrot.
- prawns (optional)
- 1 rinsed spring onion, chopped.
- some sliced ginger
- sliced garlic
- shitake or fresh chinese mushrooms

minced pork cooking steps (after chicken stock is ready)

1. Rinse rice until water is clear. Add to cooking pot.

2. Add enough water to cover the rice by over 3 inch. (doesnt matter if its more since I will be throwing the excess away. However, it cannot be too little)

3. Cook the rice over medium flame and stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the pot base.

4. Throw away any excess water when rice is almost ready and add chicken soup to cover rice into the rice pot. Continue to simmer.

4. Meanwhile in separate pot, stir fry sliced ginger and garlic with sesame oil till slightly brown. Add minced pork, chopped carrots (and whatever ingredients you like to add to your soup porridge) and stir. (For those who like heavier flavor, u may add salt, soy sauce and pepper) Add a dash of sesame oil for fragrance.

5. When ingredients are cooked, add to the porridge simmering in chicken soup stock.

6. Only Add fresh prawns now to the mix if you like to have some.

7. When prawns are cook, remove form flame and scoop into bowl. If you prefer it to be more soupy, add more soup into the porridge.

You are done. You may add dash of pepper and fish sauce for taste if you like but its optional.

16dp5dt... Did another digital home test to see if my hCg is rising.

29Aug 2013 (Thurs)

16dp5dt. Still over a week before my first scan.

Woke up with the same feeling of a swollen left. It isnt swollen exactly but it just feel sort of like its in a pressurised cooker since yesterday. I hope this isnt one of the side effects from the estrofem.

My appetite since yesterday has actually slowed down.
I dont feel as hungry as the first 2 weeks and I am farting less, and also my thirst level has actually gone down. However, I am still determined to keep up my fluid level.

After a bowl of leafy greens yesterday, I went out to Senryo Sushi joint, and ordered myself a steam egg, fried prawn maki roll, and a salmon fish collar. That should complete my 2 fish servings a week, with one as oily fish Salmon. For a quick lunch nutrition boost, I juice myself some asparagus, celery, half apple and some grapes with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Again, that's the fastest way to increase fluid as well as the necessary vitamins for myself. Will need to buy broccoli for juicing soon just to switch the mix around.

Dinner last night was just simple watercress pork rib carrot soup.
I wasnt very hungry but still finish my soup with white rice.
I dont understand why alot of American posts I had read said Chinese food is bad for pregnant ladies. It's so incredibly plain and simple with little sauces, I find it way way way healthier than the western diet. Maybe the Chinese takeout in America is really bad... being altered from their original form to suit the western taste with the heavier flavoring...

Today, for breakfast fried myself 2 eggs, with avocado and orange capsicum on toast. Then I had a mandarin to round it up.

Feeling nicely full, I went to POAS again.
Since there are no other test, the digital test was the only way to see if my hCg is rising.
While I dont have the actual figures, the stick now says I'm "2-3weeks" which that I shall comfort myself, means that I'm still in the race. Thank god.

Symptom
Last night was the first time I didnt have any cramping. Which is also why I decided to do a pee stick today just to ease my mind.

My weight is still falling and I'm not having any morning sickness.
This and yesterday morning, I have been registering 49.6kg when I wake.

I am presuming the drop is due to the increase meals, and my body doesnt feel like it needs to store fat. Also, because I have cut out butter with jam on bread for breakfast, that might also be a cause for the weight dipping without the sugar in the jam and fats from butter.

Misc: Baby Carriers?

While munching on my bowl of stirfry greens this morn for breakfast, I came across this blog about baby carriers... It's too early for me but being so forgetful in the world of bombarding info, I thought I should mark the page down here for future reference (hopefully!) and others.

Titled :

Why I’d Never Put My Baby In A Baby Bjorn Carrier

Link: http://megganmamma.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/why-id-never-put-my-baby-in-a-baby-bjorn-carrier/

Article extract:

...included the  diagrams below showing which style of baby carriers could cause hip dislocation in your baby (left) and which style of carrier is safe for your baby’s developing hips (right).  Arg!  What mum wouldn’t want to avoid that!  Of course they’re not allowed to mention brand names at those events, but the style they were warning against were identical to the Baby Bjorn and Stokke carriers.  I was relieved that we’d only worn Joshi in the hugabub wrap and then the ergo baby carrier, because they were both aligned with what she was suggesting were healthy for your baby’s hips.

I must just add here, that I’ve just loved, loved, loved wearing Joshi over the last 16 months, so much so that we’ve literally only used the stroller less than 10 times since his birth.  (Yes, the expensive ‘must have’ stroller that’s currently gathering dust in our storeroom).  I’ve loved it so much I’d go so far as to say that the ergo baby carrier has been the best and most useful baby thing we’ve ever bought.  Anyway, here are a few things I learned from Dr Harrington about baby carrying which I thought would be worth sharing with you:

 

If Your Baby’s Under 6 Months Old, Don’t Wear Him/Her Facing Outwards: This is a message that’s made it into the news recently  -  Forward carriers put baby in danger.  Here’s why …

• The dangling legs of a baby who’s facing outwards may stretch their developing hip joints and increase their risk of hip dysplasia.
• When you wear your baby outwards it shifts their weight distribution from their bottom onto their crotch/testicles/pubic symphysis. Imagine how you’d feel if you were sitting with all that pressure on your privates. ”The sitting bones are strong with lots of padding - designed perfectly for weight-bearing, whereas the pubic symphysis and testicles aren’t,” says Dr Harrington.
• Outward facing has the potential to interfere with normal spinal curve development by flattening out the backward kyphotic curve.  ”An absence of normal spinal curves reduces the strength and flexibility development of the spine for life; and can delay normal milestone development,” says Harrington.

One Of The Advantages Of Facing Your Baby Inwards:  Of course a really great advantage of wearing your baby facing inwards is that they can snuggle into you to seek reassurance from you and switch off from the surrounding world if they want to – something they can’t do when facing outwards.  As an adult when we’ve had enough of all the stimulation on a busy street we can just go somewhere else. Imagine how much more intense the stimulation of a busy street is for a baby and how full on it must feel for them if they’re strapped into this outward facing position they can’t get out of.  When I see babies facing outwards in a busy environment (like a busy shopping mall or street) I often wonder whether there’ll be an extra big stress-release-cry for mum and dad to deal with later.

Always Make Sure Your Baby’s Knees Are Higher Than Their Hips:Irrespective of your child’s age, avoid carriers that let their legs dangle downwards.  (I can’t help but imagine how uncomfortable I’d be being carried around like that rather than in a comfy, more natural piggy-back position).   Your baby’s support has to extend all the way from their bum, along their thighs to the back of their knees.

Get A Carrier that Gives You Good Back Support: The carriers that don’t support the back of the person carrying the baby are those where the straps are quite high on the back and where there’s not much support around the hips.  One of the reasons I’ve loved the ergo carrier is because I’ve felt that my back has been supported by its wide, think hip band.  If your carrier doesn’t support your back properly you’re likely to end up with back pain, so you really need to get a carrier that checks all the ticks for you as well as for your baby.

I hate celery....so I guess I have to juice them for the sake of folic acid.

Lugged 3 big groceries bag home. I have to keep reminding myself not to overbuy stuff since its gonna be pretty hard trying to cary 3 big bags and take a bus home. I have a tendency to over exert myself.

Today, I went out to get myself some celery. I just feel that I have not been getting enough greens....which prob explain my loose stool. Also, I read an article that indicated that diarrhea is an indication of low folic acid and that the baby neural tube defect (NTD) is due to low folic acid intake. However, what most people didnt realise is that the closing of the spinal cord supposedly ends about 5-6 weeks into the early pregnancy!!!

Link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prenatal-care/PR00112

When I think back...crap...I better up my fresh level and so I thought while I HATE THE RAW taste of celery (my least fav veg), I could put up with it if I juice it.

So for lunch to go with my 2 fried eggs white, I juiced 5 stalks of celery, 1 stalk of asparagus, half an apple (to lower the sugar level in the juice), and 4 slices of mandarin. I forgot the lemon but it will do. It tasted quite nice actually. Dont quite know where the salty flavour comes from though.

I guess I have better start juicing a glass of celery a day to up my folic acid since I dont know how much is destroyed in the process of stir frying my asparagus.

14dp5dt... can't believe I'm at this 2 weeks BFP milestone.

27 August 2013 (Tues)

Today marks exactly 14 days have passed since my 5 day embryo transfer. I'm still alittle wary and feeling surreal because all I had was a phone call last week to tell me I was pregnant.

Congratulations, you should be 4 weeks, 4 days, pregnant!



Since thankfully I still havent had much symptoms (I read it kicks in at 6 weeks and I'm only at my 4th), I needed some mental assurance and did another HPT today, just to convince myself my baby embryo is still there! Yes, the HPT line has grown much darker and even more than the horizontal control line now. Phew! I felt abit more relieved seeing a darker line.

However, I keep telling myself I'm not out of the woods yet. the next 2-3 weeks are critical.
A thousand and one thoughts flashes through my head. Alot of what ifs...and all I can do is pray.

Symptoms:
In the day, I'm generally feeling normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, it did slowly come to a slow realisation that I tend to feel a little unwell with my tummy by night time after 11pm. It has been like a standard routine. I dont think its cramp. Then again I dont suffer from much period cramp to know if what I have is considered as cramp. So all I can say is that, it felt like I needed to clear my bowel kind of heavy feeling.

All I need to do though is to lay down in a fetal position and take deep breaths. The feeling of heaviness and discomfort will pass after about 10-15mins.

What I do notice down is that I seem to establish a routine of going to bed about 12.30am, getting up to pee about 3 or 4am in the morning, and then I will sleep till about 9am where my brain just wakes automatically. I dont feel particularly tired but last night was a bit of a torture because my husband snores woke me up at 3am and I couldnt fall back asleep till very much later...

Bowel:
I'm still heading to the loo like clockwork now every morning but it has been less firm than I like these few days. Not sure why since I havent changed my diet much except for the increase of water from normal.

Diet Appetite:
It's kind of strange but I think I am eating like clockwork too. At 11am, at 2 or 3pm, at 5pm, at 7-8pm. During the first 10days, I ewas constantly hungry, I ATE ALOT. Now, I felt like its kind of slowing down. Every time my tummy starts to feel a little "off" (like tummy ache) I would grab something like fruits or soup and will feel instantly better.

Still am not eating crackers because I dont like processed food. Plus I have never been a snack eater except for ice cream and cakes, so I need to formulate what to have for munchies soon...

My water in take is also slowing down. However, I do make an attempt to drink something every 1-2 hours.

13dp5dt...Massage? Yes. No? Sesame seeds? To eat or not to eat.

Usually I would have home massage once a week, every Sunday for the past few years. I still had my massage after the embryo transfer and so I figure I prob could still have my usual 1.5hr massage yesterday.

However, it didnt feel very comfortable and my lower back felt really sensitive and I have to tell my therapist to lay off the strength on the lower back. 

When I was done, I went to google and realise to my horror, many sites claim that pregnant ladies in first trimester is not suppose to have massage, esp deep tissue for fear of causing miscarriage in the early weeks. I swear I never knew such a rule existed. Of course, there are other reports that said that such fear is unfounded if the therapist is well trained in prenatal massage and any miscarriage has more to do with chromo abnormalities than man made actions. 

Still, because I didnt enjoy the session  as much as before, I decided to skip next week and check with my doctor in the week after for her opinion.

This morning, I decided to fry 2 eggs and sprinkled some fresh sesame seeds on them to fried away. I thought it tasted really yummy. Then as you would expect, I goggled the web and to my horror, again more articles that claimed sesame seeds will possibly cause miscarriage?!

Link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/476934-why-should-you-avoid-sesame-seeds-while-pregnant/

Considerations

Some physicians may recommend avoiding sesame seeds in the first trimester if you have concerns about miscarrying, according to BabyCenter. While there is no medical cause-and-effect relationship between sesame seeds and miscarriage, it is possible for babies to be allergic to foods like peanuts and sesame seeds in the womb. To reduce this risk, you can avoid sesame seeds if it provides you with peace of mind during your pregnancy.

OH NO!

Seriously?

What have I done?!

A momentary of panic descended upon me.

Of course when I delve further into forums, I have other mums that claimed they ate sesame seeds and nothing happened to them. That kinda gave me some relief. Then I searched further and chanced upon this, which indicated sesame seeds as an ok food to eat for calcium and iron.

Link: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/pregnancy_eat_003744.htm

What special dietary needs do you have?

• Calcium helps a baby's bones and teeth to develop properly, and protects the mother's. You need at least 700-800mg a day - this can be obtained from a large glass of skimmed milk, a pot of fruit yogurt and a matchbox-sized piece of Cheddar cheese. Non-dairy sources include; fortified soya milk, tofu, dried figs, oranges, beans, spinach, canned fish, sesame seeds and white bread.

Link: http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/articles/945615/10-foods-every-pregnant-woman-should-eat

Sesame seeds

Many people do not realize that sesame seeds are loaded with calcium that you baby needs for proper bone development. Sprinkle a few in your salad; add them to plain yogurt or over stir-fry. You can also use a sesame seed paste known as tahini in the foods that you prepare.

To be frank, I never knew being pregnant has so much food restriction.

I'm overwhelmed by all these conflicting claims about what is ok and what is not.

My husband was wary about me eating tempura prawns last night but I really had a craving for it. Since I was eating everything cooked, and tempura with deep frying will leave no room for undercook, I just ate it. I couldnt feel more satisfied I m telling you. Prawns I figure has a good source of protein, zinc and selenium....so if its fully cooked, I am assuming it will be fine so long as I limit the quantity to under 4 prawns in a day.

 

12dp5dt...Life is immediately back to normal

Ok..the feeling of high is kinda over.
So life is back to normal or as normal as I can try.

Husband was on the ball yesterday after seeing the whole patch of molds on the wall, and he scrubbed so hard that part of the paint came off. That really had me cracking up when he went around calling himself "Muscle man". Then of course as his typical self, he loses steam quickly and went off for a snooze after 1 hour of wall wiping. He was eager to remind me how sweaty he was, to which I reminded him I had wiped 3 bedrooms and ALL the 4 walls by myself previously for the WHOLE day. SO yes, I DO KNOW its hard work. Sometimes, I wonder if my man thinks all I do is skive whole day at home.

Dinner last night at Otto E Mezzo @ HK Landmark Alexander Building was fabulously delicious. I was mindful of possible raw eggs in the sauces so before the waiter could start off, I had to tell him my food restrictions from first min so that he can skip those that aint right for me.

This morning I weighed myself and despite have down 3 cups of water, a bowl of soup, a bowl of fried rice with eggs and half a pear, the weighing scale indicated I am at 50.0kg. What? That would mean I must be weighting 49kg++ before food! How did I lose another 0.2kg from few days back? I had to ask my man into the bathroom to weigh himself to make sure the scale wasnt pulling my leg.

Well apparently the scale was working fine. He claimed it was the right weight for him.
My husband did say physically, he did noticed that I felt slimmer to him.

This is very strange.
Maybe it has to do with cutting all the bread out of my diet as much as possible and eating more regularly? Or is it all the hormones? I wonder if any other expecting mums out there has this issue. Losing weight at the beginning?

Maybe I should start drinking milk.
I havent had a drop of milk since before I started ivf, not even during the 2WW, so that should be over 2 months now.
Maybe milk makes me fat.

I know milk is supposed to be recommended but I still have conflicting thoughts about milk consumption since so many sources are saying it depletes calcium rather than increase...Sigh.

My lips are starting to crack despite downing so much water.
What the heck!

Meanwhile, I am also wondering if I should inform my TCM doctors.
I havent seen them since June. I should tell them the good news but something is holding me back. I also dont know if I should take any herbal supplements from TCM during this period....

Questions and more questions.
I wish there is someone to talk to.

11dp5dt...followup up call

The nurse called me about 1.5hour later after Dr Ingrid.

If I'm not wrong, it might be nurse Julie but she didnt identify herself but she happily laughed as she congratulated me over the phone. After which she proceeded to ask me if I am free on the 7th Sept for my scan. I am alittle stun and again, I stupidly asked her "So soon?" She assured me its about right:)

I was about to stupidly ask her again if I can change to weekdays since weekend is always sooo crowded then I suddenly rem, my man prob want to be there too right? Stupid stupid me.

Afterwhich, she told me Dr Lok had prescribed another 2 weeks worth of medication for me but after I told her I have 7 sticks of crinone gel left, she said I should be able to tell the dispensary to reduce my quantity when I go pick it up. So long as the amount is sufficient till my scanning date.

It's still so surreal plucking that date into my icalender in my mac and iphone.
Seriously surreal.

My husband will be off to India for his ex-colleague's wedding ceremony over this weekend and so he should make it on the following sat, if my pregnancy holds.

Fingers cross.

My poor husband has been "suffering" in his diet along with me.

Being conscious about the "hygience" level in HK restaurants, as well as the super generous inclusion of MSG with their food, I have been consistently stuck to making my own simple chicken soup dishes. I have completely cut out most seafood too except for some fish and dried scallops. Besides that, I have also avoided steaks in general and the only beef I had indulged in is the sliced shabu shabu slices which I can cooked to 100%.

Tonight though, we are heading out to Otto e Mezzo for dinner.
This booking was done 3 months ago (yes, that's how popular they are, you need to make 3 months advance booking)

However, recalling how good the food was the last time, I do look forward to this little treat.
As my man had put it across the few days back, this dinner would be either a happy or sad one. I'm glad at least for now, its a happy one:)

11dp5dt..my hCG beta bloodwork result is out.

24th August 2013 (Sat)

The nurse called me at 9.30am. She told me that I could go have my blood test today instead of waiting till Monday. However, she told me to hurry if I would like to know the results today as the blood report may take 2-3hours.

I bathe as quickly as I could and walked as fast as I could to the hospital. I was super duper thankful the heavy thunder rain has stopped!

While waiting for my turn to get my blood tested, I did a quick prayer that all will be well and that this will be a sustainable pregnancy. One of my fav lab tech came to call my name. I was thankful. I said fav not because she knows me but rather because I rem her to be the only one who doesnt prick and leave me in pain while extracting my blood.

Seeing my still wiping my perspiration, she asked if I ran here and I sheepishly nodded my head while sharing with her that the nurse who called me told me to hurry if I want my report results today. The lab tech was soooooo nice, she told me she would indicate to process my blood asap so that the result can reach Dr Lok in time before their sat shift is over. (They close at 1pm)

Blood test cost = HK490

When it was over, I grabbed a cab back with another super taxi driver. I am not kidding when I say I feel like these few months has been smooth sailing after a very hard painful early few months. It's almost like God was giving me a break and all the timing was just perfect, like the raining timing, catching the right nurses, etc etc.

If I say its not an anxious wait, I would be lying. As my life has a penchant for jinxing anything I desperately want or hope for or if I get too happy over something, I try to taper my excitement and tell myself to think the worse rather than the best.

I googled the normal hCG level, trying to see what my level might be when the nurse call me with the results later. I was checking through this blog (link) which has compact info and interesting link.

There is a nifty calculator for IVF mums, and there is a calculator for 5 day blast embryo. I thought it was amazing!

5-DAY PREGNANCY DUE DATE AND FETAL DEVELOPMENT CALCULATOR

After that, I decided to be more constructive and went about vaccuming the floor instead to take my mind off the test results.

At 12.30pm, my phone rang. My heart stopped a beat.

It was an unlisted number and so I knew it had to be the hospital.

What threw me off was the person addressing me by my English name instead of the cantonese name. Then the caller identified herself as Dr Lok. I was caught off guard. I was expecting the nurse to call me and not the doctor. My heart sank alittle until I heard the next line "Congratulations! You are officially pregnant!" 

I am not kidding you when I say that was the foggiest 5seconds in my life. It's like your life was frozen for that 5 seconds with a million flashing thoughts. Seriously?!!! I asked her. She laughed and said yes. 

Then she told me the tingling sensation etc is normal, so long as its not continuous and not bleeding alot. She also told me that the nurse will call me later to confirm the drop in medication dosage. Then she said the nurse will call to arrange for scan in 2 weeks time. Really? Seriously?

No kidding?

I am still catching my breath

I couldnt resist but to ask again "So I dont have to come in for 2nd time to test my hCg again to reconfirm?" She said "No. The figures are good. You dont have to." She still didnt give me the hcg level.

My husband was by my side when he saw my grin mixed with disbelief. 

Finally the Dr Ingrid told me to rest well and she will see me soon. 

I thanked her, hung up the phone and scream in delight!!!

I honestly still cannot be believe it!

I dont even dare to be too excited. 

My man and I are cautiously happy. 

We agreed that we are not out of the woods yet and now is the critical period where m/c is possible. 

I am hoping this will become a nice Xmas surprise for grandpa and grandma when we fly back to Australia in Sydney. I honestly pray and hope so.

For now, I shall get back to cleaning the house and getting my man to wipe off the black moulds off his study room wall which he has ignored for 3 months since my last attempt to clear themexcept those behindthe heavy cupboards..

Wish me luck ladies.

I need it! 

Obsessive compulsive behavior...I couldnt resist another pee test.

23 Aug 2013 (Fri)

Current IVF status.
10 days past 5 days embryo transfer (10dp5dt)

Ok I admit. I am obsessive compulsive. I bought another HPT but the more upmarket clearblue digital test kit.

I know I am paranoid.
I need to constantly pinch myself that this is real.
I felt the urge to test because somehow I keep feeling that it is a dream.

I need to enjoy this moment.
I really really do.

Now, the only other possible assurance that could ease my mind is a rising beta bloodwork reading. I am really counting on this...

I know my TCM doctor tell me I shouldnt drink fresh coconut because it is too cooling but I couldnt resist today. I really felt like I needed it. So I had a small one to rid the building thirst.

This is when I am at cross roads between chinese and western beliefs...
Today, I gave in to my western impulse.

Avoiding renovation work during pregnancy. Myth or truth?

Chinese culture has a custom, pregnant ladies should not have their house renovated.

As my windows desperately need to be fix to prevent water seepage, I decided to google and see if there is a hint if I should proceed. What I found from a medical website is as below and it is also recommended that anything related to paint should not be done in the presence of pregnant lady. So it's NOT a chinese baseless folklore afterall!

More interestingly, I didnt know pregnant mothers should watch out for sun exposure! I always thought moderate amount of Vitamin D is good for health!

Oh crap...What should I do now?
Cancel all the window fixing?

I thought the below information are good to know for those mothers to be.

(Credit source: South Shore Medical Center)

Be Careful with Chemicals

You probably come in contact with chemicals every day at home or work. Some chemicals are known to cause birth defects, but not enough is known about many others. Anything you touch or breathe may get into your bloodstream and reach your baby. So ask someone else to handle any items that may be harmful, including the list below, or at least think carefully before you do so:

• Cleaning: Avoid oven cleaner, aerosol spray cleaners, dry cleaning fluids, spot removers
• Painting: Avoid latex or oil-based paints, varnish, shellac, turpentine, paint strippers
• Lawn or garden: Avoid insecticides, weed killers, fertilizers
• Home renovation: Do not remove paint or do home renovation on any area in your home where lead paint might have been used. Even small repairs of painted surfaces can stir up lead dust.

Always read labels and follow directions and warnings exactly. Wear gloves and carefully wash any skin that touches chemicals. Avoid using paint or other materials that give off fumes, or at least open windows and keep the area well ventilated to keep fumes down. If you have symptoms like a headache or nausea, stop using the item and move to a fume-free area. Before handling any chemical you are unsure of, call your clinician.

Hair Color/Perm

Hair treatments include hair coloring, hair curling (permanents), hair bleaching, and hair straightening (relaxers). The amount of exposure, the timing during pregnancy, and frequency of use may be important factors when thinking about hair treatments in pregnancy. Since many different chemicals are used and manufacturers frequently change formulations, these general guidelines are offered based upon small doses, animal data and limited data in pregnant women.

Hair color and perms are considered to be low risk. Low levels of hair treatment dyes and chemicals can be absorbed through the skin. This minimal amount is not thought to be enough to cause a problem for the baby. If one is to be more conservative, it is recommended that exposure to these chemicals be avoided in the first trimester. Your hairdresser should use the most natural products available and provide a well-ventilated area for you. Because your hair may temporarily change during pregnancy, you should know that you might not achieve the desired result.

If you are a cosmetologist or work in a hair salon you may want to consider limiting the number of chemical processing hair treatments you do per day. Working in a well-ventilated area, wearing protective gloves, taking frequent fresh air breaks, and avoiding eating or drinking in your work space are all important factors that can decrease chemical exposures.

Sun Exposure

Your skin is more sensitive because of the hormones present during pregnancy. Use at least SPF 15 sunscreen during sun exposure. Avoiding UV rays will ensure healthier skin and less chance of skin cancer, hives or worsened chloasma.

There are many different kinds of sunless tanning lotions, creams, and foams that have very good results. Many of the new varieties have minimal odor and provide immediate color. The only concern is whether the active ingredient, dihydroxyacetone (DHA), is able to penetrate the skin. Studies do not confirm that it can, but some health care providers encourage women to wait until after the first trimester, just to play it safe. DHA has been used in cosmetics since 1960 and no problems have been reported. Even if you have used sunless tanners before, try a patch of skin first. Your skin may be more sensitive and irritable during pregnancy.

Tanning beds and booths are not recommended.

Another good checklist to refer to: Canadian Pregnancy Advice.

9 days past 5 days transfer....my 2nd Home Pregnancy pee test for the sanity of my mind.

I couldn't shove the nagging thoughts in my head and so while shopping for groceries, I did a detour to the pharmacy and got myself 2 packs of clear blue pregnancy test kit.

The first thing I did when I got through the main door was to shoot straight to the toilet. I did a quick prayer and pee on the stick for 5 seconds.

I held my breath as I waited for what seemed like the longest 1 min ever.

Unless God is playing a trick on me, but otherwise...I think this looks like a stronger positive line than the one I posted 2 days back!!! I think God has been kind and granted us our wish!
OMG!!! I am seriously NOT imagining this right? This is NOT a false positive right?!

I am sooo excited but also cautiously worried.
The last time I got so excited, I ended up with a M/C.
I am almost tempted to call the hospital to bring forward my blood test on sat instead of Monday but I know I shouldnt.

I dont dare to tell my man in case u know...i jinx it or something...
However, it is exciting. Not as exciting as the first time I saw a plus sign earlier this year when I didnt have a M/C baggage then. This time I am happy, but yet cautious to yell my joy in case it gets taken away again.

Will heaven be kind to let me keep this baby this time?

9 days past 5 day transfer...tummy ache again??

Not sure what is wrong but I was awaken by a sharp tummy ache again last night at about 2am. I thought it was another bout of diarrhea but it wasnt. It was just a tugging pain from my belly button downwards and central around there. That's a sharp deviation from the sharp left side pain I experienced couple of days back.

It doesnt feel like cramp. It's too singular and localised. I have no idea what the hell it is.
My bowel doesnt seemed compromised.
I do feel crap though with all these interrupted sleep.

After the brief brown specks on my panty liner last eve, and a slight trace of blood on my Crinone gel applicator, there was no further update on the "seeing" blood department.

I dont know what is happening and this 2WW is without doubt, the most nerve wreaking weeks ever with all the unknown answers to the accumulation of questions.

Think positive.
That's all I can hope to do now.

 

8dp5dt. Found mild blood stains in discharge.

21 Aug 2013 (Wed)

8 days past 5 days embryo transfer milestone.
It's such a roller coaster ride!!

Today I woke up, headed to the loo and found 3 lump of blood stains amid my crinone white chalky discharge. Ok, I must say it stunned me. All the freaky questions popped into my head "is this bad? It's too little to worry right? It cannot be the start of my period right? Is this like bright red or brown or brownish red?" Ok I sat there for good 2mins plus before I got up and flush.

Unable to resist, I plough the internet again.
What I found is this about IVF process.
Apparently spotting is normal so long as its not gushing bright red blood like normal period.
I tried to recall my last chemical pregnancy, I vaguely recall I did had discharge too but it was more brown than red, which is what threw me off.

5-Day Transfer

Days Past Transfer (DPT)	Embryo Development
One	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
Two	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
Three	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
Four	Implantation continues
Five	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop
Six	Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream
Seven	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Eight	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Nine	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy

Chart Source Credit: NYU Fertility Center

I think I cannot hold it and am gonna head out to do another POAS (Pee on a stick) HPT test tomorrow. I need to get this airy floaty non concrete feeling out of the way.

Meanwhile, I will focus on my getting contractors to fix up my window and aging window rubber that is causing the water to seep into the rooms. I know its a taboo in Chinese culture to do any renovation work at home but like as if I have a choice. Living alone without friends or relatives in a foreign land, and husband has to work, things just need to be done especially with all the series of crazy tyhoon storms swirling around and passing through Hong Kong.

I do wonder about other cultures. I rem my sister and brother in laws renovating their room back In Australia when they had their first child. Everything turned out well. So I am crossing fingers for myself. Then again, let's wait and see if I am actually successfully carrying one first. Wish me luck.

Misc reading: Incubator-cum-Microscopic Imaging System for Round-the-clock Monitoring of the Growing Embryo

I have read about time-lapse imaging system for IVF in UK and I have only just realised that my hospital has one too since last year! Let's hope it does its wonder for me....

Alot of IVF patient kept going around forum asking for "doctors" that has the a high success rate. Personally, while the doctor is important in gauging the medication dosage etc, I think the lab tech is more important...afterall, they are the ones doing the mother hen job of monitoring the status and doing the mix to cultivate your eggs!

Anycase, a light read for those interested.

Incubator-cum-Microscopic Imaging System for Round-the-clock Monitoring of the 
Growing Embryo

“Every time you take an embryo out of a standard incubator you are disturbing them from the
cultured environment with optimal gas and temperature conditions. Now with the
EmbryoScope, which is an incubator as well as an imaging system, an image of the embryo
is taken every 20 minutes automatically by the built-in camera to provide abundant
information in a non-invasive way,” said Dr. Milton Leong, Director of IVF Centre of HKSH.

“The time-lapse imaging system is a great help to enable continuous assessment of
embryonic development and better selection of embryos for implantation.” The
EmbryoScope allows incubation of up to 72 individual embryos in six sterile disposable
slides each with a capacity of 12 embryos.

Over 3,000 images for Better Evaluation and Identification of Embryos
Embryonic development is dynamic. Snapshots once a day using the traditional method
could only provide limited information for selecting embryos. Every doubling time has a
meaning. There are various parameters in selecting the embryos for implantation, such as
timing and synchrony of cell division, cell morphology by detailed observation of the nuclei
of cells, the dimensions of ensuing daughter cell, etc.

 “Let me take a recent patient case as an example. An embryo did not cleave on Day 1 and was divided into a 6-cell embryo in Day 2. If monitored once a day, the 6-cell embryo could be considered morphologically normal. However, when we played back the recording, the embryo had no sign of cleaving in the first 3 30 hours. At the 40-hour timestamp, the embryo was divided into a 3-cell embryo and in a couple of minutes split into 6 cells. Such cell division process was beyond the normal range of embryonic development and the embryo was not suitable for implantation,” Dr. Leong explained.

Now EmbryoScope provides a time-lapse recording of the growing embryos, where images
of each embryo are automatically recorded at preset time intervals which records up to 3,500
images per embryo during culture. The extra information from the EmbryoScope enables the
identification of the best embryos with greater confidence. It also allows collective review
and decision among doctors and embryologists in the selection process.

Taking Fertility Treatment into the Future 

HKSH’s IVF Centre oversees 2,000 cycles a year, in which 500-700 are Frozen Embryo
Transfer (FET). Since July, the embryos of 86 couples have been cultured in EmbryoScope,
and 39 pregnancies have been achieved. The rate is about 45.3 %, which is slightly better as
compared to our Centre having achieved an average of 39% in the last 4 years using the
standard traditional method.

“There are reports of increased pregnancy success rates with the use of EmbryoScope, but
the impact of using EmbryoScope on pregnancy rate is yet to be conclusive. At any rate, this
innovative technology is valuable as the springboard for the next leap in fertility treatment,”
remarked Dr. Leong. “We now have access to a big database of results from over 100 centres
all over the world that use the EmbryoScope. With the bulk of information about embryonic
development, training and research will be further enabled to explore the correlations of
certain characteristics of embryonic development and better success rates.”

IVF cost breakdown with HK Sanatorium Hospital

Was just clearing all those receipts away and thought I might share how much IVF may cost in Hong Kong with HK Sanatorium Hospital.

Currently with HK Sanatorium, the embryo freezing storage fee is collected on a 1 year basis (which is cheaper than the every 3 month cost). They collect the annual fee in advance but in event that your embryo is used up before the year is up, the hospital will refund you the remaining cost, so I was told by the nurse.

Since I have 7 remaining embryo, but with 3 naturally fertilised individually stored and 2 sets of ICSI embryo stored, I figured I have 5 possible round of FET if they survived thawing. So....I opted for the 1 year option.

Cost for EGG retrieval

The breakdown is

- Medicine = 1680
- Injection = 950
- OP = 12,450
- Lab Test = 17,350
- Food/Drink (opt) = 43
- Nursing Proc & Mat = 270
- Injection Service = 90

Doctor Fee
- Anaesthesiologist = 5000
- Ob&Gyn = 22,000

Grand Total for Egg Retrival = HK$59,833

Cost for Day 5 Embryo Transfer

- Medicine = 3990
- OP = 6050
- Lab Test = 15,700 (where HK$3.7 is for freezing embryo cost,the remaining is for 1 year storage fee)
- Food/Drink (opt) = 43
- Nursing Proc & Mat = 270

Grand Total for Embryo Transfer = HK$26,053

Misc cost

1. Each ultrascan will set you back by HK$1000.
2. 9 Gonal F & 3 Suppression injection will set you back by HK$90 each ( 12 injections = HK$1080)
3. 3 Hcg related jabs ( 2 for ER and 1 for ET) = HK$270
4. Medication cost = didnt track...but i think its in the range of HK$4000+?

7dp5dt...I couldnt resist peeing on a HPT. A faint line or my imagination?!!

20th August 2013

My weight stands at 50.2kg this morning.
The lightest I have been for many years.

It is 7dp5dt.
I couldnt take it and so I succumb to HPT (Home preg test) and POAS today.

Part of me is expecting a BFN because come on, let's face it, there are no symptoms whatsoever. Too good to be true right for a supposedly pregnant mum to be?

So after lunch, after adjusting myself mentally and saying one good prayer, I peed on the clearblue stick. Not the digital one, I am saving that for Sunday before my HcG test. I bought the standard + / - version.

As expected, it was a negative horizontal mocking me in my face.
I would be lying if I say I am not disappointed.
As I was about to dump it, I see a super, really super faint vertical line.

Am I imagining it or could this be possible?
I wish someone else is looking at this too and tell me what they think.

I would like to think this has nothing to do with the hCG Ovidrel injection taken on the 6th August. However, I rem 2 days before I went for ET, I had another injection at the butt on 11th August. I have no idea what that shot is so I am not sure how it influences or changes this HPT accuracy. No one else online seemed to talk about the injection BEFORE Egg Transfer. Did no one else have the shot except me???

Is it too much to hope?
Today is only Tuesday and my Beta blood test isnt till next Monday.
This wait is really torturous!!!

IVF 6dp5dt: Progesterone blood work result is back and about Crinone gel 8% usuage

Okie. Hospital called to say my progesterone is now at 59.97 (no measurement units) and that the doctor is satisfied with my current level, without a need to increase the dosage of my vaginal inserts.

The nurse went on to remind me about the blood test next Monday.
Seriously, AS IF I need any reminding?!! Lol.

Speaking of Crinone 8% gel inserts, I'm not sure what all the negative online fuss is about from some other IVF patients. They claimed its messy, etc etc.

Frankly, I dispute all those claims. They are far from messy, and in fact I think they are a breeze to use without any pain and discomfort. I read about all those progesterone oil injection leaving HUGE bruises on their butt....honestly, I dont understand why woman will want to put themselves through such unnecessary pain?

The gel is whitish and once inserted, much contradictory to some claims, it DOESNT flow out immediately. Neither do you need bed rest for it after application, life goes on. What you do need though is standby good quality pantyliner (use the kotex organic ones) to draw any discharge quickly away

I have read reports about constantly feeling discharge flowing through, and again, i have to say I didnt experience any of that. While I do need to change my panty liner, it's more to more watery vaginal secretions than usual but nothing excessive nor messy. You do not see chalky white all the time, only maybe rare occasions a few times a week. I did read somewhere that crinone gel (cream) works when u see increased water discharge.

Sometimes I think (personal view), i think when there is enough buildup inside the cervix area, it just gets dislodged and passed out together with our normal discharge. Otherwise, everything else is per normal.

The only thing I try to make sure is that I try to do the inserts same time each day.
I dont know...I just assume I should though there is no specific instructions otherwise.

One thing to note though, if you leave your panty liner unchanged over a long time, you may start to itch down there. That is prob one of the minor side effect but normally if you change your panty liner frequently (i change mine every 2-3 hours which by default 4hrs max is the norm even without crinone gel), u wont feel any itch.

6 days past 5 day embryo transfer (6dp5dt)

19th August 2013

Went to get my progesterone level blood work tested today. Wont know the results till I dont know...I suppose if all seems fine the hospital wont call me.

Again, no symptoms.
No cramp.
No bleeding
No nausea
No sore boobs.
No nothing.

In fact, I LOST weight.
When I embarked on this journey, I was about 51kg.
During the injection, on average, I was 52.8kg, bordering on 53kg at nights.
After the Egg retrieval, I was back to 51.5kg.
After my egg embryo transfer till now, I am down to 50.5kg on average.

Interesting....

Went back getting groceries and life routine.
I try not to think about the 2WW wait which I have 6 more days to find out my IVF result.
Will it be success or failure? I am assuming everyone else in similar position will feel like they are serving jailtime. It would be fantastic if I could wait it out in a beach resort or something like the previous time I was waiting for my IUI result. Time passed by more swiftly and more things to distract me in Phuket.

Now, stuck at home. I have this incredible sense of boredom, a twinge of anticipation and a whole lot of overthinking. I sound soo pyschopath...

It's funny on embarking on this path of "parenthood wannabe" is such a toil on mental power. It's almost scary to think of all the possible ups and downs down this journey. The saddest bit, you don;t really want to tell anyone else who isnt in this journey because of various reasons.  They wont understand, esp if its a big Fat disappointment.

I try to keep my mood lighthearted. No point ruining my days with things I have no control over. Easier said than done. I watched TV, read books, cook, clean to occupy myself. Yet, the mood is not something you can switch on and off.

I constantly have to remind myself "You gotto to be more level headed." Get a grip. Yet at the back of my head, I'm already toying with possible baby names in my head. My man, even though is more level headed than me accidentally let slip when he said "I wonder where we can put the crib" I had to stop him in his tracks and replied  "I think u are thinking too far ahead love." To which he replied yeah...

This 2WW is when u learn to de-clutter your life and thoughts. Finding clues about yourself. Determine what will make or break you.

Ironically, the 1 hour stretches that I impose on myself is the best 1 hour everyday because I dont have to think. I dont have to think about if its a success. I dont have to think if its a success, will it be sustainable live birth. I dont have to think when will the session be if its a BFN. I dont have to think if its a miscarriage, then how soon after I can do FET and how old I will be...

That SWEET 1 hour is when I think of nothing else but deep breathing, feeling my muscles and breathing through them. As I do my mermaid stretches, my bridge, my cat pose, all I need to think about is myself, my body and my breathing.

I dont know how other people cope with their IVF journey.
I didnt know one of our common fren who had 2 beautiful daughters were conceived via IVF till like now, which is 5 years later. All I rem was she telling me it was a difficult journey.

I guess IVF is a very personal journey. You are cautious who you tell it too and that's the beauty of a blog. You can hide behind the veil and be utterly honest and indulge in self whinning.

I dont like to talk about mine in person with anyone. Prob not for the longest time. I dont even like to talk much about it with my partner. I didnt even want him to go with me on those hospital days updates, check ups, injections etc. I just find that I can handle it better facing it alone than having to bear the weight of someone else's expectation and emotion.

I'm crazy.
It must be the hormones talking.

5 days past 5 days embryo transfer

18th August 2013 (Sun)

The 2 weeks wait is almost like an endurance game, as well as a test. A Test to see if you have what it takes to be a mother. The patience, the tolerance, the building acute sense of observation, the ability to keep your emotions in check.

It's virtually impossible not to goggle the web and read about other people's experiences. All those mums to be and new mums having already gone down this path. 

It's 5 days past now. Another week to go.
Am going in to have my progestrone checked tomorrow.
Since it doesnt tell you if one is pregnant, it is not something to get excited or nervous about.

Last night though, in the middle of the morning at 4.30am, I had the sharpest pain at the lower side of my abdomen and slowly it develop into a stomachache. I hoped to sleep it off but it was futile. So I got up, went to toilet and had a minor bowel movement. As I bend over, my tummy felt better and the pain gradually ebbed away. 

I will be lying if I say I didnt wonder at that instant if that is stomache or implantation pain. However, the fact that i DID have bowel movement is a very conflicting and confusing symptom too. 

I couldnt get back to bed. I was wide awake. I laid down in the living room sofa and next thing I knew, it was 7am. I finally got tired again and went back to sleep, a restless one.

I jumped off bed and realised it was 11.30am. 
Shit!

I panicked for a second coz I was 1 hour behind my usual time to take my Estrofem pills as well as doing my CRINONE 8% (progesterone gel), the vaginal inserts.

I calmed down alittle and when I was done, had my breakfast, massage and its time to cook dinner afain...

3 days past 5days embryo Transfer...

16th August 2013

Still dont feel anything much except there is noticeable increase in clear vaginal discharge. Also, felt a sudden surge of horniness in the morning which I had to let it pass since I read somewhere that having orgasm is bad for implantation due to uterus contractions.

It's only day 3 past transfer. 10 more days to go before I can get my official blood test. However, I prob could sneak a test at home on sat since I am calculating 12 days from hCg injection.

I shouldnt be reading all these online questions but its hard to resist.

I feel bad if my man gets disappointed.
I hope he doesnt gets too down if it doesnt happen.

IVF Predict??

Was surfing randomly and came across this site called IVF predict.
http://ivfpredict.com/

Looks like my chance of conceiving is only 18% from this site.

2 days past IVF embryo transfer and drinking coconut still, while munching my dried seaweed.

15th August 2013.  (Thurs)

Today is 2 days past embryo transfer.
I feel fine.

I am no longer nauseous.
I am starting to drink water normally again.
My hunger is back, in normal volume.

I also got back on my feet to get some housechores back in order.
In fact, my man already was waiting for me to cook his pork chop last night while he catches up on his work piling up due to all his leave.

As heaven willed it,  yesterday was Typhoon 8 in Hong Kong.
That means everything shuts down.
That means I get an extra day with my man at home with me without leave.

I am soooo lucky to have my transfer done one day before. Else it would have been cancelled!
If Dr ingrid had not moved my egg retrieval day forward, I may have missed the transfer this time round. Hence, is it destined to have this child in me stay within me? I hope so really!

On Wednesday, I had mild diarrhea.
Gave me a scare and I went to google is that is bad.
Not much info really.
So I stayed off pineapple and kiwi which I suspect was the cause of it since I had it on Tuesday night after a long day of purely soup.

Yesterday, I had chicken soup again and I craved for fried rice.
So my man having the day off cooked fried rice for me, the way I like it with diced carrots, corn, chicken and onions.

I had mine with lotsa ketchup.
I have always like mine with tomato sauce but today I liked it especially more for the sweet sour taste. While he cooked, I did 45mins of stretching and breathing exercise. Life is good, Lol!

The whole day, I kept popping into the kitchen for bites of fried rice and soup.
My body really wanted soup.

At night, I pan fried 3 iberico pork and I ate 2! Lol!
I should have ate vege last nite but I was lazy.

So today, I woke up, fried myself 3 eggs.
I had a craving for capsicum and so I diced up some, mixed with tomatoes and ate them all up minus the yolk. I cooked some chinese spinach in a small bowl too and slurp that up.

Life is back again and slowly trying to get back into the rythmn.
Still thinking if I want to go to my eve language class tonight as I prepare for dinner, and sipping my red dates, longan ginger tea.

Tomorrow I have  an acupuncture appointment.
I read somewhere that having it 3 days past the transfer is not effective but honestly, it doesnt matter, I just like to get out of the house and get my hips moving.

Currently I feel perfectly normal.
No sore breast. No weight gain.
No nothing.
Not even thirst like my previous pregnancy.

I try not to think too much and just focus on positive thoughts.

Time really flies!

Meanwhile, rather than the unhealthy sugary Gatorade which most American hospital seemed to encourage their patients, I opted to drink FRESH coconut water once a day, eat packs of dried seaweed instead. Those should cover my grounds for potassium, sodium and fluid.If you know what is in those packed drinks, you wont want to include all that in your body which is now the sacred temple for your baby. At the same time, I'm downing like about close to 2 litres of water per day. They say water helps the embryo cell division to work. I hope they know what they are saying!

IVF Embryo Transfer Day!

13 August 2013. (Tuesday)

Today's the day!!!

I am having my baby transfered back into me!!!

I dont mind 13th. 13th has always been a good number for me.

It is brewing a huge storm in Hong kong right now with potential to hit T8. It's T3 today and I am happy because it means my transfer will go on as per normal! Thank GOD!!

The rain was light as we made our way to the hospital. My man suggested a cab but I said no. I said I didnt want to stress about traffic jam and a good light walk is good for my blood circulation...hopefully. Lol.

I am LUCKY. I really am because it started pissing down buckets once I am safely into the hospital. My poor man couldnt grab a cab from the Long Q and so he had to walk halfway home before he could catch a cab. I told him to go back since I prefer he get some food ready for me than waste his time next to me.

It was a good choice since instead of 2pm, my transfer didnt start till 2.30pm onwards.
I was hungry but didnt dare to eat since it might not arrive on time. So i drank water but i wasnt in the mood of water. Instead I did some stretches and breathing exercises instead on my bed.

I met Dr Ingrid just outside her changing room and she asked if everything was fine. I told her it was fine except for the slight nausea feeling after the hCg jab which she nodded and said yeah that's normal. She asked if there were bloat or pain and I happily said no. So we strolled into the op room together and I was preped to lay down.

Dr ingrid asked my name again and the SOP questions to verify identity.
The lab lady came in and informed the doctor something.

I am still in the dark as to how many of my remaining 6 eggs made it to Day 5.

Dr Ingrid turned to announce that I have 4 eggs that made it to day 5, though some are still in the morula stage which she said is fine. So she is going to transfer 1 embryo and freeze the other 3.
Again, the one that is naturally fertilised will be frozen individually while the ICSI ones will be frozen in pair.

The one that will be transfered is the one that is fertilised naturally.
My man will be pleased. Hahaha.

The part I hate is the spectulum being inserted. I cramp up as usual and the nurse tried to get me to relax. Easier said than done lady. It took a few deep breaths to calm myself down and I was wondering what was taking the lab lady sooo long to just bring my embryo over.

They adjusted the ultrascan screen so that I have a partial view.
I didnt see the insertion of the tube but I definitely saw the embryo as a bright shining star inside me.

To be honest, I didnt feel particularly emotional but I was wondering why its sooo bright on the screen! They froze the screen and told me "The bright spot is your embryo"

Cool! So now I am pregnant so to speak. Heeee heeee

They wheel in my bed and had me gently move over from the op bed to my own bed and wheeled me back to my nice corner. The nurse said I can get up after 30mins but I laid there for an hour. I was practising my deep breathing and after that went for a pee. I was really hungry so I order a chicken soup.

It was quite funny because the nurse who came to take my order was discussing what soup to order. she told me winter melon is not good idea and alot of the otehr soup had vege that she is unsure if its good for me coz its too cooling. How sweet of her!! Suddenly, she rem there should be a pure chicken soup and flipped thru the menu and finally found it! How awesome is that! So happily I laid in bed and waited for my hot soup

It didnt taste as good as St theresa hospital soup but it was good enough for me. It felt nice to have warm soup!!

By the time I was done, changed and ready to pay, the rain has stopped!! OMG!!!
THANK YOU GOD!

The nurse gave me advice on Food Prohibition.
- NO papaya
- NO banana
- Prefer NO white veges
- Prefer NO watermelon.
- Prefer no raw food or things that may cause tummy upset.

I have to head back to check my progestrone level on monday 19th Aug (Mon), and finally the Hcg blood test on 26th Aug (Mon).

I took the elevator and I beat the crowd from the next elevator reaching ground floor. I brisk walk to the taxi Q and again thank GOD! There are empty cabs waiting and I am first in line! Talk about smooth and good timing.

I am really praying my good luck will hold and have this baby successfully with implantation.
The last time I had chemical preganancy, I had a lot of things working against me. I ate papaya, I ate iburphen for my cold, and alot of other crap for my cold.

This time round I am careful about my food and I am praying, and hoping that if god had made everything so smooth for me this whole time, please let me have a successful healthy birth too.

Of course at the back of my mind I had to stay rationale.
More than 60% of the patients for IVF first time fail.

So I am really hoping and praying for a miracle for both my man and I to cheer about not just in 2 weeks time, but in 9 months time.

I dont dare to get my hopes up because everytime when I get happy or excited, my joy always get taken away from me. It's almost like I cannot be excessively happy and I need to be in low profile about it. My man gets it and he too understand why I dont want to tell anyone about it.

I'm not obsessed about checking symptoms but I did check what are food to eat.

Wish me luck people.