Moment of truth. BFN? or BFP?

I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting for an update, and although we knew the outcome when I made the last posting I needed a little more time before updating everyone!!

When it comes to embryo transfers they can be done at so many different stages between Day 2 and Day 6.  The typically timeframe though is either at Day 3, Day 5, or Day 6.  Obviously the later you wait to transfer, the less time you have to wait to get the results.  With a 5 or 6 Day transfer (what our embryo transfer was) you find out if your pregnant, or not, about 7 or 8 days later, it really ins’t a long wait but it feel like f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  And if you are anything like me, you POAS (pi$$ on a stick), otherwise known as an HPT (home pregnancy test), starting just a few days after the transfer .... and know 5 or 6 days after the transfer.  I don’t recommend this because POAS can be pretty unreliable, you can get false negatives and false positives, it really is much smarter to wait for the beta (blood pregnancy test).  The false negatives can be due to an HPT with low sensitivity and not having enough hCG in your urine for it to pick up, and false positives are typically due to taking a test too early and having left over hCG in your system from the trigger shot, or hCG boosters.  If you are a good patient and follow directions just wait for your blood test ... but if your like me and always had that report card that said "Talks to much and doesnt follow directions" then we obviously know 10+ years after your last report card you probably still are not following directions.  My advice, go ahead and do it, just make sure you're not to POAS too early in the game.  

I have to admit this time was a lot easier when it came with the 2ww (2 week wait). I didn’t have the ablity to sit an anlyze every twing, or cramp,  count how many times I peed in a day, if I could sniff out a dust bunny with my blood hound nose or how sleepy I got after just 5 loads of laundry and 2 rounds of dishes.  I didn't have the ablity to sit online and compare my symptoms or lack of them, to other women at the same DPT (days past transfer) as I was.  Not having the ability to know all this was both a blessing and a curse.  When it comes to analyzing symptoms during the 2ww its really hard due to all the different medications you're on.  Mostly due to the progesterone injections.  This medication is a devil for a handful of reasons one of them being that progesterone mimics almost all pregnancy symptoms.  Typically progesterone rises in pregnancy but when your an IVF pt you're getting lots and lots of this hormone (50-100mg/day) so the levels in your blood are going to be high if your pregnant or not and very so-called-pregnancy symptom you feel can always be traced back to progesterone ... or another one of the 10's of meds you're on!!  Its an evil plot from the manufacturing companies and I know plenty of women that will agree with me on that!!   

Not only did I have a lot more free time during this 2ww because I wasn't glued to the computer, not much you can do when you're stuck on bed rest, but I also was able to save myself a lot of money on HPTs because I wasn’t purchasing 3 or 4 a day.  Although...  if you didn’t know HPTs can be written off on taxes, so one may say I can be a little obsessed with HPTs during the 2ww,  I really am only thinking about our taxes and getting a better tax bracket! 

When you do Day 5 or 6 transfer the embryo is just about ready to hatch, if it isn't already hatching at the time of transfer, so implantation can happen within hours or a few days.  Below is a rough guide to how an embryo progresses after an IVF transfer. 

By this chart it says that by 9dpt (dpt - days past transfer) that hCG can be detect on an HPT, but most HPTs now a days are super sensitive and it can actual detected as early as  5dpt ... although I dont recommend testing that early at all, thats just an evil way I like to torcher myself. 

Our original beta date was set for 9/28 (8dpt), but due to some pre-planned plans, the 2ww (although really not 2 weeks, only 8 days) was pushed out to 10 days ... another lesson to teach me patients, apparently I don't learn this virtue well.  And by no means Lord and I asking for any more lessons :)  I thank you for the patients I do have, even if it is low!!  After it was all said and done it was actually nice having it push out 2 days because we were able to get the news just hours before I saw the hubby ... after 7 long months!!

Beta test are done every 2 days because hCG levels usually rise in a progressing pregnancy, every 48-72 hours.  A single beta alone can not tell you much and because of that 2 -3 blood draws are done as a way to measure the viability of a pregnancy, and sometimes even more can be needed!!

This is a chart of 'average' beta numbers based off women who submit their numbers at DPT.  

    DPO     Median hCG Level      Lowest hCG                   Highest hCG                 # of women reporting

TWIN PREGNANCY BETA LEVELS

SINGLETON PREGNANCY BETA LEVELS 

Despite all the horrible percentages of how this cycle was going to go, it goes to show how big our God is.  Whats impossible to man, is possible with God!  God is working behind the scenes, no matter what we face or what the trial!

Our beta 10dp5dt (10 days past 5 day transfer) = 165 (15dpo for chart comparison)

Beta 12dp5dt = 371 (17pdo for chart comparison)

Beta 17dp5dt = 3411 (22pdo for chart comparisons)

I read this days after our transfer in August was canceled, its from 'Today's Word w/Joel Osteen' 

If God made everything happen right away, or whenever we wanted it to happen, 

it wouldn't require anything of us.  We would miss the opportunity to grow because 

we grow in the difficult times.  We grow when our faith is being stretched, when we

have to believe when we don't see any reason to believe, when we stay in faith when

when our mind is telling us we're wasting our time, when we give God praise but we 

really feel like complaining.  That's passing the test.  When you do that every day, your 
faith is not only increasing, your character is not only being developed, but you are one 
day closer to seeing the promise come to pass. 

Today, don't give up on a promise just because you've been waiting a longtime.  Dig your heels in.  
Put on a new attitude.  God is saying, "Every promise I've spoken over you, every dream 
I've placed in your spirit, even the secret petitions of your heart, the dreams you haven't 
told anyone about, I still have every intention of bringing them to pass."  
Stay close to Him.  Obey His Word and move forward in the blessing and victory 

He has prepared for you!"

so, now that we're pregnant .... whats your guess.  One on the way?  Or two?