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If you’ve struggled with infertility, you know how anxiety-inducing it can be to take a pregnany test. Learn more about my experience with Pregnancy Tests During the IVF Process!
IVF: The Pregnancy Tests
So first let me say – sorry for making you wait so long for this post! I didn’t know how I would feel either way the news went and how I felt actually surprised me. Because of that, I’ve waited. But I’m finally ready to reveal how the pregnancy tests went. And there were several of them.
So first off, I must admit that we cheated. You’re supposed to wait until the blood tests, but a few days beforehand we actually took an at home pregnancy test. We knew I’d get the call when the hubs was at work and kind of liked the idea of getting the results together, even though it was possible they wouldn’t be accurate. As you can see below, it was positive. It was such a huge relief to see that positive, even though we still wanted confirmation from the doctor. We hugged and I cried. A big, heavy, relieved cry. It had been 4 years since our last positive pregnancy test!
Then finally, the day of the blood test rolled around, which they refer to as a “beta”. You have your blood drawn and then wait until the afternoon for a call. The waits in this process are seriously endless.
I got the call that afternoon from my doctor herself (normally nurses call) and was told that they like to see an HCG number of 50 or higher to confirm pregnancy and mine was 289! I was officially pregnant! But of course they then tell you that you’ll have another test a couple days later. For me, it was Monday and I’d wait until Wednesday for my next test.
It’s sort of brutal being told that you’re pregnant and then basically being told in the next breath that they want to make sure you’re staying pregnant. It makes it harder to be confident in the celebration. And for someone who’s already miscarried before, it makes you even more aware of the possibility.
But of course we were super excited and very hopeful.
Wednesday came around and when they called with the results, it was good news. My number had risen to 601!
I did a little searching on the internet (because it obviously holds the answers to everything 😉 ) and found that part of the reason for the sequence of tests is to see if the pregnancy will be viable. If the number isn’t rising quickly enough, miscarriage is likely. It can still rise and not be good enough.
So of course there was another blood test to come on Saturday. It was the third and final one. If that went well, we’d be scheduling my first ultrasound for about a week later. I went in for the test and waited for the call.
My number has gone up to 2,446! I was totally shocked and thrilled. It would seem I was very pregnant!
The next week was another long one while we waited for the ultrasound.
The thing I didn’t expect and am still experiencing is that the wondering about how things are going never ends. I’ve had many ultrasounds at this point and I’m still always ready for the next one to make sure there’s still growth and a heartbeat. That’s ended up being part of the reason I waited. I didn’t expect to still feel such uncertainty. I’m told that’s just part of being a parent and will never go away now. 🙂
So next up was the first ultrasound and at the risk of being a total butthead I’m going to stop there. I know – this is a super short post and I’m kind of leaving you hanging, but you’ll know why next week. I won’t make you wait long, I promise. I am still pregnant and will be 11 weeks on Sunday. I will go ahead and tell you that the first ultrasound was nutty! And it’s been nutty ever since. Life has changed and I can’t wait to tell you why, but I want it to be a separate post. Sorry!!
