The night before the HCG test
Our two week wait (technically 13 days) is almost over! I go in for a blood draw appointment at 7:45 am tomorrow. We should expect a phone call sometime during the day tomorrow with the results. We decided not to take a pregnancy test at home, but to wait for the blood draw and to hear the results from the clinic. Some people test at home prior to their appointment, but the blood test is the most accurate test result. And I didn't want to go through the emotions of processing the results multiple times - regardless of the outcome.
I didn't really experience any cramping (more than couple of twinges on Day 3 post-transfer) or other "symptoms" after the transfer. Part of me wanted to feel "different" somehow, as if that would be a good sign of a successful transfer. But just like with a naturally occuring pregnancy, many of the early symptoms of pregnancy can be a result of hormones rather than early pregnancy. My body is having hormones injected, absorbed, and ingested to mimic pregnancy hormone levels, so any "feelings" could just be side effects of the IVF medications. But yesterday (Day 11 post-transfer) I had a noticable amount of cramping, fatigue, and some light-headedness. These are all things I experienced when pregnant with Gavin, so I'm hoping that they are good signs.
However, we are preparing ourselves for both good news and disappointment. If it is good news, I need to know more details about my med calendar for the remainder of the pregnancy, when I'll have my next appointment, and if there are any restrictions on foods or activities.
If we hear disappointing news, I need to know how to end my med calendar, whether I'll have any other appointments before our next ultrasound/transfer, and how we know that we can begin another transfer cycle.
I know we'll both be sad and frustrated if this transfer failed. But we have to remember that we have another viable embryo waiting for us and trust that God will give us the family we were meant to have. I think every single day that I'm so lucky to be Gavin's mom - and even though our miscarriage was difficult, we wouldn't have Gavin without that experience.
Today I was thinking that I wish we could fast-forward to tomorrow evening and know the outcome. But then I realized that if the HCG test is negative, I'll be wishing we could rewind and go back to today, when pregnancy was still possible and we were hopeful for a positive result. So now I'm trying to live in the moment and take each moment as it comes.
Ready or not, the results will be here in 18 hours or less... Eek!