Without a Hitch

For the first time ever, retrieval day and transfer day went along without a hitch.  They retrieved 18 eggs (the thought of that scared Jason Pierce to death).  We got our nursery updates and by transfer day, once again, we only had two to mature.  Those two, however, looked "very promising."  I held onto the picture of my two "babies" for the two week wait for the pregnancy test.

As the days passed right after the transfer, I did my part by relaxing as much as I could and hanging upside down for lengthy amounts of time (for optimal results).  Yes, I really did hang upside down!!!!  I have no idea if any of that helps, but we had a lot at stake here so I was not going to look back with any regrets!  With each passing day, I looked for ANY signs of being pregnant and I felt nothing! Of course, in the first few weeks of pregnancy, most people don't even know they are pregnant yet!!!!  I rubbed my belly, sang songs, and every motherly thing I could think of to keep those sweet babies comfortable so they would stay!  By the way, two weeks is a LONG time to wait!

The last day of school that year was pregnancy test day. I tried everything I could think of to stay positive.   That was easier said than done, because I had experienced the pain of finding out it didn't work.  I just didn't know if I could endure that pain again. 

I had not gotten back to school 30 minutes when I got the phone call.....I was PREGNANT and it WORKED!  Elated is not a big enough word for the way we felt.  They told me my numbers and they were extremely high (which could be a sign of multiples).  Although that freaked me out, I knew I was ready for any blessing God granted the Pierce family.  It was a great day, and I'm pretty sure I didn't stop smiling at all!

In about two weeks, we went for the first ultrasound.  There they were...beautiful TWINS.  Yes, it was a shock (more for daddy than for mommy), but we were somewhat prepared for the news.  They were the most beautiful pieces of "rice" I had seen (that was about their size).  We got our first official pictures of baby "A" and baby "B" and I carried them with me everywhere I went.  It seemed that all of our hard work had paid off in the most exciting way!

During the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, we remained with the infertility doctor and had weekly visits to see our little pieces of heaven.  On our next visit, I saw that oh-so-familiar face on the ultrasound technician's face.  It was a face that tried to smile while figuring out how to share some disturbing news.  As I looked on the screen beside me, I began to see what she was concerned about...one baby was growing right on schedule while baby "B" was lagging behind.  They tried to reassure us that it is somewhat typical for twins to vary in growth.  It isn't that uncommon to see this.  Although they gave their very best efforts to reassure us and encourage us, I had a horrible "mommy" feeling. (It would turn out to be the first of MANY uncomfortable "mommy" feelings, unfortunately).  They told us not to worry and to come back in a week to have the next ultrasound.  I tried my very best to think positive thoughts over the next week, and even began believing them when they said that this was typical.  After all, we had worked hard to get here and these were happy times.  Right?????????