IVF graduates due Summer 2021

[SpyroC]

A place for those of us finally moving on from the infertility boards to share feelings, questions, tmi and to generally support each other.

@BonTon lovely to hear they are happy with the higher progesterone level now

@tikha I'm glad the scan went well for you, hopefully it starts to sink in a bit more soon. I'm sure the midwives will be in touch with you soon. Thanks for the good luck, I'm feeling okay at the moment but no doubt it'll hit me tomorrow when I'm driving there. Oh gosh that sounds like it didn't help at all with your nerves, but they got it sorted in the end and that's all that matters. My clinic sort out all my prescriptions rather than my GP, I know clinic policies vary massively though

@SpyroC I hadn't even thought about the flu jab! Thanks for the reminder, I'll look into it next week

@MGee123 thank you! Ah yes, sorry I forgot you were a fresh transfer, I'm frozen and take mine until 12 weeks I think! Still a while to go... Must be nice for you to have stopped, hopefully some of the sickness might subside a little bit now

My husband collected my medication on Christmas Eve and they instantly helped! I was able to eat tea that night, and I managed a small portion of Christmas dinner!! Honestly ladies don't suffer in silence, get medication if you need it. I feel confident I'll cope at home now without him!

I had my scan earlier this evening, the little heart was beating away 😍 and it's measuring exactly as expected, although he did say it's normal to measure a few days either side at this stage. He did say something which surprised me though, that hospitals don't normal like ivf babies to go over 38 weeks?! Has anyone else ever heard that? He said at 38 weeks the baby is fully ready so there's no point leaving it an extra two weeks as it's just open to more risks happening!

Yay congrats @ivfjourney5 ! Brilliant news! Do you have another scan soon with your clinic? We're toying with the idea of booking a 10/11 week one privately so my husband can come in as I'm assuming he won't be able to come to the 12 week one either. Glad your tablets are helping too. I'm going to see how things go for another week or so and if I'm still struggling might go down that avenue too.

Yes I have had a few people say they don't like you to go over your due date. Not heard about the 38 week thing though? Or whether they actually do anything to stop you going over?! I will try and remember to ask the midwife on the 11th!

@MGee123 thank you! It is such a relief to know everything is okay! I even got videos of the heartbeat on a portal and I keep looking back at it, also meant I can send it to my husband to see as well 🥰 Yes the clinic scan is on the 5th, still seems a while away! Hospitals have been told to make changes for all partners to attend scans, but I know not all hospitals have made the changes yet, hopefully yours will allow him in 🤞🏼maybe phone up and see what the policy is before you book a private one?

@tikha glad your scan went well and sorry about the nausea! Good intel on drugs from the GP, that would be great if so and we’ve just shelled out another £800 for two weeks’ worth...

Fantastic news about the scan @ivfjourney5 ☺️... do you have a scan with your clinic shortly as well or is that it for the moment?

Thanks @MGee123 - I need to sort all that out. I’m a bit nervous of registering the pregnancy with my GP for fear of jinxing it (which I know is ridiculous)...good that you managed some Christmas dinner at least!

I’m feeling v anxious about my scan. Symptoms seem to come and go... no breast tenderness today for instance. 5 Jan seems like a very long way away atm! xx

Congratulations on the scan @ivfjourney5 🙌🏻🙌🏻 it's so nice see. I've not heard that before but so much seems to vary depending on where you live. As I understand it, when you have you booking in they ask you loads of questions to work out the risks. I believe ivf pregnancies carry a slighter higher risk but the midwife didn't say anything to me about that are having to do anything different. I think it depends on your other circumstances. I'm glad your meds have helped @ivfjourney5 i will certainly look in to it if I feel like this when I'm back at work as I won't cope.

@MGee123 I've read that hcg peaks at 9-10 weeks which is where I am (typical to be at the worst point over Christmas!) and then the symptons "should" start to ease....hopefully I. Time for when I return to work 🤞🏻🤞🏻

@BonTon I really hate the scanxiety ! I have my 10w onr on Wednesday and I'm worried, my friend having a mc not so long ago at 9 weeks is playing on my mind I think.

I have not slept well at all for 2 days. I'm anxious about going back to work pregnant with this new strain. The gov are meeting today to decide what to do about schools reopening. I think the pandemic is making the usual ivf pregnancy worse.



🤞🏻 for this!

I seriously hope that's true @SpyroC ! I reckon I can cope with another 1-2 weeks but might start pulling my hair out if it goes on much longer. I get a 2 hour window between about 10am and 12 where I feel kind of okay, but otherwise feel awful. It's much worse in the evening too. I've just thrown up my dinner and nothing seems to make the sickness any better 😭 I miss food!! And miss wanting to eat food!! I am going to get some travel bands tomorrow to see if they help. Willing to give anything a go at the moment 😂

I can understand your anxiety about work. Can you tell your manager and complete a risk assessment to give you some reassurance?

@BonTon yes I haven't told my GP yet either. You can self refer to the midwife where we are so I just did that. I assume they will notify my GP at some point 🤷‍♀️

@ivfjourney5 yes I'm hoping they might let him in - think I will ask the midwife at my appt in Jan before booking a private scan. Hope the 5th comes round quickly for you!

@SpyroC am really hoping this is true. Am barely able to eat anything. There and working in schools is a worry. Hope they keep the schools closed for longer. Which age group do you teach.
@ivfjourney5 congratulations on the scan. Just good to have some visual confirmation
@MGee123 how are you managing at work?
I just finished my weekend of work mayhem in the nhs and took all day to recover today. It is really hard coping at work when you are constantly on the go. I had to remember to take a few minutes to have a snack to avert the nausea. Also having to wear a mask all the time means you really have to remind yourself to hydrated
@BonTon january 5th feels like an age. Hope time flies by for you

@MGee123 I find the travel bands offer some relief but don't completely get rid of it. I miss food too. I literally can't even talk about it. 🤞🏻 not much longer now. My risk assessment has just carried on from the ivf, everything I can possibly do bar to teach remotely is already in place. The midwife said "it's the worse job at the moment" 😞 said about having no proper ppe.

@tikha I teach secondary and it does look like they are delaying the phased return completely by at least a week thank goodness. They need to learn more about this new variant and reduce the spread before we go back. I was thinking we know nothing about the new variant and the effect on pregnancy.

When I found that graph I read a few articles and it does seem that ms is a good sign! I keep reminding myself of that.

Being honest, I'm struggling at work @tikha . Like you said, being on the go all day is really tough and the sickness just won't relent for even 5 minutes! It's bearable but tough. Not helped by work being totally manic at the moment. Really hoping I'll be feeling a bit better in a few weeks.

Glad you've got a risk assessment @SpyroC but I understand your anxiety. My husband is a teacher so we're both rather high risk to each other! The travel bands took the edge off the sickness in the daytime yesterday but I'm finding evenings awful at the moment.

I'm trying to stick to just cold foods, and eating most in the morning/early afternoon then just snacking. Really hoping your graph is right! I'm 8 weeks today 🤞

@MGee123 I remember you saying. Gosh trust a global pandemic to happen as we finally achieve our dream! Mine seems to be worse around meal times and brushing my teeth seems to trigger actually being sick...delightful! It must be hard at work. I was munching rice cakes in front of the kids...not sure what they thought 😂

I had my 10w scan this morning and it was amazing! Hearing the heart beat and seeing baby move is fantastic. It definitely feels more real now. 😍 it's amazing how much it's changed in 3 weeks! I still haven't heard about my dating scan so I'm very glad I booked that. I called my go to chase it up and my midwife is calling tomorrow.

Have you been to your chiropractor yet @ivfjourney5 ? I went for the first time yesterday and it made me so paranoid. He reassured me that it's fine and that pregnancy is the reason a lot of female clients go to him in the first place. I felt like there was pressure on my tummy but it's probably in my head.

Oh I discovered another delightful symptom yesterday too...I got up from the treatment and I discovered I had horrific BO! Ewwww literally never had anything like it before! Sooo embarrassing! 🙈

Thanks @BonTon yes my clinic scan is on Tues 5th, same as yours!

@SpyroC thanks! I don't think I'll be high risk but I guess I'll find out soon! The pandemic is definitely making things more scary for us, hopefully you have a good conversation with the school about how you are feeling. My sister is a teacher and she's just hit 28 weeks and is now working from home. Hopefully with secondary they understand the risks more than younger children and know to not get to close. Oh that graph seems like I've got weeks to go yet with nausea, I'm only 7 weeks tomorrow, mine started quite bad at 5.5 weeks but I presume it doesn't mean it'll ease earlier 😭 Omg I really struggle to clean my teeth as well!! My oral hygiene has really gone down the pan at the moment. Have you found any remedies to help? I'm really glad your scan went well this morning, how amazing, does it look a lot more like a baby now? I haven't been to my chiropractor since the summer when I ran out of sessions from my insurance, I was managing it okay with walks and stretches but the last few weeks I've hardly moved off the sofa and I'm really struggling because of that. I should really book myself in. I know my chiropractor sees a lot of pregnant women as well, she doesn't have children herself but when I first told her I was having ivf she was telling me about breastfeeding and everything 🙄 It will definitely be fine for you so try not to worry too much, easier said than done I know!

My midwife phone consultation is booked for the 12th! Lots to focus on the next few weeks.
Did anyone else hit a point of exhaustion? I got a solid 10 hours sleep last night (which I'm grateful for because I haven't slept too well lately) and I've already had a 45 min nap today!!

@ivfjourney5 I can work from home at 28 weeks too (although I guess this could change) you would think they'd get social distancing but they really don't. They find it hard because in the corridors, playground, to and from school it's a free for all as it's impossible. The 6th form are better but below that are not great. I just tell them to back up and they know I'm "vulnerable". I saw my dentist a few weeks back (thought I had an issue but it was fine) and she advised to use mouthwash if I can't stand to brush. I switched no a manual brush after this mornings vom and that was better too. I just know that if I don't use electric for long I'll start to develop gingivitis. Yes a clear baby now, saw an arm (it waved!) a leg, face outline and even a little hand! Mine knew about my ivf too as I was worried about my ovaries but fortunately was t insensitive like that! I too spend more time lying than standing at the moment as I'm off work and soo tired all the time it's probably not helping. My sleep has deteriorated recently too and my back/neck isn't helping. So far yesterday's treatment hasn't helped but it can sometimes take time to settle so we'll see.

I was thinking about how hard this is. When you think about it we were emotionally and physically drained to start with from the ivf too (I've done 3 fresh cycles between February and now, 1 of which was an ectopic) then throw in Covid. Ladies we are all so strong and resilient! 💪🏻 we shouldn't underestimate what we've been through-it's tough stuff! Xx

Hello ladies - happy New Year’s Eve!! Hope everyone is doing well and sickness symptoms have eased a bit for those suffering?

@SpyroC wonderful news on your scan yesterday!!! Amazing to see so much detail at 10 weeks! Was your partner/ DH able to attend? Hope that your 12 week dating scan comes through soon.
Was wondering if you’re still having trouble sleeping? I seem to be waking up 3 times in the night and don’t feel as though I’m getting any really. The bags under my eyes are enormous!! Hoping that when I stop the progesterone injections next week that might help? Wishful thinking perhaps!!!
I hadn’t realised you’d had 3 cycles this year - that is tough!! 💪

@ivfjourney5 congrats on your 7 week scan too!! Such a relief to see the very tiny baby then!!

@BonTon not too long til the 5th now! I sent an email to my GP to ask them to add the pregnancy to my records which they did the same day - and self referred to the midwife.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!! 😘

@TheGlitterFairy this was at a private place out of area a couple of friends had recommended. It was worth the money! Yes DH was allowed in, he was at my clinic too, I've been lucky in that respect. My sleep has actually gotten worse! I think it's to do with my neck and I was feeling a bit anxious about work and this new strain and not connected to me easing the progesterone. I slept better last night following on from the scan Although my bladder can't last a whole night already! That's gotten worse the last few days too. Yup 3rd time lucky for me.

The midwife called me this morning and she was fab, had called up the hospital and told me my scan was on 19/1 at exactly 13w. I'm also booked in for some other bloods at the same time as my flu jab next week. Feel like everything is progressing now.

Happy new year everyone! 🙌🏻 I will mark the occasion by doing my last cyclogest pessary tomorrow morning 😂 whoop.

Hello ladies, wondering whether it would be OK for me to join you?

I'm 13 weeks after my latest FET and my NHS dating scan is on Monday, so of course the scanxiety is setting in big time right now 😭 I did have a reassurance scan at my clinic at 10.5 weeks and all was okay so clinging on to that really. My current EDD is July 10th, but I had obstetric cholestasis in my last (twin) pregnancy and I've been told that that's a 90% chance I'll get it again this time so that will mean an induction at around 37 weeks, so late June if I get that far.

Would be lovely to have some people at similar stages to chat to throughout this, especially as we're all cooped up with very little company at the moment - I don't think it helps with the anxiety at all.

I'm in South Wales by the way, if anyone else is near there?

Welcome @SamoyedFan123 and congratulations!

I'm 10+5 and had my private reassurance scan a few days ago so am feeling pretty reassured at the moment. I agree, Covid is making this much harder for us especially with this new strain! My friend had bad pre-eclampsia first time around and she was initially told that the risk of that happening again was really high however, further down the line, more specialist staff were less worried and she is now almost full term and has had no issues. I hope that's the same for your condition, I've not heard of it, what happens?

I hope everything goes well tomorrow. This risk of miscarriage after a good 10w scan is low.

Did you have morning sickness and if so has it eased up? That's been plaguing those of us still in the 1st trimester. X

@SpyroC thank you for the welcome 😊 I'm glad your 10 week scan went well. I geeky better after mine, but a couple of days later i came down with Covid and have been really poorly for a couple of weeks so unsure whether that will have affected anything and am very nervous about tomorrow due to that mainly. I have had horrible morning sickness yes, I've been vomiting less than i did with my twin pregnancy, but the nausea has actually been worse. It's eased off a lot since 12 weeks, i still vomit in the morning when I brush my teeth, but the constant nausea has gone and it just comes in waves and after I eat too much now.

Cholestasis is a liver condition - pregnancy hormones affect the way your liver deals with bile acids abd they build up in your skin causing a constant, intense itching. It's truly horrible. It's also associated with still birth after 37 weeks so they induce. I've already had some on and off itching so I'm pretty sure I'll get it again, it normally kicks in properly after 24 weeks.

You must have your 12 week scan coming up quite soon too?

Oh poor you @SamoyedFan123 that sounds really scary. I'm really worried about covid at the moment and am glad it's just staff in my school next week. (I was really anxious prior to that announcement.) That being said there are plenty of people that have caught it whilst pregnant and everything has been fine so I'm sure you and baby will be all good. It's just another worry isn't it (as if infertility and normal pregnancy worry isn't enough!)

I feel a bit better ms wise atm 🤞🏻🤞🏻. A few of us also have the brushing teeth issue! 😬

Are you consultant led for this? It does sound horrible! 🤞🏻 it is at least less severe this time then. My scan in 19/1 at 13w exactly x

@SpyroC yes I will be consultant led, mainly due to the fact that I had an extremely traumatic emergency c-section last time, but the OC will also be cause for being consultant led. I'm desperate for a natural delivery this time, that section still haunts me - just really hope that it will be possible 🤞

Welcome @SamoyedFan123 👋 your journey sounds very stressful with the additional worry and having had COVID. I've read lots of people saying they've had COVID when pregnant and everything has been fine - I'm sure it will all be okay. It's such a worrying time anyway isn't it, without the bloody pandemic to contend with!

Sorry I've been a bit quiet ladies. Frankly I've been feeling rotten and the nausea and fatigue has totally stolen my mojo! I have finally had a few hours this morning where I've felt a bit more human and got some bits done around the house which has made me feel better. I second the tooth brushing thing 🤢 I am 8+4 now and really hoping the tide will start to turn on the ms soon!

@SpyroC so glad you're 10 week scan went well. I imagine they look v different to the 7 week blob?! We didn't book one in the end as the hospital said my husband will be allowed in to our NHS 12 week one, so we're just going to hold out for that I think. Glad also you have a few weeks relied re school.

@TheGlitterFairy happy new year to your too! How are you feeling? Do you have your midwife appt soon? Mine is the 11th which I'm looking forward to!

@ivfjourney5 I'm definitely sleeping longer on the days I don't have to get up for work. I'm usually a 7-8 hour person and feel good but am now routinely sleeping for 9 ish on non work days! I'm also big into afternoon naps and have had the odd day when I've just given up with the sickness and gone to bed at 7.30 to get the day over with 😂

Hope everyone else is keeping well x

Happy new year all!

I’m with you on the sleeping @MGee123 and @ivfjourney5 ... sneaking in a nap every afternoon atm 🙈. Sorry about your sickness @mgee123. I had a dreadful day yday but feel much better today.

Hello @SamoyedFan123! Sorry you went through a lot with your last pregnancy and also hit with covid... how are you feeling with coronavirus? A bit grim I’m sure... lots of luck with your scan tomo.

Lovely news on your 10w scan @SpyroC and equally great news on the last cyclogest pessary... what a milestone to get rid of those bum bullets 😂

Hope all well with you @TheGlitterFairy.

We couldn’t wait until Tuesday so had a private scan this morning and all looking well. The little blob’s heartbeat was fluttering away and measuring well, although slightly on the smaller side of normal. Thrilled and looking forward to seeing it again on Tuesday afternoon. Not long for you to wait to see it again either @ivfjourney5 ...

Hope everyone is enjoying the last day of Christmas break before back to work tomo for those who are restarting... it goes too quickly every year! xxx

My sleep is still crap too. I sometimes struggle to get to sleep despite being exhausted and then I wake up anytime between 1-6 and struggle to get back to sleep. It's been ok whilst off work but it's going to be tough going back to work on that amount of sleep! I fall asleep in the afternoons too but naps have never suited me and I feel rubbish afterwards!

Thanks @BonTon and great news on your scan too! Ate you 6 or 7w now? Don't worry about the size as it's not very accurate that early your literally talking about a couple of mm.

Thanks @MGee123 yes it actually looks like a tiny baby at 10w which is lovely! I thought it did at 7w at first but what I thought was the body was the yolk sac 😂