Humming Right Along...

Still here, still p/g. Apparently. No cramping, spotting or pain so all seems to be good. Though I know that until I have that viability ultrasound next Monday there is still some reason to worry. I know what can happen in these early weeks and I know that there are such things as empty fetal sacs and all that business. So of course I am cautious about this. Who wouldn't be after having travelled the road that I have over the last five years?! SERIOUSLY?!!

I have to hold out some optimism too though. The bouts of nausea (though no vomiting as of yet) and the tugs and pulls in my lower abdomen, some heartburn now and then (something I never experience!) combined with the extreme fatigue (I've been trying to nap in the afternoons when possible) and the irrational, emotional outbursts kind of indicate to me that things are humming along smoothly. I think.
Lord, I hope!

I have to say though, much like Kate over at Kicking You from the Inside, I think my digestive system is on strike. It's at a total standstill, guaranteed! Now from what I have read, I understand that it's my body taking more nutrients and things to create a placenta, to feed a growing MB (who shall be called Petit for blogging purposes) and the increase in progesterone levels that slows everything down is causing all of this to happen. I gotta say though, it's no picnic. I'm not embarassed to tell you that colace has become a staple in my pill regimen. Whatever works and is safe, I'll try!

Speaking of trying things, hubby and I indulged in a little fun last night for the first time since the transfer. I'm terrified of causing uterine contractions though and 'losing' Petit somehow. Logically, I know that can't happen. But I hear stories of some REs asking patients to abstain from intercourse/orgasms for the duration of the first trimester while others only ask that you abstain until the beta. (My RE in Montréal asked that I abstain til at least the beta but they didn't tell me anything after that. So I'm hesitant.) I'm of the mind that somewhere in between the two is probably the best. And as long as there is no cramping, spotting or pain, and we take it easy, then it's likely okay. What do you know about intercourse after IVF transfer? What directions did you receive from your RE after embryo transfer?

Today marks 5 wks 6 days into this pregnancy. And I'm starting to investigate baby books and things like that. One of my girlfriends has a few books from a couple of years ago (a pregnancy yoga book, a baby name book and a couple of others) and I might ask a woman at my office who had her second child last year if she has any reference materials for me. I hear that "Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" is an amazing book that sheds some perspective on pregnancy and does it with humour and lightheartedness. That sounds like something hubby and I could get into.

Though I confess, I doubt we'll need a baby name book. Five years ago when we naively started this journey, we had names picked already. One for a boy and one for a girl. We still love those names and we'll probably go with them in the end. But I can certainly browse a book to see if something else strikes me as a great name to use.

I hope everything is going well for all of us during this joyous month. And if you find yourself wishing that your month was much more joyous, believe me when I tell you, your time will come. Hard to have faith, I know. But it will happen. Love to all the bloggers and thank you for keeping up with me.