Good News!

Well, we found out today that my hCG level is a positive indication for pregnancy! I say it like that, instead of saying that we're pregnant, because we won't be positive about the pregnancy until Wednesday. But, we are excited and celebrating the fact that we have such a wonderful indication this early on!

This morning while having my blood draw I asked the nurse what exactly we were looking for in this test. I told her I knew the hCG level should be above 5 to be an indicator of pregnancy, but she told me they had never really seen a successful pregnancy if the level isn't about 12-14 at least. She said it would be better to be 30 or 60, or even 100, because then we could have a very positive feeling about pregnancy. She said she would send the blood test out and get the results rushed so we could know as quickly as possible.

We were to expect her call between 10:00 and 10:30. So, Randy and I decided to meet for a cup of coffee (decaf for me!) and wait. Tammy called at 10:15...right on time! The first thing she said was, "Cory, you're pregnant." I just about fell out of my chair! She said I had an hCG level of 234! That's excellent news, because she said that a higher number like that is definitely a strong indicator. However, we do still have to go back on Wednesday to have another blood draw and make sure that number doubles to 470 or so before we can say we are pregnant for sure.

Randy and I are still in shock. We both kind of looked at each other and said, "Okay, what now?" It's crazy because every step of the way there seems to have been some sort of obstacle to overcome and we just didn't expect this part to have been so easy. I was thinking last night, as I laid awake for hours, that we are so blessed. I couldn't imagine being lucky enough to have this blessing bestowed upon us so simply. It just seemed like we needed to work a little harder than we have for it. I'm still processing the fact that on June 6, 2009, we may have a little addition to our James Family. Wow.

After Wednesday, if the blood test shows a positive result, we will go back on Friday for another one. Then, we will have our first ultrasound on Friday, 10/10. Tammy said that the first US is pretty anti-climactic because all it shows is the position of the developing fetus. They need to make sure that it's not an ectopic pregnancy or anything like that. Although it's unlikely, that's still a very small possibility. But, when we have our second US on 10/17, we will be able to see a heartbeat. Or, according to my mom, heartbeatS! At that time, when we can see heartbeats, we will know if one or both of our embryos made it. Even though I've wanted this for a long time, I realized that I'm not sure I even know what to do with a baby. How will know how to take care of one baby, much less two? But, bring it on! If it's one, that's great, but if it's two then we don't have to worry about anything else because our family can be complete. I know that the good Lord will not cast burdens upon me that I cannot bear!

Update!

My mom called tonight and they got their electricity back on a little while ago! Hooray! Luckily it hasn't been all that warm there, but temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days. Their little generator was enough to power their water well and their refrigerator so they had running water and ice, but that's not a replacement for cool air on those hot, humid days. What a relief for them to have their electricity back on!!!

Our Embryo Transfer

Today we had our embryo transfer! I'm really excited and anxious to find out if we will be parents. Originally I had decided not to post about it because I didn't want to get excited, and also didn't want to answer questions, in the event that the transfer didn't work. But, I can't keep anything to myself, so practically everyone knows about it anyway and I decided that this is much easier than answering the phone every five minutes! :) Thank you for all of the prayers and positive energy that is being sent our way. I have more than once been overwhelmed today by the wonderful support and well wishes that we have received.

So, yes, overall everything went well this afternoon. When Randy and I first arrived Dr. Preen told us that we had one embryo for sure that made it through the thawing process but he didn't about the other one making it. He explained that at this stage they should be hollow in the middle when they are thawed, but one had not expanded as well as the other. The one that did, however, looked just as good as the day it was frozen according to Dr. Preen. In the rating of the embryos, that one was Excellent or an A rating. The one that was lagging behind in the beginning ended up expanding and getting to the place it needed to be in time to make the transfer. That one was rated as Good, or B. I'm just so thrilled that we had these great results since 1 in 5 embryos don't make it through the thawing process at all. We were pretty nervous and very aware that we could very well get there and not have any embryos to transfer at all. As it happened, both were transferred in a very easy and quick process! I had to lay in an inverted position with my head down and hips up for twenty minutes, then flat on my back for another forty minutes. Then, they got me up, drew my blood for a baseline and sent me home. I'm on 24 hour bed rest per doctors orders. After 24 hours, I can resume normal activity. Randy is doing a really great job of taking care of me and waiting on me so I don't feel like I have to do anything.

My marketing team at VistaCare is bringing us dinner tonight. Christi made lasagna, Cheryl brought a salad and Molly is bringing us her wonderful brownies. I might start with dessert! I was told that my work had a prayer circle this morning to pray for Randy and I (and for our little babies!). I know that I am blessed to work with such a wonderful group of people!

I will have the blood test on Sept. 29th to find out if my hCG level is elevated. That is a pretty good indicator of whether or not we're pregnant, but two days later I will have another blood test and if the hCG levels have doubled then we know we are. I will keep you all posted on how it works out for us!

The 100 Year Rain and Hurricane Ike

We had the rain of the century here last week. Literally! The newscasters kept referring to our 8+ inches of rain as the 100 year rain. It's generally pretty dry in West Texas, but for some reason last Thursday conditions were just right for storms to keep forming over us and drenching the South Plains. There was no severe weather, just a long period of steady rain. That may not sound like a record setting event to my friends in Houston or some other places that get rain very often, but the drainage systems in Lubbock just aren't set up to handle that much. Never, since the weather has been monitored and recorded, has there been more than 6 inches of rain at once here in the Hub City. So, you can bet there was flooding! We've never seen schools close for anything other than a severe ice storm, but they did indeed close schools due to the flooding all over the area. I think that may have been over reaction to the rain, but when they had to make the decision there was no indication of when the rain would stop. But with rain, as opposed to Hurricane Ike as my mom and step-dad were dealing with just two days later, the water subsided and everything was back to normal. I wish I could say the same for my mom's situation. They are still without electricity and phone. Neither are expected to be restored for 2-3 weeks. They didn't sustain any damage to their property but neighbors of theirs had roofs blown off and trees uprooted. They do have generators to run some things like the TV, and at night a window unit for their bedroom, but that's about it. Click here for a very frank look at some of the damage caused by Hurricane Ike. All in all, it's been pretty eventful as far as weather is concerned in the past couple of days. Hopefully we can stay dry in the days ahead!

Tailgating

It was a great weekend! I am starting to think that tailgating should be the new Olympic sport for 2012 though. Whew...it's a tiring experience! We have a group of tailgaters that start on Friday night and pack up to go home on Sunday. It's lots of fun, until Sunday rolls around. But, we must be gluttons for punishment because we just keep doing it over and over for each home game. I keep telling Randy that when we get pregnant and have little ones that we won't be able to do it like this. So far that has just given him ammunition to enjoy it while he can. Here are some pictures from last weekend: