Dino's fertility story: part two

The blood test was booked for early Friday morning. I was told I'd get the result between one and three that afternoon. Never have six hours gone by so slowly...

3 O'clock. Still no call. 3.30. Still nothing. By this time I was pacing up and down the room and had no fingernails left. I decided to call them. "Sorry I haven't called," said the secretary, 'I wanted to speak to the consultant as the number is a little low.' My heart sank. 'What is the number?' '98,' she said. I realised they'd assumed I was 16 days past the transfer, which is when they usually test. In fact it was only 11 days after the transfer. 98. What a beautiful number! I was pregnant.

May 2003: Problems?
We spent the next afternoon and evening deliriously happy - we just couldn't believe our luck. But, when I went to bed that night I found that I'd been bleeding. Typical - couldn't I even have been allowed a weekend of happiness and hope? It was only a bit of blood, but red blood. I went to bed waiting for the heavy bleeding to start. I was also feeling period-like cramps. Next morning, to my great relief, I found no more blood. I contacted the clinic and they told me that some bleeding was quite common with this kind of treatment and not to worry. Not to worry? Me? Never. I had another blood test booked for the following Tuesday, when I'd hope the number to have quadrupled. It was 729. No doubt about it now - I was very pregnant.

I had a few more heart-stopping episodes of light bleeding after that. I had my first scan at just over 6 weeks. It wasn't very promising. The sonographer could only see two sacs, but no heartbeat. She said maybe it was too early. I was convinced that it was all over. I went for another scan a week later and we saw two embryos with heartbeats. Oh joy! TWINS!

Twins
So that was it. We're having twins. Both of my lovely 8-cell embryos have developed. It solves the problem of deciding on whether or not to try for a sibling. It will be an instant family.

Of course, there's still a long way to go. Once you've had a miscarriage you never feel any pregnancy is a sure thing. But now that my tummy is growing and I'm starting to feel the babies moving, it certainly feels more real. I wonder what they are? A boy and a girl would be perfect. I wonder what they will look like. Not that it really matters, I know I will love and cherish them forever.