Time after LMP        Expected Range

Non-Pregnant           (Less than 10)
3rd Week                    (6 – 71)
4th Week                    (10 – 750)
5th Week                    (217 – 7138)
6th Week                    (158 – 31795)
7th Week                   (3697 – 163563)
8&9th Week              (32065 – 151410)
10th Week                 (46509 – 186977)
12th Week                 (27832 – 210612)
14th Week                 (13950 – 62530)
15th Week                 (12039 – 70971)
16th Week                 (9040 – 56451)
17&18th Week         (8175 – 58176)

My first ultra-sound is on Nov 29, 2010, next Monday. I can’t wait to head the heart beat of my baby!

There is about 2 weeks waiting time when we have no idea what is going on in my body. This extra HCG can give me reassurance and a peace of mind.

The result came back nice and strong – 23dpt Beta HCG 4083, which is almost 3 times than 17dpt HCG 1371.

I will do another blood test on Nov 24, 2010. I am still cautiously optimistic.

We are hoping for at least one healthy baby. If it is meant to be more than one, we will be happy as well.

Ultrasound has been scheduled on Nov 29, 2010. By then I will be about 7weeks pregnancy. We will know if there are more than one baby and we will be able to hear the heart beat! I am so looking forward to it.

My HCG level is a little bit high at this stage – about 3 times higher than 3 days ago. We are not sure if it will be one or two or even three babies growing in my uterus- we transferred 3 3-day embryos. I did some online search regarding HCG levels in single and twin pregnancies.

HCG levels in pregnancy

HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, is a hormone made by the pregnancy that can be detected in the mother’s blood or urine even before the woman’s missed period. This hormone is what we look for with a “pregnancy test”.

HCG is first detectable in the blood as early as 7-8 days after ovulation by very sensitive HCG assays (research assays). In real life, blood pregnancy tests will be positive (> 2 mIU/ml) by 10-11 days after HCG injection or LH surge.

In general, the HCG level will double every 2-3 days in early pregnancy.

85% of normal pregnancies will have the HCG level double every 72 hours.

HCG levels peak at about 8-10 weeks of pregnancy and then decline, remaining at lower levels for the rest of the pregnancy.

There is a large variation in a “normal” HCG level for any given time in pregnancy.

NORMAL SINGLE PREGNANCIES

HCG levels from normal twin pregnancies

Twin pregnancies tend to show higher HCG levels on a given day of pregnancy. However, there is a large variation in HCG levels between pregnancies, and great overlap exists between single and twin pregnancies.

NORMAL TWIN PREGNANCIES

The information in the table above is part of a study carried out by Dr. Sherbahn that compared HCG levels from single, twin and heterotopic (combined intrauterine and ectopic) pregnancies.

The Beta HCG level came back strong! – 170 at 11dpt.

I also went to see my family doctor after the blood work. She told me ” just relax and enjoy your pregnancy.  The baby(s) will take care of themselves.

Keep cautiously optimistic.

This morning, first thing after I woke up was rushing to washroom… pee on a stick!  I used a ClearBlue digital stick.  I normally use regular stick. When I saw the hour glass symbol was flashing, I thought I was not doing the right thing. So I asked DH to pass me the package to read the instruction. While I was checking, the symbol stopped flashing and “Pregnant” appeared immediately. I was in shock and couldn’t believe it was true. I was yelling to DH to get me the regular HPT stick. I pee on it again and the positive + sign also showed up immediately!!! I have never seen this lovely sign show up in the last 2 years trying to conceive! Oh my… I am pregnant!!! I was literally shouting at my DH. He was so excited that he didn’t know what to say. What a miracle!

I didn’t know what to do in the next 10 minutes. I just walked around the house and try to keep myself calm.  Anyway the whole day I was trying hard to keep myself calm.

I am cautiously optimistic. I will do HPT in the following days to confirm the ++. I want to call my clinic tomorrow to request an early blood test on Saturday instead of Nov 10.

I am so happy and I feel I am blessed.  I want to share my happiness virtually with everyone who visits IVF Adventure! Good luck to all.

There are no embryos left. These 3 embryos are from the April 2010 IVF cycle this year. They are strong and high quality embryos. I will cross my fingers and pray.

It’s so exciting! I can’t wait to be pregnant!

I was wondering where I am going to put 4 patches down the cycle period.  But the pharmacy said they can take the drugs back once it is taken out of the store. I can buy Estrodot but I need to pay extra money. We are not sure if the insurance will approve it or not. I will try this Estradiol for a couple days first to see what happens. I am pretty sure I need to buy some Estrodot when I have to put 4 patches.