Part 6: Beta Time

Tuesday, March 6 10dp5dt: It was time to for my blood draw. I drove down to my doctor’s office early in the morning. I felt good after seeing positive pregnancy tests, but knew that the blood test could still be negative. The test took just a few seconds. I am now a pro at blood draw and all needles. Through the IVF process I was having my blood drawn every three days for 3+ weeks.


I had to wait for that phone call. It was a long day of work. I brought my phone into each office with me, ready to step outside if I saw my doctor’s office calling. I got the call around 1PM.

POSTIVE!!! My beta (HCG level) was 328. (28 is Grant and my lucky number as we started dating 08/28/02 and got married on 05/28/06) Definitely positive! I was so happy. Typing this I am getting teary-eyed. I immediately called Grant and told him the great news. He was thrilled. I called my mom, she cried. Her whole office had been following this process through her updates. I could hear her telling her coworkers that it was positive. I was pregnant!!!!

The next step is to make sure the beta/HCG number is doubling properly. I had to go in for another test on Thursday.

Thursday, March 8 12dp5dt: I went in for my follow up blood draw. Once again I waited until the afternoon, hoping for a 660+. I got a call early afternoon. The number was 544. What did this mean?! Was I not pregnant? Was the pregnancy not viable? I asked a million questions. The nurse said the doctor wanted me to come in on Monday for a 3rd blood draw before he would feel comfortable with my HCG numbers. She said that the pregnancy could be ectopic…meaning that the embryo impanted my my fallopian tube, not uterus. She said if I felt any sharp pains in my side to rush to the ER and call their office immediately. I got off the phone…googled ectopic pregnancy…freaked out…called Grant. He tried to calm me down, but there was no calming me down. I did not going through all of this to not have a baby...not when I came so close and got so excited just 48 hours ago. This rollercoaster needed to end with a happy ending. I cried. I called my Mom. I cried. I called friends. I went back to work. The only thing I knew I could control. I called my doctor’s office and demanded another blood draw on Friday…not Monday. I couldn’t wait in agony all weekend. That was not an option.