Angelina's Story
Posted Feb 7, 2006 (Last updated March 26, 2007)

Hello. My name is Angelina. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for almost 3 years now. We went through 3 miscarriages and quite a few different doctors. When I was pregnant the first time, I caught the pregnancy at about 2 weeks according to my calculation. The baby didn't even last 1 month, so I never did go to a clinic.

The second pregnancy, they didn't even do a blood test to confirm the pregnancy and to check the hormone levels. I had two visits with the nurse and both times I requested a blood test to make sure everything was going fine. On the third visit, we had an ultrasound only to confirm my worst fear that we were no longer pregnant. The ultrasound tech didn't even have the professionalism to tell us we were not pregnant. Instead, he told us that there was something going on in the uterus, the walls were getting very thick, and we could be a few weeks pregnant. We should have been over 12 weeks pregnant. I think the least we expected was honesty that we miscarried. The regular doctor was suppose to review the ultrasound pictures and get back to us about what was going on. Nothing....not even one call from our doctor and we even left him a message when we didn't hear from him and still no call back!

The third pregnancy, we switched to another doctor. I had bleeding for almost 1 month straight. They couldn't give me answers about the bleeding and just did the routine blood work to make sure I didn't lose too much blood and an internal exam where they put a glove on to check for any abnormalities. Shortly after, we ended up miscarrying that one as well (the last week of September 2005).

I was referred to a specialist by a friend. It's about a 45 minute drive, but it seems like we finally found a good doctor. October and November went by with no cycle, which is normal for me since my typical cycle is 60 days long. He ran the first batch of tests and there will be another set of hormone tests after I get a cycle. There's the possibility that I don't produce enough progesterone to stay pregnant as well as some other miscarriage possibilities like the shape of my uterus since I had cervical cancer removed at 21 and they scraped out the uterus. He is the first doctor who is putting us as a priority. He didn't just tell us that we're young, to relax, try again, there's nothing to worry about. For once, he confirmed that something is going wrong and that repeated miscarriages are not normal.

It is now December 2005 and I am still waiting to have a cycle so the doctor can run the second set of tests. So far they've only confirmed that my prolactin (which produces breast milk) is slightly elevated. If I don't get a cycle in another few weeks, I need to go in for a pregnancy test via blood work. I keep telling myself not to get my hopes up, but it's hard not to. My husband and I started getting the baby room ready a year ago. Now all we need is a baby.

Update from April 13, 2006

To update everyone who has read my story.....I have taken 3 months of Clomid (50mg, 100mg, 150mg) but with no luck since I didn't ovulate, according to the dr and my BBT chart. I was referred to a fertility clinic in the same hospital. I am almost finished with my fourth month of Clomid at 150mg and the fertility clinic ordered the hCG shot to get me to ovulate on schedule and then insemination the following day. My DH has 6-7% normal form sperm, which we just found out. We have an appointment on April 18 to have an ultrasound done to find out how my eggs are developing and to determine when I should get the hCG shot. My husband and I are very excited at the possibility of becoming pregnant in a few weeks.

The other thing I wanted to mention to those of you who take Clomid and track your BBT. The fertility clinic said my dr was the only one in that hospital who still takes BBT to determine ovulation. Most doctors no longer use that method because it is not reliable since many things affect your temperature. Just because you don't see a temperature spike, doesn't mean you haven't ovulated. I fought with my previous dr on this because I was 100% for certain that I ovulated on 100mg of Clomid due to the other indicators that ovulation had taken place, but he said my BBT told otherwise. I asked him if he would do an ultrasound so we'd know for certain if I ovulated on the next rounds of Clomid and he didn't want to do that either. He said it wasn't necessary. He also said that the women who complain on these sites about BBT chart not working are bitter because they did not get pregnant on Clomid. And to think I initially believed him...

So ladies, follow your gut instinct if something doesn't seem right and get a second opinion. I will keep you all updated if I get a positive preg test.

Update from May 31, 2006

On May 26th, I went in for an ultrasound to see how my eggs were doing (cycle day 14). When I do ovulate, it is always late (cycle day 21 or much longer). My husband and I continued to receive bad news, and thought the 200 mg of Clomid wouldn't work in May, because I only ovulated on Clomid once in the previous 4 months. But, to my surprise, I had 7 eggs (4 on one ovary and 3 on the other) that were ready for ovulation. I was ordered to give the HcG shot that night and then on May 28th, we did the insemination. The fertility nurse asked which side was hurting more and I told her that both sides were extremely sore, which meant I released eggs from both ovaries.

We are waiting to do a home pregnancy test June 11 (14 days after the insemination). Our chances of getting multiples is pretty high, so we are hoping for it. My husband and I only want 2-3 children to complete our family, so receiving multiples would mean I would never have to go through this emotional roller coaster again (if we didn't want to).

I will keep everyone updated on the results of my pregnancy test. Two weeks after the pregnancy test, an ultrasound can be done to see if there are multiples, so I will update everyone later on in the month as well.

Update from June 9, 2006

I took a pregnancy test today and it was positive. I called the clinic to set up an appointment for blood work, etc. My dr. is on vacation until July 11th and they scheduled me for July 14th. After talking it over with my husband, we'd feel a lot better if we could see a dr. now to get the initial blood tests done and to get a blood pregnancy test so they know where the hormones are at. I talked to a local clinic and she said my dr. should have a replacement dr. when he is gone. So I called the clinic again and left them a message to get me in sooner with someone else.

I'm pretty sure I have multiples because my lower abdomen, where the uterus is, is very protruded and firm. I never had this in my other pregnancies. I get hungry every 2-3 hours. But maybe it's because before we had the insemination procedure, I was really sick for 4 days and lost 10 lbs.

Updated July 29, 2006

Another update....did a home pregnancy test and it was positive. I went into another clinic while my dr. was on vacation and they did two rounds of blood work in one week to make sure the pregnancy hormones were doubling. When I got the results, she said they more than doubled. I asked if she could tell me if that meant multiples, but she said we'd have to wait until our ultrasound on July 14th with my regular dr.

July 14th, the dr. did all the routine prenatal exams, more blood work, and an ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed triplets !!! My husband was so surprised and very excited. I knew there were 2 or possibly 3, but my husband didn't believe me. The dr. informed us about the high risk of triplets and said I'd need to have a c-section, which is a procedure I don't believe in unless your life or your child's life is in danger. I've done my research online and found many ladies who delivered triplets via natural delivery. So I'm going to talk to my dr. when I have my next appt. August 10th.

Other than that, the babies are all the same size and heart rates are all within the normal range. I told my husband that we're going to have all girls, but again he doesn't believe me. They said 120-180 beats per minute are normal and they were at 173, 175, and 179. My friend who recently had twin girls told me that females have a faster heart rate in the womb.

I've been going to garage sales, buying baby clothes, bottles, etc. We are getting two more used cribs this weekend. I'm already getting the baby room ready for the extra space and made a new cleaning schedule that I can do while the babies are sleeping (after they're born). Our friends hired a cleaning lady, but my husband and I figure why not save any extra money we can. And besides, I'm a clean freak and I'd rather do it myself.

Everyone cross your fingers that I carry all three full-term. I will continue to keep you updated.

Updated Sept 12, 2006

Just saw the doctor September 7th and had another ultrasound. This ultrasound was to check the cervix and the doctor said it was very low, which is what he wanted to see (that it was stretching). We were told that next month's visit, we would know the sex of the babies at that ultrasound, but the ultrasound tech told us what she thought they were. She thought two were girls and one was a boy, but the doctor said we'd know for sure at our next ultrasound, since everything will be more developed. All three babies were doing great (despite all the negative things I hear from worried family members). It's funny when you need to most support, it seems like you get the least.

But heck, what do I care. These babies will be held full-term and will all be healthy. On Sept. 11, I will be 4 months 1 week pregnant.

For everyone else out there who is trying to conceive, always be positive because things will always work out one way or another....just don't give up.

Updated Dec 27, 2006

I just had another appointment with the doctor on December 22 to check the fetal heart beats and the cervical length. The cervix is a little less than half the normal thickness. But, like the doctor said, I am carrying triplets so it's not like they're expecting the cervix to be normal thickness. And the cervix is still closed, which is good. At the previous ultrasound appointment, all 3 babies were around 3 lbs each. I'm hoping they continue to gain 1 lb per month. The doctor changed my due date from the 20th to the 22nd, since my birthday is on the 22nd. By their due date, I'd like them all to be 5 lbs. My doctor is not exactly an optimist. He first told me that the goal was to carry them to 32 weeks, which he thought would be a challenge to me. Well, needless to say, I've had such an easy pregnancy. December 25th was 32 weeks and all 4 of us are doing great. I plan on delivering them via c-section on my birthday, but my doctor said that he doesn't think I'll be able to do it.

Updated March 26, 2007

On January 8, 2007, I delivered my triplets at 8:30 a.m. My water broke at 5 a.m. when I got out of bed to use the bathroom. At first I questioned it and kept telling myself that it must be a weak bladder and not the water breaking, but when I stood up from using the bathroom, the water started coming out again. I checked with my finger and sure enough it was coming from my birth canal. My lower abdomen had been sore for the past 3 nights and I had contractions for over a month, but they weren't timed. I questioned the doctor and he said there was nothing to worry about unless the contractions became timed. Well, now I know that my body was telling me I'd go into labor soon. Anyone else out there who is pregnant with multiples.....if you are getting a lot of contractions, even if they are not timed, take it as a warning that labor might not be too much farther down the road.

I named them Erika, Alysia, and Zachory. Erika was our lightest (just over 4 lbs) and Zachory was our heaviest (almost 5 lbs). Erika's lungs were developed (her water broke and she was ready to be delivered). Zachory and Alysia's lungs were not as developed, so they were on oxygen for a while. They stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks and we seen them every day. It was a little frustrating seeing them so healthy, but we couldn't bring them home until they could drink enough on their own (they were getting fed with a tube down their nose at first). Our two girls came home first and Zachory came home 3 days later.

There are a lot of sleepless nights...getting up every 2-3 hours. My husband just went to work, so I am learning a lot of little tricks to make it easier. We keep them on the same feeding schedule so we're not feeding them all day. They're getting better at using the hands-free bottle feeder, but sometimes they want to be held and fed. It's hard giving them hands-on attention, but I'm getting strong arms holding two babies at the same time. I'm thinking out getting the triplet carrier, but I think that might be a little heavy to carry 3 babies around at the same time.

Well, I won't take any more time writing about the little stuff. Everything is going very well and they're gaining a lot of weight. I'll try to keep everyone updated. Good luck to all those wishing upon a star. I know your dreams will come true.

Congratulations :-)