Twelve.1

196.

Sorry, I have not been trying to be coy. We have had storms here all day and my internet connection dies when it gets cloudy. Damn satellites.

So the hcg yesterday (um, let's say 14 dpo, shall we?) was 196. For reference that is lower than the last pregnancy at 14 dippos (god bless my mother, she cannot shake this word), lower than Patrick, lower than the one before Patrick that looked normal but wasn't, and much much lower than the twin pregnancy I had that fizzled completely.

I will admit that I was terrified that the nurse was going to call and say, "Your hcg levels had to be sent to NASA for tabulation and... now, are you familiar with the term googolplex?" When she came up with 196 I was, like, oh.

Oh, I say again.

Oh.

How very... unsensational.

One, though, I think, don't you? What was your beta around now, if you ever checked? And was it quintuplets (it was, wasn't it! wow, you look great!)? I will go for another blood draw tomorrow but no results until Thursday; thus nothing to do in the meantime but theorize...

Comments

[Jessica]

I can't remember what it was with M off the top of my head and I can't go upstairs right now to look, but with B it was 60 at 15dpo (a Friday). By Monday (18dpo) it was 396. He was 16 weeks old yesterday.

[Emma B]

Mine was 160 at 14dpo (injectibles/IUI cycle), and I'm now 30 weeks along with twin girls. I know Suz @ Within the Woods and Persephone @ In the Barren Season also had betas right around 160 with their twin pregnancies.

FWIW, my mom is my RE's nurse, and when she called me with my first beta, she said she wouldn't be surprised at all if was multiples. In fact, it may have possibly been triplets -- at 5 weeks there was a "something" that may have been a blood clot or a third sac.

Of course, it's hard to draw correlations between hcg and # embryos, but with a nice high beta like that, I'd say that there is at least the possibility of multiples.

Wishing you the best of luck!

[Jennifer]

14dpo my beta was 216 with a singleton. At 20dpo it was 4826.

I hope that number 12 is the lucky one. 196 seems like a great start.

[Michelle]

I've only had chemical pregnancies and never reached 196, so at least I can offer that despite the bleeding, your bean(s) have properly implanted. The bleeding could have been an early loss of one bean, with a stronger, healthier bean still hanging on. Hoping for a good, doubling beta tomorrow. I hope 12 is your lucky number!

[Chickenpig]

11 days post transfer my HCG was 101, and after two days it was only 175. My twins are now happily playing around me. 196 seems a great start to me, I think people put much too much stock in HCG numbers, frankly.

[Tania]

With Lexie my HCG was 76 at approx 10 days past O, so your numbers sound great to me.....FYI she is now almost 4!!!

[Scotia]

Julia your blog, which I read in London, is a tonic to the mind and soul and your quick wit and superb writing would get you a column over here on the Guardian in an instant. So much so that I regularly wonder about giving the editor a ring...But to the betas. We don't go in for them so much in Blighty because they are regarded as pesky, fiddly,costly and viciously misleading. I had 151 in your circs with my first pregnancy. I then had very nearly 2000 13dp3dt with my twins. The nurse informed me that this was probably a molar pregnancy because the count was so high.Pernicious fool. All of which does rather lend to the idea that betas are meaningless.

[Emily Drew]

Oh, I'm hoping hoping hoping. *fingers crossed* *toes too*

[colicmommy]

Colicboy-- 89 at 12 dpo; was never checked for doubling.

[Linda]

12 days post transfer I was 170. Ended up with twins.

[Reese]

No beta numbers from me, either. Borrowing a line from Akeeyu - (please stay).

[Angela]

I can't recall what my dippo was, but the first time I puked and had a test done, my hcg was 42. A few days later it was at 96. And then we had Harper.

[lindy]

My 181 at 14dpIUI is now a healthy singleton 3 year old.

[Christine]

My triplet pregnancy:

14 dp iui - 227
16 dp iui - 539

All three made it. The number really tells you very little in terms of multiples, but at this point 196 is good. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you and refreshing like a madwoman on Thursday.

To LauraK: I believe dpiui would be the same as dippos, because they try to time the iui to be on the day you ovulate. Mine was an iui too.

[Kay]

My 16 dippo with my son was in the 800s. He was a singleton.

My daughter at 14 dippo (love the word, by the way) was in the 200's. Singleton.

196 sounds divine.

[jody2ms]

Beta at 14dpo with my first son was 37. He is 11 now.

[electriclady]

145 at 14dpiui with a singleton. And as you've already been told many times, I've heard of plenty of women with initial betas lower than yours with multiples, so...

And I have to echo the commenter on the previous post re: Steve's swimmers. They sure are persistent!

[swampy]

Hey, here is another data point for you. I had an IVF converted to IUI this cycle because I only had 4 follicles. IUI was July 14. Beta on Monday (July 31) was 498. Hoping there aren't 4 in there.

[Beckik]

My first and only pregnancy, my first draw was 364 and that was when I thought I was 3.5 weeks pregnant but actually ended up being only 2.5 weeks pregnant so don't fret yet! I've heard numbers all over the place. Crossing fingers, toes, whatever I can over here!

[Erin]

15dpo: 89

17dpo: 357

20dpo: 952

Successful birth of baby boy at 37w5d: priceless

Anyway, I think your numbers sound good!

[Jen]

At 11 dp3dt, my beta was a whopping 63. Turned out to be twins, though we lost one at 8 weeks.

Hoping fervently for you that at least one of the quintuplets/sextuplets sticks around for good.

[hydrogeek]

De-lurking to say my hcg at 13 dpo was 64. It was a mini-stim cycle with IUI. That hcg put me in my 22nd week of a very uneventful pregnancy after two miscarriages. (I know, I'm a novice at the whole miscarriage thing.) Good luck!

[Nancy]

The gnu knew! Or, uh, good call on the pregnancy feeling. I think that initial number sounds very solid and happy judging from your past levels and my whispered consultation with Dr. Google. 196 -- it just has a nice round symmetry that smacks of auspicious beginnings (and which I bet Patrick would appreciate).

Hoping for a good doubling figure Thursday. Which had better be cloud-free, damn it.

[Rach]

Don't have any beta levels. I love your blog, and this is IT! :)

[Diane]

Still wishing you luck.

[Lynnette]

11 weeks today with twins:

10dp3dt 164
12dp3dt 448

I'm hoping there's a keeper or two in there for you! GL!

[Amy]

I never had mine tested that early, so no opinions on your beta. Just best wishes.

P.S. I hope those storms you had, which are allegedly headed to Chicago today, do something about this obscene heat!

[spacemom]

with S: 14 dpo, hCGbeta was 64
She is now 4
With L: 20 dpo, hCGbeta was 2707
Big difference between the two

singletons in both cases...
(good luck)

[JennyK]

For obsessors, the following site is a favorite: www.betabase.info

I didn't see it listed in the comments above....

My beta at 12dpo was 212, but that was with twins (but only one made it past 5 weeks).

[sheilah]

My beta was something like 96. They were 3 day embies...don't remember what day my first beta was, probably 11dp3dt??

He's just a bit younger than Patrick now (3.5).

[bethie]

Mine was 724 at 14dpo with twins. But from reading the other comments, that doesn't mean much! Whether it's one or two, I'm rooting for ya.

[Dara]

Delurking to add my numbers from my twin pregnancy:

15 dpo 194
17 dpo 352
20 dpo 1241

I had a slow start...but they are healthy wiggly 4.5 month old baby boys. I hope you'll have giant new numbers for us all to gawk over tomorrow! Good luck!

[twocatmommy]

My beta with a singleton at 15dpo was 201 and at 17dpo was 540.

196 looks promising to me - not worrisome in itself. Wishing you all the best!

[j]

My beta at 14 dpo (10dp4dt) was 197. I was initially pregnant with triplets (three heartbeats) but lost one, ended up with twins. IVF betas tend to be a bit lower than "natural" pregnancy betas, I have read, and seen anecdotally. 196 sounds like a good solid number to me.

[Katie Kat]

GO BABY GO! I don't remember my numbers, but just hang in there and think doubling thoughts. I know it's hard to let yourself hope after so many false starts tho. Just take a deep breath honey! Only one more day until the next results (hopefully they at least double!).

Lots of crossed parts here for you!

[JenH]

I'd say that's a great number! At 13 dpIUI I was a 46 and he's due any day now.

Fingers crossed for you because I swear sooner or later another one is going to stick for good!

[runnerwoman]

My beta at around there was about 88. It actually was twins, but one of them was an under-achiever and never developed past the sac stage.

[Sarah]

81 at 12 depose (that's how I say it) and about to deliver any day now. My 3 m/c were all much lower and normal 5 yo's preg was a bit lower but I can't remember how low because it was blissfully before any of the m/c I just assumed I'd carry to term.

[Sarah]

81 at 12 depose (that's how I say it) and about to deliver any day now. My 3 m/c were all much lower and normal 5 yo's preg was a bit lower but I can't remember how low because it was blissfully before any of the m/c I just assumed I'd carry to term.

[Mir]

Oh. Oh. Not that I didn't enjoy the vomiting story the first time, just for the sake of a vomit story, but you know, when I said "my first thought was that you were pregnant" I was hoping googleplex, myself.

But for the record, my 14 dpo HCGs with both viable pregnancies were both between 100-200. Though this is so not the issue with you, anyway, right? It's like saying that if you have the right SPF sunblock you won't develop breast cancer. Or something.

Anyway, good thoughts coming your way, my vomity friend.

[Sheila]

Just hoping and hoping for you over here. All that estrogen from the weekend conference might help, no?

[The Aitch]

My beta was like 182 at 15dpo with this pregnancy.

[Libby]

Just stopping by to say that I am hoping good things for you. I hope this one stays. Best of luck.

[terri c]

I know, this is the waiting game that is so hard. Damn. Wish you could drink, but... Sending you all the best wishes I can find anywhere!

[patricia]

I am one to find good luck signs in everything - not that it's ever done me any good.

But I have to think that you got pregnant despite "them" is good. And 196 is just perfect. Couldn't be more normal or more uneventful. Let's hope for more of that.

[Emily]

I went through all the fertility issues, and thought I'd remember every number. Of course, now my mind is a total blank. But, by all the comments here, your number looks totally solid.

You've got the power of the online world sending you positive energy to the little one growing in your belly. 12 is a very good number.

[Katie]

I was just watching something on DHC called men having babies, it was about a surragate mom. Her levels at 14 DPtransfer were I believe 196, healthy singleton. And to throw my 2 cents in both my girls did not show up positive on a HPT until about 5 days after my period was due, so 19DPO. My numbers were low, but they are now nearly 6 & 2. Heres to 2 Healthy babes for you!!

[Andrea]

Can't remember betas from my m/c or first successful PG, but for the huge 22 month old running around here, it was 906 at about 19 dippos, and 4126 at about 22 dippos. But then he measured small on the first u/s, so maybe I was even further along than that. But he was born on his due date, so who knows...

Anyhow, I think 196 is a nice, solid number. Congratulations. I admire your persistence and courage.

[Crystal Graves]

I read through your archives over a period of weeks, and since I had also read your most recent entries I knew that none of the previous pregnancies resulted in a sibling for Patrick. Now--I really hope this works for you! Patrick needs a brother or sister or both! Good luck!

[MP]

I also admire your courage and your cheerfulness. I've only had four miscarriages, albeit all in one year so maybe I'm a miscarrying prodigy, but my inclination is to never have sex again, ever, because I am not going through that again. The way you pick yourself up and try again is amazing to me.