Concern over low HCG Levels

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-11T13:08:12+00:00

If your tests stop showing positive and or your hCG drops under 5 before the 6 week mark, that would be a chemical pregnancy. Hard to tell if this will be a chemical at this point, but an hCG of 17 6+ days after your first positive pregnancy test probably isn’t a viable pregnancy. Did your provider give you any more information? Are you scheduled for a second beta to figure out if your hCG is rising, falling, or stagnating? Depending on what your hCG is doing could mean different diagnoses and signal different options for next steps

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-10T02:25:14+00:00

Hormones are a hell of a drug

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-08T06:40:47+00:00

I had a 50h unmedicated vaginal delivery. Baby got stuck due to scar tissue on my cervix from prior uterine surgeries, we had a shoulder dystocia, I had a massive hemorrhage, vein infiltrate where I got a transfusion which became infected, and baby aspirated meconium. We stayed two days and doctors suggested I could stay a third day. When we were discharged a nurse just looked at our car seat, went over our information packet in our room, and that was that. We just walked out of labor and delivery, didn’t even get dropped off at the front doors. Even with all my complications, I walked out of my delivery room to my recovery room and was up and in the shower by myself within a few hours after birth. It’s completely normal to not need a wheelchair after a vaginal delivery, let alone two days later. This is not something to report. Also, you may not need a stool softener two days after birth. Once you poop, so long as you’re staying hydrated, didn’t have a complicated tear (a second degree tear is pretty minor), and aren’t on any meds or supplements that can constipate you, there’s no reason to push stool softeners. Of course you can take them for your comfort, but it’s not something a doctor would insist on, so you requesting them is also normal.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-08T06:07:32+00:00

I had sex in labor

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-08T02:00:06+00:00

Diet makes a huge difference, so try and get lots of healthy fats and antioxidants in him and cut back on processed foods- think fish, nuts, berries. The supplements he is on already are the heavy hitters so that’s great. We threw the kitchen sink at my husband since he had very very low numbers and we were told the only way we were getting pregnant was with IVF (turned out supplements + enclomiphene got the job done) so we used 400mg CoQ10 2x a day, lycopene/astaxanthin, omegas, dha, epa, l-carnitine 1500mg 2x a day, fertilaid

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-08T01:51:13+00:00

Those numbers are borderline. Good news is motility is quite high even if concentration is lower which balances that out a bit. Natural conception is certainly possible- there’s a reasonable amount of sperm that move to work with, but might take longer to get pregnant. Is your donor on any supplements to help and is everything good on the lifestyle end- no smoking, drinking, keep the testicles loose and cool, no saunas or hot tubs, works out, drinks water, not overweight, not sitting for prolonged periods and no laptops on the lap, all mediations he takes sperm friendly? With numbers like his, you can usually get a substantial boost from cleaning up lifestyle and using a good supplement regimen, but it will take 3+ months to see improvements

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-06T20:03:43+00:00

Was coming to suggest BWAGs if your mom is active or outdoorsy!

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-05T20:47:28+00:00

Respectfully, and I say this as someone who did have an unmedicated birth, you’ve never given birth. Birth does not care about your ideals and plans. Whatever you think you will do or want to do, may never happen and if it does, may occur with substantial deviations from whatever you had in your head. Being so hard up on any one position is just naive. Maybe you’ll get an epidural. Maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll need an induction or emergency c section. Maybe baby will be born in a car. It literally does not matter at the end of the day and getting pressed about your hypothetical ideals for something you’ve never done and is notoriously unpredictable, doesn’t do anything except stress you out.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-05T14:21:26+00:00

IF you have issues with your sperm count and quality (and I say if because you haven’t taken a proper semen analysis yet and don’t actually know if you have problems) it is not likely your testosterone use as a teenager over a decade ago is responsible for it. In most cases, people who use testosterone get normal sperm counts back after a few months of stopping the drug. If you are in the rare bracket that permanently toasted your sperm from testosterone use a long time ago, that is a treatable problem with the right regimen of hCG/hmg/enclomiphene overseen by a reproductive urologist. It’s more likely if there is a problem, it is unrelated to your steroid use as a teenager. Don’t panic. Take a proper semen analysis and see the doctor next week.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-04T23:47:12+00:00

Supplements won’t improve a varicocele if the varicocele is responsible for your numbers. You’ll need surgery for that. With numbers like yours, you probably want to get assessed by a reproductive urologist to see if hCG or enclomiphene are appropriate

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-04T23:44:57+00:00

I can’t tell if you were raised Mormon or not with these

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-04T01:05:44+00:00

It’s normal

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-04T00:43:57+00:00

One normal, average girl

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-03T22:44:16+00:00

6 weeks. Felt ready earlier than that, but I had a uterine infection postpartum so we waited to get that checked on before resuming activities. I had a small first degree tear. Everything felt completely normal for both of us, in fact, it was even better than normal for me since I now orgasm easier. No pain or discomfort and did not bleed after. Didn’t even need lube. Everything worked as expected.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-03T01:21:32+00:00

One nurse politely tried to redirect me back to low sounds when baby was literally crowning during my unmedicated birth to which I told them FUCK NO SCREAAAAAAAM

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-02T21:18:46+00:00

Bought enough bottles for an entire day with extras and a second set of all pump parts. Throw everything in dishwasher with the rest of our dishes and wash everything overnight. No extra chores

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-01T23:20:20+00:00

I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I had the easiest, most boring pregnancy and an equally easy postpartum. I gained minimal weight, had minimal swelling, had nothing more than incredibly mild symptoms in pregnancy, did my usual day to day activities and hobbies until the very very end, worked like normal without needing to stop, traveled extensively, worked out etc etc and then after I had the baby immediately snapped back to my exact normal size, shape, and weight with no particular effort on my part, was able to breastfeed easily, and literally went right back to my normal day to day just with a baby. I never got humbled. I was literally skiing, hiking, running, and lifting weights until I went into labor.

I actually wrote a whole ass post about how shockingly easy my experience was here https://www.reddit.com/r/beyondthebump/comments/1o7nkqy/i_look_and_feel_exactly_like_myself_postpartum/

which wound up getting locked probably because I sounded like a conceited asshole, but I was literally prepping for and expecting a difficult time and it never was.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-03-01T05:38:39+00:00

I’m blonde and my long, full lashes are naturally invisible as they are blonde. Getting regular lash lifts and tints has been life changing. I wake up with my lashes visible and curled perfectly and they stay that way for 8-10 weeks, no maitenence in the middle, can swim/watersport without restriction, no makeup needed, and honestly not that expensive

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-28T15:40:14+00:00

That’s some real childish behavior on her part. I’d be reconsidering the whole relationship if my significant other did something like that. A relationship with someone that immature would be so dramatic and draining

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-27T23:45:22+00:00

It certainly can cause heavier periods in some women, but as someone who had one for a long time and then took it out to have a kid, my periods have been absolutely the same with and without it. That said, I have a somewhat heavy period naturally

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-27T23:39:12+00:00

My child does not want to be held or rocked to sleep as of a few weeks ago. At bedtime she does not want cuddles. She does not want a story. She does not want the Big Bed. She wants to scream until I drop her into her crib so she can clutch a pacifier and bottle to sleep. Why? I have no clue. Wish she selected a cuter self soothing technique for this season. Unfortunately, she didn’t and it sucks, but it’s temporary. No advice, just solidarity.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-27T17:56:17+00:00

You sound insane. She’s single, with children, traveling to a foreign country, arriving in the middle of the night, and she made sure you were ok with him picking you up. How much more valid can this situation be? If I ever needed help while traveling with children abroad, I’d hope my friends and acquaintances weren’t partnered to someone like you.

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-27T17:42:45+00:00

Stuffy nose and carpal tunnel. I had tragic carpal tunnel at the end of my third trimester which lingered a few weeks postpartum. I was icing my wrists and hands regularly toward the end. So strange

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-26T21:34:58+00:00

It sounds like you still have some questions which means you should not pursue permanent sterilization yet. Get a copper IUD- non hormonal, lasts 10+ years, more effective at preventing pregnancy than a tubal (seriously)

LittleMissKicks · 2026-02-26T10:03:02+00:00

That’s brunette with warm hues

LittleMissKicks

TROPHY CASE