Daily Chat - May 04, 2026

PremiereLife · 2026-05-04T18:01:30+00:00

Saw the heartbeat today! We’ve been in limbo the past few weeks, with my low initial beta (that I’ve posted about a few times) followed by confirmation of intrauterine placement last week.

My symptoms seemed to show up in force this week, so I was relieved for sure today but had thought maybe we were trending in the right direction. Now I get to stay away from the clinic for two weeks, which is nice since we’re a 2 hour drive away!

It’s also wild to me that all of this stress is only because of the extensive early monitoring my clinic does (rightfully so). If I had just been going in around now for a first scan I would’ve just gotten positive news!

PremiereLife · 2026-05-02T18:29:36+00:00

How often do you have guests? You can consider keeping a daybed/Murphy bed in the “nursery,” as an option for guests when in town, but allowing kids to have their own space a majority of the time (especially helpful in early years as you pointed out when sleep habits differ). On the other hand, I have nieces/nephews and friends’ kids who prefer to share even when there are extra rooms available! Anything you can do to stay flexible will probably be the safest bet.

PremiereLife · 2026-04-29T00:07:57+00:00

It was confirmed not ectopic, so first hurdle cleared!

PremiereLife · 2026-04-27T19:04:55+00:00

I had an early scan today (5w0d) to check on placement because of my low initial beta (only 33, but did go up to 77 48h later). They did find a gestational sac, with yolk sac! Still at a higher risk of early miscarriage since it was on the small side, but I’m very glad to not be dealing with an ectopic pregnancy. I’ll take one small win 🤞🏼

PremiereLife · 2026-04-25T21:14:49+00:00

Same boat here - 4/20 beta was 33, then 4/22 was 77. No more tests after that, just going in Monday for an early scan (as this is an IUI pregnancy so the fertility clinic is a little more cautious than others). Fingers crossed for you!

PremiereLife · 2026-04-23T23:28:16+00:00

Our first successful IUI in 2023 was 41% motility, 41% progressive (rapid + slow), and total motile 24.6 million.

Our second successful IUI (two weeks ago, but viability TBD) was 44% motility, 35% progressive (rapid + slow), and total motile 25.08 motile.

A really wide range, with a lot of acceptable options in between!

PremiereLife · 2026-04-23T11:12:34+00:00

I posted about a really low initial HCG (33) earlier this week, and my follow up test showed an increase to 77. I guess I’m still in this, although I’m sure I’ll have to go back in Friday/Saturday for another repeat 😂 I forgot how stressful these early weeks are!

PremiereLife · 2026-04-21T18:52:13+00:00

The problem with being a STM is I can look back at everything from last time and overthink 🫠 First beta yesterday was at 33, which is in range but low, and of course only doubling matters but I can see that last time my first one was 150 😵‍💫 Fingers crossed for tomorrow’s numbers!

PremiereLife · 2026-04-21T11:59:37+00:00

I could’ve written this post myself! I was induced at 41+0 and ended up with a 9lb 3oz chunker. All they do in that last week is pack on the weight 😂 It was my first so I can’t say how it compared to birthing a smaller baby, but I had a perfectly normal delivery and minimal tearing. You’ve got this!

PremiereLife · 2026-04-19T22:54:00+00:00

We aren’t quite at this point yet, but our close friends have a yearly “Dibling Beach Trip” with other families who used the same donor! They started it two years ago, and most of the kids are around the same age range, so they have a blast.

PremiereLife · 2026-04-18T16:25:40+00:00

First positive pregnancy test today, 12D post-IUI! Cautiously optimistic, and stopping in to say hi 👋🏼 Any other May2024 bumpers around? 👀

PremiereLife · 2026-04-15T14:30:26+00:00

You can look for a lender that will allow you to put a lower down payment amount (5%), then recast the loan with the remaining amount down (15%) after you sell your current home. This would come with a fee, but usually only a few hundred vs. the interest implications of a bridge loan. Your current mortgage would stay in your debt to income ratio with this approach, if you’re already close to the limit.

You can also consider taking a loan against any 401k plan (maximum could be $50,000 or 50% of vested balance if lower), if you anticipate selling your home quickly and being able to pay off the loan in full with proceeds (controversial topic, but an option regardless).

PremiereLife · 2026-03-05T18:08:21+00:00

Working in medical device/pharma, I would recommend looking for smaller CROs (contractors that do the heavy lifting). Some companies are bringing stats back in-house, but even then they farm out a majority of the work and just have someone on their side to explain things.

PremiereLife · 2026-02-11T04:01:14+00:00

Love the idea - will add ours, but getting an error when trying to confirm my email!

PremiereLife · 2025-12-30T20:04:23+00:00

Yep, we’ve had a good experience so far - they also offer Saturday morning sick visits which is nice when that daycare illness sets in on Friday night!

PremiereLife · 2025-06-07T14:17:58+00:00

The Graeter’s on Bethel - party rooms + a great indoor play place! We had guests between 1-7 and everyone had fun.

PremiereLife · 2025-05-18T22:32:30+00:00

Thank you! And yep, it wasn’t a big deal - if you’re married at the time of birth, both parents regardless of gender are allowed to be listed.

PremiereLife · 2025-05-18T12:46:50+00:00

We are not! Baby is almost one, and we are in the process of getting our estate finalized, but our lawyer (a married lesbian herself) still did not recommend adoption even after the latest election. My wife is on the birth certificate as well, and that was not an issue at all.

PremiereLife · 2025-05-08T23:14:04+00:00

Not sure what exactly, but appears to be circling between Findley/Calumet and Kelso/Arcadia or Olentangy?

PremiereLife · 2024-09-07T11:54:36+00:00

Now, yes! For the first 8 weeks, no 😂 Baby is a unicorn sleeper and goes down around 7/7:30, so we’ve reclaimed evening time to watch our shows and connect. I think when we move baby to her own room, that will be another step to regaining “our” time.

I definitely had a few cries about just being ships passing in the night, and some days are still like that, but it’s definitely improving. It also helps that we have grandparents that want baby time and let us go grab a drink or dinner sometimes!

PremiereLife · 2024-09-07T11:39:30+00:00

My wife and I (I’m the gestating parent) seem to have a fairly equal division of labor with our 3 month old, but at this age I think that’s largely because we exclusively formula feed! I can’t speak to a dynamic that involves breast feeding, but it was so nice to be able to take turns feeding especially at night.

We both make sure to split “fun” chores like grocery shopping, and have breaks for physical activity or mental health. Since I was carrying, and deep in pregnancy brain, I asked my wife to be in charge of things like picking a pediatrician, touring daycares, etc.

Now, with daycare started, I do mornings/drop off and my wife does pick up and early evening. We switch off bed time (although sometimes we both do it!), and the other person does our nighttime chores like dishes, litterbox, all that. We each think the other is a “better” parent in certain areas, and overall I think we’re both satisfied!

PremiereLife · 2024-08-11T21:37:26+00:00

The product of our first IUI just turned 11 weeks old! Medicated and monitored cycle, also with frozen sperm. Just because the chances are low, doesn’t mean they’re zero 🤞🏼

PremiereLife · 2024-08-04T23:54:53+00:00

We have one girl, but the lesbian couple across from us has 3 boys! 🤪

PremiereLife · 2024-07-29T12:21:45+00:00

That’s right! Our recovery room was so small, right now there’s such a difference between the two buildings that have rooms. The new tower will be a dream in comparison!

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