Update

22 Weeks, 2 Days

We went to our appointment yesterday morning, praying God for a great report. We asked the ultrasound tech if he could see a nose bone and he said something along the lines that there was not much to speak of. I started crying a stared at a piece of tape on the ceiling for most of the rest of the scan. Later he looked again for the nose bone and said that although the bone was not there, the baby did have quite a profile and a defined nose, which he said is not common in the other babies he has seen with DS. He said the heart looks great and that he didn't see any other signs that can be seen with downs syndrome, however some DS babies look perfect on ultrasound. He said the doctor would be in to review the pictures. Then the second bus came in to hit us. Right away I could tell she noticed something wrong. How is it that these ultrasound techs can do this every day, spend an hour doing the scan and not see issues, but the doctors can see them from grainy images??? Our baby, along with 25% of other DS babies has ASVD. His heart is not formed correctly. He will need surgery at 4-6 months old to correct this.

Here are some questions we are getting and their answers:

• Is it certain that Caribou has DS? 
• Not 100%. The only way we will know for sure is if we do Amnio, which we are not planning to do at this time. 
• The heart defect also happens in otherwise healthy children and rarely, can be misdiagnosed. 
• A small percentage of healthy babies have small nose bones. When I was younger I had a small nose and so does Jamin.
• The Quad screen alone only gave a 1:75 chance of having a baby with DS.
• Each of these risk factors alone are not a sure thing, however the fact that they are all present makes it extremely likely our baby has downs.
• We believe that God can heal our baby and have it be born 100% perfect. This is our prayer and we ask that you will join us in this. However, we are making preparations to welcome a baby with special needs into our home.
• Is Trisomy 18 still a risk?
• The heart doctor said she could not answer this question. We will need to wait to talk to the high risk OB on Dec 12.
• What can you do to help?
• Pray for the baby to be healed.
• Help us to focus on the positive fact that we will be having a new baby soon.
• Let us know if you know local families who have kids with DS who are willing to talk with us. I honestly could not name one person I know (in person) with DS. My closest interaction with DS is from a TV show that was on in the 80's or 90's (no idea what the name is) that had a star with DS in it.
• When the baby comes, we will likely need meals and help babysitting.
• Please save any formula samples you have that expire after April 2012.
• How are we doing? 
• I can only speak for myself, but I am scared.
• I am scared of having my baby be taken into surgery and come out with a giant scar on his chest that will be a reminder of what happened every time I change his clothes or give him a bath.
• I am scared for our future. I had kids so they could take care of me when I am old, not the other way around. I want to enjoy retirement with Ryan. 
• Who will care for him when we are gone? Who will protect him from being scammed or taken advantage of? I want to see my kids grow up to be fully independent.
• I am scared for Jamin. Will this make him have to grow up too fast since we will need more help?
• I am scared for the teasing and the looks. I know many DS kids are good at not letting this get them down, but I will be upset by it, Jamin might be hurt by it.
• I am scared and angry for our finances. We have worked so hard for the last 5 years and are almost in a financially stable place in our lives. We are actually about to have disposable income in a few months. Heart surgery (and the time and travel for it) and child care are not going to be cheap and may put us back on a tight budget indefinitely. 
• I am upset that with all the breastfeeding issues we had with Jamin that things may not go well this time either. Since the baby has heart problems he will need more calories that normal babies and possibly have a hard time sucking or swallowing. 
• I am hopeful 
• I have spent so many years upset with God. First with the infertility, then with the Molar pregnancy. I can't do it anymore. Many people have commented on how strong and trusting I am being, but the truth is I don't have any other choice. I simply cannot go on living unless I give this to God, so I have no other choice. I need to trust in God's plan even though I don't get it. I can only hope and pray that he will do good grand things.
• I am hoping and praying that our baby will be 100% healthy and show the power of prayer and the healing He is capable of. I pray God will use this to help people build their faith in what He can do and does do.
• With a 90% termination rate of babies who are diagnosed before they are born, I know there is a lot of work to be done. Even with the doctors who seem very supportive of us keeping this pregnancy, ALL of them have mentioned termination as an option. 
• When this baby is born, and if he has an extra chromosome, I plan to take him back to the original doctor and insist she hold him. I want her to see that his life is precious and that it is worth living.
• I want to work with doctors to give them resources. I understand that some Mom's would come to the decision to terminate on their own, but I think some would not have chosen that option if they were presented with more choices and better information. I truly wonder how many women out there live with the burden or regret everyday of a termination that was encouraged by their doctor. 
• While I am strongly pro-life, I don't even see this as a pro-life issue. I think that many pro-choice groups would agree that women deserve to get informed options so that they can make the right decision for themselves.
• I want the world to see my child. Like I said, I rarely see people the DS in public. I don't KNOW anyone with the condition. I want them to see a life worth living so they can make an informed decision if they ever need to.
• I am excited that these babies are generally more relaxed and very cuddly. I probably won't have to worry about him doing drugs, staying out late, getting his high school girlfriend pregnant or committing a violent crime.

God' plans appear to be bigger than our prayers

22 Weeks 1 Day

I will try to post again later, but our heart scan today showed that nose bone was not there and that our baby has a heart problem. These signs make it very likely that he has downs syndrome. He will need open heart surgery when he is 4-6 months old.

Appointment day! Please Pray

22 Weeks, 1 Day

Today is the day for our appointment!

Our appointment is at 9:15, so please cover us in prayer for that morning as I have no idea when we will actually have the tests:
Here is our list:

• Perfect heart scan free from any concerns
• Finding a perfect sized nose bone
• Not finding any additional problems during the scan
• I will also get my blood drawn (I did not have time last week) to check my auto-immune disease levels. Pray that the disease is gone.
• For peace before, during and after we get the results of the tests

Another Monday morning phone call

22 Weeks

I changed my ultrasound appointment to be with a different doctor at the high risk place, which meant that it needed to be changed from Nov 28 to Dec 12 due to scheduling conflicts. I had left a message with the phone nurse last week to let my regular OB know this and to make sure that pushing it out 2 weeks would be OK.

She called this morning saying she didn't quite understand my message and that the message she got was that I wanted the new doctor at the high risk place to take over my care (which is pretty much the opposite of what we talked about at my appt with her, so I understand the confusion).

While she was on the phone I asked her if I was missing something since she seemed much more concerned about T18 after she talked with the high risk place than she did after she talked to me. She read me all of the notes she had from the high risk office and we worked through them. The notes for the doctor that originally suspected T18 said something to the effect that "the patient was very distraught, she will call when she is ready for an amnio." This made my normal OB think I was wanting an amnio, when I have declined it at every offer. I am glad that I changed my appt to be with another doctor at the practice. My OB said that if the heart is good and a nose bone is found that she will be much more comfortable with not being as concerned about T18. SO KEEP THOSE PRAYERS COMING!

I am getting nervous for our appt tomorrow and I am praying so hard things will be perfect. The OB said that the US techs are usually trained in many things so they may be willing and able to look for a nose bone tomorrow..... this makes me extra nervous.  PLEASE PRAY PRAY PRAY

Please add a nose bone to your prayers for Tuesday

21 Weeks, 6 Days

It just occurred to me that the heart specialist may be able to look for a nose bone on Tuesday since they will already be doing an ultrasound. So, I wanted to add finding a normal sized nose bone to our prayer requests on Tuesday.

Our appointment is on Tuesday at 9:15, so please cover us in prayer for that morning as I have no idea when we will actually have the test:

• Perfect heart scan free from any concerns
• Finding a perfect sized nose bone
• Not finding any additional problems during the scan
• I will also get my blood drawn (I did not have time last week) to check my auto-immune disease levels. Pray that the disease is gone
• For peace before, during and after we get the results of the tests

Thank you everyone!

Why Caribou?

21 Weeks, 5 Days

So, people have been asking me "Why do you call your baby Caribou?", so I thought I would do a quick post to explain. Please do not expect anything profound.

When we were pregnant with Jamin, Ryan did not want to find out the sex. I did and it really bothered me while writing on his blog while trying to talk about this human inside of me and using "it" or "baby", I wanted something more personal. So, we decided to come up with a temporary name. We came up with Kiwi. (There was no profound reason for this name either.)

Last fall we were in Minnesota for my cousins wedding and stopped to get coffee at a place I had never been before called Caribou Coffee. It was DELICIOUS! It was so good that I vowed then and there to use this name for our next pregnancy. I kept my word.

Please be praying for us on Tuesday! Our appointment is at 9:15, but you never know when you will actually be seen, so please cover us in prayer for the morning if possible. A perfect heart scan will be a step in the right direction for showing the doctors that our baby is perfectly healthy and there is no need for amnio or termination.

Still a Trisomy 18 risk??!!

21 Weeks

This morning I got a call from the OB herself (the one that I saw on Wednesday).

She said she talked to the head doctor at the high risk office. As far as my AI disease, he told her to KEEP monitoring my titer levels. I told her that I have not had those levels checked since I was diagnosed 2 years ago.

It also sounds like they are still quite concerned about this being a T18 baby. She (the normal OB) is really encouraging us to keep our US apt on the 28th to look for a nose bone. She also really wants us to have an amnio around 32 weeks. She said that she doesn't want to do an emergency C-section if the baby is T18 and in distress since there is a risk to me and a very poor outcome to the baby no matter how he is born.

This is such a roller coaster! Planning for a possible funeral right after the baby was born, to planning for possibly caring for a baby with special needs, now to planning for a possibility of both and still praying our hearts out that he or she is 100% perfect.

Here is my prayer list:

1. A healthy baby free of problems.
2. A textbook perfect heart scan on Nov 22.
3. A textbook perfect ultrasound (including finding a normal sized nose bone) on Dec 12.
4. Guidance on if we do amnio. 
5. While we are at it - That the titers will show no evidence of my AI disease. (the change is what they are worried about for the pregnancy, but it would be nice to be free of the disease as well. I don't know that this has ever happened before, but I know God can do it)
6. Peace while we wait for the test and if we get less than perfect results.

Good OB Appointment

20 Weeks 2 Days

My OB appointment went as well as it could have today. I really appreciate the time she took to just talk with me.
It sounds like their practice does not do abortions at all (they will make referrals) and it sounds like late term abortions still need to be done in states where it is legal. It makes me feel better that they will not "just do them".
She said that she thought my options could have been explained in a better way than they were, but also explained that the longer a woman is pregnant (in any pregnancy) the more chance a woman has of dying from being pregnant and that is why in a pregnancy without a good outcome termination is encouraged. They would rather have a mother home and alive with her living children than dead. She said that every patient is different though. I told her that I don't think I could live with myself knowing that I willing allowed the life of my baby to stop.
She also told some stories of times where she was around when the baby was taken to save the mom. In one case she had to do a C-section after the birth of a baby with T18 and she said she cried the whole time. I really feel like I am in good hands when the doctors do not seem to take termination lightly.

I also talked to her about the fact that the high risk office really doesn't seem to be doing anything targeted at my auto immune disease. She told me that she would do more research on the condition, write up a treatment plan and ask the high risk practice if there is anything that they feel she needs to add and she would manage it from here on out. That means no more $1500 bills for an ultrasound and 10 minutes with the doctor. (I am still waiting for my bill for when she told me I had T18. They probably charge more when the patient cries).

Aside from all of that junk, the pregnancy seems to be going really well. My belly is the right size and his heartbeat is 140.

We need to keep praying for a 100% textbook perfect heart scan on Nov 22 and NO more complications or "soft signs". We won't know if the baby has downs syndrome until we meet him at the end of March, so we are still praying that he (or she) is 100% healthy and free of extra chromosomes.

I do appreciate all of your prayers so far. I am extremely at peace about everything (which is weird because I am an expert worry wart). I am confident that if we do have a special needs baby that God will use him in powerful ways. However, I also have a feeling of peace that our baby will be fine and free of extra chromosomes. I am scared to believe/claim it because I am scared of being let down, but I really do feel like God is telling me he will be healthy.

Results

19 Weeks 2 Days

I got a call today asking if they could reschedule our appointment with the genetic counselor until tomorrow when the doctor could see us as well. I took this as a bad sign and asked if the results were in. AFP was low, UE3 was low, DIA was high and HCG was high (all slightly outside of normal). She transferred me to the genetic counselor who said that I have a less than 1% risk of Trisomy 18, however I had an abnormal result for Downs Syndrome (Trisomy 21). The blood tests alone show a risk of 1:75 (anything below 1:270 is normal). However, with the ultrasound findings my risk is higher.

Thanks to getting to know Anna and her family, Down Syndrome scares me much less than it would have last year and FAR less than Trisomy 18 does, but it is still scary to think about raising a special needs child.

The good news is that T21 babies have far fewer health than babies with T18, but that means that without amnio, there are fewer comforting results we will get from other tests.

We still ask for prayer for a healthy baby. There is still a chance he has Trisomy 18 and of course every parent wants to have a child free from health problems!

Scared

19 Weeks

I have not been great about keeping this blog up. I may try to go back and add milestones from earlier, however, now I need a place to keep friends and family informed about what is going on with our Caribou.

Last Wednesday I went in for our 5th ultrasound. The first two were done because Caribou needed help by the infertility specialist to be conceived (Clomid, Estrogen, Progesterone). The third was done by my regular OB to rule out the possibility of a repeat Molar Pregnancy that we had last summer. Then we had to go to the high risk doctor because when applying for additional life insurance after our son was born, they discovered I have Sjogrens Syndrome which carries a 1% risk of my immune system attacking our baby's heart. If caught early enough, they can give me steroids and stop the process. 

The ultrasound tech did her 40min scan and then told me that everything looked great and that she was going to get the doctor to look things over (as they did for the 4th scan). Then the US tech came back in because she said the doctor wanted her to try again to get a better picture of the babies face. Caribou is already head down and in my pelvis, so they were having a hard time getting a good picture since my hip bone was in the way. The doctor ended up coming in and trying as well. I assumed this was just so they could check off all of their readings. She asked if I had had the first trimester screenings done and I told her no, because no matter what, we will not terminate the pregnancy. I asked the doctor why they needed to do full body scans when I was only there to look for issues with the heart. She began to talk about how unlike regular ultrasounds who look for "hard signs" of issues, they also look for "soft signs". She then showed me the baby's brain and showed me some cysts. She said that the cysts were not harmful and would resolve themselves. Then she blindsided me by asking if I had heard of Trisomy 18. I knew that Trisomy 21 was downs syndrome and then I realized what was really going on here. She said another sign of Chromosomal defects are that the babies nose bone is not developing as fast as it should, so that is why she was trying to see Caribous face. She even tried to look at the other ultrasound pictures I had with me and was unable to find one (this could have been due to a bad picture though). She did feel that my 12 week scan looked like the baby had a thick Nuchal fold which is also a "soft" sign for Chromosomal issues. She suggested we get the Quad screen (a blood test) done as well as an Amnio. I told her again that we would not terminate the pregnancy even if there is an issue. She told me that the outcome for a baby with Trisomy 18 is not good. 50% will not make it to birth. Those that do usually live a few days. Rarely some will live past 1 year. They will also have severe health and mental issues. I again told her we will keep the baby.

I agreed to the Quad screen and so began our current week of waiting, praying and crying.

I am angry because I denied the screening for a reason in the first place, because we were not going to abort for any reason and I didn't want to worry about it in the mean time.

I am angry because when I told her we would not abort, she looked at me like I was just being emotional and I would come to my senses and realize that termination was the best option. I am angry because I read that 95% of people with this diagnosis do abort. As I write this I can feel Caribou kicking inside of me. Why would someone want to feel that even one day shorter than they have to? Are they all pressured like I feel I have been?

The Quad screen results will not give us a diagnosis. Just if we have a less than 1% chance of having a baby with the disorder or some number higher than that. We still plan to deny the Amnio because there is a .5-.25% chance of miscarriage and we don't plan to do anything different with either outcome. I also don't want more pressure to abort the child.

Even with a good Quad test, we will still worry. They only detect about 60% of babies with the issue. We will not know for sure until the baby is born at the end of March (or sooner). Please pray!

We have an appointment on Thursday with the genetic counselor to get the results, although I have asked that they try to get us in sooner if the results come back sooner.

The next step is another ultrasound on Nov 28th. They will also send me to a pediatric cardiologist for a heart scan. 85-90% of T18 babies have heart problems. She could not see any on her scan, but it sounds like they are better trained for finding issues. I am still waiting on a appointment from them however.

I also have a regular OB apt. next week. I am hoping she is more pro-life and less pushy about termination.  

A Vomit Story

 12 Weeks 4 Days

I have been feeling really good the last few days. At times where there are triggers I will get a bit nauseous, but for the most part, I feel pretty good!

Today is Ryan's and my 5th anniversary! Partly because we are trying to save money and partly because J and I are a bit sick and partly because I probably wouldn't spend money on a babysitter anyways, but mostly because, like with all important dates, I didn't remember it was our anniversary until late last night (see Mom, it isn't just your holidays I forget), we decided to spend the evening at home. Ryan got a Papa Murphy's pizza and because (as facebook has reminded me with their "on this day in 20##" feature, we get Saffron every year, I got the mango shakes.

As Ryan and I finished eating and Jamin finished playing with his food, I got an email on my phone from my boss. Earlier, I had sent him an email with a link from and article that I had read about the top 10 worst jobs. No less than 3 tech jobs made the list. Mine was #6 and his was #1, so I thought I would pass it on.
The reply I got from his was this:

"Yeah.  I just hate being Listeria, it really sucks, but it pays the bills."

The night before I had been looking for articles for a pregnant friend that uses a cow share to get raw milk after I told her about the risks in pregnancy and she asked for them. My CTRL+C must not have worked because that was the article I sent my boss.

I found his response hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. As I told Ryan the story in between breaths, he also started laughing super hard, which made me feel like it was justifiably funny and I continued to laugh. I laughed so hard I couldn't catch my breath, which made me nauseous. I ran to the toilet. Now this gets a bit graphic if you have a weak stomach, so you may want to look away now. I am not sure if it is the curve of our bowl(this happened with Jamin) or the weight of the pizza entering it, but it did not stay in the bowl. I got toilet water chunks of pizza on my face, in my hair, on my shirt and around the toilet. After a brief melt-down about what had just happened, I took a shower, where I continued to laugh. I am just glad I saved my mango shake for dessert.

Jamin's Party / Telling our news

11 Weeks 5 Days - 9/10

Jamin's party went well. I had been watching the forecast for the last 2 weeks for the weather. We had about 25 people RSVP, so our living room would have been pretty cramped to put everyone in.
As we were opening presents, the sky started to look quite dark. I started to get worried and rushed through the last few presents.
I asked Jamin to take his last gift to his Grandma Mills to open. Inside was a T-shirt that said "Big Brother" and an album with ultrasound photos. She began to cry, I began to cry and she said that she had been praying that we would be pregnant by Jamin's birthday.

Jeri, Jamin and Keviah opening his "Big Brother" T-Shirt

Jeri walking over to us



Jamin after several attempts to get a picture in his "Big Brother" T-shirt



Prenatal Vitamins or ipecac?

7 Weeks 4 Day

I had a pretty good morning today after I woke up from a super crazy dream. It started out with an old man trying to scam me with something, but I was too smart for him and called him out. He got mad and chased us on a high speed chase. Our driver was an almost retired lady that I work with. Various methods of chasing went on for what seemed like days in the dream. It ended with a gasoline fight (he (not the old man, but some other guy who was on his side or something, was trying to set me on fire) and me breaking his neck to kill him. I felt extreme remorse during and after the murder though. Sometime in the middle of all this, we were at my High School auditorium for Jamin's baptism. Ryan, an infant Jamin and I were on stage with a guy from our church (who we barely know) was singing (I don't know if he even sings in real life) a beautiful solo for the occasion and infant Jamin piped up at the end to finish it. Needless to say, I wanted a nap when I woke up. This may rival the dream I had about eating Sessy's tale when I was pregnant with Jamin.

Anyways, with all the excitement this morning, I realized after I got to work that I forgot to take my prenatal vitamin and estrogen, so I went home at lunch to do so. While making my lunch, I felt suddenly ill and although I tried to talk myself out of it I lost it. What is in prenatal vitamins anyways? Does morning sickness only exist because of them?? Can't someone make a better formula?

I feel good!

Week 7 Day 3

I am having a really good day today. Last night my dinner did not stay down. Maybe there was just something in my stomach that had to come out. In anycase, I am enjoying the day.

I even felt good enough to take on a project. Someone at work is expecting their first child, so I decided to refashion a T-shirt for an event their department puts on every year.

First Pictures!

Week 7 Day 1

I was so nervous all day. I could barely wait until 3pm when I could leave work for my 3:20 ultrasound. Some friends that live by the specialists office agreed to watch Jamin for us during the appointment and Ryan was able to meet me there. When we got into the ultrasound room, I was even more nervous. The last three times I had an ultrasound it was bad news and being next to that machine brought back memories. The doctor came in and talked about the weather and then with no warning transitioned to a story about how he only takes 6 clubs when he goes golfing, it was kind of awkward.

Then, a moment that I cannot stop thinking about happened. We saw our little baby's heartbeat! I want to cry just thinking about it now. In my mind the song "wonder" is the soundtrack to this awesome memory. Ryan played this song for me when we found out we were pregnant with Jamin.

I don't remember being this filled with emotion for Jamin. It is not because he was less anticipated, because I was a zombie in the 10 months we were trying to conceive him. I was devastated at the thought of being childless. I think it is so much better because I have a better idea of what is to come. Jamin was a blob on a blurry screen, who would somehow grow into a full term baby that we would take home, but the details were a blurry image. Now I know what it will be like to feel Caribou kick for the first time. I know what it will be like to see, touch, hear and smell it for the first time. I know what it will be like to watch it sleep in my arms. I know what it will be like to watch it achive milestones.

Right on cue!

Week 6

God must be looking out for me. I have been worried that I have been feeling so good (weird I know), but since morning sickness is a good sign of a healthy pregnany (and I was sick with Jamin), I was worried that I didn't have anything yet. I was comforted that (according to Jamin's blog) I did not get sick with Jamin until 6 weeks and 1 day, so I still had some time, but it was getting close and as of yesterday, I still felt great.

Well, today it started. I felt green all day. It was quit miserable, but fantastic at the same time!

Perfect Percentage

Week 4 Day 3

537! The specialist says that is a great increase.
Because too high of an increase can also mean a molar pregnancy (even though for me, the last one was too low of one), I was still a bit concerned since it had more than doubled.
When I got home, I did some math to see that Jamin's percentage increase was in comparison to Caribou's and it turns out they were almost identical. I have no idea if this has any scientific bearing or not, but it is a huge comfort to me, so I am going to go with it! :)

So far so good

Week 4 Day 1

I called the specialists office yesterday morning to get a blood test. The said they sent the order to my lab and I went over right after work to get it drawn. However, the lab could not find the order and since it was after 5, the doctors office was already closed for the day. So, I called again this morning and the re-sent it. This time I called the lab to confirm that they indeed had the order and went over. The results - 213, a respectable number for being 4 weeks pregnant. I will go back in two days to see how much it has doubled, which will give a much better picture of how excited we should get.

Sunday Morning Surprise

3 Weeks 6 Days

This was our first cycle under treatment with the fertility specialist.

Here is a background to get everyone up to speed, if you already know, you can skip this part:
Last May (2010)  we were surprised to be pregnant on our own (Jamin took two rounds of clomid). My HCG was not doubling however and the doctor was concerned. It turns out it was a Complete Molar Pregnancy. On July 3, 2010 I had a D & C to have it removed and began the wait to make sure my HCG would go down. I did some homework and convinced my doctor to let us try again sooner than the prescribed 6 months. She wanted me to go right on Clomid (still not sure why). So we did for November, December and January with no luck. I read that Clomid can have negative effects on your estrogen levels (and thus inhibit implantation), so I requested a few months off. February, March and April, still nothing. In May the doctor upped my dose to 100mg of Clomid with still no more luck. She wanted me to do 2 more months and when I asked what would be next she said "maybe a specialist". By this time, I was getting frustrated with taking Clomid without monitoring, so I called the specialist myself.
Since Jamin's placenta had not delivered, I had to have a D &C after that as well, so the specialist was concerned about uterine scaring. He ordered a test for that and suggested I go back down to the lowest Clomid dose. The test came back that I had no scaring. They did an ultrasound around day 11 that showed that my lining was indeed thin and started me on estrogen. They also started me on progesterone (for good measure?).

Back to this cycle.
Because of all the drugs I am on, they suggested I take a pregnancy test around when I would expect AF (I don't usually like to take them too early to avoid the risk of getting my hopes up if it was a really early miscarriage). That would be tomorrow, but since I wanted to avoid dealing with disappointment right before I had to go into work, I decided to take one this morning. I got out the last of my lucky pregnancy test sticks (I have never gotten a negative with this pack, first with Jamin, then the molar). It took awhile to come up and then I was SHOCKED with the "not" did not show up before the "pregnant". I had 2 other tests, 1 was from a cheap walmart brand of OPKs and it came up negative (probably my HCG just was not high enough for that test yet or it could be that it is as useless as the OPK's it came with). The second was a name brand that came with another pack of OPK's I had. It was positive. We are trying hard not get our hopes up but also to enjoy the moment. Even with all the heartbreak the molar pregnancy caused, I still look back at the early days fondly.