Whew... she's still a GIRL!

We had our next high risk OB appt. today with Dr. Bonebrake. It was such an interesting appt! The tech came in first to take all the measurements, starting from head to toe of our little bean. After the measurements, she gave us an approx. weight: 5 lbs!! I am 32 weeks, and all my baby books say around 4 lbs or little more, so we have a big girl! She was also measuring in the 82nd percentile for growth! Nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing to worry about, but the tech said I must grow 'em big! :)

We also got to see her "practice" breath, which was cool, and her belly was full of amniotic fluid, which is good too. Her heart looked good, got to count the "digits" on her hands and feet, and the placenta had moved up and in perfect position. She even has a little bit of hair at the back on her head!

Then the tech said she wanted to try something, and switched to a different kind of u/s wand. Once she did, I saw the most awesome thing in the world... our baby in 4D!! She was squirming around a bit, nuzzled right up against the placenta, and making faces at us! We could see her eyes flutter open, but only for a brief moment. I was in love!! She had her left arm across her face, most of the time, but after some prodding and poking, we got her to move it and got some amazing pictures.



Profile - who's nose is that!?



Foot!



Finally moved her arm... that thing on the right side of the picture is the
placenta.. she's using it as a pillow!



Making faces at us!



Whoops... arm back in front of her cute lil face!

Dr. Bonebrake then came in to take a look and he said everything thing is looking great! She is head down, and that makes sense since I feel her kicking the crap out of my ribs! We talked about inducement at 39 weeks, but he's hoping maybe I will go on my own before that. There is a higher risk of c-sections when you have to induce, so obviously, he doens't want that for anyone. So he told me to start talking to her and tell her that somewhere around 37-38 weeks would be perfect! :) I told him I will start talking to her right now!

He also said that he feels comfortable "releasing" us from his care, if we are comfortable with that, or we can go back for one more look in 4 weeks. Tommy wants to go back just in case, so we head back Dec. 28th. Fine with me, just another time to see her!

Oh, and I think we narrowed down an name to Elizabeth Rose.... stay tuned!

31 week OB appt.

Same ol, same ol'..... she's doing great! Measured at 34 weeks, heartbeat was strong and steady in the 150's, and my blood pressure was 130/64, which was great. So it's all normal! Go back to her in 2 weeks, and I have my last high risk OB appt. next Monday. It's getting close!

This past weekend, my mom came over and helped me go through ALL the shower gifts and get them organized so I can see what I have and what I still need. It felt sooo good to get it all organized! Now I need to start washing some things, and figuring out what I need to buy. We got a few giftcards from the showers, so it should all be good! I have so many cute girly things... I am so thankful for all my friends and family that got us the gifts, and the friends that are donating things to us too. Babies are expensive, so every little bit helps!

We are going to look at a dresser/changing table tonight. Then I painted one of our unused dressers white this past weeknd, so that will be ready to go. So all we need for big furniture is our crib and a glider! I'm getting excited! 8 weeks at the latest to go!! :) :)

30 weeks!

I can't believe it, but I made it to 30 weeks! Yipee!! So far so good, no major complaints. Just have the normal-at-this-time aches and pains in my back and legs, and speaking of legs... my lower legs, ankles and feet are now starting to swell. FUN! I officially have a cankle! :) I try and prop them up at work as much as I can. I also need to go shoe shopping this weekend to see what I can find to wear for winter. Only 9 more weeks to go at the latest.... seems so soon!

How Far Along? 30 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? +20 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: My pants are starting to get tight.. might have to shop! :)

Sleep? It's getting harder to get comfortable, but when I do sleep, it's good!!

Best Moment of the Week? Sitting in childbirth classes and Tommy reaches over to lay his hand on my belly and just kept it there...

Movement- This girl is trying to kick her way out. Sometimes I see my entire belly move!

Food Craving- Coke (never drank it before!)

Food aversions- Some smells are bothering me.. like taco meat

Morning sickness?- No! Just bad heartburn

Gender- Still a girl!

Labor Signs- Nope

Belly Button- Still an innie, but slowly rounding out

What I miss- being able to put on my socks with ease

What I'm looking forward to- My last shower is tomorrow, Nov. 15th!

Weekly Wisdom- Don't drink too much water before bedtime! I was up 3 times last night! :)

Milestones- My swelling ankles and feet... welcome to the third trimester!

2nd childbirth class

Thursday night, the 12th, we had our 2nd childbirthing class. We got to watch the "stages of labor" video, which was basically following 3 gals and they journey through the 3 main stages of labor. I was soooo hoping they would show the actual birth... I wanted to see the guys in the room squeem! :) They did show it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Tommy was a trooper and didn't have any smartass comment to make about it! :)

After that, we went to 4 "stations" around the room to practice different laboring positions, using different tools: birthing ball, massage, sitting possitions, and again breathing techniques. It was very interactive and fun, and got to talk with the other couples in the room.

29 week OB appt.

Just got back from my 29 week appt... and all is good! We listened to the heartbeat, which really sounded good and strong, and more clear this time than maybe others. Maybe not, but I think it sounded great! She measured me ahead again, measuring at 33 weeks! :) OK, I don't think I look that big, but hey, better than being too small!

I go back for another appt. in 2 weeks with her, and 3 weeks to see Dr. Bonebrake, my high risk OB.

This little girl is a kicker!! She is very active, and Tommy got to feel some pretty big kicks a couple nights ago that just made him smile. It's the most wonderful thing to see him so happy about it too. Can't wait to meet her in person!

First childbirth class

We had our first of 6 child birth classes last night. And it looks to be a fun class! There are 8 couples in it, so it's fairly small, which is awesome. Our instructor is very nice, and we had a good time. We talked about the anatomy of a pregnant woman and the discomforts of the 3rd trimester. We also got to get on the mats on the floor and practice some breathing excercises for labor. We laughed alot, asked questions, and got a great book full of info.

The funniest part was when our instructor passed around a chart that shows the dilation of the cervix in acutal size, from 1cm to 10cm. Tommy's reaction when he saw the 10cm one was "Whoa! That's a HUGE hole!" The class all just laughed. It was pretty funny. He's a good sport... and I hope will get lots out of this.

Next week we get to watch the video of an actual birth. I have a feeling Tommy will be a little squimish, but I think that will be all the guys in the room. It should be interesting! :)

H1N1 shot

Well, after much debate, lots of research, lots of tears, and talking to both my high risk OB and my regular OB, Tommy and I decided I better get the shot. I was sooo hesitant to do this, since it's a new vaccine, and there have been no studies on it and how it may affect the baby, but it was determined for me (who has very weak lungs due to childhood asthma) that it would be far more risky to NOT get it, than to get it. The CDC is also recommending pregnant women get it, whom are considered high risk for complications due to a compromised ammune system.

Douglas county health department had their first public clinic today, and so I went... and got the shot. I feel fine and the baby is moving all around, so things are good. There were a lot of other pregnant women there too. It made me feel a bit better!

So here's to health this winter!!

Family shower

I had my first shower on Sunday, Nov. 1. It was family members only, and we had so much fun! The crew from South Dakota couldn't make it, but the Grand Island and of course Omaha crews were here. My 3 sister-in-laws (Stacy, Jill and Shelly) hosted it, held at Stacy's house. We had a cake made by Jill's dad (awesome!), great food and really good punch! It was a girls party, and there were about 12 or 13 of us. It also got up to 72 degrees that day, which was great for November!

We got lots of good girly stuff, and man, it makes it all so much more real!
Here are some pictures:















My sister in law Jill is so talented, she is the one that drew that picture for the nursery... that made me cry when I opened that one! And that last picture is a diaper cake that Stacy and her friend put together... soooo cute!

I have such a genarous and loving family, I am very lucky.

The nursery is painted! Finally!

After almost 2 weeks of work, this room is completely painted! Thanks to help from my friend Kendra, my sister-in-law Stacy, and my wonderful and patient husband, Tommy, we got this thing knocked out. It was one thing after another with this, but the result was totally worth it, we think!

Here are some before pics:


Of course we painted the spare bedroom a light blue about 2 years ago...





My friend Kendra and her son Reece helped us paint!



My sister-in-law Stacy cutting in the top of the wall... she did an awesome job!



The room is now pink!



Tommy got in on the action of painting those stripes... fun!






Done!





Now we just need to fill it with stuff! My first shower is this Sunday, Nov. 1. This is the family shower, so everyone from Sioux Falls, SD to Grand Island, NE will be coming in. Should be a blast... can't wait!

I passed!

Glucose results are in, and I passed! Anywhere from 80 to 120ml are normal values, and I came in at 96. They also checked for anemia (iron deficiancy) and that came back normal too. :)

Glucose Test

I go in for my glucose test in about a half hour... YAY! (rolling my eyes) This is to test for gestational diabetes. I have to drink this fabulous orange sugary drink within 5 min, then go in for a blood test 1 hour after I finish the drink to see how my body handles the sugar. If the numbers come back high, then I might have gestational diabetes, and I have to go in for more testing. If it's in the normal range, then I am good to go!! So we will see what happens!

On other notes, still not done with the nursery... grrrrrrrr. Got all the stripes painted, just need the border to go up. I might have a friend come over and help, as I know Tommy will be SLAMMED busy this week with work. Then I will finally post some pictures! I think it will turn out cute!

OK, gotta go get my drink... I'll update later! Wish me luck!

Ultrasound

We had our high risk OB appt. this morning. I have to see him every once in awhile because I'm old..... :) 35 and older get to go see him. But he's awesome, so no biggie!

We got to see our baby girl again (yep, she's still a girl!) and all looks good! They scanned her whole body, head down to her feet, and measured everything. She is approx. 14" long and weighs 2lbs. 4oz! Dr. Bonebrake said she's a good sized kid, but still in the normal range (70th percentile for growth!)

He still sees no markers, or anything that would say anything was wrong with her. He said structurally she looks good. There is always that slight risk of something happening since my 1st trimester screening for spina bifida came back abnormal, but he double checked the spinal column and said it looks good, and he can rule out about 95-97% of spina bifida. Whew!

I do have pictures, but they weren't very good becuase she kept moving, and her arms and hands were right in front of her face! We got another really good foot picture, but that's about it, so I won't post that... looks just the same as it did last time! :)

I do have to go back to see him in 6 weeks to check for her growth, and if everything looks good, then I shouldn't have to go see him again. In the mean time, I need get by next Monday, that's when I have my glucose testing for diabetes! Ugh!:)

25 week OB appt.

Went in this morning for my regular OB appt. My blood pressure was up a little bit (134/84), but no protien in my urine (good thing). We listened to the heartbeat again, she said it was in the 150's and sounded perfect! Then she measured me.... she kinda laughed and said she was curious as to how big this kid is! I asked her what I was measuring at... 29 weeks! Whoa! A whole month ahead of schedule?! But she said it doesn't mean it's all baby, so nothing to worry about. I have my high risk Dr. appt. next Monday, so she said make sure to get measurments! :)

I also got my "Glucola" for my next appt. in 2 weeks. This is the lovely sugary orange flavored drink I have to drink 1 hour before I go in for my appt. This is to test for gestational diabetes by drawing blood. If I pass, I'm good to go, if not, they want to repeat the 1 hr. test, and then possibly a 3 hr. test... ugh. So let's just pray I pass the first time and everything is OK!

25 weeks

I'm at the 6 month + mark and couldn't be happier! Things are going great, no big issues at all. She has benn moving around like CRAZY the past several weeks, in fact, she's kicking me right now! It's the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced. Just to know she's really in there just makes me realize how lucky we are. Here are the latest stats!

How Far Along? 25 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? +13 lbs. Right on target.

Maternity Clothes: Oh, heck yeah... now I can finally get into the sweaters and long sleeved shirts Kendra gave me... it's cold here!

Sleep? For the most part, good! Ever since my chiro appt, I have slept really good... sometimes not even waking to pee!

Best Moment of the Week? When Tommy was finally home and was able to feel her kick for the first time.

Movement- I think we have a boxer

Food Craving- French dip sandwiches (???)

Food aversions- Nope

Morning sickness?- Nope

Gender- Still a girl!

Labor Signs- Nope

Belly Button- Still an innie

What I miss- having a glass of wine with dinner and my pre-pregnancy jeans

What I'm looking forward to- My next Dr's appt which is Monday, Oct. 12!

Weekly Wisdom- Don't overeat... you are so bloated and the pressure on your belly sucks!

Milestones- Getting to 25 weeks with no complications!

We're registered!

We registered last night for our 3 baby showers, and all I can say is..... WHEW! I was absolutly exhausted by the time we got home... 3 hours of registering will wipe a pregnant girl out! :)

We first went to Babies R Us and did most of the "big" items there... crib, furniture, carseats, highchair, etc. That was pretty fun. Plus they give you a gift bag full of samples and coupons! After that we were starving, so we went to Jason's Deli for some food... and it tasted so GOOD! Across the parking lot from there was Target, so we got all signed up in there... this is where we did a lot of "little" stuff... bottles, pacifiers, diapers, bibs, etc. It was fun, we had almost 80 items at Target before it was all said and done!

Tommy had the gun in both stores, and let's just say, he had FUN! At Target, I had to leave him to check out stuff in other aisles, and I heard the gun beeping, so God knows what all he was scanning... he was going crazy! A woman walked by us and commented, "Looks like he's having a good time!"

Our first shower invites were sent out yesterday, so that's why we needed to get this done. And as fun and overwhelming it is, I'm glad it's done! There is so much stuff that babies need!

I'm HERE!!!

Hi all! I am sooo sorry I havne't been around lately, I have been so busy with work, home and life in general! But I'll update quickly here so you know I'm still alive :)

As you see in my last post, our bedding arived for the nursery. Yay! My SIL Stacy and friend Kendra were going to help me paint the nursery last weekend... that didn't happen. I wasn't feeling great, Stacy had bronchitus, so we decided to try the painting party the weekend of Oct. 16, 17 and 18. I will certainly post pictures when we're done!!

Bigg Dogg, our lawn, landscaping and snow removal business, has been in full fall swing! Tommy has been swamped with aerating jobs and tree trimmings. I have been working furiously to get a mass mailing out to cutstomes to get ready for snow business! Snow removal is good money and we are hoping it will be a good winter for it! Heck, they are calling for snow this weekend! :) :)

I have been working with my friends and family to get showers all arranged, and they are now all set! I have having 3 baby showers! One for family (Nov. 1), one for work (Nov. 8), and one for friends (Nov. 15). I am so excited.. the only thing is um... we need to register THIS WEEK!!! Invites are going out tomorrow for the first shower! Everything is happening so fast!!!! :) We are going to register at Target and Babies R Us.

What else... that's really about it. Sorry I havn't been keeping up with my blog. I will try and be better about it! Here is a picture of me taken right now with my cell phone.. I'm 24 weeks and 5 days!...

Crib bedding!

I found a set that I really liked on a website about 2 weeks ago... we are doing a pink and brown theme for our baby girl. But I'm not going to pay an arm and a leg to do this room. The set I found was $190.00. Ugh. I did some more searching around, and found this website had an Ebay Store! And whadya know... they sell that exact same set, brand new, for a bid starting at $50! Now we're TALKIN'!!

So I watched it for a week and a half.. just to see how pricey the auctions would be. Not too bad. So last night I finally bid... and won it for $61! Woo hoo!

My friend Kendra is going to help me the first weekend in October to paint the nursery to match the bedding... can't wait!

21 week OB appt.

Everything is going well! It was a quick appt., got in, got weighed, they went over flu shot info (including the H1N1 shot, which I'm passing on. Just not enough info on how it will affect the baby, and I'm not taking ANY chances!!)

My blood pressure was DOWN! It was 128/64, so my low sodium diet has worked! I was very happy about that. We listened to the heart beat and it was about 163, which was perfect! I also have only gained 9 lbs, so I am doing good.

She did tell me I am measuring big for the week I am in (ugh), but that doesn't mean it's all baby, and nothing to worry about. She showed me where the top of my uterus is, and I could feel it! I was looking way too low... all my baby books tell me it should be around the same heigth as my belly button... oh no! Not mine! It's about 2 inches ABOVE my belly button! No wonder I couldn't find it! :)

I go back to her in 4 weeks, so that's all good news!

Childbirth Classes

We got signed up!

I called today to sign up for the "Prepared Childbirth" classes at our hospital. Based on my due date of Jan. 23, we will start classes on Nov. 5 through Dec. 17. We will go once a week (on Thursdays, minus Thanksgiving of course!) from 7-9pm.

Can't wait to get started on those... then it will REALLY seem real! :)

20 weeks!

Well, I'm half way there! I made it to 20 weeks! WOO HOO! I feel great and can't wait for this 2nd half to get going. Only 4 1/2 more months. Almost doesn't seem real!

We're going to the Nebraska State Fair today in Lincoln, then coming back to go to our friends house for a Husker party to watch our first game of the season! It's gonna be beautiful out, so really looking forward to it. And it's a 3 day weekend, being it's Labor Day weekend, so ready to enjoy the break from a hectic spell at work!

I saw this on one of my friends blogs', so I'm stealing the idea!

How Far Along? 20 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? +9lbs.

Maternity Clothes: oh yeah

Sleep? For the most part good

Best Moment of the Week? Finding out we're having a baby GIRL!

Movement- Feeling her more and more now, at least twice a day

Food Craving- Nothing specific. I just still love sweets!

Food aversions- Those Tostino's party pizza's Tommy makes... the smell is horrible!

Morning sickness?- Nope, all gone!

Gender- Girl!!!

Labor Signs- Nope, too soon

Belly Button- Still an innie... don't know if it will pop because of a lap surgery

What I miss- red wine!

What I'm looking forward to- getting the nursery decorated

Weekly Wisdom- Always carry gum or heartburn meds!

Milestones- Having a healthy baby girl with no problems!

And it's a...

GIRL!!!

Profile (Tommy says she has my nose!)

View up looking at the bottom of the butt... a girl!

Foot!

We are both so thrilled! We both were expecting it to be a boy, but we were nicely surprised with a girl!

We first met with our genetic counselor to go over risks for birth defects, in our case were very low. She also went over our family history to make sure we're not first cousins or anything :). All went smoothly, we then went out to the waiting room to wait for our ultrasound.

We got in there, and as soon as she put the wand on my belly, we saw the most beautiful sight I can imagine... our baby. They did all sorts of measurments of the head, looked at the brain (yep, it has one!), looked at the heart to see all 4 chambers working perfectly. They also measured the spine and looked for spina bifida... NONE! The belly looked good, the baby even had a bit of fluid in the stomach, so she is drinking the amniotic fluid like she should be! Then moved down and saw all the toes, the hands and fingers, and of course, the money shot...

After some prodding, the Dr. got the baby to cooperate and show us the goods. GIRL! You could even see her inside girl plumbing, so there is no doubting what she is. First words out of Tommy's mouth, "Oh, Lord!" LOL! Yep, and she will be wrapped around his finger!!

Everything looked good, no markers for any genetic problems. She weighs 10 oz. and is about the size of a banana. She measured right on time, so due date still stands at Jan. 23.

All in all, we are THRILLED to be having a healthy baby, and just the cherry on top to get a beautiful baby girl!

Now, I gotta go shopping... :)

2 more days...

... and it's dragging on!! We are both so anxious, as well our friends and family are, to find out what we're having! I just hope we get a good shot so they can tell. Knowing our luck, the little bugger will have their legs crossed or something! AHHHHH! No!!! Mama is DYING to go shopping! :)

On a totally unrelated note, I'm eating the BEST Colorado peach right now! Yum!

Feeling better

I'm feeling much better about the Spina Bifida results... I still figure it's less than 1/4 of 1% chance, so odds are on my side! Just another little speedbump in this journey to parenthood! I can't wait for next Friday! I will be a bundle of nerves, but will be good to get everything "out in the open". I just hope the baby cooperates to see what it is! Mama's gotta SHOP! :)

I think I forgot to mention this, but last week at my OB appt, my blood pressure was a bit high... 138/84! Preganancy-induced hypertention starts at 140/90, so my Dr. wants me to cut down on my salt intake... which is HARD! I am only "allowed" 1500 mg of salt per day. Once you start looking at sodium content in every food, that's not much at all! It's been hard, but gotta do it for the baby and me!

Other than that, feeling good, occasional heartburn, still feeling some movement from the baby, and starting to actually look pregnant. At least that's what people at work are telling me. I still think I just look like I have a beer gut! LOL

7 days until the big u/s!!

So my Dr. calls...

At my last OB appt., I had blood drawn for the 2nd part of the ultra screen testing.. first part was for Down's syndrome and 2 other syndromes (which came back normal).

A nurse at my OB's office just called that he 2nd half for spina bifida screening came back positive. :( She said my OB isn't that worried about it, my chances are still 1 in 584, as opposed to the normal 1 in 1000, but still... so they will be looking for that in the U/S next week at the perinatologist.

Please pray that everything will be OK with our little bean!!

OB Appt. - 17 weeks

Today was my OB appt. with Dr. Gernhart, and let's just say.... I love her! She is such a fantastic doctor, easy to talk to and very fun. We started with blood work to test for the last of the genetic disorders, spina bifida. I'm not all that concerned about it, since neither Tommy nor I have any history of abnormalities in our families (well, maybe my sister... lol! Love ya!)

Nexty we went over our birth plan, a time to ask any questions, and then we listened to the heartbeat. She found it right away this time, and it sounded like a miracle!! It was in the 150's she said, so it was strong and happy.

It was cute, Tommy then asked if "we" should be limiting our activies, such as jet skiing, four wheeling, etc. Um......... YEAH!!! Dr. Gernhart sorta laughed and said yeah, she probably shouldn't be doing that at this stage, and Tommy just said he wanted to make sure so when he did go do those things without me, he wouldn't feel guilty! :) lol

I go to the perinatologist at Methodist Hospital on Aug. 28th for the genetic counseling and *hopefully* my anatomy scan!! That is when they will tell us what we are having! The real reason I am going to Dr. Bonebrake (yep, that's his real name!) is because I had a LEEP procedure done years ago, where they froze and took out part of my cervix due to pre-cancerous cells. Dr. Gernhart just wants to make sure my cervix length is OK and that I won't need a cerclage, the stitch they put in your cervix to "sew" it closed. I just want to see my baby and find out what it is!! :)

Then I go back to Dr. Gernhart on Sept. 14th for my reg. OB appt. So exciting!!!

My achin' head!!

This past week I've been getting some major tension headaches! I usually get them when I'm NOT pregnant, but they seem to be coming on more and more latley.. I've had 4 in 1 week. Last Friday, I finally broke down and called my OB to see what I could take. She prescribed Fioricet, a tylenol-based drug with caffeine and a barbituate in it! Yikes! I have to say, it does help, but it makes me nervous about taking it, so I've been trying to do it without them. I read the barbituate part is addicting, and that's the LAST thing I need!

So I am at home this morning, taking my time getting ready to go to work. Tommy thinks it's all work stress related, and I have a feeling he's right. So does that mean I can quit?!?!?! Ha ha, I would love that! But not likely to happen. I still think I need to go apply for my dream job.... to water plants at Mulhall's (a gigantic nursery here in town). How hard can that be, just me, the sunshine, and a hose!? :)

Massage

Ahhh... just got back a little while ago from a prenatal massage... it was WONDERFUL! We are fortunate enough to live about 4 blocks from a shopping center that has a lot of little shops. I bank there, my chiropractor is there, Blimpies is there (very important!), pizza parlor, pet store, and massage therapist Brittany!

She had my lay on my tummy with extra support underneath so I won't be laying right on my tummy... and she concentrated on my neck and shoulders, since I've been getting headaches lately... and wow. I'm like jello, but it was a wonderful way to start my day! Thank you to my wonderful husband for the gift certificate for that massage!

Oh, one more thing...

This is for Kristi, my dear friend in South Carolina, who has been DYING for a belly shot, since she says she can't be here to rub my belly!

It's not pretty yet, but this is 16 weeks:

Love you and miss you to death girlie!!!! xoxoxox

16 weeks

I'm finally back on for an update!! Sorry it's been like 3 weeks, it's just been HELL at work, and super busy at home, so haven't had much time to get online! But I took today and tomorrow off from work, so now I have some time to get some updates done!


Well, since my last post, I finally got over my morning sickness... thank God! It ended right around the middle of my 13th week. So from 6 weeks to 13 weeks... ugh. Now just dealing with heartburn. But overall, I feel pretty good! I have another appt. next Wednesday the 12th, so I'm excited for that!


I've had to go out and get some maternity pants... mine are getting a bit tight! I have been using the Bella Band, but it's getting annoying because it's shifting every time I move, so I'm done with that. Going to look at some dress pants for work today. I have a few shirts too that now I can wear and aren't skin tight. YAY!


I'm still not convinced there is a baby in there, in spite of tight clothes, heartburn, etc. I just don't feel I'm getting a belly yet! I just look fat in my gut, like I have a beer belly! Tommy thinks I'm nuts and tells me to get over it. So I made a sign for what will be the nursery (right now it's a spare bedroom and a collector of Tommy's remote control car collection!)

So now every time I get up and leave our bedroom, I see this on the nursery door... a gentle reminder I'm pregnant! I still won't be completley convinced until I get really big! :P

And speaking of nursery, no, we haven't done anything to it yet. I told Tommy I don't want to even think about it until we know what we are having... then it's GAME ON!!!! :) My big u/s should be around Sept. 3rd. I will find out for sure on Wednesday.

And I am proud of myself, I haven't bought anything yet for the baby.... told myself I was gonna wait until we found out, and so far I've made good on that! But it's been hard!!

Good news all around!

Today was my first OB appt (I graduated from the RE!!) with this pregnancy, and it all went well! I actually met with my OB's assistant, as Dr. Gernhart was in surgery this morning. Anyways, we did a full physical and annual exam (always fun!), and drew 4 vials of blood for a pre-natal blood panel! Some of the tests are redundant, but I know they need the results for their office.

After all that, she asked if I wanted to hear the heartbeat again! Of course, I said YES! So she got the doppler out and started to move it around... and couldn't find the heartbeat! Of course, my heart just sank as she said "let me go get the ultrasound machine." My mind started racing, cuz if any of you know me, I'm a worrier by nature (thanks to my mom!), but she came back and set up the machine quickly. As soon as she had the wand on my belly, I saw this beautiful little baby wiggling around and kicking it's feet!! It was so sweet! She then moved up a little on my belly to show a big black square.. she said, "well here's the reason we couldn't find a heartbeat with the doppler... your bladder is full and was in the way!" Ooops, my bad! :)

So I go back in 4 weeks for my regular OB appt. She did tell me because I am 35, I will be seeing the perinatologist at Methodist Hospital for my 20 week u/s (the BIG one!). Depending of what they think then, I might have to go back to see them alternating with my regular OB. Just because I'm OLD.... huh! ;)

More good news was when I was leaving my OB appt, my cell rang and it was my RE calling with the results of the ultrascreen I had done last week..... and all was NORMAL!!! So they were very happy and told me to keep in touch!

So we are on our way now to a healthy normal pregnancy! OMG, now it's really starting to sink in!!!

Ultrascreen

Today was my 12 week ultrascreen ultrasound where they check for any abnormalities and for Down's syndrome. Everything went well! I apparently didn't have enough sugar or caffeine in me when we got there, the baby was sleeping! The u/s nurse had to kinda poke and wiggle my belly to get it to finally "wake up"! It was kinda funny when it did, it was moving around like "what? what'd I miss?" :) She got all the required measurements and we listened to the heartbeat. It was 161bpm... very happy! And it measures 5.26 cm or just over 2 inches long. It also was measuring a day ahead, so today I am 12w0d.

It was funny, during the u/s, the baby kept sticking it's legs straight in the air waving them around! Then they took my blood and combined with the u/s, they can detect if there is further testing needed for any abnormailites. I will get the reults in a week. It will be a loooong week!

I am still just in awe of the whole process and the whole experience. It's really starting to feel real now!

Belly shots!

I have been taking pictures every week (Except week 10, we were out of town) of my belly to see the difference per week... to me, I can't really see any difference, as today I'm 11 weeks pregnant. So I looked at the picture from 4 weeks and compared it... yep, I'm getting a little bigger!

My pants are getting tight, and I'm starting to use the Bella Band (thank God for those!!) so I can still wear my regular pants, and not have to buy maternity yet.

Well, we are off to the cabin in an hour or so to celebrate the 4th of July with the family... hope you all have a happy and safe 4th!!

Ultrasound!

Today was our next ultrasound, a few days early, since we couldn't go on Friday, due to the fact we are going to be out of town. Everything looked great!! The baby measured a day early at 9w5d, and the heartbeat was strong too. It was so cool to see him.her dancing around and it even waved at us! :) Best part is, it's starting to look like a baby! You can even see it's nose!

We go back July 9th for the Ultrascreen, when they test for Down's Syndrome via ultrasound, and do bloodwork to screen for several genetic problems... scary! But the BEST news overall, I get to stop my progesterone shots!!!!! WOO HOO! Also, I get to start stepping down the estrogen pills I'm taking too... so that's all news I'm progressing right along!

Nothing!

This weekend was interesting... I did NOTHING! I was down all weekend with horrible allergies and a migraine. Blah. I literally was in bed all weekend, or on the couch with an icebag on my head. I can't take my headaches meds because of the bambino, so that didn't help. So I got absolulely NOTHING done I needed to do! We are leaving for the cabin on Wed night/Thurs morning, and have so much to do now. Well, all depends on how I feel.

I can't wait to get out of here.... I need a vacation!

2nd ultrasound!

We had our 2nd ultrasound this morning, and everything looks great! Baby measured right on track (7w6d) at 1.5 cm (our little bean is GROWING!). We got to see him wiggle a little, then we heard the most beautiful sound... his heartbeat!! It was so quick! The nurse measured it at 158bpm, which is perfect for his size. It was so cool to hear, just makes it all that more real!

Here's a picture, although it's not really that great. She said I was having a uterine contraction during the u/s, and of course it was right in the way of where she needed to see, but we did get a picture. The baby is is the floating thing on the left, with the head on the right, and feet on the left, and the perfect round circle thing to the right of the baby is the yolk sac (what is feeding the baby until the placenta develops). The gestational sac looks a funny shape because of the contraction, but she says it's all normal. Just means my uterus is growing and stretching for the baby!



The Dr. also called back with my bloodwork results, everything looks awesome. She said to keep up with the same meds still, and that after next appt., they will start decreasing my dosages! My next appt. is scheduled Wed., June 24th. Supposed to be the 26th, but we will be out of town at the cabin that weekend, so going a couple days early!

I'll be 8 weeks tomorrow! Just want to get past this first trimester!

Belly Book!

This post should have been put up a long time ago, but it's been a zoo at work and getting online is few and far between! But a few days after I found out I was pregnant, my friend from work, Dani, who is on maternity leave, sent me a package here at work. I didn't know it was from her at first, so I didn't know what it was! It came from Amazon, and I was thinking "did I accidentally buy something?!"

It was the "Belly Book"! It's a very cute journal for the mom-to-be, complete with places to write, places to post pictures, and questions to answer! It is divided into the 3 trimesters, and starts with how you found out you were pregnant. You can journal all your cravings, dr. appts, weight, feelings, a place for ultrasound pictures and weekly belly pictures (which I have been doing since week 4!) What a thoughtful and wonderful gift to someday give the child I am writing about!

THANKS DANI!!! :)

And so it begins...

I have felt yucky for 2 days now... and today, I'm a bit green around the gills. Man, this sucks. I mean, I kinda wanted this (I told Tommy yesterday that I wanted to be sick, and he looked at me like I had frogs coming out of my ears). So I guess I got what I wanted... it's not that bad, it's managable for now. Just kinda annoying when I'm trying to conentrate on work. Ugh.

I have tums, tea, and peppermint in my desk drawer... here we go! :)

First Ultrasound!

We have one healthy baby measuring 5w6d and has a heartbeat!!! We are soooo freakin excited! I was ready to throw up getting ready to go this morning, I was so nervous! We got there about 8:50 this morning, signed in, they went and took my blood, then had to wait for an available room... which seemed like HOURS.

3 min. later, we got into a room, I changed, got up on the table, and the nurse came in. She said, "OK, let's see what we have created!" Got the DildoCam all ready, and away we went... as she was probing around, I saw a flash of a black spot... then she went past it. Come to find out she was scanning my entire uterus to see how many sacs were in there. When there was only 1 found, she zoomed in on it and announced we have 1 baby!

She showed us the gestational sac, the yolk sac inside, and the beautiful little bean called a baby... then she zoomed further and said "Look!" She was pointing on the screen to a little flickering spot. The heart! Tommy got up from the chair and got up by the screen and we both squinted at the most beautiful sight we have ever seen...

The nurse then told me to get dressed, handed me it's "first picture", and told me to meet her outside. Tommy took the picture from me and took a picture of it on his cell phone, and texted it to the few close friends and family members that knew we are pregnant. Talk about excited dad! It was cute.

My bloodwork came back awesome too! My progesterone went up from 20 to 23 (great!) and my estrogen was good too (although she didn't give me the details). But my beta.... whoa! Remember, it started at 86, then 2 days later went to 204... well today it's 19,684! I'd say that's pretty good! The average for this day is around 12,000, so I'm very happy about that!

Now it just has to sink in... we are FINALLY pregnant!!

Is that a symptom??

I've been having some cramping on and off for a couple weeks now, even before I knew I was pregnant. The thing about cramping in early pregnancy – is that you don’t really know for SURE if it’s “good.” Sure, everyone tells you “it’s normal. I had period-like cramps for days/weeks/months. It’s your hormones. It’s your uterus stretching. You’re doing great!” And you want so desperately to believe them … these women that have been there and KNOW.

But unlike morning sickness (which I haven't really had ANY of), which everyone equates with a healthy pregnancy for the most part … cramping is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, if it’s a normal pregnancy symptom and you’ve been trying for SO long to get pregnant (and stay pregnant), hey, bring it on! Great! Pregnancy related symptoms, step right up! Happy to see ya! Sit down and stay a while! :)

But with cramping … which feels EXACTLY like period cramping … there is this nasty little voice that tries to loudly whisper in your ear, “Something is WRONG! That’s why you’re CRAMPING! You are so SCREWED!” It’s hard not to listen.

I have no spotting whatsoever. I have no bleeding. My toilet paper remains as white as the driven snow. And so I offer up a fervent prayer. Please let it stay that way. Please let this be OK. Please let me have this. I don’t want to wish time away … but I wouldn’t mind fast-forwarding just a few weeks. Just to get over this hump. I have my first ultrasound tomorrow morning. I'm nervous, excited, anxious, all rolled up in one. It can’t get here fast enough.

Weekend

Memorial Day has come and gone, can you believe it?! It's the "unofficial" start to summer! The weather was supposed to be rainy and cloudy on and off all weekend, but it turned out to be PERFECT! We had a BBQ Friday night with a couple of friends and their kids, it was soooo nice out. Saturday, I wasn't feeling so well (headache and crampy) so I pretty much couched it all day, taking naps on and off.... oh, the life! Sunday I felt so much better, so I got up and ran a few errands, Tommy and I were going to work in the yard, but we decided to take it easy.. I got laundry done and cleaned up the house a bit. Monday Tommy got up to go work for a while, and I went over to my parents for a bit. We both got home about the same time, and then we decided to take us and the dogs out to Zorinsky lake to let the dogs run around and splash in the water! It was so warm out, so it was a perfect day! I even got a little bit of a sun burn! Yeah, first one of the season! Then we came home, and all 4 of us passed out for naps!

Over all, it was a great weekend. I do notice I'm a bit more tired than normal, so it's been a challenge to not lay on the couch and fall asleep! But today it's back to the grind... WORK! Ugh! But it's a short week, and our first ultrasound in Friday morning, so we do have that to look forward to. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about it. Not so scared anymore. I figure, I feel good overall, and haven't had any spotting or anything, so as far as I know, I'm still pregnant! But I have a feeling now that I have said all this, this week is going to DRAG on...

Hope you all had a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Forgetfulness

A friend of mine asked me last night if I would meet her out at a restaurant/bar with her to meet a guy she met online.. so I said, sure! I wouldn't want her to go alone anyways, so I was game for a couple hours. When we got there, she ordered a beer, and I almost forgot... I ordered one too! HUH!?!? Then it occured to me, I can't drink! My friend knows I'm pregnant, so she was like, "Uh, you gonna drink that?!" I guess I just have been in "no baby" mode for so many years, that I didn't think about it! DUH! Of course, then I grabbed the waiter again and told him I needed a ROOT beer instead :)

I still feel pretty good, little crampy every now and again, but nothing bad. Sick feeling every now and again, but nothing that doesn't pass quickly. So all is good. Just anxious for the ultrasound... 10 more days! UGH!

Looking good!

I had my second beta this morning, and it came back at 204! So that is great, it more than doubled! My RE did say my progesterone was a bit low (20), and they don't like it to go below 20 (it's OK that it does, but she said they are pickier!). So she said if I have any spotting to call and they will up my dose of those AWESOME shots in the butt! :)

My first ultrasound is scheduled to be May 29th! I will be right around 6 weeks at that time, which will be right around the time we will be able to see a heartbeat! It's sooo amazing! According to a couple of online IVF due date calendars, I will be due January 22, 2010. So weird to see the 2010!

Thank you all for your continued prayers! It seems to have FINALLY worked and we are soooo thrilled!

And the results are in.. again...

Sorry it has taken awhile to get on here to update, but wanted to wait until I get the phone call from the RE...

AND WE ARE PREGNANT!!

I went in for my beta this morning.. the nurse asked if I tested at home yet before now, and I told her no (which is the truth!) So she said, for fun, let's do one now! Huh?! So they drew my blood, I went in the bathroom and squeezed out some pee (hadn't drank anything yet this morning), and she put the drops on their pg tests. She left it in the bathroom counter and went and got more progesterone needles for me. I was just sitting there sweating!! She came back with my needles, picked up the test, looked at it, looked at me and said "you're pregnant!"

OMG!!! She showed it to me, it was a pretty dark line! My RE was right there, she grabbed the test and looked at it and told me, "See, I told you we'd get at least one of em to stick!" :) My RE gave me the test and told me to take it and stare at it all day. Which I did all the way home! I didn't want to tell Tommy over the phone, as I know he was going to be home around 9am this morning. So I waited...

Tommy came home about 8:45, and the first thing he asked me was if the RE called yet. I was just laying on the couch, relaxing, and I told him no (which they hadn't!) So I got up, gave him a hug and told him I did want him to look at something upstairs... so he followed me up to our master bathroom and I flipped on the light. On the counter, I had laid the test from the RE office, and the digital I took when I got home (I know, I'm a freak!!) He looked at them kinda funny, looked at me and asked if I was pregnant! I said "Yes, silly, the digital spells it out!" He looks at it again, and then comes over and give me a big hug and kiss. He then picked it up again to look at it. It was so cute! I didn't know if her really knew what he was looking at!

So then I called my parents, as they knew we were testing today. They were so excited, my mom started to cry. She then told me she was so excited she couldn't sit still so she started to jog around her house... LOL! What!?! I text my sister this morning, but haven't heard anything yet, she's at work.

So I got to work about 9:30am, and as I did, my phone rang. It was the nurse from the RE's office to tell me my beta came back at 86! Which is a good positive! Anythying over 5 is positive, so 86 is lookin good! :) I have to go back Sunday morning to the hospital to have more blood drawn to make sure my beta is doubling. Then more than likely they will schedule my first u/s 2 weeks out. Then it will be revealed... how many are in there! :)

So that's the story, thanks for all your texts, phone calls, and emails.... oh, my sister just text me... she said she is literally jumping up and down in the parking lot of her work she is so excited! LOL!

I will keep you posted as to the beta on Sunday. :)

Longest week ever...

Man, this week has DRAGGED on.... it's been fairly busy at work, and even at home I'm pretty busy, but still... it's only THURSDAY. Tomorrow is my beta. I am going to try and get there as early as I can so I can get in and out, and that means getting my results sooner. We have been praying and trying to stay positive. I have been crampy on and off, feel like I'm just about ready to start my period, but I know that won't happen because of the progesterone I'm on. My left boob hurts a little, my right not so much. I'm tired, but that's I think due to the fact I can't seem to slow down! Pregnancy symptoms are so similar to PMS symptoms, so I'm trying not to look into it too much! But I still haven't caved and POAS! (pee on a stick).

I will update you all as soon as I hear tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your love and support, either way this works out!

Pregnant with triplets!!

I can say that now, officially, as they transfered 3 embryos into me yesterday! :) Now if any of them stick, that is the question.

Here is a picture of our 8 thawed embryos, with the blastocyst (best one) in the top left corner, the first picture. I don't know which other 2 she transfered.

So I've been on bedrest the past 2 days, and soooo bored, but it's all worth it. Tomorrow I can resume normal activites, but of course I will take it easy. My bloodwork came back all good too, my estrogen and progesterone all normal. I still have to keep on the estrogen pills (6 a day) and the progesterone shots at night.

I get to go in for my pregancy test (beta) a week from today, Friday, May 15th. This is gonna be a loooooooong week! And I decided, I'm NOT going to test early. I am gonna try and wait it out (if I can! :)

TRANSFER!!!

OMG, I am soo freakin excited! I got the call erlay this morning they want to do the transfer TODAY!! She said there was 1 that turned to a blastocyst this morning, and 2 otehrs that will veeeeery soon, so she wants to transfer all 3 this morning in about 1 hour! So I raced home, told Tommy, and we are ready to walk out the door! I won't be able to update again for a day or two, as I have to be on bedrest for 48 hours.

But I will update when I can! Wish us luck!! Love you all!

Day 2 Fertilization Report

The RE called today.. the 3 that survived the thaw over the weekend are growing nicely! She also told me they took out the other 7 that were frozen to thaw yesterday, and 5 of those survived. So we have a total of 8 thawed that are growing and hopefully will continue to grow until the blastocyst stage. She said transfer is looking like May 8 or 9 at this point, if they all grow properly.

I hope we can transfer at least 2, maybe 3 (gulp) just to give me a better chance. But it will be determined later as we see how many thrive to that stage. They will call again tomorrow to let me know their progress.

Thanks for all your support and prayers! They are working!

Frozen babies made it!!!

Out of the 4 embryos they took out to thaw, 3 survived! I'm happy with that. Depending on how they grow, she might end up taking out more to thaw tomorrow, but that will all depend on today. They will call me tomorrow to let me know how they are doing! Grow babies grow!!

Tentative transfer will be either Thursday or Friday!

Infertility Awareness Week

This week was Infertility Awareness Week... I hear there is also legislation going on trying to get insurance companies to cover more infertility treatments, as it's very expensive. Tommy and I are blessed to have pretty good insurance thought my company... after our deductible, our insurance pays 90% of IVF and other assisted reproductive techniques. Others aren't so lucky.

Anyhoo, I saw this video on a website that is helping to bring awareness to infertilty and the effect it has on couples, just like us. It's almost like I wrote this myself. Please take the 3 or 4 minutes it runs to look at this video. And I hope no more of my friends have to endure what we have in the past (and first) 2 years of our marriage.

http://www.tearsandhope.net/emptyarms_video.html

Second u/s

This morning was my second u/s to see if my lining was good to go... and it is finally!! It was 8.1, so it all is ready. The nurse called me back later in the morning to go over the "plan"... I am still to take the 4 oral and 2 vaginal tablets of estrogen (yuk), and starting Sunday, May 3rd, I will start the progesterone shots again! Woo hoo! (NOT!!) They are going to take 4 embryos to thaw out, and they will call me Monday with the report on how they are doing. Thawing out is pretty hard on the little dudes, so I pray at least 2 survive the thaw, and then grow to the blastocyst stage. I will probably know more on Monday when the actual transfer will take place.

Keeping all fingers and toes crossed we get a good report on Monday!!

First u/s

Went in for my first u/s this morning. They just wanted to check my lining to see if those God-awful estrogen pills were working. They need it to be 8mm thick to to do a transfer, and I was only at 6.8mm :( So... guess what! I get to take MORE estrogen pills! Except now I get to take not only the 4 orally I already am, but now take one vaginally in the morning and one in the evening!

I go back Friday for another u/s, so I hope this helps... what a girl won't do to get her baby!! :)

ETA: Oh, and I added the picture above last night... it's a picture I took at our family's cabin on a lake up in South Dakota. I love it up there, it's so serene and beautiful at sunset. I can't wait to get back up there this summer.

Blah!

Well since I've been taking these estrogen pills, I have been nauseaus on and off all day! Ugh! Yesterday was particularly bad, as I have finally got the the highest dose I will be on, and that was rough. I finally called my RE to see if there is anything she could give me or I could take for the nauseausness... she said there have been several people calling complaing of that (so I'm not the only one! :) Since I take 4 pills a day, she suggested taking 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening... and so far today, I'm not doing too bad! Finally, I don't feel like gagging every 5 min!

Oh, and she did mention that if we get pregnant this cycle, I will have to stay on these estrogen pills for several weeks into the pregnancy, so I better get used to it! Oh, GREAT! :)

I go in for my first u/s on Monday morning, so I'll be back to update then!

Here we go again!

My cycle started today, so here we go again!! I called my RE and told them we are going to do a FET... so she told me what will happen. They will prescribe me Estrogen pills I have to take for the next few weeks, and I start tomorrow. Then on April 27, I will go in for an u/s to see how my uterine lining looks. That is when they will also start the thawing of the embryos. They will give me updates as to how many survived the thaw, and then how they are growing. They have to grow to a certain size (blastocyst stage) before they will transfer them back into me (usuaklly 5 or 6 days after thaw). So she said transfer will probably be that first weekend in May, if all goes well! Then I have to start the progesterone shots again (yuk).

So I went and picked up the estrogen today to start tomorrow! I just pray we get some good blasts to survive the thaw and grow into one of our children!

New Plan

I talked to my Dr. on Monday to get some answers... my progesterone level was excellent (those shots helped afterall!), my estrogen was very low (but would have been with a negative pregancy test) and my hCG level came back at <1.

So then I talked to the gal that handles the insurance at the office and talked to her about what this next step would cost us. Now that we have hit our family deductible, our insurance pays for 90% of fertility treatments! Woo hoo! So after discussing it, Tommy and I decided to go ahead and start this next cycle and do a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET). I have to call my Dr. when Aunt Flo starts up, and she will prescribe me the estrogen pills I will take. So no shots! Until after the transfer... but more on that later.

Today will be a very busy day here at the office, we are down 2 people, and when there is only 4 people to start with in the dept, that's a lot! So it will be good to keep me busy!

And The Results Are...

...negative. I couldn't belive it... My RE called me this morning at 9:15am. She said she was flaberghasted that one didn't take, but sometimes it happens. It was the perfect, textbook IVF cycle... we are heartbroken. I told Tommy after I got off the phone and he was so upset, he started to tear up too.

She did say we can try a FET next cycle if we want, as soon as my period starts. We might do it, we might wait a month. I just don't know if we can take much more bad news anymore. This month marks the 2 year anniversary of us trying. I'll update more when we made a decision as to what we will do next. We won't let this get the best of us... we were MEANT to be parents!!!

Thanks for all your support and prayers xoxoxox

Great News!

My RE called today and left a message on my home phone today... out the 8 remaining embryos that we did not transfer, 7 of them made to freeze! So we have a total of 11 frozen! That is AWESOME! So when and if we need to go through this again, we can dethaw a couple embryos and do a transfer that way (called FET - Frozen Embryo Transfer).

Just had to share the good news! :)

BUSY!!!

I am SOOOOO thankful I have been super swamped at work! Doesn't that sound strange?!?! I haven't thought much about the test on Sunday, so this is a good thing... it's actually going by pretty quickly!

I did break down and test yesteray night, only to see if the trigger shot was out of my system, and since it was a snow white negative, it is out now. So if I do decided to test early, it will be a "real" positive, and not a medically induced one!

OK, back to work! I'm buried!!

Everything A-OK!

I had blood drawn this morning at the hospital to check on my progesterone and estrogen levels, which are necessary to sustain pregnancy. My estrogen level was great! Progesterone was a little lagging, but they didn't sound worried. I just have to keep taking those fantastic progesterone shots in my butt every night... woo wee, those are fun! :)

I got in for my beta (pregnancy test by blood) a week from today... Easter! I'm hoping there is symbolism in that Easter symbolizes new life, that I too may be starting a new life. It's going to be a loooong week!

It snowed today!! There was a huge snow storm that swept across South Dakota and Nebraska, but thankfully we didn't get anywhere near what they did out west. We got maybe 2" and it's so wet, that it didn't stick on any of the pavement. I was worried if I would be able to make it in today to get my blood work done! My tulips, which were starting to come up, I hope will make it too.

Ah, the ever changing spring weather in the midwest!

Transfer!

Sorry I did not get to update yesterday on the egg transfer, but I was confined to strict bedrest yesterday and Tommy was very adimate and me not getting up unless I had to pee! So here's what happened yesterday.

I woke up at 6:30am with Tommy, he went to work for a little while, so I got up and took a shower. Dr. Doherty called about 7:45am to talk to me about my babies. Out of the 10 ones they let grow in the lab, she said 4 of them looked reeeeally good. Since I had so many good quality ones, she said we should only transfer 2. She said she wouldn't be surprised if both of them stuck (gulp) because of the quality. I took my Valium about 8:30, and have been drinking like mad all morning, to have a full bladder when I got there.

We got there at 9am, and was doing OK when I got there. I got changed into my sexy gown and hairnet, and Tommy had to wear a shirt, pants, hairnet, mask, and booties so he could join me in the OR. By 9:30, Dr. Doherty still wasn't there yet, and I was in sooo much pain. I was getting all hot, crampy, just absolutly miserable because of my bladder! FINALLY, the nurse came running in to tell me the Dr. was there! I couldn't even stand up straight it hurt so bad! And I had to walk all the way down to the OR! So hunched over, I held on to Tommy with one arm, and my crotch the other (I was sooo afraid I was going to pee!), we made it down to the OR... Dr. Doherty was at the end of the hallway cheering me on. When we got there, she handed Tommy a picture... of the 10 embryos that were doing so well!


As I finally got down to the OR, they had me lay on the table, and put my feet in the stirrups... but I couldn't even straighten up because my bladder was contracting so bad. So Dr. Doherty emptied some of my bladder, and what a relief that was! Whew!!!! So then I could lay down, Tommy was on a stool sitting by my head. There were I think 4 other people in the room. The ultrasound nurse did the u/s on my belly, while Dr. Doherty did her thing down there. It was totally painless and felt much like a pap smear. It was litterally done in 5 min. Maybe less. Then, bless her soul, Dr. Doherty emptied the rest of my bladder...... that was the BEST feeling I think I have ever felt in my life. Wow, that was something else!

I was then wheeled back down to my room, and was instructed to lay there for 1 hour. After the hour, I had to pee again, so I did, and got dressed at the same time. The transportation gal came up next and they loaded me on a cart (I have to lay down this entire time). She wheeled me down to the front door of the hospital and Tommy brought the car around. I walked to the car, loaded myself in the backseat to lay down, and off we went. We got home about 11:30am.

So I've been a queen ever since... having food, drink, whatever I needed brought to me :) Too bad it's only gonna last a couple days! I have to go back Sunday morning for more bloodwork to check my levels. Of course, at 7:30am... ugh.

Now our mission: pray like hell at least one sticks!

Transfer is set!

The RE office called this morning to give me an update on our little guys, and she told me they are at "Code 1" stage, which means 1 or more have hit all the milestones for Day 2. She couldn't tell me how many exactly, I don't know if she knew!

So we are scheduled to do the transfer tomorrow at 9am. My Dr. will call me in the morning to discuss how many we will transfer. I was always thinking 2, but Tommy said let's do 3. We will see what my Dr. says. It will really depend on how many look good!

I am supposed to have a full bladder when I get there, as the bladder helps to push the uterus down and gives it easier access for the Dr. to place the embryos. Also, they gave me a prescription for Valium! She said to take one on the way to the hospital tomorrow. Me on Valium, relaxed and all, and with a full bladder. This should be interesting! :)

I will update again tomorrow after the transfer to let you know how it went! :)

Fertilization Report!

I woke up this morning feeling like a truck ran me over... I'm sore! Like I did a thousand sit ups! But nothing a little Tylenol and heating pad can't fix! :)

My RE just called with the results of the ER.... out of the 17 eggs they retrieved, 15 were mature!!! Out of the 15, 14 fertilized normally!!! They froze 4 for future use (if needed) and will let the 10 grow normally. I am praying we get some good growth in the next 2 days for our transfer on Thursday! The RE said she would call tomorrow and let me know more details about the transfer.

I called Tommy right away, of course he was taking an nap!! So not sure how much he really comprehended, but at the end I told him we were proud parents to 14 children, and all he said was "that's good!" I'll have to tell him again when he comes to! :)