Giving Thanks

I am going to try and start blogging about my life and the happenings in it, not just about doctor visits and my lack of morning sickness. Maybe that will make it more interesting for those few readers out there!

So today is finally Thanksgiving--the big bang to start off the winter holidays. I love this time of year (as do most) because it is just so dang festive. You get to decorate your house, cook your annual feast, and see family. Since I've been a nurse, I've worked on just about every holiday--if not out of requirement then for the extra money. This year is no different. I just got off of work, and today is my one day off before I go back for 3 more. I may be a bit delirious from lack of sleep (I've been up since 8am YESTERDAY) so I will try to make sense!!

7 Things I am Thankful for in My Life

1) My dear husband Nick of almost 6 years for being my rock and support through better or worse, and being able to trust him 100%

2) My nursing career that began right out of high school and has been a bumpy ride, but has brought so many awesome experiences and opportunities my way that nobody else my age has had

3) My parents for eventually seeing me as an adult and not a little girl, and for being able to depend on them when they are needed

4) God for sticking by me, even when I question his plan. For giving me the strength to get through the hardest times, and the knowledge to learn from my mistakes

5) Sara for needing me as much as I need her in my life, and for making me laugh, or for letting me cry

6) The low cost of living in Oklahoma (even though I really don't like it here)

7) The Center for Reproductive Health and the fact that my first visit there I cried because I felt so hopeless, and my last visit there I cried because I saw my baby move

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I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and don't forget to count your blessings!!

From Embryo to Fetus

We are finally to the 10 week mark, and things are looking great! According to everything I've read, this is the big week where the placenta kicks in and supports the growing baby. And the growing baby is now officially a fetus and no longer in the embryonic period!! I love the milestones. Here is the size she is this week:

Getting bigger everyday! I'm going to really miss getting my weekly ultrasounds, but I'll get used to it! Today is also the last day I have to use my progesterone cream. It has done it's job well but I will be glad to see it go! Here is how she is developing...

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

One last thing...Saturday night at work, me and a pregnant (33wk) coworker got the unit ultrasound machine (very small and old) and looked at our babies! She was trying to figure out how hers was laying. It took me awhile to find mine, but I pushed down and twisted and searched and finally found her! I sat there for 5-10 minutes just watching her move around. It was amazing!! I know that each week she will get bigger and bigger and I will have the ability to look at her when I want to. I'm pretty happy about that! So maybe know that I know where she is, hopefully I can start hearing a heartbeat on the doppler. Thanks for reading!

First Prenatal Appointment

Today I got to meet my new OB doctor. She is very sweet, and answered all of our questions. She really seems like she cares, and explained everything she was doing. First she did a physical exam, then we did the ultrasound. Unfortunately her machine doesn't do the heartbeat like my other doctor's did, so we didn't hear it or see the rate, but we saw little Emmers heart beating away. And of course I got another picture!!! This is at 9wk2d.

I've been spoiled my other doctor, and I won't be getting as many ultrasounds now. In the next few weeks we are going to do the nuchal translucency test so I will get an ultrasound with that, but after that we won't get one until the BIG one where we find out the gender. That should be around the end of January.

So both me and Emmers are doing great, hubby is very excited about it all. I just bought a scanner today so after I get it hooked up the pictures should look clearer. I will have checkups every 4 weeks for now, and my next one is Dec. 17.

***I might add that in one week she went from 1.75 cm to 2.58 cm!!!!

Grapes of Wrath...(or joy)

Today I am 9 weeks along! I love watching how the little floating baby in my widget changes with each week. Me, hubby, and Emmers are all doing great. Since she pretty much looks like a real baby now, instead of posting pics of the "in-utero" image, I'm going to post pics of how big she's supposed to be!

This week she is supposed to be about the size of a large grape. I don't really think I have a belly yet, just mostly bloated! Here is her growth update:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long —about the size of a grape— and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.


Wow! So I have read that you should be able to start hearing the heartbeat with a Doppler between 9 and 10 weeks....so all this weekend at work when I had a few minutes, I would sneak into the bathroom with our little Doppler and try and try to find a heartbeat. Well I found my own, but not hers. So tonight hubby and I are going to the store to get one because I want to know the exact DAY that I will first hear her heartbeat at home! I'll keep you posted.

My first prenatal appointment is this coming Wednesday so I will post then and tell you the news! Thanks for reading.

8wk2d Ultrasound

Today was absolutely AMAZING and sad at the same time. Today was my last appointment with my RE whom I have been seeing since June. He truly has given Nick and I the miracle of life, and we are forever grateful to him for it. I bought him a card and baked 2 big loaves of banana bread for him and his staff, and they were very appreciative of it! He said to come back after the baby gets here, and I told him I'll be using him again in a couple of years.

Otherwise, the ultrasound was beautiful. Nick had class, so my best friend Sara went with me. Little Emma (yes we are convinced it's a girl) has gotten soooo much bigger in the last 2 weeks! At the 6 week ultrasound she was 0.3 cm, and now she is 1.75 cm! You could really see the shape of the baby, and her heartbeat was a whopping 170!!! Here's a pic, then the best for last...

Isn't she huge!!?? I think the head is on the right. Well here is the best part of the whole thing...after Dr. Haas located her and zoomed in, he held it still for a second (and I held my breath so I didn't interfere) and we saw her move!!!!!! There was a couple of happy tears! I can't wait until I can start feeling her kicking around in there.

That's it for this time, my first prenatal appointment with my OB is next Wednesday so hopefully I get another picture to last me until December. Thanks for reading!!

Kidney Beans!!

I can't believe 8 weeks is here! Today I am 2 months pregnant, and only 1 month away from being in the 2nd trimester. I am very excited with each passing day and week! And on Wednesday, I will see my RE for the last time, and get another beautiful picture of my baby. Here is what he/she looks like this week:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby -- about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Amazing isn't it! Otherwise things are going well. No nausea (thank you Jesus), and I think the fatigue is getting a little better. Of course, now I'm peeing all the time! And within the next couple of weeks I should be able to start hearing the heartbeat with a Doppler. I have a friend at work who has one she is going to loan me. I can't wait!!

New OB Class

Today I went to an OB class at my new OB's office by the hospital. They just started doing this class last December for newly pregnant patients. It was pretty informative, except for the fact that I've already done soooo much reading and research on everything that I had pretty much already heard the pregnancy info before. We got a bunch of pamphlets telling us about the OB services offered, like lactation consultants, birthing classes, and infant/toddler CPR. Also they gave us a map to show where exactly we need to go when we go into labor (which is actually very helpful because it's a HUGE campus and I would very easily get lost).

Then they drew the blood for my prenatal workup, and I went ahead and had them tag on the test to see if I'm a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis. I don't think I am--it doesn't run at all in my family that I know of--but hey, it wouldn't hurt to know for sure. I will be returning for the first official prenatal checkup on the 19th, and they will discuss the lab results with me then.

One thing they gave me there was a sample of these sucker things for morning sickness. I'm not having any--thank God--but I grabbed a few just in case! They are called B-natal in case anyone is interested! I think they're basically B6, but hey whatever works!

Blueberry Baby

Today is the 7 week mark! Every week is bringing us closer to our family. Everything is still going very well, I have a busy month coming up. First of all, here is what my baby is doing this week:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

It's so amazing how fast it is growing, and it is still so weird and foreign to me to know that there is another human inside of me with a heartbeat! I know it's going to be crazy when I start feeling him/her moving! I can't wait.

As for my upcoming schedule, this Thursday I have an OB class at my new OB's office where they give me some papers to fill out, info about pregnancy, and draw my prenatal bloodwork. Then I rescheduled my last US with my RE for the 12th, and yes I'm still sad our time is over with him! He is really an awesome doctor. After that I got my first OB appointment moved up to the 19th, and then they will do a US and a pappy, and talk about the next step. And by then, I'll be almost 9 1/2 weeks along!!

I just want to say how grateful I am to have gotten this far. Even if something bad happens, I will still have these few precious weeks (and ultrasound pics) to cherish for the rest of my life. And if everything goes great, I'll be a momma this time next year!

A Very Special Day

Today was our second ultrasound, and Nick and I got to see our baby's heart beating! It was amazing. I think it's finally setting in that I'm pregnant. The heartbeat was 117, and I read that it will get faster as the weeks go on. Here is what my baby looks like right now, you can see it better inside the sac:

Everything is still looking really good, I only have one more appointment with my RE and then they will release me to my regular OB!! I told him I'll miss him because we've gotten close over these last few months, and he gave me a hug! I'll have to bring them some cookies or something with my next visit.

I go back on November 13 for one more ultrasound, and that's it! I also started an actual journal for the pregnancy to write about each visit and special thing that happens, and about symptoms and things I go through so that I have something to physically go back and look at in the future.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

My Little Lentil

Today I am 6 weeks along, and progressing nicely so far! No changes yet, but I know that morning sickness is lurking around the corner. Here is what my baby looks like right now:

Right now it is about the size of a lentil, or 1/4 of an inch long. Me and the hubby are anxiously awaiting the Thursday ultrasound where we will be able to see his/her heartbeat finally! I made my first appointment with my new OB doc because my old one doesn't deliver at my hospital. I see her on December 3.

That's it for now, thanks for reading! Check back on Thursday for ultrasound #2 :)

First Ultrasound!

Today was our first ultrasound, and everything went well. We have one very nice looking gestational sac, and we are going back next Thursday to see the heartbeat! I gotta say, I was really hoping for twins, but I'll take what I can get!

The text that you see around the sac is where the Dr. put an arrow to the embryo and typed "HI MOM AND DAD". It was so cute!!! I can't wait until we get another one next week.

I haven't started the Progesterone gel yet because I was waiting to find out how many more weeks I was going to need it because the box only came with 18. Well I've got 5 more weeks ahead of me, so I'll be having to purchase another one after awhile. And yes, the gel goes where you think it goes :( But anything is better than stabbing my self everyday!

Symptoms are still pretty much the same. I keep waiting for the vomiting to hit, which I'm sure it will at the most inopportune time. I have a vomit bag on tap in my car, and I can always get more from work. My Dr. told me that taking vitamin B6 and Ginger Root help alot with morning sickness. So I went and bought those today for when I need it. I read that it usually starts between weeks 6 and 8, so it will be soon!

I also bought some lotion for the belly so *crossing fingers* I don't get stretch marks. I read that vitamin E and Collagen are the best ingredients for it, so that's what I got. We'll see how it goes.

I guess that's it for now, if anything happens or I feel the need to blog before next Thursday, it will be on here. Otherwise next week is the heartbeat!!!!!

5 Weeks and Beta #2

I should be sleeping right now, but I just got the call from my Dr. and he had TWO bits of wonderful news for me!

2nd Beta 18 days past 3 day transfer: 1589

Isn't that fabulous??? Four days ago, it was 314, and I did a little math according to the "rule" that is should double about every 31 hours. So I guesstimated that today it should be around 950. As you can see, it far exceeded my expectations!! I really do want twins, and that brings me to the next bit of news....

Our first ultrasound is Wednesday!!! Yes, as in the day after tomorrow!! This will be my marker for myself to let down my guard a bit and start to get more excited. Not to mention I'll probably spill the beans to a few more people. Of course almost everyone at my work already knows cause I've been running my mouth through the whole process!! Everyone is so happy for me, and I am working on aquiring my very OWN copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting".

I guess I kind of got a third bit of good news. As most of us know who are involved in the IVF process, after retrieval you must do an IM shot of Progesterone everyday until about 8 weeks gestation. Well I have been doing it for a whole 2 weeks now, and my butt is so freakin sore. I'm not kidding. Bruising, knots, pain going down through my hip. I told the nurse about it last Thursday when I got my first HCG, and she said "Well you know you can also do the shot in your thigh?" HAHAHA, if you haven't read the story about when I did that, you should. I informed her that I tried that and my right leg was rendered nearly useless for 3 days. So that option of course is out. I tried to stick it out for a few more days, but I highly doubt I could suffer through this for 3 more weeks! So I talked to my wonderful doc about it this morning, and he more than happily prescribed me some gel to do instead! I'm pretty happy about that. Here are some pics of the damage:

Left cheek

Right cheek

So as you can see my derriere is not a happy camper. Well that's all the big news for today! As for symptoms, I've been very tired, and eating a lot, and peeing more than usual. Not really having any cramps for the last several days, just the occasional twinge. No spotting at all either! So far, so good. Keep us in your prayers, and check back Wednesday for the ultrasound blog!!!

In a "Beta" Mood

It's official!! We're expecting! I have been waiting over 5 1/2 years to say that, and my time has finally come. I know the next few weeks will be the most vital, and my optimism is growing. I just want one more good beta and the ultrasound, and I will be good to go! We probably won't broadcast it to the world until we get to about 8 weeks, just as a precaution. But the close people in our lives will know of course :)

#1 Beta 14 days past 3 day transfer = 314

The lines don't seem to be getting any darker on my tests, but I haven't taken any other kind yet so maybe this is just how dark they get? But I will probably stop testing everyday now that I've been confirmed!

I think I may still be in shock, but I'll slowly get used to it! The hubby is getting more and more excited, and keeps calling me "preggo mama". It's so cute! I have looked up all kinds of info on beta levels, and the next one should give us an inclination of multiples, hopefully. If any of you out there reading this would like to tell me what you're betas were and if you had one, two, or three, feel free to!!!!

Here is what the embryo(s) look like this week:

Stay tuned for my second beta on Monday morning!!! (I'll post it in the afternoon since I'll be sleeping after working Sunday night)

A Bit Excessive, I Know

You know you love me :) So here is my test from today. Darker as you can see!!! Hubby is starting to get excited, but still cautiously waiting on the beta. I promise I'm not going to continue to put this up everyday, just wanted to show this one too! I'm proud, what can I say?

4 Weeks!

I know I'm a goober, but by God I'm going to milk this for all it's worth! My beautiful second line is progressively getting darker, and I am finally able to capture it on my camera to show you guys! Here they are, all lined up for you:

I am dying for Thursday to get here! On a non-pregnancy cycle, I would have been due to start my period either yesterday or today. But I have had nothing show up, so I'm hoping and praying it doesn't! I have been feeling kind of "twingey" in my uterus area. Not really crampy, more twingey. But I do have a story for you...

We all know the progesterone shots go in the muscle in the bum. Well my left bum was off limits for awhile cause the dear husband went a bit too close to the middle and I swear he hit bone. So that was verrrry sore and has a knot on it still. So for two day after that, I did my own shot but can only do it on the right bum since I'm right handed. Well Saturday I woke up in the afternoon all hot and cranky and needing to pee (frequent urination??). Turns out hubby wasn't home, and never came back home before I left for work that evening. So I couldn't do the left one by myself, and the right one was getting pretty sore. I really didn't want to subject any of my coworkers to my "cheeks", so I figured I would do it in my thigh since that is also a place you can give IM shots. So in the right thigh I go, the needle didn't really hurt. But shortly after injecting the medicine....oh my dear Lord. I of course did it right before I had to run out the door for work, so I proceeded to hobble around grabbing my bags and whatnot to leave. Then the rest of the night I suffered as my thigh proceeded to throb and ache. It's kind of like that ache right before you get a muscle cramp.

Don't worry about hubby though, he was merely out with a friend. I put him through a nice guilt trip for leaving me high and dry on the shot, and he vowed to never do it again. Well that was Saturday, and today is Monday, and yes it still throbs. So we are back to the cheeks, lesson learned. Note to self: do NOT inject progesterone into thighs.