Christmas Eve

25 Weeks (I'll be 26 on Thursday.)

I can't believe I'm getting closer to the third trimester. My belly is really starting to pop out more! Andrew always jokes and says, "Somebody ate a big dinner." He is so excited...as we both are. 

I go in on Wednesday for my glucose tolerance test. I hope I pass. I've been eating a lot of sweet treats that our students made us for Christmas. 

Baby boy is really moving a lot lately. It's so fun to feel him move. He seems to move throughout the night when I'm resting and early morning. Then, I think he sleeps from about 8:00 - 2:00 and then he's back to punching, kicking, doing flips, who knows what he's doing in there? Andrew still can't feel him kick from the outside, but hopefully in a few weeks he'll be able to.

What a difference a year makes. Last year I was so down about not getting pregnant that I didn't decorate for Christmas and we waited until the last minute to shop for gifts. I just wasn't in the Christmas mood. Being around children made me so sad. I remember putting on a smile and going through the motions, but I just wanted to hide in the bathroom and cry. I just felt like something was missing and I couldn't fill that part of my life. My heart aches for my friends that are struggling to get pregnant right now. The Holidays are really difficult. I wish I had some good advice but I don't. I guess I just kept telling myself that God had a plan for us and I just kept thinking that maybe next Christmas would be different. I feel so blessed and thank God everyday for our little miracle.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and I hope that for those of you waiting for your miracle, that you get through the Holidays. Infertility has definitely made us stronger people and when that miracle does happen through pregnancy, adoption, etc... you're heart will be filled with so much joy...and I can't wait for it to happen for those of you! 

3D Image...SO COOL!

 A 3D image of our little guy. (I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow.)

Check out those longs legs and foot kicking up!

20 Week Belly Pic

What an awesome doctor's visit today. Baby boy was being very cooperative for pictures! He now weighs 14 ounces.  The ultrasound technician said he has very long legs and every organ, etc... is perfect!
It is still so surreal to be considered a normal patient. I am very thankful for this pregnancy and thank God everyday! Andrew and I are truly blessed.
My mom went with us for this ultrasound. I think she really enjoyed going. Everybody cried just a little bit.
I'm looking forward to my next appointment on Tuesday. More to update on Tuesday...

It's a..............

I had my almost 18 week appointment today. We found out we're having a

BOY!!!!!!!!!

We are both so excited. I thought all along it was a boy. The doctor said he has very long legs, a strong heartbeat, all four limbs, and a straight spine.

Baby boy was very active today. He would not lay still for a nice profile picture so maybe we'll get one next time. He was moving his arms and legs like crazy and kept turning.

I've continued to feel lots of flutters. We went and saw the musical "Les Miserables" on Sunday and he was moving quite a bit. I guess he either really liked or disliked the music.

I thought I felt my first kick on Sunday evening. It was definitely something I never have felt yet and it was a quick jab. I'm guessing he was kicking me.

Looks like we'll have lots of blue in our future. We are so thrilled and excited. Still praying for our little guy to continue growing strong and healthy.

16 Weeks and Flutters!

                                                                    16 Weeks!

Flutters! I’ve been feeling lots of flutters lately. It is so cool. I was reading online that normally you don’t feel flutters until about 18 – 20 weeks but I’m definitely feeling something.  I can’t wait for my next appointment on October 30^th.  We will hopefully be able to find out the gender of the baby. 

At first we were not going to find out and let it be a surprise on delivery day…but I’m such a planner and just can’t hold out that long.   

Many of our friends and family think we are having a girl but I think we’re having a boy. I suppose I think that’s because we can only agree on a boy name. I’m still trying to persuade Andrew on the girl name but he does not like it.

I really wish I had an ultrasound machine at my house so I could take a peak every night to see what the baby is doing. (Maybe it's a good think I don't...because I might get a little obsessed.)

My morning sickness seems to be getting a little better. I didn't throw up this morning but who knows what tomorrow will bring. :)

I know we have plenty of time still, but Andrew and I need to start cleaning out the room where the baby will go. Right now it’s our office and “catch all” room.  

Almost 14 Weeks!

This pic was taken at 13 weeks.

I had a doctor appointment today.  Everything went just fine. I finally got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler.  Baby's heart rate was 150 beats per minute. My ob said anything from 120 - 160 is considered normal. I'm so relieved and happy that I got to hear the heartbeat. (Last time she couldn't detect it on the doppler but I got to see it on the ultrasound.)

I am starting to relax a bit more. A very wise friend from work told me to relax and enjoy every moment of this and to be happy. She is right. It's so difficult not to think negatively so I am going to work on being more positive and try to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy. 

I throw up every morning and I love it! Sometimes I get what I call a "bonus puke" in the evenings. (I know that sounds a bit odd, but I've waited so long for this and am ready to embrace every moment.) 

I am so thankful for my family and friends. They are wonderful. I feel like I have a huge support system of people praying for us and checking in on us. I love each and every one of you that has been there for us through the difficult times and now the exciting times. Each phone call, email, text, Facebook message, etc... has truly been appreciated. 

IVF - Our Journey This Summer

Here are all my medication/injections I took this summer.

IVF stands for In-Vitro Fertilization.  

I started the process in June this past summer.  First my doctor put me on birth control pills to put my ovaries in a "resting state". I began an injection on June 20th called Lupron. A few weeks after that I continued with the Lupron and started another injection called Gonal-F. Gonal-F is a hormone that grows many eggs. I was on this medication for one week....during my trip to Gulf Shores. This was a bit stressful because the injections had to be administered at the same time every day, but it was nice to be able to relax on the beach afterwards.  I had my egg retrieval on July 12th (where they take a needle and extract the eggs from my follicles.) I had 14 mature eggs.  They immediately combined my husband's "swimmers" with a procedure called ICSI. This is a technique where they injected the "swimmers" directly into the egg. I had 8 eggs fertilize and 2 eggs turned into blastocysts by day 5 after the retrieval.  July 17th was when I had my embryos transferred.  I then began progesterone injections in the "behind"...my husband had to give me those. I had blood work done 8 days after the embryos were transferred. That is when I found out I was pregnant. 

I had a check up at 5 weeks and the ultrasound confirmed that we were pregnant with twins. We were so excited. Sadly, one of the babies did not survive and we found this out the following week. We were very sad but hoped and prayed that the other baby would continue to grow strong.

IVF wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The calendar they give you with a list of all your medications/injections can be quite overwhelming, but I just took each day one day at a time. 

We're PREGNANT!!!!!!

Our beautiful embryos! 

Our precious baby! Almost 12 weeks!

What a journey it's been! Almost 3 years of trying to conceive and it has finally happened for us. 

We are so excited but nervous at the same time. After  1 miscarriage and 7 failed IUI's, it's hard for us to believe that we're pregnant. IVF is the journey that led us to a positive pregnancy all of course under God's control. IVF was a difficult decision for us.  So many questions had to be answered first and many, many months of prayers. 

Why IVF? We were diagnosed with "unexplained infertility".  In September 2009 we decided it was time to start trying for a baby. To our surprise, we got pregnant but it sadly ended in a very early miscarriage in January 2010.  We tried and tried and tried...NOTHING! We finally started seeing my fertility specialist in March 2011. After 7 failed IUI's, our doctor recommended IVF.  This was not a decision made lightly. We had so many questions. I prayed a lot.  Our desire in our hearts was and still is so strong for a baby. (I know IVF is considered controversial by many, but please respect that this was the right decision for us. It was not a decision made lightly.)

We had our almost 12 week check up today. The baby was not cooperating and we could not hear the heartbeat on the doppler. My doctor said not to worry and she would do an ultrasound. We got to see the heartbeat and watch a leg kick out. She knows how nervous I am and told me to come back in 2 weeks. She said we should be able to hear a heartbeat by then. She said it isn't uncommon and for me not to worry...well...I'll continue to worry.

I'll continue to pray that everything goes well. I know all of this is out of my control and I need to continue to have faith that everything will be ok. 

To those of you reading this blog and struggling with infertility...don't give up. I know it's difficult. I started to believe that I would never get pregnant. I hope my journey can give you hope to never give up.