October 16th Appointment

Our precious baby is measuring 8w2d (and I am 8w3d)!

Our amazing ultrasound tech (Tammy) gave us five beautiful pictures.

Everything looks great.  It was amazing to see the head and the baby's limbs.  "The Sneak" actually looks like a baby on the ultrasound now.  We are still set for two more ultrasound appointments at ART, and are planning to be released to our OB in November.

Future Appointments:
10-23-12:
Ultrasound Appointment # 5
10-31-12:
Ultrasound Appointment # 6, consult with Dr. Allemand, tentative graduation from RE

Brandon, Traveling, & Zombies

Brandon is traveling a lot this week.  He left yesterday driving to Florida for an early meeting this morning.  He's on the way home now, and texted me saying that he has to leave again tomorrow for Mississippi.  On top of that, he's leaving on Friday for Mobile (then Mississippi) and not returning home until Monday.

It started storming last night and I barely slept.  It probably didn't help that I watched The Walking Dead before going to sleep either.  Around 3am, I woke up to the thunder (and my bladder).  I woke up again at 5am and then felt exhausted when my alarm went off at 7am.  I had wanted to travel with Brandon this weekend, but my boss is leaving out of town so taking off from work was out of the question.  So right when I was getting more comfortable with Brandon traveling, he has a busy week and I become a weenie again!

I hate to complain, but I miss my husband when he's traveling.  We texted during the Season 3 Premiere of The Walking Dead last night.  It's one of our favorite TV shows; however, I like the graphic novel MUCH BETTER!  I was thrilled when I learned about the series (three part) of books about The Governor.

I LOVED reading The Rise of the Governor


The second book , The Road to Woodbury, is being released tomorrow.  I can't wait to go buy my copy!


Sorry that this post seemed to jump around, but that's how my mind works.  I'll post tomorrow after our ultrasound appointment!

8 Weeks and Bumpdate

How far along:

8 Weeks

How big is baby:

the size of a raspberry

Maternity Clothes:

I recently purchased a pair of maternity jeans and they are awesome.  Thankfully the weather is turning cooler and I can wear more of my sweater dresses.  Most of my pants are snug and uncomfortable.

Still no weight gain though (weighing 123lbs).

Movement:

The baby is actually moving now, but it's still too tiny for me to feel anything.

Food Cravings:

Nothing out of the ordinary.  I continue to crave fruit and sugary stuff.  Tums are my new best friend!  I love drinking fruit juice each morning, and I have been drinking lots of water throughout the day.

Food Aversions:

Anything fried or greasy, 'well done' cooked steak, grilled shrimp, carbs, anything heavy

Gender:

10 weeks until we find out!

(That also means that Christmas is right around the corner!)

Brandon thinks his initial guess could have been wrong.  I will be thrilled either way, but I'm secretly hoping for a little girl!

Symptoms:

Tender breasts, acid reflux when I'm hungry, indigestion after meals, aversion to foods, intense sense of smell, increased appetite, extreme fatigue, bloating, DROOLING during the day now, "pregnancy brain", moodiness, mood swings, weepiness, headaches, constipation, nausea, bleeding gums, and sore hiney from the PIO injections

What do I miss:

Nothing terribly.  I prayed to be pregnant with this sweet baby.

I will enjoy a yummy NY Strip cooked 'medium' once "The Sneak" arrives.

Best moment of the week:

Our ultrasound appointment seeing how much our baby has grown.

Also, getting started on my pregnancy scrapbook for "The Sneak."

What am I looking forward to:

Continuing our appointments with the RE throughout the end of October and being released to our OB.

Milestones:

"The Sneak" grew so much in the course of a week and as is measuring well.

"Baby is growing about a millimeter every day.  Lips, nose, eyelids, legs, and back continue to take shape.  Even though I cannot feel it, the baby is now making spontaneous movements, twitching his/her tiny trunk and limb buds."

from What to Expect When You're Expecting

Bumpdate

Still not a lot of changes.

Here's to a happy and healthy 8th week!

The Puppies

Brandon drove to Mississippi last night.  He has a meeting early this morning, another property to stop by, and then he's coming home.  Last night I rolled over and forgot he wasn't home!  Needless to say, I'm finally getting more comfortable with him traveling.  I always miss him when he's gone, but I'm so exhausted all the time that I'm no longer nervous before going to bed.  Plus, I have the dogs in the backyard to alert me of any danger (hah).

I thought I would share a picture of "The Goobs."  Logan is the little guy on the left, and Daisy is the big girl on the right.

Brandon had Logan for several years before we met.  He loves Brandon so much!  He found Daisy on the side of the road last year after Thanksgiving.  She was such a cute little puppy!  Logan wasn't sure about her for a while, but they get along well now.  Even though Daisy is twice his size, Logan still rules the backyard.  She steals all of the chews and toys, but he keeps her in line.  Sometimes when I peek out the window, I see him cleaning her face and ears.  They're just too funny!!


When Brandon and I were dating, Logan would NOT eat if Brandon was out of town.  He would go on a hunger strike, and only eat if I hand-fed him either dog food or table scraps.  I guess he's finally started to trust me after FIVE years, because he eats when Brandon is gone now.  Dogs are silly and smart animals.  Daisy and Logan get so excited every time we go outside, and are whining by the fence when they hear us pull in the driveway.  If it gets quiet in the house, we can sometimes hear Daisy squeaking her toys.  There's never a dull moment with "The Goobs."

October 9th Appointment

Today's appointment was awesome!  We got not one, not two, but SIX ultrasound photos of our precious "Sneak!"

As of today, "The Sneak" is measuring 7w1d!  That is a LOT of growth from last week where we were measuring about 6 days behind.

We met with Dr. Allemand today and he definitely wants to continue monitoring me and the baby throughout the end of the month.  He wants to continue my medications until I'm about 12 weeks due to this pregnancy resulting from a frozen transfer.

I've read blogs (and FB, etc.) where women complain about being pregnant, and I never want to do that here.  But I would be lying if I didn't tell you that the progesterone injections are really bothering me!  Dr. Allemand said that we could consider switching to Crinone suppositories, but I told him I was willing to wait it out another week.  My hiney is super tender and bruised from all of the injections, but I know that they are helping "The Sneak" so much.  I'm sure this is normal considering I've had 38 (and counting) injections in my rear end.

Other than the PIO injections, everything is easy.  I get hungry around the same time each day, and eat TUMS between meals to help with my acid reflux issues.  The fatigue is the only thing I cannot help, but I just try to sit down and take breaks at work as much as possible.  Eating seems to help that too.

Brandon and I are so excited to see how big "The Sneak" has grown over the past week.  We could have stared at the ultrasound all day.
Each time we see the baby, I mean, wow.  I cannot even explain what I feel.  God has blessed us.  He has answered our prayers.

-------------------------------------------
Next Appointments Scheduled:
October 16 Ultrasound #4
October 23 Ultrasound #5
October 31 Ultrasound #6 and Consult with Dr. Allemand

7 Weeks and Bumpdate

How far along:

7 Weeks

How big is baby:

The size of a blueberry

Maternity Clothes:

Nope, but more pants are tight.  It's easier to wear long shirts and keep my pants unbuttoned.  I'm glad it's getting cooler because I have lots of cute dresses for Fall.

Movement:

Nothing expected for a while

Food Cravings:

Healthy Food and Rolaids after most meals.

Food Aversions:

Anything fried or unhealthy.  Carbs and Dairy are NOT my friend!

Gender:

Brandon is still convinced that we're having a boy, along with everyone else!

Only 11 more weeks to go until we find out!

Symptoms:

Tender and enlarged breasts, fatigue, weepiness, mood swings (when I'm hungry), acid reflux (when I'm hungry), indigestion (after most meals), slight nausea, increased-superhuman sense of smell, upset tummy when I have dairy products,  healthy food cravings, fried food aversions, excess saliva-DROOLING at night and some during the day, somewhat blurred vision.

What do I miss:

Nothing!  Being pregnant has made me so happy.

Best moment of the week:

Seeing "The Sneak's" heartbeat on the ultrasound.

What I am looking forward to:

Our upcoming appointment on Tuesday with Dr. Allemand and our third ultrasound.  Also looking forward to being released to an OB for our boring pregnancy!!

Milestones:

We have seen "The Sneak's" heartbeat!

Our precious Baby Sneakers is now "10,000 times bigger than he/she was at conception!  New brain cells are being generated at the rate of 100 cells per minute.  'The Sneak's' mouth and tongue are forming this week and so are the arm and leg buds, which are beginning to sprout into paddle-like appendages and to divide into hand, arm, and shoulder segments-and leg, knee, and foot segments.  Also, in place now are baby's kidneys, and they're poised to begin their important work of waste management."

from What to Expect When You're Expecting

Bumpdate

Not a lot of changes from last week's pictures.

Here's to Week 7!

God's Plan

Every day that we are pregnant is a blessing. Sometimes, neither of us can believe that our frozen transfer worked.  We are still wowed and astonished that we are having a baby.  BUT, this is not where the story ends, nor is it where it begins.

When we started trying to conceive, we had no idea what our journey would entail.  Yes, God is good and we are now pregnant, but the story doesn't end here.

I whole heartedly believe that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).  Brandon and I were stagnant in our Christian walk.  We had been members of a church, but were not growing.  We tried to make it through this journey on our own, but knew that it was impossible.  In the time that we began attending church again and sharing our struggle, we were amazed by God's blessings.

Each time I needed another surgery or procedure, we were consumed with disappointment and hurt, but God used those situations to strengthen us.  Because we chose to share our journey, we were always surrounded with support.  God placed so many amazing people in our life to cheer us on during the difficult times.  They have built us up, prayed over us, and already formed the largest extended family any child will ever know!

"Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
James 1:2

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." 
1 Peter 4: 12-13

I would not trade any of the hardships that Brandon and I have faced in our marriage.  Infertility will not be the last struggle that we will face.  There are likely to be more hurdles and obstacles in our path, but we are prepared to take on any challenge that life throws at us.  With God, all things are possible.
Our story does not end because we are pregnant.  The end result was not that we would conceive a child, but that we would seek God throughout our journey and have faith in HIS plan. 

Updates from Today's Visit

Beta hCG
33,035
26dp6dt - 32dpo
6 weeks 3 days
.....
Progesterone
62.8
.....
Estrogen
273

I was super excited to hear my beta level today!  For the rest of my time at ART, they will track the baby's progress from my measurements and the heartbeat.  There will be no more obsessing over betas for me.

In other news, I am officially off  pelvic rest, and have been given the 'ok' for light exercise.  Also, our nurse thinks we will be released somewhere in the next two to three weeks (8-10 weeks pregnant).  We have chosen to use the doctors at OB-GYN South, which are located at Brookwood as well. We met Dr. McKenzie when he spoke with Joy at church earlier this year.  Joy introduced him to us, and explained our story- this was before we pursued IVF.  He has delivered many babies that we know!  Also, I have a special friend who is also pregnant right now and is using him.  Maybe we can double up and go to our appointments together!!

I am still in shock that we saw the heartbeat.  God has blessed us beyond measure.  It will be hard once we are released from ART, not getting an ultrasound each week...but we will be excited to have a normal, healthy, and boring pregnancy.

Heartbeat

Our appointment went extremely well this morning.  We got to see our precious little "Sneak's" heartbeat!  I'm measuring 5w4d which they said is perfectly fine.  It was absolutely amazing to see the heart beating on the screen.  

We are scheduled for another ultrasound and consult with Dr. Allemand next Tuesday, October 9.  They also went ahead and scheduled the third ultrasound on Tuesday, October 16.

At our consult with the nurse, they gave us some fun pamphlets to read.  For the first time ever, I wasn't jealous of all the baby bumps when we were leaving the doctor's office.  I was excited, because it won't be long until I have mine.

Thoughts

From Saturday evening until this morning, I had the never.ending. headache.  Brandon went to the football game Saturday evening with a friend and I worked.  Once I was home, I curled up on the couch and watched Once Upon a Time on Netflix (love this show!).  Five episodes later, my head was still killing me.  Once I woke up yesterday morning, the headache was still ever present.  Once both church services were over, we grabbed some lunch and came home.  We both fell asleep for over two hours.  Of course, I was supposed to go back to church for a baby shower and then a night service, but I was exhausted.  Once I got in bed last night, the headache was still pounding and I was hungry (again).  Brandon fed me a snack pack in bed and then I passed out.  I woke up today and the headache seems to be gone-PTL!  I don't know what caused the yucky headache, but I'm glad it's gone.

My appetite is still strong, but I continue to maintain my same weight.  =)  My fear has been gaining too much weight early on in the pregnancy.  I read that in the first trimester, a pregnant woman does not require any additional calories.  My eating habits have always been poor, and I have never been a big fan of breakfast, and would sometimes also skip lunch.  I hope that I'll keep my current eating habits after pregnancy.  I have so much energy throughout the day from having my breakfast smoothie and making sure to eat snacks throughout the day (almost every hour)!

Brandon is leaving out of town again this week.  He is driving to Mississippi tomorrow and returning home on Thursday.  He's been nervous about leaving me after his trip last week when I started spotting.  Just a few moments ago, he told me that he prayed himself to sleep last night.  He said that he won't let himself worry while he is out of town.  We still have many people who continue to pray for us and this precious baby growing inside of me.  I don't want him to ever worry, but it makes me happy that he is so invested in our pregnancy.  I know that my husband is not like many other expectant fathers.  He has been attached to this  pregnancy from the moment we saw two lines on the pregnancy test.  It is so easy for us to worry, but we know that God is in control of it all.  Each day, we will continue to thank and praise God for this miracle.