Thursday, October 10, 2013

36 Weeks

This post is a little late as T and I have been preparing our house and cars for the arrival of our little girl! I know I say this every post, but, I cannot believe we've made it this far! At this point, we are nearly 3 weeks away from meeting our little miracle!

Tomorrow she'll be full term! Right now, she's breech and we've been working hard to help her turn. She's pretty stubborn though, she's been in the same spot for the last 4 weeks. If she doesn't turn in the next week or 2, we will be scheduling a c-section. However, they will do an ultrasound the morning of the c-section, and if she has flipped, they will send us back home and give her time to come on her own! So, yes there is still time for her to turn, but, I just feel like she's not going to budge. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised and she will turn head down!

Other than that, Both her and I are doing well! She's pretty much fully developed, her lungs are ready for the outside world, her bones have finished hardening, and I'm sure at our ultrasound on Monday we will find out she's somewhere near 7lbs already! Wow, just 22 more days until we get to meet her! I can't wait to see what she'll look like!

Here is week 36's photo:


How far along:  36 weeks and 6 days. 
Total weight gain:  33lbs. 
Maternity clothes: Yes. 
Stretch marks: I pretty sure I've avoided these! None.
Sleep: What is this?
Best moment of this week: Feeling her move and getting to hear her heartbeat!
Miss anything: Sushi and a nice glass of wine. Only 3 more weeks! 
Movement:  She's a mover, but, I don't think she'll be a gymnast!    
Food cravings:  Oreos.  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet:  I think I'm past that! I'm showing for sure!
Gender: A girl
Labor signs: Braxton hicks have started picking up, getting a few every day now.  
Belly button in or out: Still an innie!
Wedding rings on or off: They are officially off and have been for a few weeks now. :(
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, and sometimes I do get moody because I get uncomfortable. 
Looking forward to: Monday's ultrasound and her arrival! 

Saturday, September 07, 2013

8 More Weeks Until the Due Date!

Wow, 32 weeks! I don't think I've ever imagined making it this far!

It's been some time since I've updated. 5 weeks actually. Not much has changed, just the size of our little girl who's growing bigger and stronger everyday! My cervix checks have stopped! I had the last one 2 weeks ago. At our last ultrasound, everything looked good with her and she weighed in at a whopping 3.8 lbs! For here on out she should be gaining about 1/2 lb a week! Our next scan is about 2 weeks away. Once again, I'm excited to share, I'm FINALLY feeling some crazy movements. I can't believe it's taken this long, and I hope she doesn't find any hiding spots where I can't feel again, although, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have much more room to hide! She was also head down at our last scan, hopefully, she's staying that way!

I don't think there is much more to update. At this point, she's just going to finish getting her last few pounds on and we are in the home stretch. I can't believe that we will have our daughter in our arms so soon!!

Here I am, 32 weeks pregnant!


How far along:  32 weeks and 1 day. 
Total weight gain:  I'm not sure, but I know it's over 20 lbs. 
Maternity clothes: Yes. 
Stretch marks: Still haven't seen any, hopefully, they will continue to stay away!
Sleep: Sleeping, I'm not sure I know what that is any more!
Best moment of this week: Feeling her moving all around the last 3 days, she's been non-stop!
Miss anything: Still sushi. I've requested to have sushi as soon as I can after she is here. I can't wait to have it again!
Movement:  Movement had seemed to disappear, pretty sure she had found a spot to hide! But the last 3 days, I feel like she hasn't stopped!     
Food cravings:  Hum, I guess brownies... and there was one night I really wanted my dad's stuffing, but other then that, there hasn't been much. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet:  Yes, and I have started to have strangers asking me when I'm due. 
Gender: A girl
Labor signs: Braxton hicks come and go, depending on the day. Other then that, nothing. We still have a few more weeks to go! 
Belly button in or out: Still an innie!
Wedding rings on or off: It all depends on the day. 
Happy or moody most of the time: Still happy, but I have my days or moments where I start to worry too much or I have become a little moody. 
Looking forward to: Getting those last few things we need for her, washing her clothes, and the next ultrasound!  

Sunday, August 04, 2013

Week 27!

Well, when I first imagined being pregnant, I always had this idea in my head that I would take weekly photos, the same day, every week, for the entire pregnancy so that I could look back and see how my belly grew. Well, clearly I've not been doing this. It's been 5 weeks since I last took a photo and posted. I'm sad, but, there are reasons. (Most not good reasons). I've been lazy, things have been hectic, we've been concentrating on the nursery, and, I admit, I've been scared. Weekly photos should be fun, yes, but each week when I think about it I start to panic. What if I do this and post and something goes wrong???!??? 

That's one thing I still deal with, pretty much on a daily basis. I'll have a day or two in there I feel ok, But I still worry that Something will happen to my precious daughter. I've loved her since the beginning on this journey, even before she was created, but the love grows, this was something I didn't expect. I mean, I did expect for that love to grow after she was here, but with each passing month and each new milestone we hit, I fall more in love with her. I love having her kick me, and when I don't feel her moving, I sometimes go into a small panic. But, just that same, each passing day those fears seem to lessen, very very slowly, but they do lessen. And I always hear the comment now when I tell people that, "Your a mother now, you'll always worry!". I worry because of my history, I worry because of the 3 miscarriages, and yes, those were all eraly losses in the first trimester, but, it still haunts you. You still worry that one day you'll go in for an appointment, and that beautiful heart beat won't be there, you worry you'll start bleeding at any point, and at times, I'm beginning to worry about going into preterm labor. Now, I'm not saying that women who have gotten pregnant the first month they tried, or that women who have never experienced a loss, or that women who are having a healthy "textbook" pregnancy don't worry. I'm sure they do, I know they do. But, I feel as though my worry is just a little bit different. And that's ok. Everyone has the rights to their feelings and emotions, no matter where they come from. 

Anyway, on to how Baby Girl is doing. As far as doctors appointments go, she been doing awesome! Always moving around on the ultrasound screen when we see her. Great heartbeats, everything looks good. We just had another ultrasound last Monday, they were able to get the pictures of her heart that they weren't able to at the fetal echo. Everything was how it should be. She weighed in at a whopping 2 lbs! She's getting bigger by the day now I'm sure. Her little lungs are still developing, but at this point, if she were to be born, she would be able to breathe air. But, she's not coming out anytime soon still. 

Here we are, 27 weeks, just a little less then 13 weeks to go! and 89 days left until her due date. Bi-weekly appointments to the OB start next week! 


How far along:  27 weeks and 2 days. 
Total weight gain:  20 lbs + ! Woah!
Maternity clothes: Yes. 
Stretch marks: Still haven't noticed any! I hope they continue to stay away.
Sleep: Sleeping is being more of a chore lately.  
Best moment of this week: Getting to see her beautiful face and feeling her more often!
Miss anything: Sushi and wine. 
Movement:  Movement is finally becoming more consistent. Finally feeling her more throughout the day and getting stronger.      
Food cravings:  Ice cream, milk, cheese...
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet:  Yes
Gender: A girl
Labor signs: Nothing and it should stay that way for at least 11-13 weeks please.  Just a few braxton hicks here are there. 
Belly button in or out: Still in.
Wedding rings on or off: On, but there are days I have to take them off. 
Happy or moody most of the time: I have to say happy still, although I do have my moody moments.
Looking forward to: Nursery is started, furniture in, now I'm looking forward to decorating it and filling it with baby things!
 

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Week 22 coming to a close.

So, here I am at the end of week 22!

Not much exciting has happened. I've been feeling pretty good, just tired. Most mornings I wake up forgetting I'm pregnant. I wake up and I just don't feel it anymore. It's so strange. I've been trying to think of new experiences or feelings. Well, I really been starting to feel baby girl kick, even from the outside. It's such an amazing feeling, and I love it. Sometimes I'll drink a little OJ and try to make her move just because I love feeling her, it's such an amazing feeling. And, with this new experience, this has suddenly become much more real to me. In about 17 weeks we will have our baby girl in our arms. I'm starting to freak out with the amount of things we need to do around the house to prepare for her arrival!! I feel like there is so much to do, and not enough time to get it done! But, I'm sure everything will get done in time.

This past Monday we had our fetal echo done. Our little girl was moving all around! The tech was able to get pretty much all the images she needed, there were just two the tech couldn't get, so the doctor tried, she could only get one of the two. But, her heart looks great! The doctor didn't see anything to worry about, and everything was still looking great! Plus, we found out she weighs a whopping 1 lb 3 oz! Next ultrasound is set for the end of the month! It's so wonderful to see her!


Here I am at 22 weeks 5 days!

How far along:  22 weeks and 5 days. 
Total weight gain: 16 lbs! Woah!
Maternity clothes: Yes. 
Stretch marks: Still none.
Sleep: Sleeping is ok some nights, but I'm getting up at least 2 times a night. 
Best moment of this week: Getting to see her beautiful face!
Miss anything: Sushi and wine. 
Movement:  I'm definitely feeling her now! Love it!    
Food cravings:  Ice cream....
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet:  Yes
Gender: A girl
Labor signs: Nothing and it should stay that way. 
Belly button in or out: In.
Wedding rings on or off: On.
Happy or moody most of the time: I have to say happy!
Looking forward to: Still slowing working on getting started on the nursery!


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Half Way There!

Dear Readers, I cannot believe it, but I am half baked!! In about 20 weeks, our little girl will be here!! 

We had 2 appointments this week. One with the MFM and one with the OB. 

MFM was just a meeting with the doctor to discuss staying on Prednisone and Lovenox. I have no medical proof to show that I should be on either one, but my RE decided to try it this time with my history of early pregnancy loss. The idea behind it was to cover any auto-immune issues and clotting issue that were not found through the extensive testing that was done. No issues were ever found, but we all decided to try it. Well, the MFM doctors feel that I don't need either one, explained the risks, and left the decision up to T and me to make. I'm glad it was left up to us to make. It's a scary decision to make given my history, but I feel the decision we made was the right one. I will also have bi-weekly visits with them up until my 30th week to check my cervix length given my history of the septum, even though that was "corrected" through surgery. 

The OB visit was just routine. Got to hear baby girl's heart beat. Nice and strong at 160. Everything still seems to be going well. My fears are slowly going away, but, I am definitely still struggling with coming to terms with that fact that all is going well and there is no reason to believe that anything will go wrong. It's just hard to fully let that guard down, I'm always on high alert that something will go wrong. But, I'm trying hard and every appointment we make it through is one step closer. And I still can't believe I'm 20 weeks pregnant, I never imagined I'd make it to here. 



How far along:  20 weeks and 4 days. 
Total weight gain: 15 lbs! Woah!
Maternity clothes: Yes. 
Stretch marks: Still don't think I've really noticed anything. I thought I saw some last week, but now I don't.
Sleep: Sleep is starting to get difficult. 
Best moment of this week: Hearing her heartbeat
Miss anything: This week, still sushi. 
Movement:  I think I can say that I am feeling flutters now. Nothing consistent, and I still have days where I don't feel anything, but I'm pretty sure what I'm feeling is her.    
Food cravings:  This week, not much since the heartburn is killer. It really makes me not want to eat anything.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet:  Yes
Gender: A girl
Labor signs: Nothing and it should stay that way. 
Belly button in or out: In.
Wedding rings on or off: On.
Happy or moody most of the time: I have to say happy!
Looking forward to: Starting the nursery!



Sunday, June 09, 2013

19 Weeks and counting...

Last Tuesday we celebrated 7 years of marriage. This month marks 3 years ago we began trying for a family. This month also marks the month we had our first full IVF cycle, which ended in an early loss. This month is a big month. It is thin month, this week actually, where we will celebrate the half way point of this pregnancy!

I still cannot believe where I am at in this pregnancy. I think I must admit, over the course of the last few days, This has begun to feel real.


We had the Level 2 and Anatomy Scan done last Thursday. We got to spend an hour looking at our beautiful little miracle on the screen. She was amazing, moving all over the place. Everything looked good, all parts accounted for, and such an amazing wonder. I cannot believe that we will be her parents, I cannot wait to meet her, to see what she will look like, her color hair, her eyes, her tiny feet. I've been feeling great. There really isn't much of anything I can complain about, expect the heartburn. That is brutal sometimes. But I know in the end, how much it will all be worth it. I haven't had the opportunity to feel movement still. And I will admit, I am becoming increasingly impatient about it. However, I did find out at the A/S that I have an anterior placenta, which means the placenta sits in the front, closest to my abdomen. Usually it sits in the back, closest to, well, your back. There is nothing wrong about it being there, it does however mean it will take me longer to feel her then most. This makes me a little sad, but, as long as I know she's doing well in there, I'm ok with it. I was also told that they want to do a fetal echo, which is just another sonogram. The doctors have no reason to suspect that there is anything wrong with her heart, but, they did have a little trouble getting a good picture at the A/S since she is still very tiny, and her little heart is so small. They just want to make sure, and they are going to keep on top of her too since she is was conceived through IVF.

After our appointment, we went off to Buy Buy Baby and ordered the crib and dresser! Wow, that was a big step! But I am so glad we did! Though we were told it could come in early, we were told that delievery can take 16-18 weeks! Yikes! 18 weeks puts me at 37 weeks!

That's really the biggest update so far.


So here is week 19's photo!
I apologize of the terrible picture! And yes, here is a sneak peek of Nursery colors. 


How far along: 19 weeks and 2 days. 
Total weight gain: Right now, I'm not sure. We don't have a scale, and I haven't been to the OB in a few weeks. I'll know next week though. 
Maternity clothes: Yes, pretty much exclusively now. 
Stretch marks: There might be a new one or two I noticed the other night. 
Sleep: Slept pretty well this week. 
Best moment of this week: Getting another chance to see her on "the big screen" .
Miss anything: This week, still sushi. 
Movement:  Still nothing. 
Food cravings: Mexican. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: No. 
Have you started to show yet: I don't think I can deny it anymore. 
Gender: We got confirmation at the A/S that she is still indeed a she!
Labor signs: No, plus, it's still WAY too early!
Belly button in or out: In.
Wedding rings on or off: On.
Happy or moody most of the time: I have to say happy!
Looking forward to: Getting to the half way point, and feeling her kick and move! 

Friday, May 31, 2013

And here we are!!

I know many of you know already about our wonderful little blessing! We are so excited to be this far along! I am now 18 weeks. So, I wanted to try to get this blog up and running again. I wanted to back track for you all, and I wanted to be able to write about this pregnancy, since we haven't really been keeping track or taking pictures since the beginning. We were just too afraid and nervous. And, I'll admit, I am at times still afraid of something going wrong. But, so far, there hasn't been much to worry about.

So, How we got here:

Back in December we had our remaining embryos sent out to be tested. We found out of the 7 we had remaining, only 4 were chromosomally normal. We made the decision after finding out about the test results to just move forward with another transfer. This happened sooner than we expected, but, we just felt we needed to move forward after we had gotten the test results back.

So, January I began injections to prevent ovulation and medication to build my lining. At my first baseline appointment to check my lining things looked good, however, I had a cyst on my right ovary. This delayed by a week. February 13th, we transferred 2 healthy embryos. 5 days later, I took a home pregnancy test, that test came back positive. 2 weeks after the transfer, I had my first blood test that came back with excellent numbers that kept doubling and increase appropriately, unlike the past. We had our first ultrasound and things looked great! We found out there was one little baby with a great heart rate!

Then the scares began to happen. at 6 weeks, I started bleeding, I feared the worst. We went in for an appointment, and there was our little miracle, healthy and a great heart rate. I spotted for 2 weeks, and it finally stopped. Then, a few days after that incident, I started bleeding again. This time much worse. My first thought was that it was over this time. We ended up going to Maternity Triage. After a few hours, an ultrasound was done to show that baby was doing fine in there, again, with a healthy heart rate. I was so thankful that God was answering our prayers. There was never any real answers for the bleeding, but, it didn't matter much to me, as long as baby was healthy and things were looking well. Which they were.

At 11 weeks, I was released from my RE and sent off the the OB. This was pretty scary for me as I was no longer going to have weekly ultrasound pictures, and I was very worried they would think I was crazy for worrying about every little thing. But, I have to say, this office has been so wonderful so far. My doctor and Midwife, absolutely wonderful and reassuring. I don't think I could have asked for a better fit for us.

We had our NT scan for baby at 13 weeks and everything looked great!

Then at 16 weeks, T and I decided to have an elective ultrasound done to see if we could determine the gender. We were able to find out, and had such a wonderful experience at Precious Previews in Maryland. I just had to give them a shout out. The staff was comforting and so friendly and the atmosphere amazing and comfortable. As most of you know, we found out we are having a girl!!

This pretty much brings us to today. Today I am 18 weeks. 6 days from today we will have our level 2/AS ultrasound done. I'm 2 weeks away from half baked! Wow, I cannot believe this. And, as slow as this pregnancy is going, the rest of the time is going by so fast. I'd like to do weekly updates, mostly for me to remember what I can from this journey, from this pregnancy. Since, for the first several weeks, I've been afraid to write down memories and take photos. But, I think it's time, I'd like to do my first one!





How far along: 18 weeks!
Total weight gain: gained 10 lbs total so far, and as far as I know at this point.
Maternity clothes: I can still get away with some of my normal jeans, but I usually need the belly band. Most of my shirts are a bit tight and short now. I will say, I've mostly been living in the maternity clothes since they are more comfortable. 
Stretch marks: nothing yet!
Sleep: Besides getting up 2 times a night to go to the bathroom, it's been pretty good. Although the hot weather is beginning to make it a little difficult. 
Best moment of this week: Right now, just making it another week!
Miss anything: I will say, I do miss a nice cold beer and my sushi. 
Movement: I think I've begun to feel some movement, but I'm not 100% sure it's her. Really, I can't wait to feel her moving all the time!
Food cravings: This week I haven't really had any. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!
Have you started to show yet: I think so. 
Gender: It's a girl!!
Labor signs: Nothing, and I hope it stays that way until she's done in there!
Belly button in or out: Still in!
Wedding rings on or off: On.
Happy or moody most of the time: I have to say happy!
Looking forward to: Getting the chance to see her again next week! And getting ready to order the nursery furniture soon!