Independent

I tell you - our child is going to be one independent soul!!! Yet another ultrasound today where we still don't have a "cute" profile pic. We got all arms and legs, hands and feet. It's a good thing we don't want to know what we are having because Cupid wouldn't cooperate anyways. No good pics, but it was fun to see the little one anyways! S/he was moving like crazy as usual. My mom came with us again and still didn't get a good view of her grandchild! The appointment was fine otherwise - no problems. Just the way we like it! We start going every 2 weeks now!! Here are some of our pics from today. The doc told us she had "girl vibes" when she was listening to the heartbeat today. We'll see if she's right in a couple of months.

As you can see, Cupid was  all curled up and face down:

This is my favorite pic from the day!

He's Home!!

Monday morning we got up as usual and I went downstairs to let the dog out. I did my usual scan of the backyard and gazebo and was sad that Gus still hadn't arrived home. It was day six and we had pretty much given up hope for him coming home. I left the sliding door open (as I usually do) so that Sadie could come back inside when she was finished.

All of a sudden, I hear MJ yelling from upstairs - "HE'S HOME, GUS IS BACK!!!" I walk into the kitchen and there he is! MJ came running down the stairs, scooped up GUS and we checked him all over. Other than being a bit skinny, he wasn't hurt, scratched, not even dirty. We gave him some food and he was good to go! Needless to say, we are elated that he is back with us!

Within minutes he was asking to go outside again.


















We left him sprawled out on the kitchen floor taking a nice nap when we left for work.


















He curled right up on the dog bed when we got home and took another nice nap.


















Other than the fact that he has been meowing incessantly because he want us to pat him, he seems perfectly fine. Having him home was a great way to start the week!

In other news, today was the last day of school - YAY!!! Summer vacation is here for the next 68 days.

Tomorrow morning is our 20 week ultrasound - we'll post pics when we return. I think we are going to go see T0y St0r.y 3 after the appt.

Wordless Wednesday - Cupid Edition

Status

Today's Facebook status:

4 years, 14 cycles, 11 IUI's, tens of thousands of dollars, countless needle sticks, 2 positives, 1 miscarriage - and we finally have a keeper!!! Introducing Cupid - coming to meet us in early November.

We had another OB appt today and had my full physical. She tried to hear the heartbeat with doppler, but couldn't so they snuck me in for an ultrasound. We weren't disappointed because it meant another look at Cupid. S/he was so wiggly and jiggly that the U/S tech had a hard time getting measurements. It was quite comical to watch actually. Heartbeat was in the 150s and measurements are all on track. It finally feels real and I finally can believe we are in this for the long haul. It's about damn time!

News........

After a terrible week and terrible fear of losing our baby we are finally at peace. Our appointment was PERFECT today! Baby measures 9W1D exactly which is what we are today. Heartbeat was 160 BPM and s/he was kicking its legs furiously and moving all around. It actually looked like a baby this time - we could clearly see the arms, legs, spine, etc. The doc spent a lot of time checking things out and she said everything looks perfect! She also said that although anything can happen at any time, she thinks that I've "made it over the hump."

We can hardly believe it! We were so convinced that someting was terribly wrong.  Our doc was so good and said that she would tell us right away if everything was OK and then do what she needed to in terms of the U/S.  When the baby came up on the screen you could immediately notice that it was bigger.  Then we heard the most wonderful words ever - "You have a great baby.  Look, there's the heart beating."

So, here is the latest pic of Cupid - needless to say we are totally in love!

So, of course, we are celebrating this evening........MJ with a Margarita, and me with a decaf iced tea!

I think today was honestly more exciting than finding out we were pregnant. 

I do believe a ticker may finally be in order for the sidebar!

Now begins the search for an OB.....

Thanks so much for all of your support - it means more than you know!

Introducing........

........Cupid. Yeah, I know, kind of a cheesy name, but when your IUI and conception takes place on Valentine's Day you have to run with it!

Thanks to everyone for all of the supportive comments on yesterday's post!

Great appointment today!

We went in absolutely terrified and quickly were relieved when that little flicker of a beating heart appeared on the screen!

Heartbeat first measurement was 160BPM and second measurement was 154BPM - PERFECT!

I am 7W1D and measuring 7W0D - just fine there too.

For now we are breathing a huge sigh of relief.

We go back to the doc in 3 weeks (mostly for our own sanity) before making an appt with an OB. We just feel more comfortable sticking with the people who have seen us through this journey until we are a little more out of the woods.

Stick baby, stick...

Your mamas need you!

Seven

We are seven weeks pregnant today.

We go tomorrow for our first Ultrasound - I am scared to death! 

I have had "feeling" in my uterus for four days now  - can't quite tell if it's cramping or stretching or what - just praying that it is all normal.

Did I mention that I am freaking out about tomorrow???

Deep down I know everything will be fine, but it is so hard not to worry once you have already had a loss.

This was the weekend we found out we were pregnant last time, so sort of a bittersweet time for us.

There is still plenty of nausea and plenty of exhaustion.

3:30 tomorrow is an eternity away!

We'll update when we get home tomorrow!

I Did It Again!

For the month of January, I challenged myself to blog every day like I did back in November. Well, with this post today, I achieved my goal.  It really wasn't that bad, actually!  And, I only missed 6 days on the photo blog as well.  That was partly due to the fact that I didn't decide to start that blog until about a week into January.  I've had quite a bit of fun thinking of things to take pictures of each day.  I'm also thinking of clever ways to incorporate all of those photos into a special scrapbook layout.

Today we spent another wonderful day in the basement.  We did some more sewing and a bit of scrapbooking.  Then we spent some time before dinner beating level 4 in Su.per Mar.i0 W.ii.  I absolutely LOVE that game!

Tomorrow morning I have my U/S at 8:30 and then I can hang at home for a bit.  I have to take a half day - so I won't go to school until noon.  MJ is currently upstairs working on "homework" and I am working on sub plans. A movie in bed will be in order soon, then begins the countdown - only 3 weeks until February Vacation!

Hope everyone had a great January!

Almost a Bust

Well, folks, Try #12 was almost over before it started. I got up nice and early on my day off yesterday to go for bloodwork, then went for my baseline ultrasound. As the doc is doing the scan, she says, "You've got a big 'goomba' on your right ovary!" Yeah, a cyst, or a goomba as she likes to call it - too funny. It was 3.5 cm, so it's a hefty one - or in her words - HUGE!

So, I leave the office with the thought that I probably can't go for it this cycle. She tells me that if my numbers are elevated, we'll do BCP and go from there.

Fast forward a couple of hours.......

The nurse calls me and says, "Did you get your blood drawn this morning?" Ummm.....yeah - I was there at 8. She so nicely informs me that as of 12:30 I'm not even in the lab's system. Never fear though, the nurse promises to "knock their block off...."

So, I figure at this point it's really going to be a bust.

Fast forward to 3:30 - Doc calls

WE ARE ALL SET FOR THIS CYCLE - THE LABS SHOW NO INDICATION THAT THEY CYST IS MESSING WITH MY LEVELS!!!

WAHOO!!!!!!!!!

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!!!

The Green Bean Diet

So, when we took the dogs to the vet yesterday, they both had gained a few pounds. The vet said that they should lose some weight - especially Sadie as she is 10 1/2 and her hips will not hold up her weight as she ages more and more. Willy and Sadie have officially begun the Green Bean Diet. At first we thought the vet was kidding when he told us about it, but he was serious. Cut out half of their food at each feeding and replace it with a can of green beans. As he said, "It works like a charm every time!" The dogs think they are getting a great treat, and we'll see how well it works.

In pregnancy news, I had my progesterone checked again yesterday due to the fact that I am measuring 3 days behind. It has dropped again and is at 13.6. I don't like the thought of that and coupled with measuring behind, it makes me very nervous. The doctor said to double my dose of progesterone, so now I will take it morning and night. I keep telling myself that we saw a great heartbeat and everthing looked "perfect" according to the doctor. It is still hard not to worry about the Chicklet though. We go back for another ultrasound on Monday and we are just praying that all will be ok. I will have my progesterone checked midweek too.

In other news, we are leaving tomorrow for the night to go to Yan.kee Can.dle to meet with some friends from New York that we haven't seen for a long time. It will be great to catch up with them. We'll stay the night and head home Sunday. On Sunday we are going to a neighborhood cookout at my parent's house. My brother is doing all of the cooking - ribs, chicken, ham, salads, and more! Back to school on Monday - we have 8 weeks of school left until summer vacation!

Keep your fingers, toes, everything crossed that Chicklet continues to grow and develop.

Introducing...... Chicklet

As promised - here are the pictures of the Chicklet. We have been looking at them over and over again since we got them yesterday. The appointment went very well and we immediately saw the little flutter of the heartbeat - we couldn't hear it, but seeing it was just as amazing. As I said yesterday both measurements had the heartbeat at 145bpm. You can't ask for any better than that.

Chicklet was measuring 3 days behind at 7w3d instead of the 7w6d that we were yesterday. The doctor said that in the OB world two days plus or minus is acceptable, and since we were one day outside of that, they will do another ultrasound next Monday. They really aren't worried about it, but they figured it wouldn't hurt to just check in once more and make sure we see 7 days growth in the next 7 days.

Otherwise, the only thing she kept saying as she took different pictures was "perfect", "looks great", "couldn't ask for anything better." The Chicklet was in perfect position, cord looked great, baby was moving around, and great heartbeat. So we get another look next Monday afternoon and we can't wait!

A Late Update

All went VERY WELL this morning. Today has just turned into a crazy day and I haven't had a second to post. Tomorrow morning we have a houseful of teachers coming over to scrapbook for the day. I promise that I will have a complete update with pictures up tomorrow.

The short of it - Heartbeat was 145 bpm and I was measuring 7w3d - I am 7w6d today.

I'll tell the whole story tomorrow - too tired to do it right now!

We're on Vacation!

AHHHH!! One of the joys of being a teacher is vacation - a break from the hoodlums! This week is April Vacation and we have been counting down the days! It will be so nice to have a week to just sleep late and do whatever we want. On Tuesday we have some teacher friends coming over to scrapbook for the day, Thursday the dogs have to go to the vet and next weekend we are going to Ya.nkee C.andle in MA to meet some friends from New York for the night. So, just enough to keep us busy but with plenty of downtime as well.

BUT FIRST - on the more exciting front, we have our first ultrasound on Monday morning. We can't wait! My mom is going to come along with us as well which will be lots of fun. We will be 7w6d on Monday, so we should be able to get a decent look at the Chicklet. I have definitely been exhausted and the nausea comes and goes in waves. I seem to either have a really good day or a really bad day and nothing in between. It is nice to have those good days though!

That's it from here - we'll be sure to post an update when we get back from our appointment on Monday.

Next Steps

Our viability ultrasound is scheduled for Monday, April 20th. So now we just sit and wait for 2 weeks until that comes. I will be 7w6d at that appointment, so we should be able to get a decent look at the Chicklet and hear a nice strong heartbeat! We are keeping our fingers crossed that all will go well.

Nothing else new around here - we are counting down the days until April Vacation - can't wait to have a week off from the crazy kids!

Beta #3

Even better news from today's third beta! Today's BETA came in at 1300 - that's a doubling time of 42 hours which is awesome! Also, my progesterone level went up to 14 - which means that the supplement is working! I can just stay on one dose a day and just for sanity's sake, I will go for one final beta and progesterone check on Friday. That way if for some reason the progesterone is shaky again, we can up to 2 doses per day. We couldn't be happier with these results.

The doctor said she will do an ultrasound at 8 weeks "or 7 weeks if you can't stand it." As much as we can't stand it, we will probably wait until 8 weeks only because that is our vacation week and it will be much easier to schedule an appointment that we can both be at. That will be the week of April 19th.

At this point, we have sent a note to the foster c.are agency to tell them that we are putting our application process on hold. At least we have finished all of the required training and we can entertain the idea in the future if we want/need to.

The happiest part of today is that I finally finished my School Law class - it was terribly boring and there was so much work to do for it! But, it's all over now!

Slowly...but Surely

That is how things are progressing with my ovaries. I had more bloodwork and another ultrasound today. The doc was really pleased with the way things are looking. My levels are low in the bloodwork still, but she was really pleased with what she saw on the ultrasound. We were pleased as well. It seems like for once, things are going along decently. The best part was that there were not a lot of "grapes" in my ovaries, just three good follicles.

I have 2 11mm follicles on the right and one 11mm follicle on the left. My lining is 8mm which is good too. More blood work and another ultrasound on Monday.

In other fabulous news - we came home today, and Willy - the dog had eaten about 6 POUNDS of candy that was on the counter - we had been making Halloween Candy Treats. Needless to say that candy came out BOTH ends and there was quite a mess to clean up!

Gotta LOVE IT!