Baby update: Supposedly he's a small cantaloupe. Our next appointment is a week away but it's been 3 weeks since I've written anything. So as far as we know he's doing fine.
Cookie Tossing Count: Nothing for a couple weeks. Yeah! I think it's safe to drop this topic finally.
Cravings: Nothing really. Most food doesn't sound good to me. Jeff claims I never eat much when I'm pregnant so maybe this is my norm. Eggs and toast is usually tasty enough. Fruit is good. Milk is usually yummy. I made homemade Fettuccine Alfredo last week which was sooooo good...I really shouldn't have learned that simple recipe (or maybe I should share it so we can all "suffer" together haha)
Weight Gain: I think I'm about at pre-pregnancy weight now or a pound up. Not great but good enough.
Symptoms: Depending on the day I feel bloated and like I'm getting a belly. Some days I feel like I am just pudgy looking. Still not a lot of movement. I feel a flutter once in a while, maybe once a day or every other. But not a whole lot. Sometimes it concerns me but I just figure hold out until the 29th and ask about it.
Day to Day: I feel like I have more energy but nothing to run marathons or even a few blocks with. I am motivated some days and darn right unmotivated others. I am trying to organize and sell stuff from the girls clothing so let's hope we don't get a switch-a-roo gender and need it. So in my effort to organize there is more disarray than organization...blah!
Nursery Theme: I am really thinking I'd like to do a Super Mario nursery theme. Jeff would love it and I'm not really into sports, airplane, pooh and other boy themes that are out there.
The Girls: Kendall was pretty upset the other day when she insisted there were two baby brothers and I told there was only one. She had a meltdown. Seren still tells us that baby brother is in her tummy and that he will crawl out someday. They are doing good and the are excited for a baby brother.
Next visit: May 29th for regular check up. June 12th for targeted ultrasound/anatomy scan.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Update: 17 weeks
Baby update: Our appointment was yesterday (May 1st). Baby is doing well. We asked to confirm gender but he wasn't being cooperative so we only caught the quickest glimpse so nothing is 100% but probably 98% based on the ultrasound at 13 weeks. He is measuring between 17-18 weeks so right on target. Heart rate was fine everything is developing great.
Cookie Tossing Count: I haven't tossed my cookies for a good while (yeah!). Sugar has started making me feel like crap though...especially if I eat it at night. Let's face it I have toddlers that sniff out sugar so this was typically when I would indulge in a treat after they went to bed. But no longer the best option...boo!
Cravings: Toasted bread, heated turkey, tomato, lettuce, mayo and mustard sandwich. I had two for lunch today (okay lunch and post lunch a couple hours later). Yum!
Weight Gain: I'm not sure I'm gaining enough but considering I was trying to and could stand to lose some when the second FET was successful it's probably okay. I am still down from my initial pregnancy weight by a pound or two.
Symptoms: A little more bloated and "full" feeling depending on the day. Which I think is crazy since he is about 5-6 inches and 1/2 lb. I don't feel like there is that much baby in there and I'm not showing still, only a little more belly than I'm used to.
Day to Day: I feel tired a lot of the time. I need to get some more iron or take the prenatal with iron (gummy ones do not have iron). I am doing a little better day to day getting things done around the house but it's still not like old habit used to be.
The Girls: The girls were excited to see their baby brother again on the ultrasound. Seren was asking if the gel and ultrasound tickled. They love our ob/gyn's office as it has a big Little Tykes play set in a room so they can play while we wait (Dr B was out on a delivery this time so the wait was bearable with them entertained as well). Seren tells us that baby brother is in her tummy and in mine. She will jump around or dance and say "I'm dancing with my baby brother. He likes it". Kendall agrees that he is in Seren's tummy and in my tummy but not in her tummy. I guess to them babies only come in sets of two haha.
Next visit: May 29th for regular check up. June 12th for targeted ultrasound/anatomy scan.
Cookie Tossing Count: I haven't tossed my cookies for a good while (yeah!). Sugar has started making me feel like crap though...especially if I eat it at night. Let's face it I have toddlers that sniff out sugar so this was typically when I would indulge in a treat after they went to bed. But no longer the best option...boo!
Cravings: Toasted bread, heated turkey, tomato, lettuce, mayo and mustard sandwich. I had two for lunch today (okay lunch and post lunch a couple hours later). Yum!
Weight Gain: I'm not sure I'm gaining enough but considering I was trying to and could stand to lose some when the second FET was successful it's probably okay. I am still down from my initial pregnancy weight by a pound or two.
Symptoms: A little more bloated and "full" feeling depending on the day. Which I think is crazy since he is about 5-6 inches and 1/2 lb. I don't feel like there is that much baby in there and I'm not showing still, only a little more belly than I'm used to.
Day to Day: I feel tired a lot of the time. I need to get some more iron or take the prenatal with iron (gummy ones do not have iron). I am doing a little better day to day getting things done around the house but it's still not like old habit used to be.
The Girls: The girls were excited to see their baby brother again on the ultrasound. Seren was asking if the gel and ultrasound tickled. They love our ob/gyn's office as it has a big Little Tykes play set in a room so they can play while we wait (Dr B was out on a delivery this time so the wait was bearable with them entertained as well). Seren tells us that baby brother is in her tummy and in mine. She will jump around or dance and say "I'm dancing with my baby brother. He likes it". Kendall agrees that he is in Seren's tummy and in my tummy but not in her tummy. I guess to them babies only come in sets of two haha.
Next visit: May 29th for regular check up. June 12th for targeted ultrasound/anatomy scan.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Update: 16 weeks
Baby update: I am feeling more bloated and not as comfortable in my regular pants and it's not so comfortable to pull my knee up to my chest when I sit on the couch or at the computer. Those are my indicators of growth because I still don't really see a big difference with a baby bump or such. Also my bras are starting to not fit so well again...seriously? So annoying and I already hated bra shopping.
Cookie Tossing Count: This is pretty much gone.
Cravings: I don't really find myself wanting to eat anything particular. Sometimes I have no desire to eat. I love milk. Also we went to Zupas last night and I got the mushroom soup and chicken chop salad...the mushroom soup always hits the spot even in non-pregnant times.
Symptoms: Just more bloat feeling and annoying enlarged breasts. No real weight gain yet still. I still think this is a balance of gaining baby weight but losing some with hormones in being in balance.
Movement: I don't think so yet. Occasionally I'll feel very small twinge type stuff where I think it would be but nothing convincing yet.
Day to Day: Energy is starting to come back. I tried to clean house yesterday. Managed to shift some things around in the spare bedroom/nursery. We're moving our make-shift office into our bedroom until further notice (blah! but it may be a while as the basement will need finishing before it can really go anywhere else).
The Girls: Kendall and Seren are adorable. They make small mentions of "baby brother" on their own now...like when they see me taking my vitamins or see other babies. They are so fun and smart and sassy. Seren loves to say "you silly" now when she corrects your or tells you what to do. Kendall still loves to raise her voice and say "right now!" when asking for something, which just gets chuckles from us (occasionally time outs when she goes overboard). Kendall is still a very tender heart. We bought twin by twin bunk beds for them recently but haven't fully put them together yet.
Next appointment: May 1st.
Cookie Tossing Count: This is pretty much gone.
Cravings: I don't really find myself wanting to eat anything particular. Sometimes I have no desire to eat. I love milk. Also we went to Zupas last night and I got the mushroom soup and chicken chop salad...the mushroom soup always hits the spot even in non-pregnant times.
Symptoms: Just more bloat feeling and annoying enlarged breasts. No real weight gain yet still. I still think this is a balance of gaining baby weight but losing some with hormones in being in balance.
Movement: I don't think so yet. Occasionally I'll feel very small twinge type stuff where I think it would be but nothing convincing yet.
Day to Day: Energy is starting to come back. I tried to clean house yesterday. Managed to shift some things around in the spare bedroom/nursery. We're moving our make-shift office into our bedroom until further notice (blah! but it may be a while as the basement will need finishing before it can really go anywhere else).
The Girls: Kendall and Seren are adorable. They make small mentions of "baby brother" on their own now...like when they see me taking my vitamins or see other babies. They are so fun and smart and sassy. Seren loves to say "you silly" now when she corrects your or tells you what to do. Kendall still loves to raise her voice and say "right now!" when asking for something, which just gets chuckles from us (occasionally time outs when she goes overboard). Kendall is still a very tender heart. We bought twin by twin bunk beds for them recently but haven't fully put them together yet.
Next appointment: May 1st.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Frozen Embryo Decisions
The decision was made on this a couple weeks ago. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be to make. I would still have loved to donate them to another couple but in the end we felt this was the right decision. We originally had arranged to donate our remaining embryos to another couple during our first frozen cycle. A week before the transfer we received news they had experienced a chemical pregnancy and would be trying on their own for a while at advice of their doctor. We held off on looking for another couple and experienced a failed cycle. I didn't think that I would want to but I found myself wanting to give it one more shot and a strong feeling that fate had stepped into the process to allow us to make that decision, as we originally planned to donate them as soon as the transfer was complete. We decided to give it one more go at a frozen cycle and here we are 14 weeks pregnant (yep kind of feeling fate/God wanted this baby with us).
We learned more about the ratings and quality of our frozen embryos during this process of attempting to donate. They weren't as great as I remembered. In fact we only had a couple early blasts and mostly morulas frozen. Granted the ones we did thaw ended up reaching blast stage in time for transfer but still they left a lot to wonder about odds of success. The remaining four embryos in one straw were supposedly the poorest of the bunch. We didn't like the idea of giving someone poor odds and a strong possibility of great disappointment, especially after experiencing our failed cycle. We also didn't want to take the choice away from the couple we originally offered them too. So I contacted them again and offered the remaining embyros to them with explanation of odds and frozen quality. They asked for time to consider it and after a week or two they contacted us again with their decision. They turned them down. They weren't comfortable with the idea of a possible failure at that time in their lives and didn't want to be holding onto them hoping that a time would come when they would be. With their decision made we came to a decision on our end as well. We agreed that we didn't believe there were great odds with these embryos and would likely not wish to try again ourselves even if the worst were to happen with this pregnancy. We didn't want to spend more money freezing them and looking for another recipient we would feel as good about as the first. So with that we signed paperwork to have them discarded.
It's both nice and somewhat sad to have that chapter and option closed. We look forward to having our family complete and welcoming this little one though. So good things are still to come.
We learned more about the ratings and quality of our frozen embryos during this process of attempting to donate. They weren't as great as I remembered. In fact we only had a couple early blasts and mostly morulas frozen. Granted the ones we did thaw ended up reaching blast stage in time for transfer but still they left a lot to wonder about odds of success. The remaining four embryos in one straw were supposedly the poorest of the bunch. We didn't like the idea of giving someone poor odds and a strong possibility of great disappointment, especially after experiencing our failed cycle. We also didn't want to take the choice away from the couple we originally offered them too. So I contacted them again and offered the remaining embyros to them with explanation of odds and frozen quality. They asked for time to consider it and after a week or two they contacted us again with their decision. They turned them down. They weren't comfortable with the idea of a possible failure at that time in their lives and didn't want to be holding onto them hoping that a time would come when they would be. With their decision made we came to a decision on our end as well. We agreed that we didn't believe there were great odds with these embryos and would likely not wish to try again ourselves even if the worst were to happen with this pregnancy. We didn't want to spend more money freezing them and looking for another recipient we would feel as good about as the first. So with that we signed paperwork to have them discarded.
It's both nice and somewhat sad to have that chapter and option closed. We look forward to having our family complete and welcoming this little one though. So good things are still to come.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Update: 13 weeks
Baby update: Our appointment was on Monday, April 1st. Kendall and Seren came with us to the appointment. Everything checked out to be just fine. I was a little worried still as I have such small bloat feeling but all was well. The baby measured 13.5 weeks. There was a second of worry with one leg but the image was off due to leg/ankle crossing. So as of now everything is fine and on target. We heard the heartbeat again with the girls and they were excited and seemed to understand a little better about the baby idea.
Cookie Tossing Count: This is getting better. I switched to gummy/chewable prenatal vitamins. I only really want to gag when I cough too much from the extra mucus going on. I have to take my thyroid medicine in the morning and not eat for an hour after so that's not really helping the morning ick but it's starting to be better.
Cravings: Salad with ranch dressing, black cherry soda (not too much) and chocolate muffins.
Symptoms: More stretchy cramps and a little more bloated feeling. Not showing though really just my lovely POF/POI spare tire. I have been losing a little weight...I'm sure due to the nausea but I also think because my hormones actually are "normal" during pregnancy so it's easier to come off.
Notes from appointment: We were given pretty good odds that this little one will be a boy.
Day to Day: I'm starting to feel like I can clean and do laundry again without nausea. Now I have just developed bad habits of not doing so over the last few weeks haha. I'm starting to gather girls clothes and things to donate or sell once we know for sure. Jeff started a new job. He is no longer in a conflict of interest with his new job so he can start his investment management business. Excited for him.
The Girls: The girls were both not initially happy at hearing the gender news (although the first thing Kendall said when asked what mommy had in her tummy was "a boy" before we even got to the baby explanation). We asked if they were okay with a brother and they both shook their heads no. They have warmed up to the idea a little though and proudly announced to their different grandparents over the phone about a "baby brother".
Next visit: May 1st.
Cookie Tossing Count: This is getting better. I switched to gummy/chewable prenatal vitamins. I only really want to gag when I cough too much from the extra mucus going on. I have to take my thyroid medicine in the morning and not eat for an hour after so that's not really helping the morning ick but it's starting to be better.
Cravings: Salad with ranch dressing, black cherry soda (not too much) and chocolate muffins.
Symptoms: More stretchy cramps and a little more bloated feeling. Not showing though really just my lovely POF/POI spare tire. I have been losing a little weight...I'm sure due to the nausea but I also think because my hormones actually are "normal" during pregnancy so it's easier to come off.
Notes from appointment: We were given pretty good odds that this little one will be a boy.
Day to Day: I'm starting to feel like I can clean and do laundry again without nausea. Now I have just developed bad habits of not doing so over the last few weeks haha. I'm starting to gather girls clothes and things to donate or sell once we know for sure. Jeff started a new job. He is no longer in a conflict of interest with his new job so he can start his investment management business. Excited for him.
The Girls: The girls were both not initially happy at hearing the gender news (although the first thing Kendall said when asked what mommy had in her tummy was "a boy" before we even got to the baby explanation). We asked if they were okay with a brother and they both shook their heads no. They have warmed up to the idea a little though and proudly announced to their different grandparents over the phone about a "baby brother".
Next visit: May 1st.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Update: 11 weeks (basically)
Baby update: I'm taking it everything is fine. I still get nauseous but that's about it and that is starting to be off and on day to day. I don't really feel bloated or like there's a growing human in there but considering there's lots of room to grow in my torso I'm not going to worry. I have but I'm not going to anymore.
Cookie Tossing Count: A handful of times now. I have been bad and been skipping my prenatal vitamins the last week or so because they make me gag usually and don't stay down anyway. Hoping to start stomaching them again in the next week or two.
Cravings: Nothing. The nausea increased the last week or so and nothing has sounded good. Ramen will usually chill it out and peanut butter sandwiches occasionally but nothing was actually delicious. I finally had an appetite today and treated myself to grilled chicken sandwich at Wendy's...boy was I stuffed. My stomach must have shrunk but it tasted good.
Symptoms: Morning nausea (usually gone by dinner time). Very occasional stretchy cramps but that's about it.
Recent Events: We signed paperwork to discard our remaining embryos. That's a post in itself. I'm still awaiting the call from our clinic to confirm verbally before they proceed.
Day to Day: I feel like I barely get to the grocery store lately. I went today...yeah there is some food in the cupboard again.
The Girls: We haven't told them about baby news yet. We ask them occasionally if they want a sibling but get mixed reactions. We are planning to tell them about it prior to next appointment and bring them with us. I hope they are excited but we'll see. We put them into booster seats in hopes of fitting a car seat without the need for a new car. Jeff is still unsure it'll work. The girls love the boosters though.
Next visit: April 1st.
Cookie Tossing Count: A handful of times now. I have been bad and been skipping my prenatal vitamins the last week or so because they make me gag usually and don't stay down anyway. Hoping to start stomaching them again in the next week or two.
Cravings: Nothing. The nausea increased the last week or so and nothing has sounded good. Ramen will usually chill it out and peanut butter sandwiches occasionally but nothing was actually delicious. I finally had an appetite today and treated myself to grilled chicken sandwich at Wendy's...boy was I stuffed. My stomach must have shrunk but it tasted good.
Symptoms: Morning nausea (usually gone by dinner time). Very occasional stretchy cramps but that's about it.
Recent Events: We signed paperwork to discard our remaining embryos. That's a post in itself. I'm still awaiting the call from our clinic to confirm verbally before they proceed.
Day to Day: I feel like I barely get to the grocery store lately. I went today...yeah there is some food in the cupboard again.
The Girls: We haven't told them about baby news yet. We ask them occasionally if they want a sibling but get mixed reactions. We are planning to tell them about it prior to next appointment and bring them with us. I hope they are excited but we'll see. We put them into booster seats in hopes of fitting a car seat without the need for a new car. Jeff is still unsure it'll work. The girls love the boosters though.
Next visit: April 1st.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Update: 9 weeks
Baby update: growth is on target or a day or so ahead. My ob initially bumped up my due date to October 6th but we agreed it's somewhere in Oct 6th to Oct 9th range since it was via IVF and hard to get original dates wrong. Heartbeat was going strong still. I was told we might be able to find out the gender next visit (April 1st) but I kind of think that it would still be majority guessing.
Cookie Tossing Count: 1 time. I tried to swallow my two prenatals, calcium pill and little estrogen pill in one shot. I failed and caused a gag reflex and the rest is history. I've been nauseous at night but have been making it through with food, water and breathing. I also took up "smiling like a maniac" as recommended by Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs (Season 8 episode 3 on NetFlix if you feel like a laugh and a little grossing out too). Anyway you fake a huge smile with all your teeth...surprisingly it kind of works.
Notes from appointment: I have a week left of shots (well whenever the vial runs out) and Dr B think this will be plenty sufficient as he called it a "good strong implantation". We started a DVD for this kiddo, their office records all the ultrasounds on a DVD for you to keep (love that part). We were decently far along when we started here with the girls so their DVD is hard to discern much out of...jumble of legs and arms
Cravings: Ramen, salad, potato chips, chocolate muffins and a Quiznos sub (pretty much a lot of the same food I craved with the girls).
Symptoms: Evening nausea (sometimes afternoon). Stretchy pain which I guess Dr B said is more common with second pregnancy.
Next visit: April 1st.
Cookie Tossing Count: 1 time. I tried to swallow my two prenatals, calcium pill and little estrogen pill in one shot. I failed and caused a gag reflex and the rest is history. I've been nauseous at night but have been making it through with food, water and breathing. I also took up "smiling like a maniac" as recommended by Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs (Season 8 episode 3 on NetFlix if you feel like a laugh and a little grossing out too). Anyway you fake a huge smile with all your teeth...surprisingly it kind of works.
Notes from appointment: I have a week left of shots (well whenever the vial runs out) and Dr B think this will be plenty sufficient as he called it a "good strong implantation". We started a DVD for this kiddo, their office records all the ultrasounds on a DVD for you to keep (love that part). We were decently far along when we started here with the girls so their DVD is hard to discern much out of...jumble of legs and arms
Cravings: Ramen, salad, potato chips, chocolate muffins and a Quiznos sub (pretty much a lot of the same food I craved with the girls).
Symptoms: Evening nausea (sometimes afternoon). Stretchy pain which I guess Dr B said is more common with second pregnancy.
Next visit: April 1st.
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