A 'Thank You' for RE?

so.... we graduate tomorrow from the RE!!! Y-E-S! Did you guys do anything special as a 'thank you' for your doctor and/or nurses?

I feel like they gave me this amazing gift that I should have some small token of thanks for them tomorrow when we part for their program...

I mean, I know we'll go back and visit once the little one is born; or at least send a card with pictures or something.

But in the meantime, do you simply say thanks and shake their hand, or is there an appropriate gift for this occasion?

The Cat's outta the bag

with my class of kindergartners... :)

I was in the middle of a math lesson on the smart board (which usually keeps their attention really well!) when all of a sudden one of my boys raises his hand and says "Is there a baby in your belly???" Um, I couldn't help but smile and say "How did you know!?!? It's only this big! (I showed an inch with my fingers in front of my belly)". He laughed and the kids were like, whoa!

And then that was it.

No one has mentioned it again.

I keep waiting for one of my girls to say something since they are always hugging on me, but no. I keep waiting for one of my parents to say something since I figured they went home and told (since they tell EVERYTHING else!), but no.

Hmmmm, I guess I worried about telling them for nothing! haha!

PS. Kinda funny, but one of my little girls from 2 years ago saw me the first day of school and knew immediately. She didn't ask me, but asked her current teacher. The teacher asked her how she knew, and the little girl said "she's wearing a pregnant dress!" (it was just an empire waist dress from the LOFT, nothing maternity!!!) Then later, she saw me in the hall and whispered, "how's the baby Mrs. P?" I just gave her a big smile. Every day now she asks me if the baby came out yet! I keep telling her it's gonna be a while! haha! They are so cute.

Now I guess I just need to break the news on face.book. Everyone else in my life knows!

Oh -- 11 weeks today AND I think this is my 100th post! Not a very exciting one for 100... I'll have to make post 101 better!

We've got a thumbsucker on our hands! haha!

Here is one of our u/s from last Tuesday (17th) when we were at 9.5 weeks... It was SUCH an awesome experience! We couldn't believe how much more the baby had grown in just 3 weeks! Baby is measuring a little over an inch. The heartbeat is super strong (and loud!). We got to see the developing brain, umbilical cord, blood flow, little leg buds, and.... FINGERS! Seriously! We couldn't believe it! The baby was sucking it's thumb! Can you believe a baby that is only a little over an inch long can suck it's thumb!!?!? We were floored! The u/s tech tried to capture it for us in these pics, but it's a little blurry. Oh, another thing that was cool was the baby was kicking! Kicking it's little leg buds like it had somewhere to go. :) Zach was like 'can you feel that?' and I was like "no but wow you can really see it!!!" I mean, really, baby was just a going to town kicking in there. So neat.

We go back again next Tuesday (31st) for our 11.5 week scan and graduation from the fertility doctor. I must say, we are sad to go. We feel so safe there with them... but, like Dr. K said, we don't want to stay with them b/c that would mean something is wrong. Our graduation is a sign of a happy, healthy baby. :) So we'll move on to an OB the next week (week 13). We're almost out of the first tri! WOOHOO!

Catching Up

Well, well. I knew it'd been a while - but a month-- oops! I don't have any pictures ready for this post, it just struck me this morning that I needed to update so... pics will come later! haha!

Let's see, the last time I wrote I was hating morning sickness and LOVING our first u/s. Some things never change! We had our 2nd u/s this week. It deserves it's own post, so I'll save that for tomorrow :) Now, the morning sickness never got worse (knocking on wood now!) but it has continued to stay with me. I have an underlying yuck feeling all day and night. ew. And, whoa, if I let myself get hungry-- it's all over. I am a mean, nasty, hungry machine! I get cranky and moody. I hate it. You should see all the stuff I pack to go to school! I carry 2 lunchboxes! haha!

Speaking of school, it started back and it's busy as ever. i hate august. It's so hectic and stressful trying to unpack a classroom, get things set up the way you want, all while attending meetings, learning new curriculum, hoping for a big enough class to keep all your teachers on your grade level, and this year- balance the 'ew' morning sickness factor. One of the ladies on my grade level that's been teaching Kdg for 27 years always says "Teaching K is like childbirth- if you remembered

how bad it was, you'd never do it again." Now I've always laughed at this comment b/c it never hit home for be before, but this year I was like"what!?! Childbirth isn't THIS bad is it!?!" :) It's just hard to have 20 five-year-olds (and a couple of 4 yo) for a full school day that, for some, is their first school experience. They are so clueless! Rules, routines, walking in a line, heck- lining up in the first place!, bathroom breaks, and of course- actually teaching them something all day.... whew! They just wanna play and eat. I'm with 'em! Sounds good to me! haha! They get more settled everyday and by October we'll be smooth sailing.

Let's see-- my brother-in-law turned 30 and my sister threw him a fantastic party last weekend! Let me tell ya, she should go into party planning. This party was like a mini wedding reception. Rented tables/chairs, cute linens, centerpieces, a video room where people could leave video messages, signs for all of the food and drinks stations, a band, and ya'll, she made the food herself. For 45 people. And it. was. amazing. She loves cooking and it shows! She did a fabulous job with everything! I was so happy for her! It made her so happy to throw her husband that party! My husband took a bunch of pics. Click here if you are interested in checking them out! Oh, I've got a picture for here... one of me and my mom and sister! yay! :) PS> My boobs are getting big. :( And my belly, too!

Today we have a wedding for friends, Stacy and Shane, and we're pumped. My husband is photographing it so that'll be fun, too! I m hoping the weather will turn around... it's a little gloomy. Though gloomy looks pretty cool through a camera lens too. :)

Oh, and I became an aunt for the first time today! My sister-in-law had her baby around 2:00 this morning! A little boy they named Bowen. Ya'll, she has been at the hospital since Thursday night around 8:00 waiting to have this little guy. I haven't gotten all the details, but I know she was induced (she was almost 41 weeks), she had multiple epidurals, the baby got stuck in the birth canal, and finally came out face up but with his head turned to the side, and with a turned ankle. It sounds like a LOOONNNGGG process, but we got word this morning around 9 that mom and baby are doing fine. Bless her heart. Sounds exhausting! We are going up to see them tomorrow!

Anyway, really just wanted to say hi and do a quick catch-up on things. Mostly life things, I'll put baby things in their own little posts. :) Now, I've got to go scan our u/s pics from this week. It was so cool! I love ultrasounds!!!! :)

Happy Saturday everyone!

Morning Sickness + 1st ULTRASOUND!!! :)

Thank you guys so much for the tips and ideas (and reassurance)! Y'all are the best!

This morning sickness is for the birds. And it's not just morning-- it's until 12:00 and sometimes 2:00 in the afternoon! The ivf nurse told me today to expect it to get worse in a couple of weeks and stay that way for a month (basically till the end of the first trimester). Perfect timing as I start back to work in 2 weeks. Oh well. It could be worse! I'm not throwing up; just lots of bathroom/tummy issues and nausea that keeps me from wanting to eat and a headache. I went to the store tonight and got a bunch of stuff to keep on hand to grab for a quick snack. I've heard I need to stay ahead of it and always have food in my belly. Even when I get up in the middle of the night- grab a cracker. Hopefully I can figure this all out and get it under control by the end of next week.

We had our first ultrasound today. It was SO COOL. We were told not to expect to hear a heartbeat since it is really early.... but we DID!!! It was Ah-Mazing! :) Our little bean is measuring right on the money at 6 weeks exactly and is positioned right in the middle of my uterus which they were happy with. Also, it was cool to not only see the gestational sac, but also the yolk sac, and of course, that tee-tiny heartbeat flickering. Whoa. Neither of us cried-- we were too in awe- we did get teary eyed and Zach especially couldn't believe it was so tiny. It was so special. :)

We will go back 2 more times before being released to an OB. Our next appt is Aug. 17 (only b/c Dr. K is out of town the weekend before). He was so funny- he was saying that a lot of people go into withdrawls when they are used to visiting so often and then having 2 week gaps in between appts. And since our appt is 3 weeks out, he said to make sure if we had the slightest doubt something was wrong, to come in for a 'reassurance ultrasound'. :) He was so happy for us though and it was neat to share the excitement with him and our ivf nurses. He said it was a joy to get to come into the room and report that everything was perfect. WOOHOO!

So anyway, we are right on track at 6 weeks with a due date still of March 17, 2011!

PS. We did get a couple of pictures but I need to scan them. I came home and took a 3.5 hour nap today!

Beta 3 + U/S appt + Morning Sickness?

Having not had any appointments since last Monday, this morning felt weird! But after my psycho paranoia lately I was anxious to go to make sure everything was ok.

The backstory is that my husband was off all week so we could get house stuff done. We were having a housewarming party Saturday and work starts back in 2 weeks so we were really on a deadline. We had LOTS of cleaning inside and yard work outside to do. It was hot, yes, but I had a big water bottle I kept refilling. And the whole time I felt great! We took a lunch break and all too so it wasn't like it had been non-stop working in the heat. Anyway, my MIL came by to help out in the yard and I went out to assist and she was like 'you don't need to be out here doing anything' and I was like 'I've been out here all day!'. So I walked inside and immediately picked up the preg books and looked for physical activity and worried I had done too much. I had myself so worked up that I was convinced I had done a terrible thing and that I was going to miscarry. I called my mom and sister freaking out. I was crying the ugly cry and got short with Zach. Ugh, too much. So after that I realized that I was more careful about my activity level and all when I was doing the injections and stuff than I am being now that I know our little baby is growing in there. I have to prioritize. My house is not the priority anymore-- this baby is. I need to get it together!

So glad that day is over and behind me. Back to today, THAT is why I was so anxious about today's beta. I finally got the call a few minutes ago. Here it is:

beta #1: 144 (10dp5dt)

beta #2: 850 (14dp5dt)

beta #3: 8,480 (21dp5dt)

I was very relieved and also surprised when my ivf nurse said we could do the U/S this week! Fantastic! I had been telling Zach that I really needed that u/s to make this feel 'real'. Although, lately, it's been feeling real enough. Which brings me to my third point - Morning Sickness.

I haven't done much research on morning sickness but I'm thinking that when I wake up nauseous and do not want to eat anything at all, it must be morning sickness. Today the feeling was worse than ever. I almost wished I didn't have the beta check b/c I didn't want to leave the house. I never thew up, but did have major bathroom/tummy issues. Not fun. I managed to get some lightly salted saltine crackers and water down before the appt and a plain baked potato after. I have slept 2 hours this afternoon and woke up with my usual afternoon headache. *sigh... I AM NOT COMPLAINING though. I have waited and waited for this baby and whatever he/she is going to have me go through I will gladly do. It's just gonna take a little getting used to. And I'm a bit nervous about starting back to work in a couple of weeks with this morning yuckiness. I don't think kindergartners would understand! But I'll survive!

Got any 'freak out' pregnant moment stories to share?

Anything particular I should look for or ask for at the U/S appt Thursday?

Have any ideas/suggestions/etc for the morning sickness?

Happy + Worry + Happy! :)

It's kinda amazing. I spent so many hours on the internet and in books reading and learning about infertility, endo, cysts, iui, ivf, statistics, etc... that I don't know anything PAST that. It's like, I spent SO much time figuring out how to get pregnant, that now that I AM pregnant, I don't know what to do next!

What do I eat?

How much can I exercise?

How long on the medicines?

When will u/s occur & how often?

Are my beta #'s good?

I have no idea what my progesterone level is? Do I need to know?

When will I start to feel sick (cuz I'm sure I'll be one of those people)?

Can I stay on my anxiety medicine or is it harmful to the baby?

What can I take for sinuses/allergies?

Can I lift stuff now?

How do I choose an OBGYN?

Where do I start with planning-- nursery, diapers, bottles, strollers, furniture?

And then there's the overlying worrying question:

Will this baby stick for 9 months?

I'm freaking out. I guess b/c I don't look or feel pregnant yet. It's hard to believe there is a little miracle growing inside of me. It seems to good to be true. And I have told people. We couldn't keep our ivf journey to ourselves. Our closest family and friends knew what was going on most every step of the way. I truly believe that it is their added prayers and good thoughts coming our way that helped us to get to this point. So of course I shared the news asap. Did I share too soon? Did I jinx myself?

I am so incredibly thankful to have this t-tiny baby growing inside of me. I rub my belly daily and thank God for this blessing. I am also thankful for our family and friends that have expressed such joy and excitement for us. It helps it feel real. But still, I can't help but worry. I guess, to some extent, I will worry until I'm holding our baby in my arms.

This weekend I was taken over by worry and thoughts of how nice it must be to be innocent to conceiving. You know what I mean? Like, if we had just gotten pregnant on our own without anything - no charting, temping, ovulation tests, fertility meds, procedures, etc... -- I wouldn't know any different. I wouldn't know ALL that I know now. I wouldn't know the true miracle of conception and how much it takes for a baby to come into this world. I could be blissfully happy with no worries that it won't work; won't stick.

Now, I know that all that I have learned only makes me stronger and more informed and quite possibly makes me feel that much closer to my unborn baby and of course closer to God for giving us this blessing. But there's just that tiny part of me that thinks it would be great to not know so much!

AGH! worry ramblings!

So the numbers so far:

beta 1: 144 (10dp5dt)

beta 2: 850 (14dp5dt)

My 3rd beta is scheduled for next Monday and then the u/s sometime the next week. I can't wait for that u/s! I think I really need it for it to ultimately feel real to me! :)