8 Weeks



Today I am 8 weeks pregnant! Tomorrow will be one month since I first found out I am pregnant. I had my second ultrasound at the fertility clinic yesterday! Baby measured at 7 weeks & 5 days, which is only a day behind gestation so basically right on track. I was also "released" from the fertility center!!! Very excited :) They gave me copies of some of my blood tests and etc. to take to my OB. My first appointment with my OB is in 5 days, on Tuesday February 7th @ 1:15PM.

They actually printed 3 pictures for me yesterday, only because they had a sonographer tech at the office who was teaching the doctor 3D scans! The top picture of the 3D image, it is a little unclear but you can see one of the bright spots is the heartbeat, which I got to see on the monitor yesterday!!! The middle picture you can't see much, and the bottom is the same as the first I posted. Another interesting point: the cover sheet they gave me to give to my OB had my due date as 9/12/12, which is a day sooner than I originally thought!! So I guess technically today is 8 weeks & 1 day ?? I will update that next week :) Ooh the fertility nurse also told me yesterday I can stop taking the Prometrium now!!! WOOHOO!!!! I only have 4 days of capsules left, so they told me I could finish the bottle then I am done with it.



Here is my crochet project this week! I actually made this start to finish in about 1-2 hours. It does help I have made two of them before, one for a friend's baby two years ago and another toddler sized for Emoree. This one is about 0-3 months size, and I figure Baby #2 will be about 2 months old around Halloween. Next I am either going to make a 0-6 month size Santa hat, or a newborn photo prop :)

Today I took Emoree to Bounce Party N Play, a local bouncy house/inflatable slides party place for an open play session. We have been many times before too, and she loves it. I haven't taken her in awhile and was a little nervous about taking her today, since today was the first time I wouldn't be able to bounce and go through the obstacles with her, but she did fantastic!!!! She played non-stop and I just sat on the sidelines and watched, taking pictures of course. Before when we would go she would get nervous and didn't want me out of her sight, but that was not the case today! She ran around and played with the other kids.

Oh yes, sorry no belly pic today. I never got around to it. I will try to do one next week! When I actually have a baby belly, there will definitely be a pic every week :) I will try to update Tuesday, after my OB appointment!!

8 weeks: 187.2 (-1.4lbs) I lost 2lbs in the past week?







7 Weeks

I am 7 weeks pregnant today!!! According to my "Pregnancy Week by Week" book, baby is about 1/2" long. According to the ticker I just added to the top of my blog, baby is 5/8" long. Either way, baby is growing!

I have been eating vegetarian for 10 days now, and haven't had any morning sickness! This doesn't necessarily mean I won't eat seafood, because I really want some shrimp or scallops. :o)  Something terrible did happen this week, however. Taco Bell stopped selling Cheesy Bean & Rice Burritos. If you know me, this is a major tragedy. I've tried the 7 layer burrito (also no meat), but it just isn't the same. :(

My 2nd ultrasound with the fertility center is in 6 days; I am looking forward to seeing the heartbeat. At that point, they should "release" me to my OB, and I have my first OB appointment set up for Tuesday, February 7th @ 1:15pm. I will be 8 weeks & 5 days. Very exciting!

Emoree is very excited about becoming a big sister. She was looking at car seats with me online, and now whenever we get in the car she tells me that her "baby sister's" car seat will be right next to hers. Obviously, she wants baby to be a girl :) Yes, I'm already looking at car seats! I like the Safety 1st Comfy Carry, because it fits narrow spaces (good for small cars, I have a Toyota Yaris), and it fits small newborns and preemies well starting at 4lbs. Emoree came home from the hospital at 3lbs 10oz in a Graco SafeSeat, and I didn't know as much about carseats back then, but she did NOT fit in it well at all.



I feel like Emoree has been a little left out of this blog! Afterall, it has her name on it :) Emoree is 4 days short of 3 years & 8 months old. She loves "school", she attends preschool/daycare at Celebree 3 days a week while I work. In September (when I am going to be home with a newborn) Emoree is probably going to start Pre-K in the Balto. Co Public School system, it is 2.5hrs a day for 5 days a week. Emoree loves anything Disney. Mickey Mouse, Princesses, mostly Ariel & Rapunzel. She loves to climb and jump, and sing and dance, so I think I am going to put her in gymnastics or dance class in the fall. She also loves to watch youtube videos of babies playing and kids playing on water slides on her Grandaddy's iPad. She knows how to use the iPad better than I do! Right now she is going through a "monster" phase, this morning she wanted to go downstairs and our cat Tumbleweed was on the steps, Emoree started screaming, "Mommy its a cat monster!" I gave her a flashlight, because her flashlight "scares" the monsters away. She told me she was going to go look under the bed for monsters with her flashlight. :o)

Alright, here is the first belly pic! Not showing yet, this is my pre-existing fat :-) I need a picture to start from, right? I am going to try to do belly pictures every week. After all, this is going to be my last pregnancy and I want to enjoy and remember every bit of it!

7 Weeks: 189.6 (+.8lbs) I gained 1 pound this passed week!





6 Weeks

5 Weeks & 6 Days

There is my little peanut!!!! And I mean, ONE little peanut!!!! Implanted in the right place, the right size, all looks good so far!!! I'm sooo happy :) For those who are ultrasound illiterate, The white "bean" in the middle of the black area is the embryo, and the white area in the top of the black space is the placenta, the black space is the amniotic sac. Yay!!!

Sorry I didn't get to update yesterday, I had my ultrasound and went straight to work, and didn't get home until 10PM, when I went to bed! So today I am 6 weeks pregnant!! Pregnancy symptoms are minimal, I've cut meat out of my diet a few days ago and haven't had a bit of nausea since. I am still getting protein, not to worry, I am drinking protein drinks for breakfast, eating greek yogurt, and beans in tacos and burritos :) I think it's crazy I can eat a Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito from Taco Bell no problem, but a turkey & cheese sandwich will make me sick... oh well!

I asked my reproductive endocrologist (at the fertility center when I had my ultrasound yesterday) when I should schedule my first OB appointment for. He said that I will see him again in two weeks for another ultrasound (yay!!! Its scheduled for 11:45AM Wednesday Feburary 1st), and I can set up my first OB appointment for the following week. So exciting!!

6 weeks: 188.6lbs (-.2 lbs)





5 Weeks

I officially had my last early morning blood test today at the fertility center!!! My hCG level today is 821, a good healthy number!! Pretty much what I was expecting. My regular nurse called me today with the result, and told me that it isn't necessary to do anymore hCG tests, so now my FIRST ULTRASOUND is scheduled!!! Ahhh soooo excited!!! It is in 6 days, on Wednesday, January 18th at 1:45pm. The doctor wanted it scheduled for Monday, but they were booked until Wednesday. I will be late for work, oh well! This is way more important!

I just looked it up... I had my first ultrasound with Emoree at 6 weeks & 1 day. I think I got to see the heart beating at Emoree's 1st ultrasound, not sure. I may or may not be able to see the heart beat at this u/s, It may be too early at 5 weeks & 6 days. Either way, I will be able to see HOW MANY embryos there are.... definitely hoping for just one healthy, sticky bean since I have a unicornate uterus, and I'm single parent with one child already!

If you know me, you know I have a bargain shopping addiction. Well, I had BabiesRus $5 off reward coupons that were going to expire tomorrow.... so I went and bought bottles :) I bought two 3pks of Playtex Ventaire Wide bottles, in 6oz & 9oz. They were on sale too, so I got one pack for $3.20, and the other for $1.71 with my rewards coupons!! Yay!

Another thing I'm going to start posting is my weight gain/loss so I can track it each week/month w/ pregnancy. I know in the last week I've lost 2-3lbs (way to go increase im metabolism, considering I haven't been sick, just sometimes nauseated). When I was pregnant with Emoree, I lost 11lbs in the first 4-5 months, then gained 15lbs in the last 3-4 months for a grand total of +4lbs at her birth, lol. Considering she was born at 3lbs 15oz..... so anyway:

Week 5: 188.8

6 DPO: Waiting (Im)patiently...

Today is 6 days past ovulation for me, and 6 days past possible conception. I get more impatient the more I think about it!!! I still have 9 days until my beta blood test.

Not to be dismayed, this is the result I was expecting at this point. I took an HPT this morning at 6 DPO just to be sure that the Ovidrel HcG shot was out of my system, because that is the one medication I took that could show a false positive when it comes time to actually test for pregnancy. Today is 8 days after the Ovidrel shot (which typically takes about 7 days to clear your system), so it means when I test in a few days if it shows positive, it is accurate! It is still days too early for pregnancy hormone to show a postive HPT.

I am almost confident that I am pregnant. When I was early pregnant with Emoree, my only symptom was sore nipples. In the last few days, however, I have sore nipples/boobs, slight nausea here and there, smell adversions, and exhaustion. I am not a person who has ever taken naps in my adult life, and the past few days driving home in the early afternoon I have to keep myself awake until I can get home and take a nap! Yesterday I slept for 3 hours. I do have a slight cold / sore throat, but its not that bad! I am wondering how I am going to make it through my 12:30-9 shift at work today, since I don't and will not consume caffeine!

I think I am going to do an HPT on Tuesday, if I can wait that long!! Tuesday is 12DPO and 3 days before my beta blood test. Tuesday is another 6 days away!! However, I got a faint positive HPT at 12 DPO when I was pregnant with Emoree!

I have two types of HPTs I bought... and still considering buying some $1 store ones for fun :) I stopped my Dollar Tree today and they didn't have any. The two I bought are Equate Early Result, and Clearblue Digital. According to the boxes, at 3 days before your "expected period", the Equate test has 74% accuracy, and the Clearblue Digital has 82% accuracy. If I make it to 12 DPO without testing, I may just try both :)

I'll update when I take an HPT again, so a week or less!

Day 21: The Two Week Wait Starts

I had my second IUI today at 1PM! I had 9 million sperm injected into my uterus! The procedure was again quick and painless. So the two week wait begins!

I am positive I ovulated between 8-9AM this morning... because after that point I have had awful cramping in my lower abdomen. I had to take tylenol when I got home from my IUI and take a two hour nap, feeling much better now.

I picked up my "intermittent FMLA leave" papers from work today and took them to the fertility center with me today.. better late then never, right? I didn't even think I'd need them until all that happened this week.. Regardless they told me they will be calling me next week for more info to fill out the paperwork, and it can take 7-10 days before they submit them. I'm not too concerned about it, as long as it gets done.

Now starting tomorrow until about 8 weeks of pregnancy I get to take prometrium twice a day. Sure, they look like basic capsules... they are not. They are a progesterone supplement used as a vaginal suppository twice a day (again, thanks to my lack of natural hormones). Progesterone helps with implantation of the embryo and helps with embryo growth, helping to prevent miscarriage.

My next update will be in a week or so... not much to say during the two week wait except waiting patiently and making myself crazy wondering if I am pregnant or not!!



Expensive little vial



I picked up my medications from the pharmacy this week. Without a blink, I pulled out my credit card and paid the $954.92 tab for 3 medications. A small price to pay for a priceless dream.
The 3 I picked up yesterday are Follistim 900IU, Ovidrel, and Prometrium. Follistim is a tiny little expensive vial ($852!) that does the magic that my whack hormones don't do. Once I start my cycle soon, I will inject it subcontaneously into my stomach every day for about 10-14 days to make the follicles grow in my ovary. Once the follicles are mature, I use the Ovidrel ($80) injection to release the eggs from the follicles. Then I will go in for the IUIs soon following. The Prometrium is capsules inserted vaginally 2x a day starting the day after the IUI through about 10 weeks of pregnancy. Prometrium is a progesterone supplement that helps prevent miscarriage for women whos progesterone levels are naturally low or non-existent.

I went to my OB-GYN today for a violation exam > . <  aka pap-smear. My favorite question is always the "what form of birth control do you use?" it throws me off guard because I am not sexually active, which I guess isn't normal for someone about to TTC! The GYN visit was the last check on my list to get started!!! I'm sooooo excited! My OB today briefly flipped over my medical history today (he was my OB and delivered Emoree) and told me he hopes to see me back by Valentine's Day growing Emoree a little brother :o) He told me that with this pregnancy the baby will most likely be breech and early as well, and that I will most likely be on bed rest at 30 weeks. Whatever I have to do to make it to 36 weeks!

Tomorrow morning at 7AM I go in for bloodwork and ultrasound for the okay to start taking Provera for 7 days. This med starts a period for women who don't have a normal cycle, which I have gone 11 months without one before. Have I mentioned how excited I am?? Time is not moving fast enough I am so anxious to start!!