We're getting closer...

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this. I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Our family gave us lots of things for Baby, so we were very excited that we could finally get started on the nursery. Here is Daddy-to-be putting the crib together...

And the finished product...

And Jason's parents also got us the dresser/changer that we wanted...

I'm so excited about how the nursery is coming together. I was unsure about it at first, just because of the layout of the room, but I think it's going to be perfect! We added a rocking chair and there is still plenty of space in the room. I can't wait to get our bedding and mattress; then we'll just need curtains and some sort of organizer for the closet!

Since my last post, Nana has gotten to feel some kicks, and so has Aunt Karen :) Here is a pic of me at 27 weeks...

My glucose test is in 2 days so keep your fingers crossed that I pass :-/ Then my appointments start getting scheduled every two weeks! This pregnancy is going by so quickly!!

Baby's Growing ~ 22 weeks!

Baby is getting so big! I feel it's kicks all the time, and most nights Jason gets to feel too. I've even seen my belly poke out from its kicks. Also, Baby's mommom-to-be got to feel a kick, which she was very excited about. It's amazing how much space it's taking up now. I feel like almost my whole belly is baby.

Speaking of my belly, it's getting huge. Every week when I go to the gym it takes me by surprise. I really notice it there because of all the mirrors and my workout clothes. Luckily all the weight I've gained seems to be in my belly so far.

Here I am at 22 weeks, 1 day:

Ultrasound Results!

Our ultrasound was amazing! The tech did all the measurments then surprised us and flipped it over to 4D. I started crying, it was amazing to all of the sudden see a real baby and not just an outline of bones. Baby looks beautiful and perfect and healthy! We even watched it have the hiccups, so adorable! We made it through the u/s without finding out the gender, so we are officially staying on the green team!!

She said the baby's measuring a whole week early, 20w3d. And it's weight is estimated at 12oz, instead of the "normal" 8-10oz...great, a big baby! haha, i knew there was a reason I was getting so big!

Here are some pics!

A perfect little profile :)

This is when she flipped the switch and went to 4D...amazing.

Almost giving us a little smile

Feeling Movement!

Just over a week ago, at 17weeks, 5days, I felt my first definite movement! About 5 little taps just below my belly button while I was sitting at my desk at work. All week I've been feeling little kicks, yesterday was the best day so far. Hopefully it wont be too long until these itty bitty kicks are strong enough to feel from the outside so Jason can feel them too.

Another exciting milestone: Strangers can tell I'm pregnant! On our cruise last week, the first person to say anything was one of the photographers. We were having our picture taken after dinner one night and he said to Jason, "Sir, hand on baby." I almost cried, it was so sweet. By the end of the cruise two more people had asked if I was expecting. Of course, we were on a cruise...I'm sure my belly was sticking out more than usual because of the eating we were doing!

We have hired our doula. The meeting went great; I know she will help me have the birth experience I'm hoping for. Now I'm just reading everything I can get my hands on to help me prepare. We'll sign up for childbirth classes that start mid-december.

The ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow at 4:00, so hopefully I will have some cute baby pics to put up soon. Until then here is me at 18 weeks.

Meeting Doula Today!

Tonight we meet our potential doula! I'm very excited, I'm almost postive that we are going to be using her. Jason is excited about meeting her too. I think the idea of him being my only support during labor was a little intimidating, especially since I'm planning on having a natural birth. He's looking forward to having some help. Plus if any visitors are not being supportive, or are getting on my nerves during labor, she can be the one to kick them out...so no hard feelings torwards Jason for being the bad guy.

Tomorrow we are going to see So You Think You Can Dance on tour!! I'm so excited about it! We've been every year; I'm not sure how long that tradition will continue once our little one arrives, so I'm really going to enjoy myself this time and just soak it all in!

Our big ultrasound is scheduled for November 4th!! I can't wait! We are having it done at this nice place, where they put the picture up on a big flat screen on the wall. They have a couch and a big chair in there, so you can bring up to 5 people along with you. Both of our mom's were very happy to accept the invitation! It should be fun :)

Here's me at 16 weeks.

Doctor Appointment Today

Everything seems great!! I heard the baby's heartbeat again and it sounded good :) I really liked the doctor that I saw today, it was the first time I didn't feel super rushed, and I was able to get all my questions answered. My next ultrasound will be scheduled for sometime between November 1st-10th! Although, we don't plan on finding out the gender, so it will just be another chance to see baby! :)

And she gave me the letter so I can go on our cruise! Yay, vacation in 2 weeks!!

So Happy :)

It's finally starting to seem real. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is feel my belly. In the morning, before I get up, I can feel my bulging uterus and it just makes me smile. That seems kinda weird to say, but its true. I know my baby is in there swimming around, and growing everyday and it just makes me so happy.

I'm also starting to show. Jason says my belly is bigger everyday, especially at night. It's huge at night! I'm getting so excited about this baby, not that I wasn't excited before, it just seems so much more real now. There have been 2 times that I *may* have felt the baby move, but since I've never felt it I'm not sure. Hopefully in a few more weeks I will start to feel it on a regular basis.

My next doctors appointment is next Friday, I can't wait to hear the heartbeat again! Here's a pic of my belly at 14 weeks and 2 days :)

Rough Day

I have been so lucky throughout this pregnancy. All my symptoms have been mild, I've had almost no morning sickness at all except for an occasional incident while brushing my teeth.

Sunday night before going to bed I started to get a headache. It got worse until it became a full blown migraine, the worst I have ever experienced. I couldn't sleep at all, I was just sitting in bed crying from the pain. I couldn't keep any food or liquid down, as soon as I took a sip I would be running to the bathroom. My husband went to the store at 3 am to get tylenol for me, I took it and kept it down for 15 mins before getting sick again. I think that let me get just enough medicine in me to fall asleep for two hours. The morning wasn't any better, I still couldn't keep anything down. Finally at 3 in the afternoon, my doctor had called in some anti-nausea medication and a pregnancy-safe migraine medicine. As soon as I took those I started feeling better. I hope I don't have to deal with that anymore, but now at least I have medication on hand that will help.

In other news, I'm wearing maternity pants today! I don't have a huge bump yet, but my pants were just getting too tight. I'm so glad I sucked it up and bought some, because I'm so much more comfortable now. Yay for stretchy pants!

Cravings...

I've been craving a variety, so far...

Corn Chex, anytime of day or night
Cheese Pizza, specifically from Domino's
Ramen noodles...I want these ALL the time!
Fries, from anywhere
Fruit: Pineapple, peaches, granny smith apples, and strawberries...finally something healthy!

So, unfortunately, most my cravings have not been the healthiest. I'm trying to make up for it when I'm not having one of these cravings, but it's more difficult than I thought it would be!

Also, pregnant people should not be sent grocery shopping! I went yesterday and ended up with a cart-full of stuff that just "looked good" at the time. Oh well, at least we have plenty of snacks in the house now.

Don't tell anyone, but...

my pants are not buttoned today :-/ I think my belly grew yesterday! It seems to be poking out a lot more than it has been, and today I could barely get my pants buttoned...and when I did it was very uncomfortable, so I'm at work with a hair-tie holding my pants up...

I know I'm not technically supposed to be showing yet, but this bloating is crazy! I think I'm going to go get a belly band this weekend to better hide my unbuttonedness!

Vacation!

We finally were able to get together with our two best friends this week and tell them our news. They were both so excited and happy for us! These friends are also who we travel with every year, so going on one more trip before the baby is born came up during dinner. I really thought DH would insist on saving every penny, but he got excited and...

We booked a babymoon!! I'm so excited that we get to go on one more trip before the baby comes! I know that's kinda silly, but we love to travel. Just love it. We booked a 4 night cruise to the bahamas and key west! It's going to be so much fun! Our friends are going with us, I can't wait! I'll be 17 weeks by then, so hopefully I will have a little belly and be past the looking chubby phase :)

YAY!

Ultrasound!

Yesterday was my first appointment with my doctor and our first ultrasound. It was amazing! As soon as the picture popped up we saw the baby, clearly looking like a baby! I never thought it would be so clear this early. The baby is measuring perfectly (7weeks, 5days yesterday) and that confirms my due date as March 28th. We got to see it's little hearbeat too, which the doctor said looked perfect...but couldnt give me the exact number since he doesn't know how to work that feature of the ultrasound machine, lol. I didn't even care at that point, we saw that the baby is healthy and that is all that matters. DH is very excited too, it all seems a lot more real now.

My MIL is already buying clothes and things for this little one. It's going to be spoiled rotten. :)

Tomorrow!!!

Yay!! I can't believe it's almost ultrasound day! My appointment is at 10:00 tomorrow...I'm so glad I don't have to wait all day. This has been the longest wait EVER, but finally, I get to see my bean! DH seems really excited too, which is so cute. I just love him. :)

If you pray, please say a prayer that everything will look perfect tomorrow.

My First Appointment

I had my first real pregnancy appointment today! It was just with the nurse, but it was still exciting to have an appointment because I'm pregnant. She started right away with questions like will I breast or bottle feed...it's crazy that they just jump right in like that! I guess it just feels a little weird since I don't really feel very pregnant yet.

I got a bunch of information from her and she answered all my questions. They checked my weight, blood pressure, urine, and they took 4 vials of blood! My next appointment is in 4 days :) and I will have my first ultrasound then!

I feel like I'm already getting a belly. My clothes are still fitting, but it's like I don't have any extra room in them anymore. It's kinda scary, since I know I'm not really supposed to be gaining weight yet, but I'm hungry all the time! Some books even say it's not uncommon to lose weight in the first trimester...not me. I've been trying to eat healthy snacks, but it's harder than I thought it would be!

That's all for now...Oh, and my sister is having her c-section tomorrow! So I will have a new nephew in less than 24 hours!!

Two Week Wait

Two weeks until I get to see my little bean :) I cannot wait! I just want to see that everything is going like it should and my baby is happy and safe in there.

I'm telling myself that I only have to get through one real work week, since the week of my appointment is packed with fun things..so it should go by pretty quickly. Monday I have my first appointment with the nurse, Tuesday my sister has her c-section and I get to meet my newest nephew, Wednesday is me and DH's 9 year wedding anniversary, and Thursday I'm sure will be the longest day ever, then it's Friday and I get my ultrasound! So hopefully all those distractions will help the second week go by much faster.

Everything is going well so far. Still no morning sickness. My boobs are getting huge (well, not really, but they are huge for me) and are still very sore. I'm hungry all the time, and exhausted by the time I get home at night. Hopefully all that is a good sign!

An emotional wreck.

That's what I am today. I've cried 3 times at work today. I'm just so happy. I'm so happy that I'm going to be a mama, and my husband is going to be a daddy. He is going to be such a great dad. I can't stop thinking about the miracle that is happening inside me. Everyday my baby is getting a little bigger and a little stronger...it's just amazing to me.

As far as symptoms...my boobs are getting much more sore! So that's really exciting for me. :) I'm also very tired by about 3:00 everyday, which could be contributing to my crazy emotions. Other than that I feel great, so far.

Grow baby, grow!

I'm pregnant!

I still cannot believe it. I tested at 5:30 am on Saturday morning with 2 $tree tests and sure enough, 2 BFPs!! The timing is crazy! I was scheduled to see the RE for the first time tomorrow! I had my blood test done yesterday and it came back positive. I have my first u/s on August 14th. I'm so happy and excited!!!!! So far my symptoms are being pretty tired, a slightly upset tummy, and I'm constantly hungry. For now, going by when I believe I ovulated, my due date is March 29, 2010!

I hope everyone that is following this gets their BFPs very soon!!

~*~Baby Dust~*~

Where's Spot?

This cycle started off so badly with so much spotting, my hopes got shot down very early in the game...now I don't know what is going on. I haven't had any spotting for 3 days. This never happens, I'm kinda freaking out.

I'm 12DPO today and I think I'm going to test tomorrow morning. I have absolutely NO symptoms and our BDing was the worst-timed it has ever been this month. I'm sure it will probably be negative, but somehow my body always tricks me into having a little bit of hope. It would be such a miracle if I get to cancel this RE appt...I know that's crazy talk. I havent told DH, I don't want to give him false hope like I have.

If nothing else, it is great that the spotting has stopped...so maybe we can catch next cycle for testing. I was afraid the progesterone wasn't going to help AF stay away this month...but it looks like it *might* happen now!

Honest Scrap Award

Recently I received an Honest Scrap Award from two of my blogging friends: Jen at No One Ever Told Me It Would Be This Hard and Eileen at We got hitched. We bought the 4 bedroom house. Now what??? Thanks girls!!

The Honest Scrap stipulations:

1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find interesting and engaging

2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog and leave a comment informing them that they have won the "Honest Scrap Award"

3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

10 Honest things about myself...

1. My husband is my best friend, and I really mean that. We have been friends since I was 15, started dating when I was 16, and got married right before I turned 19. Next month we will be celebrating our 9 year anniversary and we are more in love than ever.

2. I too am addicted to reality tv, as sad as that is. Me and my husband arrange our schedule around Big Brother and Survivor when they are on, since our DVR will not record CBS. I also love So You Think You Can Dance (my all time favorite), American Idol, and Hell's Kitchen...I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

3. I love to go on vacations. Anywhere warm is fine with me. My favorite place so far is Hawaii. We try to go on a cruise every year, hopefully we will be planning one for this January. I love the beach and the blue-green ocean. I work so I can go on vacations...my whole life is a countdown till we can go again. It's kinda sad, but it keeps me going, especially since this ttc stuff isn't working out.

4. We have our first successful vegetable garden this year, and I'm very proud of it. We have cucumbers, jalepeno peppers, bell peppers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, green beans, peas, big boy tomatoes, and pumpkins. Out of all that the only thing that is not producing is the pumpkins...which really doesn't matter, I was growing them for the chickens.

5. I have chickens! Seven beautiful hens. I got them last year as one-day old chicks, and they are still my babies. They come when I call them and sit in my lap...and they give me breakfast. We also have 3 dogs (2 lab mixes and a pug) and 3 cats. My animals are like children to me.

6. I'm not sure I'm cut out for this infertility stuff. I'm a very emotional girl anyway, and this is not helping things. I just hope I can keep it together at my RE appointment.

7. I'm going to be a SAHM when we finally do have a baby. I cannot wait for that day. My work is not that great, since this has always been the plan. I have really great insurance though, so until then I'm kinda trapped where I'm at for now.

8. I'm a very picky eater...I always have been. I used to drive my mom crazy, eating cereal for dinner whenever she would make something I didn't like. I don't eat any red meat, and havent for at least 5 years. I don't eat pigs either. I'd love to be a vegetarian, but I don't really care for most vegetables :-/

9. I love fruit...almost all fruit.

10. I've been back to working out regularly for 2.5 weeks. (yay me!) I made myself commit to one month so I could be in the best shape possible by the time I see the RE. Secretly I have committed to more than a month, but it's easier to keep going with a short term goal.

That's it. Now here are 7 blogs that I love to read.

1. Christina at Trying for a boy!!

2. Erin at A Journey to Our Baby!

3. Amanda at Twice Baked

4. Angry Infertile at The Angry Infertile

5. Naomi at 999 Resons to Laugh at Infertility

6. Emily at 32 people between my legs and counting...

7. Clara at What Can Happen in a Year?

You all are wonderful. I love reading your blogs; your stories help me and many others get through this difficult journey.

I was wrong.

Well we had lunch yesterday. Friend #2 is not pregnant, infact it's the opposite. I found out that she has been trying to conceive for over a year, and is seeing the same RE that I will be seeing this month. The appointments that she's been mentioning in her facebook have been for her husband (who has zero sperm count) and for herself (to donate eggs for money in case they have to do IVF). Her husband is having surgery 2 days before my RE appt to repair two varicoceles and to try to unblock his semenal vesicle. It's crazy, I would have never guessed that she was going through all of this.

I had no intention of telling any of them that we were having trouble, but after she shared all that information, I decided to share that we were going to the RE as well. Now we can go through it together. They were very supportive, and I'm really glad that both of us shared what we're going through.

It actually turned out to be the best lunch we have ever had together. We talked for hours about everything. I think sharing what's really going on in our lives brought us all much closer together.

I love my friends, even the fertile ones.

Lunch with the girls

About six months ago I had a dream, maybe kindof a nightmare. I was at lunch with 3 of my girlfriends from high school. Each of them, one after the other, announced that they were pregnant. I busted into tears at the table. It was horrible.

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with these 3 friends. We get together every few months to catch up. I found out that one of them is PG a few weeks ago through Facebook. So this will be the first time getting together since then. I'm also very suspicious of friend #2. She has made some "status udates" that tell me she is probably pregnant, and going to tell us tomorrow. The pregnant friend asked her what was up with her status updates, and she said she would tell us at lunch when we get together. That screams pregnant to me. DH says I'm crazy. The third friend has an 18 month old, and said she is waiting until he turns two to start TTC, but nothing would surprise me.

I really hope its not all three of them. I think I will be ok, even if it is. I've mentally prepared myself for it because of the dream, just in case. I will let you know how it goes.

My hopes are low this month...

I took my temp today for the first time this cycle and I had a post O temp. I have never O'd earlier then CD 12, but of course this month I would. I've been trying to work with this low sperm count, so we hadn't BD the last 2 days...to try to build some up for tonight (thinking I would O today or tomorrow). Now the only thing we have to work with is CD9, which I'm sure there was almost no sperm that time, since we BD the day before and twice that day. Ugh, I hate this.

I also had some spotting again yesterday, just like last cycle. I don't know what is going on with me.

Just 2.5 weeks till we see the RE and get a new plan.

And so it begins...

So I've decided to start a blog. More for myself than anything else. I feel like if I can write out what I'm feeling as we travel this road, I might stay a little more sane.

We are currently on our 11th cycle trying to conceive our first baby. Our jouney has not been easy so far. I've had major spotting issues from the beginning, with spotting starting a few days after I ovulate until AF shows up. At first my doctor thought I would be totally fixable. He gave me a couple months of Provera in an attempt to hold off AF, so that I would not spot and when she did show up it would really clean me out...like a chemical D&C, he said. This did not work. I still had spotting every month, I was getting so frustrated.

When we hit the 6 month mark, I called my doctor and set up an appointment. He decided to check my progesterone, which was low (7)-but did indicate that I was in fact ovulating. He prescribed Prometrium for me to take after ovulation until 18DPO, or if we were lucky I would be taking it until I was 10 wks pregnant. It didn't work, I started spotting earlier that month than I did the month before.

The next cycle he switched my medication to progesterone vaginal suppositories...fun, right? It did help some, I didn't officially start spotting until a few days before my period. We kept the same plan for the following cycle, and had the same results...no baby.

I called my doctor to see what our next step would be. I didn't get the news I was hoping to hear. My options were to either have an endomitrial biopsy to try to figure out why my linging is not holding up, or be referred to an infertility specialist. I was really just hoping he would give me some clomid and in a few months I would be pregnant. That night we talked it over and decided to see the specialist, I have an appointment on July 22nd.

In the meantime we had my husband see his doctor about having a semen analysis. In the back of your mind, you always worry that the results will be bad...but I really thought he would be ok. His results were not good: count, motility, and morphology were all low. I'm not sure what our next step will be. We are planning on taking the results to the specialist and seeing what he recommends.

My worst fear, that both of us are the problem, is coming true...and I'm scared.