24 weeks!

Okay, so I'm 24.5 weeks now :) Went to the doc on Tuesday, all is well! I am beyond elated - the fetal fibronectin test was negative! WOOHOOO!!!! I'm likely NOT to deliver in the next 3 weeks! Good thing. Baby needs to stay in there a bit longer! I got to see Dr. C, he's so nice. He said it was fine for me to travel (pending the negative test, of course) and said to have a good time. But stay on my modified bedrest of course :) He checked my cervix, still long and closed, woohoo! I now weigh 111.8 lbs, so I am up 8 lbs from when I came in for my first visit at 7 weeks. No talking to yet but I am guessing if I don't start putting on some weight then I am really going to hear about it. MUST EAT MORE! I got to have an ultrasound as well - my cute little baby is 1 pound 3 ounces now. He's sitting "Indian style" in my belly with his butt down (on my bladder, as always). He's in the 26th percentile for size and weight - so he's small, but not alarmingly so. Doc was like, you're small, so he's small. Makes sense to me but I'm going to work on plumping him up :)

So we're getting ready to head to Texas TOMORROW! I am so excited. I am pretty much packed and ready to go. I got my hair cut today, nothing new just shortened it and shaped it up a bit, and enhanced the color. I'm very pleased, as usual, and the prices in this small town ROCK! Still have a few things to do to get ready but I'm certainly on track. Baker is home and studying for his exam tomorrow. I think I'm gonna take a break and lay down for a bit, I'm really tired today. BUT, I have no excuse, I had a great night last night! No pain, no waking up all the time, I really slept well! Fell asleep at about 11:30pm and woke up (I think only once) to pee but when I really woke up, it was 7am! I SLEPT! I felt like jumping up and down it was such an accomplishment.

So I guess the next time I blog I'll be in Texas! Enjoy the 24.5 week belly pic and new haircut :)

Parked in Expectant Mother Parking...

Okay, so this may be a dumb thing to post/blog about but I had to say it. It was too cool. I've always wanted to park in Expectant Mother Parking. I'm 23 weeks and on modified bedrest, and I still felt guilty doing it? WHY? I have no idea. I had to talk myself into it. Kelly... you're 23 weeks along, on modified bedrest - if this spot ISN'T for you, then who is it for? Okay. So I parked there. I was waiting for people to yell at me haha. It's just that although I am showing, winter clothes hide a lot. I was prepared with a response and everything! I found out that it wasn't THAT silly that I was prepared with a response - a girl on my chat boards said that an old man asked her if she was really pregnant or just fat and lazy??? Man, if someone said that to me, I would not be a happy camper. I think that I would have said something mean back. But, luckily, I parked there without incident :)

So I've started doing kick counts at the suggestion of the nurses (and my prodding husband haha!). Patches is so good at kicking. Lowest recorded in a 30 minute session so far is 25. Highest? 71. Yeah. He likes to kick. I'm proud :) But who knew how hard it is to lay still on your side for 30 minutes to count kicks 3 times a day? I mean I don't even do that much and it's hard to do. You actually have to concentrate on it - at least I do, because I'm used to the kicking. Funny stuff.

23 weeks!

I'm 23 weeks! And guess what???? I FINALLY LOOK PREGNANT! I'm so excited :) Check out the picture!

I went to the doc today. I got to see Dr. L who I really like but it was kinda weird... he went over my bloodwork, which was fine except that I'm anemic (which doesn't surprise me, I almost always am!) so I get to take iron supplements. He measured my belly at 22cm, woohoo! That was cool, it was my first time to have my belly measured. Nurse did the doppler, little one was beating along at 140bpm. Blood pressure still good and low at 100/70. So he discussed my hospitalizations with me and said he's pleased with how I've improved (and lemme tell ya, so am I!) and he's like, we'll see you in a few weeks! And I'm like, wait, Dr. H wanted to do the Fetal Fibronectin test this week to okay me for Christmas travel - he was like, you must have misunderstood him, we can't do that test until 24 weeks. Ummm, I distinctly was told by Dr. H to come back in 1 week for that test. Weird. That's the one thing I need to complain about with that office - it's like the docs don't communicate. I don't mind seeing a group but I wish they'd talk about their patients. Like, last week, Dr. H was upset that I was on terbutaline and said that I shouldn't be on it because they have to save it's effectiveness in case I go into active labor early - like if I keep taking it, I'm getting used to it and given that it works so well on me they want it to work well if I desperately need it. He was all upset with the other doc about it. I just feel like I'm getting conflicting info sometimes and it's a bit frustrating sometimes. Oh well, I'll have the FFn next week - Tuesday this time so they can't argue with me and say I'm not 24 weeks yet.

So I ordered a bunch of maternity clothes from Target.com and they came in - thanks to the Britax fiasco, I used my $25 gift card :) I really love the pants I got and a few of the sweaters, but two of the sweaters are going back - they're just TOO frumpy I think. But it was fun, I tried on all of my maternity stuff to see how it would fit now that I have a baby bump and to see how I like everything, etc. for packing to take to San Antonio when we go. It seems the key to some of the stuff is to make sure I've got a belt cuz when things want to act like a tent, the belts really cinch it in!

Okie dokey, Baker's on his way home (YAY!) and I've got laundry to do.

Contractions

I was hospitalized at 21 weeks. Can you believe that? I had really bad pain on Monday 11/24, called the doc and they said to go in. I thought it was a UTI, but it turned out that I was having contractions every 1.5 minutes - strong ones, too. So, I was admitted. I was there from noon Monday until noon Tuesday, and they let me go because things had subsided after a ton of fluid and 2 shots of terbutiline.

The GOOD news, though, is that my contractions weren't causing my cervix to do anything - long and closed and high, so that's good.

So then, I had go to back Tuesday night because I was having medium to strong contractions right on top of one another. They gave me more terbutiline and the contractions stopped IMMEDIATELY. It's kinda crazy how well that stuff works. They gave me a ton of fluids again and waited to see if the contractions stoppped - of course, as soon as they told me to go, they started again but much smaller and less frequent. They have no idea why I have been having these contractions, they can find no reason for them, I've had all kinds of tests. So, they put me on oral turbutaline and to see if that would work.

THEN, I ended up back in the hospital on Thanksgivng! I was having intense contractions up to 10 times an hour so I had to go back in. Well, they gave me a shot of terbutaline AGAIN and again, the contractions did not stop but they slowed down a lot. This time, my cervix wasn't as high and I am fingertip dilated on the outside but closed on the inside. It seems like my oral terbutaline doesn't work as well as the stuff they give me in the hospital, so of COURSE when they monitor me there, the contractions aren't as strong and often as they can be when I am at home. So I went home in time to watch the Texas v. A&M game and was cheered by a good 'ol Aggie spanking :)

So I went in for an office visit Monday - my sweet Baker came with me. He is SO great. He's got so much to do at the hospital but he wants to be with me all the time. Anyway, they did an ultrasound of my cervix and took a quick look at the baby. My cervix is long and closed, so that's great! But, I'm still contracting, having up to 6 an hour (that's every 10 minutes, OUCH). Basically, the doc says that up to 6 contractions an hour is "acceptable" (and, as my MIL says, acceptable to WHO, exactly?) and as long as they aren't changing my cervix, there's not much they can do but watch me. He also took me off of the terbutiline because he said that the most recent research says that there is more risk to using it than help... so I am at home, on modified bedrest, and no longer taking the terbutiline. Hopefully, the number of contractions won't increase and things will be fine. But, I'm worried. And, I'm in pain. Aside from the contractions, my back is KILLING me. I am in so much pain - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's terrible and I literally crawl around looking for a good position for my back to be in. It's not good.

GOOD NEWS - the baby looks great. He is SO cute. I am so in love :) They didn't do a full growth scan because it hasn't been exactly 2 weeks since I had my last one, but we took a quick look and guess what????? His little ureters were no longer enlarged. Yep, the u/s tech said that he probably had to pee last time, making his ureters big. So, it looks like the hydronephrosis was temporary!

Anyway, looks like I'll be suffering in bed for many many more weeks. I go in next week and they'll check the fetal fibronectin to see if there are any signs that I'll be going into active labor anytime soon.

Baker and I like to have a good laugh - I'll just have to tell little Patches that I was in labor with him for 15 weeks (God willing)!!! HAHA.

So now it's Wednesday and I am feeling more comfortable. The contractions are fewer and less strong. I'm still home on bedrest but it's not so bad... Christmas is soon, right? Counting the days until we go to San Antonio, Baker says it's 16 now.

We'll just pray for little Patches and hope that he stays in there for many many more weeks.

21 weeks!

I'm 21 weeks today, yay! Isn't that awesome? Well, I think it is. Baker woke me up this morning by saying "Happy 21 weeks". He always tells me "Happy ___ weeks" and I think it is way too cute. And so sweet. It makes me so happy to see how happy he is about meeting this little man. It really warms my heart. This is probably the most excited I have ever seen him about anything and it's really great. I hope that it makes getting through his days a little bit easier because I know that med school has been rough.

Anyway, I took belly pictures yesterday because I was a little better dressed than I will be today, considering that the highlight of my day will be my grocery shopping trip to Wal-Mart, so I cheated a bit on the 21 week belly pic :) But, here it is! I think I finally might look a little bit pregnant!

BIG u/s

So I had my big u/s today, I guess they still consider it the "big" one because it's 20 weeks, anatomy scan, etc. even though I found out the sex about 4 weeks ago. "Patches" looks great and he is SO cute, moving around and kicking away. He's actually flipped since I saw him last and his head is on the opposite side than it was before. It was so great to see him, he is just precious.

So the u/s tech found that one of the ureters leading to one of the kidneys was enlarged, not by much, just less than one millimeter bigger than their cutoff. Cool, no problem. She mentioned it to me, said how common it is in boys, and was very non alarmist about it. She was like, our cutoff for normal is 4mm, this is measuring 4.8mm. Cool. She had a hard time looking at a lot of structures because Patches was curled up, so she had me try to move around, poked at him, etc. and he wouldn't budge.

So she finishes and goes to get the doctor. My favorite doctor wasn't there yet so I had to see my LEAST favorite doctor, the one that said my baby without a heartbeat at 6 weeks wouldn't survive. Ugh. Fine, I'm thinking whatever, maybe that was a one time incident and I better make friends with her cuz she could be delivering my baby when the time comes.

She comes in to the u/s room and takes her own look at the baby and voila, he is in a great position! She finds all the things she needs to find, and takes a look at the kidneys. She tells me that BOTH ureters are enlarged and it doesn't look good to her. She says that Patches has a 1% chance of having Down's and asked if I had declined genetic testing - UMMM, NO, I had NT scan and quad screen (hello, read my chart before you say stupid crap???). Both came back with extremely low risk. She gives me the speech about what I can do, amnio, etc. So she leaves the room, I clean up and go for my office visit.

I talked to her during the office visit and had her explain it further. She was less abrupt but still not reassuring at all. She was obviously trying to be nicer but I guess it's just not in her nature. After talking with her, we totally ruled out an amnio, she basically said not to do it unless we'd terminate (which just isn't in the cards for us).

Baker was with me and he really seems to not be concerned. And maybe my instincts are terrible, but my gut is telling me that it is not a genetic/chromosomal issue. There are a few reasons for that, first being that my quad screen was so very normal, and the fact that there are literally no other markers for it present in his little body. In addition to all of this, the ureters were measured no less than 2 WEEKS AGO and they were totally normal. I remember that distinctly.

So, we're facing one of 4 outcomes:

1) Patches has Down's.

2) Patches has hydronephrosis and will require surgery after he's born

3) Patches has hydronephrosis due to reflux and will require monitoring after he's born

4) Patches has hydronephrosis but it will resolve itself when he's born - this is simply an in-utero condition.

The wonderful nesties have suggested this one:

5) Nothing is wrong with Patches, he's fine and the doc is full of crap.

My gut tells me that it is not #1, but to brace myself for either 2, 3 or 4, but hopefully 5.

Sorry this is so long, thanks for listening. I am really feeling okay - I really have this whole "whatever happens, he's my baby and I'll deal with it" attitude about it all.

20 weeks 1 day!

I made it halfway! I'm very excited about that. But, I am not very big :( Lots of comments about how small I am. Starting to freak me out a bit so I am going to ask the doc about it tomorrow. I'll post a pic!

BIG u/s tomorrow - I know, we already know it's a boy, but still, it's the BIG u/s anyway :) Big anatomy scan to check the little boy out! He's kicking the hec out of me so I am hoping all is well.

Snow on the ground today, about 3-4 inches. Messy out there so I am not leaving the house today! Here's some pictures of Roxy romping in the snow as well. She actually likes it, strangely enough, but she isn't enjoying the cold!

I'll post tomorrow after the u/s!

It's a BOY!

Okay, it's been way too long since I posted. So, I'll post a few pictures here including BELLY PICS!

So I went in last Wednesday (10/22) for an appointment, and Baker came with me! I immediately noticed that they didn't plan on doing an u/s because they had the doppler out and everything... so I basically had to talk the doc into doing an u/s because a) the doc last time told me I was going to have an u/s in 2 weeks and b) they said they wanted to check the size of the cerebellum - they couldn't get a good measurement on it last time. So, I had about a 30 minute u/s and they discovered it was a BOY! Suddenly, the tech asked if we were going to find out the sex of the baby, to which we replied, yes! And she said, well, good, because I just got a great shot. She moved the wand over the pelvis of the baby and voila, there was a little penis! She said, see that? That's not going to fall off... you're having a boy! We're thrilled to say the least :)

Took me awhile to post on here because I went to Maryland to visit Robyn and Andrew - WAY too much fun. I was there from my birthday until Wednesday. So nice to visit with them - they took me out for my birthday to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. Then, we had a b-day party for Andrew, his 30th! They had lots of people over and the theme was Beer Olympics - they had lots of drinking games. Robyn named me the judge, which was actually a lot of fun and I got to participate even though I couldn't drink :)

So, it's back to the real world here in Ravenna - when I arrived back, it was SNOWING. Seriously? Yeah, seriuosly. I couldn't believe it. Last night I had a little Halloween get together - cooked Spinach Dip, Pumpkin Dip, Chili and Pumpkin cheesecake. I am so proud! It was great. Stacy, Wes and his girlfriend, Russia came. I had no trick or treaters, though - they trick or treated early. I didn't get the memo, haha. I thought for sure we'd still have SOME trick or treaters, but I seriously didn't get ONE! So, now I have a ton of candy if anyone wants any. Baker wasn't home last night and when Stacy was getting ready to leave, we noticed 3 COP CARS in my driveway. I was totally scared. We went out there and asked what was going on, and one of the cops took us aside and said there was a domestic disturbance across the street. They had the lady in the back of one of the cars trying to calm her down, poor thing. Totally scary to happen when Baker was on call, and I feel awful for the lady. But, they eventually left, Stacy left, and I stayed up super late. Must have been the little bit of Coke I had, haha!

Anyway, I thought I should post some u/s pics and some belly pics, so here we go!

First one is baby at 16 weeks 2 days.

Second one is a belly pic I took this week - I know it doesn't look like much, but believe me, it is!

Third one is the phenomenon from this morning... that bulge is from me laying on my back and my uterus sticking up. The left side was ROCK HARD! Weird... and cool! It moved, too!!

14 week 2 day ultrasound

I am 14 weeks 2 days and oh my gosh. This was the best u/s yet (besides, maybe, seeing the hb after thinking that this pg wasn't going to work out). Baby is big enough now where they quit measuring crown to rump length, now they take measurements of the head, abdomen, femur, etc. Baby is measuring right on time! I just watched in awe. I couldn't believe how much stuff I could see and how many things they were showing me - baby's brain, the 4 chambers of the heart, all of these bones... just wow. The tech did not venture a guess at the sex, she said she took a quick look and said that it was still really ambiguous. I am a bit disappointed but I figured that's what would happen :) Tech left the room to get the doc and I just cried and stared at the pictures she printed for me. Doc came in and I had tears all over my face.

I met with the nurse, Dana, and she was great. Told me lots of good stuff and asked me lots of good questions. Even gave me suggestions for pediatricians, apparently, they want to know that ASAP! And they're still on me about which hospital to deliver at - I think I am going to go with Akron General just because I know students that rotated there and patients were happy with their care there. Plus, from what I understand, choosing between Summa and General is a toss up anyway, even the nurses who had strong opinions admitted that.

I also talked briefly with the lactation consultant - the nurses LOVE me because I've made it very clear how determined I am to breastfeed. Must be rare these days, or there, or something because they did make a big deal out of it. Well, then, YAY for me! haha.

Saw Dr. Hajitis briefly, he didn't have much to say except that the subchorionic hemmorage appears to be GONE (YAY!) and that things look really good :) I couldn't be more pleased, I am tearing up as I think about it. So he wants me back in 2 weeks, so I'll be there October 22nd!

I go back in 2 weeks. Yay for lots of ultrasounds, I CANNOT get enough of this!

14 weeks!

Yep, I'm 14 weeks today. Haven't updated in awhile because I haven't had an ultrasound since the NT scan.

Things are good here. The job search has been totally fruitless, though. Well, except for a part time job that I worked at once and the guy hasn't called me since - to be honest, I don't think he could afford the help. It was sad, the guy lost his business and had to move it all into a home office. He just needs help organizing, but I don't think he can afford the help he needs in the meantime. I really do hope for the best for him, though. He has a great business idea and I hope it takes off someday.

We went to Ann Arbor this past weekend, which was a blast. I am always so sad to leave because it is always so nice to spend time with Dave and Lauren. We did some fun stuff - farmer's market, local restaurants, watched the Texas game and Baker even got to go to a guy's night with Dave.

In pregnancy news, I am feeling much better! I'm in the 2nd trimester and I am so thankful to be in the 2nd trimester haha. My energy is back and I am nowhere near as nauseated. But, my energy is NOT what it used to be, as made obvious by my weekend. So much fun and I am EXHAUSTED today.

I have a bit of a belly, and now I know for SURE it is all baby because it doesn't go away like the bloat did. It just stays! All the time! But I really just look bloated or like I ate a big meal haha.

I have an ultrasound Wednesday so I'll post more then.

11 weeks 3 days

I'm so behind! Okay, since my last post I have had two ultrasounds. Ultimately, the RE won the battle between the ultrasounds and I had one at 10 weeks 1 day. It was great to see the baby - he/she was really moving around and the arms and legs were more defined.

I had another ultrasound on Wednesday at 11 weeks 1 day for my NT scan. The measurement was 1.7mm so that's WONDERFUL. Gotta wait for the bloodwork to come back, but it looks as though we may have ruled out Down's and Trisomy 18, which is a good thing. At my age, I have a low risk anyway, but I am not going to turn down any tests to rule out any potential issues with the baby. Plus, who doesn't want another excuse to see the baby? I have my doppler at home but there's nothing like actually SEEING the baby. This time, Baker got to come! He asked for time off to come and see me and the resident gave him the whole day off! I think that the whole ultrasound experience is a little overwhelming for us. Both of us just kind of watch the screen in amazement - I think the ultrasound tech is looking for us to say more, but there just isn't much to say when there is something so amazing to look at. It's just such a personal experience. In any case, baby was most certainly asleep this time and didn't want to move so the tech had to poke my stomach so the baby would jump so that she could get a good measurement on the NT. Anyway, all went well and I go back in 3 weeks for another ultrasound.

Only issue is this whole subchorionic hemmorage thing - apparently, it is staying the same size, not growing, not shrinking, just there. Thank goodness (knock on wood) I haven't had any actual bleeding from it, which is good. The doc I saw at 10 weeks said that if I have actual bleeding that he'll put me on bedrest so I am doing my best to avoid that by taking it really easy.

In belly news, the belly that I had has shrunk! I guess the bloat has finally gone away and what I do have is actual uterus and baby. That's exciting but it's a little scary to see the potbelly that I had disappear! Still a little something but not much.

So my doppler's batteries totally died last night, which doesn't surprise me because I've been using it a lot. But it's scary, because the thing didn't SLOWLY die, it just died! So I hope it's the batteries! I need to run out to Wal-Mart to get some things today anyway, so I will be heading there sooner than later so I have batteries for my doppler! Even though I am getting more and more relaxed about this pregnancy (the doc on Wednesday actually told me to relax) I still want to check on baby often with the doppler.

In other news, I am telling EVERYONE on Monday. Monday is D-Day for me. The wonderful SAIF girls have given me some WONDERFUL advice on dealing with telling my parents, so I will be sending them a card. I think that this is a wonderful solution to a sticky situation, so I am excited about it. Hopefully, mail service in Houston has resumed in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

Ultrasound pictures below - first, the 10 week ones and then the 11 week ones.

10 weeks today!

So.... I'm 10 weeks today! YAY! I can't believe it. I really am already starting to stick out a bit and it's crazy. I think it's freaking Baker out a bit haha! I'll take a picture tomorrow.

So my doctors are fighting about when my next ultrasound should be. My doctor in Akron asked me to ask my doctors back in San Antonio when I can start weaning off of the progesterone in oil shots. So, I did and I got a phone call back with a weaning protocol and a request that I have 2 more ultrasounds before they completely release me from their care. Okay... fine, but I am sensing trouble from my office in Akron. I was right. I am caught in the middle of a big issue where my doc in San Antonio believes that I need an ultrasound this Wednesday and my doctor in Akron does not. Doc in Akron said that they will bring me in for one but because they don't deem it medically necessary, they will file it with insurance but they don't think that my insurance will pay for it. WTF? So I am going back and forth between San Antonio and Akron, and San Antonio says I don't see what the big deal is, they have a diagnosis code for the order, etc. Akron finally said that they want to talk to San Antonio directly - good, take me out of the equation. But, they missed each other on Friday and they'll have to talk today. We'll see what happens with that. I'm waiting to hear now. My favorite part of this whole thing was the nurse from San Antonio, Lisa, calling me and telling me that she argued with Akron saying "if something happens to this baby, do you want that on your head?" haha. She said that she thinks that made the nurse mad. Oh well. I'll update when I find out, but San Antonio is pretty adament about this so if Akron still refuses, SA wants me to find an imaging center to do it at. Ugh. So we'll see....

9 weeks 2 days

9 weeks 2 days today and I had another ultrasound! YAY! All is well. Most of it.

Baby B is definitely gone. The sac has shrunk and now looks empty. I'm sad, but I am trying to think that this must have happened for a reason. Still, it's awful.

The good news is that the other baby is doing wonderfully :) Measuring right on time, heartbeat of 167 which I got to HEAR today - OH MY GOSH. Wow. My baby's heartbeat! And it sounded SOOO fast! Baker was with me and he was so happy, this was the first u/s he has been able to come to. Baby looks like a gummy bear, SOO cute. I saw him/her move its little legs and it was so unbelievable. WOW!

Only other thing that they saw was a pocket of blood between the two sacs (the other sac is there but very small) Doc said it's nothing to worry about but you know me better than that....


Thanks everyone for listening! New pics above of our gummy bear!

Next u/s is in 2 weeks for the Nuchal Translucency scan, 9/17/08 at 8:30am.

Kelly

8 weeks 3 days

Ultrasound from 7 weeks!

Yep, it's already been awhile and I'm falling behind on my job here. It's really hard to start blogging when you haven't done it before!

Anyway, yep, I am 8 weeks 3 days today. I have less than a week until my next ultrasound. Where did I leave off? Who knows, I'll retell the story. At my 6 week 0 day ultrasound, they didn't see a heartbeat so my doc totally freaked me out saying that my pregnancy could "go either way". So then I had one continuous heart attack for a week until my next ultrasound. At that ultrasound, the tech spent a lot of time looking. She was great - after about 10 seconds of looking, she stopped, put her hand on my arm and said, "Kelly, before I go any further, I want you to know that I see a baby and a heartbeat". I melted into tears and the u/s tech got me some tissues. Of course, then I was elated and I started telling her my whole story. She was great. When she did the internal ultrasound, we saw a 2nd sac!!! There was no heartbeat in there, though. The doc later told me that he didn't think the twin would make it and that I may experience some spotting, etc. as I lose the twin. Well, so far, nothing (knock on wood) but we'll have to see in a week what happened with that baby. I am praying and praying that they both make it. So, that day was a day of GREAT joy and some sadness, too, worrying about the twin. I swear, people were right - you NEVER stop worrying in a pregnancy.

So that's where I am at. I am still looking for a job while dealing with morning sickness and a lot of weakness. But, I did manage to find a way to make a little cash - I am an expeditor for Cha Cha - you know, the service where you text them a question and they give you an answer. So far, it's a great gig and easy to do.

So, I am trying to rest and at least be a good housewife. I try to cook as often as possible so that Baker can have something to eat when he gets home. Also, it's so much cheaper than going out, but if you know me at all, I'd go out every meal :) Yesterday, I made homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. They are SOOO good. And I made Baked Ziti for dinner - go me! I love making that because it's easy, we love it, and it makes LOTS of leftovers. Plus it's cheapo to make. See? So today I don't have to make anything - leftovers night! YAY. Then tomorrow is Friday and I sometimes get away with going out on Friday nights for dinner :)

Hello, Blogger!

So I decided to start a pregnancy blog. It seems like it would be easier for me to do than keep a paper journal, and I really want to keep a record of my pregnancy. So, here goes!

Baker and I got married on July 19, 2003. We lived in Houston for 2 years and worked, and then we decided to move to the Cay.man Is.lands so that Baker could attend medical school. While we were there, we decided to start trying for a baby. That didn't go so well and I ended up having multiple miscarriages. I knew that things were going wrong so I actually saw a doc down there and started Clomid. Clomid wasn't working and I was frustrated, so I sought another opinion and he diagnosed me with PCOS. Well, that ended up being totally incorrect. Clearly, I needed out of that country if I was going to get the correct care. But, leaving Cayman meant leaving stability behind - we moved to Miami, Washington DC, and Chicago all within the next year or so.

Finally, when I discovered that we were going to be in Massachusetts for awhile, I made an appointment with an RE there. So, in August 2007, I started treatment. First, IUIs. I was to do 3 and if they didn't work, then we'd move on to IVF. From September to February, I did 5 IUIs, 2 of which were cancelled. Obviously, they didn't work. So, I started the IVF process. The first time looked really great, but at egg retrieval, they only got 5 eggs. Luckily, though, 4 of those fertilized and grew to great embryos. In fact, they even pushed me to a day 5 transfer. I was a little wary since we didn't have that many embryos but I was really happy because day 5 transfers are a good thing, right? So on a Friday morning, I prepared for my embryo transfer. Right before we left, I got the phone call that I will never forget - all 4 embryos had arrested. There would be no transfer. I was devastated. I don't ever remember being so upset and that may be the darkest day of my life so far. I picked Baker up at the hospital and we just went and cried together. Luckily, we agreed on a very rash decision - get the HELL out of Massachusetts. So, with the help of my wonderful in-laws, we flew to San Antonio and spent the weekend there. Again, a rash decision, but a good one. It helped a lot.

We decided to jump right in to another IVF cycle. I talked to the doc and he promised that things would be different this time. We used a different medication. But this time, I didn't respond at all. They retrieved 4 eggs and NONE FERTILIZED. I was so numb at that point that I expected it. So, that was the end of Massachusetts. The next day, we packed up and left and went back to San Antonio for Baker to study for Step II. We went on the MOST AMAZING vacation - a transatlantic cruise. So, I went from some of the darkest times in my entire life to some of the best. It was the perfect thing for us to get our minds off of everything we had been through. We met a great couple on the trip and we ended up just playing all the time. It was wonderful.

So, back to San Antonio. We found out ON THE CRUISE that Baker's stupid school wasn't going to let him take a board semester to study for Step II so he would have to do rotations. He set up a rotation in Chicago thanks to his resourcefulness AND the big heart of a doc up in Chicago. In the meantime, Baker got an interview at a med school he had applied to transfer to! So, it was a crazy summer for us. On top of all of this, I had started to see a doc in San Antonio and we were starting another IVF cycle!!! To keep the story short, Baker got in to the school, and we got our lives together and moved to NE Ohio. The day we arrived up here, I found out I was pregnant :) Whew, what a story, huh???