The Big Sister

I am utterly shocked that I have not posted about THE Grace. Grace is our Silky Terrier. We have had her since she was two months old; she is going to be 8 on November 29.  Grace is spoiled, sassy and stubborn. She is also very smart. Too smart sometimes. She knows how to work us to get what she wants. She also does what she wants when she wants. We love her! We also talk about her a lot, and apparently I talk about her as if she were our human child. Twice now someone who had not known me well overheard me talking about Grace and commented that she did not know we had a daughter :)

Anyhow, THE Grace is absolutely thrilled that she is going to be a big sister (see picture below for proof). We have been prepping her since we first started for a baby four years ago. She gets along great with kids (even those that chase her and pull on her). We can stick our hand in her food dish, take food away and she will either eat around it or walk away. She shares her toys. She has never bit a human (dogs are another story). Our only concern is going to be toys. Grace loves toys, and up until now all toys and really anything else that she wants to play with (except Todd's Transformers) have been hers to play with. We do not know how we are going to teach her that the baby's toys are not hers to play with. Any suggestions?

As for baby news, we were 13 weeks last Saturday! Other than the frequent bathroom trips (which are lessening!), being tired and the night sweats, I do not feel pregnant. Let's hope this keeps up!

Thanks to those who are still reading - I love the comments! I have been a bad commenter and I apologize for that, but please know that I have been reading your blogs as you update them and have been thinking and praying for you all <3

Absolutely Beautiful!

We had our second u/s today. What a beautiful sight! Baby is continuing to measure right on track - 9w2d. The heartbeat was a healthy 175bpm. His/her little arm and leg buds were moving like crazy. The u/s tech commented on how active he/she was :) 

We also had our first apt. with a regular ob. He commented on how healthy the placenta/baby looked and told me to keep doing whatever it was that I was doing because it was working. We couldn't have asked for better news than that!! The due date is still February 12, 2011.

I am still not experiencing morning sickness - not complaining! I use the bathroom about 15-20 times a day thanks to my tilted uterus. I could be sleeping better, but overall I cannot complain. This has been a (thankfully) uneventful pregnancy thus far.

I am still on the progesterone injections 2x daily and taking Estrace 2x daily. Once the NEDC gets the results from the ob, I will know whether or not I cannot reduce the amount or even stop taking one or both completely. If I can stop the injections, Todd and I won't know what to do with ourselves at 10AM and 10PM everyday (though I am sure we can think of something!) :)

Our next u/s and apt. with our ob is schedule for Monday, August 2 or in 3 weeks when we will be at the start of our 2nd trimester.

I have a lot of posts yet to post of what has been going over the past couple of weeks which I will post soon (so patience DANA BURCH!). Those posts will get you up to do date with what has been going on....

The Sights & Sounds of The Day

Today's ultrasound made up for the four years of seeing an empty womb on the monitor. The tech had no problem locating our precious baby :) He/she is measuring 6w1d with a heartbeat of 119. Along with the u/s, I had blood work done.  We will find out tomorrow whether or not we need to keep up with the Progesterone shots and Estrace.

In other news, I still don't have any nausea. I do have to go to the bathroom at least once an hour. At night it is even worse - I probably go to the bathroom 5-6 times in the first hour after I lay down. I eventually get up because I can't sleep. I have been falling asleep around 3AM for the last two weeks. Not fun, but at least I am on summer break! Heartburn hasn't been bad since that first weekend after implantation took place. I am hungry more often but have actually lost 4 pounds since we found out I was pregnant. However, I do not fit into any of my pants OR shorts due to the bloating. A shopping trip is needed in the near future to solve this problem as I am getting tired of wearing the few bottoms that I own that actually fit me. Good thing I will be home on Friday to go shopping with my mom!

No other news to report as of now. I do have a week's worth of old posts that I will post within the next couple days. I know you all will be waiting for them :)

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers - GOD is good!

*Baby is circled in pink!

No News Is Good News?

No News Is Good News - isn't that what people always say? Anyhow, I got my blood work done too late (I forgot about the time difference). By the time the results were sent to NEDC, they were closed. Well, I am guessing that is what happened because we did not hear from NEDC today. What is one more day, right?! Ugh. I did not give in to taking a HPT so we are totally in the dark. Hopefully, they call first thing in the morning!

On another note, I have not spotted anymore since Friday evening though I have had that 'feeling' I get before my cycle does start since then. The heartburn comes and goes as does the rash. The rash is becoming more concerning though as it is worse than before when it does appear (it comes and goes within minutes sometimes). I have tried to figure out the cause, but each time I think I know what is causing it, I am proven wrong. I hope to get into the dermatologist this week. As for other 'symptoms,' I have not wanted to eat because anything with a lot of flavor or substance has been giving me horrible heartburn. I have been living on cereal, strawberries, Goldfish Crackers, McDonald's Strawberry shakes and Chick-Fil-A for the last couple of days. Not super healthy, I know, but besides the heartburn, nothing sounds good or tastes good either.

On a third note, my current perspective: I am not seeing the glass half full or half empty, but rather even. I don't feel one way or another about this transfer. I think I have had my hopes up too many times before and got crushed, but obviously I think this can work or I wouldn't have gone through it all again. I am trying not to let Satan win this battle....Make sense?!

Before I go, I want to thank those of you who are following us for your thoughts, prayers and encouragement - all make this journey a bit easier!

Praying for good news tomorrow!

New BFFs: Maalox and Benadryl

Never can I remember having heartburn this bad. I woke up with it yesterday and have been battling with it on and off since. Not knowing whether or not I am pregnant, I didn't want to take anything. I finally had to give in, and after finding out what was alright to take, am downing Maalox every few hours for relief. While I am sure the two are not related, I also have been breaking out with hives and red splotches that itch. Again, once finding out what I could take, I am taking Benadryl along with the Maalox. Sweet relief! FYI: If I am pregnant the baby(ies) do not like Pizza Xplosive Flavor Blasted Goldfish crackers. Not only did this cause heartburn, but also an upset stomach.

*Warning: May contain TMI
On a more serious note, I spotted a bit yesterday (10 days past transfer of 3 3-day old embryos). Nothing heavy and it did only last yesterday, but it still left me a bit uneasy for two reasons. One, spotting while pregnant or waiting to find out if you are pregnant is almost never good. And, two, this is typical for my cycle. Spot one day, skip the next, and then the official start of my period a day after the spotting. Please be praying that the spotting was a one day thing and not the start of my next cycle.