IVF Graduates thread!! - Page 83

[renavoo]

Hi ladies!

Aura, good for you! I will just chime in and say that my doctors also wanted me to gain a significant amount of weight. And, I read books that suggested a 24 lb weight gain during the first 24 weeks. So I ate whenever the nausea would let me and i gained the weight.

Blue, oh my gosh, what a GORGEOUS image!! He's so cute, just like his mom and dad! :o) I am so excited that you're doing so well. I think of you all the time, even though I don't sign on as much because everything is so crazy.

Hope, I totally understand now, what you mean about wanting to keep the pregnancy going while at the same time, wanting it to end. I've had my first and final pregnancy. And while i'm over the moon with the babies and so happy that they are here, I still get twinges of sadness, especially when I see my pregnant friends, that I will never be pregnant again. I will never feel the little kicks. I used to giggle over their hiccups. I used to play with their hands (or feet) when they stuck them out. Sometimes, this feeling is overwhelming and i just sit there and stew quietly. (It actually makes me wonder if I have a weird form of post partum depression- weird because most of the time, I'm very happy but there are just these bipolar swings that really affect me). But all I can say is to enjoy the last few weeks!

Shesaidboom, YAH!!! I'm so excited for you!!!! Congrats!

Vireos, congrats and welcome!!

Belly, i hope you're getting more sleep again. :o)

Tenzi, hope you had a great trip!

Everyone else, hi :o) Sorry I'm MIA so much. Work is insanely busy and then I rush home to be with my babies (hah including my big baby, DH). my little ones are smiling and interacting so much and it is so incredibly fun and at the same time, so sad that they are growing so quickly. My boy is now more than 20lbs!! I can't believe how fast he's growing. My little girl is around 17-18lbs. We have a doctor's visit on Thursday so I'll be asking if my baby boy is getting too fat- he's definitely a chubster but he doesn't actually eat that much! At least I don't think he does. He eats about 6oz breast milk 4 times a day and rice cereal two to three times a day (rice cereal mixed with some breast milk). The latest feeding at 6:30pm, he often doesn't even finish his 6oz! So I'm hoping that it's just that he's got the genes to grow large. I think last time we measured him, he was in the 95th percentile for all the measurements. Anyone have any thoughts about this?

My little girl has crazy chipmunk cheeks that I bite any moment I can ;o) She's also getting so much more limber and now has a habit of rolling to get where she wants to go. She's also so cute because we have toys on a table by her crib and she will frequently be seen sticking her hand through the slats of the crib to grab a toy. But her favorite toy of all? A piece of tissue. She'll sit there patiently shredding the piece of tissue paper.

Every day is a wonder. That's why my heart is so broken when I think of what those poor parents have to go through in CT. I want to stop watching the news because I feel like it is only making me more fearful for my children's future. *Shaking head*

Anyway, sorry for rambling. just wanted to check in and to say hi and to hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

[vireoes]

Aura-I am glad you made the switch to a new doctor.  Your old clinic doesn't sound like a place you can really trust. Regarding weight gain, even with good doctors I take what they say with a grain of salt.  My first pregnancy one visit they would complain I gained too much weight, so I would be very careful with what I was eating.  The next appt they would complain that I hadn't gained enough weight.  Even just before my dd was due I was still getting this.  One week, eat more the baby is too small, the next stop eating the baby is too large.  Turns out she is a really tall girl with a really small head circumference (just like her daddy), they just couldn't decide what measurement was most important.  In the end as long as you have a reasonably healthy relationship with food, I would trust yourself and your body to know what you need.  You can diet after the babies come, no is not the time to cut back.  Feed those growing little babies, just try not to go to overboard on it.  

Tenzin-I hope you had a wonderful trip.

Hope-Wow you are getting so close.  I had lots of mixed feelings before the birth of DD.  I image feeling the same way as we get close to the end of this pregnancy.  So with this being your last, having mixed feeling is pretty normal.  Wow it is going to be an exciting new year for you.  I hope everything goes smooth for the delivery.  It is our second and baring a natural miracle will be our last.  I will be 40 when this one is born, so I can't image going through this process again.  Two was what we had always thought would be ideal for us.  I am waiting to get to the fun parts of being pregnant that I will miss.  This first trimester business I would be happy to never revisit or think about again.  

Shesaidboo: Yeah, welcome to the other side.

AFM-I am totally exhausted all the time now.  I try to nap with DD every day and go to bed early as well.  Consequently I never seem to have a minute to myself anymore.  My free time used to be while she napped and after bedtime.  I have only thrown up a few times, but I live in constant yuck land.  I will be glad to see the end of the first trimester and start feeling more like a human being again.  I go back in early Jan and should get an appt to do the nuchal screening shortly there after.  I can't wait to see how the little bean has grown.  We will probably start telling people after that screening.  Our immediate family and a few friends know now.

[shesaidboom]

Thanks so much for the good thoughts!

I have sort of a weird question. Has anyone had a negative experience with their fertility clinic after getting their BFP? Have they been rude, or even hostile towards you? We've had amazing experiences with some of the staff at our clinic, and not so good ones with others, but ever since we got our BFP they are rude every time we talk to them and don't seem to want anything to do with us even though they're supposed to keep seeing us until 10 or 12 weeks. I know that we're really just a paycheck for them, but it really caught me off guard. Any similar experiences here?

[blueyezz4]

Just a quick one right now b/c i have to go into work to do a continuing education thing so i have to run but wanted to respond to SheSaid's ? Hopefully more personals later.. i'm kinda crazy busy b/c we are going to have about 20 family here on Christmas eve and then part of my family will stay until the Friday after Christmas so i'm trying to get everything ready

SSB -  that does seem really weird.  Both RE's that i have gone to that I got BFP's w/ (one IUI and the other IVF - none that resulted in a take home baby) released me to my reg OB after he had found a good heartbeat on the ultrasounds, so if you have that already i don't see why you can't just go to your reg OB now and dump that mean RE's office!!!!!!    That is my thought!!!!  You were the one that the receptionist was so rude to initially on the phone when you called in to tell her you got a BFP right, I remember reading that on my phone from the other thread but w/ pregnancy brain i can't remember if that was you or someone else.
 

[auraleigh]

shesaid, that's ridiculous!  especially since your bfp will increase their stats, you'd think they'd be nice to you!  everyone was really nice to me post bfp, as it just made them look good.  at least you'll be out of there soon!

[deborahbgkelly]

Joining you over here :-). Guess date is 9/4/13.

[shesaidboom]

blueyezz and aura - thank you for your thoughts on the weird vibes from my clinic. We're having our ultrasound on Jan. 8th, and if we get our heartbeat then I think we're out of there! Our first RE said we stay there until 10 weeks, but what are they going to do for those extra weeks? Our "guess date" is August 17th. I already cannot wait!

deborah - congrats! I'm so so glad you got your BFP and are joining us! YAY!

[auraleigh]

renavoo- love hearing about the babies! i can't believe they are growing so quickly! i'm waiting patiently for more photos :P

congrats deborah!

shesaid-  it was actually weird for me to graduate from the ivf dr at 10 weeks, because my ivf dr didn't do any OB stuff, and by the time i went to the OB, they assumed the ivf dr did everything!  

afm, finally met my new ob and i love him.  he's really easy going, very up front, and answered all my questions.  he actually spent 40 minutes with us, which was 30 min longer than both my appts combined at the last dr!  he told me that he is not concerned about my weight.  i'm not gaining an insane amount, so he said to just try and eat healthy and not stress out about it.  tomorrow i need to call the peri and set up my anatomy scan, cervical length check, and fetal echocardiogram.  he said the echo was because we did ivf.  did anyone else have this?   he also did a two minute ultrasound (i begged!) so we got to watch baby b beating up baby a.  he didn't check for sexes though, so i suppose i have to wait for the anatomy scan.  i am SO IMPATIENT.  i'm tempted to go to the local 3d ultrasound place and just pay for a gender scan!

[deborahbgkelly]

I forgot to update that EDD is now 9/2. Thanks for the congratulatory messages! I'm feeling nice and tired and having boobie pain :-).

[Keria]

Hi everyone,

We were super busy with the stores so I've been MIA but I've been reading on the phone its just  from  a pain in the butt to post from there. i hope everyone had a great holiday.

Deborah Congrats!! glad to see you here!

Blue I love the u/s pics what a cute little guy. Can't wait to see him.

Belly what does a sleep doula do? I'm interested in some kind of sleep training that does not involve CIO. My kids still wake up several times at night and it's getting old. I'll send you a pm about fb. I'll do the same so if anyone wants to add me in fb send me a pm.

Congrats and welcome to all the recent grads. I'm cheering on all of you.

[deborahbgkelly]

Thanks Keria!

[BucketOfRain]

Hi ladies, I would like to join your group!

We completed our first ivf cycle in November and were successful! I am currently 9 weeks, due August 4th. This is baby #2 for us and we dealt with two years of unexplained infertility before getting our bfp. I still am having difficulty accepting that this is really happening. After trying for so long I just didn't think it was ever going to happen and had even gotten to some sort of zen zone with that reality. Anyone else have difficulty adjusting to the pregnancy world from the infertility world?. I don't think I will ever really leave that world after struggling for so long.

[Vegan Princess]

Bucket: Congrats! I could accept I was pregnant but couldn't believe I would actually have a healthy baby. And even now that she is here, I have this fear that I am going to be told something is wrong with her. It's not overwhelming or anything too crazy, but I just still and SO incredibly grateful and amazed that she is even here! I took my first shot on xmas day last yr - after hearing my SIL was pregnant with her 3rd baby - I cried my eyes out before that shot bc I felt like it would never happen for us. I felt so truly blessed on xmas this yr, holding my baby!

Aura: I'm so glad you got a new doc and that he had time to spend with you! I used a midwife for my first baby and when I started seeing the OB after IVF this time, I felt so sad for how little time the doc spent with people compared to the midwife. I did switch to a midwife halfway thru this preg and those visits were all at least an hour long.

I'm so happy to see new faces in here!! 

I can't believe my baby turned 3 months old yesterday! Time is going way too fast for my liking! Aria is probably about 12 lbs now. So smiley and just generally a sweet, easy going baby. #2 has definitely been easier than #1 was. LOL. 

Cindy

[deborahbgkelly]

Bucket- Congrats and welcome! For me, the pregnancy isn't hard to adjust to, but it is hard to believe we will have a LO in our arms in September. I mean, I actually feel really good about this pregnancy resulting in a take-home baby, but I have my anxious/doubtful moments.

[renavoo]

HI everyone! just checking in...

Deborah, I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to follow you through your pregnancy!

Bucket, Welcome! I agree with Vegan...sometimes, i can't believe that i have my babies, much less that I was pregnant. Those years of BFNs really do a number on us psychologically, I think, but I'm just grateful at all our successes. We're the lucky ones and I am just hopeful for all women who were in our shoes and dealing with infertility. YAH and congrats!

Keria, UGH to the babies still waking up! That has got to be exhausting! I hope that this changes soon. What are you thinking are your next steps?

Aura, I love love love reading your updates :o) i'm so happy you love your new OB. Considering how important they are and what a role they play in our lives, it's important we have a great relationship with the OBs. haha you know, at 12 weeks, my US technician guessed at the sexes of our babies and she was right. Maybe you can have them do that? that would be fun. Do you have a "feeling" about what the babies are?

Shesaidboom, aim for August 18th. hehe the best birthday ever besides June 19th ;o) (Aug 18th is my birthday hehe June 19th is my babies so I'll give them the edge in best birthdays. haha) Also, ugh to the fertility clinic. I graduated from the fertility clinic once they got notice that we heard the heartbeats (my fertility clinic was out of state so I went local for the US.) But both clinics were so nice to us. The local clinic was the clinic I left to go to the out of town clinic too. So, they had a good reason to treat me more coldly but they were really happy for us. So i DEFINITELY do not like your fertility clinic! I hope, since you have to be there for an extended period of time, that this was just a fluke and they are nicer for your next visits!

Blue, how are you feeling? I hope you're not too tired out after the large family festivities! Give Abby a hug for me!

Everyone else, hi! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here are a couple of pictures of my babies. Things are wonderful here, although I'm also still exhausted all the time. It's not the babies' fault since they pretty much sleep from 9pm to 5am and sometimes even 6am. However, I'm still pumping for them so I'm up at 11pm pumping and then again at 5am. But the worst thing is, I end up waking up around 4am and not being able to sleep again. ARGH! But then I see my babies smiling and all is well! :o)

[shesaidboom]

aura - your new ob sounds wonderful! I'm glad the appointment went so well. How far along are you now?

deborah - isn't the boobie pain awful? Mine ache, but when I go outside in the cold it just gets terrible!

bucketofrain - congrats to you! I saw you somewhere in the August DDC and got really excited to see your name pop up. I'm due in August too, but am 7 weeks right now. I can definitely relate to the difficulty adjusting to pregnancy from infertility. I am not sure I will really believe this is happening until I have that baby in my arms. It just feels so surreal. I hope it does get easier for both of us as we get further along.

vegan - I'm loving the baby updates from everyone! Aria sounds wonderful.

renavoo - it would be nice to have the babe on your birthday! I do not like my clinic either, aside from a couple of the people there, so I'm really hoping they kick us out once we see the heartbeat on Jan.8.
Also, could your babies be any cuter? They always look so smiley! I love it. You are a great photographer too.

[TenzinsMama]

Hi everyone!  Thanks for asking about my holiday. We had a great time in Antigua, it was really hard to come back home so soon-- it was 7 nights, but it would have been better if it had been 10.  It is a beautiful island, and it was plain fun being there with the kids, but also, more time would have been good because it takes time for the kids to adjust to the time change, for us to get settled in to our surroundings, etc. It was sooooo nice, it was 30 degrees Celsius, and back here at home it was minus 25 C a few nights. DD was a little bit fussier on the plane than DS ever was, and well, as for him, he was a superstar traveler like always.  He amazes me sometimess... well, so much of the time.  We are at a really fun age now-- 2.5 years. He's really talking a lot now, and the tantrums have decreased dramatically. Phew!  Everyday is full of wonderment and discovery, and I love witnessing that.  He is SO much fun! Kids live in the moment, and it's such a gift to be part of that with him. DD just turned 7 months a couple of days ago. She's really sweet, and I call her my little angel.  The two of them adore each other, although once in a while DS gets a little jealous or he doesn't want to share his toys.  But most of the time he takes care of her, telling me when she needs 'booby' and giving her toys, etc.  When he's around, she doesn't even look at me, her eyes are on him the whole time and her face is lit up with the biggest smile. 

Rena, cute children, or what!  Are they sleeping right through the night, or are they waking up?  Oh my gosh, I.am.going.crazy. because DD is actually sleeping worse now than she ever has. Kind of my fault, because I've ended up bringing her to bed so I can nurse her, and then I fall asleep... so she has gotten used to sleeping with me and latching on and off through the night.  I never really made much of an effort to wake up and transfer her back to her crib, because I was always so worried about her waking up DS if she cried too hard.  Her sleep became bad just the past month, and I'm now looking to make some changes because it's not healthy for me to have so little sleep (seriously, the last couple of nights she has been up every hour or two)-- I feel just awful without having more sleep.  Basically, she can't self-soothe... She's teething now, too, so that could be making things worse. That's great that the pumping is still working out for you.  I pumped for the first time in weeks, and I quickly remembered why I don't like it-- I just have the $135 Medela pump, so it's not very efficient.  And that's with me having a good supply... good thing I didn't get the handpump, because I'd have no patience for sure.

Belly, I don't think you are on here much anymore, but if you read this, please know that I appreciated your response to me about the sleep and how you have had some luck with a sleep doula.  I may need to 'talk' with you further, if you don't mind...

Aura, so glad that you really like your new doc.  You need to have that on this journey. I've had some really great experiences with midwives and then a not-so-good  experience with one was part of the team this last time with DD, and what a difference.  It got to the point that I just said I didn't want to book appointments for when she was working. How are you feeling?

Blue, how are things?

Hope, have you had your baby yet?

Vegan, 3 months already, wow!  Things must be getting into a nice 'routine' for you now, I would guess. 

I know there are others on here that I've missed... I've got to run and get my son to bed, so I'll catch up more next time. One question before I sign off, however... Has anyone ever heard of women taking Gonal F, who aren't doing IVF?  I read about someone doing that, to increase the number of follies, without doing the whole IVF thing... Seems to me that it was kind of like the whole idea of taking Clomid or Femara. So I started thinking about that, and wondering if it really is the same or there is something that I'm not 'getting'. I mean, why wouldn't REs prescribe it on it's own, if that were the case?

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas, and all the best to each of you in 2013! xo

[blueyezz4]

Wow, I just logged on and saw that I hadn't even updated my ticker since I was 23 wks and now today I'm at 26wks!!!  With all the holiday craziness I've been reading along on my phone but just too busy to sit down and type.

Debroah & Bucketsofrain - welcome to you both!!  It's always nice to have new names over here.

Bucket- I'm still in shock that we are pregnant and I think my DH is even more.  I'm so very thankful that I'm in this place, but it is kinda hard not to guard yourself from something bad happening or something not being right.  At our last big ultrasound DH and i were walking out and he said to me "i don't know if I could go through this again to have another child b/c at every ultrasound I'm on the edge of my seat in fear that something could be wrong and it is mentally and emotionally draining & let alone scary".  We are just so thankful that all is going well and our babe is healthy so far and i really don't think we will believe it is all true until we are in that delivery room holding him.  I guess this is just the start of the worrying b/c it will never end even after we all give birth, you just worry about different things then.  Praying that you can find some peace in your pregnancy!!!!

Aura - so glad that your new OB is awesome!!!!!  We had a cervical check w/ our ultrasound w/ our twins but didn't do the fetal heart echo thought that i know of, but our twins were from an IUI so i don't know if that makes a difference or not.  Keep us posted on how it goes.  Can't wait until you get to find out genders!!!  Fun fun!!!

Rena - so the pics!!!  Your babes are too stinking cute!!!!  How are things going w/ work and all?  Still have the same nanny and is that going okay??  Hope things are well!!!! See my AFM to answer your questions.

Vireoes - how are you doing??  Hope you are feeling better.  When is your next ultrasound?  I know you said beginning of Jan.  Hope it goes well!!!

Keria - did things settle down some now that Christmas is over?  Is that why the store was so busy???

Vegan - can't believe your little one is 3months now!!!  Where did the time go??  Hope all is well w/ you!!!!

Kewpie - how are you doing??  How is the house coming too?

Belly - hope you are doing well too!!!

Tenzi and Lyndi - how are you both doing??? Tenzi how was your vac??

Hope - any baby news yet???  I forget when your official due date it again??  Thinking of you and hoping all is well!!!

Hi to everyone else i missed... i'm sure there are some but i was looking back just on this page and trying to rack my brains.

AFM - 26 wks today!!!!  So glad to get one more week under my belt every Sunday!!!!  Christmas eve day I ended up w/ a sinus infection and had to go into my pcp's office and they gave me an antibiotic (old school) so i finally feel more human, but we were suppose to have about 20 people here at our house and i really just felt like crap so my SIL took it instead.  My parents came over and my aunt and uncle from NC were also here though, but DH's family stayed away and he just went by himself to his sisters for their family gathering on Christmas eve while i stayed home w/ my family.  Still not 100% but much better than Monday.  I hate taking meds while pregnant, but it would be dangerous not to i guess and i am still blowing yellow so we will see what my OB says Thurs when i see her for my reg appt.  Tomorrow I have my 1hr glucose test, so i'm going to do that first thing in the morning.  We or I should say DH started to work on the nursery this week since he has been off work.  He is a perfectionist and it is becoming a bigger project than i expected.  I just asked him to paint and he needed to tear out the old carpet and it has turned into a drywall repair project and now he is finding that the previous owners must have finished those two room above our garage themselves after the house was finished (which the rest of the house is good quality) but those two rooms were not done by anyone w/ good skills.  DH keeps saying he wants to call Holms on Homes.  LOL.  So today he had to ripe out the closet trim and the door trim b/c it was all done wrong i guess.  We really haven't used those two rooms in the 8 yrs we have lived here they just have been kinda storage (one room was like an office and the other is a bedroom that we were planning on using as our nursery for our twins 3 yrs ago but hadn't done too much to them other than paint the ceiling and put in a ceiling fan).  I've also been looking at baby furniture as well and need to order that tomorrow b/c there is a sale and we need to make a decision b/c the one place told us that prices are likely to go up come the new year (maybe that was just to get us to buy now).  I'm trying to decide on color of wood and it has been such a pain b/c the set i like in the store looks like a different color than the brochure and online and i like the online/brochure color better but don't want it to lighten like it has in the store, so i'm stuck.  I'm going to call another store tomorrow to see if they have the set in a different color so maybe we can look at it there.  Ugh!!!!  Decisions, decisions!!!!  Hope to have ordered something by tomorrow night!!!!!  Fingers crossed!!!  I think it takes like 5 wks to get in so figure I'm not too early and then we have to figure out carpet.  Gosh, this is getting expensive!!  I need that money tree to grow in my yard for sure!!!!  Figure we will only do this once and if we happen to have another child that one will just have to have 2nds.  Who knows if that will happen... at this point, i'll be happy w/ one!!!  Funny how before we ever started trying I thought I wanted 3 children and now after all we have been through I'll feel blessed w/ just one!!!

[shesaidboom]

Tenzin - I used Gonal F (and the cycle before that Puregon, another injectible) when doing IUI in hopes of getting more than one follicle. I was on a very low dose though (50 units) and didn't end up with more than one follicle either time. Someone else in the Infertility One thread had the same dose of Gonal F and ended up with too many follicles to continue on an IUI cycle, so it does depend on the person, and it can be tricky to get more than 1 follicle, but not so many that you'd risk ending up with high order multiples.

Blueyezz - WOW! 26 weeks! That's so exciting. I'm glad you're feeling a little better, and I hope your glucose test goes well tomorrow.

I love Holmes on Homes! It used to be one of my favourite shows when I was going through a serious decorating phase. I can sadly relate to yours and your DH's home woes. The people who lived in this house before us DIY-ed everything and did a TERRIBLE job. It is so frustrating having to fix everything when we start a new project. Hopefully you'll be able to fix things up without too much trouble. Good luck on the furniture choosing! I am definitely not looking forward to those decisions. There are so many options out there.

AFM - 7 weeks now, and am very excited about getting closer to the end of the first trimester. In just over a week we're having our first ultrasound and I cannot wait to see our little birdie. My symptoms are still the same...sore breasts (especially when I go outside in the cold..I think I need a padded bra to keep these babies warmer), and lots of nausea. I am having a lot of food aversions, which had been interesting, but not many cravings. Mostly just grapefruit. Speaking of which, I think I'll go have one now!

[deborahbgkelly]

Today, my boobs don't hurt much but I'm really sick to my stomach. Hoping I can make it through the party tonight. Here is the update: Rainbow Baby Kelly update- All looks good so far. I was a little nervous when I saw my progesterone dropped, but the nurse said it was fine because it will fluctuate and it was well above 20 which is what they want to see. My Estradiol nearly doubled too (yay!) and my TSH is around 2 which is great for pregnancy. It was more than double that with the boys at this point last year.