Infertility ONE Thread GRADUATES!!! - Winter/Spring 2012 - Page 3

[renavoo]

Monkey, I'm so sorry about your grandmother. What an awful thing to be diagnosed with. And i can't imagine how it would feel for all of you since it feels like a replay of your grandfather's situation. I'm thinking of you and your family as you go through this but hopefully, she does get better AND she gets to spend time with you all (and your baby one day!) I'm so glad she is feeling optimistic. She really does sound like an amazing woman!

You are so good to be helping out you SIL! She must really appreciate your help! I just can't imagine having a teething toddler to have to take care of as well...she sounds like a superwoman. And even superwomen need help sometimes. Oooooh the yoga pants sound divine. My biggest regret this pregnancy is waiting as long as I did to step into maternity clothing, especially the pants. Whether it's bloating or the babies, I'm so with you about the sensitive tummy area. I love having the pull up pants :o) I'm waiting anxiously for your next appointment. I know it will go well and I just can't wait until you feel safer about telling the whole world. Are you going to find out the sex? I'm curious if your technician will make a guess too, like mine did during the 12 week visit. :oD

[deborahbgkelly]

Monkey- Sorry to hear about your grandma. Glad she's feeling better though. If you do end up going to Utah (and it's SLC or east of there) perhaps we can meet in the middle of Colorado (if everyone is doing well and you have time, of course). AFM- Finally have a new baby bump pic to share! 13 weeks 3 days- Bonus: Kitty nuzzling belly! Haha. Just noticed that it almost looks like he's listening for the babies.

[monkeyscience]

deborah - I love the kitty listening for the baby! And, unfortunately, if I do make it to Utah, I probably wouldn't make it to CO, as most of my family lives south of SLC by an hour or so. Looks like about a 9 hour drive to where you live - so 4.5 hours for each of us if we meet in the middle. I think holding out for Houston might be better, but you never know what will happen! How does it feel to be in your second trimester?!? I can't believe you're 14 weeks already. Everyone else's pregnancies seem like they fly by, while mine seems like it's crawling a little. I get so excited every Tuesday when I get to move my ticker, though!

renavoo - Yeah, I'm really digging the yoga pants! And SIL lent me a bunch of maternity tops, which are also nice. I bought a second pair of maternity pants, ones that are a little dressier than the yoga pants, but I haven't actually worn them yet. I did wear one of my new maternity skirts to church on Sunday, and it was so nice to not be wearing one of the same 3 dresses I've been wearing for the past 3 months. As far as my appointment goes, no ultrasound, so no, no gender guess. Those of us without twinkies don't get as many as those of you with them. Which is okay with me - I'd like to limit the exposure to ultrasound, anyway. So I should only have one more this pregnancy - probably around 20 weeks. But I am super excited to hear the heartbeat again. And there's the little part of me that's terrified that there will be nothing to hear. When is your big anatomy/gender scan?

AFAMG (as far as my grandma), no further word. At least not that my parents have passed on to me, which is frustrating. I guess I could try calling her myself, but I don't even know if she's at home or in the hospital at this point. Hopefully, at home. I'm guessing my dad's just been busy with work and has forgotten to update people, or maybe they're still waiting for test results, I don't know. Hoping to hear more soon.

AFM, yesterday was lousy because I decided not to just throw up first thing in the morning, so I ended up throwing up my breakfast two hours later, which was disgusting and disheartening, and I never really got feeling that great. So I went ahead and threw up my water and stomach acid this morning, and today already seems much better. Plus, we've finally found a car to buy! It's somewhat distressingly expensive for our budget, but we can manage it. It will be so nice not to have dh obsessing about finding a car every waking minute! Plus, it is a much more family-friendly car than any of the others he's considered. It's a Mazda 3 hatchback, so it is actually a 4-door vehicle, and has pretty decent cargo space for such a small car. It's also newer and lower-mileage than other cars we've considered. It is a salvage title, but it's been completely repaired and looks great, and they'll give us a six-month warranty on it. Not bad for under $10,000, I think. But still a pretty major blow to our savings. Hopefully, dh will get a raise when he gets his permanent position in a few months, though.

I'm also excited because I've been asked to help with the girls' youth group at church (girls age 12-18). I'm excited to get back to working with kids again - I miss teaching! It's a pretty small group of girls (5 that come all the time, plus 6 more on the roster that don't), so that isn't too overwhelming. The girls all seem pretty nice, too. I'm just looking forward to having a purpose and something to contribute to again.

[deborahbgkelly]

Monkey-  Glad you like the pic. Make that babies (plural)! Sorry you are still feeling icky. AFM- DH's grandma is not doing well, so please keep her in your thoughts. We are hoping she bounces back (and she probably will) but she's turning 90 in a few weeks so it's definitely concerning. If she's better and babies and I stay healthy we will go to her party on the 4th in Arkansas.

[renavoo]

Monkey, yah to a new car!! That's so exciting! I wish we could buy a new car that would have more room than the company car DH has right now. I am worried about making sure everything fits in when the twins get her. 

Ugh, I hope you get news about your grandmother soon. :o( Hopefully, no news is good news!

My gosh, I wish I could be as calm about you when it comes to not seeing the baby! haha i even have an at home doppler that I end up using once a week. I can't wait until I can feel them kicking regularly so I don't have to use the doppler to feel relief that everything is ok there. Although, who knows...I probably would be stressed about something else then. :o)

I hope you feel even better today. And YAH to the girl's youth club. That sounds like a wonderful way to spend your time. 

[deborahbgkelly]

Belly pic time! This week we feature Peaches Poochy Pie (the puppy). 14 weeks 3 days. Please excuse the funny spot in the 2nd picture. She is nibbling my hand in the 3rd picture, but it is incredibly gently and affectionately. She's only a year and a half, so, although we are working with her on her mouthiness, it's taking a while. I also tempted her by wiggling the fingers.

  

[renavoo]

Monkey, just checking in to see if the nausea is gone yet? I hope that you're starting to feel increasingly better as time goes on. Yah to moving the ticker today, by the way... You're on your 12th week now, right? Yah!

[monkeyscience]

deborah - OMNOMNOM... mommy fingers! Hope your tummy is doing better!

renavoo - I have worked really hard on not worrying too much about this pregnancy, and just being at peace with whatever happens. I gave enough of my life to stressing over TTC, and I refuse to spend my entire pregnancy obsessing about what could be, especially since it's so entirely out of my hands at this point. Not that I don't have my worries, but I'm trying really hard to not live my life just thinking about the next appointment... especially since they are a month apart! Excited to see your ticker move again... it's tomorrow, isn't it?

Sorry I keep coming and going - I don't always turn the computer on every day, depending on how I'm feeling and what else is going on. And I hate replying from my phone, because it's pretty obnoxious. (If I use the touch screen to type, I can't see what I'm typing, and if I use the key pad, it goes really slow.)

Anyway, still taking things one day at a time. Nausea is still better, but not gone. I experimented again with not throwing up in the morning a few days ago, and that was definitely a bad idea! I do better when I keep my tummy fed, but there still aren't a ton of things that sound good, especially if I have to make them myself. I'm really trying to rein in the eating out, both because we way overspent last month and because I don't always eat the healthiest stuff when I eat out.

So, yes, twelve weeks was Tuesday! Excited about that, and excited about my appointment tomorrow. And a tiny bit scared. I'm ready to breathe a big sigh of relief when we hear the heartbeat, because if baby's okay this far, odds are very good he/she will be okay until birth. But I'm haunted by the number of times I've read the words "There was no heartbeat at our 12-week appointment." So I'll be on pins and needles till tomorrow afternoon. I wish I could do it in the morning, but I really want dh to come, and the end of the afternoon is best for him. But I did talk to MIL and we're going to go down to their place afterwards (the birth center is between our house and theirs) and have a birthday dinner and open presents.

Saturday, we're going to the butterfly center, then out to Thai food and dessert with friends for my birthday. Sunday (my actual birthday), my twin nephews are being blessed in church, so we'll go to church with my brother and SIL, then have food at their house afterwards. So probably not to much birthday-ish-ness then (since the focus will be on the twins, and then probably the Super Bowl), but that's okay. I may finally get my wedding album that day, too, which would be awesome!!

Still haven't heard any updates on my grandma, though I did talk to her and so have some others. I'm frustrated in that I feel like this is perhaps not being taken seriously enough. But I'm glad my grandma said she's definitely thinking of coming here if she needs treatment. And she's also thinking of coming just for a visit sometime soon. (She was supposed to come yesterday, but that got canceled with the hospitalization stuff.) So still waiting on that one.

[deborahbgkelly]

Monkey- Peaches is definitely just like a baby so she is good practice- everything in the mouth including the mommy fingers! Your birthday celebrations sound fun and I hope you get more information about your grandma soon. Some days my tummy does great and some days it doesn't. I take advantage of the day it does, but I still have only gained 3 pounds total in 15 weeks which is a bit shy of where I probably should be by now with twins.

[monkeyscience]

Good news!!! Strong heartbeat at about 163 bpm, tummy growing on track, no UTI, everything looking good!

[deborahbgkelly]

Wonderful! So happy for you.

[renavoo]

YAH MONKEY!!! I love hearing good news!

Happy early birthday, by the way. What a wonderful present!  

[monkeyscience]

Okay, so I'm going to try to do a longer update now! Sorry the last one was so short, but I didn't have a lot of time (and was on my phone), and I didn't want to leave people hanging!

So, like I said, the midwife visit went well. Poor dh freaked out a little when he first heard the heartbeat because he thought it was going way too fast and something was wrong. He didn't know that baby heartbeats are much faster than adult heartbeats (which doesn't surprise me), but it did surprise me that he was so concerned. I think the midwife and I managed to allay his concerns about that, but I feel bad he was so worried, even if only temporarily. I've been so mired in baby/pregnancy/birth info for so long that I totally forget that not everything I know is common knowledge, especially for a man with no other children or previous experience with pregnant ladies. (Besides his mom being pregnant when he was 11, but I doubt she was sharing a lot of details with him!)

But anyway, the mw found the heartbeat right away, and it was very strong, which was really reassuring to me. She said that if anything were seriously wrong with the baby at this point, we wouldn't have such a good heartbeat. I was also really surprised when she measured my fundal height and it was 11 cm! I guess I haven't done as much research about that, because I thought my uterus was still mostly tucked in my pelvis at this point. Apparently not. From where she was putting her hand, it seems like my fundus is about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way to my belly button. So now I know I really can put my hand sort of where the baby is! And it also means that I'm right and dh is wrong... my tummy really has changed. But to be fair, I'm probably a lot more familiar with my tummy shape than he is, anyway. I have been doing weekly pictures, but I've forgotten them several times. I really need to remember to get one tonight, though, since I missed last week and I think things are changing more all the time.

I think I've realized that part of my fear of losing this baby is because my SIL lost their first baby (even though she lost it much earlier in the pregnancy), and somehow, in my mind... first babies just don't stay. It's stupid, I know, but I think it really has affected my thinking. I'm getting more excited for this baby, and enjoying telling people and hearing all the congratulations, but I think there is still a little part of me that's afraid to fully embrace this pregnancy, "just in case." Then again, maybe it's just the nausea that's dampening my joy.

Today's great woe is that I realized dh accidentally took almost all the snacks to work with him an hour away. So I'm sitting in a hotel room with nothing but carrots and cheese sticks to try to appease my tummy, which had a very, very bad day with our roadtrip yesterday. But so far nothing dire has happened, so I'm hopeful today will be a better day. I really need to go get myself some real lunch, but I'm feeling unmotivated. Need to get over that before I get so hungry I'm sick.

On a completely different note, my grandma did make it here to visit! (So of course, dh had to go out of town for work, and I went with him. ) But I got to spend some time talking with her on Sunday, and she seems like she is doing all right. She is going to get a consult at MD Anderson while she is down here, which I am happy about. I wasn't happy to hear her say the oncologists at her home hospital think the tumor might be Stage III. The 5-year survival rate for Stage II is 28%, but it's only 8% for Stage III. But she was initially told it was Stage II, so I'm hoping that diagnosis sticks. Either way, she said she feels very confident that everything is going to be all right, that she's not anxious or worried, which is good. But we both acknowledge that we knew that everything being "all right" didn't necessarily mean she would live. We both have a lot of faith in God and His plan, but we're both more than aware that knowing it will all work out for the best doesn't mean it'll work out the way we want. But I still hope to have my grandma around for awhile yet! And since dh is going out of town (different place than where we are now) Thursday-Saturday, I should have plenty of time to spend with my grandma then.

On a happier (and again, completely different note), I did have a great birthday weekend! (I know, my thoughts are all over the place!) We had a delicious home-cooked dinner at dh's parents' house Friday night. It was some sort of Italian chicken with goat cheese recipe that apparently they make at Carabba's. MIL also made some sort of cake (angel food? not sure) with whipped cream and raspberry topping, which was also delicious. And they bought me the Boppy pregnancy pillow for a present! I had just asked for a body pillow, thinking of the cheap $10 ones from Wal-Mart, but I guess she found this one and thought it looked better. Which it is. It is A-MAZ-ING. I highly, highly recommend it! They also gave me some Ghiradelli chocolate, which I also recommend. I also got birthday cards and cash in the mail from MIL's mom and sister, along with a big, illustrated Mother Goose book for baby.

Saturday I did not feel so amazing, but I already made plans with friends for birthday celebrations, so I went through with them, and had fun despite not feeling great. We met up with some friends and dh's sister at the Butterfly Center for the afternoon. It's a really cool part of the Natural Science Museum where they have exhibits about all kinds of insects, and then a big, glass atrium with all kinds of flowers and plants and butterflies flying free that you can walk through. I've been a few times when I was younger, but they've seriously revamped the exhibits before the atrium so that it's a lot more informative and interactive. I also got to see my friend's little boy (now 7 months) who I haven't seen since he was just a few days old, and I got to talk to her and her dh about cloth diapering (which they've done since he was born).

After that, we actually went and wandered around a Half Price Books to kill time before dinner. This was a special birthday treat because dh hates book stores, so he'll usually only go if I drag him. Then we met up with a bunch of friends for Thai food for dinner. I wasn't actually expecting any presents from friends, but I ended up getting a maternity shirt, a finger puppet from Argentina for the baby (friends just went on a trip there), a little coin purse, homemade cookies, and a Target gift card. And as an extra surprise, one of my best friends told me after dinner that they are expecting their first baby! I'm so excited for them, and excited that she's just 4 weeks behind me. I was actually suspicious that she was pregnant when we told them we were pregnant, and it turns out I was right - they had just found out they were, I think the day that we told them about our baby! I have to say, I'm glad I'm pregnant - I think I would have taken it really, really hard if she got pregnant before me. In fact, I've been dreading that happening for months, ever since she said at her birthday in July that she was hoping to be pregnant by her next birthday. Now I get to be excited that we're pregnant together! But I have to keep my mouth shut and not tell my mom, since they haven't told all their family yet. Which is hard - in part because I'm so excited for her, and in part because I know my mom will be so excited for her, too.

On Sunday (my actual birthday), we went to church with the whole family because my nephews were being blessed. The poor babies are sick with a cold, and it's so pathetic to listen to them cough and wheeze. My mom was actually pretty concerned about them, so they asked a couple of ladies at church who were nurses to take a look at them. They said that basically, yes, they are very congested, and they sound bad, but they actually don't have any signs of actually being in serious condition (poor color, nostrils flaring, being really restless). So that made me feel better. I still feel bad for the poor little guys, though. After church, we all went over to brother and SIL's house for sandwiches and finger food and football. I ignored the football as much as possible, and focused on the babies and grandma, though. I figured my birthday would get lost in all the excitement about the twins (SIL's family was there along with mine, too), but I was okay with that, since I already had parties. But it turns out that my mom made me a cake, which she pulled out after SIL's family went home. And I got some birthday cash from her and my dad. I think the most special present I got was from my grandma - she gave me her mother's wedding ring from the 1930's. I doubt I will wear it much, but it means a lot that she chose to give it to me, since she has a lot of grandkids to choose from!

Anyway, that was the biggest deal that's been made of my birthday in a very long time, and I was really touched to see all the people who made it a special weekend for me. Plus, I also announced my pregnancy on Facebook, and to several people IRL, so that was also a lot of fun.

So that is my very loooooooong update about my life! Hope you ladies are doing well, and the twinsies, too!

[shesaidboom]

Stalking this thread! It's exciting to read all your pregnancy news and updates.

I've also added a link to this thread from the infertility one thread per request. I hope more of us can join you soon :)

Deborah - I am loving your photos! You look wonderful and I love that your animals always find their way in. So cute!

[rcr]

Another stalker. Monkey, so glad to hear that things are going well (for you and baby). Yay for a hb! Sorry about your grandma.

[deborahbgkelly]

Sadly. these belly pics have no animals in it, but you can definitely see a major baby belly! 15 weeks, 5 days. We also bought mobiles for the twins- will post pic ($14 for the pair at Once Upon a Child). Since everyone loves the furbabies, I'll post semi-recent pics of them too.

Here is me with my rapidly growing twin belly.

               

[renavoo]

Awww Monkey, it sounds like you had a great few days, although you're still battling nausea. I hope you did get something to eat...I remember that that was the only thing that helped fight the nausea for me. I was constantly eating and in fact, got so tired of eating! Which, for me, is odd because I love to eat.  

I hope your grandmother gets better but I love how confident and loving you are all being about her prognosis (and how rational!). It's wonderful that you will have more time to spend with your grandmother too.

Yah for the strong heart beat! I know that you'll continue to worry a bit, as do all mothers but I'm so glad that this calmed you down a bit. And reaching the end of the first trimester is just as exciting and I hope just as comforting! I can't remember so sorry if you mentioned it before but are you guys going to find out the sex of the baby? Are you and DH discussing names? Have you started shopping?

This last weekend, DH and i started to look at some things for the babies. We went to Buy Buy Baby and promptly decided that we didn't like shopping at the store. haha it's just WAY too busy (especially since the only BBB near me is in the heart of Chelsea, NYC). So after I got to look at some things and developed an idea of what I liked, I came home and started my registries to help me list out what i wanted to get. I'm still up in the air about having a baby shower...I hate being the center of attention and anyway, I love seeing my friends in small parties, not one large party. However, all my friends and all DH's friends are pushing us towards having one because they want to help us celebrate. I guess they feel like it's only fair because DH and I eloped as well so some of them feel like they missed out on that.

I still can't believe how much there is to buy! I mean, i know we don't need everything and believe me, with the limited space we have, I'm definitely going to limit my shopping. However, even with that, I just feel like there is SO much to buy. haha and I LOVE shopping but even my head is spinning!

I have my 20 week scan on Friday which i'm very excited about and still a little nervous. I just hope that they are growing well and that they are both looking healthy. Otherwise, I think I feel them moving inside me sometimes (by the way, how weird is that...I still find it incredible that we have little beings growing inside us!). It doesn't stop me from using my doppler once a week just to try to find the heartbeats! I especially love doing this when I had a long trying day. Just hearing their heartbeats make me feel so calm and happy. So I definitely know how you, Monkey, feel! I can't wait until I can feel them moving about much more regularly so I don't use the doppler at all.

Shesaidboom and Rcr, hope to see you guys here talking about your pregnancy soon too!! Come on BFPs!! 

[toothfairy2be]

 Stalking.

renavoo- OMG one of each!! I was just wondering if you knew that!

monkey- yay for a good midwife appt. Hope you are feeling better ASAP, you've rounded the bend!

deborah- cute furbabies & nice belly!

[rcr]

Rena - Well, on the up side of having a baby shower, you will get lots of good stuff :). Plus it is always nice to have so many supportive people around you.  I was lucky enough to be able to skip mine :) DH's mom wanted to have one, and DH was living near her at the time (I was 1000 miles away), so he just went to the shower instead of me, so I didn't have to travel so close to my due date. It was the best of both - I got to have a party, but I didn't have to go and be the center of attention!

[deborahbgkelly]

Thanks Cbaa! Stalk any time :-).