One perfect little June Bug

I think I've decided to rename our little miracle (although she/he always will be our miracle too) to our little June bug since at the OB appointment today we we're officially told that June 5th is our due date! Yeah! It was a perfect appointment...the best part of course being the chance to see our little bug again...and he/she is getting so big!! I can't believe the changes that have occurred in the past week and a half...you could see his head, and little arm buds, and leg buds, and we heard the amazing sound of the heartbeat!! It was great...173 beats per minute which they said we perfect. Jacob joked later at how many times they said everything looked perfect...so we are right on track!! Our little bug is measuring right at 8 weeks 2 days exactly...hooray!! I'm so happy everything is going well. I've included one of the ultrasound pictures for your viewing pleasure :o)



I was going to label it, but didn't have a chance...so the big white circle is the yolk sac...and she said that hangs around until my placenta is fully formed...and it is right by the babies feet...so hopefully that gives you some reference of what you are looking at.

The only other major event of the day was getting my H1N1 vaccination. My doctor strongly recommended it and since they had it available right then I said "let's do it!" Not sure how long till I'm considered immune to it, but hopefully the baby and I can steer clear of it atleast until then!! So we go back in two weeks for another appointment (probably not another ultrasound...boo) and then after that we start on a monthly schedule. I'm actually starting to feel like we're a normal pregnant couple and it's great!!

8 weeks...oh my!!

Today marked 8 weeks for us! Can you believe it! Our little one is the size of a rasberry (one site said kidney bean, but I like the sound of rasberry better...haha) now and hopefully growing away!! On Monday we get to go in for our third ultrasound to hear the precious little heartbeat...this will also be our first official OB appointment so I know he'll go over everything with us, hopefully give us a due date (all I have so far is the one I found online based on our embryo transfer date), and make sure everything looks good! I've actually already talked to our OB once as I had to call the after hours line last Saturday when I was running a low grade fever and just not feeling great. Luckily it turned out to be a little bug that went away within a few days...and he didn't put me on theraflu as I guess in the first 13 weeks it is strongly recommended against.

Speaking of being sick though this has been a rough week for me. It didn't help that work has been SUPER crazy and I was feeling completely overwhelmed by the number of things I had going on both during the day and into the evenings, but I've also been suffering from quite a bit of heartburn/indigestion. I've also had some spouts of morning sickness...although it is typically cured by eating something...which usually leads to more heartburn...haha! The real kicker this week though has been an allergic reaction to the progesterone shots that has been getting progressively worse and worse over the past few weeks until I finally broke down and contacted Dr. Ahlering's office because I couldn't take it any more! Since probably a week or two into getting the shots I started to develop a small rash and itchiness around the injection site. Andrea, my nurse coordinator, recommended putting ice packs on the spots and some cortizone cream. This was working ok...not great, but I could manage. Then more recently as Jacob was injecting the shot, it began to feel like it was filling up in my chest...I would start coughing before he could even get the needle out. And this got increasingly worse until Wednesday night when I was coughing and hacking like crazy as my chest was just on fire! And it was a pointless cough because it did not help anything...the burning would not go away. And even today, several days later, I can not breathe in deeply without feeling the heaviness in my chest and coughing. Luckily we were only one shot away from reaching the end of our calendar so when I contacted Andrea and Dr. Ahlering, they told me to stop the shots IMMEDIATELY!! So hooray! No more shots!! Atleast not until we transfer our five little freezer babies down the road...and guess we'll need to come up with an alternative for the progesterone ones when the times comes.

I can't wait for the ultrasound on Monday!! I will definitely let you all know how it goes!

Countdown to 3rd U/S: 2 days!!!

My heart beats only for you!

So today was our second ultrasound and our little one has come a long way in a week! Unfortunately the ultrasound pictures are really blurry and you can't really make much out so I didn't post them this time, but hopefully they'll start getting better as the weeks continue to fly by! Anyway...back to the ultrasound...it was the most amazing thing ever...you could see it's little heartbeat just flickering away like crazy! As soon as Dr. Ahlering brought it up on the screen I could see it!! I am in such awe at what a miracle it is...just four weeks ago today...our baby was just some tiny little cells in a petri dish and today it's heart was beating! And according to the books I've been reading it's been beating for almost a week already. God is so great! Dr. Ahlering tried to pick it up on the doppler, but he said due to the way my uterus was sitting and because our little one is snuggled way up towards the top he wasn't able to get the audio *boo* He assured me though that just seeing it drops our chance of miscarriage to about 2%...so that was awesome news! He also told us the baby is measuring 7 mm...which is right on track with 6 and 1/2 weeks! We are so very blessed! It's starting to feel more and more real...and with each day I relax a little more!! So we have officially graduated and are moving on to our OB...we might get to feel like a normal pregnant couple soon! haha...probably not :o) I, of course, already called and made an appointment...so we get to go in for another chance to see our little miracle a week and a half from now on October 26th!! *grin*

As far as everything else goes...I have been feeling pretty good...my biggest issue seems to be heartburn...I had it so bad on Monday night that I could not even sit or lay down! I was just pacing around...not fun when you're exhausted! Oh, and the progesterone shots are starting to hurt quite a bit...I don't know if it's because it goes into the same muscle every time or I'm just getting more sensitive as my hormones increase, but it's PAINFUL!! And we've been getting kinda lax on them...before we would begin prepping for it at 7:30...Jacob would make up the shot and then we'd put it in a heating pad to heat up for 30 minutes...and then 8:00 was shot time! Well needless to say the past two times it's been 8:30 and 8:45 when I'm screaming to Jacob "crap, we have to do a shot tonight"...haha! Luckily our latest one has only been 9 PM...so I don't think an hour late hurts anything, but thank goodness we only have 4 more to do, because I'm so scared we're going to miss one!!

Guess that's about it for now! Thanks again for all the prayers! Keep 'em coming...:o)

Countdown to 3rd U/S: 12 Days!

One perfect little miracle!!

So today was the big day...the 1st ultrasound...and our first chance to see how our little one was snuggling in!! I was so nervous by the time 1:10 has rolled around...luckily I had a very busy morning so it flew by, but when we arrived at the doctors office my palms started sweating, I was all figity, and Jacob and I tried to carry on some type of normal conversation just to try and take our mind off what was about to happen!! When Dr. Ahlering entered the room he informed us that we will be looking to see the yolk sac(s), count how many, and just make sure everything looks good. So, off we go...and right away he pointed to the screen and said, "there is exactly what we're looking for!" An audible sigh of relief likely escaped my mouth at this very second *smile*!! He zoomed in on the one tiny little pocket of fluid that I believe is the amniotic sac and inside of that was another little circle (kinda hard to make out on the pictures below) that is the yolk sac. He said everything looked "pretty much textbook" which I assume means right on track. He looked around for another, but said, "yep, looks like it's just the one." So yeah!! We are expecting one perfect little miracle next June 5th!! It's such a relief to finally see our little one and know that it landed just where it was supposed to and as of right now everything is on track!! We get to go back next Wednesday to see him or her again and hopefully hear it's precious little heartbeat! All the nurses at the office came up and were giving us hugs as we left...there are all so sweet and have been so wonderful through this whole crazy process!




This whole thing still seems so surreal, but I'm slowly letting myself get more and more excited! I've decided to even let myself sign up for the baby center weekly e-mails letting me know how our little one is growing every week! It's telling me that at 5 weeks, 3 days our baby is about the size of a sesame seed! So tiny and cute! I can't wait to see how he or she continues to grow. I can't wait till we get to graduate to our OB. I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl! I can't wait to decorate the nursery and register for baby stuff! I can't wait to get a big ole belly and buy maternity clothes! I can't wait, I can't wait!! We are so blessed and I can't wait for all of it! Thanks for all the prayers...I can't wait to continue sharing this journey with all of you!

Countdown to 2nd ultrasound: 8 days!!

5 Weeks Pregnant

Today I am officially 5 weeks pregnant...I think. I'm not exactly sure how it's all calculated with IVF, but according to the book I'm reading I think today marks the 5 week point!! It's been a pretty non eventful week...I am feeling a little more tired, a LOT more thirsty...I can't get enough water...and occasionally a little bit queasy, but overall I'm feeling pretty normal and am shocked that there is a baby or two growing in side of me. I'm sure all the symptoms will come...or I pray they will. I never thought I'd say this, but the idea of morning sickness makes me excited because I think in some kind of strange way it will be reassuring that things are going well.

I have been doing some reading this past week thanks to a lovely present we received from Jacob's sister Shannon and her husband Kyle. This present was actually given to us back in February with our first pregnancy, but luckily Jacob was able to intercept it before I found it after the news that the pregnancy was not viable. So it's been in hiding until last Friday where we took it out and opened it together. Jacob and I each got a book and our first official baby item...the softest, sweetest little blanket. I took a picture of it all so you could see. My book is a pregnancy journal that has a day-by-day guide to your pregnancy where you can track how you are feeling, what you're thinking, etc. I love it! Each day I read about what the precious little miracles are doing...and how they are changing and growing each and every day...it's truly amazing!! And just reminds you what a blessing it is to be pregnant!


And lastly and most importantly, this coming Tuesday marks our first ultrasound! I am so unbelievably nervous and excited I can't even express it! I can't wait to get a peek at what is going on in there...to find out if there's one or two...to see them and know how they are doing...if they are growing like they are supposed to...if their hearts are beating yet...I just can't wait! It will be here soon!! And I just hope and pray that things look great and that maybe I can begin to relax a little more...begin to enjoy it all...begin to start bonding with the little one(s)...begin to start making some plans for our future together!! Tuesday is a big day!! I hope to have more great news to share then!!

Countdown to ultrasound: 3 days!!