Updates

Updates, updates, updates...

We got our last scan at the RE's office yesterday. We got marvelous pictures and the babe is measuring ahead of schedule at 8w6d (I was 8w3-4d yesterday). Heartbeat is nice and fast and we can see the beginnings of the umbilical cord. The little gummy bear looks so different from just two weeks ago--it is flabbergasting, really. I guess this finally feels, well...real.

I guess I should have known--I haven't felt too swell lately. Behold my dinner last night. I prepared a marvelous lemon-parmesan asparagus pasta, only to turn my nose up at it at serving time. Instead I indulged in ginger ale, a sleeve of Saltines, and half a bag of Sour Patch Kids. It is literally the only thing I wanted to eat. At least I'm eating. And often. One of my friends whom I work with (also a lesbian, also an English teacher, also pregnant, also already has a son--weird or what?) told me she gets so sick of eating and I thought she was exaggerating.

And now I'm off to eat more crackers.

Wonders of the Sea

We always knew Theo loved the water, but we didn't know how he'd react to seeing water animals. Turns out it was almost as good a reception as a train or truck, and that is pretty darn good. Imagine screaming accompanying the surprised, happy face, and you've pretty much got our day.

Peeping into the beluga tank

Giant indoor tropical fish tank (fuzzy picture thanks to camera shake and no flash, but it looks pretty cool anyway!)

All hands (8 of them!) in the sting ray, sans stingers, tank with cousins T and twins M and F

What's next? Or, am I seriously fat already?

We had our intake appointment yesterday at the m/w office where 7 (!) vials of blood were taken for my prenatal workup. I have no idea what they are testing me for, but okay. The nurse already had to ask if I feel like I am gaining weight. Uh-oh. Let's just say that since I've, um, neglected myself over the past year or so, I've put on a couple extra pounds. So whether I've already gained weight or not, I don't know--I only know that I started off looking like I was already 8-10 weeks pregnant. I am just hoping my body is resting and waiting to catch up instead of the weight taking off like a rocket. Jeesh.

But, I am always.hungry. Always.hungry. Or, I am vaguely nauseated. To ward of nausea, I eat. It's worked the past couple of days, except yesterday I went past the point of hunger and catapulted down into severe nausea, so I learned my lesson. I traveled today with (literally) a bag full of snacks. Good times. Yes, this will really help keep my weight gain to a minimum, I'm sure.

Vacation is pretty much over---here's the last of our vacation pics from NYC. We went to Mystic Aquarium today with 3 other children. It was chaotic but a blast. Pics to follow. For now, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens (with the cherry blossoms at their PEAK!):





from below, looking up into the heavy boughs

I DO NOT KNOW how people in New York City do it--two mammas, one 30+ pound baby boy, a 16 lb. stroller, and probably miles of walking later...we are tre pooped and DONE with walking around the city for the day. We checked out Times Square yesterday just to show Theo the Times Square Toys R'Us (it was a love/hate relationship, as you'll see in the pictures below). Today we walked up and down the High Line, down through the West Village, through Washington Square Park, down Broadway to Chinatown, ate lunch there and then hopped on the train up to Tiffany's and then walked down to Herald Square where the H&M has, apparently, the best maternity tank tops ever (NYC women take note!). Whew. Back home tomorrow night or Wed. afternoon to veg out, deal with garden and yard stuff, and grade a stack of papers that seems half a foot tall. Fun.

Real fun:

Am I just paranoid...??

I'M ON VACATION!

Just wanted to get that out of the way.

I continue to have weird symptoms - simultaneous nausea and hunger - so it's not that I'm worried that anything bad happened, but two nights ago I happened to have a very diluted cup of sassafras tea. What is this, you may ask? Only the most delicious natural-root beer flavored stuff ever. Only, after I drank it, it dawned on me that maybe I should check whether it's contraindicated in pregnancy....oh boy. If you're curious, just go and Google "sassafras in pregnancy" and see what horrifyingly scary things come up, including uterine stimulation and birth defects. Uh-huh. No joke.

So then I see, on these other herbal websites, all the OTHER herbs I should avoid in pregnancy. Jeesh. No camomile? Lavender? Seriously? WTF am I supposed to drink? I gave up coffee and now even decaf is kind of not that good anymore, and tea's all I've got left. I like me a hot beverage, and love iced tea in the summer. What, tell me, what can I drink? Any past/present preggos care to chime in? Or, am I just being overly paranoid?

So, here's how our morning went:

We got to the RE's office and my vitals were taken. Then, one of the lovely nurses there came in to chat because, honestly, I don't think they knew what to do with us. It was like--okay, you're here for a pre-op, but you're pregnant? What? How did that happen? Sooo..what are you doing here exactly?! It's not like they said that, but everyone was kind of in awe. So our doc came in, congratulated us, did the scan, and...voila!! An egg sac with a beating heart inside, measuring just what it's supposed to with it's heart beating at precisely the right rate. Ahhhh....relief doesn't even cover it.

At one point though, there were six people in the room including me: our doc, the nurse, the student doctor who is working with our doc, S., and then the regular u/s tech whom we love. Mind you this room is like, smaller than the bathrooms. But--I didn't really care. We got a pic of the little blob, are actually going back in two weeks for a follow-up scan, and....this is the best news...I can stop taking the darn progesterone because doc thinks everything is doing what it's supposed to. YES! Bye-bye, constipation! (Well, you know, until real pregnancy constipation sets in.)

It was a good day. Except for the mechanic who didn't do what he was supposed to (not even going to go into that), everything was lovely.

It's a date!

Good news! I called the office, talked to one of the wonderful IVF nurses who we've had a great relationship with in the past three years, and she actually encouraged me to come in. She's e-mailing my doc to tell her, and she doesn't think it's weird (or immoral) at all. She was even like, "the first ultrasound is just so fun." So, yeah. Guess I have nothing to worry about. Except for worrying about all the other things.

Wednesday it is. It's a date!

Moral Dilemma

Wow, when I actually feel like eating, food is really good. I should have known, 1 week into the tww, that I was pregnant when I ate 5 Chips Ahoy cookies in a row and it was the most euphoric, delicious thing I had ever tasted.

Anyway, on to my moral dilemma. I am scheduled for a surgery to get my cyst removed in two weeks. Obviously, I'm not having the surgery. So here is the dilemma. My pre-op appointment is this Wednesday. Should I go anyway and just say, hey, I'm newly pregnant but just want to make sure the pregnancy is viable before canceling my surgery. Is that ethical? Because I'm sure that an ultrasound is part of my pre-op just to check out the location and size of the cyst.

Is that bad? The thing is, I'm not going to get an ultrasound for a while because we did our IUIs with the midwives instead of our RE. It's pure selfishness, really, me wanting to get an ultrasound to see if things are going well, if there's a real thing with a heart beating, growing inside of me. But am I wasting someone's time and money by going about it this way? I feel really bad, actually. I suppose I could call the office first and check.

What do you think, oh upright moral readers?

The Bubs

Promised pics from the bubba at Easter. From top to bottom, his first car washing experience, opening presents on Easter morning, dressed up, then, no so much during an Easter egg hunt.

Muddling Through--What's Next?

Well, so--still pregnant as far as I know. My appetite is all out of whack-I get hungry, then as soon as I start eating I'm not hungry. No nausea, but just weird food things--like not craving sweets. That is a big giveaway for me--I hardly ate any dessert at Easter yesterday!! I just feel really, really bloated-too bloated to eat a lot. So I guess now we just...wait? Until, what, 10 weeks or so? I don't even know when to go back to the midwife!! AHHHH!!!

Thank you for all your kind comments--they mean a lot to us, as all good bloggy women know. And...holy cow, there will be A LOT of snowbabies (depending on which part of country you live in, that is) popping out this winter!!! YAY!

Pics from Easter soon. Let's just say that when the day started, Theo looked like he came out of a J Crew catalogue. By the end of the day, he looked like we dragged him out of the dumpster.

Extreme Kookiness

It feels extremely kooky to be writing this post, but here goes nothing.

15dpo: 3 positive hpts.

16dpo: paranoid patient that I am, made my midwife give me a beta. beta number = 199

17dpo: took another hpt: still very positive.

18dpo: twiddling my thumbs with anxiety.

19dpo: beta #2 - 600.

Guess this is some for-reals business going on. My doubt stems from all the cramping I've been experiencing since 13dpo or so - which I thought was proof positive AF was on her merry way. Some of it feels grossly uncomfortable, enough to make me not want to stand up, but so far, so good - no spotting to accompany, no AF (although I am taking progesterone supplements). So, here's the proof positive:

I won't subject you all to photos of the other 3 hpts I fervently took this week.

P.S. - for all peeps in know IRL--please don't congratulate me on Facebook. You all have enough common sense to know this, but I've read some horror stories...didn't that happen to someone around here recently?!

P.P.S. - for all the famiglia I'll be seeing this weekend - just tap us on the shoulder and smile, please, until I'm ready to share at large. We are telling my mama and sis when we land there tomorrow morning.

I am feeling the least bit symptomatic of being pregant, and symptoms I do feel (hunger, bloat, sore boobs, extreme anxiety and moodiness) I am attributing to the progesterone. However, I am only 7 dpo, more or less, and with another week to go of the tww, I am trying to stay positive--or at least neutral. If this try does not work, then I am already booked for a surgery to get my cyst removed next month. I am really, really not looking forward to this surgery (it's supposed to hurt for a week after), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I see two lines next week.

On a funnier note..my kid is hilarious. And..he is 20 months old. As in 2-0. In a whole other set of numbers old. 24 months seems so, so close. And his mommies...so, so sad. Where is our little boy? Below, witness the big boy consuming an ENTIRE corned beef sandwich at our local St. Patrick's Parade.

And did you know...?

Did you know that, as a side perk of increasing progesterone production (hopefully), B-complex also turns your pee the color of Mountain Dew? Quite amusing!

Oh, NOOOO!

Ahh yes, and as soon as I took comment moderation off, I get a block of Chinese spam, as Shroedinger pointed out. Just loverly!

I feel very good about the timing of these insems. We did one in Noho yesterday at a beauuuutiful new space there called Cr@dle, done by the same mw that delivered Theo (a good sign? I hope so.), then another one this morning. My midwife is fairly certain, as am I, that I ovulated last night because my temp did go up, but I was still very open with LOTS of ewcm. She old me it was as good a timing as she's seen, so that is tre hopeful. I had to go alone this morning and tell a white lie to work about not being able to come to my first 2 classes, but it's all good. Now I just sit back and wait as my nerves jangle about my short luteal phase. I start progesterone supplements Wed. night and bought some B-complex to take in addition.

Aaaaand, guess what word Theo has learned? NO!!! Ahhh, yes, the wonderful world of NO, or, as he likes to say in a way-too cute voice, OH, NOOOOO!!!!!! It takes our all not to imitate him and give him the wrong idea that it's actually a fun and cute word that's okay to say all the time. I guess it was inevitable.

All systems go!

I turned comment moderation OFF. To tell you the truth, it was really more annoying than having to delete random-ass comments. So, feel free to fire away again.

My OPK finally turned positive (jeesh, only took until day 17--lordy my cycle is screwed up) and it looks like I'm heading in tomorrow morning. Yikes. We went for 2 vials this week; our midwives' insem policy with 2 vials is to do the inseminations at 12 hours and 36 hours after a peak reading. To me, the last one seems a little late. Thoughts? I feel like I'm an on-the-early-side ovulator, but don't really have consistent proof because I only started temping last month. Dummy dumb-dumb dummy. ALWAYS DO YOUR TEMPS! Lesson learned. But, at least I'll feel good about tomorrow morning's insem, and hope the egg doesn't leave the nest before Monday morning.

Well. I guess my cycle last month really was a fluke, because I went in for a follicle scan yesterday, day 12, and there was one pretty tiny follicle present. It needs to get twice as big before it's ready. So, probably back for another scan later this week. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Erg. The swimmers (2 vials) are landing tomorrow.

We're also waiting for Spring over here. We got a sneak preview this weekend. Oh boy, was it a good feeling basking the sun, watching the rivulets of melting mountain snow trickle down the hills and into the streams and rivers, and walking---walking outside! Yes, it was muddy, but all the more puddles for Theo to jump into.

Oh yeah, remember Theo? In my megalomaniacal quest to get pregnant, I seemed to have forgotten that this blog is named after the cutest BABY. Jeesh. Well, he's a crazy, hilarious maniac, and that's probably all you need to know for now. Oh yeah...and CUTE!

Proof of the actual sun actually melting the snow:

Mental Health Day

Sorry, this is very annoying to some people, but I had to turn my comment moderation on. I was getting super-weird messages from super-weird places. You know what I mean. So if it takes a day or two for your comments to pop up, please do not be offended! I don't always check my e-mail daily (crazy, I know).

Babysitter's daughter has strep, so Theo's home with me today. I needed a mental health day anyway. Did anyone else have a horrible week?? The weather is just compounding the misery. The planets are definitely aligned in some wacky, wacky way. Hoping next week is better.

Oh - and it's CD2. This confirms it - I have a ridiculously short luteal phase. Since I am 99% sure I ovulated between CD 13 and 14, that would have made my luteal phase for my last cycle 8 days long. 8 days! That is insanity. Progesterone after this month's insem for sure, and if we get a BFN, perhaps onto some Cl@mid? I know it's worked miracles for many of you.

Have a great weekend. If it's snowing where you are - ENJOY IT! Our snow storm this week was a bust, blowing forth drippy, wet snow that turned into 4 inches of slush on our gravel driveway which then turned into pouring rain. Spring, are you around the corner somewhere?

Regrouping

I have to say, I only mourned this cycle for about 6 hours - basically, from the time I woke up and my temp peaked and I knew I had ovulated, to the time I was able to call the sperm bank and cancel our shipment at the last minute. I guess I just felt good that, hey, my cycle was regulating itself, and that I pretty successfully could identify multiple signs pointing to impending ovulation. I'm just hoping with earlier monitoring next cycle we'll have really good timing. I'm feeling good.

Oh, and all our woes from last week seemed to have worked out. I visited my Grammy in the hospital and her recovery is going great; Theo's nose is still weird, but damn he's cute; our car wheel is fixed; and my tire hasn't deflated anymore since the fill-up. Oh yes, things are looking up.

Do check out these pictures of Theo taken by our good friends Stacey & Peter during a Winter walk this weekend. You will laugh when you get to the last one, I guarantee!

When it rains..

Remember that "I'm on vacation and relaxing, damnit!" attitude I had last Thursday? Oh, how things change so quickly.

WARNING: there is lots of what is likely to be interpreted as "whining" in this post. At least, that's what S. would call it. I just call it "talking." But you've been warned either way.

So, where to start. Let's start at the very beginning.

During our weekend trip to Martha's Vineyard, Theo fell off a set of stage stairs flat on his face and got a HUGE shiner on his cute-as-a-button nose. When we returned Sunday, we noticed two incredibly huge and hard lumps on either side of his nose. We thought he may have broken it, so today we got a last-minute appointment with our ped. who does not think it is broken, bruised, or fractured. We totally disagree with her. His nose did NOT have those weird bumps before he fell face-first onto the floor. Grr.

Then, on the way to Theo's gymnastics class on Monday, I drove into a nasty pothole (damn freeze-thaw cycles!) while driving S.'s car. Immediately after, the steering wheel started shaking. I took it in today to get looked at. Diagnosis: a bent wheel. Cost of repair: $200. Yay.

I then find out my grandmother had triple-bypass surgery yesterday, only my mother neglected to call and tell me and now I look like a horrible daughter for not calling her yesterday to see how things went. I think I fixed that mistake and will travel two hours on Friday or Saturday to see my grandmother once she's out of the ICU.

Oh, and the best one yet...I ovulated. And our sperm wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow.

Let me explain that I don't usually get a peak reading on my monitor or opks until around days 17-19. I got a peak on my monitor day 13, and by day 14, my follicle was gone. I went in for an ultrasound this morning, and there was nothing left but fluid. That ship sailed sometime last night. And us, sperm-less, could do nothing about it except respectfully bow out of this cycle.

It also snowed yesterday, so I got up at 5:00 this morning to shovel and snowblow to get out of the driveway to make it to my u/s appointment.

Okay, I'm done bitching now. Our bffs are coming back around this way for a visit the rest of the week so we can have some actual fun.

Whining over.

What the hell is with all of my junk blog comments lately? Does anyone else have that problem? I even have the word-thingy on, but it doesn't seem to prevent the random "Hello, nice blog! check out mine at..." comments that lead to random-ass things.

Just a rant. But I'm on vacation now so I.DON'T.CARE! Let the week of relaxing begin.