15 weeks and I'm 30

How Far Along?:  15 weeks

Produce Of The Week:  an Apple

Symptoms: 

• gassy, hows that for Too Much Information! :)

Dr. appts:  Have our 16 week appt on Feb 4th.  Hematologist is Feb 6th!
Aversions: man, no cravings and no aversions. I'm one boring pregnant lady!

Sleep:  sleeping great 
Best Moment of the Week: My 30th Birthday party! We had a big group of friends over for drinks and fun and then about half of us went over to Sparkles for my roller skating party! It was so much fun! I really have such a great group of friends and I'm so grateful for all of them

This was my "big fake smile" for the camera, but it actually looks liked I'm just pumped for cake haha.

14 weeks

How Far Along?:  14 weeks
Produce Of The Week:  lemon

Hi Five!

Symptoms: 

• Hungry every 3 hours

Dr. appts:  Have our 16 week appt on Feb 4th.  I am also going to see a hematologist to discuss my need for the Heparin.  We'll see what they suggest!
Cravings: nothing that is really standing out, strawberries have come and gone.
Aversions: still annoyed by "the beard".  I actually caught him reading "Dads pregnant too"

Sleep:  sleeping great still
Nursery purchase: For those who haven't been to our house, the nursery has been painted and patiently waiting for a crib and glider.  We refinished a beautiful old dresser which is also waiting in the room. I have been gathering items for the room for he last two years and I'm so excited to spend time in there finally and not feel a rush of sadness. The print I finally ordered last week has been in my saved list on Etsy for two years!  I love his print, I think it's cute and funny and really how we approach life, with a funny!

Best Moment of the Week:  Spending the weekend in NYC with my loves!
In Other News:  I had an amazing weekend spent wandering NYC, eating our way through all kinds of yummy food. Lots of love and laughs shared between sisters and our beautiful mother. Pictures to prove it...

Sisters & Mom at Boat House, Central Park

Newsies. Best. Movie. EVER.  Also, one hell of a Broadway Musical, this was the best Birthday treat from Jeff and my Mom & Dad.

Mom and Laura at the Boat House in Central Park

We like to play a game called, lets wear all mom's clothes and make everyone laugh until they pee

This tree really touched me, it's called the Survival Tree.  Survived 9/11 at ground zero and now a beautiful reminder of triumph after tragedy. 

Tower 1

A beautiful tribute center and a really beautiful walking tour with survivors. 

Truly an experience every American should have.

13 weeks, our shrimp is finally a shrimp!

How Far Along?:  13 weeks
Produce Of The Week:  A medium Shrimp!?  doesn't that seem smaller than a lime?







Symptoms:

• slight heartburn but rarely
• Hungry- getting better at this

Dr. appts:  First OBGYN appt at new office is tomorrow!
Cravings: Strawberries
Aversions: I'm getting grossed out by non-food items.  Garbage smells, Jeff's beard etc.
Sleep:  New mattress = 12 inches of foam heaven!
Best Moment of the Week:  Having the weekend to clean out and purge everything we don't need.  I don't know if this is an early wave of nesting but I have the incredible urge to make room for baby.  To do this you need to clean out closets and drawers, in my personal opinion! I actually feel really productive and get a lot of satisfaction so it's good!
Looking Ahead:  started thinking carefully about purchasing items, registry, daycare, and the all important question: disposable or cloth diapers.  dom dom dooooom!
In Other News:   NYC with  4 sisters and 1 amazing mother together for the weekend to celebrate my 30th Birthday this weekend.  I am SO EXCITED!

12 weeks and we have a gymnast!

How Far Along?:  12 weeks
Produce Of The Week:  a Lime!!  Wow, two weeks and we went from a grape to a lime!
















Symptoms:

• slight heartburn but rarely
• Hungry (all.the.time)

Dr. appts:  I have had my final US and Dr. appt. with RBA.  It was bittersweet saying goodbye to al the amazing nurses, Dr's, and staff. We have been so fortunate to have those people come into our lives and give us hope and bring us through to the "other side".  I'm really going to miss all the Ultrasounds!!
Cravings: Strawberries and Hot Fudge Sundaes
Shots, Shots, Shot!:  Still tearing my abdomen up twice daily with Herparin. No end in sight, my new OBGYN will also weigh in on this Jan 16th.  I'm anticipating I'll be on Heparin for the next 6 months though.
Aversions: none right now, but after making dinners at home I hate the smell it leaves in the house.
Sleep:  sleeping like a baby still!  I'm also super excited about this because we bought a new Nature's Sleep foam mattress, can't wait for that to arrive!
Best Moment of the Week:  Jan 2nd.  Our "graduation appt" with RBA.  We had a great US  and the baby was so active (no sleeping at all!).  The nurse was laughing at the baby and we were both watching as the baby did a somersault and we both just died laughing!  It was pretty incredible and I'm so grateful I was able to just lay there and watch baby move all over the place and shake the booty!
Looking Ahead:  Jan 16th we meet with our new OBGYN.  They are just upstairs from RBA so I can visit my favorites any time.  I'll have yet another US, Dr. visit and the NT test done.
In Other News:  We had a lovely time in Buffalo for Christmas.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  We also shared our news with our grandparents and other family members.  This is definitely a very special christmas for the whole family.

9 weeks and in love.

How Far Along?:  9 weeks
Produce Of The Week:  a Grape!




Symptoms:

• Nauseous, but getting better!
• Not hungry and starving within minutes
• just a feeling of "icky" here and there but I've definitely turned as corner and feeling better!
  

Dr. appts:  I'm pretty happy with myself.  I felt my TSH was too low due to some symptoms and I was right. They tested me last Tuesday and sure enough my TSH was still too low.  I'm now on a different dose of Synthroid and I've felt 100% better since! 
Cravings: Nothing yet :) 
Shots, Shots, Shot!:  Still tearing my abdomen up twice daily with Herparin. But today my doctor said she will re-evaulate the need for heparin at my 11 week appt! 
Aversions: none right now 
Sleep:  sleeping like a baby still. I love sleeping :)
Best Moment of the Week:  TODAY!  We had another scan, heard the heart beat so clearly and so loud this time around. The baby was moving all around, putting the hand up to it's mouth and shaking the booty.  I just kept saying "That's CRAZY!!!"  So we have an active little baby, the last scan photo they took it looked like a Teddy Graham, it's was adorable!  
Looking Ahead:  12 weeks on Monday Jan 7th, friends and family can look forward to receiving a little bit of love in the mail from us come mid-January!  Blog friends, I'll scan and post the cards here as well! 
In Other News: BUFFALO in 4 days!!!!


I can't even put in to words what these photo's do to me. I know now that I had lost faith at several points in our journey, doubting this could work.  These photos just amaze me, I do believe in miracles because this is ours...

 I'm in love

8 weeks (& 2 days)

How Far Along?:  8 weeks 
Produce Of The Week: Kidney Bean  (google images of kidney beans made me gag so NO image for this week- hahaha)

Symptoms:

• fatigue
• Nauseous. It's very bad. very very bad.
• Not hungry and starving within minutes
• HOT flashes!
  
• racing heart
• loss of breathe

Dr. appts:  Went in today to get my TSH tested because I think I might be too "hyper-thyroid" and need to get my meds adjusted. This is adding to all the other symptoms and making life very uncomfortable. 
Cravings: Nothing yet 
Shots, Shots, Shot!:  Still tearing my abdomen up twice daily with Herparin.  No end in sight there!
Aversions: dairy products are making me gag but that's all so far!
Sleep:  sleeping like a baby still.  lately I've been going to bed really early, 8:30-9:30pm.  Jeff thinks I'm crazy but it's the only time get without feeling sick!
Best Moment of the Week:  celebrating Jeff's 30th birthday with all of our Atlanta friends.  We have some great people around us.
Looking Ahead:  need some bigger pants!  This is still true and maybe after the holidays I'll grab some work pants that are more comfortable. Also, I'll be 10 weeks pregnant on Christmas Eve....how crazy is that!?
In Other News: not looking forward to the 13 hour car ride to Buffalo but can't wait to see the faces on the other end!

7 weeks

How Far Along?:  7 weeks 
Produce Of The Week: blueberry

Symptoms:

• Sleepy
• Nauseous. VERY. especially in the mornings when I don't sleep past 7am.  I feel like junk right now
•  Weak, like right before you get the flu type feeling.
• Mild cramping in my uterus, but less than last week
• Very sore in the chest. VERY SORE people.
• Not hungry
• HOT flashes!
  

Dr. appts:  Last Thursday we had our first ultrasound. The nurse said " do you see that flutter?" and there is was, a baby and it's heart beating away. I have a special place in my heart for butterflies (especially yellow ones) and that's the first thing I thought of - a little butterfly fluttering it's wings!  The heart beat really brought these last 2 years to a point of acceptance for me. This is happening and this was the way it was going to happen.
Cravings: Nothing yet
Shots, Shots, Shot!: Took my last progesterone shot last night and tonight we start progesterone suppositories (lovely).  Still tearing my abdomen up twice daily with Herparin.  No end in sight there!
Aversions: None,  just not very hungry
Sleep:  sleeping like a baby!
Best Moment of the Week: the heartbeat, of course.
Looking Ahead:  need some bigger pants!
In Other News: planning a brewery tour and dinner with Jeff's friends for his 30th Birthday this weekend.

a heartbeat.

We have a heartbeat.  A baby is growing and I'm doing a good job.  Me!  They say I'm strong, healthy and have a safe and comfortable uterus.  Who could have thought?!  I can't believe this is happening for us.  I guess I really didn't give myself much room to dream before this past transfer but here we are.  Dreaming. We are already parents, two people already making a new person.  I knew each milestone would be that much more meaningful for us because of the hell we had we almost 2 years.  It's amazing to think that come July we will see our greatest achievement which came from our greatest struggle in the flesh.

I'm frantically looking for an OB GYN but I have faith I'll find a great practice soon.  I have two more appts with my infertility OB and I will definitely miss those amazing people who kept fighting  and pushing when I couldn't.  So Jan 2nd  I'll bid RBA farewell and no longer hold the label of IF, but instead look forward to being just a pregnant gal.  I'm going to keep the ultrasound pic to my self for now but only because I'm hoping to do something special with it in the future.  Thanks for stopping by!

Time for an announcement....

So, guess what?!  We are pregnant!  (I love those words)

I'm going to try* to blog this similar format once a week so I can remember to stay in the moment and enjoy the weeks as the baby grows.
 *bare with me, If I miss a week I do apologize but life is moving extra fast these days

How Far Along?:  6 weeks, 1 day  *Most pregnancy announcement come at 12 weeks so please keep this in mind.  We are posting here because we know blog readers knew about our transfer on Nov. 4th and it makes sense to share it here but please know we are not "out of the miscarriage woods".
Going Public?:  We are keeping quiet for the most part but hope to share the news in stages, close family and friends know what's up, now due to this post some others knows whats up (HI!), and by Christmas the extended family will know.  We are NOT going all Facebook official.  We have too many friends/family who are hurting with loss or struggling with Infertility so I prefer keep the good vibes flowing here on the blog and not on facebook.  So "the Facebook" is off limits. Also, I love blog comments so please comment and let me know your reading!
Produce Of The Week: size of a sweet pea (how cute!)


Symptoms:

• Sleepiness.
• Nauseous. 
• Peeing All. The. Time.
• Mild cramping in my uterus.
• Very sore in the chest.
• Not hungry 

Dr. appts:  On thursday we have our first Ultrasound, I'm so excited!
Cravings: Nothing in particular. Lots of ginger ale and saltines these days

Gender: Not finding out till Baby's Birth day!  (If you're getting ready to throw tomato's at me, hold your horses.  I will post more about this decision after we are our of the 1st trimester).
Shots, Shots, Shot!: Still taking 1ML of Progesterone daily.  Heparin is 2 shots of 25cc daily.  My ass is killing me due to the inter-muscular shots but the real struggle is the heparin.  My stomach looks like someone painted camouflage.  It's a variety of new and old bruises aging from several weeks to several hours.  It's lovely.

Aversions: None,  just not very hungry
Weight: Still the same.
Sleep: I hurt my back this weekend so the last two nights were rough but other than that progesterone shots make me sleep like a baby!
Best Moment of the Week:  Doubling beta results & spending Thanksgiving with Jeff and our good friends.
Looking Ahead: Pinterest is my best friend, also, so are private boards!!
In Other News: I'm so excited to go home for Christmas and can't wait to bot Family and  Friends!
Picture: No picture, nothing has really changed. I'd like to do something cute on a weekly basis for a picture but just need Pinterest to give me some more ideas(and maybe a chalk board)


Am I missing something you all want to know about?  Let me know, and thanks for stopping by!

is this 2.0 or 3.0?

IVF 1.0 never made it to embryo's so I'm thinking Operation embryo's 2.0 works better for me.  Well, it began today.  Egg have been thawed, the sample has been given and I've been taking shots for over a month, we are ready. The scoop again, we get 6 eggs, we hope as many as possible fertilize into embryo's and then it's lots of prayer that they grow and we transfer either on Friday or Sunday of this week.  I'll be pretty disappointed if we get called in for a Day 3 transfer on Friday.  I know a day 3 means they weren't as strong and the likelihood of a success implants goes to only 40%.  I want the 70% chance, I want all I can get.


I don't have much else to write today, just want this to work because I don't know how I can handle another negative pregnancy test.  Keep us and our embryo's in your prayers (and of course keeping our family and friends in the NE in our prayers as well, xo)

p.s. we are calling the embryo's "little shrimps", and only because I love my new iPhone and the emoticons I can now use ...