36 weeks TOMORROW!!!! :) :) :)

I know I have said this quite a few times throughout my history with this blog... but... I STILL can't it!!! And I know what you're thinking... "Honey, BELIEVE it!" Tomorrow, I'll be 36 weeks, and I'm feeling good :)

How far along: 35 weeks 6 days! :) Cervix is still high and closed, too. 

Total weight change: Last week I was up to 38lbs (eek!) and this week I actually lost a pound, so 37 (still, eek!). But, again, I haven't been lectured, and my OB has not seemed concerned with my weight. He seems pretty happy with the progress I am making :) 

Maternity clothes: Still the same. I refuse to buy anymore maternity clothes, and am getting by with what I have. With the amount of time I have left, why bother? Plus, no need to layer in South Florida for Fall... I can get away with wearing the same ol' stuff. The only thing I need to get is... nursing bras and tanks!!! Need to head to Target for that... 

Stretch Marks: I am officially a zebra. Oh well :-/ It's for a good cause. Mr. DBud doesn't seem to mind, so I guess I won't let it bother me. 

Movement: He still moves quite a bit, but has definitely slowed down a lot. When he does move, it's mostly rolling and such. Sometimes, I look at my belly and it's completely lopsided! The FUN part is when he stretches and puts pressure on the upper part of my belly AND on my bladder. Not cool! lol! I am being sent for an Ultrasound on Monday to see how big he has gotten... this will be fun, since I haven't seen him since end of June!!! Looking forward to it :)

Sleep: Sleeping like a rock! Thank GOD! I am trying to get as much rest as possible, and find myself hitting the sack a lot earlier than I used to. I think my body is trying to tell me something... get your rest while you still can! ;)

Best Moment This Past Week: Finding out that our furniture arrived (Mr. DBud is out picking it up with his friend now) and getting the nursery ALMOST finished! Once the furniture is in place, we will only be missing the mattress, which his mom is getting for us, and putting the bedding in place. I am also in the process of figuring out what I am going to do for the wall area above the crib. I want to do something with his name, but am looking for some creative ideas that will match the "Safari Sky" theme. We shall see :)   

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: My FIRST cervix check since being pregnant. Mr. DBud and I haven't been too "active" in the intimate department lately. Mostly because it is just too uncomfortable. Truth be told, it's been quite a while. So, when I went in to the Dr. yesterday, and he had to do cultures and all that good stuff, it was SO uncomfortable. That sucked. 

Belly Button In or Out: Still in... but doesn't seem like it will be for long lol! But seriously... I'll be surprised if it completely pops.

Cravings/Aversions: Still into chewing ice when it's hot and I feel dehydrated (and it still is here in South FLA). No other major cravings, though. 

Symptoms: Heartburn comes and goes, which can really suck at times... and the cold I've been battling for 2 and a half weeks is ALMOST gone. But, I speak like I have a frog in my throat, which is annoying since I'm a singer and so MENTAL about my voice. 

I am looking forward to finishing the nursery this weekend, and getting our bags packed. My official goal was to have EVERYTHING ready by 37 weeks which is NEXT weekend, so I think we are good :) :) :) I hope to have everything done by Friday the 5th so Mr. DBud and I can have a little Date Night and go see Frankenweenie :) I am a HUGE Tim Burton fan, and have been looking forward to seeing it. Hopefully, baby stays put until AFTER the movie. So far so good ;) 

Can't wait to post pictures... and hey, before long... I may be posting my Birth Story ;) 

Until next time!!!!! <3

Results are In

I am PREGNANT!!! My Beta was 214 and my Progesterone was 94!!! I am soo excited that it is a positive and we have strong numbers. With such a high Progesterone I get to drop down to .5 cc's of Progestrone for the next 4 days and retest in a week and hopefully will not have to do anymore shots!! It all feels a bit sureal but am getting more excited the more I talk about it!!

Bloodwork has Been Taken

Our day 12 HCG test was this morning so I am in the agonizing hour wait till they get the results and the DR. calls me back!! I am feeling good, my butt is awfully knotty and sore which is typical of this time with the shots but othwerwise good. We did not have any eggs to freeze again but one almost made it to blastocyte which is better than the other three times. So this is our final go at IVF so I am crossing my fingers that the call will bring good news!!

34w2d... counting down the days and weeks :)

How far along: 34 weeks 2 days! :)

Total weight change: At my last OB appointment I was up a total of (I believe) 31lbs... He doesn't seem concerned, and neither do I, considering that it seems it has all accumulated in my belly. I sometimes look like I am carrying a basketball under my shirt. Lovely :)

Maternity clothes: Still the same. I refuse to buy anymore maternity clothes, and am getting by with what I have. 

Stretch Marks: I am officially a zebra. Oh well :-/ 

Movement: He's definitely a roller! There are times when I feel him moving a lot and other times that he is a little more relaxed. At night, when I get in bed, he likes to put on a little show ;) I actually think he's head down and starting to get a little low... we shall see soon!!!

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well, actually. I love to sleep! Gotta take advantage before our little man gets here ;) 

Best Moment This Past Week: Not really pregnancy related, but DH cleaned the house, which made me super happy! We also went to IKEA today and bought the shelves we wanted for our desk area. The baby's room is in our office, so we created a "wall unit" type office area so that the rest of the room can be all "Baby Land" ;) Mr. DBud built and mounted the shelves and everything is lookin' good! Now we just have to organize all our "office" stuff on them.   

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Catching another cold that started in my throat, moved to my sinuses, moved to my chest, and now back to my sinuses. Hopefully, it'll go away soon. It's been almost a week :-/

Belly Button In or Out: Still in, but definitely not as deep as before. It's getting more shallow each day... lol

Cravings/Aversions: Still into chewing ice when it's hot (and it still is here in South FLA). No other major cravings, though. 

Symptoms: Haven't had that horrible heart burn I was having, which is great... I've just been battling this cold, which totally sucks. But, I must say, I've been feeling some pain and slight pressure in my pelvis. I am wondering if this means things are "getting ready" for what is coming in the next few weeks. We shall see!!!

Thursday, I have another appointment with my OB. He said he will send me for another ultrasound to determine how big the baby is, and see where our birth plans will take us. I am excited to see how things have progressed, being that I haven't had an ultrasound since late June. Can't wait :)

Until next time!!

They are in

On Wednesday we went in for the transfer in the morning. My acupuncturist arrived 45 mins before the transfer was scheduled and I did a 30 minute acupuncture treatment. Then we went in and saw the 15 embryos and talked with the embryologist about how they were looking. There was one embryo that was grade A and was starting to compact, one grade AB and a grade B that we put in. The rest were a mix of B's and C's but they were either unevenly grouped cells or fragmentation. The embryologist doesn't think that any will freeze but we should find out for sure tomorrow. So after picking our embryos and taking pictures of them I got ready for the transfer. It went smoothly and besides the nurse trying to get my uterus in focus in-between me laughing. I layed around for the obligatory 20 minutes until I could get up and finally empty my bladder. Having a full bladder is uncomfortable anyways but add on sore ovaries it makes it worse. Then I got to go back and lay down for another 30 minute acupuncture session. I fell asleep during the second session and jolted awake part way thru, I hate when that happens! Anyways, I was on bed-rest for two days and my wonderful friends came and visited so I wasn't bored and brought me mounds of food and treats. Today is day three and I can ease back into daily life and get back to some light exercise later in the week. I feel good, just a little hyper sensitive about every twinge that goes on with my body. Always looking for "signs" that those embryo's are doing something good, eventhough I do know that you can't feel anything. We get to test in 12 days so I am going out of town with my mom for a week and relaxing and eating some good food to take my mind off of the wait.

Fertilization Report

So it looks like we had a total of 22 egss retrieved, 21 were mature and 15 fertilized. It looks like Wednesday mid-afternoon will be our transfer day. Last night I had a strange stomach pains and broke into a cold sweat, I was worried that it might by OHSS but I wasn't sure. Luckily the pains subsided eventually and I have been feeling better. I think this time around I am a bit more sensitive to the medications and the retrieval. Keeping my fingers crossed that Wednesday we will have some good strong embryos to transfer.

Embryo Retrieval

Today was the embryo retrieval and we were got 22 eggs!! We will know tomorrow how many were mature and fertilized. I think the most we have ever had was 14 eggs retrieved before so we will see how the larger number fares. I am definitely the most sore after this retrieval than I have ever been but that is probably due to the the number of eggs I was growing. I have been napping and relaxing with a little pain killers tonight and tomorrow should be feeling better.

Egg Count Is In

Today we had an appointment with the Dr. and we during the ultrasound we discovered my eggs have been growing like weeds!! I have 12 14-17 mm eggs on my right ovary and 13 14-15 mm eggs on my left, yes that is a whopping 25 eggs growing at the moment. It looks like we will be doing the retrieval Sunday afternoon so hopefully a lot of these eggs will be nice and mature and fertilize well. Tomorrow I go back for another appointment and I have started taking Antagon to mature those eggs and keep them from jumping the gun! I got a call from the Dr.'s office and my blood work shows that yes indeed I am getting ready my Estridial is high and LH levels are starting to rise.

Egg Update - Day 10

I had my prolactin levels tested on my first appointment and they were at a good level. So we are starting off on the right foot with hormone levels. I had my second appointment this past Monday and the eggs are all between 6-10 mm and are growing at the rate the Dr. would like to see. So I am continuing on 3 vials of Repronex a day. This afternoon is my day 10 appointment and I will probably start taking Antagon in conjunction with Repronex to help mature the eggs and prevent me from preovulating. I can now feel that my ovaries are full, especially when I have to go to the bathroom. Otherwise I feel pretty good as usual. I am very lucky that I handle the medications well and don't seem to get too crazy, sick or in much pain. I will be doing acupuncture 2x a week during this IVF and so I will have a treatment this Friday. I am feeling pretty relaxed about this round, I forget that I am doing IVF or maybe it is I am ignoring the fact. Either way I am doing everything that I normally do, go to the gym 2x a week, work, try to work on 8 glasses of water a day, herbs, acupuncture, etc.

32 weeks - Baby Shower and Birth Plan!

The last couple of weeks have been nothing short of INSANE! With going back to work and finishing up preparations for the Baby Shower, we have been extremely busy. I am happy to report that everything went beautifully, and will be sharing some photos as well :) Get ready for a long post :)

How far along: 32 weeks 4 days! :)

Total weight change: Just had an appointment with my OB yesterday, and am up a total of 31 lbs!!! ::GASP:: OB seems to be ok with it... I don't think I've changed my eating habits... But I do think Baby DBud is really starting to put on some wait... And I'm starting to feel it!

Maternity clothes: Same as last time... I hate most maternity clothes, so I got my baby shower dress from The Avenue, and it fit great. It was a bandeau maxi dress with black, a lighter blue and a dark blue.

Stretch Marks: No new ones... and the ones I have look a little less red/purple. So, hopefully there won't be anymore...

Movement: He is moving a lot lately! Rolling and kicking... so cute :) More rolling than kicking these days. Gotta say, the hiccups are cute :)

Sleep: Back to work, so not sleeping as much as I would like, but still sleeping well. I pretty much knock out, and only wake up about once a night to go to the restroom. I also wake up once or twice to turn over from one side to the other. Still loving my Boppy :)

Best Moment This Past Week: Of course, the Baby Shower!!!!! Also, having my OB appointment and setting up the birth plan... Which I'll go into in a bit :)

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Can't say that I had any real difficult moments... It was a good week :) However, I did have a major fit when one of my dogs tore up one of my favorite sandals... One of the ONLY shoes that still fit. It was a totally hormonal moment. Other than that, it was a wonderful week.

Belly Button In or Out: Still in, but definitely not as deep as before. It's getting more shallow each day... lol

Cravings/Aversions: Not really craving anything, actually. The ice cravings have died down... But it also hasn't been as hot anymore. I hope our South Florida version of Spring is on the Horizon... Here's hoping!!!

Symptoms: The Heartburn has been coming and going, and hasn't been TOO bad. The nausea has been staying away. I have a very heavy, low, feeling in my uterus, that is also quite exhausting. I want him to stay put for a few more weeks, so let's hope he does, but it's getting a little uncomfortable.

And now... First things first!

On Saturday, we had my Baby Shower. It was a beautiful, women only, event at a gorgeous restaurant. We had about 70 guests for a Cirque du Bebe theme that turned out beautifully! It was a major DIY event, and I have to say I was extremely pleased with the result. We made the favors and flower arrangements. Here are a few pictures, taken by a photographer we hired, of the details:

The cake

Diaper and Wipes Tent

My Table :)

A gift from a good friend for the Baby's room (bedding is Carter's Safari Sky)

Feathers!

Showered with gifts for the Baby! (this is not even half of what we got)

A special gift for Mommy from some co-workers :)

It was an amazing day, and I have to say that I am truly blessed to have so many people who care for us.

As for my Dr. appointment and Birth Plan, I briefly discussed this with my OB at our appointment yesterday. I told him that the only thing I do not want is to be induced. He said that was fine, because the Hospital we chose won't induce until 41 weeks either way. He is sending me for another ultrasound in 2 weeks to see how big the baby is getting, etc. If the baby is too big, and he feels a c-section may be the best option, then we he will schedule me for one. I am only 5'1", which concerns him a bit in reference to having complications during vaginal birth. If the baby is a good size for me to try and deliver vaginally, he will let me be until 39 weeks. If he doesn't come by then, it'll be a c-section for sure. I am fine with whatever will be best for the baby and I, so at this point I am putting it in his hands. I am going to be specific about what I don't want, but other than that, I'm flexible.

So that's that... Now, we wait! We are waiting on the furniture to arrive (in about 2-3 weeks) so we can build it and finish the nursery. In the meantime, I'm going to start packing my hospital bag, and preparing anything else we need.

Until next time :)

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