The ahhhmazing Bellaband and other updates

Baby Buttercup Bud and I have surpassed the 6 week mark, wahoo!

My pants have been getting tighter at night due to bloat so I have taken to unbuttoning them and walking around my house constantly pulling up my pants, cool huh? I bought a Bellaband last weekend but haven't tried it until today. It is silly but I was afraid of looking silly with my Bellaband on when I am only just past 6 weeks. Psh, bloated pregnant lady doesn't care anymore, this thing rocks! My pants feel great and snug but not too snug, just perfect.

Aside from the bloat, Baby Buttercup Bud has given me some serious nausea! I have taken to throwing up in the morning after brushing my teeth, yum. I have Preggie Pops, which are so sour and sometimes the last thing I want when my mouth is watering in anticipation of the impending throw up, is something sour. I also have some Morning Wellness tea, which sometimes helps for a little while. I usually feel pretty crappy a lot of the time though.

I also have aversions to most foods. I need to talk myself into eating, but once I think of something that sounds good, I NEED it. Mr. Buttercup Bud has brought me KFC Mac and Cheese, a special salad from this once place I love, Vernors, toast and I forgot what else. Mr. Buttercup Bud has been great!

The older Buttercup Bud kids have taken to referring to the baby as a he, especially Buttercup Boy. He really wants a brother! Buttercup girl says good morning and good night to the baby every day. They are really sweet, Mr. Buttercup Bud and I are blessed.

More updates at 7 weeks!

Best,

Buttercup Bud

Sleeping through the night

I am, that is! This week, especially the last half of the week, my sleep has gotten good enough that I'm becoming functional again. Until Wednesday, I had been having the worst nights--in bed by 9, up by 1:30 to pee, trouble falling asleep for 30-60 minutes, back awake by 4 to pee again, and then restless until my alarm went off at 6:30. It was really starting to take a toll on my work and how much I saw Mr. Magnolia Bud. For two nights in a row, I've been sleeping almost through the night--going to bed about 9:30, waking up at 5:30 to pee, and sleeping from then until 7. I feel like a whole new person!

Otherwise, the bloat is getting worse (as it should be), the nausea comes and goes (gone more than it's here, thankfully), and my boobs hurt worse than ever. But they've also grown...from a pre-pregnancy A to at least a B. It's awesome!

I need to end this here and go help Mr. MB with yardwork now. We're putting stone borders around our garden and front yard tree today, and the stone was just delivered. I'm thankful he's doing the heavy lifting. I apparently get to do all the associated errands ("Honey, we need a shovel." "Honey, we need a wheelbarrow." etc., etc.)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

4 weeks, 6 days

The past six days (since my +HPT) have flown by. Mr. Magnolia Bud and I are thrilled, and we're starting to believe it's real. I wanted to share my observations from the past week with you all.

1. Bloat only gets worse! I had to use the hairband trick last weekend to get into my jeans--but once I had it fastened, boy were they comfy! [A note: I went out and bought two BeBands last night, just in case I need them sooner than I hope to--white and black.]

2. I've read a lot of newly-pregnant women on the Bump say that they're hungry all the time. I'm not. I was a pretty clean eater before, and I've cut out all the junk now (well, except the snickerdoodles Mr. MB made me last week!). I'm finding that it's hard to get all the protein I'm supposed to be eating, along with all the fruits & veggies. I don't have food aversions, unless I can count just not wanting to eat much. I actually made a little chart that I keep with me so I can check off my food groups. I really just want to do everything for this embryo in my power to help it stick around.

3. Every time I use the restroom, I still check the TP for spotting. I never knew it was possible to worry so much about someone so teeny. Seriously. Size of a poppy seed.

4. One of my coworkers asked me flat out yesterday if I were pregnant (he does this from time to time--he was making a joke about doulas). I'm feeling pretty good about my lawyering skills since I was able to turn the question around on him and get him talking about pet parenting instead.

5. Mr. Magnolia Bud has been incredibly excited and supportive this entire journey, and he told me something last weekend that made me even more excited about this pregnancy and going through this journey with him--he had been following my chart, and every day would ask how my temp was that morning. The day I got my BFP, I told him that my temp went down (it did a little), and he was just like "oh, ok." After I got my BFP, he told me that even though he was nonchalant, he was really sad about the temp dropping. He teared up a little when he told me that. I think he's a keeper!

Lots of love and baby dust!

-Magnolia Bud

Monitoring update #2.2

Wait – what is this bizarre emotion I’m feeling?

Is it possible that it’s…

I never updated the blog on tuesday after my first monitoring appointment, but somewhere around 3pm, I got a call from Dr Z’s office that my estrogen level (E₂) was 143! Comparatively speaking, at the first monitoring appointment last cycle, my estrogen was 52. Um, can you say significantly improved?

But what I really want to talk about is that this morning, I left my REs office without something to be concerned about for the first time since the beginning of my last uber failed IVF cycle. My E₂ HAD to be good, bunches of measuring follicles, uterine blood gone (without any bleeding, but who cares - it probably went out my tubes) and my lining is 9mm and trilaminar.

Check me out, all responding and crap. Who’d ‘ave thunk it?

I can’t remember the last time I felt this positive.

And then to find out this feeling could get better.

At 10:30 this morning, I got the call from Dr Z’s office. My E2 this morning was 480 on day 7 of stims. Comparatively speaking… last cycle on day 7 it was 80.

YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Ganirelix is most likely going to start tomorrow (my lead follicle is 13 today - and they like to start at 14).

I'm getting fairly bloated, and I love it!