Baby Makeup Bud's Birth Story

First, let me apologize about this taking so long. Life with a LO, your own business, and finding your way after such a huge life changing event has been harder than I thought! Here's my birth story...

After my failed induction the week prior as well as my zero-progress & regression news at my appointment on the 29th, we scheduled a c-section for 12/1 for a few different reasons (blood pressure was rising after my failed induction, dr didn't want me going over 41 weeks, and I was full term).

We went in at 5:30am and was sent right up to L&D for admittance. It was so amazing, my L&D/OR Nurse got my IV in the first try - which compared to my visit last week where they stuck me FIVE times before they got it, was awesome. After all the boring admit stuff, at 7:30 I walked in to the OR with sweaty palms and a pretty high heart rate from being nervous.

They sat me on the table, put a really warm blanket on my shoulders and my Doctor stood in front of me holding my shoulders & rubbing them. He gave me a little pep talk, telling me how great of a mommy I've been thus far and we're only minutes away from having our baby boy in our hands finally - that got my heart rate down quickly. He then started talking about his trip to Cabo (the next day!) that he was taking their whole office to. We got to talking about Jamaica and our honeymoon last year... all this was happening while the anesthesiologist (who was AMAZING) was injecting the numbing needles in my back - which was what I was most scared of.

After a few tries with placement the anesthesiologist finally got my spinal in and within a minute my toes were tingly and warm. I laid down on the table and it took about 10 minutes to go completely numb. 7:46am is when they made the incision and at 8:08am our beautiful baby boy was born! It went by really fast between my hubby and the anesthesiologist talking me through what was happening and just talking about random things. He was wedged up under my ribs still, so high the assisting Dr had to really push him down to get him out.

I could hear Baby MB's first cry as soon as they pulled his head through the incision. My heart MELTED and at that very moment, our world changed forever. He had a strong cry, too! They took him straight to the warmer after giving us a first glance and he cried a little bit as the nurses were cleaning him up. I started talking to him and calling his name (we did this a lot during pregnancy) and he turned his head in my direction right away. They put him on my chest and we snapped a few photos.

Mr MB and Baby MB went to the nursery for all his weigh-in, stats, and vitals while I got put back together and stitched up. It took about 20 minutes to get stitched & stapled (about 30 staples) and then I was off to the recovery room for about an hour. I couldn't wait to see my LO so that hour went by pretty slow.

Once I was done in recovery I was taken to our room and finally got to truly hold him. We tried breast feeding right away and boy was he hungry! He latched on right away.

Recovery from the c/s hasn't been too bad. I took what many people told me very seriously - stay on top of the pain meds and don't try to be super woman. I've been on 800mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours and I alternated tylenol and oxycodone between those every 6 hours. The first day after the surgery was rough getting up and moving around so I took it pretty easy.

Our doctors were quite proud!

one of his first photos!

And a few photos from his first two months:

Making Funny Faces

First Christmas!

Smiles!

One of our fave cloth diapers!

Thank you so much to everyone who gave support and lent prayers through my pregnancy. There were some scary moments, but it was all worth it. If you'd like, you can follow me to my personal blog to read and see more about Baby Makeup Bud.

Baby Makeup Bud is here!!

I'd like to introduce you to our December Miracle!

Born December 1, 2010 via C-Section

at 8:08am weighing in 7lb 6.6oz and 19" long!

He's the best thing I've ever experienced.

I'll have a birth story for you as soon as we're settled in at home :)

Failed Induction

Most family & friends know already, but we went in on Monday night for an induction to meet our baby - and it failed. We were home Tuesday night. Here's the story...

We got to the hospital right at 5pm, checked in at the Emergency Room and they sent us up to Labor & Delivery. After our admittance and answering a ton of questions, the nurse attempted to insert my IV. Each time she tried, my veins would collapse. What can I say, my veins were shy! I was really swollen - apparently more than we thought - because even the anesthesiologist couldn't get anything. Once I told them they'll 100% get the vein in my elbow, I finally was free from the poking. They were trying to avoid my elbow for comfort but after one blown vein (which I have a nasty bruise from) and five different pricks I didn't care.

Around 6pm the nurse checked my cervix and I was hard, high, tight & closed completely so she got new orders from my OB to start cytotec orally. The original plan was to start low dose pitocin but that plan also came with the thought that I'd be somewhat dilated when I got there - wronnnng! So, we got my first dose of cytotec orally and within 20 minutes I started to contract. They weren't hard or long, but they were definitely there.

10:30pm came and I got checked again, a little softer and a fingertip dilated! YAY for progress! Got second dose of cytotec orally.

2:30am and I'm ALMOST at 1 complete cm, though still hard. Nurse wanted to let me contract on my own for a bit to see if that would help. It didn't, so I was given another dose of cytotec at 3:30am, this time vaginally. Almost instantly I had contractions about a minute apart. They were hard too. My pain level went from about a 3 to a 6 within probably 10 minutes. The contractions kept me up through the morning until around 5:30am when I dozed off and apparently my contractions fizzled out and slowed way down in time & intensity.

Woke up at 7:30am when the doc came in the room. Absolutely zero progress, in fact now I'm only a fingertip again - so I regressed from a cm. DAMN IT! He gave me a few options: 1. Break my water now, wait for things to happen naturally before being put on pitocin. If they don't, we'll start pitocin. 2. Start pitocin without breaking water, again wait for things to happen but this will be much slower. I didn't want to break my water this early - because I was trying to avoid a C-Section at all costs. My cervix was clearly not doing anything, even with the medicines so I opted for option 2. He was fine with that so he said he'd come back at the end of the day and see what I'm at.

Throughout the day I was contracting between 1-7 minutes apart, sometimes they were right after each other - sometimes it fizzled. I seemed to contract better when laying almost all the way down, so I was quite uncomfortable for most the day.

Well, 5pm rolled around and my OB came to check on me before his D&C he had scheduled... zero progress. He said I was MAYYYBE a bit softer, but my cervix didn't move. Awesome. I started crying. Clearly my body wasn't ready. So he offered the same two options as well as taking me completely off the IV/meds so I could eat & get some rest - or go home if I wanted. I wanted to go home. CLEARLY this wasn't working. And, I was frustrated and tired. So, we stopped the IV.

I made the right decision, as soon as the pitocin was out of my system (it has a 20 minute half life so it takes about 40 minutes total) my contractions stopped completely. Then we were on our way. I felt so defeated. I felt guilty, my husband felt guilty... it was a really rough time.

I won't ever choose to be induced again, it's such a frustrating process. It's worked well for many people and I know many who have had nothing but successes... it's not for me. Doctor said we can schedule another induction if I wanted to this week - I said no. So, here I am, waiting for Little Monster to come on his own. If he's not here by next Sunday, 12/5, I get an automatic C-Section at 41 weeks.

Since we've been home, I've had maybe a handful of contractions per day - but nothing major. Here I am, a day before our Due Date, starting to get frustrated. I've heard it 10,000 times - baby isn't ready, my body isn't ready... but mentally I'M READY. It's been a year and a half since we found out we were going to be parents, we lost the first one, and it took 7 cycles to conceive Little Monster, plus the wait of the pregnancy which has seemed to DRAG.ON. Physically I am doing fine - not too much pain/comfort problems.. but emotionally I am exhausted. I'm so ready to hold this little guy in my arms.

But, instead, he is teaching me patience. Which, is okay. I just hope he doesn't decide to be TOO stubborn and make me have a C-Section next weekend... otherwise I could have opted for that route at the induction and had him already. We shall see what's going to happen :)

For now, we wait. And wait some more. Here's my gigantic belly, incase you don't want to read the entire thing you have something to look at!

time is seriously flying!

Today marks 37 weeks for Little Baby MB! Meaning, I'm full term and he is safe to come whenever he'd like!

It's been a while since I posted, but not much has been happening. Since I've been on modified bed rest I've just been trying to take it easy. We got a lot of our home renovations completed a few weeks ago in preparation for baby. The nursery is coming along nicely, too. It's sooooo close to being done! This is the Art wall! I'll post more about it once things are more finished in there.

My Dr appointments have been going well. Baby MB is passing his NSTs with flying colors each week. Last week we had our growth ultrasound, he looks just like his daddy. It's incredible. He's got the chubbiest cheeks!

We've got a *possible* induction date set for 11/22 if for some reason my blood pressure goes back up (Doc just wanted to book it in case this happens)... but I'm hoping he comes on his own here soon!

Sending lots of baby dust to everyone out there! Thank you for joining me on our journey :)

I Am The Face of Miscarriage

I am one of the 2,000 faces affected by pregnancy/infant loss everyday. Please go to www.iamtheface.org to show your support and join the movement.

Today was named National Miscarriage/Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day back in 2007. Today, I remember my sweet Angeline who was taken too soon and all the other babies and families this horrible phenomenon effects. I Am The Face.org's goal is to bring light to Miscarriage & Pregnancy loss, instead of bury it further into the ground making it one of the most taboo topics in today's world (in my opinion).

It shocks me that on my personal accounts, family & friends are willing to share their opinions and support for all things related to my pregnancy (even the negative opinions), yet no one has a single thing to say about today being MC/PL Awareness day. October is widely known for Cancer Awareness month, yet no one really knows it's also deemed MC/PL Awareness month. We stand up to cancer, we educate on AIDS and offer support for those suffering this disease or other cancers, yet it is not widely "acceptable" to support and educate on this taboo topic. So tonight, at 7PM CST, I will be lighting a candle for my own angel in heaven while saying a prayer for those others who were gone too soon.

My sweet baby, thank you for watching over your little brother and I through this pregnancy and for all times to come. Love, Mommy.

4-7?!

Oh man, time is flying. In the... "Oh my gosh how is this possible" type of way. We're now 4-7 weeks away from meeting our son! I've been on weekly appointments for the last two weeks. Originally I was supposed to do NSTs & Internals weekly. But last week when Baby MB passed his NST with flying colors (even if it took 45 minutes!) Doc said we can wait till 35 weeks for internal exams to begin. YAY!

What is an NST you ask? NST = Non Stress Test. Basically what I've gathered from it is it monitors baby's movement & heart rate related to that movement. The MA told me they look for two jumps in heart rate of 15+ BPM with the big movements within a 10 minute time frame. At my 32w Apt, Baby MB was sleepy and it took us 45 minutes to get the results the Dr wanted. This week, he had it down and it only took the regular 20 minutes!

The NST machine consists of 2 "probes". One measures the hear beat, just like a doppler. The other measures your uterus' irritability - measuring for contractions of any kind. Luckily, I haven't had any real contractions while hooked up. I also got to hold a cord to push when I feel movement.

This week's belly pic - I'm starting to drop!

Look how much my belly's grown!

I hope to have some nursery photos for you within the next week or two - things are still coming together.

My baby shower is on Sunday so I'll have photos to share from that too. Hopefully this nasty cold is gone by the time my shower is finally here - I'm feeling quite yucky!

Baby dust to everyone of you! Back soon!

A few Updates

Well, I'm *almost* to 30 weeks! I went back to the dr's last week (and again next week) and everything was looking good. Bed rest is doing exactly what it should, preventing my blood pressure from continuing to rise. Dr was "proud" of me for taking it seriously. Really? Of course I take it seriously. I want a healthy baby! I was officially up +15lbs total, baby MB was measuring in at 2lb 3oz, and my blood pressure was on the "average" side of my highs (I've ranged between 116/68-156/85 since being on bed rest).

We're going to begin working on the nursery this weekend. I know, we're getting a late start - but we've been working on other parts of our home the last month and a half to prepare for baby MB so that was kind of on the back burner. I have done a few projects for the nursery though! Wanna see?!

DIY Cookie Monster Mobil

DIY Cookie Monster Lamp Shade

DIY Cardboard letters that will be painted & embellished a bit to hang over his crib

And now, I've got to cut & make out 50 Cookie Monster felt heads like the ones above to stick in my baby shower invites. I'll be back with some more nursery updates!

Hello Month 7 & Third Tri!

We've made it! We're here! 3rd Tri is finally here!

Today I am 27 weeks and starting into the third trimester! I honestly never really saw myself here, making it this far. After a loss, every milestone is a treasure. I know Baby MB is getting cramped in there, and I also know his movement is getting much stronger. He spent nearly all night last night performing a dance number on my insides after we shared a Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard treat from Dairy Queen (which was *heaven*).

I've got 10-13 weeks before this little man arrives. *takes a deep breath* That means 10-13 more weeks of modified bed rest and hoping he doesn't come early. You can do it Baby MB! My Blood Pressure has still been reading pretty high the last few days, but I've also been a bit more active that I probably should have been. So, this means more resting and less to-do-ing. Ah well.

Nursery plans oh-my!

So, we've got our plan for painting and some Cookie Monster pieces we've got online already. And even though our general theme of the nursery will be Cookie Monster, I don't want it to be a TACKY kind of them if you know what I mean. I've got some more ideas to incorporate and start planning for Baby MB's nursery.

I recently started following a new blog, Young House Love (above photo credit), which is amazing in it of itself. But I especially fell in love with their asymmetrical wall art for their nursery. I suppose I should start shopping the thrift stores for some photo frames to repurpose. I bet I've got a few around the house too I can use. I'm very excited because I know my MIL is making a really cool cross stitch project for when he gets here that will have his birth stats on it - what a perfect spot this will be for that craft of hers!

Originally I wanted to hang Collin's name above his crib with some wood letters. Then I saw this "M" monogram from Christy's Creative Chaos (above photo credit as well). She made this out of a cardboard shipping box! The 3-dimensional aspect above the crib would be a great addition to Collin's name wouldn't it?! And, I wouldn't have to buy the letters - I can shop for the cardboard in my basement. Maybe I can find some Cookie Monster scrap book paper for the sides of the letters. Hmmmmm!

We definitely need quite a bit of help in the closet/storage organization. (Isn't that closet above beautiful?! Photo Credit to OhDeeOh) We've actually got a big closet, but it only has one hanging rod and one shelf. We're hoping to install some shelves, another hanging rod and really take advantage of the space we have. Recently, Anna @ Knock Off Wood posted a GENIUS way to install even MORE closet space on your closet doors. Currently our closet doors are sliding doors and I'd love to incorporate this idea to both our nursery and maybe our Master Bedroom too! I can imagine all the possibilities of storage!

We shall see, we shall see! Nothing can be done until we take everything out of the room now.... which... OI VEY overwhelms me. There's just so much stuff up there! And of course being on Modified Bed Rest, I can't do it all myself :( Currently our Crib, Dresser/Changing Table, Glider & Ottoman are sitting in their boxes surrounded by CRAP! One day at a time, I must tell myself this!

What are your favorite nursery projects you've seen lately?

Oh, Bed Rest

Luckily, this isn't me quite yet!

So, update since the last time I was here....

After my appointment monday I got my bloodwork results back right away. Everything checked out except my liver showed some slight abnormalities. Dr said it could be due to taking tylenol for my headaches (which I hadn't had any in about 4 days prior to that bloodwork). He ordered that I get a 12.5mg shot of betamethasone Tuesday and Wednesday. It should help determine whether or not my liver functions were actually abnormal or if due to the tylenol. It also, I learned at the Drs office, is a steroid that will help increase Mister MBs lung growth capacity just incase this turns into something bigger and we go into Pre Term Labor.

So, I got the two shots (whoa did they sting compared to my progesterone shots!) and my blood redrawn today to double check for those elevated levels. Daddy MB wasn't so happy about the steroid, for his own personal reasons he kind of got into an uproar and I know my dad only has my best interests at heart - but I trust my Dr. He's gotten me this far on a pregnancy that we both thought we were going to lose at the beginning.

As far as work/bed rest goes - basically started on Monday when they wrote me out of work. I went in Tuesday for a half day to learn that they couldn't accommodate my half-day schedule that the Dr was requesting and I had to start my maternity leave today. FMLA is 12 weeks, I have 14 weeks to go. At first it was a little stressful but we got it all worked out and Hubby MB and I are confident this is the right thing to do. Even if our entire family is worried sick about our finances (I've got GREAT benefits and get 100% salary for the first 8 weeks and 67% salary for the last 4 weeks), it's clear to me and the doctor this is working.

How, you ask? Well, my BP yesterday was back down to 120/70 - still a tad bit high for me but back to non-dangerous levels. My headaches, dizzy spells, contractions, swelling, and everything else that was creeping up on me last week are nearly gone. And most importantly, that BP is lower. Woot woot!

Stay tuned to what I've been doing since being on modified bed rest (because I'm still allowed those 4 hours a day to do what I want)!

24w & 26w Update

Well, I've been laying low - Dr's orders! But here are a few updates on us....

At my 24 week appointment two weeks ago, we got a scare with my Blood Pressure - 130/100 (yikes!). I laid down in the office for 15 minutes and it went down to 120/70 but that was still somewhat high for me and my OB mentioned my BP is rising slowly. My uterus was measuring a week ahead, I was up 1lb since my last apt (at 20w), and now I've got to watch out for continuous headaches, vision problems, swelling (which, had already happened), and more. I was ordered to lay on my left side for two hours a day - which did not include overnight sleep - when would I find the time to do this working full time and remodeling our kitchen?!

Somewhere during week 25 my blood pressure spiked to 152/84 after a day's work and a huge amount of swelling. I called the On-Call dr and he said not to worry unless it got over 160 for the top number.

I had my follow up appointment today, checked BP, did my GTT (glucose test), and had an ultrasound. In two week's I've gained 5lbs - which seemed a bit high to me but the NP said it wasn't abnormal - and some of it might be water retention related to my high BP. My blood pressure first thing was 142/80, so again it's increasing. I told her about all of my non-stop headaches, my dizzy spells, troubles breathing (this wasn't totally abnormal she said, I'm losing room in there!), and my all-day Braxton Hicks contractions that turned into 3-4 real contractions. We discussed at minimum a modified bed rest schedule with work. I am no longer to work a full 9-hour day - if I can work it out with HR, I'll be on a 4-hour/day schedule.

They took my blood to check for Pre-Eclampsia (my urine samples are coming back clear) and if the results are abnormal, then I am to start bed rest fully right away. I sort of knew it was going to go in this direction after my 24week appointment and my continually rising BP. I notice a huge difference in my symptoms and the way my body reacts in days that I work and days that I'm at home resting. (I work on my feet as a makeup artist and am also the Assistant Manager in our store).

Time for some good news! Little MB is measuring in the 55th percentile, so he's right on track and average. He's weighing in at about 2lb 3oz and I even caught him smiling on the ultrasound! AND! He's totally got my nose! I did find out that he's now transverse - his head and feet are under my left rib while his booty is under my right rib. He's totally cramped in there and it's only going to get worse!

I can't wait to meet him - preferably not for another 14 weeks, but I am very excited! Hopefully whether or not my blood work comes back abnormal - the modified or full bed rest will keep me healthy enough so he can bake fully and wait to make his appearance until November!

Little MB's growth

So as I said in my last post, things have been crazy - too crazy to keep up with things... so now I get to play catch up! Which, actually is kind of fun because I get to re-visit the photos!

Our little blob at 6 weeks

The blob grew arms & leg nubbins! Nine weeks

12 weeks - 3D scan. "MOMMM!!! No more pics!"

17 weeks - when we found out LO was a boy!

20 weeks - chewing on his hands

I really can't believe how much they grow so quickly in there - I guess that probably won't change will it? Next up - belly pics! Wait and see how quickly I grew at the beginning.

Umb, hi!

Where has time gone?!

Wow. It's been since April that I've posted? I had no idea that it'd been that long until I looked back on my posting history. I do sincerely apologize for the lack of updates and poor progress reports.

When I left you last, my grandma was in the hospital. Well, turned out I'd need a 4-day trip to California for a funeral. :[ But, she is now in Heaven with our Angel baby, Angeline. Lucky great grandma! She made me a promise, before she died, to be sure she'd look after me and baby #2 who was blossoming in my tummy. She's done a great job at keeping her promise.

I've proven to be busy since then, too. As a makeup artist, wedding season is the busiest time of year. I basically work two full time jobs through the months of April-October. Though, this year my last wedding is in August for my sanity and baby's health.

Some major updates about baby #2.

- I was on Progesterone Injections 3x/week for 14 weeks. My Progesterone levels went from 15 to 13 to 10.3 to 7 in a matter of a week and a half. Apparently my OB was sure we'd lose this baby too (but didn't tell me this until after my P reached above 20 and things were looking great, gee thanks Doc for that scary info into your brain). After two draws with levels over 20 I was free & clear from the oilshots. THANK GOD!

- It was clear baby was growing, because my tummy grew a TON every week! Whoa!

- The evil home doppler arrival. This thing was the devil in my house. I ordered it around 10 weeks and it took me until 18 weeks to be able to find a clear heartbeat for little one. I'm a fluffy momma so that doesn't help - but I had many of freak-outs because of this doppler.

- At about 13 weeks, my morning sickness (which never turned to actual sickness, just nausea) stopped completely. Another thing I was thankful for.

- However, the headaches took charge all day every day until about week 17. This was almost worse than the morning sickness. But, I was pregnant and still had a healthy baby inside me so I didn't' care!

- At (and after) our NT scan, we learned our odds for our little one having Downs Syndrome or any other major defect were pretty low. All of my blood draws for all of the testing (I was told which tests they were running, but I can't remember) came back normal. Woo hoo!

- I had ultrasounds at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 9 weeks, 12 weeks, 17 weeks, and most recently 20 weeks. 6 weeks I had a blob. 8 weeks we had a gummy bear. 9 weeks the gummy bear grew legs & arms and actually was bouncing around in side me! 12 weeks we had visible arms & the start of legs! 17 weeks....

- 17 weeks we found out we were on team BLUE! Having a boy! It's pretty rare that my OB office allows gender guesses earlier than 20 weeks - but I usually get what I ask for in my office. I guess that is the one thing about having a loss - they treat you much more sensitively at the office. Which... I have taken advantage of - you better believe I'll take the extra care! TEAM BLUE!! This was also the day I felt my first kick - well rather I saw it and said, "oh wow I felt that!"

- My 20 week scan showed a hungry mister chewing on his arms & kicking the crap out of the doppler!

So much I missed out on posting, so much I neglected to share! I am sorry for that, again, by the way.

So... here and now? What's going on? I'm 22w4d and today I think I felt hiccups for the first time. Whoa. Also, my feet are swollen day in and day out from working on my feet. Aside from this beautiful boy inside me, I've been nominated for Denver 7's A-List Best Hair & Makeup! Currently I'm in 4th place and the makeup artists I'm competing against are pure talent. I am honored to be a part of such a great group!

Here's what I've got going on for posts: baby boy's name, the nursery, baby shower updates, baby furniture shopping, registering, weekly updates with belly photos, a catch-up of belly photos & ultrasound photos from then until now, and hopefully a smooth-sailing 2nd half of pregnancy!

Thank you for understanding my major absence, I hope I have you back now! For now I'll leave you with our most recent ultrasound.

Lots of Updates

I'm sorry its been a while since I updated everyone. I was sort of waiting to see if things progressed before getting too committed to being excited. Its a bittersweet feeling to always have that impending what if question in the back of your mind.

The last time I wrote, my HCG was 299, it jumped to 1288! So they're not doing hCG draws anymore, but unfortunately I am now having to get Progesterone Injections three times a week because my Pro went from 15 to 13 to 10.3. This had me SO worried before our first u/s appointment this week because low progesterone probably contributed to our loss.

Well, we went to the u/s and of course I was a nervous wreck. We ended up having to wait 45 minutes after my appointment to get in. They were really busy. We got in, they took us to the room that I deemed "D-Day" (where we found out Angeline hadn't had a heartbeat)... and almost instantly we saw the little flicker on the screen. Well... it was really hard for me to see but Mr MB saw it instantly. Our little one had a heartbeat of 97 bpm!!

Doc said thats a little on the slow side, but because I was measuring 6w2d (I thought I was 6w5d) I probably implanted a little later so it was right on track.

As of now, I'm just praying that at my 8 week appointment the heartbeat is still there, first of all, and secondly that it's a little faster. My due date got changed to November 28th.

Unfortunately, in my personal life my grandma is on her death bed in California. She's been fighting a very rare stomach cancer for two years and all of the steroids they had her on trying to figure out a treatment plan gave her lesions and sores over her entire body. They got that under control and we thought she was improving and all of a sudden she had a massive amount of internal bleeding. She's on morphine for pain, and she's ready to go. She promised to watch over the baby and I for the rest of our blessed lives. This will be the first loss in the family I've ever experienced (and at 25, I'm pretty lucky!) so it's been extra hard.

After we finish telling our parents, I'll share our reveal stories! Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Morning Sickness is Finally Here

I was in the shower this morning getting ready to go to the OB for my Progesterone Injection and another beta draw and suddenly I felt..... queasy. Oh MAN. I made it through my shower, got dressed and couldn't manage anything else. To the toilet I went. Luckily, I didn't have anything in my stomach yet.

I have to tell you, I am SO happy to have morning sickness! I welcome it with open arms, if that means I get to bring home a baby in 8 months!

There's a baby growing inside me!

BFP: 3.16.2010

3.17.2010 - 14 DPO: hCG: 17, Progesterone: 15

3.19.2010 - 16 DPO: hCG: 45

3.22.2010 - 19 DPO: hCG: 299!!

There's a growing baby inside me! My progesterone isn't quiet where the OB wants it to be, so I get a shot in my booty every week, but thats okay with me! I think we'll do my last draw on Friday when I go in for my injection.

I had a little bit of brown spotting yesterday, but that has since stopped and I am no longer worried sick.

4 weeks 5 days along :D I should be getting an ultrasound either end of next week or beginning of the week after.

Check Check & Check

gas? check

heartburn? check

tiny bit of nausea? check

hungry 24/7? check

peeing 24/7? check

heightened sense of smell? check

I am AMAZED at how early on all this came (most of it the last day or two, some of it a few days ago)... because my first pg I didnt get any symptoms until like a month in.

And you know what? I LOVE every minute of it! Sure, give me heartburn, I COULD CARE LESS! Need to pee every five minutes? YEP! Gladly!

Blood draw was today, but I won't get the results back until tomorrow afternoon or even Friday morning. OB wants to wait to get the results back to see if he needs to order another draw. I don't know... something just feels.... different (better) about this one. We shall see!

Look what I found today!

Yep, that's a BFP! A very very light one, but a freakin' BFP!!!!! I'm waiting on Mr MB to get home so we can celebrate. I called my OB, they want me in for labs tomorrow morning before work. I had to share, I am just so so so happy! I'll be back asap with Lab Results & how I told Mr MB.

Rising Temps

Take a look at my chart! Isn't it beauuuutiful?!

Yeah, very pretty I know... except STILL no BFP! This is worse than waiting to "O" or waiting during the 2ww! I feel great about this cycle. I've only been charting for two months (this is my third)... but I have a more calm & collected feeling about this cycle. Instead of a stir crazy feeling.

Well... I lied. I've gone through TEN HPTs this last 4 days. Why do I test so early?! I have no idea. I guess I just want to know right away so that I can call my OB right away? Or.. I'm stir crazy!

Hopefully I'll be back in a few days with some good news!

Confirmed O!

First I'll start by saying I'm sorry for being quiet the last cycle. My EDD is coming up from my first loss and I've really been having a hard time just getting through the days in one piece let alone worry about blogging.

But! I have good news! FF confirmed O for me on CD14! This excites me for two reasons, my first cycle charting I didn't O until CD18 which left me with a 10 day LP (still normal, but it worried me). My second cycle charting I dont even know if I O'd at all, but if I did it would have been on CD21 and would have left me with an LP of 9 days. So Oing on CD14 is exciting for me! Seems a little more "safe".

Secondly, DH left last night to go out of town and I was really worried I'd O while he was gone and we'd be out this cycle. But if you look at my chart I've been a busy little bee with the baby dance and our timing is wonderful!

At the beginning of this cycle I told myself, this is our all out cycle. I can't handle this exhaustion every single month. So, Mr MB started taking 1000mg of Vit C a day. I continued to take my PNV and started taking Folic Acid & Pom pills. We used Pre-seed & Instead Cups each night we BD'd to help the chances a bit more. And.... the biggest thing, I'm really trying not to stress. HOPEFULLY this turns out to be successful. Otherwise next month, it's all getting locked up (except the vitamins) and I won't chart and we're taking a month off. The 2ww begins.

On a not-so-happy note March 15th will be spent celebrating the very short time I had with our LO by visiting a memorial garden at the hospital & getting a tattoo.... instead of, you know, bringing a baby home like I should have been. *sigh* I will get through it, I just WILL.

Until next time...