My Birth Story & Signing off the blog!

On Sunday night, July 31st (38w 4d), around 9pm, I was sitting at home bouncing on my exercise ball when I thought I peed myself (which was not all that uncommon at that point). As I stood up I felt another gush and started wondering if it could be my water. After checking out the color and realizing it had no smell, I figured out that it was, in fact my water.

I told my husband and called my OB and she said to head over to the hospital and they would call her and let her know what they found. I put on a pad, finished packing my hospital bag and grabbed some towels to sit on in the car. My husband had just taken Tylenol PM to get some sleep and since I wasn't having contractions yet, I drove us to the hospital.

Once we got there they let me skip triage and just admitted me to a room. Then they hooked me up to the monitors and apparently I was having contractions 6-9 minutes apart but I couldn't even feel them. They also checked me to see if I was dilated at all and I was at a 3. They offered me pitocin to help speed things up but I declined since I felt like I was making good progress so far. I asked for something to help me sleep and figured we could see where things were in the morning.

They gave me an ambien around midnight and I tried to go to sleep. Of course my contractions decided to kick in then. I spent the next 4 hours laying in various positions breathing though them and playing games and texting people on my phone (yes, people were actually up at that hour!) while my husband got some rest. :) I timed the contractions on my phone and they were coming every 3 minutes and lasting for about a minute and a half each. Finally around 4am I decided I was ready for the epidural. I was always planning on getting the epi, I just wanted to progress on my own until I was too uncomfortable. I thought I pressed the nurse call button but after another hour of contractions I realized I pressed the wrong button. My nurse came in this time (5am) and checked me. I was at a 5. She suggested that I get in the jacuzzi tub while I waited for the epi. I spent about a half hour in there and another hour laboring in the bed and finally got the epi at 6:30 when I was at a 6. They offered me pitocin again, but I felt like I was doing fine on my own so I declined. The next few hours I was actually able to sleep a little, which I think was helpful when I had to push.

By around 10:30 am I was at a 10 and the nurse said we would push in about an hour but to let her know if I felt like I needed to before then. I ended up feeling the urge pretty quickly but I waited a few more contractions to have my husband get the nurse. I could barely talk at this point and she could tell it was time to go. My OB came in and they had me push through the next contraction. I call this my practice push since I really didn't know what I was doing and I don't think I was very successful. The next contraction I apparently figured it out because the OB said "Woah, hold on, I don't even have my gloves on!" I pushed through 2 more contractions and at 11:21am Brynn was born!

After delivery things got a little scary. I was bleeding a lot and they couldn't get it to stop. It took about 2 hours and they were prepping me for the ER before they finally got it under control. I will spare the details but this whole process was much more painful and scary than my labor. I wasn't able to hold my baby or attempt to breastfeed her until this was all over but fortunately everything turned out just fine.

I have enjoyed being a part of this blog over the past (almost) 2 years and am glad I was able to share my story with you- from TTC to IF to IVF and now finally to my sweet baby girl.

Brynn is here!

On Sunday night, at 38w4d, my water broke! Just a short 13 or so hours later we welcomed Ms. Brynn Atarah to the world. I will post my birth story in the next week or so.

Here's a picture of the love of my life:

35/35!

I know I am always amazed at how far along I am, but really?! 35 days?! I am having a baby next month.

A year ago at this time we had just gotten our MFI diagnosis and I felt hopeless. I didn't want to go through IVF and was ready to just forget TTC for a while. Now, we are having a daughter- next month.

The past few weeks have been pretty rough on me emotionally. I am still in school until August 1st, and I was taking 3 classes. It just ended up being too much so I dropped one of them. I am still battling to avoid a "failing" withdrawl on my transcript since the reason I couldn't finish it was because I am pregnant, not because I am lazy or just didn't feel like doing it. I think I will be successful in getting it removed.

In the past few weeks I have been gearing up to welcome baby Brynn. I washed all her newborn clothes and finished organizing her room. I still need to put up her closet organizer, put together the swing, and prep her newborn cloth diapers.

I'm still feeling pretty good besides random bouts with swelling. I have a birthing class next weekend, so hopefully I feel a little more prepared for this labor thing, because right now I am pretty nervous!

32 weeks

Wait, what?! How did I get here?!

I know everyone says pregnancy flies by, but it really does!

I haven't posted much because I haven't had much to report. I have no complications. Everything has gone so smoothly. I feel so fortunate that after the road we had to take to get here, we have not had any bumps during the pregnancy.


Of course I have the normal complaints: sore, can't sleep, emotional, cranky, etc. But feeling baby Brynn move around in there makes it all worth it.

We just got back from our babymoon trip to Dallas and Vegas. It was HOT but I took it easy and made it through in one piece!


This weekend is my baby shower! I have to admit I stalked my registry and I am so overwhelmed at the generosity we've experienced so far. Almost all my big items have been purchased already. We've also gotten a lot of gifts from people that can't make it to the shower, including a handmade quilt and another personalized smaller blanket. I will try to post pictures of them and some shower pictures after this weekend.

Welcome to 3rd Tri!

I can't believe I am in 3rd tri already!

I just had my 28 week appointment. I'm now going every 2 weeks. Everything was great, except she noticed that my blood pressure has been creeping up over the last few appointments so she wants me to keep an eye out for any headaches or vision issues.

I am noticing that I am much more tired in the morning, and it's getting harder to move around with this belly.

We finished Brynn's nursery! Here's a preview of her crib (minus the mattress) and name wall.

We are going on vacation to Dallas and Vegas in a few weeks and I am hoping I don't swell up or get super exhausted while we are there.

That's about all I have to report for now. Everything is going great and I really can't complain!

V-Day & GTT

Tomorrow I will be 25 weeks pregnant. I know everyone says this, but time really does fly. I think weeks 14-18 were sort of slow and boring but now that the weather is getting nicer, I'll be keeping very busy until August.


I passed the 24 week "viability" day last week, which was a huge milestone. I also had my glucose tolerance test yesterday. The glucola drink wasn't the greatest tasting thing, but it wasn't all that bad either.

Photo Credit

The worst part was sitting in the waiting room forever. So boring! My OB does a 2-hour test per the new guidelines so I got to sit there for 2 hours and 3 blood draws.

The good news is, I passed the GTT! No gestational diabetes here. I was very relieved to hear that.

Mr. Sassy Bud and I have been working on the nursery, so hopefully I'll have pics of that to share soon. We set up all the furniture and painted the walls. Things are really starting to come together!

Made it Halfway & other baby things

This Wednesday I will be 22 weeks!

Baby Sassy Bud is the size of a banana this week.

Photo Credit

I have been feeling movement regularly for a while now. I think I can feel it from the outside but Mr. Sassy Bud hasn't gotten his hand there in time to feel it yet. Her kicks are definitely getting stronger now.

We have also made some baby purchases over the past few weeks. We got our nursery set. It's the Nursery Smart Chelsea collection:

Photo Credit

We got a great deal on it from cribs.com. I have also started my cloth diaper stash. I'll save that for another later post but I got a ton of hand me downs along with some great sales on a few different CD sites.

Things have been crazy lately due to my law school semester ending (finals!!) and tax season but I'm sure I'll have lots of fun stuff to share in the near future. Stay tuned!

Anatomy Scan & Baby Sassy Bud has a name!

First things first- our anatomy scan results were perfect. Baby Sassy Bud weighed in at a half a pound and all the measurements were great. I'm always relieved to hear good results. I think IF has left me waiting for something bad to happen, but so far we have been so lucky to have a perfect baby and I have had a perfect pregnancy. Mr. Sassy Bud's parents went with us to the scan. I wanted them to be able to be a part of this since he is an only child and this will be their first grandchild. They were beyond thrilled to be there and I think they really enjoyed being able to see the baby "live" for the first time.

Now on to the fun part! Baby Sassy Bud was not super cooperative, but the tech was able to get a clear shot:

We are having a baby girl! I can honestly say that the moment those words appeared on the screen was the best moment of my life so far. I finally feel like this is real and that we will have a baby of our own in a few months.

Before our ultrasound, we had not discussed names at all. I had one in the back of my head for a while, even before IVF, but I didn't feel comfortable discussing a hypothetical baby so although I had mentioned it to Mr. Sassy Bud, I never asked his opinion of it. I think we were both too nervous. After we left the anatomy scan, I asked Mr. Sassy Bud what he thought and he said he loved it too, so we have a name!

Introducing "Brynn Atarah":

Keeping with Jewish tradition, she is named after Mr. Sassy Bud's grandfather's first initials. Her middle name is Hebrew and means "crown."

After our anatomy scan, we went withe Mr. Sassy Bud's mom to a few stores and she bought tons of baby clothes for her first granddaughter.

My only complaint lately is a backache and lots of bad headaches but I am seeing a chiropractor in hopes that I can get some relief for that.

16w4d

I know everyone says this, but this pregnancy really is starting to fly by. I feel like just yesterday I was celebrating 6 weeks and then 8 weeks and now I am moving right along in 2nd tri!

I have had a rough week. Last Monday, I had my monthly OB checkup. I told her about some vision issues I had and my blood pressure was very elevated at the beginning of my appointment. I don't have any real doctor anxiety so I can't attribute it to that. My b/p went back down by the end of the appointment but she wants me on weekly appointments until we can get it in check.

On Wednesday, I had to make an emergency appointment with the OB's office because I was showing symptoms of developing mastitis for the 3rd time since my IVF cycle. This is very unusual and almost unheard of for a non-breastfeeding woman to develop. In fact, both this OB and my previous OB had never seen it in many years of practice. I was noticeably upset at my appointment, so the OB offered to have a breast specialist come in to look at me. He just happened to be working out of their office today. He made me feel a little better about things and he thinks the infection is probably related to the amount of hormones I was on during my IVF cycle. I have to go back for a follow up check after the infection is gone.

On a good note, we scheduled our anatomy scan! It s scheduled on the first day they would see me, 18w (March 9th). We cannot wait to find out what we are having. I am very excited that the u/s office is letting Mr. Sassy Bud's parents come to the scan with us. This will be their first grandchild and they are really looking forward to finding out with us. After the u/s, we will be doing some shopping! I have really resisted buying anything up until now (except for the few great deals I posted about previously).

I'll report back once I know if we are pink or blue!

2nd Trimester!

I can't believe I am in 2nd tri already!

I'm starting to have just a little more energy, but not much. We haven't had any appointments since the N/T scan but I have been able to find the baby's heartbeat on the doppler whenever I try.

We took a trip to Buy Buy Baby to show Mr. Sassy Bud's mom some baby gear. She had a great time! I think we will probably register soon so I will have a few months to clean it up before the shower.

I'm not quite ready to start on the nursery so for now we are just waiting and enjoying planning for the babe. It's still hard to believe I am pregnant sometimes, but I love it!

12 weeks & NT Scan

I can't believe it! I will be 12 weeks tomorrow.

Yesterday we had our NT scan. The NT scan is a measurement of the nuchal fold on the baby's neck along with some blood work. It tests for down's syndrome as well as other chromosone defects. I really just wanted to see the baby again, but we felt that it's also good to be prepared for any issues that could arise so that our baby could have the best possible care when (s)he gets here.

The good news is that all the measurements came back normal. However, the baby did not want to cooperate at all! We spent 2 hours, tried the u/s machine 4 times, and finally after numerous bathroom breaks and me jumping up and down, we got the measurements. I didn't mind it at all since it gave us more time to see the baby. Here's what (s)he looks like this week:

We also did some shopping this past weekend. Target has some great baby gear on clearance. We got the Safety First Air Protect Convertible Car Seat and the Fisher Price Little Lamb Infant Seat each for 50% off!

I don't have another OB appointment for 4 weeks so hopefully things remain uneventful between now and then.

10 week ultrasound & OB appointment

Today Mr. Sassy Bud and I met with my new OB. She was wonderful! We also got an ultrasound today. The baby actually looks like a baby now. It was so precious. Everything was measuring right on track and the heartbeat was 173. We go back at 11w5d for the NT scan.

I am in love!

10 weeks

I have made it into double digit weeks! I haven't had much to report since being released from the RE at 8 weeks. I have had no morning sickness but have felt queasy from strong smells. I added some B6 into my daily vitamins and I think that has been helping.

Tomorrow is my first OB appointment. I'm not sure what to expect but Mr. Sassy Bud is coming just in case we get another ultrasound or get to hear the heartbeat with the doppler.

Although I am not ready to make any baby purchases yet (maybe after the NT scan), I have made some pregnancy purchases:

Preggle

Photo Credit

This is amazing! I was sleeping pretty well still before I got this, but it makes a big difference in comfort. I wanted a pregnancy pillow that still allowed me to use my regular neck pillow and this one definitely works for that.

Angel Sounds Doppler

Photo Credit

I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a doppler, and this one got great reviews for the price. It's still too early to use it so I haven't even tried it yet. I am not the type of person that will get upset if I can't find the heartbeat myself so this is a safe purchase for me.

I also stopped at Borders for some books: The Baby Name Wizard, Consumer Reports, and Baby Bargains. I was having a hard time figuring out where to start when comparing baby products so I think those 2 will be a good start. We definitely haven't picked out any names for sure yet, so the baby name book is a must.

I will update after my appointment tomorrow. Hopefully all is well with baby SB!

8 week update

We had our 8 week ultrasound last week. Baby Sassy Bud is starting to look like a baby. It was amazing. Everything was measuring right on track, so the RE released us! It was a bittersweet moment. I'm so glad to have made it this far but I will miss the doctors and my nurse there. They have been so good to us throughout my cycle. I am also completely off of the PIO shots. I can't say I will miss that at all.

I made our first appointment with the new ob for next week, at 10w1d. Hopefully they will do an ultrasound at the appointment because I am still worried about everything progressing normally throughout first tri.

7 week ultrasound

We had our 7 week ultrasound at the RE today. Everything looked great!

The baby measured at 11.1, which is equal to 7w2d. So, this week we are a day ahead instead of a day behind.

The heartbeat was a nice and strong 165bpm.

I was also able to reduce my PIO to half of the previous doseage, so after I get today's b/w results I am hoping that I can go off of it completely.

Ultrasound #2

We had our second ultrasound today at 6w2d. Today the RE was able to measure the fetal pole. It measured at 3.1, which he said was 6w1d. I'm not worried about a one day difference at this point. Here is the pic of our little baby:

We were also able to see the heartbeat! It is measuring at 113bmp. It was just amazing.

I haven't had any spotting or any issues whatsoever, so I am cautiously optomistic that things will continue to go well. We go back next Thursday, at 7w1d, for another u/s.

I have not had any morning sickness *yet* and I am hoping that continues. I have been feeling a little queasy at night but I haven't gotten sick, thankfully. Since starting the thyroid medication, I don't feel as tired either. I really don't even feel pregnant, except for all the bloat and my extreme hunger all the time. I'm not complaining at all though. I think I am just amazed that this is all still real.

First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound at 5w2d. Baby Sassy Bud is measuring perfectly on schedule. We go back at 6w2d to check for the heartbeat.

This is the pic of our baby:

Pregnancy still does not feel real to me. The only real symptoms I have is a little cramping and being completely exhausted. The lack of energy is partly attributable to a pregnancy induced thyroid problem. It is improving since they put my on Synthroid. I have not had any morning sickness, YET. Hopefully that continues indefinitely!

We are looking forward to seeing the baby growing over the next few weeks. I am ready to let go of the cautious feeling a little and start enjoying things.

Beta #2!

299!

The number is doubling perfectly.

We go back on Friday to get our first ultrasound at 5w2d. I don't think there will be much to see but I am still so excited. I am anxious to know how many we have growing in there. I will be totally ecstatic with one or two, of course!

Beta #1= Success!

I just got a call from our nurse at the RE's office.

Beta #1 (9dp5dt)= 152! That is a fantastic number. I go back in 2 days to see if it is doubling correctly.

I actually got my BFP at 5dp5dt on an HPT. I decided to test early since that was really the only normal thing I get to do during an IVF cycle, and I was dying to know if I was PG. I tested out my trigger and it had been out for about 4 days. I got a BFN the morning before my BFP.

I woke Mr. Sassy Bud up to tell him and he said "Yayyy! Can I go back to sleep now?" To be fair, it was 3am. I was up getting ready for a football trip we were going on and he still had another 45 minutes to sleep. I thought his reaction was cute.

I am so thankful that I have had a perfect IVF cycle so far, minus getting very sick during the first week of stims. After 22 months, I can finally say, I am pregnant!

Embryo transfer complete!

Today I am 2dp5dt. (In English, 2 days past my 5 day transfer).

A 5 day transfer is done 5 days after the egg retrieval (as opposed to a 3dt, which is 3 days past the ER). 5 day transfers are usually done when you have a lot of high quality embryos and they want to see which ones are the best on day 5. I am lucky to have had 6 perfect ones on day 3 so they waited until day 5 to do my transfer.

The ET itself was quick and easy. They let Mr. Sassy Bud come in with me and we got to watch on a TV screen as the embryologist scooped the embryos up in the catheter and brought them into our room. Then we got to watch them being inserted on the ultrasound machine.

I can't remember the specific grading of the embryos, but they were great! Here's a picture of them:

At this stage they are called blastocysts. The mass is where the baby will form.

They also gave us a picture of where the embryos were placed:

The plus marks are where the embryos are. Not many people get an ultrasound this early, so I guess that is a benefit of IVF! Haha. I had a progesterone draw today. I will have my beta pregnancy blood draw one week from today. I'm not sure if I can keep from POAS until then, but I will probably have Mr. Sassy Bud hide all my tests so I don't test too early.