Pregnancy Announcement

We got our Christmas Pictures done and are doing our pregnancy announcement through those. It snowed the day before and day of so there was lots of fluffy snow for the pictures. I am 16 weeks and things are going well. I am feeling great and am sleeping better and having more energy. I now need to get my rear in gear and make it to the gym to keep up my fitness level. I just have been trying to get Christmas shopping, cards and neighbor gifts finished so I will probably just wait till after Christmas to go to the gym! Hope all you have a Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!!

14 Weeks

I am in the second trimester, which seems just as surreal as this whole pregnancy has felt so far!! Mr. EB and I have been taking weekly pictures from 13 weeks on, better late than never, and that seems to help me feel like I am pregnant. I have picked a midwife whom I click with and I have my first appointment tomorrow afternoon that I am excited to hear the heartbeat. Today there was a warehouse sale for Lilac Clothing, a maternity clothing line, that I drug my mom to so I could get some cheap pants and shirts that I think will get me through the pregnancy. I hate shopping so doing so among buckets of clothing and things not in order doesn't make for a confident shopper. Luckily I knew what size pants I should get but wasn't too sure on the tops, they will at least fit me at the moment! I think I am mostly over morning sickness but have had a few throw-up days in the past two weeks. I got the flu and couldn't keep anything down but I am on the up from that as well. Oh and I went to the Endocrinologist yesterday and had my Thyroid checked and they called to let me know everything looks good and to retest in 6 weeks. So all is well here and I am enjoying the journey!!

Officially Off Progesterone Shots

Monday I went in to test my progesterone levels at the Dr.'s office and they came back at 45.6 which is great. That was after 4 days of not taking any shots and 1/2 cc for a week prior to that. I was soo happy to be officially done and now I am officially released from the IVF Dr. and can focus on finding a midwife. I interviewed one midwife and I really liked her personality, philosophies and her emergency plan with back up doctors. I have three more to interview and then I will decide. I have been feeling less nauseous lately but today I threw up twice soo I am hoping soon we will be done with morning sickness!! 12 Weeks this week oh yeah!!

UNcomfortable!

I'm still pluggin' along.....  becoming more and more uncomfortable as the days go by!  This is what we want, though, and Mr. Bossy has been amazing throughout it all.  He does so much for me without complaining- I really have no room to complain. :)

Baby Bossy's nursery is almost finished.  Waiting on a couple more finishing touches, and I will post pictures.  I had my friends & family shower last weekend, and it was a lot of fun.  The theme was "Little Man" and my friends & mom did an amazing job.  I received lots of gifts for Baby Bossy.  We are most definitely blessed.

At my last sonogram appointment, my doctor mentioned that Baby Bossy was already almost 4 pounds (putting him in the 80th percentile).  She said that he gets too big, I'll need to have a cesarean.  That didn't make me very happy, but I'll do whatever needs to be done to ensure the safety/health of my child and myself.  We're scheduling another sonogram at 36 weeks (3 more weeks).  Hopefully, he'll have slowed down with his weight gain, but I'm not holding my breath!

Bossy Bud

11 Weeks

I am on 1/2 cc of PIO through Wednesday and then I will go and get my progesterone levels retested to make sure I can go completely off of those darn shots!! Mr. Explorer Bud is an excellent shot giver and can find the non lumpy spots which is a big relief at this point when there isn't a lot of non knotted areas to choose from. The nausea is subsiding I think but my sleep schedule is all out of control! I wake up around 1-3 am and then can't fall back asleep until 6 am when I have to get up for work. I have tried taking Unisom and Benadryl which usually knock me out cold but I still wake up regardless!! So I am a bit sleepy but otherwise feeling decent.

Second Ultrasound

So I got back from Thailand yesterday evening and scheduled my ultrasound for 9 am the next morning, can you say I was a bit anxious?! Everything looked great the baby is measuring at 10 wks 6 days and I am 10 wks 4 days so that is good. The heart beat is 158 bpm and was moving all around!! The Dr. was nice in spending a lot of time showing us all the arms, legs, feet, different angles and chatting about the baby. Mr. Explorer Bud and I were thrilled of course. I was really nervous that there wouldn't be a heartbeat just because there is a chance that happens and I really haven't had very much in the way of symptoms. Now I can just relax, enjoy being pregnant and start planning for this baby. I need to decide if I will go with a midwife and if so who and where I plan on having the baby. Oh and I can start to think about where to put the baby's room and all that fun stuff!! I am soo happy that things are going well and I get to go off Progesterone in a week. I drop my dosage down to .5 cc's and then we will retest to make sure I am still high enough. Here is the ultrasound pictures

My Birth Story

Well, Baby DBud is exactly 2 weeks old... and it is time for me to tell the story of his Birth.

It all started at my 38w4d appointment, when the Doctor checked my cervix for any early signs of labor. Can you believe it? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Our little man was still high up, and my cervix was completely hard and closed. I had felt a few slight contractions here and there... but nothing to really report. It was at that moment, that we decided (along with my OB) to schedule a c-section. I was pretty much done being pregnant, and he seemed to have no plans of coming out, so he was getting evicted! They ushered us over to the office manager's office where we sat with her to schedule the procedure. We left the office with our c-section scheduled for Monday, October 22nd. That later changed, when we started looking at our schedule, and everything we needed to get done. We actually tried to have it re-scheduled for Wednesday the 24th, but that date wasn't available, so we had to schedule it for Thursday the 25th. **A little background about why we wanted the 24th - DH's Birthday is 2/24, mine is 5/24 and we got married on 1/24... so naturally, we would've liked the baby to be born on 10/24 ;) Anyway... we were scheduled and ready to go, with our pre-registration taking place the day before, the 24th at 9am. We got up that morning, grabbed breakfast, and headed to the hospital to finish filling out all the paperwork, etc. 

We ran a little late, and actually didn't get there until about 10am (I actually wasn't feeling great, and was praying to the porcelain gods before we left the house - I chalked it up to "nerves" getting the best of me). We went ahead and filled out all the pre-registration paperwork, and were sent over to where the nurse would meet us to run a few tests. All was going well... until they checked my blood pressure. It was somewhere in the 150s over 90s, which was high (especially for me, Mrs. 120/70). I found it strange, because at my last appointment, the day we scheduled the c-section, it was higher than normal as well... not "high" necessarily, but high for what my norm is. The nurse took it a couple more times, to check, and it was not getting any lower. She actually went ahead and called my Doctor to let him know, and see what he wanted to do. Meanwhile, they weren't really telling me much, she just gave me a couple of small bottles of water to see if that helped, but at that point, nothing did. She had me pee in a cup, and have my blood drawn, before sending me up to triage to put me on monitors. The baby's heart rate was fine, but my BP remained high. Within a few minutes, my OB arrived (one of the two from the practice I visit). He was performing a c-section that day, and was able to come and check on me. Well, apparently, I was having some contractions every 4 minutes (which I did not notice). My OB told us that with his experience, high BP only got higher, and that his instinct was to get the baby delivered that day... within 1 1/2 - 2 hours! Oh..My..GOD!!!!! Here we were, in the hospital, a couple of hours from meeting our son... with no hospital bag, no nice expensive camera that we bought to take photos and videos of our son with, and no family members! My Mom was at work, his parents had a Doctor's appointment, and NO ONE expected this. Mr. DBud started calling and texting everyone, letting them know what was going on, as they whisked us off to pre-op. Before long, I was wheeled into the OR, where I got my epidural and was prepped for the surgery, and before much longer time was called, and Mr. DBud was brought into the room. By this time, I was pretty nervous (and worried) watching my BP skyrocket to the 200s/100s. Mr. DBud kept his cool... but he was very worried :( Within a few minutes... I heard him. My son! He had the sweetest and softest cry and all I could think was how I wanted to see him, and hold him. They had Mr. DBud cut the umbilical cord, cleaned him up, weighed and measured him, took his foot prints, and swaddled him before placing him on my chest. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I looked at him - my Son! It was love at first site. The three of us posed for our first family portrait, before they wheeled him to the nursery, with Mr. DBud in tow. I stayed behind to get sewn up, while the Doctors chatted about all sorts of random things like Eddie Murphy and the movie "Coming to America", etc. When they were done, I was moved to another bed and rolled to recovery. 

While in recovery, my BP remained high. They called my OB, and asked what medicine to give me... but apparently, my system LAUGHED at the first two they tried. Neither had any effect, and my blood pressure remained where it was - through the roof! Finally, the last medication they tried worked, and it started to come down. Unfortunately, this made my time in recovery go from about 2 hours (which is the norm) to about 4 1/2 hours, and landed me a stay in SICU. I tried to rest up a bit while still in recovery, in between Mr. DBud coming to see me and being checked every once in a while by the nurses. After a few hours, I was surprised by a Nurse who took pity on us, and brought the baby to me in recovery. This is normally not allowed at this hospital, since the babies have alarms attached, and are not exactly close to the recovery area... but she got special permission, and brought him to us. I tried to feed him with the formula she brought (which I wasn't too happy about because I wanted to breast feed since day one, but needed to get approval from the Pediatrician because of the meds I was on), but because of all the IVs and everything I was attached to (including a BP cuff that went off every 15 minutes, oxygen, etc.) I couldn't. This made me sad :( I wanted to be free to hold him and caress him... and I wanted to breast feed him :( After a little bit, she took him back to the nursery, and I was moved into a room in the SICU. Mr. DBud would go visit him when he could... but it broke my heart to know that he was in the nursery all the time, without his Mommy and Daddy, while all the other babies could be with their Parents :( It was extremely depressing. 

I was in SICU until the next day, when they finally decided to put me in a regular room next to the nursery. It took a while, even after I was told that I could be moved, for me to get moved... but it finally happened. And not long after that, our sweet baby boy was brought to the room, and was with us constantly! Finally, my Mom was able to see and carry her Grandson (her first!) and my Mother in Law was also able to be with us carry him :) We had quite a few visitors over the next few days, and little by little I started to feel normal again. It felt so good to have the IV and all the other cables and monitors removed, and of course with the right amount of pain medication every certain amount of time, I was able to get out of bed, and move around a bit. Baby steps ;)

Now, 2 weeks after his Birth, I am feeling great. My c-section scar is healing well (had the staples removed at my 1 week PP appointment, and replaced by steri strips which have begun to fall off as well), and I am actually functioning well without any form of pain medication. Baby DBud is breast feeding (sometimes constantly) and we were able to get him completely off the formula. He has even been sleeping for a nice long stretch at night, giving us about 5 hours straight of sleep! He is a wonderful and beautiful baby - I couldn't ask for more. I am SO incredibly blessed. 

So, what can I say? This has definitely been an emotional ride. Even though, in the end, I was fortunate in easily overcoming my issues with IF, trying to get pregnant was hard, at times. My pregnancy was pretty good, for the most part, but my delivery and the first 24 hours of recovery in SICU sucked, for lack of a better word... but, you know, all I have to do is look at him - my SON - and it is ALL worth it. It is true when they say that everything "negative" you experience seems to disappear when they are finally in your arms. He is the light of my life, and I can't imagine how I lived all these years without him. We are completely head over heals with our sweet baby boy. To everyone out there who is TTC, whether you are experiencing IF issues, have TTC for a while or just begun... there IS a light at the end of the tunnel - and it is even brighter than you think it is!!! Thank you all for following my story, and for all the support over these past couple of years. I don't know what I would've done without being able to share my story, in moments of happiness and woe. This blog has been such a huge part of my TTC process, and I am extremely grateful to be a part of it :) Thank you!

As I wrap up this, my final post... here is a song for my Son. I love you with everything that I have, and everything that I am. You have made my life complete, and I thank God everyday for making you mine.

Christian Javier

October 24, 2012

2:33pm

7lb4oz, 19 3/4 inches

Baby DBud is here!

And he's absolutely perfect :)

He was born via c-section on Wednesday, October 24 at 2:33pm, weighing in at 7lbs4oz, 19 3/4 inches. Today he is officially a week old, and we are both doing extremely well. We are so happy and blessed to have our little man in our lives.

My birth story is complicated, and long... And I am still getting in the swing of things, taking care of a newborn and breastfeeding, so I will share my story in another post soon. In the meantime, meet Christian :)




Stay tuned!!!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

39 weeks - still pregnant

Here is my current update, for your reading pleasure :) 

How far along: 39 weeks - no progress as of this past Wednesday at 38w4d :-/

Total weight change: Stopped at +50 - thank God!

Maternity clothes: Same. I've got my pregnancy uniform ;)

Stretch Marks: I have accepted my Zebra status :) 

Movement: Still rolling around in there, but slightly slower. I think he has officially run out of room. 

Sleep: LOVE my sleepy time. Sleeping well, but waking up with aches. My body is "done".

Best Moment This Past Week: Deciding that this will be the week. Scheduled a c-section for Thursday, very early in the morning... but still hoping he'll come on his own before then. Let's see what happens...

Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Not seeing any progress. Also, my blood pressure was a bit high (considering it has been low and stable during the entire pregnancy).

Belly Button In or Out: Still in... looks like a butt-hole lol!!!!

Cravings/Aversions: No major cravings. Not even hungry at times. 

Symptoms: Heartburn, and indigestion. Slight BH here and there... but nothing major. Thinking of convincing Mr. DBud to DTD so maybe the baby will decide to come out ;)

I am dying for him to be here, so I can share my birth story with you!!!!! Pray for us :)

37w5d - he's snug like a bug in a rug ;)

Well, here I am... almost at the 38 week mark! I still can't believe that in the next couple of weeks, we'll be meeting our son :) :) :) It's still soooooo surreal. I know a lot of women out there can relate. Once you've dealt with even the most minor case of IF, you are never sure if you will ever have your take home baby. So, when you are this close, it's still so hard to believe.

I want to take a moment to give a HUGE shout-out to our very own Explorer Bud. Let's hope and pray that this LO sticks so she can have her own take home baby!!!! Please keep her in your T&P. 

Anyway, let's get down to my updates, shall we?

How far along: 37 weeks 5 days! :) Cervix is still high and closed as of my OB appointment yesterday, so it seems like this little man is very comfortable, and not ready to come out yet. 

Total weight change: I don't even want to say it... but I will. +50! HOW THE HECK?! I haven't changed any of my eating habits, my blood pressure is great. I am, however, swollen like a toad, retaining tons of water. OB hasn't said anything about it, so he doesn't seem concerned. But I am :-/ Let's see how big this baby really is. They keep saying he's going to be huge, but at my last ultrasound they estimated 6lbs6oz (could be a lb more or less, give or take). I guess we'll find out soon enough!

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... Doing that today, since I need to finish packing my Hospital Bag. 


Stretch Marks: Still Zebra status. I have given up on the whole stretch mark issue. I guess when we are done having kids, I'll have them taken care of. Whatever.  


Movement: He moves pretty regularly. Definitely has days where he moves more than others... but, like I said before, it's more like a roll, and less kicking than before. Some of his movements are quite strong. It's funny to sit and look at my belly as he wiggles in there. So weird! lol


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! I love my sleep time ;) I also try to get a nap in when I get home from work. At least an hour or so.


Best Moment This Past Week: Reaching "Full Term", starting to pack my Hospital Bag (already packed his), almost finishing up the nursery (almost!)... and I'm sure we have a couple more here and there. We got the mattress, compliments of MIL, and are just about ready to put that together. I just have to finish the letters of his name for the wall above the crib. Other than that, it's really taking shape. Pictures coming soon!!!!!


Most Difficult Moment This Past Week: Seeing that number on the scale... scary :( I am starting to get a little worried about weight loss after the baby comes, because I was already overweight to begin with, and it isn't good for my career. I plan on breastfeeding, so I can't go on a crazy diet straight off. Hopefully a lot of this weight will come off on its own. Let's hope!


Belly Button In or Out: Still in... looks so weird! I don't think it'll become an outtie, but it's pretty shallow. 

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


Symptoms: Heartburn comes and goes, which can really suck at times... It got pretty wicked last night. Looking forward to not having to deal with that anymore.