The original Buds were all part of an online TTC community posting board. One day, Worry Bud, an avid blog reader/follower, asked if ladies on the board would be interested in starting a joint blog describing our different journeys in TTC...everyone loved the idea and Bloomin' Babies was born (pun intended)! Today, Bloomin' Babies is made up of some of the original Buds, but also includes ladies from all over the world!
It is our hope that this blog provides a broad view of what women at different phases of the TTC journey go through - the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly! We hope that you enjoy your time here and visit us often!
Disclaimer: This post was written on August 11th. I am now 6 weeks 1 day pregnant and will follow up soon!
Today I am 4 weeks and 5 days pregnant (based on my ovulation date) and I go in to my general doctor for confirmation of my pregnancy. I am still in a state of shock that everything has happened so quickly! Allow me to introduce myself and fill you in on my conception story…
My husband and I (who I will refer to as Mr. Expat Bud) got married on the rainiest day of the year in 2008, September 13. Since that day our life has been a whirlwind in the best way possible! Two weeks after we recited our vows we made a big move across the Atlantic to Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin, Ireland - City Centre
Mr. Expat Bud has dreams of completing his PhD in Irish History and what better place to do so than where it all happened?Fast forward several months and we’re still in Dublin, loving life.I was fortunate to get a job in my field (marketing) and Mr. Expat Bud has about 8 months (conveniently!) left of his program. We decided about 6 months ago that I would get my Mirena IUD removed in May and begin trying for Baby Expat Bud!I didn’t get my first visit from AF for about 5 or 6 weeks (which seemed like forever!) But after I did I had a nice, short, 27 day cycle – not pregnant yet, though! The following month (July) I decided to chart, and used OPKs and Pre-seed. Something must have worked because after returning from a weekend away in Cork I got a very faint line on a Target brand HPT (I was 10 DPO)! Mr. Expat Bud and I tried to remain calm as the line was indeed very faint and I’ve read some bad reviews on Target brand tests showing false positives. The next morning we got the confirmation we needed in the form of a digital Clearblue Easy test. Time to celebrate!!
Since then we’ve been marking the days off the calendar, waiting patiently to get out of “the danger zone” first tri. There are days I am so incredibly ecstatic and day-dreamy about the little one growing inside me, and there are days I freak myself out with statistics and horror stories; though I try to snap myself out of the latter mindset as soon as I find myself going there.
I am looking so forward to sharing my journey with all of you. It will no doubt be an interesting ride. It’s one thing being pregnant for the first time, but a whole ‘nother story when I’m going through the ordeal in a foreign country!
Cheers!
Expat Bud
P.S. For those that don't know what an expat is (I didn't before I became one!), here is the definition, courtesy of Wikipedia:
An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latinex(out of) and patria(country, fatherland).
I never thought I’d be the girl who’d WANT to have a kid. You can tell by the way that my 1st sentence came out; had I been that girl, my opening sentence would have been something like: I always thought I’d be that woman that would someday want to start a family. Bleh… puke…
Ask my mom, growing up and far into my 20’s I couldn’t even stomach the idea. I was a self proclaimed baby hater. This might sound horrible but I dread other people’s kids and usually avoid them at all costs. I quit babysitting long before I got my driver’s license, I never would take a second glance at a baby bump let alone want to touch one to feel it move, and no thank you, I do NOT want to hold your newborn!
It helps that I got married before most of my friends so none of them are at the baby making stage yet, minus the few who got KU, not that there’s anything wrong with that… but that’s a whole other blog. Because we got married first however this also puts us first in line for the only question you hear after your wedding day: When are you going to have kids? Ugh.
I am Glow Bud, I am 28 years old and I describe myself as a reformed baby hater. Mr. Glow Bud and I started dating in 2001 and finally got married 3 years ago in July of 2006. We knew we’d get married from very early on however believe it or not we’d never really had a conversation about having kids. Our dogs on the other hand are our babies – we now have 4, yes 4!!! (Save this little piece of information as it may become very interesting at a later date!)
About a year ago a good friend of ours started dating a girl who had an 18 month old. Since then this girl has become one of my very favorite people, we take her daughter to the park and I even babysit for her in a pinch! Now I have to tell you that before this little girl came along the last 18month old I have had in my presence let alone held or babysat was my cousin… who is now 17. Slow down we are entering the baby zone… are we finally, at the ripe old age of 28, growing up?
Skip ahead 6 months to April, where I come to the realization that I possibly have a small case of what they call “the baby bug”.
With our last “big woo rah” of a vacation to Mexico out of the way I finally bring up the “idea” to Mr. Glow Bud. A little less than pleased and admitted not completely ready to have kids he still agrees that I can go off my BCP to TTC later this year, later being November/December. No rush right?
So I quit my BCP and started popping the PNV’s. What possessed me that April would be a good month to stop taking them but not try till later in the year god only knows! After 10 solid years of trying to prevent getting KU you’d think I’d have a little more common sense than to think it wouldn’t happen right away.
Well, it happened pretty much right away… its August and ready or not here Baby comes! Already in the three and a half weeks since I saw the two double lines (3 times) and the digital flash pregnant (2 times) I find myself very excited. Mr. Glow Bud is too! Despite the fact that I’ve had heartburn for a 2 weeks straight, I can’t get enough sleep to save my life, and I’ve blown up at Mr. Glow Bud a handful of times, I think I’m doing pretty well. I’ve invested in What to Expect When You are Expecting and I’m already on Chapter 7. Am I becoming that girl? Stay tuned…
It’s practically uncanny that dandelions have the ability to reproduce without pollinating.
I mean, think about it… they’re everywhere… and all they have to do is dry out and turn into little puff balls the next time they open. Waiting. Some unsuspecting child comes along, makes a wish and blows all of those little seeds into the wind. They land and grow. Everywhere.
I was one of those unsuspecting children once. Picking a dandelion… feeling the sticky milk on my fingers, closing my eyes and making a wish… blowing that wish across the grass and watching as the wind took it to where wishes got granted.
Here I am, 33 years old, and still waiting for that wish to come true.
I’m Dandelion Bud. I’ve been waiting my entire life for my chance to be a mom. When I finally met the future Mr. Dandelion Bud, I knew that this was it. Before we got engaged, I told him that I planned on having my first child before I was 35, and if he planned on having any involvement in that proposal, then he had better get a ring on my finger, and soon. Apparently, he wanted that child as badly as I did, because a few months later, I had a ring and a wedding was in the works. Five months before that wedding, we ditched the birth control and had at it.
We had been trying for 5 months, when I started getting a feeling in my gut that something was wrong. I KNOW it can take a year. I KNOW I’m older than 30. But I also KNOW that my instincts are rarely wrong. Especially those about myself. My OBGyn blew me off. She practically told me I was crazy. And then she told me the words that she should learn to NEVER tell a woman who isn’t getting pregnant.
She said to relax.
What she actually said was, “You’ve only been trying for 5 months. Relax. You just got married. Enjoy being a newlywed.”
What business of hers was it how we enjoyed being newlyweds? We decided ages ago that we wanted a baby. The timing was none of her business. But with that attitude, I started OBGyn shopping, to find someone who would care about the same things I did – or at least to pretend to, even if they didn’t. We also called our primary medical doctor (PMD) to see if he would write the prescription that changed our world.
And Mr. Dandelion Bud had his first semen analysis (SA).
The first SA brought us to the urologist – who recommended I get checked out also. Didn’t make sense to get all of these tests done on him, only to find out later that I had issues too. Enter our awesome reproductive endocrinologist (RE). The first thing he said to us was, “I can get you pregnant”. I like him.
To make a very long story short – and maybe I’ll touch upon more of it sometime later on – Mr. Dandelion Bud has been tested up, down and sideways. The tests haven’t always been pleasant. I have been tested up, down and sideways… those tests have DEFINITELY not always been pleasant. But our official diagnosis is unexplained Male Factor Infertility (MFI). Unexplained = no diagnosable explanation.
Our RE gave us a hypothesis that the MFI is related to a hernia repair surgery Mr. DB had as a child. I think it’s f-d up to all h-e-double hockey sticks that we’re going to have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to get pregnant because of his surgeon’s mistake. (The “out of pocket, no fertility coverage through insurance” story will have to be its own story.) Our only option is IVF (in vitro fertilization) with ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection).
I owe my old OBGyn a lot. I owe her for opening up my eyes to her true colors. Can you imagine if I had waited another 7 months, banging my head against the wall with each perfectly timed negative home pregnancy test, rather than getting tested when I knew something was wrong.By trusting my instincts, we’ll get to our IVF miracle a little bit sooner.And maybe I’ll still get that baby before I turn 35.
A long time ago, when I was going through a really hard time, I found a poem that helped me a lot… the meaning of the poem has changed a little bit for me now. But the general significance remained the same. “I hold your hand. You are more than ‘OK’, Bright singing yellow green life. Spring. Deep roots push you into light. Light.” (poem “Dandelion Children” written by Marie Cartier) I am a Dandelion Child. I am strong. I will survive. I will get pregnant with my IVF miracle (or as Mr. DB calls it: our “statistical improbability” – he’s analytical).
I AM a Dandelion Bud. And I think infertility sucks rocks.
I am so excited to be a part of the Bloomin’ Babies Blog! Before I start blogging, I thought I’d provide a few stats:
Sunshine Bud is 36 years old
Mr. Sunshine Bud is 36 years old too. (Side note: We are born 25 days apart, same year, same hospital, and the same doctor delivered us!)
TTC since 10/2008 (we we’re hoping for a honeymoon baby, but no such luck L )
Current cycle number: 9
Cycles Charted: 5 (only three using FF; the other two have been loaded onto FF but were paper charts)
Supplements: We have both been taking FertilAid for the past three and a half months. We have also recently started on various vitamins, minerals and supplements but that is for another post.
Monitor: This will be the second cycle using the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor. I love this little gadget.
What’s next: Who knows; we will probably visit an RE come October IF and only IF no BFP.
Now I sit here on CD 12 and looking forward to the next few days; Only 2-3 days or so until my fertile window.
Mr. Sunshine Bud and I have been married for just over a year and we live in Arvada, Colorado.
Pic of Arvada, Colorado
Now, onto our history and TTC journey – Mr. Sunshine Bud and I met in August 2006. We both knew immediately that we were meant to be together. We were inseparable and during the next year, continued to talk about our future together! Neither of us had been married before and we both had a strong desire to have children. So we started planning our wedding and in January 2008, Mr. Sunshine Bud was seriously stung with baby fever. I didn’t want to disappoint any family and convinced Mr. Sunshine Bud that waiting to start a family was best for both of us. After all, I wouldn’t enjoy a honeymoon and do all that we wanted to do, if I was pregnant, so we waited.
In August of 2008, I look my last BCP and came off several other meds that I had been taking for various reasons. Since I have hypothyroidism, I must take my Levothyroxine and Cytomel and I will never be off of these meds, even during a pregnancy. In October, we were given the thumbs up from my doctors (due to the meds) to start actively TTC. Our honeymoon came and went without a BFP, so in November I started charting but on paper. Oh, if I had only known about FertilityFriend.com back then!
In January 2009, I stopped charting due to stress with home buying and the months of February and March were plain crazy with preparing our new home and moving. When May rolled around, I got serious about TTC again. Although I wasn’t temping, I was using OPK’s and documenting my symptoms. The chart for June was like the Rocky Mountains that we live in and the month of July looking so promising but after some careful review, I think our timing has been off.
So here we are, Cycle 9! This is the second month using the CBEFM and we are gearing up for this cycle to be the ONE! I’ve purchased PreSeed lubricant, we’re using some conception hypnotherapy CDs and I’m charting. Overall, we are just preparing to make this cycle the MAGIC CYCLE! Needless to say, we are excited to know that cycle #9 could actually be a possible BFP for us. We are ready to be knocked up!
Well, enough about me. I’m looking forward to posting on here and let’s hope a BFP comes soon! I promised to keep everyone updated on my chart and all the emotions we all know are tied to this exciting and frustrating journey.
Hi everyone! I am sooo excited to finally do this post & welcome you to Bloomin' Babies - we are a group of women at different points in the TTC journey and came together to document our different experiences all in one place. I want to thank all of the Buds for being patient as we worked hard to get this all ready & especially the amazingly talented, steadfast, most awesome, amazing co-admin EVER (seriously) - Sunshine Bud who can pmb (pretty.much.basically) take full credit for the look of this lovely blog!
And last, but certainly not least I would like to thank our readers - that's you :o) - without you there would be no reason for us to do what we do. I think that you will find that there is a good mix of women here and hopefully one will be able to shed light on or help you understand the things you are going thru in your own TTC journey. It is my sincere hope that you enjoy Bloomin' Babies as much as we all enjoy letting you in on one of the most important things we will ever do - become mommies! I hope that you will follow each of our journeys - and join us as we laugh, cry, ache, and (especially in my case) worry along the way! So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride as we bloom some babies!
Sometimes Buds stop posting on Bloomin' Babies due to personal reasons or because they have delivered their little one(s) & are busy being mommies! We wish you all the best!
Bloomin' Mamas:
Listed below are the ladies who documented their whole journey from TTC through pregnancy on Bloomin' Babies. Congrats on your precious little one(s) & we will miss you:
You may view the archive posts from the Buds listed above by clicking on any of the links above or by looking under the "Topics" section of the homepage for the Bud's name.
Here's what we are looking for in a Bloomin' Babies Bud:
Be either actively TTC or TTC within a couple months.
Be able & willing to post 1-2+ times per week about the intimate details of your TTC journey.
Be committed to blogging throughout your entire TTC journey - from TTC to your little one's birth!
Have good grammar & be able to write to capture our readers' attention.
If you are interested in becoming a Bud, please tell us a little about yourself & provide a brief recap of your TTC journey thus far via email at BloominBabiesInfo@gmail.com.
# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
~~ # ~~ 2WW - Two-week wait until time to take pregnancy test (approximately 14 days after ovulation)
A
AE – Alter Ego
AF - Aunt Flo (menstruation)
AI - Artificial Insemination
AMA - Advanced maternal age
AO - Anovulatory
AP - Adoption Process
AR - Assisted Reproduction
ART - Assisted Reproductive Technology
AW - Attention whore
~~ B ~~ BBs - Breasts BC - Birth Control BCP - Birth Control Pills BBT - Basal Body Temperature BD - Baby Dance (baby making sex) BF or BF'ing - Breastfeeding BFN or BF0 - Big Fat Negative (home pregnancy test result) BFP - Big Fat Positive (home pregnancy test result) BIL - Brother-in-Law BIO - The Nest Baby Community Bio BM - Bowel Movement or Breast Milk BOTB - Baby on the Brain (The Nest message board) BR – Baby Related BRU - Babies R Us Store BTW - By the way BW or B/W - Blood Work
~~ C ~~
C&P – Copy and Paste
CB - Cycle Buddy
CBEFM - Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor
CCT – Clomid Challenge Test
CD - Cycle day
CDs - Cloth Diapers
CF - Cervical fluid
CIO - Cry It Out
CL - Corpus Luteum
CM - Cervical Mucus
CNM - Certified Nurse Midwife
Colpo - Colposcopy
CP - Cervical position
CVS - Chorionic Villae Sampling
~~ D ~~ D&C - Dilation & Curettage DC - Dear/Darling Child DD - Dear/Darling Daughter or Designated Driver OR Dirty Delete (a post) DE - Donor Eggs D&E - Dilation & Evacuation DH - Dear/Darling Husband DI - Donor Insemination DOR - Diminished Ovarian Reserve DPO - Days past ovulation DPR = Days Post-Retrieval (eggs) DPT = Days Post-Transfer DS - Dear/Darling Son DTD – Doing the Deed (non-baby related sex)
~~ E ~~ E2 - Estradiol
EBM - Expressed Breast Milk
EDD - Estimated Due Date
ENDO - Endometriosis
EPT - Early Pregnancy Test
ER - Emergency Room
ET - Embryo Transfer
EWCM - Egg White Cervical Mucus
~~ F ~~ FET - Frozen Embryo Transfer FF or FF'ing - Formula Feeding FIL – Father in Law FM - Fertility Monitor FWP - F* With Purpose (baby making sex) FMU - First morning urine FP - Follicular Phase FRER - First Response Early Response FSH - Follicle Stimulating Hormone FTTA - Fertile Thoughts To All F/U – Follow up FWIW – for what it’s worth
~~ G ~~
G2G – as an alternative for GTG
GF - Girlfriend
GMA - Geriatric Maternal Age
GP - General Practitioner
GTG – Get Together
~~ H ~~ HCG - Human Chorionic Gonadotropin H&H - Happy and Healthy H&H9M – Happy and Healthy nine months HOM - High Order Multiples HPT - Home Pregnancy Test HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy HSC - Hysteroscopy HSG – Hysterosalpingogram HTH – Hope this helps
~~ I ~~
IB - Implantation Bleeding
IC - Incompetent Cervix
IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome
ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
IF - Infertility
IHO – In honor of
IIRC – if I remember correctly
IL’s – In-laws
IM – Intramuscular Injections
IMO – in my opinion
IMHO - In my humble opinion
IMNSHO – in my not so humble opinion
IR- Insulin Resistant
ITA – I totally agree
IUI - Intra-uterine Insemination
IVF - In Vitro Fertilization
~~ J ~~ JK - just kidding JMO - just my opinion
L
~~ L ~~
LAP - Laparoscopy
LH - Luteinizing Hormone
LIP – Link in Post
LMAO - laughing my ass off
LMFAO - laughing my fat ass off
LMP - Last Menstrual Period
LOL - laughing out loud
LP - Luteal phase
LPD - Luteal Phase Defect
LTD – Long Term Disability
~~ M ~~ MC or m/c - Miscarriage MF or MFI - Male Factor Infertility MIL – Mother in Law M/S or MS - Morning Sickness MUD – Made up Drama
~~ N ~~
NAK - Nursing at the Keyboard
NBR - Not Baby Related
NFO - Not Finding Out (gender)
NFP - Natural Family Planning
NFT – No Further Text or thoughts
NIP - Nursing In Public
NL – Normal
NMS – Not my style
NP - Nurse Practitioner
NTD - Neural Tube Defect
NWT - New With Tag
~~ O ~~ O - Ovulation OB - Obstetrician OB/GYN - Obstetrician/Gynecologist OC - Oral Contraceptives OHSS - Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome OOT – Out of town OPK - Ovulation Predictor Kit OPT - Ovulation Predictor Test OTC - Over-the-counter OV - Ovulation OWT - Old Wives Tale
~~ P ~~
P4 - Progesterone
PA - Physician's Assistant
PC - Post-Coital (after sex)
PCO, PCOD - Polycystic Ovary Disease
PCOS (POS) - Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
PCP - Primary Care Physician
PCT - Post-Coital Test
PG - Pregnancy or Pregnant
PI - Primary Infertility
PIAC - Pee In A cup
PIB – Picture in Bio
PID - Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
PIH - Pregnancy Induced Hypertension
PIO – Progesterone in Oil
PIP – Picture in post
PIT – Pitocin
PM – Private Message
PMS - Premenstrual Syndrome
PNV - Prenatal vitamin
POAS - Pee On A Stick
POF – Premature Ovarian Failure
POMF - Pee on My Fingers
Pough - Pee+Cough
PROM - Premature Rupture of Membranes
PSA – Public service announcement
PTL - Preterm labor
PW – Posting Whore
PZ - PregnantZilla (self-centered pregnant woman)
~~ R ~~ RE - Reproductive Endocrinologist ROTFL - Rolling on the floor laughing RP - Repost RPL - Recurrent Pregnancy Loss RSA - Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion Rx - Prescription
~~ S ~~
S/A - Sperm/semen analysis
SA – Semen Analysis
SAHD - Stay At Home Dad
SAHM - Stay At Home Mom
SAHW - Stay At Home Wife
SHG - Sonohysterogram
SI - Secondary Infertility
SIL – Sister in Law
SN – Screen Name
Sniss - Sneeze+pee
SO – Significant Other
S/O – Spin Off
SonoHSG - Sonohysterogram
STD - Short Term Disability
~~ T ~~ TCOYF - Taking Charge of Your Fertility (book) TIA – Thanks in Advance TL - Tubal Ligation TMI - To Much Information TR - Tubal Reversal TRH - Thyroid Releasing Hormone TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone TTA - Trying to Avoid TTC - Trying To Conceive TX – Treatment TY – Thank you
~~ U ~~
UC - Unassisted Childbirth
US or u/s - Ultrasound
UTI - Urinary Tract Infection
~~ V ~~ V - Vasectomy VBAC - Vaginal birth after caesarian VR - Vasectomy Reversal
~~ W ~~
WAHM/D - Work at home mom/dad
WBC - White Blood Cells
WDYT – What do you think?
WOHM/D - Work outside home mom/dad
WTEWE - What to Expect When You're Expecting (book)
WTEBE – What to Expect Before You’re Expecting (book)
WWYD – What would you do?
~~ X ~~ XH – Ex-Husband XP – cut and paste
~~ Y ~~ YGM - you've got mail
YGPM - you've got private message
YI - Yeast infection
YWIA - you're welcome in advance
A 29 year old elementary school teacher TTC for 3 years. Struggling after our first IVF resulted in a miscarriage. Working toward becoming healthier (both physically and emotionally) before we try again in Jan/Feb.
After realizing the natural route, coupled with faith was the path they would take to TTC #1, Cupcake Bud is in the process of losing weight & regulating her cycle to prepare to TTC again after a miscarriage.
A 33yr old SAHM blessed twice through domestic infant adoption. Little Lucky Bud #1 turned 2 in April & Baby Lucky Bud turns 1 in December. TTC #3 through embryo adoption.
A late 20's teacher who has faced well over 1 year of TTC with no success with her loving husband. After 3 failed IUIs & 1 failed IVF, currently attempting to plan for the future, but are finding it very trying at the moment.
After 2 medicated cycles, this high school teacher and her PhD candidate husband are expecting their first child in November 2011! Navigating the uncertain waters of a long commute, planning maternity leave and long term subs, as well as the funny reactions of the students!
