Stressful Week

Let's just say I am glad this week is over.

I have a lot going on in my life right now and have been feeling very overwhelmed and stressed out most days. I do my best to try and remind myself that "this too shall pass" and that some things are out of my control. I know its not good for me to feel stressed out while pregnant. I have noticed that when I am really stressed I have more braxton hicks contractions....and that's no bueno. I will not disclose everything that is going on, but one of my biggest worries is the fact that we have started another huge renovation on our house (we are knocking out a wall and adding a new foyer and front door, adding a step in the living room, finishing my DH's office, and re carpeting). I lay awake at night worrying if it will be done in time for the baby. It HAS to be done in time. I cant have any construction going on with a newborn in the house. But again, its out of my hands...we are at a stand still...pending a city building permit. I am at their mercy. I know when this goes through I will feel better.

So here's to better days!!! Let the weekend begin : )

Meal Planning Mondays

A few of you requested that I continue to post my weekly meal plans, so here ya go! Here is my meal plan for this week:

• Homemade pizza's (so fun to do with Kay too!) and a side salad
• BBQ chicken, with oven roasted corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes
• Salmon with a asian sesame sauce, veggies, and rice
• Crock pot beef stew (so easy and my DH loves this! I freeze the left overs in individual serving sizes so he can just take it out and re heat for lunches, etc.)
• Lasagna, italian style salad, and break sticks

I will say that I don't usually cook on the weekends. Normally we will eat out or get take out 1 night, and then the other night we will have left overs from the week. I love to cook, but its nice to have the weekends "off"!

27 Week Belly Pics

View from the topAnd just for fun...here is a picture of me and my crazy kid last night at my brothers birthday dinner. Cake...too much cake..

27 Weeks

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like the head of a cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning- with a lot of medical help- if she was born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on.

How far along: 27 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: Up 18 pounds at my last ob appt.

Maternity cloths: Yes

Stretch marks: None yet, thank god.

Sleep: Better I guess...still not great.

Best moment last week: Seeing her at our u/s again! Passing my 3 hour glucose test.

Movement: Oh yes, and strong ones too!

Food cravings: Decaf pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks & Goober PB&J (the kind with the peanut butter and jelly all on one jar) I eat that with a spoon...who needs bread?!

Gender: Girl..I had them double check yesterday too! Just to make sure she didn't decide to grow a penis since the last u/s : )

Labor Signs: Nope, but lots of braxton hicks contractions.

Belly button in or out: Out!

What I miss: Pants with zippers, being able to run if need be, and putting on and tying my own shoes.

What I am looking forward to: Working more on the nursery (yes, its a slow process around here), and my baby shower...so excited because my BFF from Cali is coming!

Milestones: Making it to 3rd tri!

How We Became a Family of Four

If your new to my blog, you might be wondering, how can this lady be infertile and have 2 kids? Well that is because 1 in 8 couples struggle with infertility, and part of that is secondary infertility. We are one of those couples. Here was our journey to becoming a family of four.

I have a 7 year old little girl from a previous relationship (no assistance needed), my husband has 2 older children from his previous marriage (no assistance needed). Oblivious to secondary infertility we started trying to have a child together in July of 2007. Much to our surprise we soon discovered we had severe MFI and ovulatory disfunction (annovulation). After trying numerous drugs on my DH and waiting many many months while working with a male infertility urologist and RE, hcg injects finally did the trick! So after 22 months, a cancelled IVF, and 3 IUI's, we finally welcomed our little miracle on December 31, 2009!! Below is a detailed account of our journey....

July 2007- Stopped taking BC...YAY I'll be pregnant in no time!!

January 2008- Started charting, showing no ovulation, also found out we have MFI or male factor infertility (very low testosterone, lowish counts, very low motility (3%), and low morph (9%).

February 2008- First appointment with a male infertility urologist. Uro most concerned with his low testosterone levels, sperm count, and most importantly his very very low motility.

April 2008- DH started Clomid and Fertility Blend for Men.

May 2008- Clomid is not helping at all, dose was increased. Started testing on me through my OB.

June 2008- First RE appointment! Clomid still not helping DH at all, moving onto 3x weekly hCG injections.

July 2008- Testing with RE begins; CD 3 b/w, u/s, and a HSG. Baseline u/s showed large cyst, all other tests were cancelled. DH started injects.

August 2008- Testing take 2! CD 3 u/s, b/w, and HSG. Cyst gone, tubes clear, hormones normal. RE said I have very PCOSish like cycles (long and annovulatory). DX'ed with Ovulatory Dysfunction.

September 2008- IUI #1 w/ clomid & trigger shot. Cancelled due to poor S/A results (only 300,000 total mobile sperm). Now looking into IVF w/ICSI

October 2008- IVF #1; cancelled.

November 2008- Break Cycle that was 63 days long, provera to induce AF.

December 2008- Another break cycle. DH has follow up S/A after being on the hCG 5 months now and low and behold it is WORKING!! Motility improved from 3% to 49%, count went from around 20 mil. to 40 mil., morph still low at 11%. Thank you hCG!! Moving back to IUI's!

January 2009- IUI #1 take 2 w/ 50 mg clomid + trigger (1 follie) + progesterone: BFN

March 2009- IUI # 2 w/ 100 mg clomid + trigger (2 follies) + progesterone: BFN (count post wash was 14 mil. with 39 % motility)

April 2009- IUI # 3 w/ 50 mg clomid + 75 units of follistim + trigger (3 follies) + progesterone: BFP!!!! (count post wash was 12 mil. and 36 % motility) Beta #1 at 12 dpo was 100, Beta #2 at 14 dpo was 274!! Click here for my BFP chart

May 2009- First u/s showed 1 healthy baby!!! HB was 125 bpm at 6 weeks 4 days!! SO in love.

July 2009- Decided to freeze 2 samples of sperm 'just in case' before DH stopped taking HCG and started back testosterone therapy.

Dec 2009- Little M entered the world! Click here to read my birth story!

Jan 2011- Back to the RE to discuss using our frozen sperm, re did HSG and CD 3 labs. Tubes clear, labs good.

May 2011- Frozen sperm IUI. 50 mg clomid + follistim + 2 extra shots of bravelle due to lack of response + trigger (3 mature follies) + IUI w/ 2.4 mil total motile sperm + progesterone: BFN

June 2011- Frozen sperm IUI attempt. 100 mg clomid  + 75 units of bravelle on CD 5, 7, & 9 + a few more shots of bravelle + trigger (3 follies) + IUI w/ 9.6 mil sperm: BFN

August 2011- Large cyst (60mm) on forced break. BCP for 2 months to shrink.

Oct/Nov 2011- Final frozen sperm IUI: BFFN It's over :(

Nov 2011- Unexpectedly became a foster mom to my 6 year old cousin, L. God works in mysterious ways!

If anyone has any question regarding our journey, is going through the same things and has questions, or simply needs some support, please feel free to email me. I love to hear from you and thank you for being there to help support me over the years.

Ultra Sound Update

Well I am happy to report that our little lady looks great!! Kidney fluid is all in the normal range! She is about 2 1/2 pounds now and she has HAIR! How exciting! When the u/s first started she was moving around and kicking in there, then she got the hiccups. My heart just melted because not only could I SEE her jump with each hiccup but I could feel it to.

Then after the tech was done with all her measurements she went to get some good 3/4D face shots for us, but by then baby was over it and was napping with her face snuggled right into the placenta as if it were a pillow. The tech tried and tried to get her to move, but she was comfy and was not having any of it. So we only got one picture, and its not that great. It's probably going to be even harder for you to see because my desk top computer is down right now and I am having to use my lap top, which means I had to take a pic with my camera of the picture. Here is a shot of her profile, you can see her ear on the right and her face/nose/mouth to the left. She's so cute already : P

I Passed!

My 3 hour glucose test came back fine...yippee!

Next up...our follow up u/s on Friday to take a look at the fluid in one of the baby's kidneys that we discovered at our big u/s. They wanted to do the follow up u/s between 26-27 weeks to see if the fluid looks the same, or is gone, or what. I am praying that everything looks fine this time. I am just really excited to see her again and see how big she has gotten! Honestly I am not worried yet, which is surprising because even though they told me it was within the "normal variance" just hearing that there is anything is potentially "wrong" with your baby is not a good feeling. But I honestly haven't let it bother me AND I still haven't googled it!! Very very impressed with myself. So I am hoping this is a good sign and that she is A-OK in there and that both kidney's and everything else looks great. I am sure once I am sitting in the waiting room on Friday morning I will be a ball of nerves though....I always am.

Meet My New Best Friend

I have been all over these like a fat kid with cake!! OMG I have had the worst heartburn the last week or so. Every day. No matter what I eat, how I eat, sitting up, laying down, nothing gives. Even water is giving me heartburn. Well you know what they say....if you have heartburn then your baby will have lots of hair? Well then I must be pregnant with a monkey if this is true!

26 Weeks

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

How far along: 26 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Up 18 pounds
Maternity clothes: Yes, everything is maternity.
Stretch marks: No...thank god.
Sleep: It was better for about 2 weeks there, but is now back to shitty again. I wake up 3-4 times a night...sometimes for an hour at a time, and I have also been waking up early, despite getting less sleep : (
Best moment last week: Finishing painting the nursery and getting the carpet installed...slowly but surely her room is coming along.
Movement: Oh yes, definite sleep and wake patterns now too. As a matter of fact, she's going crazy in there as I type (she's a morning person!)
Food cravings: Beef, salads, and now decaf iced pumpkin spice lattes with whip cream from Starbucks. I have had 3 this week : ) They are my new favorite thing, and it also helped with the coffee craving i was having.
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: No, but I get Braxton Hicks contractions often and they suck.
Belly Button in or out: Out
What I miss: Walking without huffing and puffing, not having to pee 23967384927 times per night.
What I am looking forward to: Seeing her again at my u/s this Friday, finishing the nursery, and my baby shower!
Milestones: Almost to the third trimester!!

99 Days

Until my due date! We are now officially in the double digits....man its seems to be going by so fast.

In other baby news, the nursery is all painted and the new carpet got installed yesterday! Yippee! All we need to do now is install the baseboards, put the blinds back up, and pick up the furniture (it comes in this afternoon).

Now I am on the hunt for a perfect chandelier!

**EDIT**

OB just called and I failed my 1 hour glucose test : ( I was really good too....so now I have to take the 3 hour on Tuesday. Ugh. Oh and my iron is low, so they instructed me to go to the pharmacy and pick up an iron supplement to take along with my prenatal vitamin.

PRAY I pass my 3 hour!!