Second Trimester

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope everyone’s holiday was fulfilled with fun and relaxation. David and I had a really nice day. We were able to stay home for a change and opened our stocking stuffers that morning. David and I had bought our Christmas gift early, a normal size refrigerator. But we decided to do stocking stuffers so we could have something to open other than the fridge door:) . Later in the day David’s dad and sister, with her two children, joined us for dinner. It was a pleasant day. We will be celebrating with my parents on Saturday. I really look forward to that because we have so much fun; with gifts, playing games, laughing and having a nice dinner.
It has been 16 weeks with the pregnancy as of the 25th of December. At my doctor’s appointment the doctor measured my belly and I was able to hear the heart rate. Everything is going well with the baby. As for myself, I have been struggling with a cold the past two weeks. It is really hard when you are unable to take any medication to help battle the cold a get some rest. I discovered the Breathe Right Strips were very helpful in the evening while sleeping. The cold has finally dissipated. I have an appointment for an ultrasound on the 31st of December to see the baby and hopefully find out if the baby is a girl or a boy. I see that everyone is voting for having a boy. Either way I’m excited and hope the baby is healthy. So I will update everyone next week.
The changes I have been going through. Well, my belly is poking out and you can definitely tell that I’m pregnant verses gaining weight. I look fuller in the face and upper torso, but that is due to increase water and blood volume in my body. The doctor has said that my weight gain is appropriate and to keep exercising, which I do almost on a daily basis; mostly walking on the treadmill and some arm exercises. It is an adjustment to see the changes. Most days I feel pretty good and up beat. On occasion I have an emotional day, which is hard to handle because I have a hard time controlling my feelings. I know what’s happening, but I have no control. So that’s when I read a book and sooner or later I’m o.k. again. The pregnancy is really exciting; especially when you get to hear the baby’s heart beat, see an ultrasound, watch the belly grow, etc however the emotional roller coaster sure is a ride. I’m not feeling so tired all the time. I changed my schedule around at work and that seems to be helping. All in all things are going pretty good:).

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year; 2009!!!!

12 Weeks

It has been 12 weeks on the 26th of November, and the belly is starting to poke out. I had my initial doctors appointment on the 26th. They let me know that everything from the blood work came out really good and that I'm completing healthy. I was able to hear the baby's heart beat, which is an indescribable feeling. I can't believe I have this little person developing inside of my body and that his/her heart is beating so fast. The heart rate is at 170 beats. The doctor said that was within a healthy range. So everything with the pregnancy is going well and I'm feeling good. We won't know the sex of the baby until around the second week of January, around the 7th. I'm really looking forward to that ultrasound. Hopefully the baby will be moving around just right so we can see all parts!!
The rash is completing gone, thank goodness. I discovered that the cause of the rash came from using the Palmer's Coca Butter lotion. I went without the lotion for a 1 1/2 weeks as I was healing and started it back up about a week ago and broke out all over again. So I threw that bottle away and now only using sensitive skin lotions. The Vaseline in the products will help in reducing the chances of getting the "beauty marks".
My next appointment is on the 24th of December. I will be meeting on a monthly basis for check-ups until I get nearer to the end of the pregnancy, then they become weekly.

Hoping everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday.

Feeling Better

I am feeling much better with the rash. I started to feel some relief about a week ago and this week it is pretty much gone. I went again to have it seen and was told to keep taking benadryl and this menthol lotion. The lotion really helped throughout the day, however it was stinky and the benadryl in the evening. That stuff just knocks me right out. I wasn't much company for David. The doctor didn't want to give me any medication due to the critical stages I was still in for the baby's development. So I had to just hang in there.
I'm still feeling pretty good with the pregnancy; no nausea or vomiting. I feel really tired by the afternoon and if I don't eat on a regular basis I will get a little nauseated. I have my next doctor's appointment on Wednesday the 26th of November and I hoping to receive a sonogram. This week I'm at 10 weeks and according to babycenter.com, the baby has started to develop red blood cells to the organs and nails on the fingers and toes. The baby is moving around a lot, however the baby is still too small for me to feel anything. The site compare the baby to a kumquat in size. Just bigger than a quarter. The development is progressing and I can't wait for the upcoming progress and changes. It is all very exciting.

The Joys of Pregnancy

The Joys of Pregnancy. I have broken out into a rash all over my stomach and to make it worse it is very itchy. I went to see the doctor and basically I am to live with it. They are not sure what cause it; allergy or hormone changes from the pregnancy. They don't want to give me any medication that would be transferred to the baby. So this mean I can keep using my lotion for relief and if I just can't take it anymore I can use calamine lotion. I did buy the calamine lotion for the evening to prevent the pink rubbing off on my work clothes. So hopefully this will work and it will clear up in a couple of weeks. On Thursday the rash had worsen to the point of wanting to claw at my skin and to make it even worse it had spread all over. I was able to go see a dermatologist and the doctor took a culture of the clear fluid seeping out of the rash. On Monday I will find out the results. The doctor gave me a low dosage steroid cream to get rid of the rash and I am to take Benadryl for relief and sleep. So far so good. The cream should not hurt the baby due it hardly even getting into the blood stream if at all. I did inform my OBGYN and he agreed to the treatment regiment.
I had my third ultrasound on Friday morning. I'm eight weeks along and things are going great. The baby has almost tripled in size increasing the heart rate from 120 to 168 beats. The baby has started growing her/his limbs and you can see where the head is developing. When I saw the baby on the screen, I couldn't believe how much he/she had grown in just one week. Of course I received pictures. I won't have anything else done until I see my OBGYN on the 26th of November, not sure what will occur on that visit. So until then no more pictures. I'm officially discharged from Dr. Kilts (the specialist in Syracuse).

Ultrasound # 2

We had our second ultrasound yesterday on the 22nd and David was able to come with me. I was really excited for him to see everything on the monitor, which isn't too much yet. The baby's heart beat went from 100 last week to 120 this week and grew to 2.8mm compared to 2mm last week. You can see that the sack has gotten bigger and this tiny little circle just a beating away. It truly is just amazing. So everything is going very good at this time.
I have to buy some bigger pants. I can't believe how uncomfortable everything is starting to feel. I guess at 7 weeks, you should be feeling a little differently in your clothes...but this has been quick. I'm am eating healthy with a few snacks here and there. No cravings yet nor nausea, thank God. Lets hope it stays that way. I have started to feel really tired, especially by the afternoon. I usually fall asleep on the couch by 7:30pm.
We have our next visit on the 29th. The doctor (specialist) just wants to follow-up with me until I'm in Dr. Heiss hands which is on the 26th of November. Fine by me. I love receiving a weekly picture of the baby, seeing what progress has been made.

Our First Ultrasound Visit

It is October 15th and it could be a better day to go on our first ultrasound visit on our 3 year wedding anniversary. We have been looking forward to this for the past two weeks. Due to David's work schedule he was unable to be there. So hopefully he will be able to attend the one next week. Everything looks really good. David and I are having one baby. I could see the yolk developed and just inside was our tiny baby that looked like a dot on the side of the yolk pumping. My baby has a heartbeat. You couldn't hear anything, however you could just see it when the device located it just right. I was given a picture and can't wait to include it in the baby book..thanks to mom and dad.
I have another ultrasound on the 22nd of October. The specialist that we have been working with wants me to have two more ultrasound before discharging us to my permanent doctor. I will meet with Dr. Heiss (permanent doctor) on November 26th. I look forward to all my appointments. I wish I could just hook myself up and watch the whole process.
Until next week, I'm still feeling pretty good.

We are Pregnant

David and I went started the procedure for IVF, however the medications were unable to hold the embryos resulting me to pre-ovulate and taking another month off. Our doctor suggested we try a different drug that would hold the embryo's and a new protocol. David and I decided this was a go, however this would be our last try working with the doctor. There is a lot of stress and tension when going through infertility treatments, especially with the hormone treatments. We decided that if the IVF procedure did not work, what was meant to be will be.
On the 17th of September, I was scheduled to have my embryo's extracted. I was so nervous and hormonal, I couldn't help but cry. I went to sleep and when I woke up, David was by my side and I was told they extracted eight embryo's and that the embryo's and sperm were together getting to know one another. On Friday we were told that four of the embryo's were fertilized. We were very excited to hear that but at the same time nervous...potentially four babies. Holy Cow!!! On Monday the 22nd of September, David and I went back to the doctors so they could place the fertilized embryo's into my uterus. We decided to put three of the embryo's into my uterus. The fourth embryo stopped growing. We had to wait two weeks from the 17th to know if we were successful.
On Monday, the 29th, David suggested that we go buy a test. I was hesitant of that because I didn't want to be disappointed if the test result came out negative. We were taking a blood test on the 1st of October. Let's wait and I could continue believing I was still temporarily pregnant. David ended up talking me into buying the test. On the way home, I immediately took the test and shut the bathroom door. I was so anxious, excited and nervous. I kept walking toward the door and David would state "WAIT FOR ME". We look at each other after a couple of minutes, crossed our fingers and said we loved each other. We opened the door and saw the test was positive. I immediately starting jumping up and down, I was so excited. Of course I could help myself and had to call the parents.
On the 1st of October, the blood test confirmed that we were pregnant and we went ahead and told our friends and rest of family. I have my first ultrasound on the 15th of October and I guess we should be able to hear a heartbeat or heartbeats. We shall see.......

Let's Give it Another Go.....

Well unfortunately the second IUI didn’t work. David and I decided to take a month off and think about what we wanted to do next. After a lot of thinking and talking with the doctor’s, David and I decided to try IVF; In Vitro Fertilization. If you are interested in learning more about the procedure, http://www.cnyfertility.com/ displays a good explanation with pictures. We start the process on the 14th of July, however probably won’t do the procedure until around the first full week of August. It really all depends how my body is reacting to the medications. David and I are really excited in proceeding with the IVF because there is a 40-50% success rate in becoming pregnant. Keeping our fingers crossed.
David and I have been enjoying the summer so far. The weather has been really nice and we have been planning and exploring different ideas for the house. Tyler and Haley are having a ball running around, trying to play with the other animals (squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, porky pines, etc.), and getting into the river. Usually by the time they come in the house for the night, they put themselves to bed and you don’t hear a peep out of them. They are like zombies. They are too precious.

The Journey has Started

For those of you who know us, David and I have been longing for a baby since our wedding night. David and I will be married 3 years in October and since we have moved back to New York, bought a new home, we feel we are truly ready to bring in a precious baby in our lives. David and I have had a little trouble conceiving, so we decided to go see a specialist. We were both tested with good results in the end, however yet to have a little one. So we decided to go in this aggressively and begin our journey getting prepared for a procedure called an IUI; intrauterine insemination. David and I receive our first treatment, however it was unsuccessful. We decided that we would jump right back on the wagon and start the process over again. Another procedure was done on June 11th. So we will find out if I'm pregnant on the 25th of June. Keeping my fingers crossed till then. Although this has been very stressful and exciting all at the same time, we are just fortunate to be able to go through this process to help us have a little one.