(IN)FERTILITY FRIDAY

Let me set the scene for you for tonight. I am laying in bed doing this blog. (Have been in bed since 8:20.) There is a stack of saltine crackers on my night stand with 2 waters and I am eating wheat thins and string cheese in bed. The pregnancy symptoms have officially hit. I know it means something is in there growing and sucking the life out of me, but it is not pleasant for me. :) Luckily I am not a thrower upper (is that even a word) but I feel nauseous most of the day. The key to keeping it at bay is to keep eating. So that is what I do. When I wake in the middle of the night, I have to eat some saltines before going back to bed. When I wake in the morning I immediately grab a protein shake and a granola bar and that gets me through for about an hour until its cereal for breakfast. I snack all day in the car or wherever I am on smoothies, fruit, pirates booty. Lunch and dinner are very wishy washy depending on what I am in the mood for. Mainly cold things are what I like. I like cold noodles, salads, cheese, apples with peanut butter, smoothies, crackers or chips.... Not really any meats or veggies though. I lived off of cheese quesadillas last pregnancy and they don't even sound good. :( I need to go to publix and find some good cold foods to buy! So moral of the story if this keeps up which based off of both my pregnancies with the girls. it last for 6 weeks I am in for another 4-5 weeks. So I am going to be huge from eating all day long and I don't even care. As long as I feel good I am happy. 

The exhaustion has also hit. I am usually asleep by 9 and often times nap during the day when Blakely takes her nap. I am not in the coma like I was in the past, but still tired. Other than those new symptoms things are the same. Still on crinone and heparin and I have another ultrasound on Tuesday morning. I think if the baby is measuring on track I will feel pretty good. Last time when I miscarried it was a few days behind so lets pray it is measuring on track! I will be back early next week to update you on how it went. I am off to bed, we have big Daddy's (Dave's) 36 birthday tomorrow! Big day of soccer and then maybe dinner out to celebrate. I hope you all have a good weekend. 

National Infertility Awareness Week 2017

Today kicks off National Infertility Awareness week and I thought it deserved a blog post since Infertility consists of majority of the posts as of late. It is so crazy to look back on my journey with infertility and see how much my life and perspective have changed over the past 6 1/2 years of dealing with it. I, unlike some others, have been blessed with 2 wonderful miracles during my struggles with infertility. (Hopefully more) I think I can still identify though with others who yearn in their heart to be a mom or have another child for those who have not been able to yet.

When I started trying to have kids 6 1/2 years ago, I had never once heard of the word infertility and now I can count at least 10 friends/acquaintances who are dealing with it too. I really think it was a disservice to keep it such a hidden epidemic. I never knew not getting pregnant was an option, and I surely didn't know what conceiving a child could entail including the cost of it. When trying to get pregnant with my first child. Not a soul knew. I made up lies to hide why I was at the Doctor. Told stories about why it wasn't a good time to have a baby yet, basically did everything I could to hide the fact that we were having trouble. My mom, dad and sister knew but that was it! Looking back, it seems like the most ridiculous thing ever. Why not tell my boss the truth so they would understand why I was taking off so much. Why not tell my mother in law so that side of my family could pray and care for me as we needed. Why not tell my friends hey this is a possibility for you too so keep that in mind when you are ready for kids. Or be careful when asking someone when do you want kids because you never know what someone is secretly struggling with. I would have done it totally different the first time around, but hey I guess what they say is true, you live and you learn.

Now a days I want to help any and everyone struggling with infertility. Not only to educate them on on what all IUIs, IVF, and miscarriage entail, but also to empower them that they are not alone and not to be ashamed if they are struggling with infertility. It is not because of something you or your spouse did, It is a disease. If anyone is going through this secretly or alone, I hope reading this has empowered you to share with your friends and family. As hard as it is to share, it is 100% worth in the amount of support, prayers, and love you will receive. All of which make the journey that much easier. I would love to talk with or help anyone who is on this journey that may have questions or just need someone to talk to. I am still on the path and have done most anything out there so I can definitely relate and empathize.

And of course being on this journey the past 6 1/2 years, has been such a blessing to my faith. Having to rely on God and trust him through it all has grown me exponentially. And because of that growth I can firmly say that I am a better person, mother, friend, wife... than I was 6 years ago. So those who are struggling, know the growth that occurs within you during this time is the best reward of all. God knew you could handle this so my hats off to you! Look to God for strength, trust in his perfect plan and timing, and know that he knows what is best for you and will give you exactly what you need. Keep on truckin' ladies and shouting it from the rooftops. We will not let Infertility define us. We are 1 in 8!

(In)fertility Friday

Well once again I am writing you from my bed, but luckily today I was finally able to get out of it. I had nice plans for this post to do a before and after picture since I'm 8 weeks this weekend, but not much of anything was accomplished the past few days. So words are all you get! Maybe I'll have time to do it tomorrow and will come update the post w a picture.

So as most of you know if you read my Easter post, this week was just horrible! I got sick on Tuesday and was in bed until Friday morning. Sweet Delainey passed on her flu (or I atleast called it that based on the high fever) and it ruined me. My biggest concern was keeping my temperature low so I was popping tylenol every 4-5 hours so it wouldn't spike to high. I even set my alarm for 5 hours after I went to bed to take another one. Luckily the highest read I got was 101 so I think I did pretty good. D was up in the 103s. I was tired, I was nauseous, no food sounded appetizing. All symptoms that could be pregnancy related or illness related so I am not really sure what the cause was. So by next Friday I will be able to give you a true idea on if the first trimester symptoms have kicked in. My boobs have been a little tender/sore. But then other days not so who knows. I am just hoping the lack of symptoms is because it's a boy not a girl which is making it different this time. Speaking it into existence right Dez. :)

I stopped the Estrogen pills today but everything else is continuing on as normal. No fun appts or anything this upcoming week either. The next ultrasound isn't until May 2nd. So like I said really not much to report. We have an early soccer game tom and then we are going to come home and rest on the couch! Hopefully I can do a few before and afters. I also have some other fun pics to post from our field trip and cook out tonight so I'll be back at some point tom. Keep up those prayers for a healthy baby especially with all the trauma it endured this week! Good Night!

Update: Here are some pics for you I took today 8 Weeks.

Easter Fun

Well our Easter weekend didn't go exactly as planned because Delainey got sick. I am pretty sure she had the flu and had a very high fever for 3 days so we missed some Easter egg hunts and other activities, but she rallied to make it to church and do dinner at Gammoe's. Here are some of the things we were able to do before she got sick. (BTW I am doing this post from bed because she so kindly passed her illness on to me. This is day 3 of it so hopefully I'll be better after today and PRAY Blakely doesn't get it!) 

D had a Easter egg hunt last Wednesday at school and Blakely got to join in. 

 We made some resurrection rolls with all the cousins one day after swimming. 

 We sported our new Easter shirt to Bible Study Fellowship

 We dyed Easter eggs on Friday

 Sunday morning the girls opened their Easter baskets. Even though Delainey knows the Easter bunny isn't real. She helped me put together Blakely's basket and I told her she was now in the Mom club, but needs to make sure she keeps the magic alive for Blakely if she wants a basket too. :) So of course she ran around saying Blakely the Easter bunny is real.

 We made it to church and Delainey did great in the adult service with the whole family!

 So although the flu has invaded our house, we still had plenty of fun and celebrating. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and celebrated Jesus' death and resurrection!

(IN)FERTILITY FRIDAY - ULTRASOUND RESULTS

Hey Guys! Sorry I didn't get to this post last night or sooner today, but we have been BUSY! Last night I got home at 11 pm and just wanted to die I was so exhausted. We had bible study then my ultrasound then dinner and some shopping at the town center then Disney on Ice. I feel like I haven't sat down since 7 am. 

Anyways I am sure you are furiously reading to see what the ultrasound showed so I will get right to it. There is 1 healthy baby growing. He searched around for 2 but only found 1 so 1 it is. The heartbeat was 130 bpm and sounded good. It was measuring at 6 weeks and 3 days and I am technically 6 weeks and 4 days so that is good! He gave me the go ahead to move on to Dr. Garcia, but I told him since miscarrying last time I would prefer one more ultrasound to make me feel a little better. He was totally good with that so I have another one on May 2nd. So really almost 3 weeks away. I will be 9 weeks at the point so if that turns out good I will feel better moving on to Dr. Garcia. 

I am optimistic but still very tentative about saying I am pregnant and will have a baby come December. 6 weeks is early and a lot can change between now and another 7 weeks. So we will see. Keep the prayers coming that this baby is healthy and continues to grow on track! 

Dave wasn't able to make it because of a surgery so Grammy came and we brought the girls with us. It was a circus in there, but Delainey loved hearing the heartbeat. She told Dr. Brown she wanted another girl to add to the family :) Time will tell, and we will be happy with whatever the good Lord gives us! 

No serious symptoms yet, some occasional nausea and occasional boob soreness, but nothing consistent yet. I am sure that will kick in in the next week or so. So I will be continuing on with the same meds for another few weeks! 

 Yesterday night we met up with Dave and went to Disney on Ice. The girls loved it! Blakely sat so still in astonishment of everything going on. It was by far the best one yet that we have been to.

We have lots of plans of Easter egg hunts, church, lunch at Grammy's, dinner at Gammoes. Lots of fun for this Easter weekend! I hope you all have a great weekend and I will be back to do a recap of some of the Easter activities so far! XOXO

Blakely's 2 Year Old Update

Height: 34 1/4 inches .... 61%  (3 inches shorter than your sis at 2, but everything else is the same)
Weight: 28 lbs ... 67%
Head Circumference: 19 1/2 inches.... 93%
Vision: We are good in this department. Nothing to report
Movement: You are a wild woman! You have actually gotten pretty fast and I have to jog to catch up to you. You love playing tag and racing Mom and Sis. Your new obsession is jumping. You like jumping off of things on to the ground. You are cautious though and will usually only do it if you are holding Moms hand. You scoot down the stairs on your bottom now and soon will be walking down them on your own. You can do a handstand against the wall in gym and do a forward roll on the cheese mat by yourself.
Eating Habits/New Foods: Well we have decided you are a bird! You don't like 3 large meals. You are 100% a picker who eats every 2-3 hours but small amounts. You don't like to eat for a solid hour when you wake up and even then it's like half a granola bar or a smoothie, or a few pieces of fruit. Usually around 10 you will have another snack which is a pouch or pirates booty or fruit. Then 2 hours later you will have lunch. You like salami, pepperoni, chicken, chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, cheese, most any fruit, crackers, pretzels, edamame. Then you have another snack after nap and then eat what we do for dinner. You are obsessed with noodles, meat, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, kale chips, and crispy brussel sprouts. You still do whole milk 3 times a day, but I am trying to cut back on it so you eat better instead of drinking your calories.
Sleeping Patterns: You are sleeping through the night, most nights. Occasionally you will wake up and yell "Mom, more milk" and I will give you more milk and you go right back to sleep. Dr. Mary said no more of that so we had a few days of crying it out and you are back to sleeping through the night. We still do one nap around 1ish and you usually sleep for 2 hours. Bedtime is around 7:30-8 and you wake around 7-7:30. You definitely still need the nap. You are so fussy by 2 pm if we miss it!
Sounds/Words: You are a parrot and the things you say now are hilarious. It just sounds so funny when a 2 year  old says it vs a 4 year old. You literally repeat every word your sister does. You yell a lot and make yourself known. In the car when Delainey is trying to talk you will interrupt her and just yell. She gets so frustrated and then you look at her and say shush sissy! It's real lovely lol! You have learned our dinner time prayer, learned some new songs, and are really beginning to be interested in the disney princesses and all their songs and movies.
New discoveries/accomplishments:
-You can hold full conversations with people
-You are still in a crib but only because mom is lazy and likes having you stay in bed where I put you.
-You are potty trained!! We just did it last week and you are doing great at it! Still doing a pull up at night though.
-You celebrated your 2nd birthday with some friends and family at the house and went to Chuck E Cheese
-You graduated from ISR and can swim. You are still timid around our pool but in the warm pool you do just fine.
-You are loving Disney princesses and dress up. Ariel and Elsa are your current fave right now. You also love playing with your baby dolls and changing their diapers.
-You went to your first fair and loved the rides
-You spent a few weeks with ALL your cousins
- You went to Seaworld with Mom & Sis
Places you went/Adventures: Seaworld, the beach, swim lessons, fun with cousins, tons of days at the park, gymnastics, and the YMCA. The clay county fair, trips to St. Augustine, lots of trips shopping with Mom and countless days playing in our backyard/pool.
Clothes: You are in 2T clothes in all brands now. Size 7 shoes and we are officially potty trained. No more diapers only pull ups.
Sister updates: You and Delainey are the dynamic duo. You love each other so much, but love to pick on each other too. You copy everything she says and does. If she stands with her hands on her hips, so do you. If she puts on pj's so do you. It is cute, but it is tough on Delainey because she has to behave 24/7 so she doesn't teach you bad things. Which of course doesn't always happen. You girls are at an awesome age. And when either of you are by yourself, you don't seem like yourself and are so lonely.

(IN)FERTILITY FRIDAY

Hey guys! I can't believe it is already Friday again. I feel like the weeks have been flying by. We had some friends from Atlanta stay with us last night so it was a busy day/ morning today playing with them. D had school. We had our pavers fixed, straightened the granite on our outdoor kitchen, did some shopping. All those fun things!

As far as fertility goes, we are just hanging out. No symptoms at all. I have to remind myself every now and then that I am pregnant because it doesn't feel like it yet. It'd be great if I felt like this the whole first trimester, but that wasn't the case with any other pregnancies so I probably have another week or two till it kicks in. Other than that we are still taking the crinone and doing the shots twice a day. I have my ultrasound next Thursday so I should have something for you on my next Infertility Friday post. I will be 6 weeks pregnant on Sunday so hopefully there will be a heartbeat next Thursday. I love how you are already 4 weeks pregnant when you find out you are. Makes it seem like you are a lot further along. LOL

I finally got my official results online from my blood draw on Friday. My progesterone was 14.5 which is good considering my body isn't making progesterone on it's own. The crinone is providing it all and it is not detected in blood tests. Here's a screenshot of my lab portal. :)

We are off to the fair this afternoon and have lots of soccer this weekend with a few Easter egg hunts here and there.  I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll be back soon with Blakely's 2 year old update and some pics of our outdoor kitchen! XOXO

2nd Blood draw Results

Just got the call from Dr. Brown and my number was 613. Almost tripled so that means something is growing in there! Woohoo! Baby step #2... check! Onto baby step 3, my first ultrasound. It is scheduled for April 13th just 10 short days away. Just in time for Easter weekend. :) Please keep praying all continues to go well and keeps growing. I'll be back on Friday with my normal (IN)FERTILITY post! XOXO

Blakely's Birthday Party

Last Saturday we celebrated Blakely's birthday with a small little get together. Just family and the Braswells and Nelsons. The kids swam, played in the bounce house, opened presents, and drove the new 4 wheeler in the pool. LOL Delainey actually did drive Blakely's new 4 wheeler into the pool, but luckily it dried out and is working again. We had a great day celebrating B with all our loved ones.