35 Weeks Down, 35 Days Left to Go!!!

Here's a picture of me around 34.5 weeks.

So, I have 35 days until my due date. How crazy is that? I remember taking my first HPT on that snowy morning. My, how time flies. Mark and I have basically completed the nursery...all that's left is hanging up some pictures and finishing emptying the closet. Once I hang things up on the walls, I'll post some pictures.

As of 34 weeks, my OB told me that from here on out, if I go into labor, they won't do anything to stop me. That makes everything so real!! Little baby m will be here at any time now! Wow!! At this point, my OB appointments are every week, but we are still just doing the doppler. I have a growth ultrasound at about 37.5 weeks. Mark and I can't wait to see our little girl again...we haven't seen her since she was 21.5 weeks! In fact, here is her most recent picture : - )


So, for the time being, I just deal with my swollen feet and cankles, my sciatic nerve pain, Braxton Hicks contractions, and frequent insomnia...very small prices to pay for our little girl : - )

First Nursery Purchase

Mark and I decided on the Bananafish Bubble Gum bedding. I went ahead and ordered it today! I'm so excited to get started on the nursery. We will be ordering our nursery furniture when my parents are in town visiting (it's their gift to us). I can't wait to start putting this vision all together. Hope you enjoy!

Here is the Bananafish:
For the crib, we will either do the Munire Chloe or the Munire Morgan.
Here is the Morgan:

Here is the Chloe (can't find a picture of it in white):
And, we will do a dresser and chest from Stanley Young America,All Seasons Collection, in white:

Anatomy Scan was Monday, and it's a......

GIRL!!!!

I totally thought that we were having a boy! Too funny. I should have known that it was a girl ; - ) Mark and I are very excited to finally be able to refer to the baby as a she, instead of it. And, I'm excited to finally be able to start buying stuff for our little baby girl. We did decide that we were going to keep her name to ourselves until she is born...so stay tuned for November. I promise that I will edit this post this weekend and add a picture of little girl m&m.

I'm still in shock and beyond excited : - )

21 Weeks!! More than Halfway There!!

Ok, I admit it, I've been a slacker. I guess I feel like I should only post if something interesting is going on in the pregnancy. Well, I reached the halfway point last week 20, and here is what I look like now (21 weeks):

Yes, I definitely look pregnant at this point! I must say that the pregnancy has been pretty uneventful, which is awesome. I did my NT scan and sequential screening about 7 weeks ago, and everything came back great. I had been bothering Mark in the ER to do some bootleg ultrasounds, which were totally fun. We finally decided that since the ER seems to be getting more and more crowded, that we should get an at home doppler. Really, when we went for the under the table ultrasounds ; - ), it was just to make sure that Baby Blob's heart was still pumping away. Needless to say, I listen to my belly every day!

I've been keeping busy reading Baby Bargains, and making my list of what we need to get. I've made some good progress. And, as soon as we find out what we are having, I can start looking at gender specific nursery décor. I will have to do another entry with pictures of some of the things we want to get : - )

As for symptoms in the last month or so, I have been suffering from shortness of breath, neck pain, bloating, heartburn, and the latest affliction, charlie horses...but all in all, it hasn't been too bad (I swear)!

Oh, and the anatomy scan is on Monday. I can't wait!!! We are dying to find out just exactly what Baby Blob is!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I just wanted to wish all of my readers a very Happy Mother's Day! For those of you still battling infertility, I want to tell you to never give up. You are all so much stronger than you think you are. I know that somehow, someway, you will all be mothers.

Not that my REs will ever read this blog, but I wanted to give a special shout out to Dr. Peters and Dr. Corley from the Sher Institute of Reproductive Medicine (in Bedminster). Without their help, I sincerely doubt I would be sitting here 14 weeks pregnant, actually looking forward to Mother's Day. I will forever be grateful for the wonderful gift that is growing inside of me.

As a side note, Mark was able to do an ultrasound last night, and we saw Baby Skeletor. Yes, that is the baby's nickname for this week. We saw the skull and the spinal cord...it was a little Halloween baby inside of me. I think it had the hiccups, as it kept jerking it's body and then punching itself in the face. It was pretty funny.

Anyway, have a wonderful day!!

Baby Blob Looks Like a Baby!

I had another ultrasound last Monday, and Mark and I got to see an actual baby in there. It was wild. We have the picture up on the fridge, and every time I'm in the kitchen, I take a peek. I can't believe I have a baby in here!

I swear, one of these days, I'm actually going to scan in the pictures...we have the progression of baby blob from the day of transfer up until 12.5 weeks. I can't believe that I have to wait another 6.5 weeks to see the baby again : (

Um, Are You Sitting Down??

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've updated my blog...but, I think it's for a good reason. I will just get right to it, and then update on what's been going on since our 7th IVF cycle began back in mid January. First things first.....I'M PREGNANT!!!! I am still in a state of shock. After 3 long years, Mark and I are finally expecting our first little m&m. I'm due November 5th.

Now, here comes the interesting story of how all this came to be, and why I didn't update my blog right away....

So, way back at the end of February, we had a big snow storm. I was supposed to go up to SIRM on a Friday for my beta. I didn't want to drive up in the snow, so I decided to POAS on Thursday morning. I got up a little after 5am, and used a dollar tree test. After 60 seconds, there was no second line. I sat on the bathroom floor and started to cry. Then, I got up to get a tissue, and noticed a very very faint second line. I woke up Mark, and made him look. He saw it too. I then ran out to CVS and bought 4 more tests. The second line came up right away, and the digital said pregnant. This was actually happening!

I drove over to Quest labs on Thursday morning, and had my hcg/beta levels drawn. I was on cloud nine all weekend long. I drove up to SIRM on the following Monday morning for my second beta and while I was there, I found out my first beta was 89. I got a call from Dr. Peters on Monday afternoon, telling me that my second beta was 32. I was told that the pregnancy wasn't viable (it was a chemical pregnancy), but that I should have a third beta done to make sure my levels were dropping. And, I was told to continue my medications until further notice. Mark and I were devastated. We didn't know what our next move would be, should we bother continuing with treatments, or start looking into adoption. It was probably one of the worst moments I had in a long long time.

Well, imagine my surprise when I went back to Quest for my 3rd beta, and got a call from SIRM the next day asking me to come in for a 4th beta. Apparently, my 3rd beta had jumped up to 1681. SIRM was convinced that Quest made a mistake, and wanted me to come to their office immediately for a 4th beta. I called Mark immediately. We were trying not to be optimistic, convincing ourselves that Quest really screwed up. I left work and drove up for my blood test. Well, Dr. Peters called that afternoon to tell me that my beta was now at 2228. He told me that I was pregnant, didn't need any more betas, and we scheduled my first ultrasound. Holy Hell. He also told us that my second beta was a mistake on their part...the tech had put my progesterone level where my beta level should have been. So, I could finally believe it...I was pregnant!

I have since had 2 ultrasounds, and we have one beautiful little baby growing. We couldn't be happier. We feel truly blessed that this is finally happening for us. Thanks to everyone's good thoughts and support through our entire infertility journey. It means more to us than you will ever know.