30 Weeks

Gosh, it feels weird to type that, 30 weeks, I can't believe how fast it is going. In just 10 weeks or less we will finally get to hold this precious baby in our arms. We started the week celebrating Christmas with Bub. He got me a gift certificate to get a manicure and pedicure which is perfect since I can barely reach my feet these days. He also got Baby Maddox a beautiful mobile with footballs, baseballs, and basketballs hanging from it. We want to teach him very early that these balls are his friends and make him very familiar with them. I will get a pic posted when we get it hung up.

Jay and I went to Bethesda North, our delivering hospital, for a maternity tour. It was very informative. They show you where to park depending on what time it is, what desks you can bypass, and where to tell your family to go. We got to see what the labor and birthing rooms looks like, as well as, the recovery room where you spend most of the time. They explain exactly what they do with the baby right after birth and over the next 48 hours. As long as there are no problems, it looks like the only time Maddox will have to leave our room will be when he is circumcised. They also explained how Maddox, Jason, and I will have these electronic like brackets that get scanned any time the baby is moved from the nursery and leaves the hospital. That way no one can take him anywhere but us. Most of the maternity ward of the hospital was completely remodeled last year so it looks really nice. I was really happy that we decided to take this tour, I feel much better knowing what to expect and I think Jay does too. We will take a one day condensed child birthing class in the middle of March so that will be very interesting.

29 Weeks

This week was an exciting week. Mostly because we got to go do our 3d/4d ultrasound at the Becoming Mom Spa. I have always wanted to do this so I asked for gift certificates for Christmas and my B-day to help pay for it. So worth the money. The spa was very nice, the ultrasound room was very big, nothing like the doctor's office, and there were a few big couches for Jay to choose from. They displayed the video on a big flat screen TV so we didn't have to struggle around a small computer screen. At first Maddox was facing my back so we were not sure we would get to see him but we woke him up and he turned around. He was not too active during the ultrasound, but he usually isn't when we want him to be the most. This ultrasound is SOOO amazing. I can't believe how real it is. He was in the same position he was during my last 2 ultrasounds, head and feet up and butt down. I think he must like being all folded up like that. You can actually see what Maddox looks like! The tech kept commenting on how chubby his cheeks were and she pointed out his double chin. I kept looking at his nose, it looks pretty big to me. He had his right hand up to his face a lot. I can't wait to put his newborn pictures next to these and see how close they are. The examples they show in the hallways of the spa are amazing. We got a CD with 30 pictures on it and a DVD of the entire ultrasound, just to be safe we had them verify one more time that it is in fact a boy.

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday where I had my first sugar glucose test level thing. I had to drink this nasty drink and get my blood drawn. They called on Wednesday and said the levels came back abnormal and they wanted me to do a 4 hour test. This was not too much fun. I had to show up at the office at 8am to get my blood drawn, then I had to drink that nasty drink again and get my blood drawn every hour for the next 4 hours. Oh yeah, I couldn't eat anything this whole time either and just sitting in the waiting room for that long was about to kill me. I did catch up on some baby reading though. If the sugar test came back abnormal or high again that that would mean that I had gestational diabetes. To be honest, I kind of expected that I would test positive for it just because I don't have the best eating habits and I am not exactly the smallest girl around. But when the call came in on Friday they said the test came back great and my sugar was even low at times so that was a nice surprise.

There was one great thing that happened on Thursday. Maddox got to hear his Uncle Rob's voice for the first time! Bub came home for his leave and they met me at Chili's by my work so I didn't have to wait till that evening to see him. He has been gone for so long, I wasn't even pregnant when he left for Iraq. Bub seems pretty excited to be an Uncle and I know that Maddox will just love him! We are going to try to spend as much time as possible with him over the next 2 weeks. If I make it till my due date of April 9th then Rob should be home in time to welcome Maddox into the world.

28 Weeks

Baby Manning officially has a name. We have been discussing a couple names for a while now but one trip to Hobby Lobby made the decision for us. We went to get a couple canvases so Jay could start on the artwork for the nursery and we got caught looking at all the cute little letters. We had planned on putting the baby's name above the crib and now these cute little letters were 50% off. We could not resist buying the letters so we quickly agreed on the name we have talked about since we were dating. I think if after all these years we both still loved the same name then it must be meant to be. His first name is Maddox and his middle name is Jay. We had already decided when we got pregnant that if we had a boy his middle name would be Jay and if we had a girl her middle name would Sue therefore Maddox Jay Manning it is. Sounds like a future NFL star to me. We might call him MJ. Jay started on the letters right away. They are so cute.

Maddox also experienced his first ever NFL playoff game this week. The Jets played the Bengals at home for the AFC wildcard game. We knew it was gong to be very very cold so I layered up on clothes. I had so many pairs of pants on I could barely bend my knees, I also wore like 6 shirts. I was determined not to be miserable so I didn't care that I couldn't move. The Bengals lost in only their second playoff appearance in 19 years so that was very disappointing. Guess there is always next year. Now we enter my least favorite part of the year...the long wait from the end of football season to the beginning of baseball season. At least this year I have plenty of upcoming events to keep me busy. Opening day for the Reds is April 5th so the countdown begins.

On a side note...Jay is obsessed with baby shoes. He wants to buy Maddox shoes everywhere we go. He was so excited to find this pair of Jordans. I am not really sure how baby shoe sizes work yet but he should be able to wear these at about a year. Who knows, Jay wears a size 13 so if he takes after his dad he may be wearing them after 6 months.

26 Weeks/27 Weeks

26 Weeks
This week was pretty quiet. I had vacation time left so I took the entire last week of 2009 off. I got some projects done around the house, spent a day with Lucas and Momma B, and tried to catch up on a little sleep. We spent New Years Eve with Danny and Ehryn playing Monopoly on Xbox until just before the ball dropped. My 28th Birthday was Sunday. Jay and I went to my parents for breakfast. Growing up Mom would always make breakfast on Sundays, something I have missed so It was a great way to start my B-day. Jay got me this wonderful old fashioned popcorn popper that I have been wanting. It looks great in the basement. The Bengals lost the last regular game of the season on prime time so the day didn't end as well as it started but they made the playoffs so I guess that what matters most. Jay and I finally registered. I had already picked out all of the bedding at JC Penny's online so we added a few things to that registry but most everything we picked out is at Target. Target had the big things like the stroller and pack and play that we really wanted so we picked out everything else there too. It was a little overwhelming, babies need so much stuff and I am sure we left some important out but I am assuming that parenting is a learn as you go process.

27 Weeks

Getting back to work after being off over a week is always difficult. The girls surprised me with birthday cake and cookie so that made the day much better. We celebrated with the Beaumonts at Red Lobster so dinner was great also. Baby's furniture came this week, it was very exciting.The crib is so beautiful. It seems so big for such a little person but I am sure he will grow into very quickly. We also found this great chair that matches perfect and is very comfortable, I can't wait to rock him to sleep. Having furniture in the nursery makes things seem very real. It is so wonderful seeing this room that has been full of junk since we moved in finally transform into a room full of love and anticipation, what it was always meant to be. Jay and I keep catching each other in there just sitting in the chair or standing next to the crib with stars in our eyes.

Christmas 2009

Christmas came very quick this year. We spent Christmas Eve at the Hills and Christmas morning just the two of us like we always do. Jason got me a beautiful charm to add to my charm bracelet, it says first time mom and has the year 2010 on it. He also got me a great picture frame....I am going to fill it with pictures of Baby Boy Manning. After Jay and I finished exchanging presents and stockings we got dressed and headed to his parents for brunch. This year things were a little different. Rob, aka Bub (Jay's brother) has been in Iraq since June and we miss him like crazy. In fact, I don't think I have ever missed someone so much. We decided that we would hold off on presents until he got to come home on leave later in January. After brunch Mom and Dad B decided that they wanted to go ahead and give all of us our presents but wait for us to give our presents to each other and to them for when Rob could be here. They got us a wonderful present, a video camera. We have never had one before and we will definitely be needing one now. Its great, it is so small it will fit in a diaper bag or even a purse with no problem. I will have to make sure that it doesn't see anything I don't want it to during delivery though. We had a great time but something was missing. Bub has been a part of my Christmases for the past 10 years and I know how I felt so I can only imagine how much he was missed by his parents and siblings.

My parents, Andrea, and Lucas came to our house in the early evening. It was so much fun watching Lucas open his presents this year. He is so cute. He seemed to really love everything. He wanted to play with each item after he opened it, not like most kids who just open and then ask where the next one is. Jay and I got him this great little quad. It goes like 3 mph and Lucas

LOVED it. It was so cute seeing him ride around the house. Dinner was great, Dad brought the ham, I made the potatoes again and another Christmas comes to an end. Its hard to believe that this was mine and Jay's 11th Christmas together and the last time it will ever be just the two of us again.

That was definitely a kick December 22nd 2009

Tonight I know for sure I felt a couple little kicks. Jay likes to put his ear up to my belly at night and listen for all the funny sounds. He had his arm stretched across my belly and suddenly I felt a little muscle twitch like feeling right under his arm. I asked Jay if his arm just twitched and when he said no, I knew it must be the baby. It was very cool, I layed there for quite a while hoping to feel it again, I felt little ones but none as big as those 2. I can't wait to feel more.

One another note, how cute is our xmas card this year!? I have always wanted to do some sort of Bengals card but they are usually doing terrible by this time of year so this year I am taking advantage of the winning season. Its also the first appearance of the newest member of the family. I couldn't resist the Bengal hat.

On yet another note, we are expecting our crib and dresser any day now. We went with the dark espresso color which was a good thing since Baby Manning turned out to be a boy. My company xmas party was on the 17th and I came home to a completely painted nursery, Jason is so wonderful. He also took apart the ceiling fan and painted it so it would match better. It is going to look so great when the furniture get here. We can't wait!

Ultrasound December 7th 2009

Today Jay and I went to the doctor for the re-do ultrasound. The doctors wanted better pictures of the heart and spinal cord. We had a different tech this time and right away the picture on the computer was so much clearer. This tech seemed to do so much better right away. We could make out all the different body parts pretty easily now. Baby was sleeping and the tech was trying really hard to wake her up and all of a sudden plain as day she brought her hands up to her faced and yawned. It was incredible! I am pretty sure that Jay and I both teared up at that point. Then she looked at us and said "the other tech told you it was a girl?" When we answered yes she proceeded to tell us she was positive it was a boy and she never says that unless she is 100% sure. Jay and I just looked at each other in shock. He was positioned a little funny so it took her quite a while to show us a really good shot of the proof that he was in fact a boy. We called my mom right away and she did not believe us. It was her birthday and she thought we were playing a prank on her, I had to put the tech on the phone before she finally believed us. It was crazy, I didn't know what to feel at that point. I know at first I wanted a boy but I had had an entire month to get used to the idea of a girl and now I was really, really ready for a girl. Jay seemed very excited and he started calling everyone as soon as he had the chance. Its a good thing we hadn't bought the purple paint yet! Now I had a bunch of really cute stuff to take back to the store. Back to the drawing board for the nursery. The very next night we were at Home Depot buying blue paint. Another great thing about this ultrasound is that she pointed out on my belly exactly where the baby was which confirmed that the little flutters I had been feeling must be Baby Manning. For some reason I convinced myself that the baby should be much lower than she pointed out so I just thought all the movements I had been feeling was indigestion or my belly growling or something but in fact it was Baby Manning which made me feel sooooo much better.

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving was exciting this year. My Aunt Donna and cousin Tori came for a visit. I can't ever remember a time when we had family in town for a holiday. Everyone came over to watch the Bengals game on the Sunday before. The Bengals lost but it was still nice to have the whole family together. Lucas looks so cute in his Bengal gear and I love the way he yells "football" as soon as he sees it on TV. Jay and I always split our time on Thanksgiving day. Early afternoon at his parents and evening at my parents, which means we eat twice. I was in charge of mashed potatoes for both dinners so I spent the entire morning mashing and mashing, the entire house smelled like a potato. It was great seeing his whole family as usual. I am showing a little more now so most of the family was introducing themselves by giving the baby a rub. The food was great as always and I ate way too much as always and knowing darn well that I had to eat again in a few hours. Dinner at Mom and Dads was beautiful. Mom always goes out of her way to make sure the table looks beautiful with dishes, glasses, napkins and candles. Dad made a wonderful turkey and everything tasted great.

The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, was not so great. Jay and I both had the day off of work and we have really been needing a new laptop. We had planned to get up around 3am to be at Walmart for the sales starting at 5am. They had a great computer more than 50% off and a very good deal on a GPS that we really wanted so thats what we set out to get. My cousin Tori came with us and it was nice having some company in those long lines. We ended up with the GPS but missed the computer by just a few mins. After leaving Walmart we went to breakfast and headed home hoping to catch up on some sleep. Not long after entering the house we realized that someone or someones had broken into our house and robbed us. Jay went downstairs to check the damage in the basement and I went upstairs to my jewelry box. I lost it immediately and dropped to my knees when I saw that my jewelry box was almost completely empty. My and Jay's class rings were gone, every thing that Jay or my mom had ever given me and most importantly my promise ring was gone. Right before I left for college Jay had given me a beautiful little pear shaped diamond promise ring. I wore it every day until it was replaced with my engagement ring. This ring is very important to me, it took Jay all summer to pay for it and I had always hoped to give it to my daughter on her 16th B-day or something. We also lost the entire X-box system with all of the accessories, our laptop, ipods, and cell phones but it was the irreplaceable stuff that had me hysterical. Once again I had to remind myself that I was pregnant and force myself to calm down. I won't dread on the upsetting details. We now have a security system and the police eventually found out who the robbers were which opened up a whole new can of very upsetting and stressful worms. It is worse when you find out that the person who completely violated you is not a stranger but someone we knew and trusted, but again I won't dread on the terrible details. We got nothing back and we are still healing, but it is going to take some time.

Shopping for Girl November 11th 2009

Mom and I both took the day off work today. We wanted to visit the new outlet malls that just opened. I went nuts in the Carter outlet. They had tons of wonderful and adorable girl stuff that was not pink. I wanted everything I saw. I also bought a really really cute winter coat and red Mary Jane shoes in the Gymboree outlet. Some of the highlights are attached. Now I was determined to have the best dressed little girl in town.

I got a call from the doctor's office a couple days later. After my doctor and another reviewed the ultrasound pictures they wanted me to get another ultrasound at my next regularly scheduled appointment. They were not satisfied with the clarity of the pictures of the heart and spinal cord. Of course this freaked me out completely but the nurse assured me that if they thought something was wrong they would have asked me to come in right away. She said it was probably too early to have done the ultrasound, it is usually done a couple more weeks into the pregnancy than I was. So then I was excited, any time I get to see the baby is great.

Meanwhile Jay and I had finally decided on a final paint scheme for the nursery. I had already picked out my bedding (another thing that was hard to do avoiding pink) so we knew what colors we had to work with. We decided on a beautiful light purple for the main color with darker purple leaf like designs over it. Because I am adding some Tinker Bell accessories we decided to paint the window trim and the closet doors a very light Tinker Bell green. Jason is very artistic so even though it sounds a little weird, its gonna look great!!!!

Boy or Girl November 10th 2009

Today was our ultrasound. This ultrasound would check the heart, spinal cord, kidneys, down syndrome risk, as well as, try to tell us the sex. As usual I made myself completely sick over it. I get like this before every important appointment. I still have yet to feel any movement so I convinced myself that something was wrong. Both my mom and Momma Beaumont were coming to see Baby Manning for the first time. The doctors told me to come with a full bladder so I was drinking water all morning. Problem is it was going through me way too fast. It must have been my nerves. I had to pee just before Jason and Momma B picked me up so I peed and drank more water on the way to the appointment. When we pulled in I realized I could hardly get out of the car and walk because I had to go so bad, so bad it actually hurt, therefore I could not wait and I had to go ahead and go to the bathroom yet again. My mom arrived shortly after and we were called back to the ultrasound room. I relaxed immediately when I saw the baby moving around on the screen. The ultrasound lasted about 30 mins or so. The tech kept telling us what was what but only about half of it actually looked like the body part she said it was. It was so wonderful just laying there watching the baby move around on the screen. Then finally she got to the part we have all been waiting for. She showed us what she described as a little hamburger bun which meant it was a girl. (Pic attached) I am not sure what she was talking about but its her job so we took her word for it.

I think at first I was a just a little bit disappointed, I always thought either way boy or girl it didn't matter but the more I thought about it, I think I really wanted a boy for Jay. Because of our situation and what it took to get pregnant this will most likely be our only child and men always want a boy no matter what they say. I only have a sister so I have no idea what to do with a boy but I must have still been leaning that way. But it was so wonderful to know what the baby was and stop calling it, it. I could finally call her, her and she and that was a wonderful feeling. Plus everything looked healthy and that is all that really matters. We all went to lunch after that, talking about how we were going to decorate and calling all our friends and family it was so exciting, we were having a little girl, a little princess.

I took the rest of the day off work but Mom and Jay had to go back to work which meant that Momma B and I had nothing left to do but shop. This got me very excited, I could finally buy clothes and girls are way more fun to dress than boys. I just have one little problem....I hate pink! Its very hard to shop for a girl when you refuse to let her wear pink. We bought a few things but didn't go overboard. Later that evening Jay called and said: "what are you and my daughter eating for dinner" I about lost it right then and there, it was so wonderful to hear him say "my daughter." It feels so real now!

16 Weeks October 23rd 2009

Not too much to write about in the last month or so. We are now at 16 weeks and we are anxiously awaiting our next doctor's appointment when we find out if Baby Manning is a girl or a boy. I am starting to show just a little now. I have already gained 10 pounds but I still feel great. I have been very lucky this first trimester. No morning sickness or any other of those weird symptoms that many women have. I am tired and want to sleep all the time but thats about it. Overall, I am the happiest girl around. We looked at baby furniture and I think we picked out a crib and a dresser that we both love. Now we just have to decide what color we want. Jay really wants white furniture if it is a girl but I am trying to talk him out of it. I think white will look terrible in a few years. We are getting one of those cribs that turns into a toddler bed, then a twin bed and so on and the dresser is really nice so I would like it to stay that way. They have a very dark espresso color that I love. Jay likes it too so I am hoping that color will stick no matter the sex. We have been throwing some names around, I think we have it narrowed down to just 2 or 3 so hopefully it won't take long to decide after we know the sex. We have also pretty much decided on nursery themes so things will start moving forward soon. I can't wait!

Bengals vs Steelers September 27th 2009

Baby Manning had quite an experience today. The Pittsburg Steelers came to town. As I mentioned before, we have season tickets to the Bengals so of course we went to the game. This is the biggest game of the year, unless the Bengals actually make the playoffs but that has only happened once in the last 18 years and guess what, it was against the Steelers and it did not turn out favorable. Tailgating was a blast, the boys made these great t shirts and they were a very big hit, at least with the Bengal fans. The fist half was not so good and it was beginning to look like a typical Bengal's loss to the Steelers at home, but things changed in the second half. The game got really exciting and really loud. We were jumping around and screaming so much I had to actually remind myself I was pregnant and force myself to calm down. The Bengals won the game in the last 2 mins. It was one of the most exciting games I have ever seen. Leaving the stadium you would have thought the Bengals just won the Superbowl. Thats how amazing it is to beat the Steelers like that. Turns out that the entire first half of the season was this exciting for the Bengals. If we weren't going crazy at the game we were jumping around just as much at home. I think the baby must be bracing and preparing itself every seven days for fast movements and very loud noices. I think it is probably best though. Baby should learn early that football is life in the Manning household. Also, Its a great way for baby to get used to our best friends Danny and Ehryn. They are just as crazy about sports as we are and we spend most of our free time with them. I know when the baby gets here he/she will already recognize their voices and know that they are important to Mommy and Daddy. I am so glad that the baby is a part of this wonderful season that may turn out to be the turn around season for the Bengals. They have been so bad for so long it will always be fun to look back at the pictures and remember that we were pregnant this season. Maybe the baby is good luck and the the Bengals will start having winning seasons from here on. Wishful thinking I know but a girl can dream.

Back with Dr. Lewis

It was good to see Dr. Lewis again, after all I hadn't see her since she referred us to our first fertility doctor over 2 years ago. She was very happy that things worked out. I did learn one thing though, never make an appointment with her on a Monday. That is the day she is on call at the hospital and our first visit was cut short because she had 3 patients in labor in the hospital. She kept apologizing for having to leave early, but that could be me in 7 months so I didn't mind. She did a quick exam, listened to the heartbeat and asked me a bunch of questions. I had to get some basic blood work done but that was about it. Then she sent me down to get an ultrasound. Not much had changed in 5 days but it was sill wonderful to get to see Baby Manning again. Dr. Lewis called me later that week to go over some basic do and don'ts, I thought that was very nice.

Football season is officially here and no matter what I automatically get in a wonderful mood this time of year. I love the fall, I love the changing colors and even the chilly weather, but most of all I love football! Its good that Baby Manning get used to all the excitement football brings to the Manning household every year. We have season tickets to see the Bengals so he/she will get to experience live action right away.

2nd Ultrasound September 9th 2009

Jay and I went back to the fertility doctor for another ultrasound on September 9th. This time Baby Manning actually resembled a human figure and guess what, it moved! That was wild, seeing that little thing move around in there. They also gave us some really great news... we finally got to stop with the progesterone in oil injections. By this time, I was in some serious pain. I had very large irritated knots on both lower hips. I could not sleep on my back, on either side, or even sit back in a chair. It was killing Jay to have to stick me in these big swollen spots every night but it was for the baby so I didn't care. The doctors gave us some not so good news also... it was time to go our separate ways. Because their work was done they were referring us back to my regular OBGYN and therefore we would not get to keep seeing these wonderful doctors and nurses that worked so hard to get us here.

I know in my last post I mentioned that I was not experiencing any symptoms, that has officially changed. I am sooooo tired. It takes everything I have to make it through the work day. By the time I get home I can barley stay awake for dinner. I really can't complain though, overall I feel pretty good and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and understanding husband. He helps me around the house so much and does all kinds of little things to make life easier on me.

First look at Baby Manning August 24th 2009

We had our first ultrasound on Monday August 24th. I was very excited but also very nervous. I had known that I was pregnant now for over 3 weeks and had yet to experience any symptoms. I was so afraid that they were going to give me bad news, I made myself sick over it. Jay was very excited and positive as usual. I had read that this early in the pregnancy you should be able to at least see a heartbeat but not necessarily hear it. They started the ultrasound with just image and showed us the little peanut looking image that was our baby, then they showed us a little pulsing dot that was the heartbeat but then with no warning they went to sound and loud and clear you could hear Baby Manning's heartbeat. It was the best sound we ever heard. I think we were both in awe and shock at that moment. The heartbeat was 156 beats per minute and our little peanut was 1.25 cm long. I could listen to that heartbeat everyday. Another exciting part of this doctor visit was a due date. They gave us an official due date of April 9, 2010.

Pregnant or not Pregnant Monday August 3rd 2009

Jay and I decided to take the entire day off work. We were due at the doctor's office early in the morning for a pregnancy blood test but knew we would not know the results until late that afternoon. We wanted to be together when we heard the news either way. I was in a really bad mood all weekend cause I was absolutely sure I was not pregnant. I had been cramping for 2 days and was convinced I would start my period any minute. Jay kept saying to be positive, "you have never been pregnant so how do you know that you are not". I remember snapping back, "no, but I sure know what it feels like NOT to be pregnant and thats how I feel!" Most people take a home pregnancy test before going to the doctor so they already have a good idea what the results will be. Jay begged me not to take a home test, he said that the blood test was a sure thing and the news should come from the doctor, not a pee stick... so off we went. As soon as we got to the office the nurses asked me if I tested at home, when I said no they offered to let me take a pee test right there but Jay still said no. The nurses could tell that I was already depressed and thinking the worst so they promised to call as soon as they got the results. When we got home I just wanted to go back to bed, I was still cramping and thought sleeping would help pass the time. I woke up a few hours later and took my phone with me downstairs. Jay was still upstairs when I got the call. It was my favorite nurse Judy on the other end telling me "congratulations Randi Sue, you are pregnant!" I was in so much shock I think the first thing out of my mouth was" are you sure?" Once she convinced me that I was definitely pregnant I could not stop the outstanding burst of tears. I was crying so hard I could barely get the information down for my next appointment not to mention get an entire sentence out. When I hung up the phone I ran upstairs to tell Jay the news. I was still crying so much he could not tell if I was happy or upset but I finally got the words out as we hugged and cried in the hallway. Once I got my bearings together I asked " now can I take a test?" I really wanted to see the results for myself. I had seen the words negative or not pregnant on so many home test before I just wanted to see the words for myself. Sure enough the test showed the beautiful word pregnant and I was happier than I ever thought possible. I told Jay I wanted to tell our parents face to face so I cleaned myself up as quick as possible and we jumped in the car.

Jay's parents were the closest so we were very disappointed to find out that they were not around, they were in Cumberland and were not expected back until late that evening. Tanya (Momma Beaumont) collects Boyds Bears and years ago I bought a little stork that carried a baby bear in its beak. I had always planned on giving it to her when we were pregnant, so I had no choice but to leave this gift for her and hoped they would make it home early. Next stop was my mom who was at work in West Chester. She had been upset all weekend cause she knew I was and she hadn't called because she didn't want to upset me more if it was bad news. She figured that if it was good news I would have called by then. She started crying as soon as she saw me walk into her office. She was so happy, it felt so good to finally have good news to tell her. We found my dad at happy hour. Later he told me he could have killed me for telling him at the bar with all the guys around. He said it was so hard to hide his emotions. Meanwhile, we kept getting calls from Momma Beaumont but we would not answer cause we knew she was going to ask us what the doctors said and we really wanted to tell them face to face and not on the phone. After hours of not answering her calls we could tell from the voice mails that she was getting really worried that something might be wrong so Jay had to finally answer and tell her over the phone. We called our best friends Danny and Ehryn and some more family members that night. We had already decided that we were not going to keep it a secret for so many weeks like most couples do. We were so unbelievably happy and so many people had been supporting and praying for us for so long we wanted to share the happiness with them. If something negative were to happen everyone would know about that soon enough so might as well enjoy the happy time, right! I can't tell you how many times I have heard that a friend, co-worker, or family member had, had a miscarriage and I didn't even know they were pregnant, I never wanted anyone to feel that way about us so we told everyone!

Let me just take a moment to say that I have an absolutely amazing husband. He has been so wonderful throughout this entire procedure, I am not sure it could have been successful without his unbelievable support and positive attitude. He was with me every step of the way and didn't miss a beat. I read lots of blogs and saw many women who put their IVF experience on Utube and so many of them were always alone, giving themselves the injections and going to the doctor, the husbands were very rarely mentioned or seen. I never felt like anything other than a team throughout the entire process. He is going to to a wonderful father!

A little bad news

Jay and I got a call from the IVF lab on Wednesday, July 22nd. The nurse informed us that our remaining 2 embryos did not progress to the next stage and therefore we would not be able to freeze them. With IVF you have the option of freezing and storing any remaining embryos to be implanted at a later date. Because most of the work and expense comes with the producing and retrieving of multiple eggs, freezing is ideal for many reasons. If your current IVF procedure is successful you can choose to freeze and store remaining embryos to have them implanted years down the road when you are considering having another child. If your current IVF procedure is not successful you can skip all the egg stimulating meds, the multiple doctor visits, and the egg retrieval and go right to transfer on your very next cycle. Transferring frozen embryo is considerably less expensive than going through the entire procedure again. Therefore you can see why we were very hopeful that we would have the opportunity to store our remaining embryos.

Embryo Transfer Monday July 20th 2009

Jay and I arrived at the hospital early Monday morning. I was really nervous because we had not heard any more about our embryos. We did not know how many survived and what kind of shape they were in. As soon as we were called back, we saw all our doctors and nurses waiting to greet us. It was very comforting seeing all them smiling at us. Then Dr. Thomas handed us a picture. We had 4 living fertilized embryo, 2 that were considered grade A and 2 grade C. We had already pre-determined that only 2 would be implanted. This picture is our 2 grade A embryos that were implanted. This time Jay got to put on scrubs and stay with me during the whole procedure. They told me I would get to keep my socks on this time so I wore a great pair with red and black argyle that I now consider my lucky socks. This procedure is also guided by ultrasound so Jay and I watched the screen as they implanted the 2 embryo into the thickest part of my uterus with a long catheter. They looked like very small white lights on the screen, it was pretty amazing and I was glad that Jay was there to hold my hand the entire time. Dr. Thomas gave Jay the petri dish where the embryos lived and then they left us alone so I could lay and relax for about 30 minuets. That night I had to start my progesterone in oil injections. These needles were about an inch and a half long and had to go directly into my hip muscle. These were a little more painful and eventually caused me to get really big painful knots on each hip. I had to take these injections every night until 1. we found out we were not pregnant or 2. week 10 or 11 of pregnancy. Many women run the risk of low progesterone levels early in pregnancy but women who go through the IVF procedures are guaranteed low progesterone levels so these injections protect against miscarriage due to low progesterone levels. Now there was nothing left to due but wait for 14 days to find out if either or both of the embryos implanted.

Egg Retrieval Friday July 17th 2009

Jay and I got to the hospital around 10:30 on Friday morning. I was a little nervous of course but I got to take a Valium and I think that helped a lot. This is where I was glad that I had the surgery a month prior, I think it helped me know what to expect at the hospital with the IVs and stuff. I think I would have been a lot more worked up had I not had that prior experience. I did not have to be knocked out completely for this procedure, they just put me in a "twilight" sleep. Jay got to stay with me until it was time to take me back to the room where they did the retrieval. He then left to go give his sample and the doctors went to work on me. I got to bring a CD of my choice to listen to during the procedure to help relax me. Keith Urban greatest hits was the one I chose. The way they retrieve the eggs is all guided by ultrasound. They insert a long needle with a vacuum on the end through my uterus and into each follicle. Each follicle should contain an egg but eggs are too small to view by ultrasound so thats why they just suck from inside each follicle. The whole procedure took about 30 minutes or so, it was not too bad, just pretty uncomfortable and a little painful at times. Jay was waiting for me when I got out and after a 45 min rest or so they told me they retrieved 9 eggs and it looked like at least 8 were mature. Now we just had to go home and wait to hear from the lab. They would call the next day to tell us how many of my eggs were fertilized by Jay's sperm and had turned into embryos.

We got the call on Sat morning that the lab was able to preform the ICSI procedure to 5 of the eggs and that they all survived the night. Now they just had to grow to the next stage and then they could be implanted. They instructed us to come back Monday morning for transfer. We took a long bike ride on Sunday and just spent the day together and tried not to get too anxious.

Needles

During my post op visit on June 16th Dr. Williams said that I should be ready to begin medications to prepare for my next cycle. He also gave us the news that he was moving to Texas and we would have to start seeing his partner Dr. Thomas. At first I was pretty upset about the fact that just as the serious stuff was coming I would have to get used to a new doctor but Dr. Thomas turned out to be wonderful so it all worked out. We spent 4th of July in Lake Cumberland with Mom and Dad Beaumont and family. I wanted to get all my bike and jet ski riding out of my system. I had a blood test on July 6th which showed the doctors I was ready for nightly injections of Gonal F and Zithromycin. The first few days were not too bad, just a couple shots in the stomach every night but after my ultrasound and blood test on the 10th it got a little more confusing. I made the mistake of not bringing Jay along to this doctor visit ( I did not know they would be adding so much) now it was mix this with this and then switch this needle with this and add it to this and so on. It was really hard to relay all of this to Jay that evening without him seeing the nurse's demonstration. Luckily, Jay was very good at his job which was taking care of all of my injections (I am usually fine with needles as long as I don't see them go into my skin) and together we figured it out. With all the mixing and adding I was still only up to 3 or 4 shots in the stomach each night and they were pretty small so they were not too bad, plus Jay was really gentle. Now I took Cetrotide and Menmopur in the evening along with a specific dosage of Gonal F which is the main medication that increases follicle and egg stimulation. The Gonal F dosage was determined by my visits to the doctor which were every other day. Every visit I would get an ultrasound where they would count my follicles and measure their size, and a blood test to measure my different hormone levels. Then they would call me that afternoon and tell me what dosage to take that night. Between my nightly injections and my blood test I think I had over 45 needles stuck in me in a 14 day period, but it was the constant doctor appointments downtown that were the biggest inconvenience, it made it very hard to be discrete at work. On July 15th, after 3 days in a row at the doctor, Dr. Thomas decided that I had at least 10 mature follicles (which meant at least 10 eggs) and he scheduled our egg retrieval day for that Friday the 17th. We had to get up at 1:00am that morning so I could get 2 injections of Ovidrel, a medication that starts ovulation but must be timed exactly within so many hours of egg retrieval. Thursday was a break, no injections and no doctor appointments!!!!

June 2nd - Surgery

My surgery was on June 2nd, just after a wonderful little bike trip in Tennessee. It was great to get away from everything and have a nice little break before all the craziness began. Here is a pic of us up in the mountaints. It was beautiful. Believe it or not I was actually taking pictures on the back of the bike as we were riding through the mountains!
I was pretty nervous about the surgery because I have never been in the hospital for any reason but to visit someone before, unless you count the time I got stitches from a dog bite when I was 5. My surgery was not scheduled until 2:30 in the afternoon and I could not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before so by the time we got to the hospital I was so hungry I just wanted to get it overwith so I could eat something. The wait in the hospital took longer than the surgery. I have never been put under before, it was wild. Jay says I was out for about an hour but it felt like 1 min. Afterward I was really groggy but not in too much pain, just some cramping. Jay says the doctor was talking to me after the surgery, showing me pictures and telling me that everything went great. I still don't remember this conversation at all. All in all the surgery turned out to be an okay experience, it got me used to hospitals and IVs and now my uterine cavity is in tip top shape.

A Minor Setback

One of the last procedures before beginning the IVF process is a test called a trial transfer. This procedure is kinda like a practice round. It gives the doctor a chance to measure the position and depth of the uterus in preparation for the transfer of the embryos. This way he knows exactly where he is going on the day of the transfer. During this procedure the doctor noticed something about my uterine cavity. It appeared that I had some excess tissue in the middle of my cavity that would cause an embryo to float to one side or the other instead of right in the middle where it belongs. He suggested a minor surgery to remove this excess tissue. He explained that removing this tissue does not increase our chances of getting pregnant but it would greatly decrease the chance of a miscarriage if we did become pregnant. This being said we decided that we should go through with the surgery so everything would be good as it could be. My biggest concern was how much this would set us back. Dr. Williams said if we timed everything right with my cycles that hopefully it would only set us back a month. My surgery was scheduled for June 2nd.

Education Day April 8, 2009

Education Day is basically a 4 hour class where the entire IVF process is explained in detail step by step with slide shows and binders and such. Each member of the IVF team explained their role in the process and what we could expect. First we heard from one of the physicians. She showed us lots of numbers and statistics, explained restrictions, and gave us a vocabulary lesson so we could better communicate. She also explained the entire egg retrieval and transfer procedures and told us what we could expect during these hospital visits. Next we heard from the laboratory technician. This was a little crazy, he showed us the step by step procedure of everything done to the eggs and sperm in the laboratory. He also explained that we would actually be doing a slightly different process than IVF. Ours was called ICSI (Indicators for Sperm Injection). ICSI is specifically designed for patients with very low sperm count or motility. The only difference is with IVF they place your egg in a dish and dump a bunch of sperm on top of it and let the sperm do its work but with ICSI they actually inject one single healthy sperm directly into the egg. All this information was a little mind blowing and frankly overwhelming, what goes on in that laboratory is absolutely a miracle. Third we heard from the financial coordinator. She explained what was covered through the Attain program and what was not. Any prelim tests and procedures, as well as, medications were not covered through the Attain program. She told us to expect to pay between $2,500 to $3,500 for medications per cycle. That was not too fun to hear but she was exactly right. Last we talked with the IVF nurse. She went over the schedule and all the different medications. She demonstrated the best way to give all the injections and was nice enough to show me all the needles. I knew there were needles involved but I did not know that there would be that many. She gave us an estimated calender that showed what injections to get each day and when my expected appointments would be. My eyes went straight for transfer day. I wanted to know how long we had to wait to get to the main procedure. They had an estimated date around the second week of June!!