15.....

of the BEST years of my life. Today was our 15 year anniversary. It has been an amazing 15 years together and I look forward to the next 15 and many more after that. Today we had a great day! We did a little shopping for our baby boy, did a little shopping for mommy so she can go back to work next week and had an amazing dinner at PF Chang's. Chris got me the sweetest gift.....the little boy baby shoes for my James Avery charm bracelet and once the baby is born, we can have his name and the date engraved on the bottom of the shoes. I was so excited and it meant the world to me and brought lots of tears to my eyes. God has truely blessed us over the last 15 years and I know this next year might be our best yet. Honey I love you with all my heart and I couldn't ask for a better partner to take this journey with!

God Bless!

Dr Appt Update

So here's the latest on our sweet baby boy..... he is PERFECT. He measured exactly 19 weeks on Tuesday which is what I was exactly on Tuesday. The anatomy scan went perfectly and everything measured perfectly. We were told we have a very healthy little boy! What music to my ears that was. Then we got the "However"...... at which point I thought my heart fell out of my chest. Things have gone so well through this whole process that I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out. Thankfully that isn't what this is....the bottom is not falling out we just might have a small detour. It seems that the placenta is on top of and under the baby instead of behind and above the baby. Thankfully this doesn't affect the health or growth of our little boy, it could just effect how he makes his entrance into this world. For the next 6 weeks, I have to take it as easy as possible. No exercising, complete pelvic rest, no lifting of any sort, light everyday walking is OK but no all day shopping trips....if I go shopping for every 15 min I am on my feet I have to sit for at least 15 min. Basically I can go to work and function as normal but I have to take it very easy. She said in most cases where this happens this early on (placenta previa) it usually corrects itself when the uterus moves further up it pulls the placenta up. So to see if this happens, I go back in 4 weeks and then 2 weeks later (6 weeks from now) we go back for another big ultrasound to see if things have changed. If they have then we continue as normal, if they haven't then I will be forced to have a c-section and we will start planning it at that point. In the meantime, I have to be very careful and watch for spotting and bleeding. If any spotting or bleeding begins, I am to call the Dr immediately and I will go in and they will admit me to the hospital and try to stop it. If it stops I can go home for the time being. If it doesn't then I will stay in the hospital til birth. If it stops, then starts a second time, I will be immediately admitted to the hospital where I will stay until birth. So needless to say I am doing everything the Dr says because I don't want to cause any bleeding which leads me to the hospital. Not sure how all the Christmas stuff will get taken down and put away now but I am sure I will figure it out. This is also why I haven't felt my sweet baby move yet. It seems the placenta is blocking what I should be feeling by now. She said this is totally normal for this to happen and in no way means anything is wrong with the baby. She said even if the placenta doesn't move I should start feeling movement around 24-25 weeks. Gosh I can't wait for that feeling! But it seems I must now be patient and we all know I am not good with that. And if the hubby wasn't protective of me before, now he is freaking out! If he had his way, I would live in a bubble until the baby was born! LOL! So that is the latest not the perfect appointment but my sweet baby boy is very healthy and perfect and that is all that counts. As for my weight, I gained 2 lbs so she is very happy with that!

We have a big day tomorrow.....more to come on that soon!

God Bless!

We have an announcement......

19 weeks today!

More details to follow regarding our appointment real soon, but HE is growing perfectly!

Love & God Bless

A Very Merry Christmas....

Our Tree 2010

One of my favorite gifts this year from my Best Friend!

Peanut after her spa day....the bows only lasted about 20 minutes but boy was she cute!

Our front yard 2010

Chris & Amy 2010 before Church

Daddy & the Girls

Mommy & the Girls

Baby Bump 2010

18 weeks 4 days

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families and friends. We shared lots of joy and laughs and celebrated Jesus' Birthday. We hope each of you has a great New Year and that 2011 is as special for you as it will be for us.

Love and God Bless from Our House to Yours!

PS - We will have a special post tomorrow evening.......will it be pink or blue????

Almost Christmas Eve.....

It's hard to believe in just a few hours it will be Christmas Eve. What a wonderful year this has been in our family. I cannot thank God enough for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon us in 2010 and I must say 2011 looks like it could be even better. Amazingly enough although we both got sick and Chris had gum graft surgery on Monday, we are all done and ready. Clothes are ready for church tomorrow, last package came in the mail today just in time and its now wrapped, food is bought, all that's left is enjoying time with our families celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I hope each of you has a very Merry Christmas and may God Bless each of you at this most special time of the year. For all of the loved ones and friends who are watching us from above in heaven, we miss you dearly and know you must be having a wonderful Christmas celebrating in heaven.

Love and God Bless
The Nord Family (soon to be 3)

Baby Bump at 17 Weeks

Love and God Bless you all!

The SICK house....

Well yesterday was just a bang up day, we both ended up in the Dr's office together but with different symptoms. Thankfully the flu tests came back negative. On the flip side Chris has an upper respiratory infection and I have ear infections in both ears and in all my sinus'. We got some medicine and home we went to attempt to get better. I guess I am feeling a little better, but apparently I have an endless supply of snot coming out of my head. I know TMI, but oh well! The baby is still growing strong and in the last week or so I definitely have a little baby bump. As soon as we get better and I don't look like Rudolph, we will be taking and posting some baby bump pictures. Here's to hoping we get better soon!

God Bless!

Great Doctor's Appointment!!!

We went back to the Dr yesterday and it went great. We didn't get any pictures since I am a "normal" pregnant woman but we did get to hear the heart beat and boy was that music to my ears. Every time I hear that amazing sound, I get tears in my eyes. This little miracle's heart rate was a strong 162! What a blessing. My tummy measured 12 which she said is right on track. She said all my blood work with the exception of the anemia can out perfect. So that was great news. Then she said there is only one thing we need to talk about.....you have LOST 6 lbs since 11/1. I knew I had lost since I weighed myself the night before and I was really shocked. So I am still up 2 lbs total. She asked if I was vomiting and having diarrhea a lot and I said no not at all. Then she looked at me and said and I quote "You cannot be dieting can you?" I looked at her with total shock and said no absolutely not, matter of fact I am eating more than I have in the last 2 years. I told her I eat 5-6 times a day about every 3 hours. Granted I don't eat a lot at one time but I eat until I am full. She said to my relief, in that case I am not worried about it at all. As long as you are eating, not getting sick and your little one is growing and measuring right, then she isn't going to worry. She did however tell me to concentrate on making sure I gain at least 2 lbs between now and 12/28 when we go back. So all in all she is happy, the baby is growing and strong and I feel pretty darn good since the nausea is all but gone! So now the count down begins to get to 12/28 and finding out pink or blue.

Until next time.....Blessings to each and everyone of you!

Another great thanksgiving......

It was another great thanksgiving! Great food, great family and my Aggies beat t.u.......Thanksgiving doesn't get any better in our house. Whoop - Gig Em Aggies! I hope your day was as wonderful as ours!

Love & God Bless you all!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010 has been quite a year for us. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. We are both very blessed and thankful for our miracle on the way, our family, our friends, our health and tons of other things I could list. Namely I am thankful for 4 days in a row of no nausea! WooHoo! Its the little things. It has definitely been a year to remember and something tells me 2011 will be better yet.

Tomorrow in our family isn't just Thanksgiving, its also my mommy's birthday! So Happy Birthday Mommy! Yes I am 35 and still call her mommy :) Snicker, laugh, make jokes, I don't care she will still be my mommy when I 50! LOL!

We hope that you and your entire family have a wonderfully warm and happy Thanksgiving this year. May God Bless each and every one of you.

Halloween....a little late....

I know we don't have kids yet, but every year we always carve pumpkins because you are never too old to be a kid and enjoy Halloween!

This was my pumpkin

This was Chris's pumpkin

And Peanut is our little pink pig with a curly tail......little does she know her mommy has always wanted a little pink pig with a curly tail!

I love the tail!

And here is our Crazy Cow Blondie

complete with udders and all.....she is so not amused

Me and my girls - Peanut loves getting dressed up and putting clothes on......

Daddy and the girls.....Blondie on the other hand is not amused!

Yes the girls sat outside with us and handed out candy. As always they are well liked by the little ones in the neighborhood and they got lots of pets and love that night.

Until next time.....Blessings to you All!

Baby in Pictures

6 weeks - Baby B our Little Miracle and Baby A our Littlest Angel

8 Weeks 5 days - Our Little Miracle has really grown and you can still see what was our Littlest Angel and is now our Miracle's extra special Guardian Angel!

10 Weeks 5 Days - Our Miracle has a very large head (the largest part is the head) and you can still see the sac of our Littlest Angel in Heaven

I won't get another one of these beautiful pics until 12/28 when we have the big ultrasound and find out the sex of our Miracle. But isn't our little Miracle and our Littlest Angel the most beautiful already! LOL! Just wanted to share these and again to thank each and everyone of you for your thoughts and prayers while we embarked on this journey and continue on this journey. I am feeling pretty good these days. Still very very tired but the nausea has gotten much better. I am still having trouble with all the iron, but I know when my miracle is in my arms this will seem like nothing and it will be all very much worth it!

God Bless each and everyone of you!

30 mg more.....

So thats the answer to what they are doing about my anemia. They are adding an additional 30 mg of iron to my vitamins! Fun times......I know this is short and all but I wanted to update on what the Dr's said today and now I am off to eat some dinner.

God Bless!

How can it be......

That I am STILL anemic! Seriously I am taking a total of 90 mg of iron everyday and I am still anemic. My Ob's office called yesterday to tell me that I am still anemic. The nurse took down all the details of the iron I am taking and said she is going to talk to the Dr. They have decided to call Dr. Davis and consult with him since I was severely anemic the end of May. So I am just waiting to hear back from them to find out if they will increase my pill form or if we will move to injections. Either way, as long as it keeps my little miracle healthy I will do it, I will however probably complain about it the whole time! LOL! Especially when it comes to going potty. I know TMI but the truth is the truth. Otherwise everything came back perfect in the blood work and urine. So that was good news! Other than that, nothing much has changed here. I am still exhausted but on the up note the nausea is getting better. Today I am officially 12 weeks! Woohoo! I will update more very soon and include the pics I promised before.

Blessings to Everyone!

PERFECT Appointment

Today was a great day and a perfect first "regular/normal" Doctor appointment with the OB. Today I am officially 10 wks 6 days and our perfect little miracle is measuring right on track to the exact day! The heart beat was 158 and my do we have a little active monkey in there. Our miracle was kicking and punching and flipping and flopping so much so that the Dr had a hard time getting a picture, but we did get one! The empty sac is still there although about half the size it was last time and she said she doesn't expect it to pass she expects my body and the baby will reabsorb it. I sure am hoping so because if I start cramping and bleeding I think I will freak out! She kept telling me over and over that although getting me pregnant was a challenge, I am now "just a normal pregnant woman!" That was music to my ears although I had to laugh at being called normal. However since this is the 3rd Dr since May of this year to call me normal, I am thinking maybe I am and everyone else around me isn't! LOL! She really did put me at ease about so much. There is a lot of testing that will be done differently with me and some not at all because the vanishing twin has more than a 50% chance of skewing the results. Other than that I am normal. They will however do more blood work on me than the normal person because of the Gastric Bypass. They want to be sure both me and the baby are absorbing all the necessary nutrients needed. So today they drew 9 vials of blood. I am hopeful that my iron will be back to normal so I can cut back some of the iron I am taking and hopefully that will relieve my stomach some. So all and all today was one of the best days so far on this journey. She kept the ultrasound on for a while for us since we won't get to "see" the baby again for 8 weeks! I think I will die! LOL! I go back to the Dr in 4 weeks like a normal pregnant person on 11/30 (exam and heartbeat check only) and then we go for our big ultrasound to determine the sex on 12/28! Three days after Christmas, 2 days before our anniversary and 4 days before New Years! What a fabulous way to end an exciting and blessed year! I am already starting to freak out a little about not going back to the Dr until 11/30 but I just keep reminding myself this is how most people do it. Hopefully soon that will sink in, but I don't know. All in all we are thrilled with everything. I have been allowing myself to grieve our precious angel while celebrating our miracle and I am doing much better with it all. Thanks so much to everyone for their prayers. I have gotten so many wonderful messages and notes from people who have been there and I had no idea. It is a relief to know that what I am feeling is normal. We have decided that although we miss our angel greatly it was a blessing and that little angel would want us to be happy for our miracle so we are keeping on that track with the Grace of God.

I have 3 ultrasound pics to scan in, some belly pics to upload, and some Halloween pics to upload this week. We dressed up Peanut and Blondie for Halloween last night while we handed out candy and we had a great time. I can't believe I will be trick or treating with my miracle next year! What a Blessing. Hopefully I can get all the pics up sometime this week.

Until next time, please keep praying for our miracle and we wish God's Blessings on each and everyone of you!

God Bless - Amy, Chris, Peanut, Blondie, Doobie, Tabby and our growing Miracle Baby!

The good and the sad.....

Well the news we got on Monday was not what we were expecting since I didn't have any spotting, cramping or bleeding. We really thought we had beat the odds. But that wasn't God's plan for us. Baby A has "vanished", well not really completely, the sac is still there but there isn't a heartbeat.....Vanishing Twin Syndrome. To say we were devastated is an understatement, but the silver lining is Baby B is big, fat and healthy! My little peanut is measuring 2 days ahead of schedule and had a heart beat of a strong 178! I was released from the RE to go to my regular OB and I was told I am now just a "normal" pregnant woman! Wow that was amazing. It has really been a difficult week. I can't even begin to explain my feelings expect to say I feel guilty for being happy for my remaining miracle baby and I feel guilty for being sad for my miracle in heaven. I know with time it will get better and I am doing my best to focus on my growing miracle. One of the hardest things is looking at the pics of our miracle from Monday because they all show the empty sac. I know that God has a plan and this is his plan for us. So as Chris said, "our miracle will always have a very special guardian angel watching over it." And that thought really does make me smile even if I have a tear in my eye. I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts, they truely mean the world to me. Please continue to pray for our little miracle still growing and please say a little prayer for my angel in heaven. Thanks again to everyone! I go to the Dr on Nov 1st, but I will try to update between now and then. God Bless each and everyone of you!

What does it mean when......

10 home pregnancy tests are positive (started taking daily starting 9/12),
3 blood tests are positive (9/17, 9/20, 10/4),
you have food aversions (the smell of coffee, buttered popcorn & peanut butter send me straight to the bathroom in less than 2 seconds!)
you have morning sickness
you have growing boobs
you are peeing every 30 minutes
and today you have an ultrasound........

It means.......I am definitely pregnant and its TWINS! (As of today I am 6wks 6days)

That's the great news and the news I have been waiting 12 long years to hear and I couldn't be more happy. Baby B is very strong and healthy right now with a heart beat of 138. Baby A is a little behind right now and not measuring as big as baby B, Baby A's heart beat is only 89. Right now they want them to be at least 100 so Baby A is a bit behind. Please say a prayer for our little peanuts especially Peanut A. The Dr is confindent in Baby B but said anything could happen with Baby A. I go back to the Dr on 10/18 in two weeks and hopefully baby A will have grown and caught up with Baby B. I can't tell you the feeling we felt today not only seeing but hearing 2 tiny heart beats. To say the tears were flowing is an understatement. I am completely in love with these little peanuts that I have prayed so many years for. I know that God has a plan so I am putting it in his hands and sending him tons of prayers so that both babies grow strong and healthy.

I promise to update soon, I just wanted to wait to the make the announcement on here until I had the first ultrasound.

Thanks to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers these last few months. We greatly appreciate everything.

God Bless!

Implant Completed

Hi Everyone! Hope you are having a great Labor Day. I tell you this is one Labor Day I don't think we will ever forget. So it started at 6:30 this morning. After a good nights sleep (yeah right we all know we couldn't sleep last night) we got up at 6 and left the house by 6:30. We stopped at Whataburger for a quick breakfast and to continue filling my bladder. Yes I had to arrive for the procedure with a full bladder. We got to the IVF Lab around 7:40 and they took us in right away. It was the same nurse we had for the harvest so that made it nice. Then we got some great news. As she was leaving the room she said Dr. Dunn will be here in about 5 min and he has one before you then its your turn but we will get you all setup in a few minutes so we can check that your bladder is full. I said, Dr. Dunn is here? It was suppose to be Dr. Schenk who I am sure is a wonderful Dr but she's not MY Dr! Gina smiled real big and said of the 4 transfers today, 3 of them were Dr. Dunn's patients so even though it was his day off, he told Dr. Schenk to take the day off and he would do it. This was music to my ears. I would actually have Dr. Dunn for the whole process. When your harvest or implant fall on a weekend or holiday you have no guarentee that you will have your Dr since the 3 Dr's do a weekend rotation. I was immediately at ease which was great. I changed and Chris put on his over his clothes. We signed some paperwork and Gina came back and took us to the procedure room which I call the green room because the lights in there are green. She checked my bladder with the ultrasound machine and said its not totally full yet but it is filling and it will be fine by the time its your turn. So she covered me up and I layed there while Chris sat next to me holding my hand. Before she left the room, she said I just wanted to let you know Dr. Dunn said you have some awesome looking embryos. So we were smiling from ear to ear to say the least. We both looked at eachother and said well we know we have at least enough for the transfer that survived. We waited a little bit and in walked Dr. Dunn with a huge smile on his face. He said, so are you ready for this and I laughed and said Dr. Dunn I was ready when we got started on this 3 months ago so yes lets ge this show on the road. He laughed and Chris said she's not real good with patience when it comes to this and Dr. Dunn said then Chris you have a long 10 days ahead of you. We all laughed and with that he pulled up pictures on a big TV screen of 2 perfect embryos. With that he said here are the two embryos we will be using and they are top quality embryos. And then he said, so take at look at what will hopefully be the first pictures of your baby or babies! With that I can't lie I had tears in my eyes. Emotional today is an understatement. With that he went on to say we have 2 additional embryos that he expects to be ready by this afternoon and an additional one that could be ready by tomorrow. So he expects that we will be able to freeze 2 if not 3 in addition to the 2 they are implanting. Again we were all smiles. We not only have 2 to implant but we have some to freeze. Granted it wasn't as many as we had hoped to freeze but something is much better than nothing and I have put it all in God's hands. So with that we got started and in a short time we were watching the catheter on the ultrasound machine and then we saw two bright white dots (our embryos) on the screen. And as quick as that we were all done. When I got up off the table Dr. Dunn smiled and said, you have done everything possible that you can and you have top grade embryos so now its up to the embryos to do there thing and for God to work his magic. We all smiled and I said can I please go pee now! He laughed and said go right ahead. While I was in the bathroom he reinterated to Chris how great the quality of the 2 implanted embryos were and he told him to relax. So we went back to our room and they had me lay down for about 20 min. With that the nurse came in and said, you are all done. Remeber stay calm, no strenous activity or heavy lifting but life as normal until the 15th. Yes the 15th is the day of the official blood test. So I put my clothes back on and had to go potty again and when I came out Dr. Dunn and Chris were talking. He gave me a big hug and said now go grow a baby or two and I will see you on the 15th. As we were going down in the elevator, Chris said that while I was in the bathroom Dr. Dunn said again to him you had 2 excellent embryos and I see no reason why this won't work for you both. This shocked me because Dr. Dunn is very positive about things but he is also very realistic and never fills you full of false hope. So for him to say that really put me at ease. The truth is its all in God's hands now and I am praying for a positive blood test on the 15th. So as we get to the car Chris said to me do you need help with your seat belt? I look at him and bust out laughing and say I might be pregnant but I am not an invalid for God's sake! So to say I think he is going to drive me crazy over the next 10 days is an understatement but to be honest after everything we have been through on this journey I can understand why he is being so over protective. So you are all up to date on everything and the next 10 days will be a very long ten days to say the least. So thanks again for all of your prayers and if you have time, please continue to pray for us. Until next time, Blessings to each and everyone of you!

Update......

So today was harder than I expected and my IVF guru was so right.....it was a day at home today for me. As the day went on it got better. I still feel pretty crummy at the moment but it is now manageable. The worst part is that one of my biggest means of relaxation is a nice long hot bath and good book, well I can't soak in a tub or take a bath or even go swimming until after the pregnancy test! I can take a shower but its just not the same for me. At first I didn't think this would bother me when they told me yesterday but I have today realized that I long for my tub and the peace and relaxation it brings me. So now I am on a mission to find something to take its place this weekend and/or something to keep me occupied......haven't figured it out yet but I am working on it.

So for the update from the Dr......not exactly what we expected but we are OK and we know that God is in control. So out of the 24 eggs harvested after a much more in depth look 20 were healthy eggs. That meant ICSI (this is where they take a single sperm and inject it directly into the egg taking out the chance of the sperm not permeating the egg) was done on 20 healthy eggs. This was good news, then I got the news I wasn't really expecting. It seems that Chris's sample wasn't what the Dr expected and they struggled to find enough good healthy sperm. The good news is they did find enough, however only 7 of the 20 survived fertilization coming out strong and healthy fertilized eggs. This wasn't the number we were expecting seeing as how high our numbers had been, but the Dr kept saying there may only be 7 but they are very strong and great quality. They must have told me that 4 or 5 times over the 10 min conversation. So after we talked about it we know that God is in control and we have given this up to him. He has always taken care of us and we know that he will again. So we are going with it was really good news that we have 7 very healthy and strong at this point. After all we only need one to make this work but I am confident that we will have more than one. The Dr kept saying he fully expects all 7 to survive and grow until Monday our implantation day. So here's to praying for 7 healthy embryos to choose from on Monday, but again as long as we have one or two we will be fine. And again this is in God's hands and I am doing my best to stay positive. God how I wish I could take a bath, I don't know why but it always makes me feel better. So for my prayer request, please pray that we have healthy strong embryo's on Monday and please pray for me to find something to keep my mind occupied this weekend until Monday!

Until our next update, thanks for all of your prayers and please continue to pray. I know that God hears all.

I will end with a quote from a card that a dear friend left for me yesterday that meant the world to me and really says it all...

"Dream higher than a mountain, deeper than the sea, wider than the world - for the size of our dreams tells not how big we are but how big our God is." I have this hanging on the mirror in the bathroom to keep reminding me.

God Bless

All Done!

So today went well. Out of the 35 follicles I had, 24 of them had viable eggs. This means that today they fertilized 24 of my eggs. I will get a status report tomorrow how many of them survive fertilization and I will continue to get updates daily until the day of implant. Implant is still set for Monday. Overall I am feeling yuck! Lots of pressure and cramping.....so much for thinking I was going to work tomorrow. Yes Ang I know you told me so! LOL! Also I am still loopy and not steady on my feet from the sedation. It affected me like all anesthesia does, I woke up crying and it took me a while to wake up. Things are going well and Dr Dunn is very happy with the number of good eggs so for that I feel blessed and thankful. Thanks to all of you for the prayers today. I am going to keep this short because I am ready to go back to sleep. I will update soon with more details. Thanks again for the prayers and I hope God Blesses each and everyone of you.

Ball of nerves.....

So here we are less than 12 hours from harvest and I am a nervous wreck. Now most would be nervous about the whole procedure and I am but I am most nervous about getting the IV tomorrow. If you remember when I had the GBS it took them almost 2 hours to get an IV in me so needless to say I am terrified. It doesn't help that most of the veins in my arms are blown already with all of the blood draws I have had. So I am just praying that the IV goes in easily tomorrow. We have to be there at 7am and they will begin at 8am. Nervous excitement! Today I literally watched my stomach swell more and more as the day went by. I am so very uncomfortable and I am having much more episodes of actual pain, but I keep telling myself it will all be worth it, it will all be worth it. Plus after tomorrow they will be OUT! So with all of that being said, I am going to keep it short tonight and I am headed to take a nice long bath that will hopefully help me relax enough to get a few hours sleep. Please say a prayer for us tomorrow and I promise to update with the statistics as soon as I am feeling up to it.

Blessings to all and Good Night!

Harvest set....massage......Amy vs the Toilet......

I am sure this title has you puzzled beyond belief so here goes.

First up the update from today's Dr appointment.

35 Follicies/eggs in total measuring over 10
25 of these 35 measure over 15 and as big as 21 (we want them 16 and over)
8 of the 35 measure over 14 but not 15
2 of the 35 measure between 12-13
Estradil level - I don't know, forgot to ask!

So at the Dr office today this morning I broke down again.....it seems everything looked great and the nurse said I am almost sure about 90% sure harvest will be on Wed but there is a chance it will be on Thursday. At that point the tears began to fall. Maria said try to relax and here are the instructions for a harvest on Wed and you will hear from me this afternoon. So the day seemed to drag by and the more time that passed the more paranoid I got that it wouldn't be on Thursday. Finally around 3:00 the phone rang and it was Maria! The first words out of her mouth, you need to follow the schedule I gave you and your harvest will be on WEDNESDAY! Hallelujah! So that means tonight at 8 pm the only shot I had to take was the Orvadril and Chris has to take his antibiotics. Tomorrow night I take my antibiotics and I can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight. Wed morning we have to be there at 7am and the harvest will be done around 8am and will last about 45 min to an hour. Once I wake up Chris will bring me home to rest for the rest of the day. This means the implantation will be on Monday, Labor Day! So I am still very uncomfortable but my mental state is much better just knowing when the end will be.

So tonight I went and got a massage. After the weekend I knew it was a must. And boy was I right......I am positively feeling wonderful well except for the pressure in my back and belly but its better than it was for now. I know shortly it will all be back but at least I had a little break from it all today....boy did I need it. :)

Now for an absolutely funny story....I can't believe I am posting this but here goes.....
So as you all know I have lost a lot of weight and well everything has gotten big and its had to be replaced. Well there is no replacing the wedding ring....instead you should have it sized. Well here's the thing I have been putting off having it sized until after the whole IVF and hopefully pregnancy. So to say that my wedding ring is too big is an understatement. So I had been wearing it on my middle finger, and for some strange reason on Tuesday of last week I put it on my ring finger like a dummy. Well right before lunch I went to the bathroom. As my crazy luck would have it, my ring falls off my finger right into the toilet! Seriously! So my first reaction is to jump up and like and idiot I did jump up at which point I remembered the toilets at work are auto flush! So with that I shove my sleeve up my arm shove my hand and arm in after my ring. YES I DID! Thankfully I made it in, in time and caught my ring. I pulled it out and my heart was racing like crazy and I was basically hyperventilating! All I could think at the moment I dropped it in the toilet was who will freak out more my husband or his mom. You see the solitaire in my engagement ring was her great grandfathers......and there isn't anything you can do to replace it! So I have my ring and I grab the toilet paper to wrap it up and try to dry my hand and arm off so I can pull up my pants. Now I am looking at my ring and my hand and arm and I am totally grossed out. I rush out of the stall to the sink and yes the soap and water are automatic. So I stand there with one hand under the water so it will heat up as hot as I can get it and the other is under the soap dispenser just about emptying the whole bottle in my hand. I then proceed to scrub my hands and arm and ring as much as I can....I think I was scrubbing for about 20 min! Now I leave the bathroom and its time to eat lunch. Seriously how do I eat lunch now....I am grossed out. However I have only 20 minutes to eat before I have to go to a meeting. So I do my best to get some lunch down. So I can tell you now that my wedding ring is home and has made its way to my jewelry box where it will stay until it gets sized and in the meantime I am wearing a gold band with rubies and diamonds as my wedding ring that Chris bought me for our 5th wedding anniversary that I use to wear on my pinkie! So as I see it Amy - 1 Toilet - 0!

Until next time when hopefully I won't have a ridiculous story to tell.....Blessings to each and everyone of you and please continue to pray for us. I will do my best to make an update on Wed.

God Bless!

Hormones & Emotions

Let me start by updating my numbers and letting you know what the schedule appears to be.

Wednesday -
18 follicles measuring over 10
7 follicles measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 1068
Instructions - No change keep everything the same but starting the Ganerelix injection and we will see you on Friday.

Friday -
24 follicles measuring over 10
8 measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 2478
Instructions - decrease Follistim to 150 from 225 and keep everything else the same. We will see you on Sat and will probably do the harvest on Mon or Tues at latest.

Saturday -
29 follicles measuring over 10
7 measuring over 9 but below 10
Estradil - 2750
Instructions - Keep all meds the same and we will see you on Monday. Harvest will now be on Wed.

So the above is a summary of my Dr visits and where we stand on numbers. I go back to the Dr tomorrow morning for another ultrasound and more blood and the expectation is that we will stop the Follistim & Menopur tomorrow, continue the Ganerelix and take the trigger shot Orvadril with harvest being Wed morning.

So when I left the Dr on Friday I was pumped because harvest was expected to be Mon or Tues which meant implant would fall over Labor Day weekend and would give me one or two days rest before going back to work. Now I was extremely uncomfortable and starting to walk funny and not be able to bend over much because my ovaries are so enlarged but everything was happening on the schedule I was hoping for. So Saturday rolls around and my dear friend Angie was asked to speak at the annual Labor Day March of Dimes/Texas Women's Hospital Luncheon and Fashion Show and she had invited me to go. So I was super happy to be going and having a girls day and being there to support her. So we got up Saturday morning and off to the Dr we went. We we got our numbers we were blown away of course we were waiting on the blood work with the Estradil numbers and the nurse was set to call me that afternoon but she said I expect you will be taking the trigger shot tonight and that the harvest will be on Monday or the trigger will be Sunday and the harvest will be on Tuesday. So back home we went, I changed clothes (changed about 4 times before I found something comfortable enough to wear - my midsection is swelling and I look pregnant so clothes are getting difficult), Angie picked me up and we were off for a fun girls day. We got to the hotel and Angie looked amazing and she was nervous but we mingled around and met the other girls she invited suddenly my phone rang. I looked at Angie and Jamie and said I am stepping out this is the Dr. I was so excited and then I got the news.....keep everything the same do NOT take the trigger shot and we will see you on Monday. (I had already made an appt just in case earlier in the week when they thought harvest would be delayed 2 days) Dr Dunn feels its best to do the harvest on Wed! I was crushed and more crushed than I really realized. Everyone including Angie (who I call my personal IVF guru and expert) all thought harvest would be Monday with the number of follicles I had already. With tears in my eyes I told them it would be Wed. Now one of the reasons this got to me is that the implant will be on Monday, Labor Day and I have to go to work that Tuesday for a project I cannot miss. My plan has always been to have two days of rest after the implant and well this is not what is meant to be. I am really not sure what happened to me on Saturday but I was with an awesome group of girls and supporting Angie meant so much to me that I did my best to push the news out of my head. So I did for a few hours anyways. Angie made her speech and there wasn't a dry eye in the whole place! She did amazing and I am truly blessed to have her in my life and call her my friend. She really is one of the strongest women I know. And being the great friend she is, she kept making sure I was OK on Sat which she didn't have to do since this was her day, but that is the great person and friend she is. My other friend Jamie who was there was just the same and both did everything they could to try to keep my mind off of things and to try to get me to relax as much as possible despite the discomfort and down right pain I am now feeling constantly. So after show was over the 3 of us headed home after a quick treat at Starbucks. The girls dropped me off and told me to keep smiling that everything was in God's hands and this is what is meant to be. Now I know this in my head, but apparently it wasn't really clicking. Chris opened the door to the house I walked in and immediately fell apart. To say that I took Chris off guard was an understatement. He was in shock that I was literally falling apart. I cried and cried and cried and I am trying to explain what I am feeling but I can't really speak because of the tears and sobbing and well it was a rough several hours. To say that a great day turned into the worst day yet in this whole process is an understatement. I finally got myself under control and Chris took me to dinner. Was I fine? No. But I managed. The smallest things had me crying all night. At this point I think the perfect storm happened in my mind and with my hormones on Sat between the pain, the news of harvest being pushed back, being at a March of Dimes event surrounded by pregnant women and lots of baby stuff... How am I feeling now? Well I am ready to get these follicles/eggs out. The Inn is full and there isn't anymore room. I am extremely uncomfortable and it gets worse everyday and sometimes I am in down right pain. Mentally how am I? Well today I am better. Not great, but better. I still have a few crying moments here and there but I know that the Dr knows best and I know that God is in control not me. Do I like that I am not in control? No but somehow some way I have to give the control up (hummmm wonder where I get the control issues from.....my mom...LOL). So that is my focus right now....giving it to God and knowing that he will take me through this adventure. Do I regret making the decision to have IVF? NO WAY! Am I tired? ABSOLUTELY physically and mentally and I am more than ready for the harvest to take place. So with all of that being said, please say a prayer for us. I will update after tomorrow's appointment or after harvest depending on how I am feeling both days. Tomorrow I am going for a much needed massage and tomorrow I have a very busy day at work. So I am expecting tomorrow to be much better.

Until next time Blessings to you all!

Progress Update

So our appointments have gone well.

Friday's was informative but uneventful. Basically it was too early to see anything on the ultrasound and the driving factor would be the blood work. When Maria called that afternoon with the blood results everything was right where it was expected to be and she said to continue rwith 225 of Follistim and 75 of Menopur and we will see you on Monday. So we left the Dr office and went to Kemah for what suppose to be the whole afternoon/evening. We had a wonderful late lunch at the Flying Dutchman and walked around a little bit through a few shops right by the restaurants and then got in the car to head to the other shops at which point I told Chris, I really don't feel like walking the stores anymore. I am tired and my head is starting to pound again. He laughed and said I expected you to say that. So we stopped and got an ice cream and headed home. We were home by around 4 in the afternoon and we took a 3 hour nap. I tell you these drugs are not only giving me hot flashes and giving me a headache but I feel like I could sleep for a week straight!

We had a nice weekend and celebrated my birthday on Sunday with my parents and Chris's parents. I got some wonderful gifts from everyone including gift certificates for some massages to help me relax through this IVF adventure.

So this morning we got to the Dr and I told Chris I was starting to really feel bloated. Well we shortly found out why. I had the ultrasound first and it took longer than the last few and was rather uncomfortable. Not painful but lots of pressure. So when we were done, we waited for the nurse to call us in. Maria called us in and asked how I was feeling. I said I am starting to feel bloated. She said well that is because you are growing 18 eggs right now and 5 of them are already measuring. She said this was excellent and we are progressing along greatly. She asked how the headaches were doing and I said they are constant and when I take the Tylenol they dull but never go away. She said that was normal and to just keep taking the Tylenol every 4-6 hours. For me the worst part of the headaches is waking up in the morning to a horrible throbbing pounding headache. I can handle the dull constant headache but to wake up in the morning throbbing is just no fun. But its all worth it in the end so I plug along. So after speaking with the nurse, Maria, we headed down to have the blood work done. This would tell us the rest of the story and Maria would call me in the afternoon with the results and to tell me if or how we would change my medicine. So this blood test was to test for LH, progesterone, and estradil. About 2:45 this afternoon Maria called. She said everything looked great. My estradil was 518, and both my LH and progesterone were low and that was wanted they wanted to see. She said to continue with the injections as before and they will see me on Wed. She expects all my levels to be higher on Wed and to see some good growth of the eggs and if that is the case we will begin the third injection, ganerelix.

So to top of today, I got my first massage at 7 pm tonight and all I can say is HEAVEN!

So all in all we are moving right along and I am sucking up and taking the side effects because in the end it will all be worth it. We are expecting a harvest date of somewhere between Sat & Tues so its just around the corner. I can hardly believe it. Although to many it seems fast, to me these last days have seemed to last forever and it seems like forever until the weekend, but I will work on relaxing and being happy while the time passes by.

So if you would please continue praying and I will update soon. Until next time, Blessings to each and every one of you. We can't thank you enough for your continued prayers and support! God Bless!

And the fun begins......

OK so maybe its not the fun but it is the lovely side effects of the drugs! And although the side effects aren't any fun, I do have some funny stories about them! So tonight at 9pm will be night 3 of the Follistim and Menopur injections. These are fun times I tell you. The good news is they aren't as painful as I anticipated yet anyways. I am sure as my tummy gets poked more and more times it will started getting a bit painful but for right now it just burns when the meds go in so I am thankful for that. So far no bruising on the belly yet but I can definitely feel the injections when I lean on something or bed over, not painful but definitely uncomfortable. So up until today right after lunch that and a terrible headache since Sunday have been the only side effects. But at about 1:00 today I got the worst hot flash I have ever had in my life. Now while on the birth control pills I had some hot flashes at night and they were bad or I thought they were bad but today I found out what a horrible hot flash really is. Now picture this, my boss and my co-worker are both men and about 75% of the rest of the group I work with are men too so to say I was getting strange looks is an understatement. So I am at my desk and had just finished eating about 10 min earlier and suddenly I thought I had turned into the grill that cooked the hamburger I had just ate. I swear I had flames shooting out of my body and it was burning from the inside out. I had sweat pouring off my head, arms and legs. So I went to the kitchen area and got two cups of ice and went into the ladies room where I proceeded to put as much ice on as many parts of my body as possible. I had ice in my bra in my shoes in my pants any where I could stash it and I swear it felt like it got hotter and hotter in there. So then I started eating out of the other cup of ice. After about 10 min I was finally starting to cool off or at least be bearable and so I put myself back together and went back to my desk. And yes I got some crazy looks but thankfully no one asked any questions. Of course I texted my IVF guru Angie and she assured me that this was very normal and that this was a good sign and meant the drugs were doing their job. Thanks Ang - great to have you on speed dial at all times although you might get sick of me! LOL! What was really weird was the headache was completely gone when the hot flash wait I mean when I spontaneously erupted into flames. So I was hopeful that the headache would stay gone, but no such luck it came back as soon as I cooled down to normal again. But hey that's OK. So then on my way home from work, I had to stop at HEB. I am trying to get in and get out with the few items I needed as soon as possible but my body had another idea. I am getting my last item, frozen tater tots when the flames return. So here I am standing in front of the frozen french fries and tater tots holding the door open and trying to figure out how I can climb in the freezer cabinet! Yes I am serious, if I could have gotten in that dang freezer cabinet, I would have but I couldn't figure out how to fit. So I grabbed about 3 or 4 bags of frozen tater tots and draped them over my neck and shoulders. And YES everyone was looking at me like I was insane, but let me tell you I could have cared less! All I wanted was to cool off already! So once the worst had passed, I grabbed a fresh bag of frozen tater tots and headed to the check out. Meanwhile I was getting crazy looks and people asking if I was OK. I just smiled and said sure I am fine doesn't everyone do this. Yeah so I made people really think I was crazy but oh well! I know this much for sure, I am normally a bit of a drama queen but this is just going to amplify my drama queen status! So for all my family and friends out there visit and go places with me at your own risk. I don't take responsibility for causing a scene! LOL!

Just wanted to make sure I got this down so that looking back on it all I will get a good laugh. I go back to the Dr on Friday and I will be sure to update after that.

Until then, please keep praying .......Blessings to you all!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yeah this is where my mommy would say you are such a Leo to the core! And for those that know me, you know I am a typical Leo. My theory is if everyone would just see things my way, life would be much easier. So Sunday was my 35th birthday! We had a great weekend in New Braunfels at Schlitterbahn. It was packed but we still had a great time. And my hubby surprised me with a gift certificate for a massage! Can't wait to use that possibly this coming weekend.

So today started at the Dr's office and we are really full on into the IVF process. This morning started with an ultrasound and some blood work. We then met with my nurse Maria who said everything looked perfect on the ultrasound and as long as the blood work came back right that we are set to start 2 of the injections, Menopur & Follistim, on Tuesday evening. She covered with Chris again to make sure he knew how to give me all the different shots. She sent us on our way, and told us to make an appt for Friday. So on the way down to get the blood drawn, we made our appt. After having the blood drawn, which by the way I had the best person ever draw my blood....only one poke and no pain and I was out in like 3 minutes, we then stopped and picked up all of the prescriptions for this whole process and we were on our way to work. So the basic calendar at this point in time is an estimated harvest date of Aug 30th and an estimated implantation date of Sept 5th. Then that means by mid-Sept to the third week of Sept we will know if we are preggers or not. So about 3:00 this afternoon Maria called and said everything looks great, start the 2 shots on Tuesday night at 9:00pm. So I seriously have never looked forward to shots in my life, but right now I am looking forward to it. However, something tells me after the first set I won't be so excited about it, but I will be excited about what this will lead to. For the past 3 weeks since I was only taking the birth control pills and didn't really have any Dr appts it was hard to remember this whole thing was in process but after today I definitely know I am in the middle of IVF and I couldn't be more excited. It is such a strange feeling to not be scared and nervous about this whole process, but for some reason, I am really at peace with everything no matter what happens. This helps me to know I have made the right decision with God's guidance. God has made sure I am at ease and calm and for that I am blessed and thankful. So please continue praying that this whole process goes smoothly and that we have a positive outcome.

Until next time....Blessings to you all!

Brad Paisley Concert with opening acts Easton Corbin, Justin Moore, & Darius Rucker!!!

Me & Tara

Tara & Rafael

Easton Corbin on the Waterfall Stage singing "I'm a Little More Country Than That"

and yes he even sounds like George Strait in person!

Our seats at the main stage were 3rd Row!

Tara's enormous can of beer that makes you have to pee all night!

Justin Moore

Who knew he was so little...seriously he can't be more than 5'5"!

Darius Rucker

He even sang Hootie and the Blow Fish Country Style and closed his part of the show with Purple Rain....seriously it was amazing! I would love to see a full concert of his!

Anticipating the main show!

Mr. Brad Paisley

We were close enough to actually see his eyes!

When he sang Whiskey Lullaby with Allison Krauss they superimposed her on the back screen of the stage and it actually looked like she was really there signing......it was amazing!

At the end the young boy in front of us was in a wheelchair and he can down and stood right in front of us and played an awesome guitar riff just for him and he took his hat off and gave it to the young boy!

The show was absolutely amazing and the best concert I think I have ever been to and yes the seats probably had a lot to do with it. I still can't believe we had those tickets. During the Rodeo we had joined his fan club (I know nerds, but it paid off). So we got an email about advance sale discount tickets. Chris insisted on buying them even though all they told you about where you would sit was that they were guaranteed to be within the first 20 rows. The catch was you pick them up at the box office the day of the concert. So for almost 6 months I have been wondering where our seats would be.....well we got there got the tickets opened them and they were THIRD ROW! AMAZING! It really was an amazing even and it was made even better to spend it with my best friend and her husband Tara and Rafael! Can't wait to do it again next year even though I only just got my voice back today from screaming so much Friday night!

Blessings to everyone....promise to update more on the IVF very soon! Stay tuned!

Family Pictures & Our 1 Year Pics

Back Row - Alec (nephew), John (Chris's brother), John Jr (nephew)

Front Row - George (Chris's Dad), Marilyn (Chris's Mom), Me & Chris

A special thanks to my dear friend Diego for taking these and many many other wonderful pics for us on that hot sunny Sunday morning!