I had my baby!!

Maximus Daniel made his screaming entrance on May 2nd at 12:40pm weighing 8lbs, 11oz. He is doing wonderful and is absolutely handsome. Neal and I brought him home on May 5th and even though adjusting has been a learning experience, I couldn't be happier.

I can't believe after almost 3 years I finally have my son in my arms. It's been a long journey, but so very worth it in the end.

Holy Cow....

Basically, I'm due May 7th, but will be having a c-section on May 2nd. That means there's about 31 days until Max will make his entrance into the world. Unless of course, he decides to come early, which I'm cool with. :)

I honestly can not believe I have made it this far. I can not wait to meet him and hold him. Max truly is our little miracle. Of course though, I still can't help but to worry that something will still go wrong at some point. I try not to let it take over in my mind, but the thoughts still linger.

Honestly, this pregnancy has been totally uneventful. Not once were we told anything that we needed to be really worried or concerned about.  Wow, I'm still in shock that I've only got 31 days left. I really hope the time goes quickly. I'm not one of those women who loves being pregnant. I can't wait to have my body back. I won't go into too much 'bitching' now. I'll save that for a later time.

May 2nd is also Max's dad's birthday. He is so excited to be able to share his birthday with his son.

I had my shower a couple of weeks ago and it was great. We received so many great gifts and I'm so thankful for everyone who came.

Max's nursery is all set up and ready for him. We're waiting on a couple of pieces of furniture, but not ones that are desperately needed. We have his crib and changing table, the most important pieces right now.

Sorry for the uneventfulness, but sometimes, it's the greatest gift you can receive!!

22 weeks along

I can't believe I've made it this far with out one single issue!! Last time I went to the Dr. was just before Christmas for my level 2 u/s and our baby was measuring over 1 week ahead. Such great news to hear. We've learned that we're having a boy and his name is Maximus Daniel. The Dr. didn't change my due date, so it's still set for May 7 2011 and I can't wait for him to get here. I still have to go over my birthing plan with my Dr. so he's aware of what I want and hopefully things will go as close to planned as possible. We still have to find furniture and our bedding is on back order till the end of February. I can't believe this is really happening!! I also am shocked that we're having a boy. I was certain in the beginning it was a girl because of timing. Either way, as long as I get to bring a baby home, I'm happy.

My next appt is January 13th and I hope it's followed by good news.

Almost 2nd trimester...

Saturday I will be thirteen weeks which is the start of my second trimester. Holy cow, I can't believe I made it this far. There hasn't been one single issue yet. As exciting as this may seem, I'm still a bit scared. With 7 full months to go, a lot can still happen. I'm staying positive though. That's all I can do at this point. We got to see the baby on ultrasound on Monday and it was amazing. I got to see s/he kicking off the side of my uterus like s/he wasn't happy about the ultrasound. It made me smile. I REALLY can't wait to find out what we're having!! We asked the ultrasound tech to take a peek and she said it looks like it could be a boy, but it's still very early and not to go with that 100% yet. We will be asking at every single appointment until we get a definitive answer. The doctor was very happy at how things are progressing and we get to go back in 2 weeks. I can't wait to get into my second trimester so some of the symptoms can go away. Like being exhausted all the time and sometimes not sleeping well. I'm in need of a good nights sleep. I can't wait till I start showing also. Maybe I won't feel so fat. I also can't wait to start a baby registry.

Took a while for me to update, sorry.

Sorry for the delay in updating everyone. I've been a bit busy and things just get out of control. Anyway, Neal and I had a great summer. I'm happy it's over though. It was just too hot this summer and finally it has started to cool down. It's nice to be outside now and not sweltering.

As for our IVF Journey, well, there's been a slight change of plans. Neal and I had an "oops" and I'm now due in May. I've been to the RE and my regular OB and have had 4 ultrasounds and everything is looking good so far. I'm measuring on time and the baby "sunflower" has a very strong heartbeat. Today I am 8 weeks and 2 days along. It's been the longest 8 weeks of my life. 

Here's the story:

In August I was monitoring my ovulation with the Clear Blue Fertility Monitor and we were using the 'pull and pray method'. I was in my "high" period on the monitor but I usually get that for a few days before I go to "peak". Well, on my first "high" day I forgot to tell Neal and we didn't 'pull', but I did 'pray'. (It wasn't enough praying.) About a week after this incident I turned to Neal and said "I'd be damned if I'm not pregnant. I just haven't been feeling right. I feel exhausted and like I'm getting a cold" (which could have been possible because Neal was sick himself just a few weeks before.) I chalked it up to being run down from my sister and niece spending a few days here. Well, a few days later, I peed on a stick (it's an obsession for me) and low and behold, there was a second line. I was terrified.

I called my OBGYN's office and they wouldn't see me until I was at least 6 or 7 weeks. I was like: You have to be kidding me, I can't wait another 2 weeks to come in!! So I made an appointment anyway. Then a few days later I called my Fertility Specialist to see if they could help me and I got an appointment the next day. I was thrilled. Even though I was only 5 weeks 3 days at that point, it was still a mind relaxer. 

At the appointment, I was measuring perfectly for where I should have been. It was still too early to see a heart beat. I was told to come in the following week.

When I was 6 weeks and 5 days along, I went back to the fertility specialist and we saw a heart beat and again, everything looked great. I was so relieved, but I needed to know where I was measuring. Finally, my OBGYN appointment was only 4 days away.

I went through the weekend trying to keep my spirits high and couldn't wait for my appointment. We get to the Dr. and they take blood, my weight, do my yearly exam and then FINALLY!!!! We get to see the baby. The Dr. says that everything is where its suppose to be and I was measuring 7 weeks 1 day!! OOH thank heaven!! By my calculations I was measuring 7 weeks 2 days. Off by one day doesn't mean much when the baby is that small. I could clearly see a very strong heart beat. What a relief. 

I was still scheduled to see my fertility specialist later that week and couldn't wait to get there. The day finally arrives and I get to see the baby again and have another measurement done. On this day I was measuring 7 weeks 6 days and I thought I was 7 weeks 5 days. The little booger is growing faster than I can keep track of right now. I'm not complaining in the least about this. 

My next appointment is a week from today and I can't wait. 

Postponed

Due to some bumps in the road, Neal and I have put off IVF till after the summer. I'll update again once we start our journey.

Fertility Specialist

Yesterday Neal and I went to a Fertility Specialist, Dr. Herschlag. He helped Neal's sister get pregnant because she has PCOS. This man is wonderful! First of all, he was upset at all my losses. He even gave us his sympathies, which most Dr.'s don't normally do. He then discussed IVF w/ PGD. Since my 2 losses were due to Trisomy, he feels this is our best option, but it is up to us. IVF w/ PGD is a process in which they do a normal IVF cycle, put me on medication to get to me create a bunch of eggs, extract them from me and have them fertilized with Neal's sperm. The PGD stands for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnoses. In this process, after the eggs are fertilized, specialists extract a single cell and do testing on it to see if the embryos is developing properly. If it is properly developing, then it is implanted in my uterus and hopefully attaches itself and starts growing. We can have has many embryos implanted as we like, but Dr. Herschlag recommends two.

To get this process started, Dr. Herschlag was able to run some tests yesterday. He had his nurse take 3 vials of blood from Neal, which she had to did around for a vein. He wasn't happy about that. The nurse took 10 vials of blood from me. He is running these tests to check my hormones and to make sure both of us aren't positive for specific diseases.

My next appointment is on Monday for a physical exam and an ultrasound on my uterus to make sure there are no abnormalities in it. That should be quite painless.

Then on Wednesday, Neal and I go to a Genetics Counselor. At the genetic counselor they will do more blood work to see whether Neal or I carry a specific gene that is carrying a genetic disorder. It is possible that one of us or both could have a genetic illness even though we are not showing any signs of it. The reason for this is because the illness is recessive, only one gene was inherited and not two. If we have inherited a gene, it is possible that we can pass it on to our children. Dr. Herschalg explained, that this isn't always the case though. Sometimes a women can have multiple miscarriages and there is no explanation for it.

Our next appointment is Friday, May 21st. This appointment is for a consultation on the IVF w/ PGD. It will be in more detail and we can ask all the questions we have. Which I have a bunch already.

Then after that, if Neal and I decide to go ahead we start the IVF process. I'm hoping this is sometime in June and the embryos get implanted in July. We don't really know that yet. It's just my theory.

I'm truly excited about this process. We've told family members and they hate that we have to go through this, but it doesn't really bother me. If I get a healthy baby in the end, it will make me so happy.