Baby currently has a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming.
Monday, October 31, 2011
11 weeks
Baby is now the size of a lime!
Baby currently has a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming.
Baby currently has a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
check out our new ride!
We are the proud new owners of a 2008 Expedition EL and we are very excited!! With a third one coming on the way, we simply needed more room. Our Edge will not accommodate a third car seat so we needed something bigger. If you know Cody, you know he is a FORD guy and I was not allowed to look at anything but. So I had two options...an Explorer or an Expedition. We started looking at the regular Expeditions with the third row seating, did some measuring, and there just wasn't enough room behind the seats to allow for strollers and luggage. We tried folding seats down in the middle to see if we could strollers in that way and still, not enough room. We really felt our only option at this point was to go with the extended length. We went car shopping yesterday with the intentions of just trying to figure out what we were looking for. When we narrowed it down to the EL, we had found one on the internet in Sioux Falls and made it our last stop of the day. We had absolutely no intentions to buy yesterday, but before we knew it we were signing our life away :) We don't have it in our possession quite yet. We got them to agree to fix a couple of things and it should be done in a couple of days. We already have a buyer for our Edge so everything worked our perfectly. Now I've just got to get used to driving this big bus!!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
doing it the hard way
I'm not really sure the purpose of this post...maybe more for my future reference than your enjoyment. Maybe because the bills are starting to come in and we're feeling the stress. But, I just wanted to lay out the cost of just trying to become pregnant.
Initial IVF Cycle:
*Follicular Monitoring (office visits, ultrasounds, lab work)
$2,300.00
*Retrieval of eggs
$2,100.00
*Fertilization Process
$2,400.00
*Embryo Transfer
$1,300.00
*Freezing and Storage of Embryos at Sanford
$780.00
*ICSI Procedure (isolating single sperm and injecting into egg)
$1,100.00
*Anesthesia Physicians
$200.00
*Medications
$4,000.00
Total ESTIMATED Cost: $14,180
*This did not include any of our initial infertility testing and any costs for Cody (including semen collections and lab work)
Frozen Embryo Transfer
*Follicular Monitoring (Office visits, ultrasounds, lab work)
$1,200.00
*Thawing of Embryos
$600.00
*Embryo Transfer
$1,400.00
*Medications
$600.00
Total ESTIMATED Cost: $3,800.00
We can't even begin to tell you how blessed we feel that both of these processes worked for us the FIRST time. But geez, it sure would have been easier to just hop into bed :)
Initial IVF Cycle:
*Follicular Monitoring (office visits, ultrasounds, lab work)
$2,300.00
*Retrieval of eggs
$2,100.00
*Fertilization Process
$2,400.00
*Embryo Transfer
$1,300.00
*Freezing and Storage of Embryos at Sanford
$780.00
*ICSI Procedure (isolating single sperm and injecting into egg)
$1,100.00
*Anesthesia Physicians
$200.00
*Medications
$4,000.00
Total ESTIMATED Cost: $14,180
*This did not include any of our initial infertility testing and any costs for Cody (including semen collections and lab work)
Frozen Embryo Transfer
*Follicular Monitoring (Office visits, ultrasounds, lab work)
$1,200.00
*Thawing of Embryos
$600.00
*Embryo Transfer
$1,400.00
*Medications
$600.00
Total ESTIMATED Cost: $3,800.00
We can't even begin to tell you how blessed we feel that both of these processes worked for us the FIRST time. But geez, it sure would have been easier to just hop into bed :)
here she is...
MY NIGHTMARE!!!
I will be one happy girl when these things are done. I have 79 under my belt with only 12 left to go!! I don't know how much more my butt can handle :)
Monday, October 24, 2011
I'm having kind of an icky day and here's the reason why. I guess you could call me a "blog stalker." Yep, I totally love looking into other people's lives and comparing their day to day to ours. I guess it makes me feel like I'm not the only crazy one out there, HA :)
Well along the way, about a year ago, I came across a blog about a young couple who needed prayers as their 18 month old was involved in a drowning accident. After several days of following them, finally came the post that their baby girl had gone home to be with Jesus. H.E.A.R.T.W.R.E.N.C.H.I.N.G!!! It's not a blog that I follow every day, but every now and again I have to go back and try to "catch-up." I can't even explain to you the uncontrollable sobbing and the sadness I feel for these people. When I do go back and find it, I am hooked and can't stop reading. But then I end up with eyes that are swollen and bloodshot.
When the kids and I were home on Friday, we had a less than desirable day. I definitely would NOT have been awarded Mother of the Year that day. I was not the mom I want to be and even three days later, I'm having a hard time with it.
Reading this story about losing a child and the heartache they are going through and will continue to go through every day of their lives, puts things into perspective. How could I not spend every second of every day loving on my children and taking in every second of them? Even when they are screaming, fighting, throwing tantrums, getting into everything that's off limits, not eating, not sleeping, throwing food on the floor, spilling their milk everywhere, fighting me when I put them in their carseats, running from me when I want to change their diapers, climbing off the changing table when I'm trying to dress them, or the times when they pick their daddy over me.
We are beyond blessed to have these two miracles in our lives and my heart explodes with love for them each day. They seem to forgive quickly when I have a short temper but it's harder to forgive myself.
I pray, in every moment, that God gives me the patience to deal with such minor instances.
And instead, give them a big 'ol smoocheroo!!!
Well along the way, about a year ago, I came across a blog about a young couple who needed prayers as their 18 month old was involved in a drowning accident. After several days of following them, finally came the post that their baby girl had gone home to be with Jesus. H.E.A.R.T.W.R.E.N.C.H.I.N.G!!! It's not a blog that I follow every day, but every now and again I have to go back and try to "catch-up." I can't even explain to you the uncontrollable sobbing and the sadness I feel for these people. When I do go back and find it, I am hooked and can't stop reading. But then I end up with eyes that are swollen and bloodshot.
When the kids and I were home on Friday, we had a less than desirable day. I definitely would NOT have been awarded Mother of the Year that day. I was not the mom I want to be and even three days later, I'm having a hard time with it.
Reading this story about losing a child and the heartache they are going through and will continue to go through every day of their lives, puts things into perspective. How could I not spend every second of every day loving on my children and taking in every second of them? Even when they are screaming, fighting, throwing tantrums, getting into everything that's off limits, not eating, not sleeping, throwing food on the floor, spilling their milk everywhere, fighting me when I put them in their carseats, running from me when I want to change their diapers, climbing off the changing table when I'm trying to dress them, or the times when they pick their daddy over me.
We are beyond blessed to have these two miracles in our lives and my heart explodes with love for them each day. They seem to forgive quickly when I have a short temper but it's harder to forgive myself.
I pray, in every moment, that God gives me the patience to deal with such minor instances.
And instead, give them a big 'ol smoocheroo!!!
Friday, October 21, 2011
today
I have been on MEA break yesterday and today. As much as I love being home with my kids, it's a crazy show around here!!
Today:
*The kids woke up at 5:07am, and nobody really got much more sleep after that.
*I declared today a jammie day
*We've had lots of playing on the floor
*Kenley pulled the toy shelf down on top of her
*Kaden is now walking and he enjoys walking around with a blanket over his head. He has had two bloody lips already today as a result
*Both kids have had their inhalers
*Kaden has double ear infection so he has been given his antibiotic and two doses of ear drops
*I have gone through almost an entire box of kleenex wiping noses...the snot is STILL ridiculous!!
*The fighting between the two kids is sometimes laughable, but it's getting old.
*I've washed our bedding and re-made the bed
*I've washed 3 more loads of clothes (they're not put away yet, I hate that part)
*I've put two baskets of the kids' laundry away
*Kaden has only taken one nap today, Kenley has had two
*The dishes are washed
*I made myself onion rings for a "snack"
*I took the vacuum cleaner apart and washed up the filter
*I watched a Lifetime movie. Ok, well maybe just parts of it. But that's ok, I've probably already seen it 10 times :)
*The house is a whirlwind of toys
*I haven't even showered for the day
*I attempted to watch Dr. Phil
Sounds like a productive day...but it doesn't even feel like I've made a dent in this place. Oh the joys of parenthood :)
Today:
*The kids woke up at 5:07am, and nobody really got much more sleep after that.
*I declared today a jammie day
*We've had lots of playing on the floor
*Kenley pulled the toy shelf down on top of her
*Kaden is now walking and he enjoys walking around with a blanket over his head. He has had two bloody lips already today as a result
*Both kids have had their inhalers
*Kaden has double ear infection so he has been given his antibiotic and two doses of ear drops
*I have gone through almost an entire box of kleenex wiping noses...the snot is STILL ridiculous!!
*The fighting between the two kids is sometimes laughable, but it's getting old.
*I've washed our bedding and re-made the bed
*I've washed 3 more loads of clothes (they're not put away yet, I hate that part)
*I've put two baskets of the kids' laundry away
*Kaden has only taken one nap today, Kenley has had two
*The dishes are washed
*I made myself onion rings for a "snack"
*I took the vacuum cleaner apart and washed up the filter
*I watched a Lifetime movie. Ok, well maybe just parts of it. But that's ok, I've probably already seen it 10 times :)
*The house is a whirlwind of toys
*I haven't even showered for the day
*I attempted to watch Dr. Phil
Sounds like a productive day...but it doesn't even feel like I've made a dent in this place. Oh the joys of parenthood :)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
the details
First of all, if you haven't read my last post you need to click here first :)
*The news we shared was not a surprise nor spontaneous...it was, once again, intentional and very calculated.
*When we got pregnant with the twins and knew we had two frozen embryos yet, Cody was determined that we should start trying again when they turned ONE! He wanted to have kids that were close in age. I was completely on board, until 9 months later when we had newborn twins on our hands. Then my thoughts turned into "let's just see how things are going when they turn one". I wasn't making any promises at that point.
*The kids turned one and Cody was ready to head back in this summer to get the ball rolling. I was panicking, just a little. I kept thinking of adding kids to "this" and right now, it would be insane. But I kept telling myself, a new baby is not coming now, it would be another year. When I thought about other children who were two years apart (or less), my fears started calming a bit. If they can do it, so can we!
*In June we made our first appointment, back with Dr. Hansen, Reproductive Endocrinologist in Sioux Falls. We just wanted to talk about things and to see what the process of doing a Frozen Embryo Transfer would look like. I would start with a month of birth control so they could control my ovulating. Then injections, (oh, I remember the joy of injections), to continue to suppress my ovaries. This was followed by many ultrasounds to determine the thickness of my uterine lining and decide when to do the transfer.
*I had also started acupuncture again, approximately 3 times a week.
*Cody and I wanted to tell ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!!! We wanted this to be a secret and a huge suprise to everyone. But when I was heading over to Sioux Falls 3-4 times a week and needed help with the kids, it was time I told someone. I told my mom but made her swear to secrecy.
*The weekend in August when we went to Des Moines...Cody went camping instead. Well, he was my injection man, so this caused a problem. I, unable to come up with the strength to give myself the shots, needed help from my mom. So we are standing upstairs in my sister's bathroom, trying to do this all on the sly, and she freezes. My mom can't do it either!! Now I have to call on my dad. So now both my mom and dad know.....and that's it!! We were bummed that we had to tell, but it really was necessary.
*A week before the transfer, I started my daily progesterone in oil injections. YIKES!! Soooo not ready for those again. Progesterone runs like syrup, therefore needs to go through a BIG needle. It also is an extra-long needle because it needs to be given into the muscle...of my butt! Have I mentioned how much I hate these things?!? I need to continue them through 12 weeks of pregnancy, so I only have just under 3 weeks left. Already counting down the days!
*We had 2 frozen embryos remaining, so we decided to transfer both of them. I had my transfer done over Labor Day weekend and we all hung pretty low. My mom and I had made up some meals to have on hand, and Cody became Mr. Mom for the next 3 days.
*We found out we were pregnant on September 14th
*At 6 weeks, we ended up losing one of the babies :( I woke up early on a Sunday morning with significant bleeding. I called my doctor and he told me that I could go into the emergency room or wait until their clinic in SF opened at 8:00. We got ready and got the kids ready and headed over to Sioux Falls. I cried the entire way over. I just knew this was going to be the end of everything. Everything we had worked so hard to achieve. I just knew I wasn't going to get to be a mom again. It was hitting me very hard. We dropped the kids off at my parents house and went in. We did an ultrasound which showed one very healthy baby yet. Praise the Lord!!
*I am still struggling with the loss though. I have not yet found the balance between mourning the loss of a child and the excitement that we are still pregnant.
*I am currently 9 weeks along
*We are due May 21st, 2012
*Chasing after 14 month old twins, being in my first trimester, and continuing to be anemic, means I am still struggling with exhaustion. Cody is amazing and is really picking up the slack. Ok, so maybe that's a lie. I do have to get a little bossy with him, or things just really wouldn't get done around here :)
*I really have been feeling great. There are times where I feel a little queezy, but I haven't even thrown up once!! I received a pregnancy journal from my sister in law the first time around and kept notes in there week to week. It's been fun to go back and compare. I had been puking for several weeks already with the twins.
So there ya have it. Are you surprised? Once again, we have a lot of work to get done around here to bring another member into the family. So maybe once I'm done being soo tired.....we'll get to work :)
*The news we shared was not a surprise nor spontaneous...it was, once again, intentional and very calculated.
*When we got pregnant with the twins and knew we had two frozen embryos yet, Cody was determined that we should start trying again when they turned ONE! He wanted to have kids that were close in age. I was completely on board, until 9 months later when we had newborn twins on our hands. Then my thoughts turned into "let's just see how things are going when they turn one". I wasn't making any promises at that point.
*The kids turned one and Cody was ready to head back in this summer to get the ball rolling. I was panicking, just a little. I kept thinking of adding kids to "this" and right now, it would be insane. But I kept telling myself, a new baby is not coming now, it would be another year. When I thought about other children who were two years apart (or less), my fears started calming a bit. If they can do it, so can we!
*In June we made our first appointment, back with Dr. Hansen, Reproductive Endocrinologist in Sioux Falls. We just wanted to talk about things and to see what the process of doing a Frozen Embryo Transfer would look like. I would start with a month of birth control so they could control my ovulating. Then injections, (oh, I remember the joy of injections), to continue to suppress my ovaries. This was followed by many ultrasounds to determine the thickness of my uterine lining and decide when to do the transfer.
*I had also started acupuncture again, approximately 3 times a week.
*Cody and I wanted to tell ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!!! We wanted this to be a secret and a huge suprise to everyone. But when I was heading over to Sioux Falls 3-4 times a week and needed help with the kids, it was time I told someone. I told my mom but made her swear to secrecy.
*The weekend in August when we went to Des Moines...Cody went camping instead. Well, he was my injection man, so this caused a problem. I, unable to come up with the strength to give myself the shots, needed help from my mom. So we are standing upstairs in my sister's bathroom, trying to do this all on the sly, and she freezes. My mom can't do it either!! Now I have to call on my dad. So now both my mom and dad know.....and that's it!! We were bummed that we had to tell, but it really was necessary.
*A week before the transfer, I started my daily progesterone in oil injections. YIKES!! Soooo not ready for those again. Progesterone runs like syrup, therefore needs to go through a BIG needle. It also is an extra-long needle because it needs to be given into the muscle...of my butt! Have I mentioned how much I hate these things?!? I need to continue them through 12 weeks of pregnancy, so I only have just under 3 weeks left. Already counting down the days!
*We had 2 frozen embryos remaining, so we decided to transfer both of them. I had my transfer done over Labor Day weekend and we all hung pretty low. My mom and I had made up some meals to have on hand, and Cody became Mr. Mom for the next 3 days.
*We found out we were pregnant on September 14th
*At 6 weeks, we ended up losing one of the babies :( I woke up early on a Sunday morning with significant bleeding. I called my doctor and he told me that I could go into the emergency room or wait until their clinic in SF opened at 8:00. We got ready and got the kids ready and headed over to Sioux Falls. I cried the entire way over. I just knew this was going to be the end of everything. Everything we had worked so hard to achieve. I just knew I wasn't going to get to be a mom again. It was hitting me very hard. We dropped the kids off at my parents house and went in. We did an ultrasound which showed one very healthy baby yet. Praise the Lord!!
*I am still struggling with the loss though. I have not yet found the balance between mourning the loss of a child and the excitement that we are still pregnant.
*I am currently 9 weeks along
*We are due May 21st, 2012
*Chasing after 14 month old twins, being in my first trimester, and continuing to be anemic, means I am still struggling with exhaustion. Cody is amazing and is really picking up the slack. Ok, so maybe that's a lie. I do have to get a little bossy with him, or things just really wouldn't get done around here :)
*I really have been feeling great. There are times where I feel a little queezy, but I haven't even thrown up once!! I received a pregnancy journal from my sister in law the first time around and kept notes in there week to week. It's been fun to go back and compare. I had been puking for several weeks already with the twins.
So there ya have it. Are you surprised? Once again, we have a lot of work to get done around here to bring another member into the family. So maybe once I'm done being soo tired.....we'll get to work :)
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
can we just be done?
Ugh, have I told you lately how much we hate giving the kids their inhalers?? They each continue to get two puffs morning and night, which only takes about 30 seconds total, but it feels like the longest 30 seconds EVER and then they have to act like we are trying to kill them! They know when they get them and they can see it coming.
So then they run away. Which is a real treat :)
It really is a struggle every day. I know for such a short lived thing, I really should just get over it, but it's getting to be such an annoyance. We then have to brush their teeth and clean their mouth out afterwards, which is also something they have grown to hate!!
I suppose they are doing their job though. Through this last round of colds, they did have the coughing, but it didn't travel to the lungs and it hasn't gotten out of control.
You would think that because this has just become part of their routine, they would be getting used to it. We feel like every time we bring it out, it's like we're introducing it to them for the first time!
Oh well, that's all I have for you today :)
So then they run away. Which is a real treat :)
It really is a struggle every day. I know for such a short lived thing, I really should just get over it, but it's getting to be such an annoyance. We then have to brush their teeth and clean their mouth out afterwards, which is also something they have grown to hate!!
I suppose they are doing their job though. Through this last round of colds, they did have the coughing, but it didn't travel to the lungs and it hasn't gotten out of control.
You would think that because this has just become part of their routine, they would be getting used to it. We feel like every time we bring it out, it's like we're introducing it to them for the first time!
Oh well, that's all I have for you today :)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Good News
I received a call of good news yesterday. I have been feeling very "crappy" lately and have been doctoring to try and figure out what's going on. Well, after much lab work, I was told I have "elevated liver enzymes". Didn't mean much to me, but they wanted to do some more testing, a lot more blood work, and more specific liver testing. I gave about my entire body's worth of blood and then also had an ultrasound done of my liver and gallbladder last week. Part of what elevated liver enzymes could mean was liver disease. But I got the call yesterday saying that the ultrasound of my liver/gallbladder/kidneys all looked good. Which was a big relief. But I'm still not feeling any better. My numbers are still high, but they are still not sure what is causing this and I am also anemic....so between these two things = PURE EXHAUSTION!!! I am not even kidding you, for the last week and a half I am asleep on the couch by 7:30 and in bed BEFORE 8:00 every night. Once Cody gets home from work, I am done! I find it hard to do anything and sometimes even breathing feels like too much work :( I have started on an iron supplement which I am hoping will do the trick with the anemia. And we'll just keep an eye on the liver issue.
Myself and the kids are also sick with nasty colds. Kenley has ear infection and the snot is RIDICULOUS!! We are all exhausted.
So that's part of what's been going on in our lives lately.
This past weekend we went to Des Moines to visit and hit up the Pumpkin Patch. We had a blast and I think the kids did too :) We had absolutely gorgeous weather and it was a perfect day!
You'll never guess, but I forgot my camera. Yep, it was still sitting in the bedroom when we got home. I do have pictures, but I will have to get them off of my parents computer, which I'm hoping to get done this weekend.
Myself and the kids are also sick with nasty colds. Kenley has ear infection and the snot is RIDICULOUS!! We are all exhausted.
So that's part of what's been going on in our lives lately.
This past weekend we went to Des Moines to visit and hit up the Pumpkin Patch. We had a blast and I think the kids did too :) We had absolutely gorgeous weather and it was a perfect day!
You'll never guess, but I forgot my camera. Yep, it was still sitting in the bedroom when we got home. I do have pictures, but I will have to get them off of my parents computer, which I'm hoping to get done this weekend.
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