One Year Ago Today

Life really has been busy. I've been back to work for about five weeks now and we're still adjusting to having two kids and both of us working. It's a balancing act for sure, but we're getting the hang of it.

Baby B is three months old already! She's weighing in at roughly 11 pounds and is super tall. She's been dealing with reflux since she was about a month old. After a couple of medicine changes, she seems to be an one that actually works! With also tried various formulas and right now she is taking a soy formula. That seems to cut down on the amount of gas and spitting up that she does. Poor thing has really had a rough start feeding wise!

One year ago today was my embryo transfer for Baby B. I almost have to sit and really think to even remember all of those progesterone shots I did. I remember my ass was hurting! And it was even black and blue! How was that a year ago today? Time flies.

6 Weeks PP

Survival mode!! As of yesterday I am six weeks postpartum! I even got to go to my doctor check up yesterday. I say that with excitement because when you have two kids, even going to the doctor by yourself is an amazing experience. It's always weird going back to the doctor after you have a baby. You spent so much time getting weighed and checked... going without the big belly is really strange. I've always been that infertile girl who takes a lot of time to get over not being pregnant anymore. Being in the office and seeing other pregnant bellies actually makes me jealous. I'm psycho.

The good news is that I got great reviews from my doctor and I'm all healed! He asked me if we had any frozen embryos left. I laughed and I told him that we were to kid people… Two and done. I mean, I am going to be 37 and that's getting up there. My doctor told me I was crazy for thinking that I'm getting too old and that he really thought I should have one more. The weird thing about it is, I like this doctor so much that he can probably convince me to have one more. See? Psycho!

Brielle turned six weeks yesterday. It has been an interesting journey. Brooklyn seems to be well-adjusted now to the change. That was definitely difficult for all of us. 

Brielle is not the angel baby Brooklyn was, but we knew that was going to happen all along. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out what baby Brielle likes. One thing she doesn't like is napping. One thing she does like is crying. She's as cute as a button though :)

It's fun to hear Brooklyn talk about her little sister. She really wants to be like Anna and Elsa in Frozen. Sometimes if she's getting a new toy, she'll ask for two of them so she can save one for her little sissy. So cute!

I weighed Brielle yesterday and she weighed exactly 10 pounds. She's still wearing mostly newborn everything. She's smiling quite a bit and I'm waiting to hear her "talk." I know in the next month or so her little personality will start to shine through!

School starts in two days. It's very weird not starting on time. Right now we are also in the Baby phase where we can't get out and do much. Brooklyn starts preschool this week as well. It's going to be an interesting week. I'm very excited for her but cannot believe how big she's getting. I went back to my blogs and read about Brooklyn when she was around Brielle's current age. Right around this time is when I started calling Brooklyn my little buddy. I am definitely going to miss my little buddy as she heads off to preschool this week.💜 her to pieces!

Even though it's hard handling two kids right now, we know the reason is because it's new. Either way, I'm the luckiest person in the world To have two little girls:)

PP Rubbish, Mr. LTM, and She's 10 Days, and More Kids

How's that for a title? I figured if I put everything in the title, I'd be able to remember what in the world I wanted to write about.

Post Partum Rubbish:
Hormones suck the big one. Actually I'm feeling much better today at 10 days PP than even just a few days ago. Adjusting to a new routine is hard for anyone. Like when Miss B was born, it's hard to get the regular stuff done in a day. Paying bills, laundry and keeping up the house is a challenge. Everyone says to let the chores go and enjoy the time, but it's hard to enjoy my couch with little b when the living room is a disaster. Each day I'm trying to keep things cleaned up to a minimum, just to where I'm comfortable. That helps prevent meltdowns... on my part. Not Miss B or Little b.

Night time anxiety was an issue when I had Miss B. I remember being paranoid every night. I wondered when I would sleep and how the night would go. I have that this time again. The only weird thing is I have that but I'm sleeping all night. Mr. LTM takes care of Little b, so you'd think I have nothing to worry about. So random.

Mr. LTM:
Where did I find this guy? Well, the real answer is Target, but seriously. He's truly holding the house together. He does all of the night feedings while I get sleep until I'm back to 100%. Now, yes that's amazing of him, but while he sleeps during the day, I have Miss B and Little b to take care of. Not an easy challenge! Either way, it keeps the night anxiety to a minimum.

So the other day I ran to the grocery store. I come back and Mr. LTM has both kids napping, he did the dishes and he's in the shower. WTF???? I sometimes can't get dressed with the two of them. One is crying and the other one getting into trouble! How in the heck does he do it? I will say that while he's not working his thinking is more clear and he acts like the MR. LTM I met 17 years ago at Target. I hate his current job. I wish he'd switch to something he liked so he wasn't always stressed out. It's been so nice hanging out every day.

She's 10 Days:

So 10 days old already! Little b is already more aware. She's jumps to the sound of our voices and looks for us when she hears us. She also seems to really enjoy books already. Miss B was the same exact way. Yesterday she had a hold of her paci and was waving it all about. I noticed she is looking at my mouth when I'm talking too. I completely remember Miss B doing the same thing.

We call Little b "dino baby." She eats so much and so often. We feel like she makes dinosaur noises so the name fits. I'm dying to buy her the Aden and Anais dinosaur blanket but it looks like it's more for boys. We feed Dino baby about every two hours and she's up to 3oz of formula on a regular basis. This kid will be 14lbs by Christmas. Miss B is over three years old and barely weighs 30. They are already so different.

Miss B is a good big sister. She's definitely trying to adjust to her new life. There has been lots of talking back and acting out. We've been using a positive behavior system with her and that seems to help. In two days we are taking Little b to our babysitter so we can spend the day with Miss B. She's really into dinosaurs lately so we are thinking of going to either the Field Museum or the beach. She's also very into shells and sand so either one will be a winner. I'm excited to spend the day together. It's funny that we could have all went to the museum or beach a few weeks ago and didn't have to worry about a newborn and what we would do with her.

More Kids:

Mr. LTM is nuts and has mentioned more kids once or twice already. We don't have any more frozen embryos left so that idea is out. I did keep myself on Mr. LTM insurance just incase we needed the infertility coverage. The coverage has changed but because we are on the plan still, we are supposed to be grandfathered-in. That means we'd have two full IVF cycles left if we were interested. I don't know, I'm 36. I'm getting up there. I know age isn't everything but I feel like we already had our kids kind of late. In addition, we are living in a two bedroom house which I am not appreciating right now. Everything seems so small with two kids and all of their crap laying around. I'm sure Mr. LTM is on a newborn high, so we'll see if he changes his mind. I think he will.

Dino baby awaits again! She just ate an hour ago and is ready to eat again. Oh my!

Brielle's Birth Story

First I cannot believe that my pregnancy is over and done with. The beginning went by slow and then it really picked up. I'm glad I had a few weeks off of work to enjoy Brooklyn and enjoy my pregnancy. I'm getting up there in age, so we are very sure there are no more kids in our future. And, let's not forget the fact that we have no more frozen babies. Holy shit, I have a frozen baby in real life. It's kinda strange!

My induction was scheduled for Thursday night and Thursday was not easy. I felt like I was just sitting around all day waiting for it. I was very nervous and apprehensive. I felt guilty for scheduling an induction and not waiting until I went into labor on my own. I began to feel bad for Brooklyn, knowing that changes that were ahead for her. Pretty much I was just a hormonal mess. I kept hoping my Braxton Hicks would turn real and I would miss my induction like I did with Brooklyn, but I didn't.

At 7:00pm on Thursday I called Labor and Delivery to confirm my appointment. The charge nurse said to head on over as it was rather slow. We said good bye to Miss B and left her with my mom. The whole drive there was so weird. It's weird knowing that your whole life is about to change.

When we arrived at the hospital I made Mr. Later Than Most take one last pregnant picture of me and all of our bags. We went up to Labor and Delivery, checked in and got settled in our room. We were rather sure it was the same room I delivered Miss B in. Right away I got changed and the nurse came in to check me and see where I was. My OB does not perform internal checks, so I had not idea if I was even effaced or ready for birth. We were extremely surprised to find that I was already dilated to 4cm and that I was contracting on my own! I never really felt anything!

My OB suggested that I get my epidural sooner than later. He figured it may go fast since I was already at 4cm. I agreed with that and we had the epidural before starting the Pitocin. Unlike my last birth, this time they would not allow my husband to be in the room for the epidural. Also, my last epidural did not hurt, but this one really did. The anesthesiologist actually had to complete the process twice as she could not get in a good enough spot the first time. Lucky for me, I got to feel the needle go in two times instead of one! I remember wincing out loud both times and wishing that the process was almost over. I did not remember feeling any pain with the first pregnancy, but holy crap that thing hurt! Finally, the catheter was in and I began to slowly feel the effects. Though I've had an epi before, I began to worry a little about the after effects and if it was going to work right. When I had Miss B my epi wore off quickly and I was in so much pain. It was non-stop crying for hours.

This epi seemed to go well. Once I felt good, they began the Pitocin in increments of 2. Slowly my contractions started to pick up and space out evenly. I had little to no pain at all. Each half hour they kicked up the Pitocin and checked to see if I had made any progress.  After a while, it became apparent that I was a bit of a mystery. Apparently my cervix was dilating unevenly. So the top inside part was dilated more than the bottom. At one point they were calling me a 7/5. 7cm at the top and 5 at the bottom. My regular nurse had another nurse come in around 11pm to make me and make sure that I was dilating the way she thought I was. Sure enough, nurse number two is also surprised that she too will have to record two different numbers for how dilated I am. At this point they decide to call the doctor and see what he had to say. It was now midnight and the nurses felt like I could be stalling a bit. The nurse said that things would go quickly if my water broke, but the doctor was not going to break my water. He didn't want to rush things.

Around 1am they kicked the Pitocin up a bit and had me change into a bunch of different positions. One position they referred to as the "Texas" something. I slept like that for over an hour and a half and luckily, it seemed to work.  When the nurse came in she said everything was looking great, but baby was floating all around in amniotic fluid and had dropped. As she finished her check, my water broke. No more floating baby! They called the doctor to report that I was now effaced fully (and evenly) and that baby would be on her way soon. It was about 4am when that call was made.

Mr. LTM and I started to get excited that it was almost delivery time. Not too long after the nurse came running in and stopped the Pitocin. She said that baby's heart rate showed that delivery was very, very close but the doctor wasn't here yet. In case you don't know my birth story from Miss B, the doctor missed her birth. The nurse taught me how to push and Miss B would not stop her entrance into the world. She was delivered by about 8 nurses after only three pushes.  The doctor came in about three minutes after Miss B was born.  They didn't want this to occur again, so the Pitocin was stoppted until my doctor showed.

Around 5am my fav OB came strolling in with a big smile on his face. This guy is the best. He was actually not working the night of my induction or delivery, but the nurse said he "specialed" himself in for my delivery. I felt special when she said that doctors only do this for patients they really liked. :)

After a check by the OB, they kicked the Pitocin back up so I could have some regular contractions to push baby out. We waited and waited. With Miss B I felt no pressure to push. This nurse was aware of that and kept explaining what I should be feeling. "You'll feel like you have to poop." That's all she kept telling me so that feeling should be rather clear. Um yea, never felt sensation with either birth.

Around 6:30am I FINALLY called the nurse to tell her that I felt something. Not like I had to poop but just pressure in general. The doctor returned with an extra nurse and they had me start pushing. I pushed through two contractions and they had me stop. At this point there was for sure some pain. I could tell that baby was crowning because that feeling cannot be mistaken. Kind of a burn mixed with pressure. While I was laying there with a baby sticking partly out of me, the doctors and nurses began getting everything ready and turning all of the lights on. At one point they giggled because I asked if this was really going down right now. I couldn't help it! Everyone got so serious. In my mind I figured I was giving it my all on the next set of pushes and this baby was going to come out.

After one more contraction and pushing, my little Brielle Elizabeth entered the world. No cries right away. I could hear the doctor tell Mr. LTM that the cord was around her neck but nothing to worry about. They suctioned and suctioned her. I remember the doctor talking to Brielle and telling her that he saw her swallow a bunch of fluid and that she needed to try to get that up. Mr. LTM kept asking if she was okay, but the doctor was so busy suctioning her that he really didn't answer. I did begin to worry. I kept asking the nurse if she was ok and she just answered, "yea." I was kinda hoping for a "oh don't worry, she's good!" or a "She's excellent." None of that. My worrying continued for what felt like eternity but was probably only another minute. Brielle started screaming and they handed her right to me for some skin to skin. I remember thinking how cute and little she was. I was sure she was a 6lb'er.

I know skin-to-skin is amazing, but holy shit, I didn't enjoy that experience. I mean, they gave her to me bloody and she's screaming the entire time.  Then, I'm delivering the placenta while she is still screaming on me. Then, she's still screaming as they were stitching me up. It was very overwhelming. I didn't want to seem like a horrible person, so I just held her the entire time while she continued to scream. In hindsight, I'm just glad she was screaming after the scare we had.

After about an hour of skin-to-skin, they took Brielle over to be weighed. At 40 weeks and 2 days, Brielle was born weighing 7lb 13oz and 19.5 inches long. My little cutie received 9s on both of her APGARS.

Overall, this was a great birth. The induction process went as smooth as it possibly could. I'm thankful to have another beautiful girl on my hands.

Birth Story in Progress

I've been working hard at typing up Brielle's birth story, but it really is taking a long time. I'm about 1/3 of the way done. After typing for about 45 minutes I'll get an interruption and then not really feel like going back to it.

We are all adjusting to being a family of three. The first two days were easy with Brielle. She slept a lot and ate little. Starting last night though, she's showing her true colors and acting like a newborn. She's eating very often and today she was even awake for 2 1/2 hours straight. I told her to throw me a bone and sleep a little longer. Momma was tired.

I decided not to breastfeed this time and am fine with that decision. Last time was an absolute nightmare that pretty much caused be to become depressed. The stigma around formula feeding sucks. The hospital had no literature on formula feeding and only on breast feeding. We had no clue how much to even feed her at the hospital. And what pissed me off the most is when they would say, "Are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding?" No dumb asses, it's breastfeeding or formula feeding. Each time I'd answer with "formula feeding" and they'd get a little annoyed. The Lactation Consultant pissed Mr. LTM off. We told her we didn't need any assistance and she asked "why not?" Um, we said we didn't need help. And funny enough, I was actually nursing Brielle at the time. We wanted to make sure she got some colostrum at the hospital.

Miss B is adjusting. I feel bad for her a lot. She's acting out at us as part of her adjustment but she's very loving to her sister. It's hard to watch her get into trouble when we know that she knows better. Hopefully her new behaviors are short-lived. Overall though, it's been three days, so I think we are all on the right track.

Well, since it's almost 10pm I must head to sleep. Mr. LTM takes care of Brielle all night while I sleep. I've had a hard time sleeping, so hopefully that ends soon.

She's Here!

Brielle Elizabeth born 7/11/2014 @ 6:42am! 7lb13oz and 19.5 inches long!

We are home and doing well! Birth story to come!

Due Date!

That little ticket is so cute reading 40 weeks pregnant. No baby though:) I did try ice cream as a midday snack hoping that would work but it didn't!

About 24 hours until my induction. Hoping I don't need it:)

When are you due?

This is the best question ever when asked the week that you are due. I went out to dinner with a close friend yesterday to a relatively nice restaurant. I wore my cute maternity maxi dress, which really feels like a nightgown so the joke is on everyone else. Several people asked, "when are you due/" Um, two days!!!

Well that was yesterday. Tomorrow is my due date. Not that due dates mean much. Today I feel totally normal. I've had quite a few Braxton Hicks but truly, nothing new for me. Other than that, I did have a hard time sleeping last night. The first time in the whole 9 months!! I was so freaking hot. Since I didn't sleep well I kinda dozed several hours this morning and Miss B just played next to me. I felt so bad but once I dozed a bit, B and I were able to go about our day.

Like last time, I'm a few days from my induction. I'm not hoping to make it to that, but getting used to the idea. The one nice thing about it is there is kind of a plan in place. It's hard to imagine going into labor in the evening when you have a toddler at home. I've envisioned just driving to the hospital myself so everyone can rest. Don't worry, I won't do it.

As usual, MR. LTM is starting to freak out a bit. I get men. Birth is hard for them because they have no control over anything. I remember the poor guy when I was in labor with B and crying my eyes out when my meds didn't work. He was ready to hurt someone. Not that it was anyone's fault, but he needed someone to blame.

Baby is active today and last night. Actually, she normally sleeps through the night and last night she was having a field day around midnight. Between that and being hot, I thought I would never get any sleep. Then I remembered in a few more days, I won't be sleeping at all! LOL

T-Minus 3 Days

I'm looking at that ticker and it says there are three days until our little girl gets here. Today I was gone for a few hours and when I got back, Mr. LTM said he was freaking out a little. Poor men. The reality of kids starts to hit them right when the shit is about to hit the fan. Sure it's been real until now... he's been working on "Honey Do" lists for awhile. But once that date gets near, BAM!

I dunno, I just figure bringing home your second is easier than your first. I mean, we already know mostly what to expect. And B was a great, great baby so we assume this one won't be. When you bring home your first baby, it's kind of a life shocker. They change everything. What you thought you knew, you actually don't know.  You suddenly blend your life style with theirs and just function.

This time I figure baby comes home and fits in to how we are living. Sure we need to adjust schedules and expectations, but I'm setting myself up for any easy life with two kids. And, in about a month, one of you may kindly redirect me back to this post. :)

Speaking of posts, I'm about to go back and read my posts that exist from the time I was ready to deliver Miss B. Not that I want to be reminded of that horrible and painful delivery, but why not?

Don't worry dear reader, I have Blogger on my cell phone so I'll at least post a one sentence update when baby comes. My tracker says the page gets about 35 visits a day, so I better post something!

Less Than a Week to Go...39 weeks

And the end is near! Most pregnant woman are dying to get their baby out. They are sick of the swollen ankles, sore back and giant stomach. I commonly hear, "I can't wait for this to be over."

Pregnancy has been good to me...twice. No swollen ankles, ever. No back pain. I sleep a full night with a few bathroom interruptions. I'm never really uncomfortable. My life is the exact same, with a basketball as a stomach.

The end of pregnancy is rough only because I know this is more than likely the last I'll experience. I'm thankful for all of the experiences and friends that infertility has brought me. I would say to "us" but Mr. LTM is just thankful for the babies. He hasn't made the friends and connections that I have.

Infertility sucks. There are still so many girls out there who just cannot catch a break and reach the point of getting a "take-home" baby. I sometimes challenge the way things happen. I don't understand why a woman who wants nothing more than a baby, can't have one. I was there, and it sucks the big one.

Today at at my regular check-up Miss B and I both melted at the sight of a newborn baby in the doctor's office. B continuously told the parents how cute their baby was. That little squishy face made me realize that this pregnancy can be done... I want to see my little girls' face!

As for appointments... flying colors again today. NSTs are great, my blood pressure stays around 112/72, no real contractions (that I feel!) and no swelling. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

This weekend is the last weekend that we will be a family of three. I have an induction schedule for July 10th at 8pm. One more week, max.

Part of me hoped that today would be the big day. Today was my grandmother's birthday. She was one of my favorite people until cancer stole her from us about 10 years ago. My mom called to remind me that if I went today, it would have been "mom's" birthday (that's what we called her!). But, she also shared that the 4th was great-grandma's bday, so there is still hope! Ha!

One week to go!

Week 37

Seeing the doctor every week for this long is a little comical. I feel like we are best friends. This week I had to take Miss B with me. Luckily she's rather well behaved. When I have to pee in a cup I distract her. She hold like five of the Castille Soap wipes (unopened of course) and tries to weight them on the scale. She also likes to weigh in herself. I'm proud to announce that she is up 1lb 2 oz since she went to my 32 week appointment. Little peanut.... three years old and weights 29 lbs 2 oz.

As for momma, I'm weighing about 24lbs more than I did when I started out. I only gained about 19lbs withe B, but never ate as much ice cream as this. LOL

I got all strapped up to the NST and Brooklyn sat near me with her iPad. She made sure to tell the nurses that we were there for a baby appointment and not for a Brookie appointment. She also let the nurse know that she wears headphones with the iPad so it's not to loud for the other people. When she told the doctor that story, he was hysterical.

During the NST I like to peek at the monitor and see what's going on. I was slightly surprised to see contractions registering at 75-80 but I didn't feel anything. Baby girl looked good and moved around a ton as usual. When the doctor came in he was slightly surprised at three contractions that took place during the twenty minute test. He joked and said, "Maybe I'll see you in labor and delivery tonight!"

Hold up! WTF????? Oh no he didn't. I laughed and told him I had three weeks left and I'm busy. He laughed harder and said that past 37 weeks, this show can happen any day. Yes, yes, I Google stuff, I know that.

So B and I came home and I started getting all that shit done on my To-Do list:

• stock changing talbe (check)
• stock a living room supply of baby stuff (check)
• organize the baby formula and baby food cabinet (check)
• get Brooklyn's Big Sister present ready (check)
• get Brooklyn's Big Sister outfit ready (check)
• get the baby gift ready from Brooklyn to baby (check)
• make padcicles (check)
• buy or make water wipes for baby (bought and check)
• vacuum my car and make it look nice (check)

I still need to sterilize bottles and get the car seat into the car, but that's easy stuff. So we are pretty much on our way to being prepared.

Brooklyn is very excited about her new sister. She includes her (by name) in conversations and refers to her as "my baby." She can't wait til baby is bigger so they can "share a room for sleepovers." This all sounds good but I was scouring Bump posts yesterday about siblings and I'm kinda scared. Pretty much not one person from the June 13 board said their child was behaving rather normal. Lots of anger and aggression going on. When I read all of that, it reminded me that I'm on the internet reading shit way too much!

Ok, I need to take some real maternity photos! Mr. LTM did them last time, so hopefully we can squeeze them in this weekend. Here is an unofficial bump photo for week 37:

Week 36 Update

Just got back from my 36 week checkup! Everything is looking good, which is great. On the contraction monitor the doctor said I had one rather big contraction, but I didn't feel it! I also had an ultrasound to check position and baby is head down and ready to go. Last week she was still transverse, so we made some progress there! I'm still a little anemic and will continue iron, but my Group B Strep was negative, yay for that!

Today was my last day of school and things are now starting to feel real. All of a sudden the hormones are kicking in. I'm realizing that Brooklyn is really growing up and it sucks. She is so, so sweet though. We can't even stand it. She makes up songs about how much she loves us. She tells me I'm her best friend. She says daddy is the  best daddy because he always makes time for her. Seriously, this girl is amazing. I cannot imagine loving another child like this, but I know I will. How do you even deal with loving kids this much? It's crazy. Makes me pissed that people have to struggle to have babies... everyone who wants to experience parenthood should be able to.

My next check up is in a week. I cannot believe I will have two little girls in about a month's time. Thank you reproductive medicine.

The Countdown Begins... One Month Left!

EEEEEEEEKKKK! I'm totally carrying a full grown baby. Today is June 9 and my due date is exactly a month away. It's really starting to feel more real now as I've noticed many babies being born on my internet birth month board. Wow, I will soon have two little girls. I'm a lucky woman!

I'm also lucky because pregnancy has treated me as well this time as it did last time. According to comments from coworkers and randoms... I'm the "ideal" pregnant lady. Basketball stomach and no extra weight any where else. No swollen ankles, spreading nose or large ass. Isn't it funny what people consider to be ideal? To me, ideal is the fact that I was able to have a successful transfer to begin with!

My weekly appointments started at my last post. I've passed all of my NSTs with flying colors. The last one the doctor said that I've got some cramping going on, but totally normal for being this far along. This Thursday I should have my 36 week ultrasound to check baby's position. Now, this little booger could have me confused, but I'm sure she's still transverse. We shall see on Thursday.

Brooklyn is still over the moon excited. Yesterday we set-up quite a bit of baby stuff and she kept saying, "We have to get this stuff ready! My baby sissy will be here in one year!" Ok, just be impressed that she knows a unit of time. We keep telling her it's one month and not one year :) I think it's cute that she calls the baby, "baby sissy."

So we've had a name picked out for over a month know. Mr. LTM decided to tell Brooklyn what it is. Of course this was not my choice :) You'd be surprised though... if someone begins to act like they want to know she immediately cuts them off and says they have to wait to find out. In Target the other day she goes, "Hey mom! I can tell this stranger the baby's name, right?" LOL I love her!

This week is also my last week of school, thank heavens! It's getting hard to walk around all day. I can easily find time to sit but I feel guilty about not moving around more.

My ice cream addiction is out of control. I'm really hoping that leaves once the baby comes. It's not cool at all!

I'll be posting after Thursday's ultrasound!

Time is Flying

How has it been a month already? Work has kept me so busy. I'm not going to lie, I spend a lot of time shopping at night on my computer too. You'd think I'd just open Blogger and do an update.

Well, I have had a few appointments since my last post and low and behold, this Baby is still transverse. She literally is in the same position as she was at 16 weeks. I'm not worried about it. If she flips great. If not, then not. Many girls have told me to try different things to flip baby, but I'm kinda just  going to see what happens. I'm not trying to be lazy, but after my SIL experienced an awful birth, I'm fine if I have to have a c-section for this one. Not a popular opinion I know, but that's what it is.

At my MFM appointment they called me boring and dismissed me from their care:) Baby was weighing  a little over three pounds at that point (29 weeks) and everything looked great. After my MFM I went over to my first NST at my OB's office. I spend thirty minutes hooked to the contraction monitor and everything looked good too. It was a long appointment but I enjoyed the time on my phone while I browsed the internet.

Since then I have had another regular OB appointment. Starting this week I go to my OB every week for NSTs and regular checkups. You gotta love being 36. I've brought Miss B to several appointments too and she doesn't mind them. Every time though she does say, "They aren't going to work on me, right?" Ha!

So, I've been feeling pretty good for the most part. I'm lucky to be sleeping total normal still and only getting up once for a bathroom break, sometimes twice. At last check I'm up 19 pounds. That's how much I gained total with Miss B. I guess all of that ice cream and shakes really starts adding up. Either way, I'm enjoying them so I'll work really hard when this baby is born!

Today Brooklyn went to a sibling class at the hospital. They talked the kids (aged 3-6) about new babies and showed pictures of newborns. They even gave them a tour of the mother-baby unit. Brooklyn was a deer in the headlights for some parts and excited for others. At the class they said that your child will most likely act the same way he or she does now around babies. Luckily Brooklyn seems to enjoy little babies, so hopefully she stays that way.

On the shopping front.... yea, I've bought quite a bit! Well, I have my new double stroller all ready. I have my City Mini GT Double all set and I'm excited to use it. Brooklyn was very clear that she does not plan on walking because there is a new baby, so I made sure to get a double. I'll also keep my single so I have one ready for walks alone or what not. Let's see... I've also bought two new baby carriers this time around. I do have a Moby and an Ergo from when B was little. This time I bought a Baby K'Tan. I'm hoping to save myself from all of the fabric from the Moby. If the K'Tan works, I'll sell my Moby. I still love my Ergo so I'm keeping that. I have the newborn insert too but everyone says it's really hot. Then today I purchased my first ever ring sling from Sleeping Baby Productions. I'm so excited. Some girls on the Attachment Parenting board recommended that site. As I began to Google, I noticed that many people new about Sleeping Baby Productions. I'm for sure planning on wearing this baby a lot. I wore B quite a bit too, but not as much as I will this time. If my baby wearing works out, I'm already planning to buy a woven wrap from Little Frog. See, I kinda shop too much huh?

Here are some bump pictures!

30 Weeks

32 Weeks

I'm Ridiculous!

It's really taking me a long time to post! Once I forget to post in a week I kinda hesitate going back to it. There seems to be just too much to say!

Well, shortly after my last post, I ended up in labor and delivery. I actually ended up in labor and delivery for my last pregnancy too, but for completely different reasons. This time it was admitted for dehydration, having the stomach bug, and some major contractions. After having an IV for a while, my contractions team to end. Luckily I was discharged four hours later.

That was a pretty scary experience considering they were preparing me for preterm labor. In my mind I didn't think that's what was occurring, but everything crosses your mind when you're in the situation. That was four weeks ago now and I am doing great!

Since then it's  just been really busy. I'm just about to start going to doctors appointments every two weeks.  Because of my age, I will do the nonstress test every two weeks with a regular OB check up. This past Friday I did my glucose tolerance test so I'm waiting for the results to come back. My doctor also give me an ultrasound on that day.  Everything looked good. He checked for fluids the placenta and baby's  position. He pretty much confirmed what I've known for weeks, the baby is still transverse! I've only been feeling movements in my side so I knew that this was a possibility. I'm looking forward to my MFM ultrasound on April 25!

Ok, now that I've updated, I'll be better at keeping up!

24 Weeks

Half Baked and Level 2- MFM Ultrasound

Holy friggen crap, I'm half baked. Well, as of a week ago :) The time has really picked up and is just flying by. After our elective ultrasound I've been shopping away picking clothes for baby girl.

This week I had my 20 scan, which is a level two high risk scan at Maternal Fetal Medicine. My OB tends to send IVF patients to the MFM for extra scans just to be cautious, but also this time around I'm 35. Well, they thought I was 35. . .

So I get called back into the office at the MFM and the nurse asks me a ton of questions. I remember this from B's pregnancy. They want to know how healthy you are, if you have a safe home, and if anyone in your family has had an issue with birth defects. As she's reading the questions she says, "Well you are 35 and your egg donor was 32." Um, what? I tell her that there was no egg donor and that I'm carrying my own eggs that were in fact retrieved when I was 32. She then says it's confusing and moves on. OK!!!!!!! Holy shit! I'm at a high-risk appointment and she's confused by the simplicity of a frozen transfer? I actually didn't care, but wished I had a few minutes to school her on some information that would make her seem a little less insensitive. I didn't care though, I don't expect people to understand.

So I get my ultrasound and everything looks great. I will say I was a NERVOUS wreck. Gah! Seriously? Every measurement the tech made I watched the corner of the screen to make sure that the measurement registered around 20 weeks. Luckily, they all did. The tech had a really, really hard time get the heart measurements that she needed. She eventually gave up and told me that she was frustrated, but the doctor will have no problem getting it.

The doctor came in and remeasured everything. All of the measurements were perfect and once again, the MFM office calls me "boring," which I love. But then, the doctor tries to calculate my age and is all confused by me being 35 and the donor being 32. Um, ok, here we go again. So, I kindly explain to him that one can freeze her own eggs and use them later. Literally, it was hysterical.

After my appointment I literally walked across the hall to my OB appointment where the doctor was excited about my MFM scan and how boring they thought I was. He laughed when I explained the egg donor and age cluster to him. He told me I "threw a wrench in their day." Ha!

Well, well, well. . . Here is what you get dear reader:

18 weeks

19 Weeks

20 and 21 weeks!

***BIG Update*****

Last week I had a regular checkup and things looked good. The OB gave me another ultrasound (#7). I don't ask why, I just enjoy. The baby was transverse and moving all over. The transverse explains my sideways bump and not really "up and down" bump. Baby was kicking and moving all over! So cute.

So, in two weeks I have my MFM level two scan which will also tell the gender. We did not find out with Brooklyn and I loved that very much. This time around Mr. LTM wants to find out and I don't. What a pain. After thinking about it for a while I felt like I needed to give in because we've already experienced it "my" way. So a few days ago I decided to book an elective ultrasound at a botique. Mr. LTM will be out of town for my MFM gender scan and though it will be ultrasound #8, he hasn't been to one. It made sense to book an elective and keep it a secret. This would allow him to find out the sex and experience an ultrasound.

So this morning we drive to our surprise. I was very nervous. First because I hadn't convinced myself that finding out was even a good idea, but also because I was worried he changed his mind and now I have a $100 ultrasound that I'm only doing for him. When we pulled into the parking lot, I told him that we were having a surprise ultrasound to find out the sex because I know he wanted to. He looks at me and says, "I don't want to find out because you don't." Insert pregnancy tears because I started crying. Now he doesn't want to know and didn't tell me? What the hell? Why are we on such different pages?

I finally calmed myself so we could talk. We decided to get the ultrasound anyway. So we head up to the office and sit down for our appointment. All of the sudden I'm bawling my eyes out again. Deep down, I feel I didn't want to find out so it was emotional. Mr. LTM was feeling so bad and covered for me as I went to the restroom to compose myself. Finally I got myself together and went back to the waiting room. I told him that we should have the tech write it down for us so it doesn't consume our appointment. After all, we wanted to see the baby and not focus on the sex.

The ultrasound was great and the tech was great too. She laughed with us as we told her we wanted it written down. After 25 seconds of scanning she smiles and says, "I know what you are having!" Right then Mr. LTM was convinced it had to be a boy. How else could she know so quickly. He joked the whole time about it being a boy and this tech didn't crack once. She was really fun.

Before we left she gave us a DVD and extra pictures on a CD for free. Now we have a video of our new baby! When we checked out she wrote the sex down on a post it and stapled inside other sheets of paper. I swear it had 75 staples.

Mr. LTM and I drove for about 10 minutes as he explains that it has to be a boy and he can see on the pictures it's a boy. As he's driving we decide I will rip the paper open to find out! So I begin tearing the paper and getting staples stuck in my fingers. Finally the Post-It shows and so does the note...

It's a girl!

Horray! Miss B will have a sister to grow up with! Mr. LTM admits he was glad it was a girl. Having one of each is great, but he admitted to loving having just girls. I too am over the moon. Of course I would have been excited too with a boy, but I'm not a "one of each" person. I'm glad that my girl will have a sister as a friend.

What a fab day!

16 Weeks + Bump Pics

Ok, here I am! Wow, have I been that busy? Um no, it just took me forever to update. I haven't had any doctor's appointments lately and my next is not until January 27th for my regular OB checkup.

Each day I'm thankful that I have my own fetal heart monitor. The infertile mind never goes away and I check on that little baby every other day. I try not to do it too much but I know that I need to do it so I can be sane. I would say now-a-days it takes me about a minute or less to find the heartbeat and turn the monitor off. It's a great reassurance.

I feel really good now that I'm in the second tri. I have felt some movements the past two weeks, but they are really every few days. It also catches me off guard and I'm all, "Was that movement?" By the time I figure it out, it's gone! Hoping to feel the good stuff too.

At this point we've announced to everyone, including my third graders. I'm surprised they haven't asked me why I'm always out of breath during lessons!

Here is a few bump pictures to keep you entertained. Brooklyn does a great job!

12 Weeks

13 Weeks

14 Weeks

15 Weeks

16 Weeks

And yes I chopped my head-off on purpose. Gotta be internet safe!

A Week Without Check-ups

Man! By 13 weeks along I had 6 ultrasounds. Now. . . crickets. No appointments, nothing! Still have have stuff to say, lucky for you!

ASS SHOTS- all done! Yes, I made it about 14 weeks of doing ass shots almost every day. I'm not going to lie; my ass is in bad shape. Lumps, bumps, bruises and those holes itch! I've been done for a week now and I feel like I'm getting my life back!

NT Results- Remember that bitchy tech? Man, I'm still pissed at her. Anywho- they told me I would get my scan results in about 5 days. Well, we had some horribly cold weather, and New Year's Day was in there too. I waited two weeks and decided to call the MFMs office. Boy, were they surprised to hear from me. I called on January 13th and the nurse at the MFM told me that my OBs office has had my results since December 30. Um, come again? No one called me. Gah! That damn OB nurse is going to get an ear-full when I go in. This is the SECOND time they haven't called me with something. The good news is that my NT was great, great, great. DS risk was almost 1:9000 and Trisomy was 1:10,000. Good news all around.

Gender- I keep going back and fourth but I'm very, very sure that this is my final decision. . . TEAM GREEN. Sorry bitches, I don't want to find out!

Week 13: Checkup

On Friday I had my second OB appointment. All looked good. I seem to be up 2lbs total since the beginning (for sure all ice cream). I was wondering if the doctor would use the doppler or not to find the heartbeat but he didn't. He went straight to ultrasound! If you are counting, I'm 13 weeks and I've had 6 ultrasounds. It's almost a little embarrassing. Either way, who doesn't want to see their baby on an ultrasound. Baby was so cute again. Sleep away and then rolled over to face his/her back to us. The doctor was laughing. The heartbeat came in at 160 on the ultrasound.

I'm still waiting on my NT scan results. After some lurking on my birth month board, it seems my ultrasound results were normal. I should get my blood test results back this week.

We still are undecided as to find out the baby's sex. Now I'm leaning toward yes. My main reason is I feel like it will help Brooklyn know what to expect. She's old enough and would easily appreciate knowing if she will have a brother or a sister. We have not told her the news yet, but we keep asking her questions. This is what we get from her:

*She knows that newborns cry. She told me they cry because they don't speak words.

* When I asked her what she would do with a newborn baby she told me she would just "snuggle" them.

* In a conversation on where we would put a baby in this small house, her idea was a baby could share a room with her! Her words, "Then it would be like a sleepover every night."

Finally when asked if she wants a brother or a sister, her answers never changes. She wants a brother AND a sister. Um.... you are only getting one little lady! LOL

My level two and gender scan is schedule for February 21st with my next doctor appointment being January 27.

I HAVE ONLY THREE ASS SHOTS LEFT!!!! My ass is killing me, but I can handle three!