More....

8/24/07 My hubby and I have been trying for a baby for two years now. After being diagnosed with unexplained infertility in December 06, I got pregnant (with no treatment) in late January 07. Six weeks later I miscarried. Then in late June I had emergency surgery to remove an ectopic pregnancy. I lost my right fallopian tube, but was told that I looked healthy otherwise. Now, on our first try after all of that we're pregnant again! Saw the Dr. today (at 5 weeks). My HCG numbers are progressing nicely and we saw a sac in the right place. Whew! No ectopic. Now, we're hoping and praying the little guy sticks! I sure hope the third try is a charm.

8/29/07 Well, we had another ultrasound today. It was scheduled a little earlier than normal because my Dr. is going out of town for the long weekend tomorrow, and he wanted to check on me before he left. Our "dot" has tripled in size in 5 days, and the beginning of a "sac" was detected (I thought we saw a sac last Friday, but apparently the black circle isn't the sac -- little white stuff developing inside the black circle is the sac??). The Dr. says things are progressing perfectly and wants me back on 9/7/07 to look for a heartbeat. YAY! Now, I need a fast forward button and I'll be all set! What am I going to do to pass the time between now and then?

10/7/07 Darn! Looks like I lost my last several entries....just like most everyone else. I haven't had the energy to recreate it. Guess it's small potatoes in the scheme of things, and I'll be sure to back-up my entries from now on. Thank goodness, so far things are going very well for us. We had our last sonogram on Monday and we were told we could bring a VHS tape to record it. It was so COOL to see our baby moving and to come home to watch it whenever we want. We go back tomorrow for our last scan with our fertility specialist. I'll be about 11 wks, 3 days and they only carry me through the first trimester. I'm nearing the end of my first trimester! It seems so strange. In some ways it's going sooo quickly, other times it seems like time is dragging. I'm not quite ready for the world to hear our news, but I'm tired of keeping this secret at the same time. We will tell my hubby's parents next Sunday on his dad's birthday. Once they know, we can tell the rest of our friends and co-workers. I'm scheduled to meet with a new OB on October 18th. I found him through a friend that is a neonatal nurse at the best children's hospital in our city. She asked the OB nurses who they liked the best and it was pretty unanimous that this was the guy. I hope we like him! Sounds like he's the most qualified to take care of us!

10/08/07 We went to check in on our little one again today. This was supposed to be our last appointment with the fertility Dr., but our baby wouldn't cooperate, so they didn't get a good picture. They want us back in two weeks for another scan. Yay! Poor thing was just snoozing away, sleeping upside down and all curled up in a ball. We tried to jostle it a little to wake it up. It stretched a little but didn't flip for a better view. Then it got the hiccups. It was pretty cute! It's heartbeat was a little slower this week at 165 (down from 172), but that's 'cause it had the lazies. The biggest difference that I could see this week was that it's legs are much more stretched out. Maybe next time I should make sure I haven't just eaten in hopes that it will be more active.

10/19/07 We met our OB doctor yesterday and really, really liked him. He is attentive, patient, calm and even has a sense of humor! He said he is available 24/7, so just call with any concerns. He will see us monthly for now, but he said he will watch me daily, if anything of concern should arise! We will get a scan done at each appointment - so we got to see our baby yesterday. The equipment isn't nearly as good as that at our fertility clinic, but seeing that heartbeat and movement brings me so much comfort!

We've pretty much shared our news with our world, now. It's nice to have the "secret" out, and I've been pleased with the amount of support and joy my friends, family and co-workers have expressed. We've really had a lot of people praying for this miracle. The excitement of this past week caused some pretty big headaches, but they are just related to tension and go away pretty quickly.

10/19/07 Ok...so I didn't think today's appointment would be a big deal, so Kirk didn't come. I had a scan and blood work done to give peace of mind against downs syndrome and other defects (not that it would change anything - but I've had friends who were told at their 18 week appointment that there could be something wrong, and if they'd had this test done it would have eased their minds). I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time and their ultrasound equipment is extremely sensitive! The technician showed me my baby's bladder and stomach, face, brain, arms, legs, little fingers and toes. It was AMAZING! She said if the "theory" for this stage is correct we will be having a BOY! I later read online that this technique for gender determination is about 85% accurate at this stage in the game. I'm so sad my husband wasn't there. Everyone we know thought we were having a girl, including my husband. He's a tiny bit disappointed I think, but he'll come around. I had no feeling one way or another and I have absolutely no preference. I've been wanting a baby for so long, I'm just glad we're having something!! Then, I spent the afternoon putting in my fall plants (I live in the desert, so this is the time of year to enjoy the outdoor weather). It was a very, very good day – I just wish Kirk had been here to share it.

11/05/07 Here's a picture of us at our annual Halloween bash. My costume looked much better in person. I even had a working "oven light" inside. Funny, huh?

11/16/07 Well, we went to our second OB appointment yesterday. They drew blood to test for birth defects and gave me a script to have the 18-20 week screening done. I'm supposed to call today and make an appointment to have that done two weeks from now. Yay! My husband got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. He was very excited! Otherwise, all they did was take my weight, blood pressure and urine sample, and off we went.

It's starting to become apparent to me that I'm pregnant, but I don't think the outside world can really tell yet since I'm still fitting into most of my old clothes. My mom came by on Sunday night and told me I'm getting FAT. Such a nice thing to say to someone who feels that way, but isn't truly looking pregnant yet! Then, a library friend of mine (an 85 year old inventor) stopped by the library late last week. When I walked out on the public floor I heard him ask a co-worker if I'd had my baby yet (he had not been told that I'm pregnant). When I asked him what he was talking about he said that the last time he was in (5 weeks ago) he thought he saw a bulge in my belly! I wasn't showing in the slightest at that stage, but apparently he thought I looked pregnant enough to have DELIVERED a baby between now and then!!! What do you think he'll think of my appearance in April when I'm 9 months along?!? Oh well... This isn't the first time he's showed signs of being socially handicapped ;)

12/02/07 IT'S A BOY!!! We had our 18-20 week scan on Friday and our little guy immediately flashed us. Once we got that surprise out of the way, we were able to check out all of this other bits and pieces. My husband got to go this time, and was as amazed as I was at the 13 week scan. The technician checked out parts of his brain, his heart, stomach, bladder, etc. She measured his skull, arms, legs, body, feet and hands. We also got our test results from our previous scan which ruled out Downs and other birth defects. Whew! We left there and went to Babies R Us to check out strollers and car seats. It was a very fun day!

2/25/2008 Well...I haven't posted an update for MONTHS! Now that we know that we're having a BOY, it seems there's nothing to report. So far, things have gone very well with my pregnancy. I've just had some mild sciatic nerve and lower back pain these last few weeks, and I feel like I'm growing a fat suit. When I put lotion on in the mornings, I can't help but think of the line from Silence of the Lambs, "put the lotion in the basket" - you know...when the guy has the lady in the pit and is softening her up to use her skin as a suit?? It's strange that I've always been such a careful eater until I became pregnant. I'm still sure to eat a wide variety of foods and get my fruits and veggies, but I've been much more willing to eat higher fat foods, and chocolate (never high on my priority list) is impossible to turn down! I'm 31 weeks pregnant and I've gained 27 pounds. I've definitely got some work to do when this is all said and done! I've been working on some Sesame Street quilt blocks for our little guy's room. I knocked out 4 of them within about a month, but I was disappointed in the way Ernie turned out so I took a break for a while. I've got The Count and Bert to go.... Yesterday, I made a pretty good dent on The Count, so I guess I'm back in the saddle :) We start our birthing classes next Monday and my husband is going to take a Daddy Boot Camp class - no ladies allowed. I think they talk about postpartum depression and what kinds of crazy things to expect from their wives after the baby comes ;) I hope I don't suffer from that too badly.

4/25/2008 I can't sleep again. When we saw the Dr. today he said I'm just barely dilating. He did an ultrasound to make sure Karson's got enough fluid around him and stated that he's measuring only 5 1/2 pounds!! I was shocked! Kirk said I immediately go that freaked out look on my face. The Dr. gave us two options "chase him out today" or get a good heart rate on him and monitor him twice a week. Of course I chose the latter. They hooked me up to a heart monitor for awhile and stated that his heart rate is perfect. He's got plenty of fluid around him and is moving frequently. When the doc set the ultrasound
wand on my belly he noticed I was having a contraction (which I couldn't even feel!). This process is so strange! Now that I know what they are, I feel them very frequently. I was waiting for something painful to happen...guess that's later :) Definitely not much longer now, and I'll bet there's a darn good chance
Karson will fit into all of those newborn sized outfits I was afraid he'd never wear :)