Switching over....

Our journey to welcome another child into our family has finally been completed and we are so blessed to have Ava in our lives. Since this blog was intended to update our family and friends on our progress through trying to conceive, conception, and pregnancy, we will continue our updates on our family blog. Please follow this link if you don't already have it... http://brookresonfamily.blogspot.com/
I will keep this blog up for a while to reflect on though.
Thanks for following our journey!

Ava Ryane

October 24th
9:47 pm
7 lbs. 18 1/2 inches long

Dressed and ready to leave the hospital.

Finally home to meet the big brother!
He LOVES her so much. J is really not a kissing kind of kid, but he has been kissing her forehead and saying how cute she is. Awww...he's so amazing!

She has the most beautiful nails! It's a shame they have to be trimmed but she is scratching her face up pretty good.

We are so thankful to have her in our family and feel even more blessed to be given the opportunity to love two amazing children!

38 weeks 6 days

Ava Ryane
decided to arrive a little early!

Our birth story:

I woke up at 7:17 on Saturday morning and to my surprise my water had broke. Not quite what I had expected! My midwife suggested we should just go the hospital since J's delivery was so fast. That's what we did!
My contractions were very irregular and not very strong so we tried walking around to make some progress. It didn't really work though. Since my amniotic fluid was still a little on the low side of normal, my midwife decided after 10 hours of NOTHING, that we should start Pitocin. This was not the outcome I had hoped for and I felt a little discouraged, but we had to do it. So at 5:30pm the Pitocin was started and shortly after my contractions began too. I was thankful that something was happening finally. After about 1 1/2 hours I was changing my tune though! My contractions were really painful and I was sure that it couldn't be much longer. So, finally the midwife checked my progress and I was dilated to a four. What?! A FOUR! That cannot be right! They offered the IV pain medication and I felt much better after that. I could handle the contractions and toward the end they were still pretty painful, but more what I was expecting. About 1 1/2 hours after the pain medication I was ready to push. After about 5 or 6 painful pushes, Ava arrived. She was less than happy but she was healthy and that's all that mattered!

Pumpkin painting

Since Ava is/was due so close to Halloween, we thought it would be fun to paint the baby bump like a pumpkin. J really wanted to show his belly off too, so we painted a pumpkin on his not so round belly.



Happy Halloween!

37 and 38 weeks pictures

37 weeks

38 weeks...a little bigger.

Everything is going well and we are anxiously waiting for her to arrive. I have had some contractions this week, but they aren't sticking around long enough for me to go to the hospital. I am making a little progress though. At last weeks midwife appointment, I was dilated to a 2 and 50-75% effaced. It's not much but it is that much less work I'll have to do when labor does start. She is still moving around quite a bit and seems pretty comfortable in there. I'm in no hurry to force her out yet, but I may think differently in the next week or two. c:

36 weeks

Oops! We neglected to take a photo of the baby bump at 36 weeks since we were both tired and starting to get sick. We will just have to do it at 37 weeks instead.

• Not much new baby news. We did a follow up ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid and it did increase a little, so that is great! The midwife even did a peek at her girl parts to make sure nothing grew since our 20 week ultrasound. She is still a GIRL!

• We started a weekly schedule for our OB appointments this month. I'm sure it will feel like time is flying now that we are going so frequently.

• I am still gaining weight, which is starting to get a little more frustrating now. I started this pregnancy 20-25 lbs. lighter than I started my first pregnancy and have gained more weight this time than I did the first time. UGH! I feel huge and cannot wait to get back to the gym (never thought I'd say that) to feel normal again. It is also getting pretty difficult to bend over. I'm convinced that I spend 1/3 of my day bending over to pick up toys or clean other various messes. c:

• I got the infant car seat installed today...woohoo! This was no easy task to accomplish at 36.5 weeks pregnant. If I weren't so picky about carseat installation I would have let Will do it. The carseat we chose was actually more difficult to install than I thought it would be. I'm glad to have it crossed off the to-do list though.

• Her room is still not ready, not even close. Considering she will be sleeping in our room at first, I'm trying not to make a big deal about it. It would be nice to have it done soon though.

• I have my first Biology test this week, so lets hope she doesn't decide to come early! I knew what I was up against before starting this class, but reality set it rather quickly once the class started. I hope I can successfully complete this class and manage to earn an A. Ava is due to arrive right in the middle of the quarter and adjusting to a newborn while going to school is sure to be quite the challenge. Thank goodness I have such a helpful, caring, and supportive husband!
  

Last month

Only one month left to enjoy being pregnant! I'm excited and little sad that it has gone by so quickly. It has been so great to experience pregnancy again and the differences between the two pregnancies. This time has been filled with much more worry, but still amazing! It has been so fun to have J to experience this pregnancy with us and see his reactions to my changing abdomen. Not all of his comments are flattering, but have been interesting for sure!
At times it feels as though she may push her way right through my abdomen, but I love every minute of it. It is wonderful to know she is healthy and strong in there. We cannot wait to meet this girl who seems to have so much attitude already.

These are a few of the pictures we had taken earlier this week. It was a fun experience and a great way to hold on to the memories of our pregnancy.

34 weeks

(I think I look a little smaller in this photo than previous photos, but I think it's just the shirt I have on.)

Still hanging in there!
This pregnancy seems to have gone by so quickly. I know I'm huge and slightly uncomfortable, but I wish I could keep her in there a little longer. Will and I cannot wait to meet her though. We are anxious to see what having another child will be like. J will have quite an adjustment period, I'm sure, but I think he is going to be a wonderful big brother. He is always telling me all these nice things he is going to do for her when she arrives. We just can't wait!

Updates:
-At our last OB appointment I mentioned to my midwife that I thought it was odd that I could actually feel her against by skin when I'm lying down. This is not something I felt with J. It just seems like there should be more "cushioning" between her and my skin. Anyway, I asked how we could tell if my amniotic fluid was low. She suggested we do a quick ultrasound to rule that possibility out. It turns out the amniotic fluid is on the lower side of normal so we will get to check the fluid again at 36 weeks. I'm not sure if the amniotic fluid is contributing to my ability to feel her against my skin, but at least we discovered it and can keep an eye on it.
-We did pregnancy photos on Monday and should be receiving the disc of photos this week. I'm anxious to see and share them. Hopefully there will be some I feel comfortable posting.
-Her room is still not completed, but we hope soon! I have packed J and the baby's hospital bag and am almost finished with the bag for Will and I though.

We really are starting to feel like we don't have much time left to complete all the things that need to be done for her arrival. It's hard to believe that we have known she is coming for 8 months or so and still have so much to do. I sort of think this can be contributed to this not being our first child. We were already finished with everything by this point when we were expecting J. I guess we must feel somewhat confident that we have all the necessities ready and the rest will fall in to place. She will be coming whether we are ready or not!

32 weeks

At this point I feel much bigger than I look. I feel as though she is sticking straight out. I have had quite a few comments this week, mostly people thinking I am about to "pop." I kindly tell them I still have 8 weeks left. J's pediatrician even asked if I was carrying twins. I can only imagine the comments that will continue to come over the next couple months.
She still moves around like crazy with a lot of force behind her movements. I have been sleeping a lot better than I was previously. I do believe I may be experiencing some muscle separation or extreme ligament pain. Either way, it is quite uncomfortable to bend over multiple times a day to clean up the house or pick up J's toys. J has been such a big helper though. He will usually assist me anytime I ask him to pick something up so I can avoid bending over. I did mention this pain to my midwife who then issued me a "mother to be" belt. The belt does not seem to be helping though and almost seems to make the pain worse. I'll keep trying to figure out how to handle the pain...only 8 more weeks (or 7.5 as I post this).
Overall, this pregnancy has only been a little different from my first pregnancy. Some of the differences this time include:
-carrying higher
-craving healthier foods
-more overall discomfort in hips and baby bump
-some difficulty breathing at night (Will said I sound like a duck)

So, not too bad! She is still hanging in there and that is all I'm concerned about. I'll take the minor discomfort if it means we can hold her soon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I promised my friend Kim that I would take photos of the travel system she and her husband showered us with. It arrived by mail so Kim didn't get to physically see it assembled. I was able to assemble it by myself in just a few minutes. The pattern is called Mojito and is a great neutral but fun palette. Will and I really liked the green and brown mix together. We cannot wait to have the chance to try it out soon. Thank you Kim and Wade!

Our next project that is slowly being accomplished, is to remove all the office furniture from the baby's soon-to-be room and assemble the crib my parents got us. As soon as that task is accomplished I will post some pictures. We also finally decided on a coming home outfit and I ordered it today. We really wanted something simple and soft in appearance and color. I was having a really difficult time choosing something and thought I had found the perfect outfit from Pottery Barn only to discover that the matching jacket was not available any longer. Bummer! So, we decided on an outfit from Gymboree. It seems as though it would be much easier to find an outfit, but for some reason everything that is available seems too bright or obnoxious for a brand new baby. I really hope we like the outfit we chose once it arrives!

Test results...

No food for 12 hours...giving blood every hour for three hours...one nice sized bruise...
NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES!!!

Baby Shower!

First, a BIG thanks to Kelsey & Nate for planning this shower for us. We are so blessed to have them to share in our excitement.

We enjoyed being able to catch up a little with our friends and family and celebrating the upcoming arrival of our little girl! And...of course, it's always nice to be showered with gifts! We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family to spoil us. Jace also received some "big brother" gifts. He was excited to be included. He had a few rough falls during the baby shower, one of which left him with a nice scratch on his face, elbow, and knee. My poor baby!

Diaper cake built by my friend Crissy.
What a great idea!

Only about 10 weeks until she arrives! Will and I are busy trying to get the house ready and prepare ourselves, if that is even possible!
We can't wait!!!

Pregnancy with a four year old...

J is at just the right height that I am always hitting him with my growing belly. I did it just a few moments ago and apologized to him. Here is a little bit of our conversation:

Me: Sorry about that. I just keep hitting you with my stomach.
J: It's okay.
Me: Are you getting used to it?
J: Yah, it's big. Big and fat! That's a good combination.

Such a silly boy!

Glucose tolerance...

I was surprised to find out that I failed my one hour glucose test which means that I now have to do the three hour glucose tolerance test. The nurse from my midwife's office said my glucose level was only slightly elevated, but the tolerance test is still required. I will have my test done on Friday and really hope I can avoid being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. For some reason, this test has me focusing a little more on my family's history with diabetes. Both of my grandmothers had diabetes and I have always been aware that this is something that could affect me too. I guess this scare may be just the thing I needed to get me to focus on this topic a little more. I do know that having gestational diabetes does not necessarily mean that I will have diabetes after delivery, but it does carry an increased risk of the baby developing diabetes as an adult and may be an indicator that I am more at risk for developing diabetes also. Lets hope this is one test that I fail!

Baby Shower!

Our baby shower is next week (Sunday)! We know a lot of friends and family follow our blog(s) to see how the pregnancy has been progressing, so we are looking forward to being able to share this time with all of you. We are so grateful for all the well wishes and emotional support we have received throughout this pregnancy.
We are also thankful for all the thought Kelsey and Nate have put into making this shower wonderful for us. If you do plan on joining us for the shower, please make sure you have called or emailed Kelsey so she can plan accordingly.
We look forward to being able to spend a little time celebrating with our friends and family!

28 weeks

12 weeks left!
Still feeling good for the most part. She moves around a lot!!! I wonder if this is an indicator of her personality?! J didn't move around as much, but has been active since he was born. We will just have to wait and see.

Early pregnancy

I realized I don't really have many full body pictures to show people. I will try to focus on getting more to give everyone a true idea of how my body is changing. For now, here are a few I have from 15 weeks and 18 weeks.

Here are some from Mother's day...to give everyone a side and front view.
I was 15 weeks along.


This was 18 weeks along at the zoo.

My size 4/6 waistline was quickly replaced by the baby bump. No complaints here though! I'm just thankful she stuck around.

100 days left!

I just saw that my ticker says 100 days left. That sounds like forever! I like to count the weeks and/or months. Here are some important dates coming up for us:

~3 weeks until our 10th wedding anniversary
~4 weeks until we are showered with lots of love and attention thanks to Nate and Kelsey

~14 weeks until she arrives or about 3 1/2 months

Can't wait!!!

24 weeks

It's a few weeks late, but here it is...24 weeks along.
She is moving a lot! Much more movement this time than I recall with J's pregnancy.
Will was finally able to feel her move on July 5th and J just felt her move yesterday (July 23rd).
I'm still pretty uncomfortable when trying to sleep, but that is about the only time. I have been able to make it to a few water aerobics classes recently. It feels great to be doing something active.
I may switch from monthly photos, to every 2 weeks since she will probably be adding more inches and weight, thus making me add more inches and weight.

Spectacular finds!!!

J and I ventured out to Dupont a few weeks ago (yes, I am a little late posting) to explore the annual Dupont community yard sale. I am not a big fan of yard sales since I don't usually discover any great finds and spend way too much time getting in and out of the car. I was introduced to the Dupont sale by a friend (Thanks Kristi!) a few years ago and have only gone twice. I did amazingly well this time though.
J and I were about to call it quits after walking around for about an hour and not finding a single thing. We headed down one last street and discovered a lady who had twin girls with tons or clothes and things. SCORE!!!
Here are our finds...

Some cute girl accessories...notice the adorable boots.

An adorable pink Boppy bouncy seat.

My favorite find of all...Graco SweetPeace swing!


And of course, we have found a few other new deals that were too cute to pass up. I've even found a few other cute pieces since this picture was taken.

It sure is fun to shop for baby stuff again!

20 weeks!!!

Halfway there! We are thrilled to be at this point in the pregnancy and know that we only have 20 more weeks (give or take a little) before we can meet our new baby.
I continue to grow at a rather alarming rate. On average, I have gained about a pound a week (I'll let you do the math). I wish the reality was different, but given our previous losses and to save my sanity, I stopped going to the gym when I found out I was pregnant. I can only hope the weight gain slows as it did with my first pregnancy, but I'm not holding my breath. The gym will still be there after she is born.
We discovered with our ultrasound that the placenta is anterior which would explain why I was not able to feel much movement. It must be moving up a little now as I have been able to feel some movement really low on my abdomen. It's so nice to be able to feel her little movements and know she is making herself comfortable in there. She really moves a lot! She kicked or punched hard enough yesterday that I was able to feel it against the outside of my abdomen. Of course she stopped when Will tried to feel it. That seems to be how it always works out.

I'm sure the next few months will fly by especially since I'll be occupied with a couple classes through the summer and J is done with preschool until fall. This will be our last summer as a family of three so we plan to make the most of our time together!

16 week belly shot

I missed posting this one somehow.

We're having a girl!

Most of our family already assumed this was the case, but it is official now.
We are relieved that she is still growing strong and as far as we know, she is healthy.
Will is pretty nervous about raising a daughter, but overjoyed at the idea of a little girl. I'm a little less worried about raising a daughter and a little more worried about choosing a great name. It will definitely be fun to buy pink girl stuff and J is already planning on picking out a pink silky blanket for her (he loves silky blankets). Of course it goes with out saying that we would have been thrilled with either gender but it is kind of nice knowing what we are having so we can begin the process of shopping for all the fun stuff. Only about 20 more weeks to go!

18w5d

We only have 6 days until our BIG ultrasound. I'm so excited to see our baby and know that s/he is growing as s/he should be. I have been so nervous this whole pregnancy and although I don't suspect I'll stop being nervous anytime soon, it would make me rest a little easier to know that the baby is still holding on in there.
Gender...Will has been leaning a little towards a girl and I seem to be too. We might just think that since all of our family seems to think it's a girl. J would like a brother though. We would be thrilled with a boy or a girl as long as it arrives! We are struggling with girl names but feel confident in our choice for a boy name. It will definitely be nice to know what it is so we can end our name search.
So far I have been feeling great! I'm excited to say I completed the first trimester without ever visiting the side of a toilet. I seem to have more energy this trimester than I did in the first trimester. I sometimes think I'm overdoing it though and freak out about every strange sensation I have. This is not something I worried about with my first pregnancy. I have not really felt the baby move, I don't think. I feel odd saying I'm not sure since I've done this before. I know I have not felt it move against my abdomen, but I may have felt it move a little lower. I'm anxious to have our ultrasound to figure out why I haven't felt it move much yet. I did read something that said if the placenta is against my abdomen it could act as a padding and make it difficult to feel the first movements. I'm getting nervous though since I had felt movement by this time in my first pregnancy and I thought I would feel it sooner this time. I would love to KNOW that I feel the baby move to have one less thing to worry about.

Ultrasound scheduled...

June 11th
at 3:45!!!

We can't wait for another opportunity to make sure our baby is growing and healthy and, of course, maybe have a chance to find out what gender we are expecting.

Pink or Blue Team!?!

We are all anxious to know and prepared either way!
Our ultrasound is not scheduled yet but should hopefully take place in about 4 weeks. We are praying that everything still looks great with the baby and hoping for a sneak peek at the gender. Check out the poll on our site and take a guess!

14w6d

Quick updates....

• Bladder infection is gone! Woohoo!!!
• Stopped Prometrium a week ago and freaked out a little but I am feeling better now. The first few days after stopping it, I was getting lightheaded easily which alarms me due to my fainting history. I was also feeling more nauseous than normal. I seem to be doing better now though.
• Still no fetal movement and I just wish I didn't have to wait any longer.
  
• Still feeling tired, but as the nurse at my midwife's office reminded me, I am chasing around a 4 year old who isn't taking naps any longer and likes to stay up late and wake up early. Good training for my sleep deprivation though! ;)
• Lastly, Will and I do not have a gender preference but I am so anxious to know what we are baking. Hopefully only 3-5 weeks until we find out!
  

13w4d

Not much to report, which is great! I am freaking out a little, okay maybe a lot, about the swine flu. I have had THE strangest things happen to me during this pregnancy and have no interest in ignoring the possibility of any additional "freak" occurrences happening. I am fully aware that my concerns may not be valid, but I'm pregnant and allowed to act crazy when needed. I searched around today for N95 face masks to help protect me from the swine flu that is apparently headed straight for me and I was quite unsuccessful. I must not be the only person freaking out about this. There is not a mask to be found in this area. Now I'm convinced that the flu and/or swine flu is really going to make its way toward me. In an attempt to save myself, I will be washing my hands any chance I have and I have two bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse. I've alerted Will that if he or J come down with any type of flu virus I will be, temporarily, moving out.

For those of you that haven't been privileged enough to hear about my weird outbreaks, let me fill you in.

• Never in my life have I had a bladder infection, but discovered with my first prenatal visit that I'm now breading grounds for an infection that intends to stay. I have completed two doses of antibiotics and am anxiously awaiting word from my midwife to know if it has decided to finally leave.
• What I believed to be an insect bite was diagnosed as ringworm and since that diagnosis was not sitting well with me I went to see my regular practitioner to discover it is not ringworm but still a fungal infection. I am aware that we all harbor fungus on our bodies, but why would mine decide to show up now?!?

Okay, I guess two weird things isn't really that bad, but still weird.

Being pregnant again is much different than I remember with J. I have been exhausted most of the pregnancy, have trouble sleeping at night, and feel as though I'm starving all the time. I didn't have a single thing to complain about with my first pregnancy and I just assumed this pregnancy would be the same. I do have to realize that I am five years older this time though. My body likes to remind of that fact quite often!
Keeping up with J has been really hard and I can't wait to have more energy and feel like a normal person again. I'm hoping that will be soon! I will be finishing up my progesterone supplements in 3 days. I am completely nervous about the idea of not taking them any more, but my midwife has assured me I no longer need them. I hope that after finishing the progesterone supplements I will once again have some energy.
I have been an emotional wreck this week and I'm so thankful that Will has put up with me. He really is an amazing husband. I know he has a lot on his plate right now with school and work, and I greatly appreciate all he has been doing around our house and with J to help me stay sane. (I promise, one day I will be normal again!)
I'm still attempting to let my guard down and completely enjoy this pregnancy, but it has been really difficult. It is something I struggle with almost daily. I keep letting myself feel guarded because I some how feel that will save me if something were to go wrong with the pregnancy, but I know that won't really help me. I need to allow myself to glow and enjoy this as this will most likely be our last pregnancy. I want nothing more than to embrace being pregnant and will continue to search for a way to relax.

To end this incredibly long update, I will say that I am so thankful that we have been blessed with this baby for this long and I pray that we will continue to have a wonderful pregnancy.

12 week belly!

Here it is, finally! Over four weeks, my waist has grown 1 additional inch and of course I've gained more weight. I think a nurse at my midwife's office said I had gained 5 pounds since my visit last month. I was astonished when I read the scale which indicated a total weight gain of 11 pounds! I have no idea how I'm gaining weight so rapidly, but lets hope it slows soon. My midwife told me that at 13 weeks pregnant with J, I had only gained 3 pounds. What a difference!?! I ate so much worse when I was pregnant with J too. My midwife was also kind enough to point out that I started out heavier with my first pregnancy than I did this time which could be some of the reason I've gained more weight this time.
It is just weight though and if the result is a healthy baby, I'm okay with a few extra pounds.


Still no fetal movement being felt, but I'll update if that changes soon. Also, the BIG question by everyone is if we know the gender from our 12 week ultrasound and we do not. We didn't even inquire. We are anxious to find out, but have no preference to either gender. We should have our next ultrasound in 6-8 weeks which is when we may have the chance to discover the gender. We promise to keep everyone updated though!

12 week ultrasound

This appointment was one that was rescheduled from a few weeks ago. We had a nuchal translucency evaluation done and everything appears to be fine. They baby was less than cooperative for the ultrasound tech though. While waiting for a good view, we were able to see the baby flipping all over the place and doing head stands. It was amazing!

It may have finally hit me yesterday after our appointment, that we are in fact having another baby. I've been so guarded that I was having a difficult time accepting the idea of having a healthy pregnancy. I really should stop worrying, but that is much easier said than done. We know everything is going well this far and that is good enough for us. We can only hope and pray that it will continue to go well and we will be welcoming a new addition this fall.

*For those of you having trouble making out the first image...it is a view from the top of the head of the baby's arm.*

9 week ultrasound

I know, I'm late to post!

We did make it to our 9 week ultrasound in which we were going to check the Nuchal Translucency for Down Syndrome. However, the technician advised us that it would be better to wait until we were between 11-14 weeks along. So, we have another appointment scheduled for our 12th week. The tech was kind enough to take a quick peek at the baby and let us listen to the heartbeat though. The picture she gave us is unrecognizable but she assured us the head is on the left side of the picture with the body of course being more to the right.

Everything seems to be going well and I find myself more relaxed as the pregnancy progresses. The only trouble I've had thus far is a stubborn UTI. I have never had a UTI before this pregnancy but seem to be having trouble shaking this one. I do not have any symptoms, which is great! I did read somewhere that increased amounts of progesterone can contribute to UTIs which may be the reason this thing has decided to stick around. I only have 2-3 more weeks of take the progesterone supplements so maybe that will be the end of the infection too. Let's hope!

Jace makes many connections to the baby which is so adorable. For instance, today at preschool all the kids got to take home palm tree leaves and Jace was allowed to take two leaves home. Jace said he got two because we are having a baby. How adorable is that?!? He has really been awesome with the pregnancy and seems to understand a lot. He ususally wants me to hold him all the time when we are out and about but he doesn't even seem bothered when I tell him I can't since I'm pregnant. I hope he will continue to be so supportive during the pregnancy. I know he's going to be a wonderful big brother!

8 weeks

I probably should have moved my fingers out of the way so the number is actually visible, but I'll try harder next time. My mid-section is growing at a very rapid pace which is mostly due to the progesterone supplements and the fact that I'm hungry every 1.5 hours. At this point I'm not too concerned about the weight, but under different circumstances I may feel more inclined to make it to the gym to save myself the challenge of removing "baby fat" later. My pregnancy with Jace followed a similar rapid weight gain pattern and then slowed considerably around month 7.

Pregnancy updates:

• No morning sickness yet! I do feel slightly queasy occasionally if I don't eat something as soon as my feet hit the floor. I'm thankful I haven't spent time hugging the toilet though.
• No real cravings unless I see a TV advertisement for food or a hamburger starring me down on a restaurant window.
• Up every morning between 4 or 5 to urinate, so if you're up and need to talk...I'm the one!
• Nap time has been re-visited often for Jace and I.

We're still so thankful to know everything is going well so far and we are grateful for all our friends and family who check up on us and try to save our sanity.
We have another ultrasound on Monday (March 30) to check for Downs syndrome so we may not discover much about the development of the baby, but we look forward to seeing if everything still seems to be progressing well.
We'll keep everyone updated!

First Ultrasound!

Much to our relief, our ultrasound went well. The midwife was able to measure the baby and s/he is measuring accurately (7wks 3 days), we saw the heartbeat, and the umbilical cord appeared to be present. We are so thankful that everything seems to be going well thus far. We are still nervous since we still have 5-6 weeks before the first trimester is over, but so far so good!

The picture is difficult to make out, but it's proof that we are actually growing a little bean!

We're still pregnant!

5weeks 1day...and our HCG level for today is 5291. Yeah!!! I'm still a little nervous, but feeling a little more relieved.

So far so good!

My HCG (pregnancy hormone) level was 399 on Monday and 1279 today(Thursday). That is exactly what we needed to see! I'm going to do another one on Monday just to check that it is still increasing. I'm getting a little more excited though! Also, I have to say I love my midwife's office/staff. They are treating me so well and moving my appointments up earlier than normal just so I can make sure everything is okay. So, I will have an ultrasound on March 18th or sooner if they have an opening. I hope this is the one!

OOPS!

I may have been a little to quick to write my last post saying this month was another failure. We ARE pregnant!!! I'm very, very nervous but really hoping everything turns out well. It has been almost 2 years since our last pregnancy and I would really like this one to stick so we don't have to wait another 2 years. I really wasn't expecting to get pregnant this month and didn't even rush to take a test yesterday(Sunday) when I should have started a new cycle. I also left the store today without purchasing any pregancy tests, but realized when I got out to the car that I forgot deodarant for Will and then decided to make the test purchase since the deodarant and the test were in close proximaty to one another and I happened to have a coupon for the tests so I figured what the heck, I'll just buy them.

As soon as I read "pregnant" on the display I showed Will and then called my midwife to request labwork. Jace and I hustled over to the lab to have my progesterone level and HCG level tested. I won't know a whole lot until Thursday when I can do another HCG check and compare to the first number and hope for a substantial increase to show a viable pregnancy.

Of course I'm over analyzing every change I feel and making bad associations with our past miscarriages. I really hope Thursday will tell us some great news so I can relax a tiny bit. I'm not out of the woods until the first trimester is over which won't be until mid April. Nothing is official, but we are definitely hoping this is our chance to welcome another child into our hearts.

Probably not this month.

We really did try and I think we timed everything pretty well, but (there is always a but) I was WAY TOO stressed and as a result I'm sure my body wasn't functioning properly. I should know for sure by Sunday or Monday, but I have a feeling our attempts didn't work once again.
I did have an appointment with my midwife this week and I was hoping to view my labwork from the Gyft Clinic, but (see there it is again) the Gyft Clinic never faxed the requested records so I know nothing about my labwork. I tried though!

I'm back...

Obviously, I don't have any good news to share. Our efforts have been minimal considering how busy we've been through the holidays and starting school. We're still hopeful though! Okay, maybe Will is, I'm not so much. I have about 1 week until I start my next cycle. Yes, I'm sure it's coming because I have absolutely no pregnancy symptoms. I am, however, bummed that I'll have my cycle twice this month for some reason. Fun times!