Whitewater Center

We've been keeping busy with wonderful friends this past week~ discovery place kids, various parks, play dates, the pool, Imaginon, and a pony riding day!

This weekend we went exploring at the US National Whitewater Center. This was our first time going, and we loved it! We walked several miles on the trails, and Kyler was our leader the majority of the time. I can't believe he hiked with us for over 2 1/2 hours and walked the whole way!

We found the perfect little spot to swim in the Catawba River. I think next time we go we will rent a canoe!

After hiking trails all morning, Kyler was exhausted by the time we got back near the parking lot ... until he saw this kids rock climbing thing... then all of the sudden his energy came back.

I had no idea the whitewater center was so close to us! Next summer (post pregnancy) I want to go river rafting, and zip lining!

Father's Day weekend and stuff.

I can't believe Father's Day was already over a week ago! I didn't get a picture of Jared and Kyler together like I had wanted... but I did get one of the little boy who helped make his father breakfast in bed!

Also, on Father's day weekend we purchased a Honda Odyssey! The car I was driving before this was from the 90's and no longer had working AC...and in this weather, AC is definitely a necessity for this preggo mama. So a new car was in order for our family.

I always swore to myself I would never be a minivan mom- minivans are SO ugly! Our next car we bought was going to be a Toyota Highlander. However, once we found out we were expecting twins- those plans flew out the window. 

We were going to need something that was bigger. So I just looked at a minivan and sorta fell in love with the convenience. Push a button? Ding-ding the doors open/close. Built in entertainment center? Sweet. Lots of space? Plenty. Great gas milage? Yes. Price? Compared to a large SUV, can't beat the price. I was sold. Jared needed a little convincing, but he eventually came around. It's going to save us a lot of time, money and hassle, and he really couldn't argue with that ;)

A journey (part 14) It's Twins! Weeks 7-13 Ultrasounds

 I just wanted to thank you all so much for the prayers and support you have shown us! We are so excited to share that we are expecting twins Nov/Dec 2014! We are absolutely thrilled! This truly is a miracle, and we are so thankful that our prayers have been answered- doubly answered!

As always.... I'm going to copy and paste another piece of our journey towards expanding our family below. If you haven't read the previous parts, you can do so HERE.

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May 5, 2014- We went in for my 7 week ultrasound this morning. I was so nervous, I was literally crying  As soon as I saw the ultrasound screen, I thought I saw two little sacs, but one of them looked empty, and the other I thought I saw a tiny little blurb but it didn't look like a baby, so I panicked a little. My doctor, who was also in the room, said "I think I know why you've been feeling extra nauseous this time around...I see two sacs! Now there isn't always a baby in both, so we'll check."

The ultrasound technician tried for 30 seconds to find a baby in the first sac, and said "I think I just saw a flicker for a second there, but let me look at the other sac first, this one is hard to see, because it is behind the first one. Then we saw it- our baby!! It was measuring right on schedule and we got to hear it's heartbeat! Heart rate of 153. Perfect. Instantly my tears of fear turned into tears of joy!! We've been waiting years to hear a baby heartbeat! Jared and I looked at each other- pure happiness!

The ultrasound technician, went back to the first sac, zoomed in...and BOOM!! Baby B!! Measuring the exact same size as Baby A. Then we heard Baby B's heartbeat too, and it was 153 also! My doctor said "Awww that's cute! Their heartbeats are in sync!" I agreed, it was cute, and couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing... she zoomed out and this is what we saw:

Two sacs and our two babies! We're having twins!! I was still bawling my eyes out at this point, it was one of the happiest moments of my life! Surreal.

If this were a singleton pregnancy, I would be due mid December, but because it's twins, Doc said they would realistically be here closer to Thanksgiving or possibly the first of December. We couldn't be happier. Our prayers have been answered. DOUBLY answered. Heavenly Father really does answer prayers, and these miracles are proof!

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May 21, 2014- I had my 9 week checkup yesterday with my OB. I went in expecting to have an ultrasound, because my fertility specialist told me I could expect to have ultrasounds at every appointment (because its twins). So when my doctor told me I couldn't have an ultrasound for another month, I was pretty upset. I was 9 weeks pregnant. It was during week 9 with my last pregnancy that we lost our baby (although we didn't find out until later). What if the same thing happened again with this pregnancy? I have to wait another month to find out?

So now you can see why I had a slight meltdown, okay, it was a pretty big meltdown. I started bawling my eyes out during the office visit. I think the tears made Doc a little nervous because he awkwardly patted my shoulder and darted out of the room as quickly as he could. A few minutes later he came back and said "Come on!" and led us to an ultrasound room. Muahhaha. These pregnancy hormones come in handy as useful tools sometimes! I cry? I get what I want!

I was 9 weeks 1 day and Baby A measured 9W4days with a heart rate of 173 and Baby B measured 9W3days with a heart rate of 178. So they are both measuring a little ahead which is great news!  Twins are seriously my dream come true, and I am so thankful for these two little blessings!

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June 11, 2013- We just had our NT scan. This is a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for Down syndrome, trisomy 21, 18, 13, and heart defects. They access the baby's risk by a combination of blood work (a finger prick from the mother) and an ultrasound (where they measure how much fluid is at the base of baby's neck).

We were so happy to see that both babies are doing great! All measurements and vitals were perfect! They looked so much bigger this time- less like gummy bears and more like humans! Baby A measured 13 weeks 1 day, and Baby B is measured 12 weeks 6 days.

We also received the great news that our twins are not at risk- according to the ultrasound (still waiting on the blood work results). Fetuses who are at risk have little or no nasal bone, and more than 3.5mm fluid at the base of their necks. Baby A's fluid measured 1.6mm and Baby B's measured 1.8mm, and they both have nasal bones. 

It was so fun seeing the twins! Baby A was sucking his/her thumb and was relaxed...and Baby B kept kicking Baby A, and didn't want to hold still for pictures/measurements. You can see in the picture below how they are positioned:

The ultrasound tech thought they could have come from the same follicle (identical), but then thought they looked like different genders (fraternal), and then changed her mind all over again and said they looked like the same gender. It's still too early to tell. So we don't know if they are identical or fraternal, but we do know that they are healthy! 

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Current day Char here- I'm so happy that our journey is now up to date! We're now 13-14 weeks pregnant with twins and couldn't be happier!

Journey (part 12) IUI #2

 It's March 28, 2013 and we are two weeks into another cycle. I did 7mg of Femara (highest dosage), and went in to have my ultrasound today to see how many follicles (aka eggs) I have...

4 follies!

The black circles are the follicles (which each contain an egg)

Keep in mind, even though I have 4 eggs, the chances of us getting more than one baby out of this are less than 4% (I'm secretly hoping I am in that 4% though- I've always wanted twins!)

Jared gave me the Ovidrill injection tonight, and we go in for our second IUI tomorrow :)

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March 29, 2014. Today we had our second IUI! I loved having it on a Saturday. The office was empty, so Jared and I were goofing off/cracking jokes the whole time. Much less stressful than last time!

We had a different nurse perform this IUI procedure, and it was more painful (but still not horrible). I guess this means that the person doing the procedure really does make a difference...but all is well.

Two fingers...hoping for twins!

Two week wait....Here we go again!!

A Journey (part 13)--- BFP!!!!! and betas

Today is April 10, 2014. Last night I decided I would POAS when I was 13 days post IUI. However, I woke up this morning with a different idea in my head. I felt like I should take the pregnancy test this morning (12 days post IUI) because I had a dream last night that I took a pregnancy test, and it was positive! So I decided to fight back my fears of it being negative and take the test.... and well... I stared at that stick as a second line appeared...and it was surreal.

I couldn't believe it---I was in shock!! I prayed and thanked my Heavenly Father- I know that He is the one that allowed this miracle to happen for us. He is WONDERFUL! He blessed us with another pregnancy! It's been nearly 2 years since we began this journey, and I'm crying tears of joy right now. I can't even begin to explain how happy my heart is right now, but it's full and bursting with gratitude.

I'm meeting Jared for lunch today (he's at work), and can't wait to share the news with him! Our prayers have been answered!! I used the little babycenter.com calculator and am estimating that I'm due mid december (but not sure how accurate that is with fertility treatments) but I made this to break the news to him:

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Telling Jared:

We discussed last night that we were going to meet for lunch today- so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. I picked up lunch and brought it to a park that was near Jared's work. Jared went to the car to grab some hand sanitizer before eating, and when he came back... this was waiting for him:

 He was so surprised and was equally as pleased! 

Today has honestly been one of the best days of my life. I'm so happy and feeling so blessed!

*****
Today is April 17, 2014. I had my first beta test on Tuesday. This is where they test the amount of beta hcg in your blood. It tells you  how viable the pregnancy will most likely be (the amount is supposed to double every 48 hours). It can also sometimes be an early indicator of how many babies are growing.

I spent some time looking at this website  http://new.betabase.info ...it tells you what the average betas are for singletons, twins and triplet+. If you look at that website at 16DPO it says:

Singleton median: 278    (highest reported 3,607)
Twin median:        542     (highest reported 3,121)
Triplet median:     677     (highest reported 3,654)

My score was 1,185.

Now, they say not to think too much about betas because everyone's normal is different. Some people can have an extremely high beta score, but are only be pregnant with one baby, and on the flip side, sometimes women have extremely low beta scores and are pregnant with twins. So this isn't a for sure indicator of how many babies I'm carrying, but it's still fun to look at and think about!! Typically doctors do at least two betas that are 48 hours apart.... but my RE doc told me that because my score was so high, she doesn't think I need to come in for a second.

I had three (maybe four) eggs. For IUI's even with that many eggs, it is most common that only one egg will fertilize and will result in one baby. Twins can result, although it is significantly less common. Triplets resulting from an IUI are extremely rare. Quads resulting from an IUI are almost non existent.

You guys. I know that me having a high beta score doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to have multiples...but the thought of it makes me so excited! I've always wanted multiples.... but of course I will be just as happy even if there is just one baby in there. I'm just so excited and thankful to be pregnant at all!

My first ultrasound is on May 5th at 7 weeks 1 day- that is the day we will find out how many little ones I have growing inside. That is less than 3 weeks away! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another week of summer

Our dog, Bauer, is very obedient and is so good with Kyler. So it's a rare occasion when he does something wrong. All Jared has to do is point his finger and say "Come here Bauer"...and he grovels towards his feet every time. It's kind of hilariously pathetic the way you can see how bad he feels when he disobeys. Lucky him, he doesn't get in trouble very often!

 These two are best buds! Kyler would be so bored at home without this dog to tease and play with.

Kyler recently learned how to operate the touchpad on my computer. He randomly asked me one day if he could use my computer and I laughed at him and said "Okay." I humored him by going to pbskids.org and he surprised me with his mad coordination skills and played a game! His loves this game: Pearl Hunt Pretend Fish.

Kyler had a great week at preschool! He loved participating in Soccer Shots for the first time. A soccer coach comes to our school once a week and teaches the kids basic soccer skills. He was actually pretty good at it...and of course not a week goes by without a few trips to the park, pool, library and/or discovery place kids.

We've been having a great summer so far!

A journey (part 10) --- IUI

I'm going to copy and paste another piece of our journey towards expanding our family below. If you haven't read the previous parts, you can do so HERE.
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Today is February 27, 2014. YOU. WILL. NOT. BELIEVE. WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED!!! Before you jump to conclusions ...I'm not pregnant, but I'm so happy right now I could cry! I went in for my ultrasound this morning, and not only did BOTH of my follicles grow, buuuuuuut......I now have THREE good sized follicles!!

I know i'm not even pregnant yet, and there is a chance that this won't work, but I think it will! I am just so happy that things are looking good, and the fact that we have three follicles growing... increases our chances of getting a baby out of this!

Just for my own documentation on the ultrasound showed today: 1 follicle on my right ovary at 20 mm, and one follicle at 21mm and another follicle at 16mm on my left ovary.

My RE doc instructed me to give myself the Ovidrel injection (to trigger ovulation) right after the appointment this morning. I told Jared, who was waiting in the car with Kyler, the good news and handed over the injection. I was too squeamish to give myself a shot (especially in my stomach) so he did it for me. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would (and I'm a wimp), but it did burn for a few minutes after. 

Our IUI is scheduled for tomorrow!

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February 29, 2014

THE LONG AWAITED IUI

Yesterday we had our first (and hopefully last) IUI! If you don't know what an IUI is, I would recommend watching this short video.

Anyways, back to the actual IUI procedure. At my appointment, the nurse told us Jared's SA results, and we were thrilled! It was a big relief that everything is good on his part- as this was his first analysis. I wouldn't really say the IUI procedure was painful, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

 When the procedure was complete, I was instructed to lay reclined for a half hour. The nurse dimmed the lights, and turned on some music. I got all emotional and cried, while holding Jared's hand... because I couldn't believe that it was already over... and I was hoping our baby was on it's way!

It makes sense that this will work, we had the fertility medications help with the PCOS, and the IUI supposedly helps get past my scar tissue (endometriosis) which are the two things holding us back from getting pregnant.

After the IUI, and work, Jared and I made the (nearly) 2 hour drive to Columbia, SC to attend the temple. As soon as I walked in the doors, I felt all of my stress and worry dissolve. The temple truly is a holy place. I felt so close to the Lord, that it brought tears to my eyes several times. While I hope that this works out, I know that if it doesn't the Lord knows best, and has plans set in place for me. This knowledge brings me comfort.

A journey (part 11) The End of the Two Week Wait

I'm going to copy and paste another piece of our journey towards expanding our family below. If you haven't read the previous parts, you can do so HERE.
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Today is March 5, 2014.  This has been the longest two week wait of my life! I'm SO glad it is half way over now. I just want to know if I'm pregnant or not! I'm feeling kind of down right now. I consulted Dr. Internet (such a good thing to do when you are worried) and now I feel like there is a good chance that this IUI is not going to work...but I'm still hoping it does anyway!

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Today is March 14, 2014. The results are in......and my pregnancy test is BFN. Negative pregnancy test after negative...for nearly two years now! This one is especially hard for me though. The fertility medications gave me 3 eggs. I had ultrasounds, blood work, and a shot to trigger ovulation. My husband had great SA results. We had those swimmers inserted through the cervix so that they were past my endometriosis and literally as close to the eggs as they could be. Yet....I'm not pregnant.

As disappointed as I am, I do find great comfort through prayer, and I have faith that things will work out in the Lord's timing and ways. My relationship with my Heavenly Father and testimony of His church on the earth today have grown so much through this infertility journey. I truly believe that even the most bitter trials can become sweet through prayer. I've felt the peace that was given to each of us as a gift through Christ's Atonement, and it has been a blessing in my life. To quote Elder Henry B. Eyring: "It is a gift we are promised when the Atonement of Jesus Christ has worked in us. The gift is to want what He wants. When our love is the love He feels, it is pure because He is pure...When we pray for the gifts of the Spirit -and we should- one for which I pray is that I might have pure motives, to want what our Father wants for His children and for me, and to feel, as well as to say, that what I want is His will to be done" (Eyring, LDS Ensign 2007).

Grateful in any Circumstances

I recently watched this short video....

I love it! It reminds me of a wonderful talk by President Dieter F. Uchtorf- Grateful in any Circumstances. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, here are a few of my favorite points:

-What takes away bitterness? What makes life sweeter? What makes life joyful? Being grateful!

-Be grateful not only for things, but have a spirit of gratitude. 

-See it as a disposition. A way of life. Instead of being thankful for things (although this is good too), also be thankful for the circumstance of things. 

-The choice is ours. 

-Don’t limit your gratitude on the things you lack. 

-Don’t murmur because of your afflictions. 

-Be grateful- no matter what. 

-Choosing to have a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.

...but if you do have time to read it...do! It's worth your time :)