Memorial weekend continued

We love the Goodnight Show on the S.prout channel! I don't let Paige watch too much TV - but sometimes on the weekends we unwind with a little S.prout before bedtime. It is a great channel - check it out!
Lindsey - I was laughing when I read your comment from the other day about 2 pieces. The funny thing is - I think they are adorable on little girls, but David doesn't like them! We never bought any for her, but got this as a hand-me-down. Daddy was playing golf yesterday, so Paige and I rocked our 2 pieces in the back yard. I guess it was doubly inappropriate...I am pregnant and she is 1! LOL!!
The bottoms are a little big on us - but I really can't handle the cuteness!! This kid is in love with being outside. When we have to come in, she cries and kicks. When we are inside, she crawls to the door and bangs on it.
Break for lunch!!
She likes her baby pool if I am in it too. If I'm not, then she plays around it. I love summer.

Memorial weekend fun!

We had a BBQ with some great friends on Saturday night. Bug was practicing walking before everyone got here.

Me with the cute grill master : )
Love my husband!
Almost 13 week belly!!


David is so sweet. He went to check the mail yesterday, and said 'babe - you have a package.' I was like, what...I didn't order anything from Nordstrom?!' I opened it and this is what I found!! David ordered them for me last week!! Not only is he so thoughtful, but he has fab taste, don't you think!?
My little one loves her stroller! We are getting closer on the walking front. I stand strong at my 14 month guess. David thinks it will be a few weeks after that. We will see. Either way - my baby bug does things in her own time, and you can't rush her.
Our new froggy toy! Bug gets to play in the water and keep in the shade a bit.

David is playing in a golf tournament today and tomorrow, so Paige and I are trying to decide what to do. I'm thinking a little shopping, walking, and more pool time!

To me, summer means...

Summer used to mean: trips to the lake, club specials by the pool (putting them on my dad's tab, of course!), cute new bikinis, fun trips to Dallas on the weekends...

Now it means - shamoo baby pool for Paige and her friends!

Ava (my sweet niece) was the queen bee of the pool.
Paige and Ethan

I'm ghetto and brought all of Paige's bath toys out instead of buying pool toys. Hey - the kids had a blast!!
Paige did more crawling all over the backyard than actually sitting in the pool. But she had so much fun. I'm glad we got this. I have a feeling we will be spending many a sunny day out here! I was so focused on applying and re-applying sunscreen on miss Paige that I forgot to put it on myself! I am fried!! I'll be smarter next time.

Summer also means fun tank tops and pig tails!
It means time on the patio in our own special chair!
My mom got this for Paige for her birthday and even painted it : ) She is so cute.

Summer also means crop tops for men on motorcycles. David and I were DYING when we saw this. I had to take a picture!

I hope you enjoy YOUR summer kick-off!!

Week 12

I had my 12 week check-up yesterday. It went well - BP is normal, weight - up one pound, heartbeats sound great at 164 and 168. We decided to push our next u/s out to 15 weeks. We will almost certainly be able to tell the sex of both babies then. David and I are freaking out we are so excited for this! I am dying to know! Any guesses? My guess changes daily. Right now I am stuck on boy/girl.

My ole' uterus is measuring at a large 16 weeks : ) No wonder my pants are tight! The OB told me to expect to measure at least a month ahead the entire time. Yikes.

We got the most adorable blow-up pool for the little bug. We have a playdate tomorrow to play in it, so I'll get some pics. There will be pics of me in my new fab maternity swim suit. I know each person is different, but I am way to modest to let my fat stomach hang out in a bikini. MAYBE if I was further along and had a cute and big belly, I would feel differently. But I am in the phase where you can't tell if I'm pregnant or I'm just fat. So I got a maternity suit to remove all doubt.

IVF #2 stats

Meds:

*birth control pills for 3 weeks

*lupron during the last week

*Follistim and Menopur for stimming

- this differed from IVF #1. We just used Follistim the first time around. I really think it made a difference

*PIO after retrieval

Retrieval:

*20 eggs retrieved. I was so sore! And bloated!

Fert:

*19 mature eggs, 11 fertilized with conventional IVF. This is another difference from our first cycle. We did half ICSI/half conventional. I think this made a big difference as well.

*On day 3, we still had 9 that looked perfect. Crazyness! Our first cycle, we only had 2 left at this point.

*Day 4: all 9 going strong, however expanding slower than they would like. The embryologist decided to push us to a day 6 transfer to give them a chance to fully expand. Scheduled for 7 AM on Day 6 (a Monday morning).

*Day 5: got a call at 9 that morning saying they really picked up overnight and were ready! Could I be there in 30 minutes, please?

*Transferred 2 4BB blasts. The 4 means they were fully expanded. We were thrilled.

We said all along we were only going to transfer one if we made it to a day 5 transfer. We were counseled to transfer 2 the day of, however. AA is the best, AB second, BB third, BC fourth, CC last. Well - we just felt like BB was too risky to only put one back. So we did two. And are having twins! It was meant to be.

4 days past my transfer, I took a test (first response early result). It was start white negative. A few hours later, I took another (clearly, I had gone over to the crazy place). I thought I saw a faint line, but wasn't sure if I was imagining it. Left and went to lunch with Michelle and Adrianne (Michelle - this was the day we went to Saturn Grill and Quail Springs!) and walked around the mall. I was so hot. I knew something was up. Stopped by Wal-Mart (classy) and bought a digital test. PREGNANT!!! Holy Crap! I, of course, took about 10 more tests during the next week waiting for my beta.

Beta:

*9 days past transfer (14 days past ovulation): 280

*11 days past transfer: 530

First ultrasound:

*5 weeks 2 days: 2 sacs and 2 yolks!

*6w3d: 2 heartbeats

*8w2d: babies going strong!

*10w0d (at the OB): Perfect babies, measuring 10 weeks exactly.

Other info:

We have 5 frozen. FIVE. We froze nothing with our first cycle.

We don't know how to feel about this, though. We are finished having kids - assuming our twins make it. To each their own - but we am not comfortable having them destroyed. I am not sure how I feel about stem cell research. I am not sure how I feel about donating them to another couple. We will have some big decisions coming up.

But for now - we are focused on our growing family!! And couldn't be happier.

Wanna hear something crazy?

I'm actually having twins.

Yes - David will now be responsible for providing for 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 wife.

A full house, indeed.

We have told my parents and after a slight freak-out, they are excited. My mom's first words were, "oh, no." LOL!! She apologized for that - said she was just in shock : )

I'm off to meet my workout buddies for a nice walk today at Lake Arcadia! The CEO of Chesapeake has a huge farm and lake with a long walking trail and he has generously agreed to let us take our babes out there for the day!

I have kept a journal with details and notes from my IVF cycle, which I plan on sharing for anyone who is interested.

Be on the look-out for that, probably later today : )

It is the weekend!! Enjoy yours!

Belly shot and new toys

I know it is funny to take a belly shot at 11 weeks, but I feel so freaking big! I know it is because I have been eating 24/7 to keep my nausea at bay, but that is the price you pay : ) Please excuse the gym clothes. I have been feeling good enough to work out again, so that is nice. It feels good to be in the gym.
Can't you see the little bump? Or maybe it is all in my head!
This is just a chunk shot for sure : ) Damn you, donuts and sonic!!

Oh - and you have to love the un-made bed. I'd say that this is only because I nap during the day when Paige naps to due my pregnancy, but too many people who come over to my house read this blog. My bed is never made. Custom silk bedding lays on the chair next to the bed.

Excited about her new toy!

She loves this thing. It shoots little plastic balls up, then then the go around and go back in, then shoot back out (horrid description - sorry).
So fun, momma!
We got this as a birthday present, but it uses 'D' batteries. I kept forgetting to go out and get them. When I finally got them, I wished that I had done it sooner! This toy keeps her occupied for 30 minutes at a time! That is a lot for a one-year old.

Birthday party pictures and an update on my big girl!

Once again, I want to thank Allison Hess for taking these pictures for me! She was awesome - staying the whole time, running around making everyone smile for the camera! We got over 60 images! The rest are on facebook : )

I love her face in this one! This is actually outfit #2
Opening presents! Paigers got all kinds of fun stuff.
Cake!



The golf clubs were popular with the kids at the party. All the boys were taking them. I was like - guys...they are pink!
Daddy love
A bath after cake was a necessity! Her hair was covered in frosting, and I had to take her birthday '1' shirt to the cleaners!
At least she had fun!

The family - for now : ) You might notice that my hair is not done. Well that was such a crazy day, if you remember from my first post about her party. 10 minutes until party time - David was not back with the food, I hadn't finished putting tule on everything, and I was in my sweats. Oh well!
I love this one.

This girl loved her cake
The dessert table. I like the way it turned out. The sign says 'so sweet of you to come.'
Love my bug!
Her cake...from Homeland for $12.99!!! We had tons of cupcakes, but I wanted her to have a birthday cake too. I waited until the last minute, and by that time, Homeland was the only place I found who could make it. It was freaking good!!
I adore this picture.
My precious baby - wait...toddler.

What we are up to in this 4th week of her 12th month?

*WAFFLES! She refuses to eat anything else for breakfast. She will eat cottage cheese, grapes, and blueberries, but only after she has eaten her blueberry waffle.

*I think we are still a ways off from walking. She is just not interested. My guess is 14 months. Which is fine. My bug has never been one to conform to those 'rules.'

*Bedtime: 7:30 or 8. She is such a sleeper. She sleeps 12+ hours at night and still naps at least 3 hours a day. If you mess with either one of those things, you (I) will pay. Dearly.

*Stranger anxiety is lessening, but she is in full-on 'mommy is the only one who can take care of me' mode. I have a love/hate relationship with this one. I love that I have someone who is crazy obsessed with me, can't stand to be away from me, loves me with a passion I didn't know existed...but it would be nice if I she eases up a bit. I know it will come when she is ready, so I don't worry about it.

I plan on doing an update on pregnancy #2 and a full re-cap of IVF #2 for those who are interested, here in the next few days.

Have a great weekend!