Most Amazing Day Ever

Hello readers.  Hope everyone has been waiting in anticipation for this entry, for this entry is all about the most amazing day yet of my entire life.  I am sure this statement will be repeated often over the coming  months, but so far it stands factual and as of yet un-toppled from the #1 rank it holds.  Also, to get back on the you get a video/song for the price of a blog...here is one from Massive Attack.  I chose this particular video for the mere fact, besides I dig the band, that a fetus in the womb sings the song.  I think, as you will soon see, it fits well with where I am heading today...

"Teardop" by Massive Attack

Now that the musical portion of this blog has been taken care of, onto the good stuff!

This past Thursday, which was August 16th, I went in for my first ultrasound.  I was 6 weeks and 1 day into my pregnancy, and so very lucky to get such an early glimpse at the life taking shape in my womb.  I can honestly say that nothing truly prepared me for that first moment of seeing the life I helped create.  I would love to be able to high-five the father at this point and give him a great big hug, but since he is merely a unanimous donor, I will have to settle for a simple thank you vibe sent out across the universe in hopes that he somehow feels it.  Honestly, there really is not enough thanks that can be given.

But before I once again get ahead of myself, I should begin with the agonizing wait that occurred in the doc's waiting room, aka holding cell, and the additional even more agonizing wait in the actual exam room, aka where the magic happens.

My appointment was for 9:30am, and while I knew I wouldn't get immediately back to see the doc, this particular morning the wait for my appointment felt like a conspiracy.

A conspiracy I tell you!

It just happened to be one of those mornings when the entire office was running behind and the waiting room was full of people.  It was very cool to be sitting there waiting knowing I was in for my first view of my wee-one.   For a change I wasn't like everyone else waiting...I had finally crossed to the other side from trying to conceive to official mommy in waiting.  It was kind of hard not to just bust out telling everyone in the room about my new pregnancy, but I refrained.

I felt like doing the Snoopy dance!

You never know when you might make some woman or couple who has been trying for ages cry from frustration at their own situation.  Even though I would like to think spewing happiness about my accomplishment would provide hope and give props to the awesome doctors, I have no real idea of what all those other people in the waiting room are going through.  I know we are all in for the same reason, but I also know our stories are vastly different.  I saw a lady come out of an exam room crying on one of my past visits, and I would never want to seem like an inconsiderate braggart to others who may be in for bad news rather than good.

So I'm sitting in the holding cell with my mom patiently waiting for my name to be called.  Every time the door back to the exam rooms opens and a nurse steps out with a chart in her hands and opens her mouth to call a name, I catch my breath.  And this happens over and over and over (I could keep going here but I'll refrain).  While waiting my mom did amuse me by knocking over a trash can lid while trying to throw her cup of water away.  It made a loud crash, I busted out guffawing as I am want to do, and everyone had to take a glance at our silliness.  Once again we managed to be the loudest people in a relatively quiet room.

I'm sure somewhere Godzilla actually did this!

But that's not really an important part of the story, I'm just drawing out getting to the point to make you feel somewhat like I felt that morning.  Additional happenings while waiting...I flipped through a Fit Pregnancy magazine, checked in via Facebook (btw, please go like my FB page www.facebook.com/singlemodernmom as I'm trying to build up my audience there as a fun extension of the blog, and I would truly appreciate many more fans...shameless plug, I know!), I finally talked my mom into going to the bathroom since her small bladder was being taxed by the wait, stared out the window for a bit, twiddled my thumbs, etc, etc, etc.

Finally at around 10:30am my name was finally called. YAY!!!  I was so damned excited and anxious I about couldn't stand it any longer, so good thing they finally called me.  Once again it was the usual, undress from the waist down and hop up on the exam table...and wait!  I had made it to the exam room, but my agonizing wait was still not over.  At first my mom and I chit-chatted thinking the doc would be in at any moment.  The nurse came in about 15 minutes later and I was so thrilled, but she was just there getting supplies, UGH!  And so we waited some more.  I flipped through an Entertainment Weekly and skimmed over why Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes split, admiring the pics of their daughter Suri whilst thinking about what my future child was going to look like.  I glanced at the Fit Pregnancy magazines available but realized I had read them all already.  I twiddled my thumbs some more.  Laid down, sat back up, repeated this over and over.  Am I getting across how excruciating the wait was yet?

Yes, this is similar to how I felt!
(except for the being a dude part)

By the time 11am rolled around I was about ready to grab the magic va-jay-jay wand and do the ultrasound myself.  I should probably explain that an ultrasound performed this early on is done vaginally and not through the belly.  I swear I could have!  But instead I kept telling myself that patience is a virtue...whatever!  About 11:15 the doc finally came in.  It was Dr. Batres this time, the only one of the three docs on staff I had yet to meet.  You see, my main doc is Dr. Miller, yet I had also seen Dr. Moutos on several occasions.  The thing I really love about Arkansas Fertility & Gynecology Associates (http://www.arkansasfertility.com figured I should give their offices another plug since they are so amazing) is that all the docs on staff are invested in your success.  They share the work and they all get credit for being a part of my conception team.   It's nice to know they all are rooting for you and got your back!

So in walks Dr. Batres, into the stirrups my feet go, and into the hoo-hoo the magic wand goes.  Finally after the wait of a lifetime, we are underway!  Well, almost.  First the doc scares the bejesus out of me, because at first all I see on the ultrasound monitor screen is what looks to be a big empty hole.  WTF?  Where is my baby?  I guess he sees the look on my face so then explains that he is first examining my ovaries before he moves to my uterus.  It seems that when you take fertility meds such as Clomid, the Clomid causes ovarian cysts to form from the ruptured follicles that released the egg(s).

Yeah, my thoughts exactly!

Remember that I had the one massive follicle in my left ovary? Well it left a nice-sized cyst.  I also had a smaller cyst in my right ovary.  Don't worry, this is completely normal and both should be gone by the time I'm 12 weeks along.  The doc did measure them to later make sure they are shrinking as expected.  After explaining what he was doing and what I was seeing, I felt a lot better.  And after he was done with those, he moved the magic hoo-hoo wand to my uterus.  And low and behold  there was my little bean!  Literally, the wee-one looked like a bean!  Even though he/she was just .529 cm in length, I was overwhelmingly amazed at what I saw.  There was my baby!  The cutest damn bean-shaped blob I had ever seen!

My baby's first pic!!!
See, it does look like a bean.

And it gets better.  After he pointed out where the head and feet were (by feet I really mean the tail-end as there are no "feet" yet), and took measurements that showed the little one was measuring at 6 weeks and 2 days, which is odd since I should have been 6 weeks and 1 day as per my last missed period, he then let me hear the heartbeat.

My baby's second pic!
See the heartbeat measurement lower left.

As you are probably aware, my mom is witnessing all this along with me.  Back in the day when she was pregnant with my brothers and myself, they didn't have this type of advanced equipment.  Not only could you not see the baby at such an early stage, but neither could you hear the heartbeat.  When I asked her later she informed me that the only time she got to hear our heartbeats as babies was on the fetal monitor in the delivery room.  So this was a first for both of us.  And let me tell you, there is no sound quite as spectacular as the sound of that little heartbeat.  It's alive!!!!  I also got to see the heart beating via the ultrasound.  It was going 110bpm (beats per minute).  The doc said this was very good as they were looking for a rate between 100-120bpm at this early stage.  That will increase as the fetus grows, but so far I was right on target.  It's alive!!! Wait, did I already say that?  I just can't help myself.  Seeing and hearing my baby for the first time absolutely took my breath away.  And at that moment everything seemed so much more real to me.  This was happening!  It isn't my imagination or a crazy dream, this is really happening.  I am carrying life around inside me that I created.

Here is a close-up.  Doesn't look like much but I'm so proud!

I, and I hear this is pretty true across the board, felt at that moment like I was the only pregnant woman on the planet and that everything going on inside me was truly a miracle at work.  There really are no words that can possibly describe the feelings I'm speaking of.  I'm sure other moms know exactly what I'm talking about.  But for women who have never experienced this before, and sadly for all men, this is an experience that shadows all other experiences.  Well at least it is so far.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, I am sure I'll be repeating those words numerous times in the coming months...and that makes me uber excited!  To know I get to have more of these moments and they are all going to subsequently top each other in making my jaw drop, well there just isn't anything better on the planet that I can imagine!

As a matter of fact, I get to go back in on the 30th for my 8 week ultrasound.  I can't wait to see what the little one will look like then.  I know what to expect by Googling 8-week ultrasound pics, but it won't be the same as witnessing it for myself.  After my 8 week ultrasound, I finally get my first official "I'm pregnant" OBGYN appointment on Sept. 10th.  I have decided to go with the doc who delivered my niece Haven and has come highly recommended by several people I know.  My OBGYN retired, so I have been on the hunt for a new one, and now that I'm pregnant it made my choice relatively easy.  My fertility doc was happy with my choice and has already gotten all my info over to my new doc's office.  So it looks like I'm all set on moving this adventure along to the next phase.

Another fun moment of that ultrasound way was getting the first pics of my little bean (see pics above).  As the doc preformed the ultrasound he printed out several pics for me to take home and show everyone.  As I was checking out the receptionists ogled over the pics like they had never seen such awesomeness before!  And it was great walking out of the office and back into the waiting room with the pics in hand.  Since I hadn't bounced around the room shouting for joy before, this was my silent way of getting that "I'm pregnant" moment out to those still waiting.  I was even congratulated in the elevator whilst leaving the building...totally awesome!

And one more amazing thing...still no morning sickness!  I'm quite pleased that I have yet to hurl due to my "condition."  I really expected to be a puker as I've always had an easily upset stomach.  But so far, so good.  Not even a hint of nausea.

Free and clear so far!

 As a matter of fact, I still don't have all that many pregnancy symptoms.  I sometimes get fatigued easily but nothing too drastic, I do have to pee quite a bit more than usual but nothing too urgent has occurred, I have yet to develop food aversions or cravings, and while my boobs are still a bit sore and have grown a cup size (woohoo!), they seem to have leveled out on the growth spurt for the moment.  I will admit that my waistline has already began to expand, though.  My worst symptom besides random hunger is the bloating.  The bloating is the worst.  I actually had to finally break down and go buy maternity pants.

They're really not the bad.

It is really early to be moving into those, at least from what I have read, but my ass was not fitting into my other pants anymore.  For the past couple of weeks I have been strictly in dresses and skirts.  I finally decided I couldn't go another day without pants and went to the maternity store.  While most of my not fitting into my old pants is mostly bloating right now, I'm okay with the maternity pants.  They are remarkably comfortable and I have enough of a bump that they seem like a reasonable purchase at this point.  I'm looking forward to watching them expand along with my belly.  I always believed pregnancy would be the most amazing experience in the world, and so far I am completely correct.  I haven't had a bad day yet, and hopefully I'll continue to be lucky in that regard.

Well it's about time for me to gather up my mom and go for our 3-mile walk we've been doing regularly as of  recent.  I'm trying to get back into some sort of exercise routine now that I am less delicate than I was, or at least felt.  I want to keep myself healthy and fit throughout the pregnancy, and walking is about the best exercise I can do right now.  So on that note, I will leave you all for the moment and get back to my Sunday.  Hope everyone has had a nice weekend and I'll be back soon.

Oh, one final word.  I know I had mentioned that there was a possibility of up to three babies based on my mature follicles.  I was relieved to find I was preggers with only one baby, as now I can relax a little more and know I'll be able to focus my attention and spoiling on just the one.  I am already thinking, however, since I am only pregnant with the one, that I may turn around and try for a second wee-one before I turn 40.  My 38th is coming up on the 27th, so I won't have much time after this one is born, but I think I can do it.  Something to ponder...

Even The Dude is happy dancing for me!!!

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Waiting is the Hardest Part

Yes, Tom Petty said it best.  Although this song is not about the 2ww (two week wait) women suffer through to find out if that EPT will come out with a + or -, it still works...sort of.  Well, I'll run with that, cause Tom Petty rocks!!!  But I digress...

My last post stated I would not wait to tell the world that I had gone in for my 2nd IUI.  But I got busy packing and moving (yes, I decided to throw moving into the already complicated equation), and haven't really sat down to catch everyone up...until now.

So how much did you miss you ask?  Well if you didn't ask, I'm still going to tell you! :-)  I went in for my 2nd IUI on Sunday, June 17.  On the 16th, which was my CD14 (cycle day 14), I was very anxious about ovulating.  My doc said that since I was on Clomid, that if I hadn't gotten my LH surge by CD14, he wanted me to call and come in for an ultrasound and possibly and HCG trigger shot to induce ovulation.  The morning of the 16th I tested with an OPK (ovulation predictor kit) at around 8am...no surge.  I tested again at 2pm, still no surge.  At that point I called my doc and he said to come in on the 17th at 8:340am and we would decide on how to proceed.  That afternoon I went to pack up some boxes and stuff at my now previous abode; and well, I just began to feel a bit funny.  So afterwards I decided to do another test, this was around 7:45pm.  Normally I would never test three times in one day, but I just felt like I needed to at that point.  Well good thing I did because I got my surge!  So I called my doc back, gave him the news, and my 8:30am ultrasound appointment turned into my 2nd IUI appointment, yay!!!

So now what?  Now I'm once again in the midst of the dreaded two week wait.  I'll admit that at 6 days post IUI, I was a nervous wreck.  Last month that was the day my entire system went bonkers!  So naturally I was worried this month may be the same.  My doc did put me on Progesterone to help extend my cycle, so that was a bit of comfort but didn't complete alleviate my worry.  Needless to say, day 6 has come and gone and I'm still waiting, which is a very good thing!  Today I am 10 days post IUI.  If I read my body correctly this month, that would correspond to 10 days past ovulation (10dpo).  By this weekend, I should be ready to pee on a completely new kind of stick, the EPT kind!  Woohoo!!!

The one on the right represents my mom!

Many women at this point go ahead and drag themselves through testing way too early, only to be left with a pile of negative tests (false or not).  I am doing my best not to be one of those women!  I may test Friday morning, though.  While this will still technically be early and a false negative is most likely, I may not be able to handle waiting any longer!

I should probably follow the advice at www.countdowntopregnancy.com and not test till Sunday, but I can't promise anything!

Sunday Jul. 1, 2012 Expected period

14 dpo

Expected Period. This is the best day to test! You should miss your period today if you are pregnant! Accuracy rate of most pregnancy tests on or after the first day of your expected period is 99%. If your cycle length varies by a few days each month, you may still want to wait a few days before testing since you may not actually be late yet.

So, what are my symptoms at 10dpo you ask?  (Once again I don't really care if you asked, it's just one of those forum topics that seem to be on every baby-making website).  To be honest, I don't really have any.  Had some sharp pains in my abdomen last night and a few this morning, and I'm a bit on the bloated side, and my boobs are a bit larger than usual, but all these things can also be contributed to the progesterone, PMS, and possibly pregnancy.  So like a lot of things, I take them with a grain of salt.  Damn it!  Now I'm thinking about the tequila I can't have!!!  Which is horrible since it is Tequila Tuesday...ARGH!!!!  However, I will most likely enjoy a glass of wine when I get home, because for now I dub it okay and safe to consume in small quantities.  I'm sure some will disagree, but to each their own opinion on the matter.  Last IUI I was overly conscious about my eating and drinking habits, and the IUI failed.  My stress levels were at maximum capacity, and I know that did not help and could have possibly contributed to my system failing so miserably.  This go around I have decide to relax, enjoy the ride, and not sweat the small stuff.  There will by plenty of time to freak out during the 9-month wait!

Hopefully this will be me very soon!

Since I am so close to finding out whether or not this IUI is successful, I will try and update more over the next several days. Hopefully next time I'm back on here there will be good news!!! If not, I'll report the bad, too. Both are part of the process, so both deserve equal time in the spotlight. But for now I'll keep on the positive side and hope for the best outcome! And I'll leave you with this little bit of fun :-)

I love cats!

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