Posted by Me
Sun, 26 Nov 2006 02:53:00 GMT
I’ll be 31 Weeks tomorrow. :) I can’t believe I am already in the 3rd Trimester. My due date of 1/28/07 doesn’t seem too far off. Yowzers!
I am certainly starting to feel the effects of Jack’s size in my belly. Finding a comfortable position to sleep in is getting a bit tougher but I do enjoy feeling him kick throughout the day & night. As of late, he’s been having more hiccups which according to Dr. H is a good sign. He likes to hear that the baby has hiccups – apparently a sign of a healthy baby. I hope that’s true! :) Speaking of Dr. H we had an appointment with him last Wednesday and everything checked out. Jack’s heartbeat came in around 140 and my fundal length was measuring at 30-31 weeks – so right on target. Since we didn’t do the whole Pam Smear/Culture checkup in the beginning I had the pleasure of doing it at the last appointment. Boy, are those fun. I hadn’t had anyone “down there” since my Dr. Bow Tie days! :)
Anyways, overall the appointment went well. I see him in 2 weeks again since now we are on the every other week schedule. Once we are in January, I’ll switch over to the once a week schedule. Yay!
This coming Wednesday we have our first “meet & greet” with a potential Pediatrician. We asked Dr. H for more recommendations since the last one he recommended unfortunately didn’t take our insurance. I’ll be making a few more “meet & greet” appointments and hopefully we can settle on a good one before Jack makes his appearance.
In other news, I saw my parents, my sis and her fiance, and a slew of relatives from my mom’s side a week ago. I had the first of 2 Baby Showers and it was a lot of fun. In lieu of actual gifts, a lot of my relatives gave us some checks to help with the preparation of baby’s arrival. Every little bit helps and LOML and I certainly appreciated everyone’s kindness. My parents were generous enough to give us a stroller that comes with the Car Seat so that’s pretty cool. We haven’t installed it yet in the car – one of the many things on our “To Do” List. I have another Baby Shower on LOML’s side this coming Saturday (12/2) so that should be fun. It was great to see family and getting pampered for a while with good food. I’ll see them next in a couple of months when Jack is due to arrive.
Thanksgiving we spent with LOML’s parents and it was really nice. We opted to go out to eat instead of slaving over a hot stove. It worked out really well. The place they picked out offered a really yummy Turkey dinner and the great thing was we didn’t have to clean up. :) Stress-free Thanksgiving works for me!
Other than that, I have been busy working and finishing up our Christmas shopping. I am pretty much done. I try to do most of it via the Internet since I absolutely hate the crowds at the mall/stores. Gotta’ love the Internet! :) I have a few more things to finish up but overall that should be pretty set. Yay! I am waiting for the things to arrive so I can wrap them and be done. Ahh – I can’t wait!
Despite everything going on – you’d think I’d be distracted enough, I still have my moments of anxiety. I don’t think it ever goes away. I still get some scary dreams (on the off chance when I actually do manage to get some shuteye!) which aren’t so pleasant. Jack tries to reassure me though by offering up a swift kick so it makes it all a little better.
I do have to admit that I am getting more nervous about the last few months as the reality sets in that eventually he has to come out. Also, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t worry that something could go wrong. The Childbirth classes were pretty informative but also admittedly a tad intimidating. I am so grateful for every week I pass and continue to pray that all goes well and that Jack arrives without any complications. My biggest worry is and will forever be his welfare. I will endure anything as long as he is safe and healthy.
All righty, I am going to take it easy for the rest of the evening – take a shower and have a snack. The last few weeks have been really busy with family gatherings, work, and preparations for both baby and X-mas. I can’t imagine that the next few weeks/months will be any different. Days are just whizzing by at a speed that’s hard to comprehend.
I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and managed to enjoy some good family/friend time.
Posted in Dr. Bow Tie, 'Tis The Season, Everyday Livin', Relating, Friends, Baby G, Dr. H | 1 comment | no trackbacks
Posted by Me
Thu, 29 Dec 2005 05:54:00 GMT
Sorry I haven’t posted in so long. I meant to post sooner but life suddenly decided to get insanely crazy. Where to begin!
I guess I’ll start by wishing everyone out there a very belated Merry Christmas! Mine was decidedly not fun and just got worse from there. The Friday before X-mas Eve I got me some Strep Throat. Of course, at the time, I didn’t realize I did. I just thought I was coming down with something. I went to sleep only to “awake” with the worst sore throat in the world. Every time I tried to swallow I wanted to kick something/someone around me. (No worries, no one got hurt! I only ended up making an ugly cringing face and semi-jerk with my foot at every swallow) Well, considering I was utterly miserable and was due at my in-laws for X-mas Eve, I asked LOML to take me to the Dr right when I got up. We live 5 mins from a brand-spanking new Hospital so we decided to forego wretched UMC Quick Room (which doesn’t open until 8am anyways) and went to the Hospital’s ER instead. We got there around 6am. No one was there and we were ushered in and out pretty quickly. The Dr on call was nice and agreed that I had got me some Strep so he gave me some prescriptions for Penicilin Antibiotics and some Tylenol w/ Codeine for the pain. For the rest of the day I was in and out of my Codeine-induced haze. I decided to keep this little Strep Gift to myself so no in-law visiting for today. LOML was sweet as always and took care of me but making sure that he was keeping a distance as well. No need to get him sick as well.
By X-mas Morning, I was feeling better. My in-laws called and made sure to tell us to stop by at my BIL’s if I felt up to it. They weren’t worried about catching it since I had already been on the antibiotics for 24 hours by then. So, with that in mind, I spruced myself up, took 3 more codeine pills, and off we went.
X-mas was fun. We had some yummy omelets and opened gifts. About 3 hours into the festivities though I was fading…and fading fast. I started to droop on their couch and hence we made a quick exit. We skidaddled home where I proceeded to make some calls to my family in FL and my best friend in LA. I managed to get a quick nap in and then LOML treated me to a lovely dinner at our favorite French Restaurant. Sure, beats the crap I have been downing before then!
Monday started off well enough…well as good as can be expected. I forgot to mention that I ended up getting my period on X-mas Eve as well. So, yay for that, but nay IVF #2 is definitely on the horizon now. No miracle conception for me in December! Boo! Anyways, considering I got my period, I had to call Dr. Bow Tie’s Office and let them know the good news. They quickly ushered me in and took some blood (oh, how I missed that! NOT!!!!) and was put on Birth Control Pills again. The IVF Coordinator also gave me my schedule for IVF. I officially start the whole fun ride 1/13/06 with a possible Retrieval Date of 1/29/06 (yep, that’s right! Super Bowl Sunday! Oh joy!). Anyways, here we go again. I was happy to note that now all the nurses wear giant name tags on the scrubs!!! Yay for that. Maybe they read my blog and decided to end the misery for me and let their names be known! :) Goody!
After all the fun at Dr. Bow Tie’s, I went on home only to find LOML busy deconstructing our bed with a guy from Furniture Medic. We have some adjustable beds (yes, we’re a young and hip couple! Don’t judge cuz we have some adjustable beds. We’re TV Junkies so this allows us to get into the best position to view our nice 55 inch TV in the bedroom!). In any case, a part wasn’t working on the thing so the guy was there to fix in. Only he couldn’t since bigger parts were failing. In any case, after he left, we made sure our 2 cats were still in the house. They weren’t. One was but the boy cat was no were to be found. He gets freaked easily so we thought he went into hiding. We looked in all the usual places but couldn’t find him. We started to freak thinking he may have slipped out while the guy got something out of his truck. To make matters worse, outside there was a rager of a windstorm going on. Since we couldn’t find him inside we opted to see if he did slip out. Some of our neighbors tried to help but the wind was just too strong. We were panicking. Thought we lost our baby! We went back inside not knowing what to do when out of nowhere he plopped down from the top of the kitchen cabinets. He was hiding behind a plant! Boy, were we relieved! Nothing is more important to an infertile than her furbabies! I am so glad this one had a happy ending!
Don’t you think the excitement ended after that though! After all the missing cat hoopla, LOML got really sick with a stomach bug and ended up most of the day hunched over the toilet! Poor guy! He eventually got better but for awhile there it was pretty miserable.
Tuesday! Oh the hope we had for Tuesday. No Strep, both cats in da house, and LOML no longer puking! I mean come on we figured we’d be in the clear! All holiday madness averted. Nope, not so fast. Tuesday morning I got the dreaded call. The call no one wants to get. I learned of my grandfather’s stroke that morning. It happened the night before. I didn’t get many details just where he was etc. He’s 82, a spry and very active fellow for his age so this totally came out of the blue. LOML and I rushed to the hospital to see him. He seemed ok. Not great, but he was able to open his eyes and squeeze my hand. The nurse he had sucked. Bedside manners of an oaf, but whatever! In any case, we stayed there for a while and held his hand until other relatives came. I called my Mom to keep her updated. She unfortunately lives in FL and is in a complete frenzy. I tried to keep her calm to no avail. We went back there this morning and things have taken a turn for the worse. We met with the Neurologist (definitely no Dr. McDreamy, but hopefully still competent). He told us in so many words things didn’t look good. There is swelling in the brain. A little bit of bleeding and he’s has not seen the worse yet. The stroke was big. It took most of the left side of his brain. The language side. If he survives it, his life will not be the same. He’ll be bedridden, paralyzed on the right side, won’t be able to speak nor understand, and in general be less than he was before. It’s sombering. The next 96 hours are critical. He could die. His age doesn’t help. I had to call my Mom and give the news. The dreaded, dreaded news. I told her she needs to come out. She has no time off but was able to get emergency leave. Flying into Las Vegas so close to New Years is a pretty much impossible task, but she managed to pull some strings (she works for an airline so that helped). LOML and I are picking her up in a few minutes.
I am glad my parents made it out, but I am not happy about the circumstances. I am exhausted. I am trying to stay strong for my Mom and yet can’t help to see mortality so close by. I am not super close to my grandfather but was becoming closer. My Mom is so heartbroken and I don’t know what to do. I think of what it would be like if this happened to either my Mom and Dad and I start to tear up. I am trying to stay positive, but at the same time we have to be realistic. I really hate that word.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning the house and getting ready for guests. Since all my Aunts & Uncles live in LA, they’ll be streaming in soon and with New Years’ taking over the town accomodations will be hard to come by. I tried to get more rooms set up in case they are needed. It’s all so surreal. I hate how 2005 is trying to go out with such a vengeance. I am exhausted. I am sad. I am…I don’t know. I hope everyone else’s holiday is better than ours. Sorry for the long post but I figured I needed to make for the long dirth! I hope my next one will be cheerier though I have a feeling it won’t. If you have some prayers to spare, please say some for my grandfather. He’s a fighter and we are not ready for him to leave us. Thank you in advance!
All righty, I have to get ready to pick up the parents! Goodnight!
PS I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors in this post. I don’t have time to read it over and make corrections! I hope it is still readable though and you get the general jist!
Posted in Hello, my name is Infertile, Dr. Bow Tie, Healthy Livin', 'Tis The Season, Everyday Livin', Relating | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Me
Wed, 14 Dec 2005 22:10:00 GMT
I got my Christmas Present today…a box chock full off Fertility Drugs! Yay me! I got it today in preparation for my IVF Cycle at the end of Jan. Whooo hooo!
All the drugs were nicely packaged in a box and delivered overnight via FedEx. Goodness! It was quite a sight. A bit overwhelming. I mean we’re talking vials upon vials of Stimulation Meds. 3 different types of Progesterone. 4 different kinds of Estrogen. 4 different types of needles and a slew of each at that!!! (My ass just hurts looking at them!!!) It’s a druggie’s dream central over here, though no one uses fertility drugs recreationally. I mean, really, who wants to be nuts and out of control for weeks on end followed by horrible depression? And when I talk about out of control – I am not talking about it in a good way! OMG! Just the thought of it makes me want to cringe. The picture above shows all the meds that eventually will have to find a way into my body! Yowzers! It’s a bit scary. (not just for me but also for LOML who’ll have to live with me while on them!)
Receiving this box makes the next cycle all the more real. I don’t think I have ever received so much in the form of pharmaceuticals before in my life. A cool $3500 worth to be exact! If I had any doubt that the next cycle will be more intense the opening of the box ruled it all out. It will and it’s frightening. However, if it leads to a healthy happy baby or two of mine, it’ll be worth it. I sure hope it’ll do the trick.
It’s amazing how many people (including yours truly) believed that having a baby would be within my control. I figured one day I would just decide I was ready, get off Birth Control Pills, and do the hippity dippity with the one I love, and in no time find myself with child. Never in a million years did I think I would find myself hunched over a huge box filled to the gills with fertility drugs that eventually will be coursing through my veins. All without a guarantee that they will work and procure a child of my own.
The holidays are a tough time for everyone, but it’s even harder for those that find themselves infertile. Nothing makes you feel lonelier than being without a child that you so desperately want at X-mas time. Parents with their children come out in drones during the holidays and the pain of not having what they have and having no control over it becomes more acute with each carol that is sung. Ulgh! The holidays are tough. Tougher even moreso since this signals the second Christmas that I am not pregnant. Even harder since I have to prep myself physically and mentally for undergoing an even tougher IVF Cycle at the beginning of the new year.
I know I have to do the mind over matter thing and believe that this next cycle will work for us. I am not quite there yet, but will before it comes time to have all those fancy schmancy drugs injected and inserted in me.
For now, I placed the drugs that need refrigerating in the fridge in the kitchen and left the rest in the box and placed them on a shelf in our closet. Eventually, we’ll have to take them out and use them but for now they’ll stay safely tucked away until needed. Afterall, it is the gift that will keep on giving well into the next year, maybe even spring time! What fun! However, as said hopefully, they will be the means to the most awesome gift we can imagine, a child of our own! Let’s keep our fingers crossed, shall we?
Posted in 'Tis The Season, Hello, my name is Infertile | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Me
Wed, 14 Dec 2005 00:30:00 GMT
I have been so exhausted these past few days and I am not sure why. I sleep. I am not living extremely (or even ordinary) stressful days. I think I may be getting sick and so my body is trying to fight whatever damn illness might be brewing underneath. I just wish it could do that without knocking me out. (Knocking me up, sure! Just not knocking me out. ;))
I am not sure what is going on but I could nap all day (not that I do), but still. Last night I was reading and fell asleep while reading and then had to call it at 9pm since I could barely keep my eyes open. I slept fine and couldn’t really drag myself out of bed. Our morning walks have been shelved these past few days since I can’t manage to wake up early enough. Ulgh!
Maybe it is the cold (weather). Maybe it is the impending cold (illness). Maybe it is my hormones being all out of whack. Maybe my body is prepping for its period. Who knows??? Whatever it is it is quite inconvenient.
YAWN – is it bedtime yet?
Posted in Hello, my name is Infertile, 'Tis The Season, Everyday Livin', Relating | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Me
Sun, 11 Dec 2005 18:42:00 GMT
So in keeping with my determination to accomplish what I set out to do, last night while LOML was “pokering”, I decided to try out the Barefoot Contessa’s scone recipe. It was the first time I got to use my Standing Mixer since I got it for our wedding. They turned out all right. I unfortunately burned some but was able to create about 17 medium size scones. They are edible. Only thing – I think I left them in the oven a little longer than necessary since they are rather crispy on the outside. However, I have to say they are pretty moist and flakey on the inside (Thanks to Fleishmans Unsalted Margerine!!).
Overall, I think the scone experiment was a success. They are edible which is the most important thing. I’ll probably refine the recipe some more as time goes on and work on my oven timing and overall presentation (they do not look like the picture in the book!).
I’ll have to see what else I want to try out. I am not a baker but as of late have enjoyed the activity. I hate the clean-up, being that I am a terribly messy cook, but alas no pain no gain!
In general, I’d like to become a better cook in the kitchen. I always marvel at those folks who can “whip” something up that’s magically delicious. I haven’t gotten that natural cooking instinct. My inner Martha still has to make an appearance. However, I do want to be a good cook. I think there is something very sensual about the cooking process. My parents and sister are all excellent cooks. So, I think I have the gene in me somewhere.
Boy, all this talking about food is making me hungry. Is it time for lunch yet? ;)
Posted in 'Tis The Season, Foodies Beware, Everyday Livin' | no comments | no trackbacks
