13 Weeks :)

Miss Harper is getting bigger and bigger! She has been a good girl for momma and has really eased up on my morning sickness...with the exception of this weekend in Tucson...Ewww.  The kids complained that I kept them up at night because I threw up "too loudly"...so sorry lol. 

Baby Flash Villarreal...forever in our hearts

A little over a month ago we learned some devastating news.  I laid in the ultrasound room, surrounded by doctors, residents and assistants...and I knew something wasn't right...in fact, I could tell something was really wrong. Nobody was talking.  My doctor scanned, back and forth between baby a and baby b.  Only one heart beat.  We had lost baby b and I was flooded with feelings of guilt, sadness and emptiness.  How did I not know?  I felt like I let my baby down...like I should have done more but didn't...  My amazing doctors (have I mentioned how awesome my repro docs are?) Were so compassionate. They took this last picture for me of our twins together and walked me out the private exit with a hug and tears in their eyes.  Throughout the day my inbox was flooded with messages of support from my nurses,doctors and assistants.  I spent the day at home, with Cody. We cried...slept...cried a little more add attempted to make sense of our loss. 

We named him Flash.  He was ours for a short time but we will love him for an eternity.  Unfortunately, the sub chorionic bleed had grown and caused his placenta to detach enough to disrupt his supply of nutrients.  Luckily it has since stabilized and us not threatening Harper at all. 

We still see his little gummy bear body at every scan...and my heart aches a little every day missing my Flash.  We are grateful tho that Harper is healthy and we can't wait to meet our little love. 

My Harper Love

I'm in love.  Miss Harper already has momma and daddy totally in love...like whoa kinda love...can't describe it kinda love.  Yes...she's a "Miss".  Lil miss Harper was a good girl during our high def ultrasound and the docs are confident a are having a girl!! Squeal!!! She has the cutest little button nose, I could stare at her all day.  Austin wasn't sure about having another sister but but now he asks to feel her every chance he gets.  Be...still...my...heart...xoxo

Cravings and Such...

This pregnancy is starting to sink in and feel real...I've developed some wicked cravings!  Tonight I had a tuna sandwich for dinner...with a large orange juice from Sonic. The combination was amazing:)

The First Pregnancy Purchase

My belly band! Much needed, already. I am so excited to not have to button my pants at work tomorrow! Hahaha! Its hard to believe that I am already popping out...but then again...with twins its bound to happen sooner than later, and...I.love.it...

Grandma Amanda's Homemade Pickles

A.life.saver...They don't make me want to barf when I think about them (these foods are few and far between these days) and they actually settle my stomach...as much as ones stomach can be settled when two growing human beings have declared war on my body...Today was the first really bad day of morning all day sickness.  I couldn't get out of bed for church this morning and although I didn't actually barf today I really really wanted to.  I was pretty much (and still am) on the verge of running to the bathroom all day long.  This will pass.....

Too Soon?

This mama's belly has officially popped! Too soon? I don't know...I'm growing two humans so I'm thinking not...I am buying a belly band tomorrow:)

Oh man, I'm in love...

Can someone please tell me how I can be so in love with my twins already?!  They are only the size of lentil beans but I have found myself literally staring at the sonogram pic for hours on end.  It probably doesn't help that I've spent the last 36 hours on bed rest so it's not like I have much else to do.  There was a minor scare at work yesterday morning.  Bleeding and cramping and a little panicking (ok, lots) but all is well now.  My amazing team of repro docs and nurses have quadrupled my progesterone to give my little peanuts every chance possible. 

Such a blessing it was that Cody just so happened to be at work getting fillings done when the bleed started.  And...his dentist also went through multiple IVF attempts and suffered a miscarriage and a seriously preterm labor and loss of her beautiful twin boys.  She.gets.me.  I couldn't ask for a better friend and the tears are flowing as I think about her and all she has been through.  She instantly read the look on my face when I came to her operatory in a tearful panic.  She finished the filling as fast as she could and met me in the bathroom for a pep talk while Cody packed my things.  We rushed home under doctors orders and I immediately swallowed a bolus of progesterone.  The pharmacy then delivered more and I was ordered on strict bed rest till the bleeding and cramping stopped. 

Thank goodness, the bleeding slowed almost as quickly as it started and I am now completely free of bleeding and cramping.  It's quite possible that I pushed myself too hard, as it was my first day back on my feet at work since finding out I was pregnant.  My computer is way too heavy to push around from operatory to operatory and I am now going to return to my desk and the students and patients will just have to come to me to settle accounts :).  Bleeding and cramping during pregnancy is fairly common (although still reason for concern) so I am banking on the fact that I just did too much yesterday and need to learn to take it easy.  I am so thankful for a completely understanding boss who has been so accomodating and loving through our entire IVF journey.

I am now on progesterone lozenges (that are absolutely appaling and not only taste like complete ass, but look like gooey chunks of bologna...ewwwww) three times a day in addition to the progesterone suppository and estrogen tablets twice a day that I have been on since our transfer.  Please pray with us that our peanuts are ok.  We have a follow up scan Wednesday the 16th and should be seeing adorable little heartbeats by then!  It will be a long week, but we have faith that all is well!

Holy cows!

TWINS! Fraternal and due September 4! we are totally legit excited, to put it Meigan style! This is fer real! Time to double up on...everything!

OMG...There Are Others Like Me

I'm here on the couch, holding back barf.  Just finished head-in-toilet-bowl approved deep cleaning my the bathroom.  I have an irrational fear of puking that I'm sure I will recover from very shortly- just as I overcame my irrational fear of Progesterone In Oil shots in the ass.  I'm pretty sure my fear stems from my paranoia of having to vomit in a dirty toilet, more so than my fear of actually puking.  So, to appease my ocd tendencies, I spent the one hour today that I was feeling not too terribly lousy giving the bathroom a good once ten times over.  (I mean...if it makes puking less horrifying I'm all for it.)  Clorox and I went TO TOWN! 

Moving on...After my date with Clorox I found myself googling 4 weeks 3 days pregnant.  I really couldn't tell you why, but I came across this...

I almost couldn't believe it as I read the blog entry.  It.is.so.me.  Not everything, but most. 

The faint line?  Check.  I must have ran back and forth between the bedroom and the bathroom to take a second...fourth...tenth look at the test I took.  The line was faint, but there.  But, always, within ten minutes of taking the test and going back to bed I would doubt my very eyes and go look again...just to be sure.  The line was always still there :)  But I still couldn't help myself.  Two three packs of the line tests, two digitals, and 5 days later and I still couldn't believe it. 

"Plus I wanted to see his face. I wanted to do something other than jump on the bed and shove the stick in his face at 6:30am like with Bella."

I did that too.  Only it was 2am...And Cody is blind as a bat without his glasses so he couldn't see the faint line anyway.  Instead he looked at me and asked what and why I was shoving in his face.  Oops.  Fail lol.

Anyway, there is more to the story than that...I laughed as I read that she sounded so much like me.  At least I'm not the only one who obsesses about a faint line...Our faint line.  And here we are now...Pregnant.  Very Pregnant.  So thankful.

Thing One...Thing Two...And Maybe...Thing Three!

Whoa...Excuse me for a minute while I pinch myself...and barf.

Our official blood work was yesterday and I made myself a sick, nervous wreck all day long waiting for the phone call.  I guess 8 days worth of positive pee sticks aren't convincing enough for me!  Dr. Johnson finally called and gave me the good news!  We are officially pregnant...his words..."VERY pregnant.  Also his words:  "Given your numbers, there's definately two in there, possibly three."  He explained it like this:  When your first blood draw is taken, they want the level anywhere between 50-150 for a healthy singleton pregnancy.  Mine was 365.  Yikes. 

We are so very exited and thankful that we have been blessed with so much after wanting this for so long.  My second blood draw is tomorrow and that will give us a better idea of how many mu shus are along for the ride.  Next Wednesday is the first ultrasound where we will hear heart beats and get an official head count!  I can't contain my excitement...except when I am hovering over the toilet barfing.  Or sweating like a menopausal 50 year old woman all through the night.  Or sleeping for twelve hours.  Or falling asleep at 6pm. 

Just To Be Sure...

In case the faint positive want convincing enough...here's my idiot-proof pee stick!


We are roughly 4 weeks today :)  Today my little mu shu (or mu shu's...) is dividing into two-one will begin growing mu shu parts and the other will be mu shu's placenta!  Yay!

Kids...And the Silly Things They Say....

We had a "perfect", fool-proof plan.  We found the most adorable tiny knit stocking in Target and hung it on the mantle with the rest.  Surely the nosy, excited kiddos would pick up on the imposter within seconds of walking in the door this morning.  Not really...All they saw was the lack of presents under the tree.  We're mean like that I guess..It's fun watching them squirrel when they really think we didn't buy anything.  :)

Given the lack of attention to our strategically placed baby stocking, Cody told the kids they should ask me what the news is...In they come, shouting and running around like crazy heads.  As they ran farther from the fireplace..."Colder"....As they came back towards me...."warmer..."And then Trin stands in front of me, and what else can I say but HOT?  I mean...she was right...

And here's the rest of the story...

Trin: "You're pregnant!?!?!?!  I really hope it's a girl...I want a baby sister.  But, if it's a boy, that'd be okay too, we could dress him like a gangster!" 

The End

And Baby Makes Five...or six...or seven...

We did it! We finally figured out where babies come from!

The Story of Thing One and Thing Two...

**I am always super curious and google WAY too much, but I found this way interesting so decided to share.  We transferred two 5 Day embryos on Monday, so today, we are 3DPT.  Let's see how my mooshoo's are doing :)

What Happens After an Embryo Transfer?

Once you complete your embryo transfer, you will have approximately 1½ weeks to wait before a pregnancy can be detected. The following tables outline an approximate timeline for what happens during a successful pregnancy after a 3-day transfer (3dt) and a 5-day transfer (5dt).

3-Day Transfer

Days Past Transfer (DPT)	Embryo Development
One	The embryo continues to grow and develop, turning from a 6-8 cell embryo into a morula
Two	The cells of the morula continue to divide, developing into a blastocyst
Three	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
Four	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
Five	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
Six	Implantation continues
Seven	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop
Eight	Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream
Nine	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Ten	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Eleven	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy

 

5-Day Transfer

Days Past Transfer (DPT)	Embryo Development
One	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
Two	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
Three	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
Four	Implantation continues
Five	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop
Six	Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream
Seven	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Eight	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Nine	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy

© 2012 NYU Fertility Center | Address: 660 First Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10016 | Phone: (212) 263-8990 | Fax: (212) 263-7853

Thing One & Thing Two

Here's hoping, praying, and crossing everything that these two little embryos that I already love so much, stick!

Thankful For....

Best friends...




And that the handcuff keys were eventually found...lol...just sayin! ;)

We are Thankful for Homework!....Not..So..Much

Poor kiddos...We had a soccer party tonight but we had homework to come home to and homework is so not fun after a party! Here's our fun night!

Missing Our Boy

But...he comes home today with Hayden and we are so excited to soon have them back! We enjoyed or alone time but sure did miss the boys. See you soon!

These Faces Make My Heart :-)

Austin is off in Utah with his fave cousin Hayden and we are missing our little TrinMonster today as well.  At least we have this oober adorable oozing pic of her, lol.