Owen 5 month update

Holy cow - how is this little man 5 months old already? Some days it feels like it came out of nowhere then others I feel like he's been here forever. Life is not the same as it was before him - its new and so special with him as an addition. We all just love our Owen and his awesome spirit.

So rolling is simple and easy to do these days - every direction and all over the floor. Consequently he does the same in the crib. ALL OVER the place lol. But thats ok - he has fun with it. However this means he is not very safe in my bed anymore. He can squirm to the end of the bed SO quickly.

Owen has decided to get mad at me every time he sees anyone eating real food. He launches his body to plates of food and gets his hands in and on EVERYTHING he can reach. Not cool dude. But only a few more weeks and we will be starting solids.

He is sitting really well but has no real interest in it, he always goes to his belly within a minute or two. He manages to scoot backwards but hasn't figured out crawling just yet. He pushes up on his arms really well and tries to pull his legs under but if I try to place him on all 4's he gets mad and instantly flails outward. On his tummy he looks like he is swimming. Its adorable.

He still refuses all pacifiers but still loves his two fingers - everyone likes to comment on them. Most people ask if he's teething when no its just that he likes to suck his fingers. Its adorable as could be but I do not look forward to breaking the habit down the road. On a good note though he has taken 3 bottles in the last 2ish weeks. I gave the first one and he played for 20 minutes then finally took it. The next day we had a date night while he stayed with grandma - played a bit again but still took it. Then yesterday I gave another (because I would have to toss it soon otherwise) and he didn't even play but just drank it. The two I gave him he fell asleep to as well.

Because he's taken a few I have pumped a few times. I try to not over pump but I have been leaking lately so yesterday after he took the bottle I pumped. It seems to be mostly my right side that leaks, but they have both been known to embarrass me. Maybe I need some new breast pads.

Sleeping wise Owen is doing pretty good - he naps 2-3 times a day. 1/2 the time or so he lays in there awake and falls asleep on his own. At night he wakes once in the early morning and comes in my bed to nurse and sleep a little more. I think its usually between 4-6am that he wakes but I am usually really tired so I couldn't say for sure.

Lately Owen doesn't seem to be as talkative - not sure why but he just isn't talking too much. He drools insane amounts but still no teeth. He loves Leiland - man those two are so sweet together and Owen just adores his brother so much already (I know thats pretty common with siblings lol). He is the happiest baby I know - so easy to coax a smile. He will grab your face and try to eat you if you get close enough. LOVES to play with hair and will sit on your lap and just watch whats happening around him.

Right now Owen nurses every 3-4 hours. Usually right at 3 hours. He nurses just one side every feeding and for about 6-12 minutes. Sometimes he falls asleep and will go about 20 minutes but not always. He uses his top arm to cover his eyes up and never looks at me. If anyone is talking (especially Leiland) he can't stand to nurse and will just try to roll over and flip upside down in order to see what he is missing.

We've just started introducing a few baby signs. I use all done and milk through the days. I am reteaching Leiland as well so he can use them and understand what Owen is saying if Owen takes to them. Owen is also still on reflux meds. He can't miss more then a dose here and there or he is puking a significant amount more and it will take a few days to get back to his normal. I am taking him in tomorrow to weight him just to see if the dosing should be up any more because I always want to make sure he has the right dose. He is still on the zantac though. Leiland was moved off this much sooner than Owen - but I have always believed Owen's wasn't as bad as Leilands was.

Thats in for now. Now a few pictures. Sorry if they are out of order or not from month 4-5. Trying over here.

37 week update

Weight 195
BP 123/80 something if I remember right

My brain no longer works these days. Yesterday I had my NST and OB appt. NST looked good and OB went well. I was checked last Thursday and she said 1cm. Yesterday he said the outside is a fingertip/ 1cm dilated but inside its closed, and that I'm 50% effaced. Honestly I was hoping to be a little more dilated at this point. With Leiland I was 3cm by now. Also on Monday I noticed I could see my cervix from the vaginal opening - WEIRD. The only thing I could find online was that its the starting stages of a prolapsed uterus. When my dr checked he said no that my uterus and cervix are just really low from the baby. So thats good news.

I've been cleaning like crazy this week (Tim is out of town) and think I overdid it on Wednesday. I was having a lot of sharp pains low in my uterus and in my back. Then a few lingered to yesterday morning. Dr said they aren't contractions though. SO just need to not do AS much (yeah right). Tim gets home today and Im so excited. I hated him being gone so close to my due date. It was only a week and he was only 8 hours away, but still. He gets home tonight and we are both ready to have him back.

I've still been struggling with food now appealing to me. Wednesday we got pizza and I only ate one piece and struggled to eat that much. My favorite meal right now is seasoned chicken breasts and chicken rice. This rice but Chicken flavor not creamy chicken. I usually cook two breasts at a time and put half the rice and one chicken breast in the fridge for another day. I can't get enough of it. Nothing else is appealing and surprisingly I have a really hard time eating when nothing sounds good.

I still feel huge and well don't expect that to change anytime soon lol. I pee non stop. According to the dr the baby is low, and I think thats why. I seriously could go pee every 10 minutes. And I have to lift my belly and move around to make sure I get out the most possible at once while going to the potty. With that, WHY do you get the tiniest little cup to pee in at the dr? Seriously I can't see what I am doing down there, let alone see which direction pee is going (it likes to change direction mid pee). I have to catch it which usually includes getting SOME on me and yesterday included some getting on my pants (awesome). They really do need a better way to collect pregnant women's pee. Thats just a cruel joke. Geez its hard enough to write my name on the tiny cup.

I have been sleeping alight. Leiland is still waking up, but I've opened his door at night and when he wakes up crying I call to him to come in my room, and he does. He walks in and climbs in our bed happily. This helps me go back to sleep easier. But it also means I'm not getting up to pee at night, so I REALLY have to go when I wake up.

I've been watching closely and I still don't see any new stretch marks. I suppose thats good. I use lotion when I feel dry but its not every day or even every shower. Shaving is really hard, even shaving my thighs is tough. I struggle to put on socks as well. I either chance falling over or can't breath when I lift a foot up. When I sit at the kitchen table I have to keep my legs open now to make room for my belly to fall between or I can't breath and it hurts. My belly hits the steering wheel now when I drive, and I can't reach to put the GPS on without smashing my stomach. Definitely feeling huge these days lol. I think one of my favorites is Leiland will run to hug me and bounce off my belly. He thinks its funny, but it actually hurts a little.

So yes, 37 weeks. Only 3 more weeks till he is "due". I used to think this guy would come earlier but lack of dilation is making me think he is in no hurry to get here. Next week Tim's mom gets here, and at that point I am ready for baby to come. Everyone keeps telling me to relax but I really want this house clean so I can feel ready for him when he does come. I still also want to cook and freeze some meals before he comes. Also do some sewing. So much to do still. Some days I am NOT READY for him to come, but others I just feel like I want him. NOW! So unsure lol.

Yesterday I installed his car seat - thats was a big deal. A little bummed it doesn't fit beside Leilands seat though. So he is on the opposite side of the car as me. I may switch the boys and have baby behind me, but we will see, not sure yet. Now I just need to pack the hospital bag. Still need to make the hat for little man coming home. Better get moving lol.

12 week update

12 weeks is finally here. 2 more weeks till the second trimester I think. At this point I haven't gained any weight (what I did gain is now gone). I am noticing some belly changes though. I haven't finished all my laundry from camping, so my shorts are still dirty, so this week I have been wearing maternity pants. I plan to try on all my maternity clothes tomorrow to see where I stand. I think I need a couple shirts but should be good on bottoms.

Not a whole lot going on right now.  Time to get the house in order now that Leiland feels better. I hope I will start feeling a little boost here soon. Still getting a little tired, struggling to fall asleep, and still get nauseous. I can't wait to feel this baby moving. Every ultrasound is showing a very active little one, and I just can't wait to feel little baby bug.

Still not feelings if its a boy or a girl, but I am dying to know. I hate calling it an it, and at the scan today I kept calling it a he. I just want to know. Everyone keeps saying its a girl, but I just don't know, you know?

I've really been enjoying my delicious lemonade lately. Saltine crackers really help the nausea. Pizza can still make me nauseous at the sight. Meat is not appealing what so ever. And yesterday I had tomato soup - PERFECT. It was seriously the best meal I have had in awhile.

6dp5dt Pregnancy test "11 dpo"

Today test, darker than yesterday - this makes me hopeful.

Post Transfer - IVF #4

So yesterday everything went great. We arrived a little too early but it worked out because I got to pee before the procedure. I am always WAY too full. So I went to the bathroom and was able to refill my bladder before going it. And I still had to go terribly bad when finished. It also gave Tim and I some time to hang out and relax. I haven't been able to spend that many hours one on one with Tim is a VERY long time. We dropped Leiland off at 8:45 and when we picked him up he passed on right away in the car, and slept till 5pm. So I had the better part of the day with just the two of us.

Shortly after arriving the embryologist came in to tell us the 2 blasts they thawed survived the thaw but we both still compacted. She said they could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours to expand, but it wasn't a bad thing necessarily. So we had 2 - 1 Grade 1 and one Grade 2 to put in. We walked into the procedure room and checked to be sure my bladder was full enough. It was full enough to flatten my uterus. So we were good. The embryologist came in again to give a little more info. While in I asked her opinion on if it was better to do a 5dt with frozen over 3dt. Last time we thawed 4 3 day embryos and 2 didn't advance, the other two were not great quality. She explained that if they freeze on day 5 they tend to thaw better, and survive better. Because some froze on day 3 may not make it to day 5 if they were going to freeze them or transfer them, so the 5 days were stronger if they made it. This worried Tim. He took it as that means they are more likely to survive in me and more likely to produce twins. And that might be the case. I will welcome it with open arms if thats the case. We shall see.

Once home yesterday I did pretty good resting, and Tim was really helpful with Leiland. Today Tim is out of town. Its only 9:30 and I feel like I have already done too much. But I have a child - alive and breathing - I have to tend to him. I have a friend coming over for a few hours to help, so that should be good.

As far as how I feel, just cramping a light - medium amount. Nothing crazy, but praying for some sticky embryos.

Off to rest and relax a little more.

And the picture fromt he transfer

IVF #4 Update

I really suck at blogging lately. So anyway this is an update all in one fell swoop.

June 14 - period started

June 18 - saw RE and started estrogen patches every 3 days. 

June 26 - ultrasound shows a mass in uterus about 34mm

June 29 - MRI 

July 2 - dr office calls to schedule ultrasound for Wednesday. 

July 3 - ultrasound looks good

July 9 - transfer day - planning for 2 embryos

So today is the 8th. Tomorrow is the transfer. Life has been crazy. 

The mass was a huge issue. It was thought to be a fibroid or adenoma. The MRI showed its an adenoma. I don't know much about it other than there is nothing we can do to get rid of it. So we proceed on. Had it been a fibroid it would have needed surgery and 3 months recovery before beginning ivf again. So onward. 

Finding a sitter for tomorrow was tough. It really is terrible not having anyone I can rely on for things like this when I just can not take him with me. But I found someone it's just not someone he knows well. I think he will do ok though. 

So yes on to two more embryos going in. Praying they thaw ok and are good quality. They will be using 5day embryos from Leilands fresh cycle. We lost 4 in the last cycle (2 in thaw) so just praying things go better this time. 

Before the issue with having a mass I wasn't as worried it wouldn't work but more worried about another loss. Every cycle has taken just not always a healthy baby. So now with the mass I'm terrified of it not even taking. So I'm praying hard. 

I'm still very nervous about another possible issue with another loss but I'm trying not to discus too far ahead right now. 

First beta is scheduled for the 17th. 

Stick babies.


U/S from the mass found on 6/26