Friday, February 24, 2012
It's A Girl!
All along Matt and I thought the baby was a boy...no rhyme or reason, just thought that is what we would have. Then when we went to the ultrasound this week and the tech finally got the baby in a position to show us the "goods" she told us we had a girl. We both were stunned, although that morning Matt told me he thought it might be a girl after all...I guess he is more tuned in than I am. :) We didn't care what we were having, but a healthy girl in the making makes us very happy! Now for the cute bows, dresses, bracelets, dolls, etc!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
IVF
For those of you interested, this is how our little bambino started out...
In September we started preparing for IVF. The trip to the pharmacy to pick up my injections was amusing. The girl at the checkout was ringing up the meds and each time she would double check the price and kept asking me if we used our insurance. I assured her that all was correct, but if she wanted to throw in a discount I would be alright with it:)
After blood tests, signing away our life, and a blank slate we were all ready to start. The funny thing about IVF is that you begin by taking birth control so they can make you ovulate when it is convenient for the doctor...talk about unnatural and also an oxymoron...aren't we trying to get a baby? Anyways, in October we were set and I started my daily injections. I started with 2 shots a day given in the stomach or thighs. Since Matt has crazy work hours it was up to me to be able to get the hang of giving them myself. I was really nervous the first couple of days, but after that it was second nature. The most I had to do was 3 in one day so I was lucky, but I can really say that I don't miss those months!
After 2 weeks of the regular shots, which were given to make my ovaries big and the eggs more plentiful, we were ready to do the egg retrieval. They give you a light sedative to put you to sleep and the doctor takes all of the eggs that I have available. We were able to get 11 eggs, 7 which were considered grade "a" eggs, which the lab then inserted the sperm into through a process called ICSI and let them go to work overnight. The next day they let us know that of the 7, 5 of them fertilized. Another couple of days let the embryos mature and continue to grow in their cozy dish in the lab.
Then, it was time to transfer the embryos back to me to see what would happen. I was so nervous this day and knew that it would soon be all up to me and what my body would do with the them. Thank goodness I got to take some nice drugs to relax my body and allow nature to take its course. For this round we went into a room with an ultrasound, nurses, the lab techs, and Matt was able to be there with me as the doctor did the transfer. Just before we got started the doctor told us that she wanted to put in 3 embryos instead of just 2 like we thought. I trust her since she has some great success rates (higher than the national average!). So, after she inserted the embryos I was on 3 days of bed rest to give them a chance to implant/attach. We wouldn't know for 2 weeks if we had success.
In the mean time I started my worst injection that I would give in my hips for the next 8 weeks as long as I was pregnant. (Imagine giving yourself a shot of molasses in your rear...and a month later I still feel pain in my hips.) It started out rough, but again, I was on my own and had to suck it up. Life started to revolve around that shot since you have to do it at the same time each night for optimal results. I gave that shot to myself in the car, the restroom of wherever we were at the time, but best of all at home! Those two weeks waiting for the results were a killer, and I was very nervous as I waited for test results the first day. The nurse called with my HcG level on Day 1 of 26. I went in every other day to check it until I got to 1000. As long as the number doubled every 2 days they considered that success. Well, we more than doubled every two days and were on the right track. The most difficult part in that 2 weeks of going in every two days for blood work was waiting for the call to tell me what my number was. I was super nervous each time and nobody really ever said, "You are pregnant!" which is what I was itching to hear! Finally, after my 6 week ultrasound I got my Congrats! Then, 2 weeks later we had a growth ultrasound where the baby was getting bigger and things looked good. I continued to give myself the shot each day and went back for one more visit to the fertility specialist right before Christmas when she did an ultrasound and told me I had a keeper! This baby was growing and looked good! On December 23rd I gave my last shot, which brought my total just shy of 100 injections for the round of IVF. Matt asked if I wanted to make it to 100...no thanks!
This was more difficult than I ever thought it would be, not just physically, but emotionally too. However, I wouldn't trade it for the world! We were able to do IVF and have success! We are extremely blessed and have a wonderful family who has been there for us through the whole process and has prayed with us and encouraged us. It is all worth it and I will do it again if I have to. We laugh about how it took us and 8 other doctors, nurses, and lab techs to bring about this miracle. How romantic! (We have to laugh about it and keep a good positive attitude! I mean, how lucky are we to live at a time when we have all of these modern technologies to help us with this process!)
In September we started preparing for IVF. The trip to the pharmacy to pick up my injections was amusing. The girl at the checkout was ringing up the meds and each time she would double check the price and kept asking me if we used our insurance. I assured her that all was correct, but if she wanted to throw in a discount I would be alright with it:)
After blood tests, signing away our life, and a blank slate we were all ready to start. The funny thing about IVF is that you begin by taking birth control so they can make you ovulate when it is convenient for the doctor...talk about unnatural and also an oxymoron...aren't we trying to get a baby? Anyways, in October we were set and I started my daily injections. I started with 2 shots a day given in the stomach or thighs. Since Matt has crazy work hours it was up to me to be able to get the hang of giving them myself. I was really nervous the first couple of days, but after that it was second nature. The most I had to do was 3 in one day so I was lucky, but I can really say that I don't miss those months!
After 2 weeks of the regular shots, which were given to make my ovaries big and the eggs more plentiful, we were ready to do the egg retrieval. They give you a light sedative to put you to sleep and the doctor takes all of the eggs that I have available. We were able to get 11 eggs, 7 which were considered grade "a" eggs, which the lab then inserted the sperm into through a process called ICSI and let them go to work overnight. The next day they let us know that of the 7, 5 of them fertilized. Another couple of days let the embryos mature and continue to grow in their cozy dish in the lab.
Then, it was time to transfer the embryos back to me to see what would happen. I was so nervous this day and knew that it would soon be all up to me and what my body would do with the them. Thank goodness I got to take some nice drugs to relax my body and allow nature to take its course. For this round we went into a room with an ultrasound, nurses, the lab techs, and Matt was able to be there with me as the doctor did the transfer. Just before we got started the doctor told us that she wanted to put in 3 embryos instead of just 2 like we thought. I trust her since she has some great success rates (higher than the national average!). So, after she inserted the embryos I was on 3 days of bed rest to give them a chance to implant/attach. We wouldn't know for 2 weeks if we had success.
In the mean time I started my worst injection that I would give in my hips for the next 8 weeks as long as I was pregnant. (Imagine giving yourself a shot of molasses in your rear...and a month later I still feel pain in my hips.) It started out rough, but again, I was on my own and had to suck it up. Life started to revolve around that shot since you have to do it at the same time each night for optimal results. I gave that shot to myself in the car, the restroom of wherever we were at the time, but best of all at home! Those two weeks waiting for the results were a killer, and I was very nervous as I waited for test results the first day. The nurse called with my HcG level on Day 1 of 26. I went in every other day to check it until I got to 1000. As long as the number doubled every 2 days they considered that success. Well, we more than doubled every two days and were on the right track. The most difficult part in that 2 weeks of going in every two days for blood work was waiting for the call to tell me what my number was. I was super nervous each time and nobody really ever said, "You are pregnant!" which is what I was itching to hear! Finally, after my 6 week ultrasound I got my Congrats! Then, 2 weeks later we had a growth ultrasound where the baby was getting bigger and things looked good. I continued to give myself the shot each day and went back for one more visit to the fertility specialist right before Christmas when she did an ultrasound and told me I had a keeper! This baby was growing and looked good! On December 23rd I gave my last shot, which brought my total just shy of 100 injections for the round of IVF. Matt asked if I wanted to make it to 100...no thanks!
This was more difficult than I ever thought it would be, not just physically, but emotionally too. However, I wouldn't trade it for the world! We were able to do IVF and have success! We are extremely blessed and have a wonderful family who has been there for us through the whole process and has prayed with us and encouraged us. It is all worth it and I will do it again if I have to. We laugh about how it took us and 8 other doctors, nurses, and lab techs to bring about this miracle. How romantic! (We have to laugh about it and keep a good positive attitude! I mean, how lucky are we to live at a time when we have all of these modern technologies to help us with this process!)
Oh Baby!
Oh Baby! We are having a baby! Matt and I are so very blessed to be expecting our first baby after years of trying. Our little one will be making his or her grand entrance into the world in July.
We have been very fortunate to have quite a few ultrasounds since we did IVF and they keep a close watch on you throughout the process. Each time we get to see the baby and hear the heartbeat it makes me cry and I realize how fortunate we are to have a sweet little one growing inside of me.
At 10 weeks I graduated from my fertility doctor, and now I am like any other pregnant woman and get to go to the regular OB. (That is a huge step for moms that go through IVF). I just finished the first trimester and am thrilled to feel more energized and more like myself again.
We are very excited for this little one and yes, we will be in Georgia by then, but just barely...should be fun!
We have been very fortunate to have quite a few ultrasounds since we did IVF and they keep a close watch on you throughout the process. Each time we get to see the baby and hear the heartbeat it makes me cry and I realize how fortunate we are to have a sweet little one growing inside of me.
At 10 weeks I graduated from my fertility doctor, and now I am like any other pregnant woman and get to go to the regular OB. (That is a huge step for moms that go through IVF). I just finished the first trimester and am thrilled to feel more energized and more like myself again.
We are very excited for this little one and yes, we will be in Georgia by then, but just barely...should be fun!
Friday, December 2, 2011
A new adventure
Can I just say how much I love Michigan and the changing seasons? I have really enjoyed living here...(except by the time it is February and bitter cold.) But I had a moment of sadness when Matt found out that he matched into a fellowship in Georgia! This means that next year at the end of June we will be making the move to Augusta. It is about 2 hours from just about anywhere we could want to visit in the south and I am looking forward to a change and new experiences. So, for all of you just itching to experience the south, we would love to have you come see us.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Matt with hair!
If any of you have seen Matt recently, he is a new man! Since he is done with taking call and the weather is cooling off, he is taking a new step and growing out his hair. Many people have commented on it and some have not recognized him. What do you think?
Utah September 2011
We went to Utah to visit family and spend some time in the mountains. This is our nephew River. It was my first time meeting him and he just stole my heart. He is such a sweet boy!
Matt has been dreaming of the rocks and mountains so of course we had to spend some time hiking.
Oktoberfest up the canyon. Loved the band!
Doing the chicken dance.
One of our hikes. Matt's mom lives at the base of the Cottonwood Canyons so she is close to lots of pretty mountains.
Out to dinner with friends, Tim and Jaime. We had so much fun with them and enjoyed a very delicious meal in downtown Salt Lake.
Outside the Salt Lake City temple.
Since Nic and Ginger both live in Utah, we all got together our last day there to hang out. We thought it would be fun to go to Park City and ride the Alpine Slide. All of us got to ride with the kids and little Audrey hung out at the bottom with Matt's mom.
Cooper and Nic won in a close race against Lily and Emily.
Matt and River just barely passed Angela.
Eliza and Amber smoked Melania and Ginger!
This is our newest niece that we got to meet for the first time...Audrey. She is so adorable!
We got to keep the good times rolling with everyone at dinner.
On our stroll around Silver Lake. (There was a school field trip there that made me remember how exhausting that it can be to have a day away from school...much harder than just being at the school for the day.)
Matt has been dreaming of the rocks and mountains so of course we had to spend some time hiking.
Oktoberfest up the canyon. Loved the band!
Doing the chicken dance.
One of our hikes. Matt's mom lives at the base of the Cottonwood Canyons so she is close to lots of pretty mountains.
Out to dinner with friends, Tim and Jaime. We had so much fun with them and enjoyed a very delicious meal in downtown Salt Lake.
Outside the Salt Lake City temple.
Since Nic and Ginger both live in Utah, we all got together our last day there to hang out. We thought it would be fun to go to Park City and ride the Alpine Slide. All of us got to ride with the kids and little Audrey hung out at the bottom with Matt's mom.
Cooper and Nic won in a close race against Lily and Emily.
Matt and River just barely passed Angela.
Eliza and Amber smoked Melania and Ginger!
This is our newest niece that we got to meet for the first time...Audrey. She is so adorable!
We got to keep the good times rolling with everyone at dinner.
On our stroll around Silver Lake. (There was a school field trip there that made me remember how exhausting that it can be to have a day away from school...much harder than just being at the school for the day.)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
1 year left...well at least for today
We are in the home stretch of residency...well, at least of being in Michigan. Matt started his last year of emergency medicine residency here in Detroit. He is now the senior resident and getting closer to the top of the medicine totem pole. When you are done with all of your training you are called an attending...that is the goal. Next year at this time Matt will be the attending, unless he decided to continue training and in that case he will be a fellow, which is most likely what will happen. SO, we COULD be done in a year, but more like another 1 to 2 years AFTER next year...one day it will all be over. (At least that is what I keep telling myself. :) The golden question is when will Matt be done? Wouldn't we all like to know? What is he going to be doing? He IS an Emergency Medicine Doc with an emphasis on something to be determined. Where are we going to live? Not sure, but somewhere back west.
We are truely enjoying Michigan and these are some of the reasons:
1. We love the weather...most of the year. I still feel like more than half of the year is cold, but when it starts to warm up I absolutely love it. We are more than acclamated to this weather too because now the 80's feel very HOT! This coming from the girl who was raised on the sun...I have gone soft.
2. The church in Detroit is completely different than we were raised around and there is such a purity and newness that is refreshing. I have such a love for the people in my ward that I can't explain. Plus, our ward building is SUPER cool and I still look up occasionally and just stare at the beauty of it.
3. This place is claustraphobic to me. It has taken me until now to figure out how I can tell where north is and know what direction I am going in. Michigan is so full of beautiful trees and no elevation whatsoever that when everything is in bloom and full you fill like you are living in a tunnel.
4. The Michigan left drives me crazy! For those of you who live in normal driving land, this means that most of the time you can't make a left hand turn at the light, but you have to go past your turn and then make a u-turn and go back to your turn to make a right hand turn. Does this make sense? Not really, and when we first got here we weren't sure how to handle this turn. Some of them have a stop sign, while others have a light so it was confusing as to what we should do...watching others and following right along was how we learned the ropes. Brother!
5. It is close to some fun and new places that we have never been and might have never been able to visit. Luckily, when we moved here we were able to go to some church sites, Niagara Falls, New York, and Canada. I would still like to take some time and go to Chicago for more than a day. Plus, our family has an excuse to come visit and see the sights.
6. The food is fabulous! We have found Lebanese food since living in Michigan and it is a favorite of ours. I have no other words to describe it except...YUMMY!
We are truely enjoying Michigan and these are some of the reasons:
1. We love the weather...most of the year. I still feel like more than half of the year is cold, but when it starts to warm up I absolutely love it. We are more than acclamated to this weather too because now the 80's feel very HOT! This coming from the girl who was raised on the sun...I have gone soft.
2. The church in Detroit is completely different than we were raised around and there is such a purity and newness that is refreshing. I have such a love for the people in my ward that I can't explain. Plus, our ward building is SUPER cool and I still look up occasionally and just stare at the beauty of it.
3. This place is claustraphobic to me. It has taken me until now to figure out how I can tell where north is and know what direction I am going in. Michigan is so full of beautiful trees and no elevation whatsoever that when everything is in bloom and full you fill like you are living in a tunnel.
4. The Michigan left drives me crazy! For those of you who live in normal driving land, this means that most of the time you can't make a left hand turn at the light, but you have to go past your turn and then make a u-turn and go back to your turn to make a right hand turn. Does this make sense? Not really, and when we first got here we weren't sure how to handle this turn. Some of them have a stop sign, while others have a light so it was confusing as to what we should do...watching others and following right along was how we learned the ropes. Brother!
5. It is close to some fun and new places that we have never been and might have never been able to visit. Luckily, when we moved here we were able to go to some church sites, Niagara Falls, New York, and Canada. I would still like to take some time and go to Chicago for more than a day. Plus, our family has an excuse to come visit and see the sights.
6. The food is fabulous! We have found Lebanese food since living in Michigan and it is a favorite of ours. I have no other words to describe it except...YUMMY!
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