30

Today is the day we all leave the 20's behind, and are 30 weeks along!  Woo hoo! We had an appointment yesterday, and things were looking good.  Lady L is doing pretty well.  She is getting to the uncomfortable point in the pregnancy, and is having some trouble with her feet.  We wish that she didn't have to have any side effects of course, but she is handling everything well.  The doctor took a look at our girl, and she looks just beautiful.  We could see her face smiling at us, and even the lenses over her eyes moving around.  Aaron and I were both there, and there was a moment that Aaron was getting emotional:)  See, he's a big softie after all!  Lady L had her son with, so he got to check the baby out, too.
She is a big baby- measuring at 32 weeks, when yesterday she was not quite 30 weeks!  We thought it would be funny if she was born a few days late on 12-12-2012, but that's pretty much out of the question now:)  I will have to have my sub plans ready extra early, just in case. 
Here are a few of the facial pictures, along with us at the appointment:

Xoxo!

3rd Trimester

28 weeks, the most beautiful title I have ever heard. We have ventured into the 3rd trimester, which is so amazing and wonderful. Our baby girl is now at least 2.25 pounds, and 15 inches long. It is so much fun to read each week all of the changes that take place with her every week. Her eyes are now developed enough for her to intentionally blink, she can see, and if we had some high tech camera inside of Lady L's belly, we could even see her eye color, although that often changes before babies are 6 months old.

 
We are praying that this final stretch goes smoothly for sweet baby girl, and that she stays put until December. We are praying that Lady feels as comfortable as possible as her belly grows pretty quickly in these last 12 weeks. We are hoping that this time passes quickly, as both Aaron and I are getting anxious to finally meet our daughter.

 
We have a doctor appointment in about 2 weeks, just shy of 30 weeks. Lady L will have her glucose screening test at that time, and then the doctor will check on her and the baby later.

I have a couple of new Lady L belly pictures, enjoy!

Side view

View from the top:)

25 Weeks

We are now 25 weeks along in this amazing pregnancy.  We had an appointment two days ago, and our little girl is still very active, moving around and shaking her stuff all over the screen:)  They didn't do any measuring of her length, but hopefully next time they'll be able to tell us how she is measuring (there was a medical student performing the ultrasound, and she didn't do some of the checks that our doctor normally does.)  Anyway, I think she had a heart rate of 143, which our doctor said is perfect. She has lots of fluid to give her space to practice her acrobatics.  The next appointment is September 28th, and Lady L will have her glucose test then.  I'll be there cheering her on, and will bring some things to pass the time.

Lady L is doing well.  She has had some swelling in her ankles, and the heat/humidity hasn't helped that any.  But she has a great attitude, and is looking marvelous.  There is no question that she is pregnant, and she really looks amazing!  I'll post a few pictures.  She and her kids have such a great outlook on this journey, and we are so happy for that.

This week was my last week of summer.  I have been in my classroom a lot, but still have a long way to go.  Monday is our first official day of workshop week, and the kiddos start on September 4th.  I am of course a little sad to see summer go, but I am so incredibly anxious for December to get here, and I know we have to get through the fall in order for winter to arrive. 

We have most things ready for our daughter to arrive.  Her nursery is nearly complete, and a few of the bigger things that we have been waiting on getting we will wait until closer to her due date.  I have been sewing and making some fun things for her to have when she is ready.  I will be taking 12 weeks off of work to hang out with her at home, and we are hoping to find someone who will stay with her (one on one) until my summer break, which is about 3 months later.  Then, next fall, we will likely bring her to a child care center or an in home daycare. 

 

I told you she looks great:)

 

As always,  we appreciate sharing this very special experience with us.  We are truly blessed. Xoxo.

Birthdays

I can't let too much time pass without writing a post in honor of our sweet angels' birthday.  Yesterday was Savannah and Charlie's first birthday, and of course also the anniversary of the day they went to their final destination.  When I think about all of the people who have left before me, I am honored that both Savannah and Charlie are in such good company.  I think of both of my grandfathers, talking to the twins about farming, and agreeing with my Dad's wishes for more rain. (It's coming, Dad:)).  I imagine my Grandma K and my godmother-aunt Margaret smooching their little fingers and toes, playing house together before my granny has to go watch her "program."  I know Aaron's grandpa is teaching them about mechanics, airplanes, and how to fix things.  We have so many friends and family who left before us, who I know are having the best time with our children.  None more so than one of the greatest ladies I ever had the pleasure of knowing, Aaron's mother, Sue.  She exhibited kindness and compassion with every ounce of her being,  She had more patience than most, and could find the time to go the extra mile for everybody.  I know she is loving and taking the best care imaginable of Charlie and Savannah.

Yesterday wasn't all tears.  Savannah and Charlie were loved and treasured for every second of their existence, by many, many people.  We wanted to honor and celebrate as much as we mourned.  We had a busy, day, but just after dark, we had planned to go to the cemetery, and let go two floating lanterns.  Apparently, our kiddos do have a fantastic sense of humor.  At their site, we have two solar lights, one butterfly, and one dragonfly.  They are so beautiful, as is their stone.  It's been a very peaceful, tranquil place for us to visit.  The lights change colors, and they are so bright that we could see the lanterns perfectly to prepare them.  We lit them, let them fill up with heat, and when it was time to let them go, the one I started got stuck in a tree, and Aaron's floated gracefully into the night sky.  So we laughed a little, and watched until all of the embers in mine went out.  After a  good chat and a good cry, we left for home.  Aaron thought we should take the route in the direction that his lantern floated.  On the drive, we saw some fireworks.  When we got close to the farm letting them off, we pulled over, just as they were lighting off the grand finale,  A true gala for our twins.

In another interesting twist of fate, today is Lady L's birthday, which we also celebrated last night.  She turns 30 today, and we had a great time at her party at her folks' house.  In fact, it was very reminiscent of her birthday parties I remember attending when we were young kids.  Her children and their friends were having a great time, rounding up the night by searching for zombies with flashlights at dusk.  Happy birthday, Lady L.  We love you!

As our excitement for our daughter's arrival continues, we still mourn the loss of what might have been, but wasn't. Although I would change the course of fate if I could, there have been many, many blessings that we are so thankful for as a result of our loss. Many of our friendships have been strengthened, and some mere acquaintances have now become family. Aaron and I have witnessed true acts of friendship, and watched in admiration as people who we wouldn't have expected surround us with love and so much support. So many of you have reached out and shown us your compassion, your sorrow, and grace. Thank you.

Lady L and I at her birthday party

Lady L and her husband J, enjoying the night

The lantern Aaron let go, far away in the night sky

The Big Ultrasound

As you can imagine, my day began with so much excitement, and a bit of anxiety.  I have been very positive throughout this pregnancy, but at the 20 week ultrasound is where things went wrong with Charlie and Savannah last summer.  Besides being a little off kilter from a strange dream in which Aaron told me our cat had chlamydia, I woke up feeling good.  And it continued throughout the day.

After we arrived at the clinic, we went right back to start checking the baby out.  Right away, we saw our wiggly, active bebe showing off for the camera.

The ultrasound tech scanned everything, and found everything LOOKING GOOD!  That was exactly what I needed to hear.  The baby is in the 55th percentile for size, has a heartbeat in the 140ish range, and is just as beautiful as little girls can be.  That's right, it's a girl!  We are thrilled, and can't wait to meet her this winter.

Lady L's 20 week belly.  It's there!

Sorry for not posting earlier, we had some phone calls to make to family members first:)

Thanks so much for all of your prayers.  They are working!

Xoxo

Check Up

Today Lady L and I had a regular ob appointment.  We saw the cutest little baby wiggle around, open and close the mouth, and even waved to us.  The heartbeat measuered at 150 beats per minute, and our little bebe is just over 12 cm from crown to rump.  Here are a few pictures from our visit today:

Just us girls, her son the photog:)

Our sweet alien baby looking our way

Arms

High five everybody!

I don't really know what this is.  Any ideas? 

At 17 weeks (tomorrow) the baby has hair, eyebrows, and fingernails.

Lady L is feeling good, and looking great.  She has not felt any giant kicks or jabs yet, but feels the baby fluttering around.  We will be returning in 3 weeks to have the big anatomy ultrasound.  We are very excited to see more of our sweet babe.

Love,

Heidi

16 Weeks

I know I am 2 hours early in writing this, but I am so excited that we are almost 16 weeks along!  Lady L is doing well, looking marvelous, and is SHOWING!  I hadn't seen her in a couple of weeks, and was happy to see such a prominent "bump."  A few days ago, she sent me a text that one of the donors she was taking blood from asked her "So are you pregnant or just a little chubby?"  I was appalled, but she thought it was funny, and after seeing her, it's becoming more obvious by the second:)  She looks great, and is as energetic as ever.  Her husband, J, recently started a new job, and he seems to be enjoying it quite a bit.  However, he has no time off earned, so for the rest of the doctors appointments, it will be just us gals.  Of course Aaron will be at the big anatomy ultrasound, and I am a huge fan of girl time, anyway;)
Next Friday we will hopefully get another peek at our little sweet pea.  He or she should have developed taste buds at this point!  He or she is around 4.5 inches long, and weighs about 2.75 ounces.  There is still a lot of growing to do.  Here are a few pictures of the growth so far:

Side view

I don't know why this one is goofy, but her own kiddos wanted to make an appearance.

Profile view:)

As always, we thank you for your love, prayers, and support!

Xoxo.

Movement

I just read a message that Lady L sent me earlier today.  She felt the baby flutter today!  She won't be able to feel any big kicks or anything like that for a few more weeks, but flutters are wonderful!  Just a bubbly little reminder that somebody is growing in her belly:)

We are so excited about the baby flutters Lady L had today!

Woo Hoo!

We are very, very proud to announce that Lady L is 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant with our baby! Okay, I know you already knew this, but we got to see him or her today on the ultrasound, and there was no mistake, it really is a baby:) Until this point, if you tilted your head a certain way, tried to imagine longer limbs, etc., you could sort of visualize it, but now, we have proof! Lady L is doing an amazing job of taking care of herself, her family, and bebe. We are so lucky to have her in our lives and in this role. We thank God every day, and are loving this very non-traditonal route to become parents.

Our little alien baby waving at us (and all of you:))

Profile shot!  Pretty sure this little peanut has my overbite.

Top one is of his or her little hand by the face, and I think I accidentally scanned a double, the bottom two look the same.

Baby measured in size at exactly 12 weeks and 3 days.  He or she is 5.93cm, and has a heart rate of 158.  We saw a whole lot of moving and wiggling around in there today.  I asked Lady L if she had some red bull before the appointment, but she denied it;)  Life is good.

Xoxo,

Heidi

Celebrate

We know we are not out of the woods by any means, but we are very happy that Lady L is now 11 weeks and 2 days pregnant!  We will go back for another check up and ultrasound in one week from tomorrow, and hopefully at that point I will be able to talk to more people about what's going on in our lives:)  I still haven't told a lot of  co-workers, and even some friends that I don't talk with often. 
The best news is that at 10 weeks, Lady L was able to stop taking her estrogen (oral medication), and the progesterone (the giant intramuscular shot that she managed to endure for so long.)  That was so nice, because she no longer has to make plans around her "shot time." 
Today also happens to be the anniversary of the day I bumped into my Mr.-Perfect-For-Me. Aaron and I met 7 years ago, and neither one of us has any sign of that crazy 7 year itch people keep talking about:)

Our little monkey is now able to kick, stretch, and is nearly fully-human looking.  No more tail, and her (or his) bones are starting to harden.  Bebe is about the size of a fig, about 1.5 inches long:)  All of the fingers and toes are now developed, too.  Although we are never really quick to speculate, I am having girl vibes somehow.  We would be thrilled either way to have a full-term baby, so we won't be anything but excited when we find out gender.  Which is really only about 2 months away, and then I have a feeling I will be a shopping fool, lol.  This has been 5 years coming, so I may go the tiniest bit overboard I guess.
We are so grateful for Lady L, and how she and her family have come into our lives in such an unexpected way.  I will never take any of this for granted, and know that someone is watching over all of us.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is a very special day, as we honor all of the mothers in our lives.  It's a bit of a bittersweet day for me, as I had hoped to be celebrating in a very different way many years ago.  Anyway, it's a great day to honor my own mother, whose strength and wisdom in many areas inspires me each day.  I honor her mother, (my grandma) who helped her grow in to a lovely lady, and all of the mothers before them.  I honor my dad's mom, who is gone but not forgotten, and who I believe has a hand in how our journey with Lady L has transpired (she was also a grandma to her.)  I remember Aaron's delightful mom, who I imagine is taking good care of Savannah, Charlie, and the five other sweet angels we lost too early.  I honor all of the Mamas who don't take parenthood for granted, and love their children each day.

I read this poem, and cried, well, probably sobbed, as there are so many of us who sit in limbo waiting patiently for our turn.  Enjoy this glorious day, and celebrate for all of us.

Xoxo,
Heidi

A Mother's Day Wish From Heaven

By Jody Seilheimer

Dear Mr. Hallmark,

I am writing to you from heaven,
and though it must appear
A rather strange idea,
I see everything from here.
I just popped in to visit,
your stores to find a card
A card of love for my mother,
as this day for her is hard.

There must be some mistake I thought,
I saw every card you could imagine
Except I could not find a card,
from a child who lives in heaven.
She is still a mother too,
no matter where I reside
I had to leave, she understands,
but oh the tears she's cried.
I thought that if I wrote you,
that you would come to know
That though I live in heaven now,
I still love my mother so.
She talks with me, and dreams with me;
we still share laughter too,
Memories are our way of speaking now,
would you see what you could do?
My mother carries me in her heart,
her tears she hides from sight.
She writes poems to honor me,
sometimes far into the night
She plants flowers in my garden,
there my living memory dwells
She writes to other grieving parents,
trying to ease their pain as well.
So you see Mr. Hallmark,
though I no longer live on earth
I must find a way to remind her
of her wondrous worth.
She needs to be honored,
and remembered too
Just as the children of earth will do.
Thank you Mr. Hallmark,
I know you'll do your best
I have done all I can do;
to you I'll leave the rest.
Find a way to tell her,
how much she means to me
Until I can do it for myself,
when she joins me in eternity.

The News

Last week, Lady L and I went in for our second ultrasound, the first at the ob. department:)  The baby is doing well, and measured exactly where he or she should be.  The heart rate increased from 160 to 178, both which are considered to be good.  Baby measured 2.11 cm from crown to rump (I have always thought that is the most adorable term of all the ob terminology:)  We are now exactly 9 weeks and 3 days, and there are a lot of great things happening.  Baby is about the size of a grape, and now has all 4 chambers of it's heart. He or she even has little earlobes.

We will go back to check on things in 3 weeks, from today, when Lady L will be 12.5 weeks!  It's so hard to believe that in just 4 weeks after that, we will be headed in for the big anatomy ultrasound (and yes, we will find out gender.) 

Not much else to report.  We are praying hard every day and night that God watches over all of us- our friends and family, Lady L and her friends and family, and of course our sweet little grape.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Xoxo.

The above pic is above baby, head is on the right side, and little legs and arms are sticking out.

Ehh, same thing, but showing the crown to rump:)

Those little dashes in the middle of the stuff on the bottom are the baby's heartbeats!  178 last week.

8 Weeks

Well, I think I'll probably quit with the weekly updates now.  Since I had been in the habit of updating on Tuesdays, with the weekly updates, I'll stick to it today.  Last Saturday, Lady L was considered to be 8 weeks pregnant.  I guess we were off by a few days;)  Here is the 8 week info, so exciting!:

“Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.”

We will go back to the ob this Friday, and are hoping things continue to look good, with our sweet, strong, and healthy babe and Lady L.  I know the above picture is a little blurry, but the white spark in the middle is the heart.  He or she is still pretty tiny, only about the size of a kidney bean:)

One

We are thrilled to announce that we have ONE healthy baby growing in Lady L's uterus.  He or she has a strong heartbeat at 160, and measured just a few days ahead of his or her gestational age.  They have changed her due date to December 10th, making her 7 weeks and 6 days pregnant.  We already love this baby so much, and will patiently wait for December.

A Big Knot

I have a knot in my stomach the size of Texas right now.  No, actually make that Alaska.  I can't believe that in 24 hours, we will be in the waiting room at the appointment that will undoubtedly change our lives.  We are excited, nervous, and scared as hell.  We have no idea whether one or two babies implanted last month, and we have no idea how things are progressing. 

We have been in constant prayer, begging God more than we ever knew possible, and hoping that He is taking good care of Lady L and our baby (ies) 

Please, pray for us.

That's all.

7 Weeks

Today Lady L is 7 weeks pregnant with our sweet embabe.  We are so anxious and excited for Friday to get here so that we can see how our little pal is doing.  This will be the very first ultrasound, and we are SO ready for it to be here.  Last Friday, Lady L, her sister in law, and a few of my friends got together and chatted for a couple of hours.  It was so nice to just hang out for a little bit.  Please continue to pray for the health of our baby, and Lady L.  Friday is a really big day for us- only 3 days away ! 

Here is what BabyCenter has to say about 7 Week, it's so AMAZING!!!

“Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.
If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.”

I'll update again on Friday!
Xoxo,
Heidi

Tuesday

Today is a great day!  Not only is Lady L exactly 6 weeks pregnant, but her daughter turns 2!  I know they will have a super fun family celebration today. 
6 weeks is just an amazing time for the baby.  I am going to paste some info that a website for pregos called Babycenter.com.  They have the best pictures and info, I am so glad I bumped into this place!

"This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil."

It's just amazing how fast they grow, and how early everything develops. 
10 days until the big ultrasound.  We couldn't be more thrilled! 
I have been keeping busy by making crafts and trying to get things ready for the garage sale in June.  It's nice to have something to focus on and keep my mind occupied.
Lady L continues to inspire us with her strength.  She is still feeling well, although she's exhausted.
Thanks for keeping all of us in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers.  We all appreciate the words of encouragement you give us!

Xoxo

5 Weeks

Today Lady L is officially 5 weeks pregnant with our little embaby:)  It is only about the size of a sesame seed, but is growing very quickly.  Lady L says she is still feeling well, with no side effects yet, other than being exhausted.  We hope that she continues to feel good, and that she can either get some energy back, or find the time to rest as much as she needs to.

Nothing new to report, we still have 2 weeks and 3 days until our ultrasound- and it has already been a LONG wait, lol.  Patience, be with us:)

YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!

Today is a GREAT day! So, Tuesday Lady L had a beta of 263, a nice, strong number. To be considered a positive, viable pregnancy, those numbers need to at least double in 48 hours.

Today she went in, and: PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED! Beta number was 833! It more than tripled, and we are thrilled with that. In 3 weeks from tomorrow (April 27th), we will all go in for the first ultrasound, and admire the progress.

Thanks so much for your good wishes, prayers, and uplifting messages to carry us through this very nerve wracking time. Keep the prayers coming if you could, we have a long road ahead of us:) I think Lady L is considered to be 4 weeks and 2 days pregnant if I am not mistaken. I calculated due date to be 12-11-2012, but another one of her friends said 12-13-2012.

This journey we are on would be so impossible without the love, support, and prayers from each of you.  Aaron and I have always said that we did something right along the way, as we are truly blessed with the kindest, most amazing team of friends in the world.  And our family, we somehow "raised our hand" at the right moment, because you are the best.  Enough said. 

Xoxo,
Heidi

Officially Pregnant!

Lady L went to the clinic for her first official HCG beta at 7:30 this morning.  She called me at 10:30 with good news...  She is officially pregnant:)  Her beta number came back at 263, which is a good, strong number.  Now we will spend the next 48 hours in "extreme prayer mode."  Those numbers need to double in the next 48 hours.  On Thursday, I will update again. 

Lady L is very excited, feeling well (but exhausted, as she should be) and enjoying being "officially pregnant." 

Keep those prayers coming, friends- for healthy pregnancy and healthy baby(ies) in December.

XOXO
Thank you God!

Drum Roll

On Tuesday March 27th, Lady L was feeling anxious, broke down and took a home pregnancy test.  It was negative.  She didn't tell me this until later, but she was bummed about it, and decided that she wasn't going to take a test again.  The 4 of us had actually set a date for this morning (Saturday) to take one, so we could at least be prepared about how to emotionally go into next week.  We were hoping the week would fly by.  I was off task for the majority of the week, with a knot in my belly.  There a SO many questions and scenarios that played through my mind. I spent a lot of time praying, and a lot of time accomplishing nothing:) 

So, we were all set for today, Saturday, the big day.  Then on Thursday morning, Lady L text me asking if I was home.  For some reason, I got a huge knot in my belly, fearing that something bad had happened.  I told her I was at work, but could chat (I had no students for another hour or so.)  Then I got a text, with an attached picture...  it was of a pregnancy test with a very faint positive, and a message along the lines of "Congrats, the test shows I am going to have your baby."  WOOO HOOO!

I got a little emotional, talked to Aaron, then to Lady L, and then had to go about my day. I was actually shocked, as the transfer was only one week before!  I am still surprised that it showed up so soon.  Aaron brought some flowers over to her before work, and she sent the test with him.  So, of course she took another test after he took hers away from her, which was also positive.  The next day, she sent another picture with a darker line.

Today we still went over to her house, although we missed her husband.  It was nice to see her and her kiddos, and this time we made her pee on a digital test.  We brought the test, proudly displaying the word "pregnant" over to my parents' house to share the news. 

The 3 pictures above are of the tests in succession...  you can see they get a little darker with each one.  I don't have a good image of the digital, but my mom does, so I'll have to add that later on.

We are overjoyed beyond belief, but are anxious to have next week's blood test results back.  Lady L will go in on Tuesday and Thursday to compare HCG betas.  If things look good, there will be an ultrasound on or around April 27th to take the first look:)

We are off to a great start, but still need your prayers, as we have a long, and hopefully uncomplicated journey ahead of us.

We love you Lady L and family, you are amazing and have changed our lives forever with your kind hearts!

xoxo

Waiting

I received an email from a friend wondering when I am going to update the blog... I assume she is trying as hard as I am to be patient. 

There is really nothing to announce right now, other than we are impatiently waiting:)  Lady L hasn't taken a home pregnancy test, as it would be impossible to have a positive test this early on anyway.

Lady L will actually go in for blood work on Tuesday, April 3rd, and then on Thursday April 5th.  If her HCG levels have doubled, it's considered to be a positive test.  Lady L and I, and our husbands of course, are anxious to get our test results, and the official call from the clinic won't come until April 5th.  We would all like to fast forward until that date, but we will do our best to keep ourselves occupied until then:)

I would be happy to take ideas and suggestions to keep my mind on something else in the meantime!

xoxo

The Big Day!

What a beauty of a day so far:)

We left the house at about 6:10, and made it in plenty of time for the 6:30 check in time.  Lady L and J were there when we arrived.  We went up to the designated floor, and Lady L and J went in to begin.  We were invited in a few minutes later, and got changed into scrubs.  There was some down time while Lady L waited for the Valium to kick in (and it did:)).  We had a nice chat about the process, how thing have been going to far, and life in general.  No awkwardness or anything weird.  At about 8:00, they came to wheel lady L to the pre-op area, while her bladder filled even more.  At 8:00, we got to the procedure area, and met with our team.  The lab lady came in and informed us that both embryos in Tank A survived the thaw, so we still have two to use or donate in the future.  We were happy they both survived.  All 4 us of were able to watch the transfer, and the ultrasound was very clear.  We saw the precious cargo exit the catheter and land in the correct, designated area.  I got a little emotional, unexpectedly, but it was just so amazing to see.  And it's just so amazing that we are where we are now. 
Afterward, Lady L had to hang out on the bed for an hour, and after chatting about the experience, we came home.  We have been looking forward to this day for so long now, we are in awe that everything went so well. 
Next step, the official blood tests results from the clinic will be in on April 5th, not 6th as I had thought earlier.  We are hoping that these next 2 weeks fly by, and of course you know what we are praying for ultimately.

Thanks so much for you prayers, your love, your friendship, and your support.

xoxo

One Day

I had the hardest time trying to focus at work today, knowing that our embryos are currently in the thaw process, and that in one day, the transfer will be complete.  We are praying like crazy for so many things. 
First, we hope that this works on the first time.  The success rate for our age category, and amount of embryos transferring is around 50%.   We don't want Lady L to have to endure more medications, shots, and other rules that affect her life and family more than once.  Once is enough for anybody to go through what she has already done.
Of course we are already looking out a bit father than we probably should.  We are praying for a very healthy/easy pregnancy and delivery for Lady L. 
Lastly, we pray all the time for a healthy, chubby, baby to arrive in 9 months.  We have never wanted anything so much in our lives.  I wouldn't trade ten million dollars for another chance to be a parent. 

Please say some prayers for all of us involved in this.

Xoxo,
Heidi

New Meds:)

Yesterday was Lady L's last day of Lupron, which marks the last day of her belly shots.  Today, she was to start a new medication, one that I never had to do... Progesterone oil shots.  So every day now, she will have to take a shot right into the muscle at the top of her hiney.  The oil is thick, and comes out of a thick needle, which is 1.5 inches long.  Yee-ouch!  She will have to take this until a pregnancy test on April 6th, and if it's positive, she will continue until she is 12 weeks pregnant. 

Since the location of the shot makes it impossible for Lady L to do herself, her husband has to be the one to give them.  She was going to have one her coworkers (a nurse) do them for her, but there is a lot of prep that goes into the actual shot, so it's more convenient to do them at home.  She ices the area for 15 minutes, while she warms up the medication on her skin, and gets a heating pad ready for once it's done.  It would be tough to do all of that at work, right?  Her husband is not a huge fan of needles, but I got a text at 5 this morning, which said "first shot complete."!!!  She said they were both a little nervous, but they got it done.  They are both seriously our heroes!

Today is Tuesday, and the transfer is Thursday.  I can't even believe that it's the day after tomorrow. Lady L will find out tomorrow evening what our report time is, but I was under the impression that it is in the morning sometime.  I also think that they will begin to thaw the embryos today.  Lady L has invited Aaron and I (along with her husband, J,) to join her in the room for the transfer.  It really is cool to see, and I am glad that we will be able to witness it. 

I will keep you all posted, but we are SO close to where we dreamed that we would be one day.  Please continue to keep all of us in your prayers!

xoxo

The scoop

Today was another big day, as Lady L had an appointment to measure her uterine lining, as it needs to be thick enough for an embryo to implant.  If it wasn't thick enough, they would need to see her again Monday and remeasure.  Of course there was a chance that they would cancel if it wasn't thick enough, but we were hoping for the best.  And, it worked!  Her lining is thick enough now, and she does not need to go back Monday.
She does need to go back in ONE week, for the transfer!  One week from today, 7 days, 168 hours, however you want to call it, it's coming soon!  Aaron and I will be there to cheer her and our embabies on.  We are planning to implant 2, as the success rate is higher with two, and the chances of both latching on is only about 15%. 
We are still working through the contract phase. Lady L's attorney made a few revisions, and there are a few spelling mistakes that we have to point out, but I think we are all comfortable with the terms of everything.

Please keep us in your prayers, as we all need them more than ever.  For Aaron and myself, Lady L, Mr. Lady L, and our embabes. 

ONE WEEK until the embryo transfer!!!!

Fundraiser!

Aaron and I are still working on the details, but we are excited to share our idea with you.  We are going to have a garage and craft sale on June 14, 15, and 16th (Thursday, Friday and Saturday.) 

We are going to sell a lot of gently used items priced to sell, and we are going to sell some hand-made crafty items, which will be priced higher.  It will be nice, as people can buy something for a quarter, or can buy higher priced items, there will be something for every budget:)  Aaron has been cutting wood and I have been experimenting with different paints and colors on a few projects.  We also have a few friends who are making things to donate to our project.

Anyway, we are super excited for this.  We have been a bit overwhelmed with the high costs of the things that we have needed to pay for and the costs we will have before this journey is over.  We will be using half of the proceeds to pay for the medical and legal fees, and half will be put into a savings bond for Lady L's two children.

Wish us luck, and please feel free to stop on by and check out the merchandise.

xoxo

2 Weeks

Here we are, just two short weeks before the transfer!  I know that the real wait will be the two very long weeks following the transfer until a pregnancy test, but I am hoping to keep my mind occupied by staying busy with a few tasks (unlikely by the way.)  I talked to Lady L last night, and she is doing pretty well with her medications.  She had added an estrogen pill to her daily routine, which will soften her uterine lining making it ideal for an embryo to implant.  She has bruises from the Lupron, and says she is ready for the transfer day to be here.  I am sure she is so sick of the shots, but she is a trooper!

Our attorney has sent off a copy of the contract to Lady L's attorney, and she will be meeting with him Friday morning to go over the terms.  I think that is pretty much the last thing on our list that needs to be done before the transfer.

14 Days!!!!  Woo Hoo;)

What not to say:)

I saw this and thought it might be worth posting.  Although my story is a little different, I have only been lucky enough to hear one of these, but worded differently... and over and over:  "Any time you need a kid-fix, you can take mine."  Lol, It's not easy to offend me, and it rolls of my back really quickly, but I imagine that people have thought many of these other comments about us. 

I hope you are having a great weekend. xoxo

3 Weeks

The countdown is on!  In 3 weeks from today, if all goes well in the meantime, we will be finished with the embryo transfer!  We are hoping to continue to feel confident, relaxed, and positive about everything.

We are really hoping that in 5 weeks, we have some great news, like a positive pregnancy test:) 

Positive, or negative, we will share with you.  I feel so comforted by knowing "we are all in this together."  I know everybody says it takes a village to raise a child, but in our case it has taken a village to create a child, and we hope you will continue to walk through this journey with us, and eventually, this amazing village will raise some great children together.

xoxo

Contract!

Today I opened an email from our attorney, with a very special attachment:)  It was the first draft of our contract.  I haven't had a chance to look at all of it yet, but they spelled Lady L's name wrong, so I know it will take a little work anyway.  I am hoping that there is nothing major that needs revising, but I guess I will find out very soon.  Anyway, probably not overly exciting to most people, but for us, each step is progress, and that means we are one day closer to becoming parents.  Woo hoo!

First Day of Injections for Lady L

Today is the first day of injections for Lady L.  She is taking .5 cc's of Lupron once a day to shut her ovaries off for the month.   In a few days, it will be second nature to her, but injecting anything into yourself is very nerve wracking!  After she has the syringe ready, she cleans off her belly, and pushes a needle in, and then injects the medication.  She will be on this for the next 4 weeks, and her belly will be filled with purple and green (but mostly painless) bruises by then.

I am happy to say that I got a text this morning that her fist injection was complete.  She was a little nervous, but got it done!  That's my girl!!!!

This is one of many sacrifices that she is willing to make to help Aaron and I.  There are very special VIP rooms in Heaven for compassionate surrogates.

Way to go Lady L!

One month

Lady L just pointed out that our transfer is set for exactly one month from today!  We are hoping that turns out to be the magical day that changes our lives forever.  Of course, we will still have to wait 2 weeks after that to determine whether or not it worked, but one month, wowza!  I can't believe this is really happening.

Orientation

Today= HUGE success!  Today we went over most of the FDA regulations regarding our embryos and the results of all of our tests.  Lady L will have to have her blood work repeated again, as she needs to have the tests run within 30 days of the transfer.  Drum roll please... we have a transfer date!  IF all goes well, we will transfer on March 22, 2012!  We are thrilled, and know that we will have many prayers coming from us and all of those around us in the next 5 weeks. 
Things have gone as smoothly as possible so far, and we can only hope that things continue to move along nicely for the next ten months.

As always thanks for all of your love and support.
xoxo


The 4 of us at the clinic today


Lady L, our Reproductive Endocrinologist, and me today.

Tomorrow

Our computer took it's final breaths last weekend, and I will say it has been SOO freeing!  If I didn't need to finish our taxes, I would probably stay off of the computer for a while; I have accomplished so much more than I normally do without the distraction of the Internet.
Anyway, tomorrow is the big day for the four of us.  Lady L, her husband, myself, and Aaron will all be at the clinic at 9am for our 3 hour orientation.  We truly could not be more excited.  I will have to take some Tylenol pm tonight or I will toss and turn until the rooster crows!  We are hoping for some type of timeline or at least an idea of when things could be happening.  We haven't heard much from our attorney, other than a statement showing he opened a file on us.  We trust that he is hard at work getting our contract written so perfectly that it won't need any changes or revisions:)  Okay, maybe that's a bit much, but we trust that he's working hard on it anyway. 
Aaron and I have both been swamped at work, and Aaron has been getting some side jobs done as well.  We have been brainstorming some fundraising ideas to help us fund this project, and hopefully this summer will have a plan of action.

That's it for today, I will update tomorrow if I can get to a computer, otherwise within a few days.  Please keep us in your prayers; even though tomorrow there isn't anything medically happening, it's still a big day for us. 

We hope you had a very happy Valentine's Day, and enjoy the upcoming President's Day weekend.

Fantastic News

We are overly thrilled to announce that we are infectious and communicable disease-free!  I got a call from the woman in the lab, who told me that although she was not a physician, and couldn't technically go over the results of the tests with us, that there was "no reason to change our plans, and proceed ahead."  Or something like that;)  Anyway, since the mail already went out today, tomorrow we will be mailing in our retainer fee and contract with our attorney to begin this phase.
More good news- the lady in the lab said that she would schedule the March transfer from Reprotech (where our embryos are stored) for whenever we (meaning Lady L's baby-cooker) are ready for them, so we won't actually have to pay the transfer fee.  We are thrilled about that, because every penny counts;)
Only 2 weeks until the "orientation," and I don't anticipate much happening before then, so I probably won't have much to update until then.

Frazzled

On Monday, Aaron and I had our blood and urine tests.  I called this morning, inquiring about our results.  I guess the clinic doesn't have all of the results back yet, but they should have them "early next week."  Normally, I would be fine with this.  However, we have our retainer signed, a check written, and ready to be sent to our attorney.  We are nervous about sending off a large chunk of money, only to find that either Aaron or I has a blood disorder or something that would prevent us from continuing on this journey... 
On the other hand, if we wait, we could run into the obstacle of not having our contract finalized when Lady L's uterus is ready for the embryo transfer. 
I emailed our coordinator, asking if, based on the lab results that ARE back, there was any reason that we should put a hold on sending in our retainer.  I received an out of office reply.  Wouldn't you know, she isn't in the office today?  Just our luck, lol. 
I am not sure what the best thing to do would be, but we are going to hold off sending in the retainer, at least until tomorrow. 
In other news, I ran farther that I have in years (with no breaks) on Tuesday, and hope to do the same tonight.  I fell on the sidewalk on my way out the door to a conference on dealing with difficult children (much like I was, ha ha) yesterday, so I am not sure if I am a little sore from the run or the spill:)

Good Stuff

I was going to post some information earlier this morning, but I am glad that I waited.  This afternoon, Lady L and her cheer team won the state championship!  But, it gets better- she was named "State Coach of the Year!"  What a great way to spend a Saturday, right? 
Yesterday we finally got the answers we were looking for from our clinic regarding the FDA required testing.  On Monday, Aaron and I will go in and have some blood tests, and a urine test.  We hope to get our results for that within a few days, and the very second that we get our approval to proceed, we will send in our retainer to begin the contract phase. 
On February 17th, we have our final orientation with Lady L, her husband, Aaron, and myself.  After that appointment, we should have a tentative plan for the medical preparations and embryo transfer.  We are hoping for Lady L's good luck to continue, and rub off on us:)

Update

Lady L passed her tests with flying colors:)  We are beyond excited about this.  We are still waiting to learn what we need to have done as far as blood work for the FDA requirements, grrrrr (I was hoping that would have been done about 3 weeks ago.)  Then we have to set up an orientation session, which needs to include the 4 of us.  I guess they only do these sessions on Fridays, so it may take a few weeks to get all 4 of us coordinated.  We will also need to transfer our embryos back to Mayo, and finally, Lady L will begin her medical protocol to get her baby party started:)  I guess March is still a possibility, but I won't hold my breath on that, there is a lot to get done in the meantime.

WOOO HOOOO!  Congratulations on your beautiful uterus, Lady L:)

Today

Alright, any of you who are reading this, please keep all of us in your prayers today.  Lady L will go in for her final portion of the testing phase this afternoon.  She is hoping that she will be able to get her "reports appointment" done after the testing, but last we heard they were looking into it; not knowing if there were any available openings. 
Luckily, report cards are due tomorrow, so I have enough things to keep my mind occupied for most of the day today.  Fingers crossed, palms together:)

I'll update later either way.

Bump in the Road

It turns out that our embryos didn't miss the bus, they were not allowed on the bus!  I called Reprotech again today, and they told me that they had them ready to go, and then when they called Mayo to confirm the transfer, the lab wasn't ready for them yet.  Because we are now using a gestational carrier, we haven't had as much testing as we would have if we had originally only been planning to use a carrier, and not myself, during our first attempts with IVF.  The FDA requires us to have "donor" testing done, to make sure we can't infect Lady L with anything.  I guess that because of this, our embryos would have to be in quarantine, and Mayo doesn't have the space for that.  Anyway, we will end up paying the transfer fee, and hopefully have our blood tests done soon so that we can get cleared to get the embryos back here.  I called our program coordinator at the clinic, and hope to hear back from her today.
Otherwise, things are good.  We had pizza with Lady L and her family yesterday, and we are very excited that in just 3 days, we will be done with the mock transfer and uterus ultrasound.  We are praying with everything we have that it goes well.  This will be a big day, and we have a lot riding on the tests Thursday.

Ying and Yang

The good news, in ONE WEEK from today, Lady L will have her mock transfer and ultrasound!  Woo hoo:) 
The bad news, for some strange reason, our embryos "missed the bus" and nobody that I talked to could explain why.  Tomorrow the manager is supposedly calling me, and hopefully it will be rectified right away.  Luckily I called to check on them.  It will all work out, but annoying that I have to even worry about it.  I still have my fingers crossed for March or April.

Competition

Yesterday, I went with Lady L and her cheerleading team to a competition.  She coaches a middle school team (grades 4-8) and they are phenomenal!  Watching Lady L in her coaching role was a lot of fun.  She is able to manage 34 cheerleaders, and has earned the respect of them all.  They nominated her for "coach of the year," an award that 6 other cheer coaches throughout the state are in the running for, and the winner will be announced in 2 weeks.  Her team won the championship in their category, which was fun to see.  Her season will be done in less than a month- around the same time we will hopefully be talking about a transfer date!  How coincidental that she will have a lot less on her plate around the same time that we will be hoping to add more to her plate, lol.  Anyway, I am glad that we are not trying to do a transfer in November, December, or January, because she is so busy during those months, I would feel bad to add so much more stress to her life!  So, I still have in my mind that a late spring transfer is possible, but that will all depend how Lady L's ultrasound and mock transfer go.  She is thinking that will be in the next few weeks.  Cheers to Lady L!

Notarized

Over the weekend, we got the information we need to fill out from Reprotech- the storage unit in St. Paul where our 4 frozen embryos have been hanging out since 2011 (or little city-kids:)) We had to have some document notarized, so I called Lady L to see if we could get our schedules together, as Aaron, myself, and her all needed to be present for the "signing." As usual, she had a hook-up! Her aunt is a notary at a bank in a neighboring town, so we met her and her 2 kiddos there, and got it done yesterday, so we had the documents in the mail today!  The good news about this is that we will save about $215.00 in transfer fees, as the Mayo Clinic has a quarterly scheduled transfer scheduled for January 17th, coincidence? Anyway, that part is done. We have chosen an attorney, who will be representing Aaron and I on our journey. He has a couple of recommendations for Lady L and her family, so hopefully he will send us their contact information and we can get in touch with them soon.

This is getting more real by the second.  Still a possibility to have a late spring transfer.  Fingers are crossed, and prayers are said daily.

Getting There

Well, yesterday, Lady L got her initial report from her communicable disease blood work- one thing in particular they needed to test for was pregnancy.  She passed- wouldn't that put an interesting spin on things...:)  Anyway, since she is not pregnant, last night she began taking a medication to get her cycle moving in the right direction for (uterus) testing and a "mock embryo transfer"-a practice transfer where they measure the uterus, and find the best place to place an embryo.
So, slowly but surely, we are moving along.  As long as the wait seemed to get to the initial appointment, it was nice to have a couple of months to think about things, research, and just plan in general for the "what ifs."  We still have a long road ahead of us, but we are so excited about this. 
Keep your fingers crossed- so far, so good:)

Step One

Today was a HUGE day for all of us.  We met the the reproductive endocrinology team at Mayo, who we love, and are feeling much better about our plans.  We started the day with Lady L and her husband discussing their plans with the doctors, then Aaron and I were called back to discuss the plan.  It sounds like things may be happening in the next 8 weeks or so! That's even faster than I imagined.  Lady L and her husband had 2 (by accident) blood draws for communicable diseases, which Aaron and I will have to have in about a month.  We had a nice lunch together, and then had our psych evaluation in the afternoon.  It was fun, we joked around a lot, and shared our journey with our psychologist.  As far as we know, we all passed:) 
Lady L was given a prescription to get herself ready for a final ultrasound-test, which should be in the next 3 weeks.  If all goes well with that, I think we will all go back in for an orientation, and then begin getting Lady L to receive our precious cargo into her uterus:)    The doctors are recommending that we transfer 2, as not all embryos will survive a thaw.  We are comfortable with that if Lady L and her husband are both on board.  I called the "storage unit" where our frozen embabies are, and they are sending the paperwork that Aaron and I need to fill out for them to send them back to Rochester. 
I called one of the attorneys that we liked, and asked if he would represent all four of us, and got a big fat "no" back.  I am more stressed out with the financial aspect than anything else right now.  We stopped at the business office at Mayo, and feel like we are making good progress with the process.  Next step, Lady L's ultrasound, and I think that will be the final "test" for the process:) 
We will keep our fingers crossed in a boy scout knot that things go well.  As always, thanks for your prayers and well wishes on this amazing trip!

2011

2011 will forever taste bittersweet to Aaron and I.  We accomplished so much, were blessed with so much, and lost so much all in such a short time.  We are happy to move past 2011, and hope for a better fate in 2012, but are saddened to walk further and further away for the time that we did have with our sweet children, Savannah and Charlie. 
With 2012 comes new hopes, dreams, wishes, and goals.  We are looking forward to another journey, and are so incredibly thankful for our wonderful friends and family who have treated us so amazingly well through this last year.  We have been blessed so richly in that department.  We have chosen our friends wisely, but my family, well, that was just pure luck to have been born into such a loving, generous, and kind place.
We have been interviewing attorneys, for both Aaron and I, and for Lady L and her family.  We have been looking into taking a life insurance policy out on Lady L, but I guess we aren't actually able to do that until after she becomes pregnant.  Of course we are doing the best we can to set aside some money, as this is going to be another HUGE investment for us, but we know all will be worth it one sweet day.  In just over a week, the 4 of us will go to the Mayo Clinic for our "Surrogacy Consultation" in the morning, followed by some blood tests for communicable diseases, and we should end our day with our psych evaluations.  Please keep us in your prayers that all goes well with this.  It seems a bit silly to type this, as I am still not ready to share this blog with anybody yet.  Maybe somehow you will get the vibe that we need a few extra prayers, and will toss a few our way, lol.  I was hoping that by now I would feel ready to share this, but I guess I have become a little guarded about this.  I hope that it passes soon, so that you can all join in our excitement.
xoxo

Cautioiusly Optimistic

Last night, Lady L and I met with a woman who had been a gestational carrier for her friend, and had a wonderful time.  The carrier shared her story (which was a great story by the way) with us, and talked about how the process moved along for them.  Aaron and I are getting more and more excited about this by the second, and Aaron's engineer mind has been generating a plethora of ideas about this.  Of course, we are proceeding with caution, and are terrified of being devastated again, but are very cautiously optimistic:)  Bring it, 2012!