Merry Christmas - 34wks

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas! We spent the morning with Grandma and Lori and had breakfast. Then we went to Lacy's house in the afternoon and had a ton of good food, especially Robin's lasagna. (YUM!) Miss Kinley is already spoiled because she got gifts and isn't even here yet. I think she will really like the peek-a-boo bear from Nana and Grandpa. We really didn't do a whole lot but man am I worn out today. I wonder if anyone would notice if I took a quick nap in my office?

I had my 34wk appointment today and not much has changed. I'm still measuring 2wks early, baby's heartbeat is great and I gained 2lbs. (Probably from yesterday, lol) Next appointment in 2wks and we start the exams! 39 days and counting.

Next Appointment: January 8, 2013



Baby It's Cold Outside

As much as I would love to hibernate until Spring I can't. I am almost done with my bi-weekly appointments which means starting Jan. 8th I go weekly. I hate the thought of trudging through snow to the doctor every week but love that Kinley's arrival is getting so close!

Today was my 32wk appointment; I lost 1/2lb, am measuring 2wk ahead (last doctor visit Kinley was 3.5lbs which was right on track) her heartbeat sounds great and she is head down. Dr. Weaver said that's not a concern now considering how much they move. However it could be a concern if she is head down at 36wks.

Next appointment: December 26th

Happy Week!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had decided that since Mark and Val would be gone for Thanksgiving we would surprise my Mom and make a trip to Oklahoma. We got everything set up with Danny's help by getting her off work during the days we were there. We arrived about 6pm on Thanksgiving day and when I came up to the porch steps of the house I could see Mom on the couch. When she looked up and saw it was me she screamed Oh My God and threw her hands in the air. Surprise mission accomplished! Luckily Kinley somewhat cooperated and Mom got to feel her kick just a little bit. We did a little black Friday shopping and went to a museum while we were there and had a lot of fun.

 

Happy Birthday Grammy!

sonogram from 11/27 of her smiling!

 

I had my 30wk appointment and ultrasound today which just happens to be my Mom's birthday. How nice of Kinley to give a smile for her Grammy today! She weighs 3.5lbs and the sonographer said she is average in weight and height. She also estimated that if I get to 40wks she should be right around 8lbs. I have three more appointments every 2wks (Dec. 11th and 26th and Jan. 8th) and then I start the weekly appointments. Man is time flying by!

Left picture is her foot, Right picture is her holding onto her foot



Hello Third Trimester

We hit the third trimester - 28wks!

We had our shower on Nov. 10th and it was great! We were surrounded by a ton of friends and family and had an amazing day. Thank you to everyone that helped set up and clean up and of course everyone that came. Erica and I had fun going through everything once we got home since we were really able to sit and look at everything. Looks like we are only missing a few things now and then we will be ready for Kinley!

 

I had my 28wk appointment today and had the joy of doing the glucose test. Dr. Weaver said things look good, but still measuring 2wks early. Like I said before I think that's because I'm not a "little" girl so I guess we will see for sure when we do our 30wk ultrasound and see how big she is. I'm so excited to see this baby on Dec. 1st at the 3D ultrasound!

 

Since I had the day off for the doctor's appointment I decided to organize all of Kinley's clothes and items in the closet. Here are some pics of the nursery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Halloween and A Name Change

Happy Halloween!

 

I loved this shirt from the moment I saw it and absolutely had to get it. No big plans for Halloween this year, just meeting Lacy & Bryan at the mall to see Jude and Wren in their costumes. Considering Kinley will only be around 9mo next Halloween we are actually going out to purchase her costume for next year. Costumes are really expensive and since she won't be able to tell us what she wants to be for a few years we are going to get it a year early and save some money.

 

Special Announcement - We have decided to change her name just a little. It will be Kinley Judith Ann Riddle. We have been tossing the idea around for awhile and finally made the decision. It was really important to me for everyone to know that she was named after my Aunt Judy because she was such a major person in my life so we thought this would be the best way to show that.

 

The countdown to my due date is in the double digits finally. Only 95 days from today and with all the holidays and birthdays coming up it's sure to go fast!

24wks

I had my 24wk appointment today and all is still going well. I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight which means I gained 3lbs. She said I'm measuring at 26wks, but I think that might have something to do with the fact that I'm not a "little" girl. I don't eat anymore than what I had before but I just need to convince Erica that we shouldn't eat out as much as we do. I have taken a couple pictures to see my progress and thought I would share those. (Top-17wks, Middle-20wks, Bottom-24wks)

 

 



I go back on November 13th for 28wk labs/gestational diabetes test and let me tell you I am not looking forward to drinking that nasty stuff! After that I start doing appointments every 2wks and on November 27th (Happy Early Birthday Mom!) I get another ultrasound. I really can't believe how fast it's going!

Since my last post I finally was able to feel the baby kick and she likes to go crazy after lunch, but only when I eat lunch in my office. After the movement became more frequent I realized that the first time I felt it was Sept. 12th at 11:32am while I was in class in Chicago. Erica finally got to feel her kick on Oct. 10th which is really exciting because I figured it would take a long time for her to feel it since I have an anterior placenta. Robin also go to feel it at Edyn's birthday. Now if Kinley will just cooperate and move more when other people are around they will get to feel it too.

We got everything hung on Kinley's walls this weekend and we did a little shopping. I ordered a glider/ottoman and rug that will be here this week, we bought a pair of white furry boots with a pink daisy on them, a penguin snow suit and a onesie that says "I Love My Uncle" because we know how excited Bryan is about becoming an uncle. I can't wait to get the chair and rug so the room will be put together.

It's a Girl (still)

I know the title of this post sounds a little weird but I have to admit I was nervous about today's appointment just because we would have a lot of stuff to take back and re-register if the first ultrasound was wrong. So, to confirm, It's A Girl! Kinley is 14oz and has a heartrate of 134bpm. I found out the reason I haven't felt her move yet is because I have an anterior placenta. So it seems it will still be a little while before I get to feel her moving around and even longer until Erica will get to feel it. Next appointment in 4wks on Oct. 16th. (Time just keeps ticking by!)

*Anterior Placenta - It means your baby is taking a backseat to the placenta. The term "anterior placenta" refers to the location of the placenta within your uterus. Most of the time, a fertilized egg will situate itself in the posterior uterus — the part closest to your spine, which is where the placenta eventually develops, too. Sometimes, though, the egg implants on the opposite side of the uterus, closest to your abdomen. When the placenta develops, it grows on the front (or anterior) side of your uterus, with the baby behind it. Does the location of your placenta make any difference? Not to your baby, who doesn't care which side of the uterus he or she is lying on, and it certainly makes no difference to him or her where the placenta lies. And what about to you — or your practitioner? You might be less able to feel your baby's early kicks and punches because the placenta will serve as a cushion between your baby and your tummy. For the same reason, your doctor or midwife may find it a bit harder to hear fetal heart sounds. These situations will resolve if the placenta moves into a more posterior position later on (as anterior placentas commonly do). But the good news here is that, despite those slight inconveniencies, an anterior placenta in and of itself poses no risk to your health.

It's A Girl!

Say hello to Kinley Ann!

We got the sonogram done at Little Wonders today at 10am and even though it killed me to wait until the Gender Reveal Party at 2pm I held out. While we were at the sonogram Erica said she swore she saw some boy parts but it looks like it must have been a finger or the umbilical cord because both the sonographer and the assistant saw the girl parts at the same time and agreed. (Even though we didn't know what they were agreeing on at the time.) We asked everyone to come dressed in pink or blue to represent boy or girl and we had a pretty good mix with 5 pink and 7 blue. (Not including kids and there were a couple that wore both) Erica and I both thought boy because the chinese calendar said boy and we thought it couldn't be coincidence that everytime I left Dr. Weaver's office I heard Moves Like Jagger. Boy were we wrong! I loved seeing everyone's reaction when opening the box of balloons and seeing all the pink come flooding out! We also got some really cute outfits from Uncle Lisa, Deb and Great Grandma Sandy (thank you thank you!) Naturally we had to go start a registry and we picked out a couple outfits from Kohl's and Babies R' Us since we had coupons and got both free! For those of you that don't know the reason we picked the names; we went with Kinley for Erica's Grandpa (his name was Kinsey) and Ann for my Aunt Judy who have both passed away. It's been a long, happy exciting and exhausting day and I couldn't be happier!

Thanks to Lisa and Deb the video above is of our reactions to the box opening!

Hello Second Trimester!

Now that I am in the second trimester I am looking forward to having a little more energy. For the past 13wks I have felt like all the energy was being sucked out of me daily. I could go to bed at 8pm and get up at 6:30am and still be tired, even with taking naps on the weekends. Another plus to the second trimester is getting to find out if we're having a girl or boy, which we will do in 2wks! I can't wait to register for the shower. I know it's a little early but we already have so much and I want to make sure I don't forget anything.
For those of you counting down (like me) only 12 more days until the gender reveal!

10wk 5days

Baby says hi!

Baby was sleepy this time so I couldn't get video of him spinning like he was last time. I'm still measuring 4 days early and everything looks great. Today was my last bi-weekly appointment so there will be fewer ultrasound pictures from now on. I made an appointment for August 18th at Little Wonders to do a 3D sonogram so we can find out the gender. Don't worry, I will share the good news with everyone that day, well if the baby cooperates. (fingers crossed)

Almost 9 Weeks!

I had another sonogram today and we found out that the baby is 1in. long, the heart rate is 175 and boy is this baby a mover!. I'm still measuring 4 days early and I've lost 4lbs. It was so funny because the sonographer said she always thinks that the babies look like gummy bears at this stage and they kinda do.

We Got to Hear the Heartbeat!

Today was my first sonogram and we got to hear the heartbeat! It was so exciting because I figured we would only get to see the flutter of the heart. She said I was measuring at 7wk 2day and by my due date (Feb. 3) I am only 6wk 5 day so it looks like my estimated due date of Jan. 30 is right on target. I can't wait to see the changes in the sonogram since I get to go every 2 weeks!

5 weeks today!

I am 5 weeks today! On Friday (6/1/12) I went to the doctor for a sonogram but they decided not to do one yet since I was only a couple days shy of 5wks. I did have blood work, an exam and found out that my HCG level went from 98 on 5/24 to 1,051 on 5/29. I go back on June 15th for a sonogram and will keep doing sonograms until I am off the progesterone which is at 12 weeks.
At 5 weeks Baby Riddle is the size of a sesame seed and looks like a little tadpole. No cravings or nausea yet (fingers crossed no morning sickness) but I do have some tenderness and, if you can imagine me going to the bathroom even more, an increase in urination.

Third Time Was A Charm!

We're pregnant!

5/25/12 5:18am - I knew I was going to take a pregnancy test today but didn't prepare. I woke up early and had to go to the bathroom so bad I couldn't stand it so I was doing the potty dance while I was trying to get the plastic off the box then get the test open. I finally got everything in order and within 1 minute it came back pregnant. (We used digital) I ran into the other room to tell Erica since she didn't know what was gong on because she was getting ready for work. She looked confused at first, but I think it was just because I scared her. So I handed her the test and her eyes got big and said you better text my Mom and Lacy. Then she said maybe you should take another test to be sure. I decided to wait to tell my Mom when I saw her in person which was only going to be 2 days later.

5/25/12 6:20am - Second positive test! I had to call Val since she didn't hear her text and she said her famous line of "shut up" then she said you better take a second one. Mark called a little bit later and said "I'm happy as hell"

5/26/12 4:30am - We arrived in Oklahoma to see my Mom. I brought her Mother's Day presents with me. One of them was a picture frame that said "When a baby is born so is a Grandmother" with a picture of a positive pregnancy test in it. She looked up at me with her eyes big and mouth wide open then she jumped up and hugged me. Once Grandma realized what was going on she asked if she was finally going to get a Great Grandson and gave me a hug.

5/26/12 8:50am - I called Aunt Lori and told her and she screamed "alright!"

So it seems that everyone is as excited as Erica and I about this baby!

On the medical end of everything I did bloodwork on Thursday for my progesterone and HCG levels. I am suppose to be at 20 but am only at 18.5 so on Tuesday I have to get more bloodwork done to make sure my levels are going up. I put my information in a due date calculator and it says January 30, 2013 should be the day and that I am 5wks.

Will the New Meds Do the Trick?

So I took the low dose clomid pill for 5 days and went to the doctor today for my ultrasound. I met with Christy the ultrasound tech then had to wait 45 minutes for Dr. Weaver to come in. The doctor said everything looked good so on over to CVS I trecked for the HCG and back to the doctor for the shot. While doing the insemination Dr. Weaver said that usually she recommends doing 2 inseminations per cycle; 1 on the day of the shot and another the day after. Since my follicle was so big she said she wouldn't worry about doing 2. So things look good and now it's just a waiting game. I am going to wait and take the next pregnancy test on 5/26/12 since we will be at my Mom's in Oklahoma that way I can tell her in person if it's good news. Fingers crossed!

Not Ovulating

So it looks like I am not ovulating enough. So the plan is on the 5th-9th day of my cycle I will be taking a pill then on the 12th day I go in for an ultrasound. If my eggs have enough follicles we will do the insemination the next day if I don't have enough follicles I will have to get a shot and then do the insemination the next day. So now I just have to wait for my cycle to start! I don't think I have every wanted my period to come so bad.

Back to the Drawing Board

We had an issue with Dr. Fulk that threw me over the edge. Since our 2nd try didn't work I started doing a daily ovulation test which would only give me 24hrs notice to do the insemination so I had asked the nurse how long they could hold the speciman in the office since I would have such short notice. She said they could hold it until I came in so I ordered it on day 5 of my cycle since that is when I started the ovulation test. I called about a week later to ask another question and the nurse told me that the speciman was bad and had only lasted 7 days. I was furious! She had already received 2 shipments so she should have known how long it would last. So there's $610 down the drain. Erica and I discussed things and decided that I should make an appointment with Dr. Weaver because she is listed as a fertility specialist. So today I had my first appointment and I really liked her. She said she has done hundreds of inseminations and that sometimes they have containers lined up in the office because they do so many. Plus, she already uses the cryobank that we chose so there is no paperwork for me to do. So at today's appointment she said my uterus looks great so she decided to test my progesterone levels. (insert a squirm because I hate needles) I should have the results from my blood work back by Tuesday. If the levels are good I will go in on day 12 or 13 of my cycle for an ultrasound to see if I have produced enough follicles and if I have it's insemination time. If the levels are low I will take a pill for 5 days starting on day 5 of my cycle and then on day 12 or 13 I get a shot and the next day I go in for insemination. She said the average fertile couple takes 6-12 tries before things work and to not get discouraged. I love that she has a plan and was so welcoming and nice about everything. Ahhhh < that's my sigh of relief. I think we are on a great path with Dr. Weaver!
PS - Erica should be excited it looks like May is a boy month.

I Hate Waiting

WARNING: This post may be TMI!
Things are looking good right now. I was suppose to start my cycle on the 14th but was two days late last month so I figured that I would bank on the 16th this month too. Well the 16th came and went with no period so I decided to take a test on the 17th. Unfortunately both tests came back negative. Here we are on the 19th and still no period. So I called Dr. Fulk's office this morning and talked to my favorite nurse Brittany and she said to take another test today. So on my way home tonight I will pick up another test and see how that goes. If it's positive I am suppose to call back tomorrow. If it's negative I am suppose to wait until the 23rd (Friday) and call them back to do a blood test if I still haven't started my cycle. Fingers crossed that "Aunt Flo" doesn't rear her ugly head.

2nd Time Around

I have set up my next appointment for March 2nd at 10:30am. I took the rest of the day off so I can go home and relax. Initially Dr. Fulk said that if things don't work out after the third try she would put me on a medicine to increase my hormones which will in turn increase my chances of getting pregnant. She had mentioned before that the chances of having multiples on the medicine is the same as if I wasn't on it so hopefully we won't have a problem there. As far as I know there is only one set of twins in my family and that is from my cousin Carmen (My Grandmother's, sister's daughter) so I don't think I have very high chances anyway. Let's start the 1 week countdown!

First Time was a Bust

Well the test came back negative so it looks like I am going back to the doctor. Not sure of the date yet but it looks like it should be Feb. 29th or March 1st. Hopefully the 2nd time is a charm!

1st Appointment (check)

I had a happy welcome when I walked into my doctor's office yesterday. Dr. Fulk and her assistant Leslie both jumped up and said they were excited to get things started. Everyone was so nice and really tried to make me comfortable which was great since I was a little nervous. They asked me what kind of music I wanted to listen to and Leslie was talking to me through the whole process to keep my mind off of things. The process itself wasn't a walk in the park but then again it wasn't horrible. Fingers crossed it works this time so I don't have to go through it again. Dr. Fulk said it would be best for me to wait and take a test on February 16th and Leslie said I need to call them that day so she can know if I'm pregnant before she goes on vacation. It's great that the staff is so happy and excited, it makes everything so much more exciting for me!

Thank you to everyone that was praying, thinking of us and hoping for us yesterday. It really means a lot to both of us!

1st Appointment is Almost Here

Only 4 days to go!

Due to the powers of the female body I had to push my appointment back a few days. I am really excited and a little nervous but luckily my appointment is late in the day which means I will get to go home and relax instead of going back to work. I read online that most doctors like to wait at least 15 days to do blood work after the IUI so I should be able to set an appointment with Dr. Fulk for the middle of February.

Since this weekend is possibly the last weekend I have to paint safely Erica and I are painting the nursery. We are using the John Lennon Musical Parade theme in the room and are doing green and yellow so it will be ready for a boy or girl. Wish me luck because Erica hates to paint.

Cooking for Fertility

Since I had the day off I googled some fertility boosting recipes and need to get cooking. I only have 2 weeks to boost my fertility so it looks like spinach, asparagus, nuts, whole wheat, whole grains and raw fruits will be my best friends. Some other fertility boosting things are limiting alcohol which I haven't had a drink since Jan. 1st, limiting caffeine which, for the most part, I have only been drinking tea, water and milk, limit stress which was a New Year's Resolution and I have been doing good at. Walking increases blood flow to your uterus so it looks like I will be on the move more often. I decided that I will walk all the halls at work in the morning, take 15 minutes in the afternoon to meditate/relax/de-stress and then before we leave work Erica and I will walk the halls again. I may also need to borrow Val's treadmill since it is too frosty to be outside.

We are getting very excited for the 27th!

Getting Ready

Erica and I decided that it's finally a good time to have a baby! We have everything underway at the doctor's office as well as the lab we are using. We just have to wait for the appropriate paperwork to get processed. We decided on the donor we will be using over this past weekend. He has blonde hair, blue eyes and a light skin tone. We were able to see a toddler picture of him and he was very cute.

To get things rolling I already set up the first appointment with Dr. Fulk on January 27th. Fingers crossed!

I cheated and looked at the chinese calendar and it looks like Jan. would be a girl, Feb. a boy and March & April a girl.