Thanksgiving 2010
Another successful Thanksgiving! We had: Grampy & Gramdma, Memere, Aunt Pauline & Uncle Dick, Uncle Kenny, Auntie Patty, Danny, Auntie Cara, Uncle Brian, Auntie Kristen and Kaelyn over for Thanksgiving this year! The food was great but the best part is the family spending the day with each other.
The kids love having a 'party' and were quite the excited hosts for the day. Needless to say, they crashed at bedtime without any arguments. I love hosting Thanksgiving, and am extremely thankful and grateful for all my blessings - I appreciate them daily.
I also decided to go shopping today, my first ever Black Friday toy shopping excursion! I didn't get up at the crack of dawn (at least not for the shopping, the kids seem to like to wake me up before sunrise every day >:<) but instead went at 9 and was home by 10:30. Success!
We are all excited to bring in the Christmas season. We are planning to cut down our tree again this year. Can't wait!
May Day weekend
What a boring weekend we had (at least, as boring as it could be with 2 year old twins). We went to our Gymboree class Saturday morning, then to Dunkin Donuts for our weekly treat and to look at the boats. Back home for naps, then an afternoon playing in the yard.
Michelle and James then went to Grammy and Grandpa's house for a sleepover!
Today we hung out at home most of the day and watched TV, played basketball, and did some household chores.
Early Toddler Year Pictures
Here is Miss Michelle & I at Lynch Park (James is running around in the background!!) We had a great day even though the wind off the water made it quite chilly!
Michelle is OBSESSED with Elmo! She would cry and whine for Elmo (at all hours of day AND night). Here was a cute picture of her having her morning milk hugging her Elmo doll while watching Elmo on Sesame Street.
James LOVES his slide! He would stand at door and look longingly outside wanting to climb and slide down! Here he is on their new rock wall/slide climbing structure.
Fast Forward 2 years ... LOL
So needless to say, I was not a very good pregnancy blogger! BUT all those "implantation" thoughts certainly worked, as Michelle Elizabeth and James Connor were born on October 13, 2006, 7 minutes apart.
I loved being pregnant and had a very easy and uneventful 8.5 months. I sometimes miss feeling them kick and move inside me (not that they don't try to make up for it by kicking me and crawling all over me now, LOL).
They are now 20 months old and are just the light of our lives. We sometimes cannot believe how perfect they are, and how their personalities are forming. Michelle is NON-STOP, she is always moving and plotting. She is extremely clever and likes to copy whatever she sees. She is the mastermind of the two and enjoys the role. James is just a sweet boy, he follows Michelle and copies whatever she's doing, and wants whatever she has. He is more calm and peaceful - he is happy sitting playing, until he sees her causing a commotion elsewhere decides he wants to join in on the fun!
They are both talking and trying to hold conversations with everyone. They answer questions and try to tell "stories". The best is watching them read books to each other - they point out all of the animals/objects on the page and then imitate them (animal noises are their FAVORITE).
I'm going to start keeping a log of our adventures and of any cute pictures we take of them. We don't always do exciting things, but sometimes they'll just look so adorable I just want to share!
Transfer Day (also Valentine's Day!!)
Well today was the big day! We had our transfer at noon :)
We transferred 2 embies back in: one 11 cell no fragments and one 10 cell mild fragments. We did assisted hatching so I am really praying and hoping that at least one will stick!
The procedure itself was a snap, no problems or complications. I've been resting on the couch since I got home. Brian has been cracking me up though. They asked if he wanted to come in, and I thought he was considering it, so I said "yes" and they brought him scrubs. He decided he didn't want to (which was fine with me) and stayed behind in the cubby area. I took his wedding band in with me.
So, once we finished up, he went to get the car and I waited in the lobby for him to come around and pick me up. I go out to get in the car, and I see the scrubs they gave him in the front seat! I asked him "did you swipe those?" he laughed and said yes.
He's been walking around in them all afternoon and is referring to himself as "Dr. Norman" he is cracking me up .... I told him he is
my "Dr. McDreamy" - LOL
So, I am off work tomorrow and may work from home Thurs and Friday. They said no stress or anything for the next few days. I am to relax, be calm and think implantation thoughts, so that is what I am going to do!
Updates - FERT Report and Xfer info
Okay, okay....I've been slacking, I know.
We had the 36 eggs retrieved and 25 fertilized! They don't tell me anything about grades or quality over the phone, so I need to wait until my transfer tomorrow (2/14) for those details.
Our transfer is at 11:45. I need to be there an hour before and we should be done by 1:00. I think we are going to go out for a nice lunch in Boston afterwards to celebrate :)
Physically I feel pretty good, my abdomen is still a bit sore from the retrieval, but nothing unbearable. I went to work today since I am going to take the next 3 days off and I couldn't wait to get out of there, LOL.
I'll update tomorrow after the appt and with any freeze #s to report.
Oh, my Beta is scheduled for 3/1, only 2 weeks away!!
Retrieval Day
I seriously think I have poultry in my bloodlines, LOL.
I had
36 follicles retrieved!! The good thing about it is that I think their quality is a lot better than last time (I had 40+ follies then) due to my lower E2 values this time. I heard other ladies getting prepped as I was waiting and recovering, and their counts were in the teens and had E2 levels in the high 3000 - mid 4000.
Brian's count was also great, it was over 30 million with motility around 40%, so those are fantastic numbers ... woo hoo ...
I woke up and besides being a bit groggy, it was the best I've ever felt waking up after anesthesia. I didn't feel queasy or at all while I was there. The 25 minute car ride home though made me nauseous and I threw up once when I got home :-(
No biggie though, I feel fine now and am just lounging in bed. Brian went grocery shopping which is a big thing for him since he NEVER goes and we are due to get 14" of snow tomorrow so they are packed and crazy. He bought me tons of treats and a dozen roses! He is the BEST
Can't wait for the fert report tomorrow!
CD11 Update - we're ready!
Crazy enough, I am all done with stimming - I go in for my e/r on Saturday, CD13 (Feb 11th). At my u/s this morning, we counted 25+ follies. My E2 level was 2714 :) ETA: my lining is at 5.7 triple-striped (lined? I forget the terminology LOL) yesterday it was at 4.7, so it is thickening as it should.
So, I do the HCG trigger tonight at 9:45pm and the e/r is Saturday at 9:45am. We are glad it is Saturday because we are supposed to get a huge storm Saturday night ~ they are talking 12" inches Sat into Sunday.
Can't wait!!
Sweet story from today. My u/s tech is a sweetheart. She is PG. I asked her today when she is due and she said May. She said it was her "surprise baby" - she had tried to get pg for a long time, and she and her DH decided to move forward with adopting a baby from China, and finalized the paperwork when she discovered she was PG! They are still moving forward with the adoption, but her baby will be born before their adoption, but she'll have 2 babies by this summer! I am so excited for her! She said she was in my place before, so she knows how it feels from both sides of the u/s wand - LMAO.
CD10 Update
Okay, and away we go! LOL
I counted approx 16 follies at my u/s this morning, all over 12. There were smaller ones that didn't make the measurement cut, but there are quite a few in that category.
My bloodwork came back at 1698, so that is still at a good level. I think my lining was around 5, so that needs to thicken up, but it was triple-lined (striped? whatever :P)
So, I go back AGAIN in the morning for another u/s and bloodwork panel. My protocol is shifting slightly:
Today, CD10, 75 iu of Follistim tonight
Tomorrow (CD11) I reduce the Repronex to 1/2 the dose, 5 units Lupron
She said I would most likely trigger Friday or Saturday night - so retrieval is either Sunday or Monday ... woo hooo
CD8 Update
Everything is looking good!
My bloodwork came back today with my E2 level as 615 after 4.5 days of stims. Kathy said that was perfect!
So, the plan is to continue the same protocol:
5 units Lupron
75 iu Follistim
75 iu Repronex
I go back in Wed (2/8), CD10 for an ultrasound and another bloodwork panel :-D
CD3 update with protocol
Oops ~ I forgot to update my CD3 status (sorry Erin)
I started everything Thursday!
Here is my drug cocktail:
5 units Lupron in the morning
75 iu Repronex in the morning
75 iu Follistim in the evening
I did this starting CD3 (Thurs 2/2) evening (so Repronex didn't actually start until Friday. I went in today, 2/6 (CD7) for bloodwork to check my E2 levels.
I assume I have to go back in this week for an u/s, most likely Wed :)
CD 3 Update - I think we are ON!
Well, I went in this morning for my baseline u/s and bloodwork, and the u/s was perfect! My uterus looked great (well, I guess I'm biased, lol) and there were NO cysts in my ovaries *insert happy dance here* so pending my bloodwork results I will start the stims tonight!
I'll update later today when I hear from my nurse
