9 Week Ultrasound

I've been pretty quiet on the blogging-front recently.  A lot to do with feeling queasy most everyday and super tired.  The time I have to accomplish things is usually during my daughter's nap-time and that time has now become my nap-time too!  The evenings have been pretty miserable with on and off nausea which usually starts when I get up from my nap.  All well worth the reason, of course!  : )

Our 9 week ultrasound was this morning and we are happy to say that the baby is measuring exactly 9w0d, which is what I am today!  The heartbeat was 168, so we are thrilled!  It was really fun to see the baby moving a little bit on the screen.  I still can't believe I have a little baby in there!

This ultrasound was done in the practice we are using moving forward.  We decided to use a practice called Gifts of Grace.  They are a Christian-based practice with 2 midwives and a perinatologist.  A lot of my friends have used them and love them.  I think I am interested in water birthing, so we will see.  I have a lot of time to think about all of that!

I am still fitting into most of my clothes, but got a couple of things at a maternity store this past week.  A good friend sent me home with some of her maternity clothes, which all fit me minus the big belly!  And another friend also told me I could borrow some of her's as well, so I think I will be set!

That's it for now!  Hope all is well with everyone.  Can't wait to hear more ultrasound reports!

We have a heartbeat!!

Just wanted to let you all know the great news : )  Dr. K was happy with all of my measurements and the heartbeat, so we are thrilled!  I can't begin to express how surreal all of this is.  We are so incredibly grateful to God for allowing us this amazing gift and blessing.

After seeing Dr. K, Jeff and I headed out towards Asheville, NC to spend the weekend at the Biltmore.  I am quickly posting now that we have arrived at our hotel, but hope to get a picture or video up here soon.

We are grateful for everyone's prayers!!

6-Week Ultrasound

We have our first ultrasound this Friday!  Crazy thing is that we will be going up to Tennessee to have it done at the NEDC clinic.  We could only find one clinic in Atlanta who would do the U/S and they were going to charge $650.  Because we are out-of-state monitoring patients, they would not run it through our insurance so that we could get our insurance's contracted rate.  I really don't understand it all, but the NEDC said that if we came there, they could use our insurance.  Yay!  Jeff and I had already made plans to go to the Biltmore in Asheville, NC this weekend, so now we are just taking a little extra side trip : )  Our appointment is at 1:30pm.

I have to say that I am a bit anxious about the appointment.  I really don't want to be disappointed.  It would be so painful to have come this far and then it not work out.  I am trying to just celebrate the pregnancy every day until/unless God reveals something new to me.  Hard to do at times!  It will definitely give me a huge confidence booster to see our baby's heartbeat.

I will let you guys know about the appointment as soon as I can!

Giving Myself PIO Shots

I thought I'd share with you that I have actually given myself 3 shots now!  This trend all started because my husband will be out of town next week and I was trying to figure out who or how I was going to get my shots.  So, I finally decided that maybe I could do it myself.  And sure enough, it wasn't too hard at all! The left side is much harder because of having to use my left hand to administer the shot, but the right side was pretty simple.  I am feeling pretty proud of myself about now : )  My husband will still do the majority of the shots, but at least I now know that in a bind, I can do it.

I am sure everyone is already praying for Ashley today as she is expecting her Beta.  Sorry that I got the date messed up on my previous post.  Hopefully, it didn't cause much confusion.  : )  Praying for 4 for 4!

List of Betas this Week

Hey EA friends,

I just thought I would research the exact dates for each of your Betas this week so that I could pray specifically instead of generally.  Here is the list in case it helps others to pray too!  Please add to the list, if I have forgotten anyone.  Thanks!

Britney - Tuesday, 9/27
Ashley - Wednesday, 9/29
Jennifer - Friday, 10/1
Lisa - Friday, 10/1
Em - Monday, 10/4

Praying, praying, praying for 100% positives!

In the Waiting

Funny thing about getting a positive pregnancy is that I thought the "waiting" would be over, but it really isn't.  It is just the beginning in some ways.  Once I found out that I was pregnant, I waited for the first beta number to ensure that it was looking good.  After that number was great, I then began waiting to see if my second beta was going to look equally as good.  Each step just brings me to another "waiting" period. Now I am waiting on the ultrasound to make sure our baby is still growing and has a heartbeat.  I have seen so many other women's journeys through this process, that I know we are not out of the woods yet.  Don't get me wrong - I am beyond belief THRILLED that we are pregnant and am celebrating what God has revealed to us thus far.  I just know that my life and journey to adopt/have children has always been full of twists and turns.  I never know just what God is up to.


In light of all of this, I thought I would answer another blogger friend's questions regarding the 2WW.  I know many of you have already filled it out and I loved hearing your hearts and getting encouraged by the Scripture you were clinging onto during this time.  So, here it goes...

1. What Scripture are you holding close to these days?


Luke 1:38 "'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be me as you have said'."
The reason I love this verse (it needs to be my life verse) is that I want to have Mary's attitude.  This verse reminds me that I am here to carry out the Lord's purposes, not vice versa.  It humbles me and challenges me to think eternally and not wordly.  

2. What is your biggest challenge right now?


Not "feeling" pregnant some days and wondering if we will make it through the first trimester.  All of this feels very surreal!  I think that during my actual 2ww, my biggest challenge was obsessing about all of my symptoms and googling excessively.  I went a little looney : )

3. What is DH like in the 2WW?


He was great during the 2ww.  He was always positive and doting.  However, at times he did seem a bit emotionally distant in regards to our transfer.  When I shared that with him, he admitted to me that he didn't want to get emotionally attached to the idea because he was scared of being disappointed.  (I share this with you with his permission!)



4. Now that you have gone through your FET, what one piece of advice can you share that you wish you knew/did?


I wish I knew about the alcohol wash in the middle of the transfer.  Dr. K said, "This is the part you are going to hate me for." and I was thinking, "What?  No one ever mentioned that there was anything painful during the transfer!"  It would have been nice knowing what to expect.  


I also wish that I had trusted God more, sat back and enjoyed the wonderful adventure, and googled less! : )  



5. How can we pray for you specifically?  


I would love prayers for God's peace to rule my heart and mind during this first trimester wait.  (and beyond!)  I sincerely desire to enjoy the ride that God has me on and enjoy every minute regardless of what happens.  I would also love for you to pray that my life would emulate my Scripture verse above.  


Our ultrasound will be in the next couple of weeks.  We are a little set back in that our fertility clinic here won't do the ultrasound now that we are officially pregnant.  They said that it is a liability issue since we aren't being seen by one of their doctors.  So, the nurses are trying to figure out where to send me.  I might be going to see my own OBGYN, but we aren't sure yet.  I will keep you all posted!


I am so thrilled by our pregnancy and Krisa's!  I am praying like crazy for the rest of you!!  

2nd Beta Number is...

280!  Yeah!!  Next step - ultrasound.  I will post more later when I have a bit more time, but wanted to share the good news.  So grateful for this blessing!