Merry Christmas, World!

Our miracle rainbow baby made his entrance into the world on Monday, December 19, 2016 at 6:57 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 11 ounces. and 21 inches long. 

We welcomed Isaac William via c-section after a very long 21 hours of vaginal labor at 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Will post his entire birth story soon! Right now we are home and busy soaking up every second of what we prayed for for so very long. 

Our hearts are beyond full, he is absolutely perfect. Every tear and year spent waiting was worth it. 

Merry Christmas all ❤️

Almost Go Time

Well, well, where to begin? I feel as if I have been under an information overload the past few weeks, mainly trying to make the final call between scheduling a c-section or trying to birth our child vaginally first. Due to our history, it has been a lot of back and forth with OBs, REs, MFMs, orthopedics, & anesthesists on which situation would be best.  

Final call-we will attempt birthing vaginally.  If I havent gone into labor by the 18th, Ill be admitted for cervical ripening and induction that day. Yes, thats right… we have a date folks! And its so close that I cant even believe it. We are super excited! If during a vaginal birth, he shows any signs of distress my OB will immediately do a section. I will be under continous monitoring once induced. 

It would be nice if he decides to come on his own before I need induced, but are also okay with it if he does not. At this point, we trust our vast medical team very much and will follow what is deemed safest for mom & baby. 

Recap of his health-We had our weekly NST and BPP yesterday, and baby boy did well. The week before he was being difficult during the stress test (his heart rate was not accelerating enough with his movements) and I was getting so upset. I was on the damn machine for probably an hour, when you can be on & off it in 15 minutes if baby performs. 

The nurse gave me juice, let me go pee, and even zapped me with a tazer like device on my stomach at one point. Lets just say he did NOT enjoy that at all, and he finally passed right after it. Maybe he remembered it from the week before and got to work yesterday because we passed the first 15 minute go around. Thank God. He then scored 8/8 on his biophysical profile ultrasound. Another sigh of relief. 

My fundal height is measuring a little smaller the past 2 weeks, probably since I havent gained any weight. But he is still in the 40 something percentile and measuring close to 7 lbs, so the doctors are not worried. I feel so bad knowing there are many ladies out there struggling with uterine growth restriction-I cannot imagine how upsetting and frustrating this is. I know I eat A LOT and still cant gain. Totally out of our own hands.

Something important to note-my OB wasnt too happy with my blood pressure yesterday and doesnt want me waiting a whole week to get it checked again. So, I go in Monday for a quick blood pressure check. If its still high, we might be seeing Miracle sooner than later. 

Other news-I feel like there is no more time! I have been doing all my last minute nesting each day. I make a list, and somehow another one pops up. Lol. Thankfully they are all little things, all the big things are done, and we would totally be fine if nothing else got done at this point. Part of me just feels like I have to stay busy for some reason! Then the other half of me feels like I have to rest, so I do. Its a good balance. 

We have arrangements made for the dogs during our hospital stay, got the baby a health insurance plan of his own, hooked up baby monitors, called my cleaning ladies and scheduled them around our possible induction date so the house is nice & clean for baby to come home to! Ive wrapped all our Christmas presents and put them under the tree. I have an appointment to get my nails done next week, pretty close to delivery so they look pretty for our professional newborn photo session. I even treated myself to a few postpartum outfits…2 pairs of Blanqi leggings and 4 tunic tops. Super excited to live in these for awhile. 

Symptoms-Oh my. Tons. Constipation, which has never been an issue, now is. I am eating prunes and hoping to see some improvement. Stay away hemorrhoids!! Heartburn. Shortness of breath. Snoring. Talking (or even yelling) in my sleep. Peeing all the time. Fatigue. Pregnancy brain…I think thats all???

9 Months & a Tour of the Nursery!

Officially full term this week at 37 weeks. Our hopital bags are packed (we did 3 of them, one for each of us) and baby boy’s carseat has been installed & inspected. Our birth plan (wasnt sure if we would do one) is also complete. I had a few friends ask what a “birth plan” is before, so here’s a snap shot of ours-

Our son’s room is ready, as is most of the rest of the house. Since I am home everyday, the nesting has been well underway for some time now. Here is his room…all finished! 






Went to the MFM this week for another growth scan. I was a little concerned going into it bc I have noticed that over the course of the past month or so I havent gained any weight. I have still been eating well, but my appetite has dwindled off a bit perhaps due to my brian believing there is so little room left in there for food or the simple fact that the more I eat, the less I can breath! 

Anywhoo, my weight loss of 1 pound has not had any effect on Miracles growth. He is still around the 50th percentile, measuring about 6 lbs. The doctor puts him at about 7 1/2 lbs. if we go another 2 1/2 wks. or so. Perfect, healthy weight! 

Everything else checked out well-he is head down, good Amnio levels, heartrate, movement, etc. This was his 3rd biophysical profile that he had and earned 100% on. It sounds as if I am already bragging about my unborn son, but I cant help it. Getting weekly BPP’s (combined with NSTs) with high scores shows the chance of a stillbirth is very, very low. 

We will not be going back to the MFM anymore, I will just see my OB everyweek from here out. In fact, I see her tomorrow for my first cervix check! I am secretly (not anymore lol) hoping I am dilated some. I am feeling SO ready to meet this guy even though he has some time left. Several of my IG friends have been having their babies now and it makes it much more real, especially when someone delivers before me who was due after me and baby is OK. 

We arent doing much Christmas shopping this year as we usually would, but I have made a point to get a few things bought now so we wont worry once baby is here. I also made hubby something special off Pinterest that serves as a new daddy gift/Christmas gift.  Id tell you more but I know he reads this, so it will have to wait 😉

We decided to do just one real Christmas tree this year, instead of the 3 or 4 artificial ones I have in the past. I must say I LOVE having the real tree for a change! It might be our new thing. Overall, we are keeping Christmas quite minimal; neither of us wants to worry about taking decorations down with a newborn. 

Until next time, sending love! 

The Nightmare After Christmas, Side Effects, & Another Anniversary

I vividly dreamt that I miscarried again. In the past, I have only dreamt that our cycles have failed and no pregnancy was achieved.  These nightmares bothered me, but not nearly as much since I aready knew we could get pregnant via IVF.  

So long story short, this nightmare was awful. Anyone who has miscarried before knows what goes along with one, so I will spare you the details. I know its ‘just a dream’ and my subconscious ‘releasing my inner fears,’ but still…it was horrific.

I woke up sweating, pleading with God to spare me from the agony of another miscarriage in the future.  I know his plan is already made, whatever it may be, but I *desperately* pray this is not part of it.

On another note, the side effects from the Lupron injection so far are very minimal. Ive only felt nauseous at night, and its brief.  Basically, I just go to sleep when it starts. Im hoping it stays this way because I can deal with that.  I was a little nervous that the injection site itself would be an issue, but its not.  I put my heating pad on it immediately following the shot because it keep cramping up. That helped and it was gone by day 2.  

This time last year I was pregnant from FET 2. In fact, today was beta day. I already knew though, I had taken plenty of HPT’s to affirm. My first beta came back over 300.  We were thrilled. 

Im going to try and get out of the house today and keep myself a little busy.  Ive been doin okay, enjoying the holidays as much as possible.  I briefly cried on Christmas, and it was more like I couldnt help it than anything. I didnt have a lot of emotion with the tears, if that makes any sense!  It was just happening.  

I think today I will go look at some new flooring for our master bedroom with my mom (hubby is on call).  The carpet has been in since the house was built in 2003 and its officially outstayed its welcome.  We want to put in a nice laminate or hardwood.  Sorry if this post is all over the place…its similar to me and how I am feeling this early morning! 

Christmas Mini-Vacation

Hubby & I spent the night at Gaylord Palms Resort this weekend.  We had never been and wanted to experience the much raved about and highly proclaimed ICE! Christmas festivities that take place there annually. 

I love Christmas time, so this was right up my alley.  You will have to excuse the tons of pictures I snapped, I couldn’t help myself!  

We started out the day exploring the atrium, which our balcony overlooked.   

    
Next, we ventured to the arcade (2 big kids at heart).  We played basketball, skeeball, air hockey, and fruit ninja to name a few.

   
 
On to a late lunch/early dinner poolside at the adult bar.  We liked the fact that there was a dedicated adult only pool and spa area. It was a nice getaway from all the families with babies/kids when we needed it.  

   
 
After dining, we made it to the main attractions, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony and ICE!  I highly recommend this, kids or no kids. It was unbelievable. The detail of the sculptures was impressive.  I also loved how each room closely followed the classic poem from Clement Clarke Moore, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (each stanza was written).  

A word of advice…dress warmly because it is only 9 degrees in the exhibit since everything (seriously everything) is made of ice.  We brought our own winter gear, but they do provide a coat if you dont have one.  And get the fast pass and skip the wait, its worth it. 

  
    
    

   
    
    
    
   
    

We both agreed our favorite part of the attraction had to be the nativity scene at the very end. It was so nice to see that the meaning of Christmas still shines through! I hope this stays part of ICE and isnt done away with. 

We will definitely go back again one day. I wont lie and say there werent any tough moments with the kids running galore amongst us. We had our moments… we talked through them, shed a few tears, but most importantly we decide to keep our hope for our future.  We CANNOT wait for our next trip with our whole family! 
  

Welcome to our Winter Wonderland

I promised an update with finished Christmas decorations, so here it is! After weeks of work, both inside & out, our home is finally complete.  We absolutely love it.  Sit back, relax, & enjoy!  

Entrance to our home

  

Mama Penguin & her baby! Spoke to my heart!

  

Everyone’s favorite, Frosty

  

Blue & white LED in the Bouganviella

  

Love this pic!

  

Entering the front door of our home

  

Blue & silver tree

  

Red & green tree

  

Gold tree

  

Village & our stockings

  

More of our village we add to each year

  

More wreaths , they are everywhere in this house

  

The kitchen is decorated with Christmas joy too

  

One of my fav little corners in the house

  

The reason for the season

  

Love my sign on my papasan

  

Santa’s nice helper

  

Santa’s naughty helper

 

Dining room centerpiece

  

Old fashioned tree picked up at a garage sale

  

Little bits of Christmas in every corner!

  

And, one more to leave you with,notice the decorations up top!

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!! 

 

Ohio Trip

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. I have had a few of my fellow bloggers reach out and email me to make sure I am okay. I found this to be so incredibly thoughtful of them. Thank you!

For the past 9 months, I have blogged at least 3 times a week, sometimes more. If I wasn’t blogging, I was at minimum reading and commenting. But the truth is, I haven’t really been in the mood lately for any of it.  As one of my blogger friends told me, “it happens to the best of us.”  

Anyways, during this blogging break, a few things have happened that I will catch you up on. For one, we finished all of our Christmas decorating, both inside & out. I plan to post all about that sometime this weekend.  

Second, we took a trip to chilly Ohio over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Our trip was great; a perfect balance of R & R and being on the go.  After a long day of working, driving, and flying, we kicked off this trip with 25 of our closest friends and family members at one of our favorite restaurant’s late on Thanksgiving Eve.  We ended up at another local hang out after and Uber drove us home pretty late (guess I am out of the loop with this Uber stuff, first time I heard of it!).  

  
Thanksgiving was spent with our families just relaxing, watching football and movies, drinking wine, eating, and playing games like chess. The weather was perfect, a crisp 40 degrees, ideal for a hoodie and sweatpants to be lazy in! A much needed break from the 90 degree weather we are used to.  

   
 
On Black Friday, I was lucky enough to spend some time with one of my very best friends. We did lunch and shopping, getting completely soaked in the process. The weather was quite miserable, about 35 and raining all day. I love the cold, but not the cold rain. If it’s cold and wet, it better be snowing.  Regardless, it was a good time (as always when we are together) and she helped me solidify my outfit for my hubby and I’s photo shoot.  

Saturday was spent watching the BIG game, a.k.a. The OSU v. Michigan. We hadn’t been home for this since 2002, so my hubby was pretty pumped. Anyone from the midwest knows this game is a major rilvary. Everyone watches it. Period.  Thankfully, OSU won and our day wasn’t ruined! LOL. Saturday night we attended a surprise 30th Birthday party for my first cousin and saw people we hadn’t in probably 10 years. Good times for sure!

  
The remaining parts of our trip were spent going places we miss, love, and cant go to when we are home in FL. We made sure we went to the apple orchard, and got homemade cider and donuts. Delicious to say the least! We also went to the zoo for a Christmas light show which was absolutely beautiful. My hubby surprised me after the zoo and took me to the spot we had our first date over 15 years ago…Subway (we were only in high school). We went in and sat in the same booth we did that night and got chocolate chip cookies. So sweet of him! I am blessed. 

   
   
   
   
On our way to the airport yesterday, we had some very special pictures taken professionally. I will share these pictures soon in another post. I must say the ones the photographer has shared with us so far have left us speechless and I cant wait to share them with my fellow IF/RPL community.  

On our way out, we also picked up a special onesie that we could not resist. It’s the first purchase we have ever made together for our future baby when we are not pregnant. We both know one day our baby will get to wear it! 

  
As for now, vacation is officially over and it is back to reality tomorrow. Today was spent washing clothes, unpacking, grocery shopping, and loving on our dogs who we missed so much.  I had originally planned to get my first of 3 Lupron injections today, but did not. I’ll save the details of that for for another post too! 

I hope everyone had a great holiday, and I will try to catch up soon with where all of you are in your TTC journeys. Until then, baby dust to all !!!

Christmas Festivities

I am pleased to report that we are almost completely BOOKED with Christmas activities every weekend from now until Christmas!! This is a dream come true for me my friends. 

Weekend of November 14th and 21st-Decorating & shopping! 

Weekend of November 28th-Christmas lights at the zoo while in Ohio on our trip, a date night for hubby & I. 

Weekend of December 5th- A Christmas Carol play at the theatre, another date night for hubby & I. 

Weekend of December 12th-Christmas party! Time to let loose. 

Weekend of December 19th-Overnight trip to Gaylord Palms for ICE and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, yet another date night for hubby & I. 

Enjoying each others company and love this holiday season is our top priority, probably more than ever before.  Dont get me wrong, its always been a priority, but this year is different. 

Last Christmas Eve was our first babies due date, and it was also the day we got a positive pregnancy test for our 3rd pregnancy.  Aside from that, we planned to be pregnant by this Christmas had our FET not been cancelled last month. As you can see, if we allow it, this Christmas could be very sad and heartbreaking. 

Instead we are making a conscious decision to do happy things rather than just sit and mope around. It is by no means easy; it’s living during infertility and pregnancy loss.  Im sure there will be tough days where we feel tested, but my hope is that I won’t let IF and RPL steal my joy this Christmas! They have already stolen way too much. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas. My favorite. Since I was a child, it has always been. 

Im sure my mother’s influence plays a part in my liking; it is also her favorite holiday.   Growing up, we had decorations to the fullest right alongside the warm traditions. Being a Christian also plays a big part of my love for Christmas. Knowing Jesus was born on this day brings so much joy! 

I only decorate twice a year- fall & Christmas. And my fall decorations are minimal compared to my Christmas ones. Prior to this year, all of our decorations have pretty much been interior only.  Why? We always wanted to paint and have gutters installed before we moved the show outdoors. Well, as you might recall, we have both of these done now, and I am super excited to announce that we are decorating the exterior this year! 

In addition, we will be decorating earlier than usual. In the past, we have always begun on Black Friday and continued through the weekend. However, we will be gone over Thanksgiving week this year so that is not an option. Instead, we will begin both the inside and outside this weekend coming up. Im guessing it will take me about 3-4 full days to get the inside done, and my hubby 2 for the outside.  I have about 10 tubs or so in the attic of stuff, along with 3 decent sized trees. It takes awhile to sort through them and lay it all out. 

Anyways, my hubby and I went to Lowe’s and did some damage on exterior lights yesterday. We knew beforehand that this would be the case so we werent that surprised. We got the LED ice blue and white icicle lights for the perimeter, matching tube lighting for our columns, and matching netting for our bushes.  We also got a sparkly, oversized LED Frosty for the lawn. I am trying to talk my hubby into getting the tube lighting for our roof too (just running it up to the center peak in 4 lines from each corner of the house). I dont think it will be that hard to convince him since he has been saying he wants to do it anyways. We just figured we would start with this and go back for the rest. 

   
 
Of course with all the lighting came extension cords, clips, timers and such. And I just couldnt pass up the cute santa dog hats for our two little stinkers! 

Welcome November!

Since my post Halloween rant, I have brainstormed all the reasons why November is going to be such a marvelous month…

1. We gained an hour of sleep this month. I love sleep.
2. My birthday is November 4. Must be an awesome month! 
3. I work a total of just 16 days. Hearing that makes it oh-so-do-able.
4. By the end of this month, we will reach the half way point of the 180 school/work year…yes, you heard right! 
5. I get to do fun, yet educational Thanksgiving activities with my students. 
6. We are going on vacation and will get to kick back and relax while we see great family and friends. 
7. In honor of prepping for vacation, I am getting a manicure, pedicure, and my hair done.
8. Such delicious food this month.  I love food.
9. The stores will put away all of their Halloween crap, and bring out the real Christmas stuff. Up until November, Christmas only gets 1 aisle because of Halloween. No more! This makes me feel like I can really start buying presents. 
10. I get to start decorating for Christmas. Those of you who know me know I like to go all out. 
11. Christmas music will officially be on the radios and likewise, the shows will be on TV. 
12. I get to make my famous fruit turkey (pictures to follow). 
13. The weather must cool down this month. 
14. It is the 5 year anniversary of rescuing our amazing dog, Rocket. 
15. The Ohio State v. Michigan game is this month. This is a big deal to mid westerners.  Might I add, we will be in Ohio for the game, which hasnt been the case since 2002.
16. We are getting some very special, professional photos taken. I am so excited about this opportunity.  I will do a separate post about this. 
17. I have 1 more Stitch Fix delivery on its way before I go on my every 3 month schedule. 
18. Mockingjay Part 2 comes out. Yes.
19. November will continue to remain 1 of the only untainted IVF RPL months in our history. 
20. We are one month closer to bringing home our baby. 

I think I could keep going, but I will leave you with the best ones. For each of the 10 negatives I gave you yesterday, I was able to (easily) come up with 2 positives today.  Happy November everyone!