The Stork Has Arrived!

Well, my intention was to write this about three months ago, more specifically the beginning of November but we have been busy adjusting to life as a family of four!  So, you ask how is life with a new baby?  Well, I won't lie it has been an adjustment for the "three of us", but in a good way.

Like all parents of a new baby you start to get used to lack of sleep, shower when you have a free moment and oh, maybe get a rare chance to actually have a conversation with your spouse, even though it may mean at 1 in the morning!  I am so very lucky that Dave takes the midnight feeding and comes home from work to spend time with Peter (usually consisting of ice skating at the park, building snow forts or playing with Lego's.    I know he is exhausted at the end of the day but he says it's worth it and I feel he is truly a great dad!!

How about "big brother?"  Well, at first he seemed a little worried that others would forget about him and he was VERY surprised that his baby brother Michael slept a lot, ate and slept some more! I used to think their age gap was going to be an issue, but it is nice to have Peter be so independent and such a great helper to us!  He likes helping warm up a bottle, asks to hold Michael and even talks to Michael in a cute voice!  Peter is still enjoying kindergarten and loves riding the bus, even though that means at 6:45 in the morning(school starts at 7:20).

Michael is now three months to the day! He smiles big smiles right away and has begun to laugh a little.  I can tell he enjoys watching his Dad and brother talk and can't wait until he can join in their conversation!  He does look a lot like Peter did as a baby with those chubby cheeks you just want to kiss all the time and his hair is darker and he has more of it!

Peter at 3 months

Michael at about 2 months

As for me, well I just started back to work last week, I am fortunate enough to work only on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and am gone for a little more than 4 hours.  We are very lucky to have our long time babysitter, now about ready to graduate from college come to our house to watch Michael while I am at work!  I feel pretty much 99% from the c- section I had and am still so thankful nothing went wrong with that!

What a year it's been!  I pretty much had given up on the fact we would be able to ever conceive again and was ready to start down a different path.  But, I know now,  things worked out for a reason and I am finally at peace that even though it took A LOT longer than we had hoped to have another child, that this was how it was suppose to be!

Until Next Time....

Pinch Me

Surprise!

Once again it has been a very long time since I have posted anything about "our journey."  Some of you will be surprised to discover that I am finally expecting!  Yes, that's right we are having a baby!  I apologize for those of you who are just finding this news out, especially since so many of you have followed our journey the last few years through this blog.  But, I still can hardly believe that this is a reality!

I know it may seem strange, but it took until about week 12 or  much beyond for me to "get excited" about this news.  I attribute this to a few reasons... having a lot of nausea, the fear that I would miscarry again and just the emotional strain of going through infertility for so long. Three weeks ago we had our 20 week ultra sound and I really enjoyed getting to see the baby!  Especially, the two pictures they did that were 3D!  I felt a true connection, that there is a precious little one growing inside of me.  We once again, choose not to find out if it is a boy or girl.  As hard as it is to not find out, we love having a huge surprise at the end and it is fun to keep wondering which it could be :)  My due date is November 11.

As you can imagine our almost 6 year old, Peter can't wait for the big day to come.  He has been very sensitive and caring to my needs. He isn't afraid to ask questions and has already included this new sibling into his daily life.  He will talk to my belly making sure to say hello and goodbye, good morning and goodnight.  Sometimes he will nuzzle up and give hugs too!  I am slowly beginning to see that even though there will be a 6 year span between the two of our children, it truly is a blessing and how cool it has been and will be for Peter to be so in tune with this little person!

We have been keeping busy this summer with trips to the pool, a few summer camps, t- ball twice a week, going to the cabin and a trip to Denver is planned in August.  We had a bad storm roll through cities in the middle of June, that caused heavy rain and wind gusts over 70 miles.  Which resulted in a pine tree falling on our roof at 3am.  It was very scary, but we were lucky it did not go through the roof, nor did anyone get hurt!  I would say the worse thing was having no power for 5 days.  Thank goodness for the generator that was purchased last fall.  We were able to keep our two fridges going!

We hope you are enjoying your summer and we thank you for all the prayers! I hope to write again before November!  Peter starts kindergarten in the fall and I am sure I will have some stories to share about his experiences!

Until Next Time...



 

Summer Adventures

I am loving this hot summer, August day!  We have had cooler "fall" like weather the past week and a half, so I fully welcome the sun and 90 degree temps today.  One last chance to swim at the pool...

We have had an adventurous month + at our house...

  Over the 4th we spent time up at the cabin.  We had nice weather and good times with Dave's family.  You know it is hot when the moms are in the lake too, swimming and even doing some stunts off the diving dock.

Minnesota Cousins

The week after the 4th Peter attended a two week camp.  One of the themes was Olympics.  In his class they had events set up one day and got metals, as well as doing some nice art projects.  What a great was to introduce him to what the Olympics are and when they actually were on, he was pretty excited to watch some of the events.  A win/win situation!

The last full week of July my two oldest sisters and their sons drove from Denver to Minneapolis.  We had an action packed week with  a trip to the Mall Of America, Minnehaha Falls, The River Rats Water Ski Show and a trip Up North.  Peter loved getting to spend time with his Colorado cousins and I loved being able to show my sisters all the cool places to go around the city!

Colorado Cousins

The first week of August my other sister came out to help take care of Peter and to help around the house.  Peter loved spending time with her for the week!!!  She was a blessing to have with us!  He was a very sweet boy.... he made sure I had enough crackers, helped me out of bed, asked me how I was feeling and wondered if I was back to 100% yet!  Which leads me to the latest update with our journey....

On Aug. 6th I had laparoscopic surgery, I was pretty nervous because I was unsure how the surgery would go and what she would or would not find!  Well, much to our surprise it was revealed I have endometriosis, something I really never suspected! (Most people with this condition have obvious symptoms such as pelvic pain, and heavy periods.  The only way to truly confirm you have it, is through this surgery and a biopsy.  By having her remove the endometriosis, it should remain out of my body for up to 18months). They also  confirmed  poly cystic ovaries.   She removed the endometriosis and possibly a cyst, as well  as doing a procedure called ovarian drilling.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to truly know what has caused me to not be able to conceive, but I am sure the two things have not helped things!!

So now what?
That's the big question!!  I met with my surgeon today and she was very positive and optimistic...  basically we are going to see how my body reacts on it's own to the procedure with out any medications or interventions.  In three months, we will see where we are at and go from there!  Exciting and scary at the same time.  The last four years have definitely been a roller coaster ride both mentally and emotionally!
 Thank you to those of you who helped out with Peter, made a meal, stopped by to say hello or simply told me you have been praying for me, it means the world to me that I have many people thinking of me/us!  Please continue to pray for us, we need positive prayers and thoughts now more than ever...

Going on a new adventure!

Until Next Time....

It's here, Summer!!

Again it has been a very long time since my last post (6 months to be exact)!  I have had a few friends who read my blog comment on no recent activity, so I thought I should update on how things are going!!

At the end of March we went on our first family trip down to Florida!  We are fortunate enough to both have an aunt and uncle that live an hour from each other.  We were a little worried about the extended plane ride(since flying to Denver is a breeze) but, with a quick layover in St. Louis the plane ride wasn't too bad.  Peter became a Cardinal's fan on the way to FL(we had to buy a t-shirt in the airport because he had gotten sick during the plane ride).  The first thing he asked when he got off the plane was, "where was the beach and can we go there today?"  We couldn't have asked for better weather and wonderful hostesses!

We stayed the first part of our trip with Dave's aunt and uncle in Crystal River.  We were able to go on a nice boat ride on the river.  We learned a ton at the Homosassa  Springs.  There was so much wonderful wild life and we got our own personal tour of the park by Dave's Aunt's friend who volunteers at the park, what a treat!!  We also found a local swimming pool to cool off at.  Next, we headed to Tampa where we went to the beach, Lego Land and again went swimming down the street.  We were able to spend time with my cousins and their newly added children!  Peter was happy to meet some more cousins!  It was so nice to get away and enjoy time with both of our families!!

At the Beach!!!

The latest update on my infertility is this....

If I would have written this two weeks ago I would not have much to say except for not a lot new has happened (a BIG disappointment)!!!  However, last Friday and today have opened up new possibilities once again for this now, 4 year LONG journey...

I saw my Dr. last week and what was discovered by her, after a whole cycle's worth of follicle ultrasounds (35 days to be exact), as well as blood draws is that she is not certain that I am even ovulating.  It was detected that two different times in my cycle it appeared that I was going to ovulate, but when she confirmed ovulation with a progesterone blood draw, it was found that no ovulation had happened.   Apparently this can be common with patients that have PCOS, which I do.   I am getting a period every cycle, but what was thought as a period, may in fact just be bleeding from uterine build up.

 I was referred to a different doctor(hopefully lucky # 5, being she is the 5th doctor I have seen throughout this journey) that I saw today.  She will be able to preform laparoscopy surgery to see if in fact I have endometriosis (another cause of infertility).  Most patients that suffer from this problem may have symptoms like pelvic pain, heavy periods etc..   The possibility did cross my mind 2 years ago, but I pretty much do not have the classic symptoms that are associated with this. So, I never pushed the "possibility!"  It is never good to look back on situations and say "should have, could have," but believe me I have already done so and hope not to do so in the future, but it is human nature, right??

She may find I do not have endometriosis, but there is not way of telling without doing the laproscopy.  While she is in there she may do an additional procedure called ovarian drilling, sounds worse than it is!  I believe this procedure could help trigger ovulation.   When will all this take place??  Hopefully the beginning of August.  It is an outpatient surgery and she believes it could take up to a week to recover, but hopefully sooner.  So there it is, I can say through this process I am thankful to still have faith, hope and the love of a very dear husband!  I will keep you posted as the time gets closer and I ask that you continue to think positive thoughts for us!

Until next time....

Happy New Year... a little late!!!

Wow, 2012 is already in full swing, now that it is almost the end of February....

Peter and I traveled to Denver right before the New Year for a week.  We had a great time enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, relaxing and being able to hang out with my family!  We were able to play at the park and go to the indoor pool too.   Peter saw his first movie(Alvin and the Chipmunks, Ship Wrecked) in the theater with his cousins, and my sister.  He did pretty good and there was quite a bit of humor which I enjoyed involving current pop culture, a win win situation!!

 There was a little bit of snow at my parent's house, which Peter was excited to see...  speaking of which we have had an unusual winter with no snow and very mild temps!  Peter was excited to wake up to snow this morning.  We got a few inches of wet, heavy snow.  He was happy to come home this afternoon, to FINALLY having the opportunity to play in some "white stuff."  He likes to "help" Dave snow blow or shovel.

Peter helping with the snowblower...

The other exciting news since I last wrote is the birth of our new nephew.    Peter had given him a nickname before he was born, it was "popcorn." Now we just call him George, his proper name!  Peter enjoys seeing his new cousin and has been asking all sorts of questions.  He is quite fond of him and asks to see him often. It has been fun to see him around a baby. He can hardly wait for him to grow up so he can play with him!!

Meeting our new nephew for the first time...

I was quite stressed out and quite down between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I really wanted to be able to go to Colorado to see my family, but did not want to "miss out" on baby opportunities here.  After I met with my Dr. in the beginning of December I decided the best "medicine" for me was to take a break and go anyway.  After being gone I realized what a relief it had been to not have to think and worry about the daily stress of all the components I do in order to try and achieve pregnancy.  It really opened my eyes to how consuming this process has become.

With that being said, and further consulting with my doctor in January we decided to back off a little and do less.  What does that mean, well the big thing is getting a hormone panel done, as well as several internal ultrasounds (which is a series of blood draws throughout my cycle, as well as ultrasounds to see how things are looking).   Unfortunately, our insurance does not cover a lot of the tests and this added a ton of stress and strain to an already tricky situation!! I had hoped the blood work and tests would have given us more obvious answers as to "why." But, for now I am going to try a drug called Naltrexone.
Naltrexone is an opiod antagonist. Opiods, which the body produces are called endorphins (our feel good hormones). Endorphins have an effect on insulin levels and GnRH (gonadal tropin releasing hormone- which controls FSH/LH- important for follicle maturation). There are a few studies that suggest using naltrexone in PCO patients improve hirsutism, acne and improve lh/fsh ratio and insulin levels which improve the chance for pregnancy. Especially in those patients who have been resistent to clomid in the past. Typically, the effect is seen within 6 months. So we will see how this works. I will be on a very low dose...


We wish you a happy and healthy New Year!!


Until next time.....

Peter the Science Kid

It has been awhile since my last post!!  We have really been enjoying the fall!  Here are a few highlights...

Peter was spiderman for Halloween!  He was a lot more aware and excited about the holiday this year.  In fact, he really preferred to hurry up and get back to pass out candy, rather than trick or treating, I know this won't last for long!  Unfortunately, we only had about 7 kids come to our house.  This isn't rare, for the majority of the "neighborhood children" live down the hill in the next neighborhood, and we have a really dark street!  I was disappointed, as was Peter!!  Oh, well!

Spiderman and Dad!!

We have had a rather mild November, so we spent a lot of time enjoying the last warm days of fall playing outside!  Two weekends ago, we spent all afternoon getting the Christmas lights put up.  What a great feeling and a fun treat to turn on AFTER Thanksgiving is well over!!!!  We did get a few inches of snow last weekend and Peter was very excited to play out in the snow!  The snow has quickly melted the last few days with our mild temps.  This morning we went outside and gathered what was left of the snow to do a "science experiment."  It was Peter's idea... gather snow, bring it inside and run warm water over the snow to see what happens... fun idea!! Plus, we enjoyed a sunny morning outside!

This is "before"

This is "after"

Not much new with our journey, I am on a new medication called Letrazole.   For those of you who know about Clomid, it is similar to that; aide with ovulation.  I still get a mid month blood work done as well as an internal ultrasound to see where things are at.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we are thankful for all of our family and friends!  We hope your day is filled with much gratitude and love!!

Until Next Time....

Back to School

Well, it has been way to long since my last post!  I have been wanting to "post" for awhile but life has been busy!

In the beginning of August, we were able to go to Colorado for two weeks to spend time with my family and Peter's Colorado cousins.  Some highlights from our trip were lots of time at the pool and a trip to a cool water park for the day.  It was called Pirate's Cove.  Peter wanted to be able to jump off the diving board, but I had to explain to him you had to be able to swim safely to the side of the pool.  We are both hoping he will be able to by next summer! 
We also took a wonderful day trip up to the mountains to a town called Georgetown.  We went on a short train ride and was able to stop mid-way to take a mine tour.  I was a little unsure if it was something Peter would like and if I could do without being claustrophobic.  But, we put on our hard hats and got to see a very cool, old silver mine, as well as hearing some very interesting history about the life of a miner!  Everyone did fine.

The end of August was spent by getting my classroom back to order( I teach Preschool).  Peter did a fabulous job helping me in my room and stayed rather occupied playing with all of the toys in my room, as well as loving getting to run up and down the hallway to visit all of my long-time school friends!!

Now that September is here, we are back into a routine with Peter attending Preschool on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and me working Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  He is still taking swim lessons on Friday mornings and looks forward to them! 
We just celebrated his 4th Birthday last weekend and he was a lot more aware of his Birthday this year, than years past!   Very fun to see!  The biggest change I have seen this last month is his strive for independence!  "I can do it Mom," is a common phrase in our household.  He thinks it is pretty cool if I let him ride his bike by himself down the street three houses and back.  Often he will say "When I am four mom, I will be able to do that."

 We decided to move forward with completing the hormone profile that my Doctor had suggested.   I have been going into a doctor's office every few days to get a blood draw.  She will be looking at certain levels of my hormones and seeing if everything appears to be "normal" whatever that may be!    We will not know anything for another few weeks to a month until I am able to have a Dr. apt. with her.  This process is frustrating, getting expensive and is really testing our ability to remain positive.  We will get through this, regardless of the outcome.  I know things happen for a reason, but until then please continue send us some positive energy!
 Here is Pete the other night...

Out little worker!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next time.....