Bad News Update

Last night, I had a dream...nightmare really. I woke up in the middle of the night crying because I dreamed the baby had died.

At 3:00 this afternoon, we were given confirmation that the baby's heart had stopped beating at 8 weeks and 4 days....on Mother's Day. This was 4 days after our last sonogram with Shady Grove where we had been told the baby's heart beat was strong, and he/she looked perfect and healthy. Between the fertility drugs I was still taking and the fact that my body didn't know the baby had died....I continued along for these past 3 weeks as if the pregnancy was normal.

Our doctor is currently scheduling us for a D&C within the next few days, which is a procedure to retrieve the fetus.

This will be our last post for awhile as we figure out where we go from here. Thank you for all your support over the last few months.

IT'S HERE!!!!!

THE BED IS HERE! Here are some pictures! :) This is our first real purchase in preparation for the baby!!! More bed for a little one to join us~AND~a comfy bed both Kris and I can actually get good sleep on!

Here is the old bed (after we moved the box spring out)...

Here is the new bed before we put the sheets on. Can you see the two different color labels on each side? Red is Kris, Gold is Me! :)

And, here our new bed is with Kris testing it!

And, here's a fun picture....this is from today. I feel like I've almost doubled in size since Saturday...

Week 10 pics

No big belly changes since last week...but here are some pictures. :) One is kinda' morbid...Kris decided I was better looking without a head! :) I know that my belly doesn't look too huge in these pictures...but to ME: I AM HUGE! :) I know....just wait...I'll really get big. :)

Out with the old...In with the new!

FINALLY...after 5 years of my whining and Oreo's hernia-WE PURCHASED A NEW BED. I am so excited!

Our current bed (which is Kris') is too hard for me, too high for me (I have to jump to get into the bed) and Oreo (Oreo got a hernia and required surgery for having to jump up and down off this bed!), and it's too small.

Our new bed is AHHHHHMAZING! We got a low profile bed (which cuts the box spring size in approximately half), which will make the bed A LOT easier for me to get in and out of. This bed is also a KING SIZE!!!! The best thing about this bed is that it has two sides. We laid down on this "machine" that calculated how firm a mattress we both needed. There are four levels of firmness labeled by color: gold (least firm), green, blue, and red (most firm). Kris was a red and I was a gold..so you know that we weren't going to find a single mattress compromise! This bed is half gold (for me) and half red (for Kris). It's SO comfortable!

They are delivering this tomorrow! So, we've spent the afternoon/evening cleaning the bedroom! Kris even cleaned our bedroom walls! :) So, tonight, just our mattress is on the floor in the bedroom so we can sleep! :)

We even get to use our king size sheets we got from our wedding tomorrow!!! :) YAY!!!

Week 10

Well, week 10 is off to a great start!

My back has been feeling a lot better. It still hurts every once in a while, if I move funny. I think the improvement is due to my exercising. :) I've been walking for 40 minutes and doing stretches/weight work for 20 minutes every other day. :)

This week, I've noticed that I've had a little more energy. I don't know if it's because my show is over and that stress is gone...but I'm happy to be a little more functional after work. :)

The newest development has been the shortness of breath. My general doctor here in Waldorf says nothing is wrong with me...though she did not really check very much. According to all the websites both Kris and I have been reading, it is normal to have shortness of breath...even at just 10 weeks. So, I'll double check that with our OBGYN on Thursday. I'm assuming that all is well. It dawned on me last night when I was having trouble breathing that it was actually a great sign that I'm experiencing this-it means the baby is growing!

Kris was in Florida for a few days and he brought back our baby's first toy: Mickey Mouse and he brought me a Disney Mom mug!! He is so sweet. :)

My newest food "issue" is that I never know what I want to eat! Nothing sounds good and nothing tastes good, but I'm always hungry. I'll think I want chicken...then when I have it, I don't want it. It's a vicious circle. :) I've found that I have become quite a fan for "Andrew Nachos"...which is something Andrew made for us when we were out in LA for spring break. Basically, it's just these AWESOME Costco tortilla chips, with cheese and jalapenos...microwaved. I LOVE this...I think I've had it just about every night this past week! :) THANKS, ANDREW! :)

Good news on the medication front. I've been on medication since....uh....March, I think. I FINALLY took my last medication on May 20!!! The only meds I am currently on are the folic/prenatal vitamins! It is such a GREAT feeling to be done with all those meds! :)

I forgot to write about this a while ago. One of my students and her family gave me a cute little gift when word got out about our pregnancy. I've included a picture of it...I leave this little bear on my desk at work to remind me to take it easy. :)

I'll post week 10 pictures this weekend! Have a GREAT Memorial weekend, everyone! :)

Week 9 pictures

Here's two pictures from today... :)

Lessons learned from teaching: Chapter 1

9 years of teaching is long enough to see all the horrible things parents do to their children and some of the wonderful things parents do for the kids. As I think back through these past 9 years, I'm going to write down some of the good and bad things I've seen happen and make a special promise to our baby to try not to do these bad things. Friends and family: please feel free to add to this list!!! This will be a fun working document. :) I'm interested to see what you have seen and what advice you have to give! :) BTW...seriously: these are all lessons I learned from listening to my students tell me about their home life.



BAD BAD BAD:

1. I will not make my child feel like they cannot talk to me; force him/her to go into therapy; and then berate him/her about it.

2. I will not make my child wait at school alone for a ride because I am too busy to come get him/her.

3. I will not be THAT parent that blindly accepts my childs version of the truth over the teacher, while at the same time: I will not allow a teacher to treat him/her with disrespect.

4. I will not miss his/her concert's/games/awards ceremonies/any event because I have to work.

5. I will not bribe my child into good behavior or good grades with materialistic items and then take them away when they displease me.

6. I will not overlook one single speeding ticket; I will not blow it off as a one time offense; I will not let it pass without serious education about the impact of reckless driving.


7. I will not spend his/her college fund on a trip abroad and tell him/her that it was "my money" anyway and then kick him/her out of the house after graduating from high school.





Great idea:

1. I will help our child see both points of views of difficult situations, argue both sides, and teach him/her how to come to a good decision.

2. I will help our child understand that everyone makes mistakes, what's most important is the lesson learned.

3. I will be active in of our child's activities and school, even when he/she doesn't want me around...while still letting him/her have their individual freedom.

4. I will teach our child to appreciate those around him/her that do nice things for them.

5. I will teach our child that even though they have a driver's license...the do not need a Camaro to get from place to place.

BIG WEEK!

Well, this week was my last choir show. It was a pretty exhausting week and I'm still recovering. :) But, the show was great and I am proud that that was my final product. As I have all my "lasts"...it just makes it all the more real about this little blessing we are growing. :) It was such a mixture of emotions as I moved through the week, and especially on closing night. I am very excited about what is next...but it really is so sad to leave something you love so much. But...I guess it's better to leave something when you still enjoy it, rather than wait til you hate it to leave. My parents came to the opening night show, and surprised me by attending the closing night show as well! I didn't even know they were there until the end, while I was tearing down the equipment! Kris' parents came down for the closing night show, as well! So that made the night EVEN more special!!!

This week I've noticed a few changes. My back pain starting easing about halfway through the week and my weight is fluctuating a lot more. I think I have had my first food aversion...red meat. This is really odd because I LOVE red meat. But, I ate a McDonald's hamburger and ...that did not go so well. Then, I ate a Red Robin hamburger and I couldn't stomach it...then a little while later, I saw a commercial for a juicy T-bone steak and I thought I was going to be sick! So, I think I will be staying away from that!

I've been having an issue with Claustrophobia over the last couple weeks...so I've been working on that quite a bit. Has anyone had this problem when they were pregnant??? Low lighting, especially, gives me trouble. Even last night, we were eating at Carrabas...I had a little trouble, but when I'd look at the windows I'd feel a little better. It's so weird. Anyone else experience this?

This afternoon, I think we are going to try and go to my FAVORITE restaurant "Gilligans" to have crabs and to celebrate my last shows! I hope that the baby will let me enjoy THIS favorite of mine. :)

Week 9

Today marks week 9 for our pregnancy! :) I'll try to add a belly picture soon. I guess the new news on weight gain is that I am officially out of all my regular pants. I bought my first pair of maternity jeans last week. :) I think they would be great to wear, in general, for Thanksgiving! :)

I'm still not suffering from any nausea yet...although sometimes my stomach turns funny and I get a little queasy.

I am still really fatigued...but I think some of that is due to the fact my Spring Show is tomorrow and Friday. I'm hoping that next week I will feel at least a little better with the fatigue.

My back pain has been fluctuating a little. Today, I was mostly ok...with back spasms being few. The last couple days...my back has been pretty painful and has reduced me to tears.

Exercise has halted a little...I don't know if I can say it halted when I only did it twice. But, I am looking forward to getting back into it after the show is done.

What to expect.com says this about our baby's development:
" Your baby is busy building muscle, but all you may want to do these days is take a nice long nap. Chances are you've never felt so tired in your life and for good reason: Your body is working overtime preparing for motherhood as it develops the placenta, your baby's lifeline. Your baby, now the size of a green olive, has grown about an inch since last week. Tiny muscles are beginning to form, so while he might not be ready to pump iron, he's gearing up to move his arms and legs. It's still too soon to feel anything in your belly, but you might be able to hear something at your next checkup."

It's so fascinating to read about the changes from week to week. :) I'll post pictures at my next blog!!

WHEW! LONG update!

Well, hello! Long time no update! I'll try to bring everyone up to speed from our last post. Over spring break, while we were in California, I took a pregnancy test. It was negative. I took one the next day it was positive! I took another one immediately and it was positive! And, every day for the rest of the week I took one and it was positive!!! Our bloodwork appointment was April 13 and we got confirmation that we were pregnant!! :) We were very nervous about publicizing too much information too early. So we decided to wait a little while. We did tell our families immediately and had our private celebrations. :) Because we got pregnant through IVF, we had to go back two more times for more bloodwork...confirmed pregnancy! This brings us to our first sonogram!

A week after we confirmed our pregnancy, we went to Shady Grove for our first sonogram! When you look at the picture, do you see the image that resembles a diamond ring? Well, the diamond part of that is our baby! They told us that the heartbeat was strong and that the baby looked perfect! We were pretty stoked. At that point, our due date was around December 21, and at week 6.

Today, which marks week 8, we had our second sonogram! In this picture, if you look for the image in the little circle...you can see that the head has formed!!! Today's appointment was a big one! We were given our final instructions from our fertility clinic and released to our OBGYN!!! Today, our due date was moved to December 16. Alisa told us that our due date will continue to change! :)

So, officially, we are pregnant and expecting a little one in December! :) Thank you for all the prayers and support from our friends and family!!! :)

Our next step will be to meet with our doctor, for the first time, on May 20. We have decided to deliver at Anne Arundel Medical Center, in Annapolis, MD. Our doctor is highly recommended! We are looking forward to meeting her in a couple weeks!

As for the progress, for me...I've been really lucky! So far, I've been moody, exhausted, constantly hungry, some acne problems (GRRRREAT), parts of me are growing A LOT ( :) ), and I'm gaining weight! :) Because I am normally such a small person, the weight gain on me is fairly startling. :) I can only wear a couple of my regular pants...and I already have two pairs of maternity pants. :) It's all tummy fat right now...but my body is definitely loving the food I'm putting into it. Food cravings are pretty nice: pickles, vegetables, FRUIT... Thanks to Kris, I'm eating really healthy, and quite often. :)

So...I'll continue to update the blog at least once a week and once I get into the second trimester-I'll post pics of me and my baby bump! :)