14 week visit

We went today for my 14 week check-up. Everything looks GREAT! The baby's heartbeat was around 153-155! The doctor said this is completely normal. I was excited to learn that there would be NO BLOODWORK today! I'm officially DONE with progesterone checks (as long as the heartbeat continues to look normal). My body is now producing enough progesterone for the baby.

Today's visit was a good one overall. However, I have to say I'm a little disappointed about one thing. We would be able to find out the sex of our baby right before Christmas, Dec. 21. However, Gerrad and I are going on a winter trip to Branson (coming back the day before Christmas Eve)... SO, we won't be able to find out until the 28th! Oh well, I guess that will definitely save us some money on our trip ( I won't be able to buy a ton of baby stuff without knowing the sex). I'm very excited about our trip, so that will give me something to keep my mind off the waiting part...

Here's the beginning work in the nursery. As you can see (picture on the left) Kimura is always VERY inquisitive about what' going on. She's going to be SO excited about the new addition.

I am not all about the traditional "pink or blue" nursery, so we have decided to use neutral tones. The fan will be coming down and replaced with a chandelier. The main colors in the room will be chocolate brown and blues for a boy, or chocolate brown and pinks for a girl. We are not doing a specific "theme." The next part of the project after painting trim will be to paint and install a white chair railing around the room.

Today was October 23rd. This was a HUGE day for both of us as well as "Bean." It would be my last visit to the ART Fertility Clinic. This place began to feel like "home" to me, and it represented a place of safety because they kept such a close watch over me each and every week. So, this appointment was a little bitter sweet. I was very thankful that I had made it to this huge milestone, and would be able to be released to my regular Doctor. However, I was a little sad at the same time. I would definitely miss all of the sweet, smiling faces of the nurses and staff who had been so encouraging to us through our journey! We definitely hope to return here one day, BUT just for a visit only, and to say THANKS again.

The baby still continued to look good on the pictures today. the measurements were normal, and the heartbeat was strong. Now, we could not only recognize the head that had become more proportioned with the body, but also the arm and leg buds. I knew this would be the last pictures we would see for a while.

Today was October 14. This was a big day for us. First, this was the first time we actually saw what looked like a "baby" rather than just a "blob." Also, it was my last time to see Dr. Honea, our fertility doctor. She was clearly very happy and satisfied with how things were progressing.

Today was October 9th. Once again, we were back at the doctor for an ultrasound and bloodwork to make sure all was going well. This time, the baby looked like what I called a little "blob." It was amazing, though, how much it grew from week to week. We were holding our breath as the nurse looked at the pictures, and then there it was... a small, blinking, white dot! This was the heartbeat, and it was perfect! I actually let out a huge sigh of relief. Once again, we left with pictures in hand, excited about our trip to the doctor in one week.

Today was October 1. It still had not completely set in that I was actually pregnant. We were excited and anxious at the same time....hoping that we would actually see the baby. Also, we were in hopes and had heard that we might be able to see the heartbeat. However, we weren't able to see it this week. The nurse told us that was normal and said everything looked good. We couldn't wait for the next week when we would get ot see our baby again.

Today was September 25th. We had a weekly ultrasound starting from the time I discovered I was pregnant (5 wks). We were SO excited to be able to see this image, even though no baby could be seen yet. I remember the nurse saying. "you might not want to have a copy of this ultrasound because you can't really see anything." My response, "This is more than I've ever seen before so I want this picture for sure!"

Our story...

So, our story of infertility started back in March of 2007. We decided to start trying for a child only after a year of marriage (but, we had already been together for 12 years). I always knew I wanted to be a mommy, but I never realized it would ever be so hard.

We were sent to Dr. Honea at the ART Fertility Program of Alabama in the summer of 2008. We had already tried various medicines, etc. with my regular OB-GYN before being referred. So... here's where the big roller coaster began. I was started on new, stronger fertility meds along with artificial inseminations. This was done for months, along with numerous doctor visits for bloodwork and ultrasounds. Each cycle started with excitement, hoping that "this time will finally work" and ending with devastation. I would hear these words from my nurse at the end of many months... "I am sorry to inform you that your pregnancy test was negative. So, the doctor wants to continue with your plan". I became so tired of hearing these words, and hearing about my "plan."

This infertility struggle consumed my thoughts and my life at times. I couldn't undertstand what was wrong, and why I couldn't get pregnant (especially considering that numerous tests were performed on Gerrad and I and each test showed that everything was normal). We were actually diagnosed with "unexplained infertility." I think it would have been somewhat easier had we known of something specific as the problem.

With our hopes fading and our insurance coverage of inseminations running out, we decided to move onto to injectibles in July of 2009. These were very costly, but much less expensive than IVF (which would have been our last option). So... July came with shots each day as well as doctor visits and ultrasounds. Once again, I received the same phone call at the end of that month that I had dreaded each and every time. So... Gerrad and I decided that we had had enough for a little while. I could not go on right then emotionally or physically.

The month of September came and my birthday was around the corner. We decided to spend my birthday weekend at the lake, one of our favorite spots to rest and relax. This was my 29th birthday, and this birthday is one I will NEVER forget. Gerrad persuaded me to take a pregnancy test on the Sunday after my birthday. So, with much hesitation and a TON of doubt, I did. When the plus sign showed up, I thought to myself ("this has to be a false positive because there's no way that I'm pregnant this month). Well, was I wrong. I went to the doctor that Tuesday for a beta pregnancy test, and found out I was 5 weeks pregnant!!!

So, here we are, almost 3 years later... 12 weeks pregnant... holding our breath and thanking God for this precious miracle!

Here goes....

So, this is my first time to have my own blog!! I thought this would be a great way to share pictures of our pregnancy journey. I have several good friends at work who really talked me into this. Hopefully, I'll be able to find the time to keep it updated. I will be adding pictures soon so check back for updates.

Kimberly