Summer 2011 Pregnancy Group - Welcome! Pg.1 Has Intros!

[DandMe]

Oh my goodness! There are lots of wonderful women on here - I hardly know everyone! I've been reading the posts and just want to give you all a huge, huge congrats and warm welcome.

Anyone want to add photos to their siggy who doesn't already have one? I LOVE seeing photos and it helps so much with keeping everyone straight. We added photos on one of our trying threads and I got to know everyone LOL

I'm having a very boring pregnancy! It's awesome. I love it, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I am starting to show now, although to the average person I'm pretty sure I just look fat. LOL

I have a doppler and listen to the heartbeat nightly... just a couple weeks ago baby was low, near the pubic bone but now he's just under my belly button! And my uterus is now at my belly button... although I suspect my belly button is a little lower now than it was a few years and two babies ago. LOL

[karenthescorpio]

Rio...sorry, I didn't post the details. If you hang a needle on a thread over your wrist it is supposed to map out all of your children. It will start moving on it's own, so hold steady. If it forms a cicle, it means a girl, if it goes back and forth it's a boy. For me, it has always circled, gone back and forth, then circled again, then it comes to a dead stop. So girl, boy, girl. I tried it on an older lady at work who never had kids and it never even budged. I've actually done it to every woman at my work, and any that already have kids it has been right. I've done it to my family too. I did it in a coworker the day she had her gender ultrasound. She was sure it was a boy, but the needle said girl....US sad girl too!

Ryan- so I did the needle thing. I also did it with my wedding ring in place of the needle. It gave me the same reading each time and it was totally accurate as far as accounting for my twin girls...and it says this one is a boy. Which I believe is true. I have felt from day one it was a boy. And I also put the needle and my ring, separate times, over my belly and it they both said it is a boy. I'll find out what the baby is officially, but I have a gut feeling it is right. It really amazed me to see it start to move, then stop, then move again, then stop, then move again. It says I have a girl coming after this boy, too. hehehe We'll see about that!

[karenthescorpio]

Just realized I never did my intro...so here it goes....

Me (Karen) 40- mild pcos but no other issues
DH- 38- male factor issues
TTC 2 years
IVF#1 (Sept 09)- horrible cycle, OHSS, freeze all, poor quality embies
FET #1- (Nov 09)BFN due to crappy embies from previous cycle
IVF#2- (Jan 10) BFP (used PGD) TWIN GIRLS! Pre-term labor due to undiagnosed IC, babies born/died at 23wk3d.
Transabdominal cerclage (TAC) placed pre-pregnancy Sept 2010
IVF#3- (Nov 2010) BFP (used PGD again)- single embryo transfer!
Having a happy and uneventful pregnancy! Due date is August 2, 2011 but due to my TAC my c-section will be at 38 weeks, July 19, 2011.

[mellow4]

Ryann and Karen~ Tried the thread thing with my wedding ring...It was steadily a back and forth motion...so we will see. My sister tried it, it says boy, but 2 ultrasounds have said girl. Can't wait to find out if hers is confirmed or not.

My family comes home tomorrow...so back to the normalcy of life a little bit. My husband had to rescue his moms Great Dane from drowning in a half frozen lake today...thankfully the ice held him and he didn't go down with the dog...dog rescued, hubby the hero. I am very thankful today.

[mellow4]

I never did an intro as well, what a slacker I am:

Me 35- No issues (SoCali)
DH 35- Severe Male Factor
2 m/c 1994
DD 15
DS 13
DD 11
Trying to conceive 10 years
2 m/c 2007
4 failed IUI's
IVF#1 Aug 2009- Successful, Welcomed little Johnny into the world April 2010, and lost him at 8 days old to meningitis.
IVF #2 July 2010- Miscarriage at 8 weeks
IVF# 3 Nov Beta 1- 633, Beta 2- 1350
Due date Aug 8...expecting to meet our twins sometime in July. My babies come early..praying for not too early.

[zoegirl]

Here is my info:
Zoegirl - Delaware, USA
38 years old / DH 41
Me - endo, high FSH DH - no issues
2nd child (one son from IVF born Oct 2007)
TTC Since Nov 2008
1st IVF Mar09 - chemical
2nd IVF - Double BFP! Due September 5th, 20111st Ultrasound - 4 wk 4day - two sacs one with yolk
2nd Ultrasound - 5w4d - two sacs both with yolk & heartbeat! Each measuring 6 weeks.

I guess I should say that even tho my due date as calculated by the online calculators is 9/5, I likely will deliver in August because its twins.

Stephanie - sorry to hear of the conflict with MIL. So nice that your DH intervened and made it better! Congrats on getting to build a nursery from scratch - that sure will be fun.
My MIL is a bit like yours - very generous and sweet but can be a little interfering at times . . . I didn't get to design my son's nursery because of her interference. She bought the crib without telling us, and then she railroaded me into an ugly dresser, changing table, and rocking chair that I didn't want. DH said to just take it as she was paying and it would save us money. Nevermind I had saved up $$ for the nursery! Only thing DH and I did was paint the room and buy a rug. She wants to help with the twins nursery too but I think she now understands after my distress last time that I want to choose things for myself!

[riogirl71]

So great to see this group growing!

Karen - I will be 2 weeks early also due to GD, so we might have the benas on the same day! We are cycle twins, I have a feeling for boy also.

Mellow - If you don't mind me asking, I see you have 3 older children and sever male factor, were you able to conceive them with your DH without any help? Did he get his counts compromised later? I am asking cause my DH was fine then had cancer and the chemo made him have male fertility issues. Glad you are getting your family back and yeay for DH the hero!

Amanda - good to have the stitches out!

Kiz - hi May cycle buddy! We are a little late but catching up to the other girls!

Baby - I don't think we can ever escape the pressures of MIL and moms. Just nod and say great idea, thank you and then go do whatever you want!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karin - welcome new neighbor! You are in SJ now right? Sorry about your car accident but glad all is well!

Smithbaby - yep the worrying never ends! Welcome!

Anacris - One US every 4 weeks, ouch that's quite the wait!

I have an US on Thursday, I am feeling pretty good except for dizzy here and there, GD is finally under some control and I am not stressing over it. Just can't wait to be on my second trimester! one more week and I will be there! I did the ring thing but I did not know it accounted for al your kids, cause it stopped then went again and then I got confused so I will try again!

[mellow4]

Rio~ Yes, we conceived the older kids with no help! Miracles I tell you! And before any of you go getting any ideas...they are all red heads just like their Daddy. haha. They really are miracles, I was told I lost all of them. Now they all stand at eye level with me (isn't hard, I'm a shorty at 5ft3) and each one are wonderful. They are a joy. Doctors have said they don't know how we ever conceived on our own...when I say severe, it really is bad. We are blessed to have them, and they have been praying many years for a little brother or sister. Our little Johnny is deeply missed. It was a hard pill to swallow for us all. I would like to share him with you all. Here is a little picture video we made of him for his funeral. I bawl my eyes out every time I watch it, so if it's too hard for you to watch, I totally understand. We were just so proud of him and he was our little light, that was snuffed out too soon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdEnI4RtYHc

When I think about him, I don't always cry anymore...I can smile about him now. So very missed still though.

[baby_blu73]

Zoe - Thanks for your story! I can totally envision your situation just dealing with mine. Hearing yours, makes me realize there is a positive aspect to mine... MIL and I do have very similar tastes. It was just frustrating to have her choose a nursery theme before DH and I even had the opportunity to consider our options. We did talk to her a bit this morning, and I feel a bit better about the situation. DH suggested that her and I go to the fabric store TOGETHER after we find out the genders. Not much of a response from her about his suggestion, but I'm just going to assume that's what we're going to do. A happy middle ground.

Rio - LOL! I wish! She's already bought stuff from fabrics for their quilts to lots of clothes... and we don't even know what we're having yet! She's excited, I totally understand. But, her daughter's had two kids in the last 3 years that she got to help plan for. DH and I haven't had that luxury... Best wishes tomorrow on your u/s! Can't wait to hear how it goes.

Mellow - What a scary situation! I'm so glad everything turned out for the better. Thank you for sharing your precious angel with us. I know I won't be able to watch it, but think it's wonderful that your heart has healed enough to be able to do so.

Amanda - Thanks! How's the recovery going? I just know it's going to be more than worth all the pain.

afm - Just waiting for the 1st to roll around. We have the "big" u/s then and I can't wait! I'm really looking forward to knowing what to expect and finally be able to call them by their names. Round ligament pain has officially kicked in over the last two days. Not super pleasant, but expected. I just hafta move slower when getting up. Have a wonderful Wednesday, ladies!

[mellow4]

Oh, and by the way...these are not pictures of him after he passed, they are of his first days with us, and then NICU pics. I wouldn't want anyone to think I would post something like that and not warn you...we haven't shared those pictures..they are too hard to see.

[rypell1985]

Mellow...thank you for sharing Johnny. What a beautiful angel you have...and what a wonderul tribute. Your older children are beautiful as well.

[klinger13]

Oh Mellow - I'm so glad I work from home because I'm at my desk completely bawling my eyes out. You are such a strong woman to have made it through all of that. I definitely think Johnny is with you, looking out for you and your twins. Thank you for sharing those wonderful pictures of Johnny and your family with us. It is such a beautiful tribute to him.

[Tess69]

To all my fellow Fall Cycle buddies

DH and I unfortunately received some devastating news this week.

We went for the routine 18-20 wk anatomy scan on Monday. The technician who did the scan wasn't very communicative but didn't indicate that there were any problems. Later that day, I received a call from my Obs who said that there had been at least three abnormalities noted. I was referred to the consultant obs at the hospital and rescanned the next day. Unfortunately we found out that baby has unsurvivable abnormalities i.e. Grossly enlarged polycystic kidneys, hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain), and undeveloped lungs due to a lack of amniotic fluid.

As you can imagine, DH and I are absolutely gutted. The pregnancy had been going so well, with low risk first trimester screening results and no problems noted in the nuchal scan.

At the moment, I really don't know feel that I'll ever get over it. We were so happy at the prospect of finally being Mum and Dad.

I'll deliver the baby on Monday and an autopsy will be done. The results of the autopsy will determine whether or not we ride the IVF roller coaster again.

Family, friends and the obstetrics team at the hospital have been amazing. But at the moment I feel like I will never get over this. It's just so unfair. I want a baby so much but the thought of possibly going through this again horrifies me.

Anyway everybody, once I've got my head around this whole thing, I'll be keeping any eye on everybody's progress (as I have been doing) and wish you all the very very best in your pregnancies.

[Arabsrcool]

sorry to crash girls, but I felt I needed to!

mellow,

I watched your video of little johnny. I am still sitting here just crying and crying. I cannot imagine all you went through, and my heart goes out to you. I have been following your journey and pray that all works out well this time. God Bless you

Ronda

[mellow4]

Tess~ Though I don't know you...my heart hurts for you. I know the feeling of the loss of a child. I am so sorry you are going through this. You will be in my prayers. Again, deeply sad and have a heavy heart for you.