Hello World!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that the 3 of us are doing good. I have happily settled into my new home and am feeling great. Like Brad said, Monday we were certainly hit by a MackTruck with all of this. Tuesday was a little more of the same-just worry and shock. Brad stayed with me that night on the air mattress and poor guy froze to the bone. I have never seen him even cold in seven years and he was asking for extra blankets in the middle of the night and he had goosebumps all day on Wednesday. Wednesday we did the surgery and it went as well as it could. I was a WRECK to say the least. One, I am TERRIBLE with medical procedures so I was very nervous. Secondly, I was so worried for the babies. After you sign all of the consents telling you that the procedure could have complications like losing the pregnancy - you get a little freaked out. Add the pregnancy hormones to all that and I was one teary girl. I just kept apologizing to Brad telling him I was trying to be really brave! They basically hung me upside down and I remember hearing what I kept thinking was a huge can of shaving cream-still don't know what that was though and I keep forgetting to ask my dr. It was relatively quick and I must add that the spinal was the craziest thing I have ever experienced!
I really did well afterwards too. They insisted on pain meds to keep everything quiet and I was flat for 48 hours-no getting out of bed for any reason.
Thursday, I got a spa bath...a really nice term for bed bath. It was actually WONDERFUL. I felt much better but still just longed to wash my hair.
Friday was a sicky day b/c they put me back on prenatals-in the morning and on an empty stomach-my fault. I slept most of the day. The BEST thing happened though at about 4:30...I GOT SHOWER PRIVALEDGES!!! You cannot EVEN imagine the joy of washing your hair after 5 days. I thought I would start crying in the shower b/c it was so great. My dr came in after and I told him I would lay flat as long as he told me as long as I could shower every few days-I wasn't going to push daily :)
So, there is our week! Again, the babies are perfect and as long as their mommy can hold up we should be good. I am here for the duration and honestly just thankful the drs caught all of this. I can handle anything as long as they are ok. I actually thought today that I am good at being alone and in silence. I am pretty mellow and Brad was more annoyed that I was just laying here in silence and asked me if I wanted to take up knitting??? I just laughed histerically!
Most of all, thank you for all of the calls, visits, and prayers. The prayers are the most important thing we all need now.
I will keep posting as much as I have Brad's laptop. I have funny pics to take already :)

The Mack Truck

Brad here (yes, I'm blogging for the first time). I'm sitting in Plano Presbyterian Hospital with Meredith who has just been placed on permanent bed rest. We went to the perinatologist for our 20 week sonogram on Monday afternoon and got a really good report on the twins. Then the Mack Truck hit. At the end of the visit, he measured her cervix and it was 9mm. I'm no doctor, but I've heard that anything less than 25 is not good. The perinatologist sent us immediately to our OB who measured it again and it was 10 or 11mm. At that point, they admitted her into the hospital to be put on complete bed rest. This morning (Wed), they performed a cerclage, which is a fancy way of saying they stitched up her cervix to prevent early labor. She is 20 weeks and 0 days today, so there's a long way to go and the chances of her going home before the babies get here are slim and none.

We're making ourselves at home here. We have internet access, a dvd player, and tons of books and magazines to keep her occupied, not to mention a refrigerator where we can keep junk food that will help her gain that 50 lbs! I'll do my best to keep this blog updated and once she's feeling better in a few days, she may start doing a little bit of this herself. She's a trooper and has a really good attitude about all of it, so I'm really proud of her and the sacrifice she has made and continues to make for our twins. Thank you to all of you who have already sent e-mails and called - we really do appreciate your support and prayers.

Making Progress!

<<<12 weeks! I honestly thought I was so HUGE! I laugh at that now...

Here I am at 20 weeks and know that I still have a LONG way (hopefully) to go! (excuse the fact that I have no eyelashes)>>>

I have been feeling good. No real problems except for the probable kidney stone I had on Thursday. That was miserable-luckily-I was able to pull over into the McDonald's parking lot when I got sick and the pain passed in about 30 minutes or so. They couldn't find any other stones in the kidneys so that is encouraging-maybe just a one time deal! I am my mother's daughter and my sister's sister when it comes to the kidney stones.

We go to the perinatologist tomorrow for the BIG sono. Since I just had one on Friday I'm not too anxious. They both have been looking great and it has been so fun to feel them kick and bounce around. Brad finally felt them last night which was too fun-he just kept going ooh, whoa, oh, everytime they kicked and then would show me on my stomach where they kicked! It was funny. And they loved church today-kicked the ENTIRE time!


Here is a MUCH better picture of the Nursery. We have made room for the new stuff that will go in there...bought the cribs yesterday so as long as we can fit them in there we are good! We got just plain straight dropside cribs in espresso and we are going to hopefully get Matt to make us a dresser to match. You can kind of see the fabrics we are using too. It is going to be pretty cute I think...I hope :)

Last but not least, we went on our final Va-Kay last weekend. We went to Lake Tahoe with my family. It was a LOT of fun, chaotic of course, and absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I just wished we could have hiked, biked, and canoed like we did in Canada last summer but with my "restricted activity of all kinds" we rode the trolley with all the elderly to see the beautiful views. Here are a few photos...It truly is a beautiful lake and the weather was SOOO nice-only in the 70's for highs which was quite enjoyable to this prego. I took several naps while we were there and although Brad wanted to probably be outside, he never complained a bit...although I'm sure it was because it allowed him to watch the US Open all weekend! Guess that's all for now and will give you a little update to tied you over. I HAVE to post more sono pics too-we have a GILLION that are soo precious...several 3D ones already too. Another post...gotta go eat...OH OF WHICH I HAVE GAINED 7 POUNDS...thank you very much...I got a Gold Star from my doctor on Friday...He was proud...I basically eat butter by the pound, whole milk by the gallon, and lots of CHEESE...food sure is going to taste different after this pregnancy when I have to eat healthy again...

Terrible Blogger

Quick updates for everyone! We are doing great! All four of us. We have had 4 or5 sono's since my last post I think and all have been great. Well, I take that back. We did the nuchal fold screening and Baby B's measurement came back abnormal but the bloodwork was fine and the perinatologist that did it only spent 10 minutes on the sono. (all of my others are around 45 min)
We were worried at first but not so much now b/c they are keeping SUCH a CLOSE eye on them. Structurally they are perfect as far as they can see now. We did our follow up with my sister's perinatologist and he was FANTASTIC. He spent more time talking to us BEFORE the sono than the other guy did the ENTIRE appointment. So again, he was FANTASTIC.
Both babies are growing good. They each weigh 6 oz as of Monday and I officially started feeling them (or at least B) this week. I think I felt A today-it was more on my left side and that's where A is sitting.


We have been so busy of course! My parents are building a lake house which is going to be incredible and I can't wait for it to be finished. (We are thinking Thanksgiving) and their lot is awesome. It has lots of trees and the PERFECT fishing hole. The girls each caught 3 or more fish one Saturday. Reid was hilarious b/c she didn't even know what she was doing and she would just reel hers in and squeal with joy saying, "I catched a worm AGAIN!" and would just be soooo excited! Abby and Mallory were very patient fishergirls and caught lots and loved it. BUT DID NOT want to touch any of the fish. The boys however wanted to touch all of them. They loved the fish, the boats, and throwing the sticks in the water. They are going to love having a place to run around. Good thing Dad is putting a fence along the property so they don't go flying off into the lake! My dad is so thrilled that he is getting more grandkids that he has already changed the plans for the upstairs bunkroom for the kids and knocked out the attic to make the bunkroom bigger. He is hilarious.

THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL THESE DAYS THOUGH IS....Brad painted the nursery! Now, I understand this is what most fathers do. However, read on...
I went to Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend for work-boring Dental convention-honestly. Anyways, before I left I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the list of things we have to do before these children arrive or before I go on the looming fear of bedrest. I LOVE decorating, doing everyone else's nursery's etc...but I have not been my usual decision making self lately. I basically just told Brad, Ah, let's just paint it the color of Will's room. He kept asking me if I was sure and I just kept saying, "It's fine, It's khaki, It's neutral. Whatever!" I just couldn't think of anything else to do and the thought of cute stripes or murals or anything overwhelmed me.
LITTLE DID I KNOW...Daddy was plotting! Keep in mind, Brad is NOT creative. I don't say that negatively, he is the thinker, the analytical one, the number cruncher. I am the creative one. Well, he picked colors, designed the border, EVERYTHING and did it ALL while I was gone! I sat in the floor and boo-hoo'd b/c I LOVE is SOOO much. His parents and brother all helped get it done in time but he came up with he whole idea and everything. Keep in mind, we still have all the junk in the room b/c we have to move stuff around and don't have a place yet-this weekend we are doing that...so here it is...it is khaki on the top, one shade darker on the bottom, and then has the diamond border with alternating khaki, green, and brown diamonds. It matches the fabrics perfectly and again- I LOVE IT! I will do better pictures when the room is cleaned out.
I will post some current sono pics and my belly pics later. It is getting big! I am 17+ weeks and look much further along-but there's two so that's ok! I actually got in trouble with the dr on Monday b/c I had LOST weight. Not trying, just the summer is here and I'm in my 2nd trimester - I don't know. I have been stuffing myself since Monday. Lots of mini meals and Ensure drinks to supplement. They are quick and easy at work.
Sorry for the LONG post...but hey, it's an update!

Good News

Thanks for all the prayers! My doctor called me today and told me that Brad WAS NOT a carrier for cystic fibrosis! Yea! We were very happy-although we were not super worried it is just nice to cross that off our list. We will go to the perinatologist on Friday and have our nuchal fold test. I tried to get out of it but my dr said it was important. I'll keep you posted. I have pictures to post too from yesterday of Brad's 31st birthday. Unfortunately it wasn't his best birthday because he got comfirmation of a seafood type allergy. For those that know him, SEAFOOD is his FAVORITE so it really does make me sad for him but I am glad he finally got the seriousness of it yesterday. (Don't worry, no trips to the ER-just confirmation after 2 bites of calamari and a dose of Benedryl.)
Until Friday...

Prayer Requests

Please pray for Ryan, Lacy, Berkley, and Emory! I have corrected the link and it should work now. Berkley and Emory are twin girls that were born at 25 weeks. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers!

Bad Mommy Already???

I didn't even make it out of the doctor's office today with our sonogram pictures! Oops-thankfully some nice person found them in the hall and gave them back to our doctors office. I didn't realize it until late in the day so I will post them later when I go pick them up. I am already leaving my children!!
For the summary of the visit though...The babies look good. Kicking and waving today. They have grown 100% since last visit and their heartbeats were 152 and 154. They certainly like to keep us guessing on what they are. Their beats have gone from the 140s to 170s to now the 150s...Any guesses now??? I will have to post a survey poll soon.
Their was one concern today from my previous bloodwork. It seems from preliminary work that I carry the cystic fibrosis gene. That is a little concerning but they took Brad's blood to check to see if he was a carrier too. There is a 1 in 900 chance that we would both be carriers so we are going to go with that high probability that we won't both have it! I am not going to worry too much about it but again, it is a little concerning. The only other thing he said was, "BlueBell!" I gotta get to gaining weight! Oh and eating red meats-low on the iron...we can supplement there...
On another fun note...Mom and I went fabric hunting to see if I wanted to try to attempt to make bedding or not. I hadn't found anything I loved earlier...but today I did find some REALLY cute fabrics. It is definitely gender neutral-certainly more on the boy side but that's just the way it has to be overall b/c you can put blue in a girls room but no pink in a boys room! I really love the two and after going to Babies R Us I think I have decided on one that will be easy to match sheets, changing pad covers, blankets, etc...I will post the fabrics soon too-when I KNOW that's what I am doing!
Ok, that's all for today...it is 8pm and so pushing the bedtime...
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR ENCOURAGING WORDS AND EXCITEMENT FOR US! IT HAS BEEN SO FUN SHARING OUR NEWS AND WE ARE SO BLESSED TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE PRAYING FOR US AND OUR TWINS!

SAVE THE DATE!!

I have been waiting to publish this post for a very long time-and although that time was long by our own choosing, I wouldn't change a single day we waited. I am officially proud to announce that we are having BABIES!!! That's right-B-A-B-I-E-S!! Here is a few pictures and I am also going to post our "story" that occured over the last (almost) three months...
This was our first sono on March 28. Brad immediately saw both sacs and he had been saying it was twins all along. I couldn't see the screen but as soon as Steve said he saw 2 sacs and 2 babies, I sat straight up and said, "Seriously?" I don't know why I thought he would for some reason joke about that but I was just making sure. One baby #2 on the right was a little bit smaller and so they wanted to check me in a week to make sure everything was ok. We sent the whole family a text message while we were having the sono and said "It's official. We are having...TWINS!" Our phones IMMEDIATELY went NUTS! It was so wonderful. One of the best days ever. They both had solid heartbeats-that was cool to see on the screen-and they were 143 and 145.
Ok, this sono pic isn't so great but it is our second one and both babies are big and healthy. They are not worried about #2 at all anymore. They think it was the smaller of the embryos which happens a lot. Both heartbeats were strong at 171 and 173! We "GRADUATED" from our fertility doctor today and we get to go see our OB on Thursday. I am so happy about that.
This is my favorite picture so far...baby B is on the left. He/She is upside down with the legs kicking off to the upper left. Baby A is on the right and he/she is face forward and was shakin' and dancin' with those little arms and legs. I was 9 weeks and 1 day here. This was our first sono with our OB. I really liked him and his staff. I was there almost 2 and 1/2 hours and felt like he was very thorough. He has called me personally 3 times now to review things we went over and gather more info. (Mainly concerning my nephews heart defects-which he isn't too concerned about but will monitor ours carefully and send us to their cardiologist at 22 wks.) It was a great visit.
I have been feeling great. I am extremely tired and pretty much starving all the time-nothing to complain about - I am so thankful I haven't been sick. We have started to spread the news slowly but surely. We were going to wait until 12 weeks but after three perfect sonos and the little belly bump I am already hiding, we figured we could tell 2 weeks earlier. It has certainly made it real now.
It was really fun telling our siblings. We told Chad and Allie on Easter and then told my sisters the next day. I think we really surprised them good. I can't believe we hid it for so long but it was the right decision for us not to tell while we were doing the treatments. Now if we can just not find out what we are having...it will be difficult having a sono every 2 weeks not to find out if they are boys or girls or one of each...but we are going to try!
So, there is our news! Keep reading if you want to know the "details" of the IVF process that we went thru. For most it will bore you but I mainly wrote it all down so that I would remember it all and for my friends who are going thru fertility to have a little hope. We had such a great experience and have been so blessed by God thru it all!

WARNING: THIS COULD TAKE A WHILE!!!!

And the journey officially begins today...After a LONG decision making process, we have decided to bite the bullet, take the plunge, go full-throttle...I took the first dose of medicine today to inadvertently begin fertility treatments. I decided yesterday after talking to a friend that is currently going through F.T. that I should write everything down because I will never remember all the details. So,today is only the beginning of what could be a long journey.

Wed. Feb 2, 2008: I finally started-thank goodness-I was anxious to start b/c the doctor has always said it was good that Provera always worked for me and since I hadn't taken it in so long, I was worried that a new "kink" would be added to the mix. This marked Day 1 in the whole cycle-called Dr. Douglas and they said they wanted me to see me on Friday for a sonogram.
Friday Feb. 5th: Went in for my sono today! Steve was still the sonographer and when I got in the room he said, "Man, long time no see!" He is really nice and super informative. He showed me my ovaries full of little follicles and said that there were no cysts which is good. The uterus is good and lining is normal. Whew-first step done!
If you look at the sono picture to the left there, you will see an ovary outlined in blue. The black circles are follicles that contain eggs inside. The polycystic ovary has all these follicles but for a variety of reasons they never mature to then be released. This is not my ovary but it is what it looked like today.
I then had a consult with Dr. Douglas and he went into the whole reproductive tract 101 for me and said we were going to try a newer drug, Letrozole (pill) and combine that with Repronex (shots) that I took several years ago. He is hoping that he can stimulate only a few of the follicles in the ovaries and do an insemination (IUI). If a lot of follicles grow big though we will be able to convert the cycle to InVitro (IVF) so we won't waste any time or money or medications. I'm good with that plan. I will start the shots and meds tonight. The best part of my visit is that I don't have to come back until Thursday of next week and then Saturday and Sunday. This couldn't have worked out better with my work schedule that I have been really worried about when trying to decide when to start treatments. God is completely in control of all of this and easing my anxiety each step of the way.

I remember a friend of mine who had to do IVF 3 times told me that on her 3rd time they were really consistent with taking the shots at the same time every night. So that's my plan...9 pm...I have set my cell phone alarm and plan to be home or take my meds with me if we are going to be out.
The insurance is such a pain. I had to pick up my meds at a specialty pharmacy...this is no CVS or Walgreens let me tell ya...I was there over 3 hours this afternoon trying to get my meds-the insurance wouldn't go thru or something-I got tired of understanding or asking questions after the first hour.
So much for being home at 9 tonight! We had A BLAST with Haley and Ben. These are my 2 favorite kids that aren't related to me. Their parents, Mike and Jennifer, were my Bible study leaders in high school and are awesome. I love the whole family-I remember the day both of the kids were born and love that they love Brad too-actually they love him more than me but that's ok. They are the coolest kids!! They got a Wii for Christmas and they have been wanting us to come over and play...we had a BLAST like I said. I am terrible of course but it was a fun way to burn some extra cals. We put in the boxing game and I was literally sweating-so fun! Tennis, bowling, and Tiger Woods golf are our favs. So, at 9 pm I took my shot at their house in my stomach...no biggie...did great! This may seem funny to those of you that know me well. I am the girl who has basically fainted at the eye doctor and am the BIGGEST wimp when it comes to needles and bloodwork. For some reason though, this doesn't bother me and the idea of Brad giving me the shots in the stomach freaks me out. I think it's a control thing-I like being in charge of the situation-medically speaking-it doesn't make me feel faintish.

Sunday Feb 7th: Today I was in the nursery helping and I was talking to my friend, Lindsey. This is what she said to me..."I had a dream about you and I was so mad at you!" Really? Why: "I had a dream that you were pregnant with twins and that you somehow already found out that they were a boy and a girl! I was really excited for you but then mad b/c you didn't even tell me that you were doing your InVitro stuff and so I didn't even get to pray about it!" If my jaw didn't physically fall to the floor, it sure felt like it did! I just laughed and honestly I don't remember what I said to respond other that she didn't need to worry b/c I wasn't pregnant, but she should always keep my disfunctional ovaries in her prayers because they always need it!! I tried to just laugh it off! However, Lindsey, I hope you have some unique ability to predict the future and if it does come true, please don't be mad for not telling you ahead of time. I will tell you personally when we are pregnant though :)


Thursday-VALENTINES DAY-2008 This was moment of truth day! What a ROLLER COASTER ride it was today. So, I went in for the sonogram. I knew the meds were working b/c my stomach is huge and bloated - it is funny looking b/c I also have these red whelps that are swollen and itchy from the shots. I am quite a site. Back to the sonogram, Brad met me there and one of the first things Steve said when he saw my first ovary was, "Well, have your jeans been feeling a little tight?" I thought it was funny b/c it was true. We could immediately see all the follicles were A LOT bigger-and I do mean ALL the follicles. Not just one or two like we were planning but 14 on the right and 11 on the left!!!! Yep, that's right, 25 follicles. So....that means IVF. WHOA...we kind of started the freak out phase here...
If you look at the photo on the left and compare it to the first one you can see that the black circles (follicles) are much bigger. They measure each of these and when they are the right size we proceed to the next step.
We met with the insurance coordinator and poor Brad was on the phone with the insurance company all afternoon trying to get written verification that we had IVF coverage. Meanwhile, I am filling out all the paperwork that I have to take to the hospital A.R.T.S. department as soon as possible b/c egg retrieval will be the beginning of next week. We didn't even have time to go to the the IVF orientation...We rushed out of the doctor's office and sat in my car signing all of the paperwork. The problem came when we had to have a witness (a friend or family member) sign that paperwork, too. The kicker is that we haven't told anyone about all of this - except my work b/c I have to get my patients rescheduled. So, I rushed to work, had my boss sign it and then took it to the hospital before 4:30 that afternoon. My meds changed today also-I had to take more of the Repronex and then Ganirelix to make sure I don't ovulate on my own or too early. We will check everything on Saturday. In my stress of the day...I went and got an emergency haircut-hahaha...don't ask me why, granted, I REALLY needed it but it was more about just doing something totally un-fertility-related! It was great. Our hot romantic date was at my sisters house with all the family. We had a little "Breakfast Party"-the kids think it is so fun to have pancakes for dinner. FYI-don't add food coloring to pancake batter-it makes them weird and spongy?? By the time we got home, we just passed out on the bed and talked about how nutty our day had been.

Friday 2/15: I had the day off today! Thank goodness!! I actually went to the Acupuncturist. I won't give too many details-only that the reason I went is b/c it is shown to improve your odds of IVF success. I am willing to try anything-I mean-I am already giving myself shots in the stomach...why not try some relaxing needles too??
We went over to Ben and Haley's again tonight. We met the whole family at LunaDeNoche and then went to their house to play the Wii again. Such a good distraction. And I love that family! We are going to make this a regular Friday night party!

Saturday 2/16: Went in for another sonogram today and we did bloodwork too. We had the "weekend staff" - nice but not the same. The sonographer wasn't NEARLY as informative-she didn't tell us much. The results were that the stimulation of the ovaries had slowed down a little bit and they want me to do the meds for a few more days so the follicles can keep growing and maturing.
We went to Bart's for dinner tonight. It was a lot of fun-Laura and Todd and Jana all came. Bart made a delicious meal and then we played Catch Phrase! The girls beat the boys 3-1! Sweeeet! I had to be super incognito in Bart's 650 square foot apartment at 9 pm when I had to do my shot. I broke away when it was time for dessert and felt like I was in the bathroom forever but Brad said it wasn't too long. My stomach is getting even bigger so I know the follicles are still growing. As soon as I got in the car, I had to unbutton and UNZIP my jeans-I was dying. It will be fine when there is a baby (or babies) in there and I can wear appropriate clothing but right now it is just crazy bloatedness!

Sunday 2/17 - Went to another friend's house for dinner tonight! Thanks Jodie for a YUMMY dinner-it's at our house next time. Again, had to sneak off into her bathroom and shoot up-I am really beginning to feel like a druggie-the funny part is stashing all the trash back into my purse afterwards and walking back out like nothing happened. All of our fertility issues came up at dinner tonight and I had a hard time explaining it and keeping a straight face. It is so hard to lie.

Monday 2/18 8:00am: Another sono and bloodwork-lots of big follicles measuring 19 or so. That's good! They said there were about 10 and they like to have between 8-12. (I like average!) I needed to take one more dose of Repronex right then and then do the HcG shot tonight and then retrieval will be WEDNESDAY morning! They said they would call me later for the exact time to take my shot b/c it is supposed to be 36 hours before retrieval. Wednesday is a problem...keep reading...
I met my mom and sisters at the gym this morning. Laura noticed that I wasn't working out very hard. She said, "Tia, you are moving kind of slow this morning. Are you ok?" I said that I was and that I didn't eat breakfast so I just didn't have too much energy. She seemed to buy it. I hate the lying-but they won't mind when it's all done.
Mom and I went and spent the afternoon with Jacob and Luke. It was so fun for us-although I don't know that J and L really loved us-they just looked at us funny and cried. They did love their walk we took them on and mom and I LOVED their BOB jogger stroller. I am DEFINITELY getting one when we have kids - it is so light and easy to turn-contrary to Laura's jogger. It is awesome-as soon as I started pushing it, I said, "Mom, check this out-It is fabulous!" That is all we could talk about!
While on our walk, the doctor's office called and said that I needed to take my HcG shot (to prepare to release the eggs of which I don't really release-the dr takes them out right before they do) at 8:15 tonight and we needed to be at the hospital WEDNESDAY MORNING at 7:15 am!!! I just started sweating and tried to act like nothing was going on with my mom standing right there.
OK, so you remember reading that WEDNESDAY was a problem, right? Well, I had been really worried about taking off work and stuff for appts but we were always thankful that Brad's job was super flexible and we wouldn't have to worry about him missing work. WELL, they have their first and MANDATORY training starting on WEDNESDAY morning. Seriously, of all the days. This is complicated b/c 1. Brad has to go to the retrieval to at least make his contribution and 2. I will be put under and will not be allowed to drive home. 3. We haven't told anyone we are doing this so what is our backup plan???
It all works out...we decided to tell both our parents so my mom or someone could bring me home and stuff Wednesday.
We decided since Mom and I were already together, it would be VERY normal for us to go eat dinner together tonight. Then we would go over to Brad's parents house and tell them together. Good plan right??? Why do we try?? This I think is funny:
So, Laura calls on our way home. "What are you doing for dinner?" "Oh, nothing, we just called Dad and Brad and we are going to meet them for dinner at PeiWei. But not until about 6:30 b/c Brad has to see a client at 6." "Oh, well, humm, that's pretty late-I don't know if the kids could wait that long, Todd's out of town, they go down at 7, humm, well, no I don't think I will and besides we had PeiWei last night after church. We will eat sandwiches here. But y'all come over before you go eat and play a while." Ok, we'll do that. Meanwhile I am sweating thru this conversation but then think ok, no biggie, she isn't going to go with us b/c we are eating so late. Keep in mind, I REALLY wanted to eat with Laura and the kids-I ALWAYS do-but I just knew we needed to talk to mom and dad. Well, we got over there and Laura said, "Oh, forget it, we will just go eat with y'all. They eat so good at PeiWei and I will just get something different than last night. But let's run to Marshalls on our way to get them out of the house." Ok, so we load up and go to Marshalls. Luckily, Reid wanted RayRay (my mom) to ride in her car so that gave me a second to call Brad and just give him a heads up that they were coming, too. We had a great meal at PeiWei and it was of course nuts with the boys playing the drums with chopsticks and Reid actually eating with hers. At one point I leaned over to Brad jokingly and said, "Can we still cancel this cycle?" He just laughed. We love the chaos of all of our nieces and nephews.
Well, now dinner is over and everyone is loading up. I told dad, don't leave, Brad and I need to talk to you. He said ok, so I waited til Laura pulled out - although I think she saw me - and drove over to their car. And so we told them everything and they were really excited and relieved b/c they were thinking that I might not ever come around on the idea. It was very nice to be able to share everything with them and comforting to know that Mom would be with me on Wednesday morning and afternoon. I am really nervous about that anesthesia part.
We then went home, took my shot, and went to Brad's parents house. They didn't answer the door so we thought they might be on a walk. We unlocked the door and finally here comes his dad from the bedroom. They were in there watching Deal or No Deal and didn't hear the doorbell. So we sat down on their bed and spilled the news to them and they too were very excited and happy and relieved!! It was a fun night and we told our parents that we were trying to just wait until we could tell them at the end of the journey but now we just have some extra prayers going up.

Wednesday Feb 20th! RETRIEVAL DAY!! I didn't get much sleep last night. Way too nervous. I just woke up in a panic and then couldn't fall back to sleep. We were at the hospital at 7 this morning and they took us back and got started on all the paperwork. Basically, they use a needle guided by an ultrasound to aspirate the eggs from the ovaries. I was SO so nervous. The hour leading up to the IV was the worst but after I got that, I was completely fine. No problems. Those of you that know me well, know that I am quite squeamish. Brad said a prayer before I went back and he said the whole thing took like 20 minutes. WOW. I knew nothing. The anesthesiologist came in, administered antibiotics and Demerol first. Then they pushed me down to the OR and the embryologist came in and asked me to state my name and social. I remember thinking-Oh, no, I hope I can do that with this medicine in me b/c I could already tell my vision was fuzzy. Then I crawled onto another bed and had to put my rear in the depression of the bed-I don't know-I was expecting stirrups? Then, the next thing I knew, I was waking up and Brad was rubbing my head asking if I was ok. I remember a little cramping and wanting a pillow for my knees and that's it. They then called Brad back...umm...no details needed here...and then he left and went to his training-about an hour late. (His poor brother and coworker asked if everything was ok b/c they were getting worried about him but he just sort of ignored them and didn't answer. I'm telling you this lying part is hard.)
Anyways, the retrieval was easy. NOT NEARLY AS BAD AS I WAS ANTICIPATING. Mom took me home and I slept a while and we ate lunch and watched some TV and then I was sleepy again and I went to take another nap and Mom went home. They retrieved 7 eggs and said they would call us tomorrow to give us an update.

Thursday, Feb 22st UPDATE #1: Well, the embryologist called this morning around 9:45. I had left my phone with our girls up front in case they called while I was with a patient. Janie came on the headsets that we wear and said, "Mere, your phone is ringing-come get it!!!" Everyone was on crazy alert. The embryologist, Oscar, said: "You have 6 fertilized embryos. The other one didn't fertilize but we will watch it and see if it does later. We will call you tomorrow with an update on the quality. Do you have any questions?" I said no and hung up. I text Brad and let him know since he was in training. He later told me that he had his phone sitting out right between him and his brother and all I said was "We have SIX embryos"! He grabbed his phone to prevent Chad from seeing it and just replied, "WOW!" (This is the first little glimpse of Brad getting excited. He is extremely cautious about getting emotionally excited-he doesn't want me to get my hopes up and then be really sad and disappointed if it doesn't work. But for a split second, he was excited!!)

Friday, Feb 23nd: I waited ALL day for the lab to call!! I thought they would call in the morning but it wasn't until almost 3 pm. I have to learn to be patient, huh? Well, they left me a message that said, "You have 3 excellent, 2 good, and 1 average embryo. This means you will do a day 5 transfer on Monday. We will call you tomorrow with another update." GREAT!! We were happy about the quality for sure...We decided to celebrate with dinner at Maggianos! It was SO DELICIOUS-I really wanted to go there for the fried zucchini and their Spinach Chicken Manicotti. Oh my, so good! Oh, tonight marks the beginning of the PROGESTERONE shots that Brad has to give me in my booty! YIKES. He did great though. We have a great system down, I ice it down with a big ice pack, he gives me the shot, ice some more with pressure, then put heat on it for a little while, and then I get ice cream. Another surprise through this whole thing-it really wasn't that bad. I have been DREADING this part but it is totally managable. Here is something to laugh about today...I didn't know Brad was going to take this and was appalled at first but then I thought it was really funny since it doesn't really show anything but ice on my hip/booty.

Saturday, Feb 23rd: The lab called this morning and said, "You have one excellent, 3 good, 2 average, and 1 very poor embryo. We will not call tomorrow, but we will look again on Monday morning before your transfer and see what you have. Do you have any questions?" This always makes me laugh b/c they are so over my head that I can't even think about what to ask. I can't change what they tell me so what do I need to ask? Meanwhile, I have started to get a really runny nose today and keep sneezing. I haven't been taking my allergy meds thru all this so I am afraid I am in for it! I laid on the couch all day blowing my nose.

Monday, Feb 25th: TODAY IS THE DAY!!! We had to be at the hospital at 11:30 today. Brad came home, picked me up, and then we went to the hospital. The embryologist came in and gave us a picture of our 2 embryos that were now in the blastocyst stage. If you can get to day 5 then that is good b/c those embryos tend to be the strongest, you can implant fewer, and the implantation rate tends to be higher. There is also cell differentiation at this stage. The outer layer cells will become the placenta, the tightly clustered cells on the lower left part of each are the cells that will become the baby, and the other middle cells will become the sac. FASCINATING! They grade each layer and he said a bunch of B's and C's. I must have given him a terrible look b/c he quickly said, "These are good grades, nobody gets A's." Meanwhile I am thinking, Well, my children are expected to make A's on their report cards!!! :) He said they get pregnancies all the time with embryos like this so that's good. They said we had a 25-30% chance of both implanting. Ok, great. Dr. Douglas then came in, lifted the picture, and literally said, "These look decent. We have a decent shot!" WHAT???? At first I got a little annoyed, then I realized, you know what, he is right and he can't act like they are any better and give ANY kind of false hope. Brad said another prayer over our embryos and then he got "dressed". We had so much fun today. We were both hyper and laughed a lot. He did his Sing Song moves in his hospital wear.
The actual transfer was a breeze. It was under the tightest of securities in there. It took less then 5 minutes. Much like an annual exam with your Gyn. I then had to lay basically upside down for an hour. I listened to my iPod and Brad read his Money book. We then went home and I laid on the couch. I am officially sick with a terrible cold and pray that it doesn't effect our implantation. Now I start the wait. I get a blood test in about 10 days...Wednesday, March 5th. Waiting .... Waiting...

Monday, March 3rd: I cheated. I took a pregnancy test.
I just couldn't stand it. I just wanted to know-just to have a slight clue, a heads up, a warning in case it was negative.
Here is what it looked like...Blood test will be Wednesday...

Tuesday, March 4th: Just a side note, I have gone to bed at 8:30 the last two nights and today at work I ate a hotdog at 10:30 in the morning?!?! I am going to be a WEIRD eater if this all works out. I am starving all the time and really tired...good signs...

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5th!!! I went in at 8:15 for bloodwork this morning. They check the beta HcG. It has to be at a 25 to be positive. Julie, my nurse said, "I will call you later and let you know. You will need to come in on Friday to recheck bloodwork if it is positive." Great...my only question was "Approximately what time do you usually get the results?" I mean, come on, I needed some kind of reference...IT WAS MY LUCKY DAY LITERALLY!!! She said, "Oh, this is our half day so they get the results back quickly and I should call you around noon before we close!" WHAT!! Yippee-I was thinking 3 or 4ish! Great! Then when I was checking out, I saw her walk by and panicked..."Julie, is there a CHANCE that they ever get caught up in the lab and I WON'T hear today?" She just laughed and PROMISED to call me and said she wouldn't leave me hanging. Whew...I then went to Sonic b/c I wanted Mozzarella Sticks with Marinara and Ranch at 8:15 in the morning? What? Then I got my teeth cleaned at work-had a hard time with that actually-gagged a lot-and I am not a gagger...
12:15pm-RING RING..."Hello!" "Meredith, this is Julie and I have your bloodwork results in from this morning...CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU ARE PREGNANT!!!" YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't really know what I said or did after that. But she said that remember my level had to be at 25 and mine was 410 and that was EXCELLENT! Come in on Friday morning for bloodwork and we will make sure it doubles and then if it does then you can stop your shots and we will switch them to pill form! GREAT! (Although, I think it is better to stay on shots longer so I am going to research that first)
I celebrated by eating some icecream - not so much - couldn't finish it - yuck. I should have tried that a few days ago-that would have certainly confirmed a pregnancy. I feel fine-just tired and some foods certainly sound better than others!
I cooked steaks tonight to celebrate and bought Brad a BabyName book b/c he always says, "I don't know, I need a book!" when we talk about different names from friends kids or whatever. Although he is excited he is VERY CAUTIOUS and reserved - he is just very worried about me and the possibilities of a miscarriage. While I understand that it is a very real possibility, I am still going to celebrate each and every step of the way! He can worry for the both of us! :)

FRIDAY, FEB 28th: Another bloodtest today. They want to make sure that the results double. My level was 1068! GREAT! I have still been feeling good-a little carsick feeling but mainly just tired and hungry. I took two naps today-naps are my new best friend. I don't have to go back to the doctor for 3 weeks!!! My next visit it on March 28th for the first fetal sonogram and we will find out how many we are having! I was hoping to have my first sono before Easter so we could tell our siblings, but we will just have to wait!

William Micheal arrived today at 1:40pm weighing a solid 7 pounds and 19 and 1/2 inches long. Everyone is doing great-he seems very laid back in his first hours here-Big Sister, Emily couldn't wait to touch him. He has a head full of dark hair. He is very sweet and we are so thankful he arrived safe and sound. We are excited to have another nephew to love!!! Congrats Chad & Allie & Emily (As I get more pics in the next few days, I let you see his sweet face!)

Here is the newest addition to our house. We finally had our entertainment center built. Matt Colvin did a great job and we love it! It has added so much to our living room! Thanks Rachel and Laura for the referral.















On another exciting note...we are getting another nephew today! Chad and Allie are being induced as we speak-I'm just waiting for the call to head up to the hospital to await his arrival. I will post pictures as soon as I can!

Thru the Generations

I thought it might be fun to trace our family "history" thru pictures so hope you enjoy...Thanks Stacey Collodi for the AWESOME family photo shoot! I have been recommending you to everyone!

So, here is where we start...Mom and Dad! I am very lucky to have such great parents! My dad and I are a lot alike-generally laid back and not the most organized of the bunch. In a lot of ways I still wish I had followed in his footsteps and been a builder, but I think he was right to steer me some other direction-I could have never worked a 24/7 job like he did for so long. ( I think my 3 and 1/2 days are long enough!!) We both love naps and our favorite food is ICECREAM-we both would give up all the carbs in the world but still eat our icecream! I have lots of funny memories with my dad-"PacMan Nights" (whoever lost had to dip the icecream), reading Dr. Suess backwards making me laugh so hard I would have asthma attacks at bedtime, and dates to Long John Silvers! He is the most patient man in the world to have put up with all of us girls! I am glad he has 3 son-in-laws he can hang with now...As for my mom, equally awesome! She is the most creative person in my life! She can wrap, arrange, decorate, create, and make ANYTHING! She comes up with the most awesome ideas and can throw one perfect party-thinking of every little detail. I hopefully have absorbed some of it-although I don't think I will ever be that detailed! She has certainly given me the confidence to try new things and I have fun memories of PB & J sandwich picnics before kindergarten, shopping for christmas pjs year after year, making stew the first cold night of winter, and endless rough drafts when writing papers! (ok, maybe that one wasn't "fun" but I am thankful now!) I have the best parents and I am thankful for their 35+ years of marriage and their example.

The original 5!

Two of the most important people in my life! I cannot even imagine my life without my sisters! They are my best friends and everything that entails. They are the best...favorite memories off the top of my head because there are thousands...endless dance parties to Dolly, Neil Diamond, Walk-Like-An-Egyptian, Elvira, etc...playing dress-up and makeup, Laura learning to french-braid my hair-oh yeah-again-not a favorite, our house on Pennyburn, swimming all day and laying out on the trampoline...ok, I have to move on...that's a whole other post...

Ahhh, the first boy added to the family 12 years ago- December 1995! I can't believe that at all!

And the princess...the first grandchild...so sweet...August 2001

And then came Brad and I - September 2002

This picture cracks me up...this picture is much too foofy for my Mal-Mal! June 2003

And then Ya-Ya and Todd got married...October 2003

And low and behold, you know what happened then...the three redheads...

Reid December 2004

Ryan & Reece July 2006

So here we are...December 2007 with an additional two dogs, Lucy and Vanos. Again, I feel very lucky to be part of such a wonderful family! I will post some funny pics from our family photo shoot later!