A first day of school like no other

Let me just give you a little recap of my week....

Monday- Opening Day at the high school all day and Open House at night

Tuesday- Opening Day at school (work day), stomach virus at night (including vomiting 6 times)
Wednesday- First Day of School (woke up with an empty stomach from the night before, dizzy, lightheaded and no energy)

I will start here with the rest of my story.  I finally made it to school Wednesday morning still not feeling well, but as soon as my new kiddos walked in the door, I did start feeling better because I had so much to do and so many new kids to get to know.  We had a GREAT morning, and my kids were perfect!  Around 10:00, I walked my class down to the computer lab, and we had to wait because another class was in there.  My kids sat on the floor in the hall to wait and another teacher watched them while I ran to the bathroom.  Well, this is where the day took a turn for the worse.  Let me just say when I got to the bathroom, I noticed A LOT of blood.  My heart instantly stopped, and of course being almost 7 weeks pregnant, my mind started thinking the worst.  I came out of the bathroom and found one of my team teachers and told her what was happening.  Of course I was completely freaking out.  I left my kids with her, and ran back to my room to call Brad.  I was hysterical as soon as he answered, so he instantly knew something was wrong.  He called Nashville to find out what we should do, and they said they wanted to see me right away.  Thank goodness I work with such loving, supporting people because I literally grabbed my purse and ran out of school as fast as I could. Brad met me at home, and we made the quickest, quietest trip to Nashville ever.  After arriving in the office and being the only people there because it was everyone's lunch break, we pretty much walked straight back with the ultrasound technician.  I'm pretty sure we still hadn't talked at this point, and we could both tell that that ultrasound lady was pretty nervous about our situation too.  As soon as she started the ultrasound, the first thing she said was "The baby's fine!"  That's all it took for a wave of relief to rush over the both of us.  To make the story a little shorter, it ends up that I had some type of hemorrhage.  The doctor did say it is common in early pregnancy, and they see it every week.  I wish I had known this was even possible, but then again, I would probably be thinking about it and waiting for it to happen which probably wouldn't have been good.  They aren't sure what causes the hemorrhage, but the good news was that is was below the gestational sac.  They also said that this was something that could happen again in the future.  Let's just hope it doesn't!  The baby was measuring in at 8.4 mm (almost tripling in size in 5 days) and it's heart rate was 147.  Let me just tell you, this was the most scary experience ever, and I hope I never have to experience this again.  To make the week even more crazy, my doctor put me on bed rest until I go back to see him again on Tuesday, Aug. 3rd.  That means that I got to spend the first 2 hours of school with my new students, and then I will not see them again for a week.  I know this is what my body needs, and I will do anything at all to make sure this baby stays healthy.  Because of this bed rest, I do get to get out of jury duty on Monday, so I am pretty excited about that!  :)  Our next appointment is Tuesday at 1:30 and we'll get to have another ultrasound.  I can't wait to see how much Baby Waltrip has grown!  We are so thankful that our baby is fine, and this first day of school is definitely the most memorable ever.  I do like the more boring, routine first days, so I think I'll stick to those from now on!

Baby Waltrip at 6 weeks and 6 days!

7 weeks!  It doesn't look like there's much there, but I promise my pants are getting tight.  *Sorry about the PJs, glasses, and hair, but remember...I am on bed rest!  haha

First ultrasound- 6 weeks

We have one Baby Waltrip on the way!!!!  So the ultrasound this morning was AMAZING!!!  We went in not expecting to hear a heartbeat yet because I am right at 6 weeks, and it's still pretty early.  As soon as the ultrasound technician started the ultrasound, we could instantly see our little baby.  After a few seconds, she told me to hold my breath, and we could see the little heart beating!  WOW!!!!  To make it even better, we got to hear the heartbeat.  The heartbeat was 115, and she said that was completely normal for how far along I am, and when I go back in a week and a half, the heartbeat will have increased.  The baby was measuring right at 6 weeks which is perfect!  We also found out that the due date for our little boy/girl is March 17, 2011...St. Patrick's Day and the first day of March Madness (of course Brad would have already looked ahead to that!)
I think after today, Brad and I both feel like this is all more real.  I haven't had any symptoms yet, so I haven't felt any different.  Last week I was really tired, but it's gotten a lot better this week.  I'm really hoping I'll be one of those lucky people who doesn't have any morning sickness.  That will make going back to work next week sooo much easier! :) 
I'm already looking forward to the next ultrasound on August 3rd, and of course I can't wait for March to get here!

Our first pictures with Baby Waltrip!

5 weeks

Based on our calculations, I'm pretty sure I'm right at 5 weeks pregnant!! It's been 5 days since we found out the amazing, life-changing news, but it still doesn't really seem real.  I feel completely fine, but I have noticed that I've been a lot more tired than usual.  In the past 4 days, Bailey and I have taken an afternoon nap.  It  makes me wonder how I'm ever going to make it through a  whole school day here in just 2 short weeks!  I might be doing A LOT of sitting around this year, and if I get any more tired, I might have to take a quick little nap while the kids are out of the room for specials.  haha

I went back down to Nashville on Monday and again this morning for more routine blood work.  If you all remember last Friday my beta level was 153.  On Monday it had increased to 478, and today it was 1,278.  My IVF nurse said this was great because the numbers were so high!  This beta level test just detects how much HCG, the pregnancy hormone, is in my body.  For the first couple of months, this number keeps increasing, but after the third month or so, the number starts to decrease again.

We also got great news about our first ultrasound.  Our nurse told me that they wanted me to come back for the first ultrasound sometime during the week of July 26th.  However, this will be my first week of school, and I can't miss one of the first couple of days with my new kids! (Yes...we do start school in July...and yes I do think this should be against the law!)  I had a feeling that they may want me to wait until the following week (the first week of August), but when I mentioned it to the nurse today, she actually said we could come next Friday, July 23rd.  I will be right at 6 weeks, and this should be when they're able to see how many little "critters" are in there.  We are SOOO excited about this appointment.  I think that will be when it actually feels a little more real because we'll be able to see that there's actually something in there.

Isn't it amazing to think that one or both of these little embryos will end up being our baby(ies)?  

Best day EVER!!!

I'm sure most of you all know from Brad and I or through Facebook, but we found out on Friday that I'M PREGNANT!!!!  We are so thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers over the past several months, and we couldn't have gone through all of this without everyone's encouraging words and positive thoughts. 

To sum up the "big day", we went down to Nashville for a 8:30 beta level check appointment.  I guess we were anxious about getting there on time, so we got there early and had to wait in the car for about 15 minutes for the place to open.  It was a quick 5 minute appointment that consisted only of blood work.  We were back home laying patiently not so patiently on the couch by 9:30 or so. If you all remember from the last cycle, we got the phone call with the results only an hour and a half or so after we left the clinic.  Well, little did we know, this wouldn't be the case this time.  10:00 rolled around, and we started wondering when they would call.  By 11:00, we were starting to get a little worried.  At 12:00, we figured we wouldn't be hearing anything until at least 1:00 because the nurses would be on their lunch break.  Right around 1:00 the phone rang, and it was the clinic.  I don't remember much of the conversation except that she said she had good news and that I was pregnant.  After that, everything else was kind of a blur. I did hear her say that my beta level was 153.  She explained to me that anything over 50 would indicate that I'm pregnant, so my number was way higher than that.  She also said it's a possibility that there could be more than one baby since the number was high, but they won't know that until the ultrasound in a couple of weeks.

Over the weekend, Brad and I have definitely been in shock I think, and I still don't think the news has completely sunk in yet with either one of us.  After we got the best news ever on Friday, I talked Brad into going to Walgreens to buy a pregnancy test just so we could double check.  Well, the results are in and we received our second opinion....

I'M PREGNANT!!! :)

Embryo transfer a SUCCESS!!!

Before we left for Nashville this morning, we got a call from one of the guys at the lab to give us an update on out little embryos.  We were expecting to hear how many of the embryos survived the big thaw, but all the guy said on the message was that we WILL have our transfer at 11:00.  That was a huge relief because that meant that at least 1 of the 2 embryos survived.  So, we got in the car and made our trip back down to Nashville.  After getting checked in and signing the papers, I took my Valium and then layed in bed and waited for my turn to get wheeled back into the operating room.  After about 20 minutes, the embryologist came in to give us the news on the embryos, and we were ecstatic to hear that BOTH of the embryos survived.  When they were frozen, they were both a Grade B, but after they thawed them this morning, one of them got upgraded to a Grade A.  WOO HOO!!!  So we had one Grade A and one Grade B that were both getting transferred.  This was even better news than we could have hoped for!  :)   Now we move into the 10 day wait.  July 9th is the big day we find out the result.  The day can't come soon enough! Of course, we had to take pictures today.

                                                                              The Report Card

                                                                              Grade A on the left, Grade B on the right

             

                                                                                           Posing with our embryos...it looks like the Valium is starting to kick in here! :)

Sending out texts with the good news!

8 days away

My morning consisted of another trip to Nashville, and on the drive down, I realized how much I really do enjoy that drive.  It's very relaxing (when traffic is moving and I'm not going to be late) and time actually goes by pretty fast.  Now don't get me wrong...this isn't something I'd want to do everyday, but once a week isn't bad at all.  After more blood work and another ultrasound, the rest of our plan has been set into place.  I will continue to do the Estradiol Valerate injection every Tuesday and Saturday from now until the pregnancy test and probably for a few weeks after the test because I will be pregnant! (Stacey, the positive vibes are coming out in full force!)  :)  I also start the Progesterone injection everyday starting on Thursday, and this injection will go all the way up until the pregnancy test and several weeks after once I get that positive test. The ultrasound showed that the lining of my uterus was nice and thick and I got two compliments about it in about a 5 minute time span.  The ultrasound tech said it was very thick and looked great, and my IVF nurse actually said "the lining looks pretty."  haha Now I guess that's a good thing, but I wouldn't really consider pretty as being a good description of the lining of anyone's uterus.  I guess the medication is doing it's job and getting everything nice and ready for the little embryos.  Last week our IVF nurse told me that the transfer would probably be on Tuesday, June 29th, and today she just confirmed that.  We will go in at 10:00 next Tuesday, and then the transfer will be at 11:00.  That puts the pregnancy test 10 days later on July 9th!  It's going to be a VERY exciting next couple of weeks for us, and as much as I hate to wish my summer away, I can't wait until July 9th!


On another note, Brad and I went to Owensboro this past weekend to celebrate Father's Day.  We took Dad out to eat Saturday night and then made a trip to TJMaxx, Lowes, and Big Lots.  The shopping part was more for the rest of us, but I think he enjoyed it too! 

The 5 of us at Tumbleweed!

On the road again

Traffic and being late...two things that I majorly DISLIKE, and both things happened to me yesterday morning.  My suppression check was scheduled for 10:30 in Nashville, so I made sure to leave my house by 8:55.  I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a coffee, and when I pulled out of the parking lot, the GPS said that I would arrive at the clinic at 10:02.  On a side note, I think I've driven the route to Nashville a million times, and I'm pretty sure I could make the drive with my eyes closed, but I still like to take the GPS so I can know how many more miles I have left.  I like to watch the miles get smaller and smaller until I finally make it to wherever I need to be.  Anyway, I'm driving along just fine until I get right past the Springfield exit, and traffic comes to a complete stop.  To make a long story short, I think I went about 2 miles in about 30 minutes.  This was nothing like our trip home from Florida in April, but this traffic was going to make me late!  What makes it worse is that when I finally get to a certain spot on the interstate, traffic just starts going.  There is no wreck, no broken down car, no cop, nothing....people just started going.  By this point, the GPS says I will get to the clinic at 10:31 now, and I start to panic a little because I have never been late to an appointment.  I debated on whether or not to call and tell them I was going to be late because I figured traffic would get worse the closer I got to Nashville.  I decided to wait it out and see what would happen.  I pulled into the parking structure a little after 10:30, but by the time I signed in at the doctor's office it was 10:41....officially LATE!!!  It wasn't a big deal though, and they weren't busy at all, so I was able to walk right in.  I know a lot of you deal with this EVERYDAY, but this is the reason I do not ever want to live in a big city.  I don't handle traffic well...especially when it makes me late! :) 

As for my appointment, it sounds weird, but it was kind of nice to be back to see everyone again.  It's been about 2 months since I was in the clinic, and I didn't realize how comfortable I had become with everyone there. I did the usual blood work to check my estradiol level and then I had to do an ultrasound to make sure I didn't have any cysts. Everything turned out great.  My estradiol level was 18 which means I was very suppressed (right where I should be).  From now on, I'm able to decrease my dosage of Lupron to 5 units every morning.  I also started the estradiol valerate injection last night.  I've never had to take it before, but I think it's some kind of supplemental estrogen to develop the lining of my uterus.  I only have to take it twice a week in my back hip.  I go back for my next appointment on June 21st, and this should be the last time I have to go before my embryo transfer.  My IVF nurse told me yesterday that as of right now, my embryo transfer will probably be on Tuesday, June 29th.  That's only 2 1/2 weeks!!!!!!  We are so excited, and I'm so ready for that day to get here!  :)