baby #2 | 14 weeks

How Far Along: 14 weeks, 3 days!

Size of the Baby: Baby W is the size of a lemon! (Which is smaller than a peach in my opinion, but what do I know...)

Symptoms/Sleep: I am hungry all morning and early afternoon; however, once I hit 3pm food becomes less and less appealing and sleep becomes more and more appealing. I thought I was getting my energy back but we have convinced Natalie to snuggle in bed and watch movies by 6:30 almost every night this week so perhaps I was being a bit overzealous. When I am sleeping, I am sleeping so well. Nights that I get up to pee are hard, if it happens before 1:30, I fall right back to sleep. After that, it's totally hit or miss. After 3, I end up just cat napping until my alarm goes off.

Bump/Weight Gain: While I am still much smaller than I was with Natalie at this time, (in fact, I have only gained 7 pounds since my baseline appointment on October 21st) I feel like I am starting to show a bit. I definitely feel like I am in that pudgey or pregnant stage that I hate so much. I have been reassured that I will pop soon and it won't be a question. 

Cravings/Aversions: I have been really wanting the most random list of things. I really want shoyu chicken and rice. But only if my friend Jessica is making it. I love hers but I am apprehensive to try any other kind. I still really want pollo saltado (especially the rice) but only if it is coming from Sardi's. Also, I have developed a new craving for spicy. B's mom makes this really great corn dip and I recreated it (with extra corn) on Wednesday night to have for my dinner. [Yes dinner, insert monkey covering eyes emoji here.] However, I was too tired but I did have it with chicken for lunch the next day!  I really want my mama's chicken curry. Oh! And a Sunday breakfast bagel made by my dad. 

Gender Predictions: It's a BOY

Big Sister: Oh my sweet girl. She has been a total character since finding out the baby is a boy. We have had a lot of conversations like the one below...

Me: Is the baby a brother or a sister?
Natalie: I'm having a baby sister!
Me: No bubby, you're having a baby brother.
Natalie: I want a sister, a baby sister. I don't want a brother. I'm leaving and not coming back.

She claims she wanted a sister but is utterly repulsed by the idea of having to share her dolls, tutus and clothes so (in theory) she's going to be much better off with a baby brother! 

Miss Anything: An appetite for dinner and meal planning. It is really throwing us off to not be able to come up with solid meal plans. I am hoping that comes back soon. I would also love the return of my energy after 3pm. 

Best Moment: The great purge tops my list of best moments this week. B and I went through and got rid of a TON of stuff... mostly things belonging to Natalie. We changed the upstairs playroom into more of a tv room with several toys in it. We cleaned up the basement and got rid of things that she had outgrown that were not gender neutral. B's truck was so full of stuff. Our home feels more open and clean and I am loving that. We are debating trying one more purge before baby comes but we shall see.

Can't Wait For: Painting the kiddos rooms! Next weekend we are tackling Nat's room and I cannot wait to get paint on the walls and hang some new things :) I am also excited to put some things on the walls in #2's room to really help me wrap my head around boy. I have a feeling that once I start to put the room together, all of some of my apprehension will begin to fade.

14 weeks | Gender Reveal

While my weekly bumpdate will come this weekend, as usual, I couldn't let the week pass without sharing our big gender news :)

While I would love to do a gender reveal party, the idea of planning something and having to wait for the event to share this news is just absurd. I don't have that kind of patience. I have a lot of respect for people who can know and wait to share, those people are the ones to confide in!  The information still hasn't sunk in for me but I was still so excited to tell my parents that I called them at 7:30 Sunday morning. For once, they were home and both awake :)

Something I love that has been at all of the gender reveal parties that I have been to is that board of old wives tales. Even though I won't be having a gender reveal party, I made a board anyways. It was fun to see what gender the old wives tales forecast. 

So clearly based on Old Wives Tales, it should have been fairly obvious that...

I told B on Friday by putting together a little gift for him. His reaction was priceless :)

Eek! I am coming around to the idea.  Unlike when I found out Natalie was a girl, I did not cry! That is progress. We went to Carters over the weekend and I kind of stood in the boy section awhile taking it all in. We picked up some things for little brother and I sat in his room awhile after we got home picturing life as a boy mom. I guess come July I'll know firsthand :)

baby #2 | 13 weeks

How Far Along: 13 weeks, 2 days! Officially in the 2nd trimester!

Size of the Baby: Baby W is the size of a peach! 

Symptoms/Sleep: I have started the dreaded waking up in the middle of the night to pee. Some nights it is really hard to fall back to sleep, other nights I fall back to sleep just fine.   

I met with the maternal fetal medicine physician this week and I absolutely adore him. Dr. Kramer said that he does not think the SCB is going to reabsorb, which is a bummer. He said that I will be seeing more bleeding but we don't know when. It is basically a ticking time bomb. I am to call him with any spotting and to go see him immediately with any bleeding. I have another appointment in a few weeks to check on the bleed to make sure it isn't getting any bigger.  On the upside, the SCB isn't impeding the baby's growth at all which is reassuring. In fact, at my appointment we were measuring 12 weeks 6 days as opposed to 12 weeks 4 days. The baby looks perfect and is thriving which is definitely reassuring. 

Bump/Weight Gain: I am still not quite bumping and the above picture is a little bit deceiving. I feel really good though about how much weight I have gained and it has been much easier this time around... so far anyways! 

Cravings/Aversions: Aversions are in full force this week.  The idea of a burger still makes my stomach turn. The idea of dinner is really hard to stomach most nights. Baked potatoes are everything. I haven't been able to enjoy Dr. Pepper in for.ev.er. It just doesn't taste right, but I have been drinking hot apple cider like it's going out of style. I have been craving fruit, particularly cantaloupe and watermelon. I have been craving pollo saltado from this little hole in the wall Peruvian place and will probably get it at some point in the next week. 

Gender Predictions: We know :)  We are going to share with our families in the next couple days and then we'll share on here next week!

Big Sister: She is a total character. We finally picked up some paint to paint her room and we are all so excited. Natalie's face totally lit up when the man at Lowe's showed her the lid of the paint container.  She keeps asking B when it will be time to paint.  We have some big plans for her big girl room and I am so excited to see it all come together! 

Miss Anything: At lunch today, the waitress asked if she could get us a drink and a margarita sounded divine; however, Texas Roadhouse has some really amazing sweet tea so that softened the blow.  I also miss sleeping through the night. 

Best Moment: Finding out gender :)

Can't Wait For: I cannot wait to put the kiddos rooms together. Slowly but surely I have been getting things out of #2s room and closet in preparation for it to be someone's room. I am also pretty excited about some sister dates I have coming up :) Lunch dates with my sister are one of my favorite things and we don't get to do them nearly enough even though we really don't live/work far from each other. OH! I am also excited to see Mr. Jon in the next couple weeks. We got him a pretty kick ass present and it came in and I am utterly in love with how it turned out! Jeez... so much to look forward to!

big sister's reading list

Ever since the thought of another baby flitted across my mind, I have kept a private Amazon wishlist of things. Things I want for the big sister, things I think I want for #2 and things I would like to have throughout my pregnancy this time around. It has been a place where I can keep a list of all the big sister books and sibling books that I want to fill Miss Natalie's bookshelves with. It made picking the "something to read" portion of Natalie's Christmas gifts this year that much easier!  Natalie loves reading and I know it's a perfect way to help her prepare for being a big sister :)  

Here is what we're reading (and planning to read) to help us get ready for the baby.

I love that there is such an assortment of books out there to help prepare children to be siblings.  While I love the books about being a big sister, I was happy to find a book that lets Natalie know that she was the first and she will always be our baby no matter how many more join our family. We love our "God Gave Us You" book and were excited to add "God Gave Us Two" to the collection. It's such a sweet story. 

Any other books that we should be on the look out for?

Baby #2 | 12 weeks

How Far Along: 12 weeks, 3 days! 

I'll be doing pictures on weekends until it's light outside longer. When we leave for work it's dark and when we get home it's dark, so to get the best natural light, weekends are it! It cracks me up what a crazy lady I was during pregnancy #1 that bump pictures HAD to be taken on the right day. [Insert eye roll emoji here.]

Size of the Baby: Baby W is the size of a plum half eaten hot dog. 

Symptoms/Sleep: Oddly enough, this week I have been having random waves of nausea. They don't stick around more than a couple minutes and go away quickly if I drink some water. I do not know how women can do this for days/weeks. God bless you all. We have also welcomed middle of the night bathroom trips to the pregnancy.

Warning: next part is a little bit graphic.

I was hesitant to share this but what kind of journal of my pregnancy would this be if I didn't share it all? Last Thursday I had some bleeding (not spotting, bleeding), enough that it was incredibly unnerving. Dr. O told me at my 8 week scan that there was a small pocket that could be a subchorionic bleed (SCB) but not to stress out about it. When I started bleeding, I prayed that was the case. Dr. O did a scan and everything looked fine. The baby looked good with a nice strong heartbeat. My cervix is long and closed, but the bleed was near my cervix. She explained that it would keep up for a few days and I would have some mild cramping and spotting for a week or two. So for the last week, I have been dealing with this and it's not fun. One would think rest, feet up, no strenuous activity would be pretty ok, but it's hard to have an active 3 year old and be on restricted activity. 

I had an appointment with my OB on Wednesday and Dr. Masiky told me that everything looks good. I am to continue to be cautious but I can hold Natalie when I need to. Baby's heartbeat was strong in the 170s. It was the first time I had heard it and I thought it would make things feel more real but nope. I am (obviously) supposed to call (again) if there is any spotting or anything but, overall, things look good and we're heading in the right direction. The SCB is still seen on ultrasound but that is to be expected at this point.  She did mention that I really need to increase my water intake. If y'all have any tips to help me with that, PLEASE let me know!

Bump/Weight Gain: YOU GUYS, I've only gained 5 pounds. I thought I had gained more but Dr. Masiky said I have only gained FIVE. I'll take it. 

Cravings/Aversions: I am loving tomatoes and avocado. Oh, and eggos are my new favorite thing. YUM. Bagels with cream cheese and tomato are my jam.  I am terrified of chicken breast. The new Progresso commercial where they are cutting up celery, carrots and chicken breast makes my stomach turn every time I see it. On the flip side, rotisserie chicken is still doable and a fan favorite.  The idea of a burger makes me queasy. Anything fried (especially shrimp) sounds terrible. Coffee makes me feel fairly nauseous but I need it some mornings, so if I have to drink coffee, I am drinking ginger ale at the same time.

Gender Predictions: I have no idea. I have been trying to put my gender thinking aside and just pray for healthy right now. Last week was quite a scare and put things into perspective - gender seriously doesn't matter in the big picture as long as this little peanut and healthy and thriving.  However, if I had to say, I am leaning boy for some reason, probably because I want a sister sib-set, even though I know that Natalie's strong personality would be a terrible match for a baby sister and she would probably do much better with a baby brother. I am trying really hard to come around to the idea of boy and have been looking at baby brother pinterest things quite often. 

Big Sister: That girl has been a handful this past week. We have been having a really hard time with listening and following directions. The threenager is in FULL effect.  Holy sassy little wench (and I mean that in only the most endearing way possible). However, she has these moments where she is the sweetest, most thoughtful, empathetic little girl and I aaaalmost forget how naughty she has been. Oh three, what a lovely age. 

I have started to have readiness anxiety. Yep, at 12 weeks. It's the planner control freak in me. So I ordered new bottles. They came in the mail and Natalie was not having it. She was mad she couldn't use them to feed Gemma milk and decided we didn't need them at all. Heaven help us. Although, her reaction does make me glad I am starting to bring things into the house early so she can take her time adjusting to the idea!

Miss Anything: I would love to be able to function as a normal person. Limited activity is for the birds. I also miss watermelon being in season because I could definitely eat my weight in it. I also miss Panera's strawberry, poppyseed and chicken salad with extra strawberries and extra blueberries, hold the mandarins. YUM. 

Best Moment: Definitely hearing baby's heartbeat on Wednesday :)

Can't Wait For: We have a whole list of home projects we want done before baby: finishing Natalie's big girl room, painting #2s room, fixing the kitchen sink, maybe updating the kitchen cabinets (with a paint face lift), painting our bedroom and updating our bedding, finishing the master bath (I peeled the wallpaper and we desperately need to clean up the walls and paint in there). Obviously, we have a lot of painting to do before July! I can't wait for some of those things to be crossed off the list. B painted the hallway this weekend and it looks amazing. He says he is in his Papa nesting mode and wants to have the house more complete by time this babe comes along and I am loving that.

What's Hap-pinning Wednesday | Nursery #2 Inspiration

This week I am linking up with Jenn and Jessi for What's Hap-pinning Wednesday to talk about nursery plans and pins!

I have had this baby's nursery planned and figured out in my head since long before this baby was confirmed to be. Are we all suuuper surprised by that?  I found out gender at 13 weeks with Natalie and when we did a scan at 10 weeks I was told I would probably be able to know around the same time (if not a bit earlier this time around) so while this post comes super early in my pregnancy, I wanted to share my nursery thoughts before we know gender.  Plus, I know I'll start working on the nursery ASAP to help me wrap my head around the idea of whatever it is that we are having!  I learned from my mistakes with Natalie's nursery that a true theme before we know the personality of the child is just not for me and I work much better with a color scheme. 

Even Natalie's big girl room has a very loose ballet princess theme. She has a couple of pictures of ballerinas on the wall, her laundry basket has ballerinas wearing pink and purple tutus and the baskets on her dresser and bookcase have the same pattern on the liner. Her bedding is pink and frilly and girly - without a single ballerina on it. I really love how her big girl room is coming together. It's super simple, has more of a color scheme than a theme and fits her sassy little personality. It's exactly what I wanted for her, especially as her room gets updated and finally comes together. 

When planning for #2, I knew I wanted to use gray. Again, we're all super surprised right? It's super gender neutral and the color schemes I like for both genders include gray. I am also fairly certain I won't get bored of it. I will also admit that I made these purchases long before we even knew we were pregnant. [Insert emoji of monkey covering it's eyes here.] However, in my defense, who doesn't need a rug, a lamp and baskets anyways?!

So with gray and simple in mind, I took to pinterest and Amazon to find what I wanted for either a boy or a girl's nursery and the ideas all came together super easily. 

I love red and gray for a boy's room. There are endless possibilities: old Chevys (sorry B), fire trucks (a nod to my family as most of my cousins are in the fire department), baseball, Alabama Crimson Tide... Plus, it's simple enough that it leaves plenty of room to grow and add a real theme if/when the time comes. Regardless of theme down the road, I kind of love the idea of a jar full of baseballs to match Natalie's apothecary jar of hair ribbons.

I cannot get enough of the purple, teal and gray color combination for a girl's room. It's girly without being pink and since Natalie's room is (very) pink, I wanted to do something different for another little girl. I love the bold pattern of the bedding and how it coordinates with everything but mixes and matches patterns.

I am so excited to decorate this little space and am super anxious to find out what we are having. We should know in the next 2-3 weeks  and I'll be sure to share that with y'all and the progress of the nursery planning!

Baby #2 | 11 weeks

How Far Along: 11 weeks, 2 days! 

Size of the Baby: Baby W is the size of a lime.

Symptoms/Sleep: So far I have been blessed with another fairly easy first trimester. And aside from being so tired by like 5pm during weeks 7-9, I am feeling great. I am usually a big fan of dinner around 6:30 but by time I get Natalie from Ms. Cheryl's and get home, I am starving. B is loving the early dinner time. Sleep has been amazing. I am sleeping the sleep of the living dead. Some nights my head barely hits the pillow and I am out. Other nights it takes a little bit of time (mostly because my mind is going through the never ending to-do list) but once I am asleep, I am dunzo. 

Bump/Belly Button/Weight Gain: I have only gained about 6 pounds. [Insert monkey covering eyes emoji here.] I am unsure if this is pregnancy related or holidays related. I mean they say that on average people gain 2-5 pounds during the "holiday season". I noticed it around 9 weeks that while I didn't have a bump, I felt fuller and my pants were starting to feel a tad snug. This week, I couldn't zip my pants and have resorted to leggings all day, every day. #sorrynotsorry

Cravings/Aversions: I don't know that I've had any consistent cravings yet. I have had a couple days where certain things just sound really good, but rarely do I go out of my way to get them. 

Gender Predictions: Ok, so I have a few things about this. When we were given the picture of our embryo, I handed it to B and said, well Dad what do you think? Without hesitation he said boy. He was right about Natalie, so I have to give him some credit there.

Then about a week after my transfer I was driving to work and asked for a sign. The next song to come on was Two Pink Lines by Eric Church. Granted, in the song, they don't end up pregnant. There is a line that says "you just sit around here waiting on two pink lines, praying that faith is on your side" and I couldn't help but think maybe faith was on my side. The very next song to come on the radio was "Anything like Me" by Brad Paisley.  So I took that as a sign that we were pregnant and it's a boy. I guess time will tell. 

My first OB scan was just shy of 6 weeks and the heart rate was 108 and my second scan at 7 weeks the heart rate was 149. [For reference here, Natalie's scans were done at the same time. Her first heart rate was 103 and her second was 130.] The old wives tale says that higher than 140 bmp than it's a girl. Welp, it was wrong about Natalie but, again, only time will tell about #2!

Big Sister: This is hit or miss. Some days big sister is SO excited about being a big sister. Other days, Nat tells us she is done being a big sister and she doesn't want a baby. She asked B if she could see the ultrasound picture we have hanging on the refrigerator and when he handed it to her, she asked what it was and he said that's your little brother or sister. She looked at it again and handed it back to him and said "oh, I'm not interested in this anymore." Here's to hoping she comes around :)

She goes back and forth on her gender predictions and what she wants. Most of the time she says girl and she wants a little sister. Then randomly she'll tell us she wants a baby Bryce brother. We're still unsure if she wants us to steal Baby Bryce from our friends Greg and Terra or if she wants a brother named Bryce.... either way, she's out of luck. We're not kidnapping a baby and we're not naming a baby brother Bryce. 

Miss Anything: On Christmas morning, I was definitely missing mimosas. A wine glass full of OJ just doesn't hold the same appeal. I am also kind of missing cold brewskis during Alabama football games.

Best Moment: Every ultrasound has been so exciting. It hasn't done anything to help me believe this is really happening, but it has been so reassuring which is nice considering I haven't had any pregnancy symptoms so to speak.

Can't Wait For: Gender. I have a feeling it's going to be a boy because I am so hoping for a girl (I mean, come on! Matching bows and dresses. Wearing Nat's hand me downs. Insert all the heart eye emojis here.). I am well aware how ironic this is given how disappointed I was to find out I was having a girl when I was pregnant with Natalie. Funny how things happen. I just want to know gender so I can wrap my head around it early and, if it is a boy, kick any gender disappointment to the curb. (Yep, that's right. I am openly admitting my preference and the fact that there is a chance that I will have gender disappointment - thanks Jen for sharing the most beautiful post on that). The reality is that I know that whoever this baby is I am going to love the hell out of him/her so, come July, this will all be moot but right now it's hard not to hope for two little girls with matching outfits and bows and dolls. Oy.  

Friday Five | thoughts & things

What a week. B and I cannot truly express our gratitude for the outpouring of love, support and well wishes that we have gotten in the last week. Baby W2.0 has gotten such a warm reception so far and we are so lucky to have such incredible friends and family :)

My first Friday Five of the year is a combination of thoughts and things on my mind right now... you know like a thoughts on Thursday but on Friday so here goes!

1. Roll Tide! Alabama has had such a beautiful season this year, minus my heartbreak over Lane Kiffin leaving (especially before I feel like the season is really over).  I am so excited for them to play in the College Football National Championship on Monday night; however, I am not loving that whole big game on a school night thing... especially when seeing 8pm has already been such a challenge these last few weeks. Mr. Jon got me a consolation Alabama cup for Christmas (because he is the best and) since I can't drink cold brewskis out of my lucky Alabama koozie so I am hoping it brings us good luck on Monday! After last year's game, I have a feeling this one is going to be really good! [If you have no idea what I am talking about... here you go]

Also on the topic of Alabama (and Mr. Jon), how beautiful is this wall sign that Mr. Jon got us for Christmas?! I am slightly obsessed :)

2. Last weekend I ordered Natalie Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. They arrived on Wednesday and while we haven't watched Beauty and the Beast yet, we have watched Aladdin approximately 78 times. It makes me so happy that my little girl is loving some of my favorite Disney movies from when I was a child. I cannot wait to snuggle up for family movie night tonight and watch Beauty and the Beast. B says he has never seen it which makes it even more fun to watch as a family. I hope they are both prepared for me to sing them alllll the songs :)

3. I am addicted to my planner. Because of that, I wanted a little pregnancy flair for the old gal. I was so excited when I stumbled upon these planner stickers from Works of Heart Design Co. I mean, come on. Plus this means I won't get weekly pregnancy emails cluttering my inbox. Those were fun the first time around but these make way more sense!

4. While on the topic of pregnancy... I am having the strangest kind of guilt and I think that's impacting my ability to really wrap my head around the fact that I am pregnant.  When I got pregnant with Natalie, I felt it right away. We had been through so much and tried for over a year. We had failed and canceled cycles. When our IVF cycle worked, it felt like I had, for lack of a better way to put it, earned my pregnancy, like I deserved it. This time around, it was so much easier. It was just a couple appointments and a transfer. So when it took, I felt like it had been too easy. I felt guilty that it was so easy. I have friends who have been trying for months without success and there I was, one cycle and boom - pregnant. I have been reminded that 75 intramuscular shots over the course of 10 weeks is not easy, but compared to the heartbreak of failed cycles, yes it is.  I have no idea how to process this guilt but if you know a way, please help a girl out!

5. Have y'all heard of Pearl and Monroe? It's an online boutique through Instagram and Facebook and I am in love. I recently purchased the fringe sweater poncho pictured below and it might be one of my favorite things I own right now. It's non-maternity but super pregnancy friendly which is what I have been looking for since I really don't want to spend a bunch of money to dress the bump this winter.

I seriously recommend checking them out! Jess is going to start carrying clothes in Nat's size soon and I am so excited to see what she has coming in. 

Happy Weekending, y'all :)

Surprising B | Baby #2

I had a big plan to tell B that I was pregnant the first time in early 2012 and then I miscarried and didn't tell him until months later because I was so ashamed. The second time around, I was so elated our IVF cycle worked that I didn't hesitate and I told him right away. This time, I wanted to do something special to tell B that we were expecting and that Natalie was going to be a big sister.

I spent a lot of time trying to decide on the perfect way to tell B about #2 but also include Natalie in that surprise and it finally hit me.  On more than one occasion, I have broken the law (I know, I know, I am the worst) and let Natalie sit in the front seat on the 3 block ride home from Cheryl's house. On the days that this happens, she thinks it is the absolute best to have B pick her up out the window. It's the little things in life. I decided that this was going to be how I told B we were expecting. 

I searched Etsy for the perfect Big Sister shirt to share the big news with B. I stumbled upon the cutest shirt from Pineapple Pancake Kids. This was the one.

I picked Natalie up from daycare and changed her shirt in the car before we left Cheryl's house. When we were around the corner, I called B to tell him that Natalie wanted him to get her out of the car. When we parked the car, Natalie asked to unbuckle her seat belt and stood up patiently waiting for B to come get her. B read her shirt and looked at me, "really?" was his only response. Natalie (who had no idea what her shirt said) was so excited to show it to him and I confirmed "really". 

I don't think it really hit him until a few days later when we got the results of our blood pregnancy test or maybe it still hasn't really hit him. I know it's taking a few more days weeks for it to really sink in for me too :)  Hell, I'm not even really sure it's sunk in yet.

infertility and baby #2

When Brandon and I made the decision to expand our family, we weighed our options carefully. We could try on our own (you know, relax, buy something expensive, get drunk, play a little Barry Manilow and prop my feet up after the deed was done... what? That's not how people get pregnant the old fashion way... weird, that's some of the solid advice we were given on how to get pregnant when we were struggling the first time around) or we could use one of our frozen embryos from our 2013 IVF cycle. The choice seemed pretty simple to me, sorry Barry. I mean, we could take advantage of 26 year old Tori's eggs (with a 65% pregnancy rate and 55% delivery rate) or we could take a chance with 30 year old Tori's eggs (with a <2% pregnancy rate). Hmmm.

We had planned to do a transfer next spring, after a possible Disney trip for spring break - you know, one last major hurrah as a family of three, but after almost losing my husband, we decided that maybe waiting was foolish.  There will never be a right time for another baby and we are not promised tomorrow. We decided that maybe this was a wake up call to stop putting life on hold for a "better time".  We scheduled a follow-up visit with Dr. Levy to talk about moving forward with a frozen embryo transfer, but given that I work for the practice and am quite familiar with the process, this was just a formality. The nice thing about a frozen embryo transfer, at SGF anyways, was the ability to literally pick the day of my transfer and, by default, essentially pick our due date :) 

Since our nurse, Jordan, has since moved to another position within the practice, we opted to work with my friend and co-worker, Jessica. Jessica took the day we wanted for our transfer and worked backwards to create our protocol. The nice thing about a frozen embryo transfer is you have far less appointments than IVF. The down side about a frozen embryo transfer is you still have about the same number of injections AND their intramuscular. Thank goodness I work with so many nurses who can help out with this :)

We had our first appointment on Friday, October 21st. This was our baseline appointment. I showed up before monitoring even opens, a perk of working at the clinic, and was able to get the appointment done before 7AM. Since B couldn't be with me, I sent him a super spectacular selfie. We got the ok to start medications. This meant injections every three days. Woof. Lucky for me, my teammates are some of the best nurses around :)

In case you wanted to know what I look like at 6:51AM

The next appointment was on Thursday, November 3rd. This was another ultrasound and blood work appointment, this time to check my lining. I responded really well to the medication and my lining was perfection. [For those who are curious and/or familiar with the infertility world, my lining was 9.7mm] Of course, this required another too early in the morning selfie sent to Brandon :)

We got the ok to continue medications and start the progesterone. So we kept taking shots every three days but added in a daily injection. Double woof. 

Our final appointment before our two week wait was on Tuesday, November 8th - the embryo transfer. B was already off work for election day so I took the day off work. We dropped Natalie at daycare and went off to do our civic duty of voting. After a quick trip to the polls (literally less than 10 minutes), we head home for some breakfast and a nap before heading to the office for our appointment. The transfer process was a breeze and Dr. O said everything looked perfect. Always nice to hear!

And then came my favorite part of the appointment, getting to see candidate #1 for Baby Wilkinson #2 :)

Our first blood pregnancy test was scheduled for Monday, November 21st; however, if you know me, you know that I was not blessed with patience :) I peed on a stick at work on the 14th and it came back positive with the faintest of pink lines. The next morning, I peed on one of those "PREGNANT" or "YOU SUCK" sticks and it came back pregnant. 

Once I got the confirmation, my clinical team and I had a little celebration in our office. I was dying to call, text, smoke signal Brandon.  I could not wait to tell him but I had come up with a really fun way that included Natalie (more on this in another post) and I had to hold out strong. It was the longest. day. ever.

I did finally have a blood test on Friday, November 18th (three days early) and my result came back at 340. I was shocked. Natalie's first HCG level was also three days early and came back at 153 (which I was super impressed with then). 

So while our family building process hasn't exactly been conventional, how blessed and excited and anxious we feel is absolutely as normal and standard as it comes.