7wks U/S Pictures

Here's our new pictures of Doozer. I also added a second picture explaining what's what. I find it easier because if your like me I would have no idea what I'm looking at.


Can't wait until next Wednesday and we get to see Doozer again.

Growing Strong

We went in for our 7 wk u/s this morning and our RE said that everything looked great. Doozer has grown more than double his size since our last u/s last Wednesday. I keep referring to Doozer as a boy. I have no reasoning as to why it's just have a feeling we both share. Although boy or girl it doesn't matter which it will be. I have no preference. Anyway it was amazing to see his/her little heart pumping. Last visit we saw what looked like a little light blinking, but to see the heart actually pumping was amazing. I can't wait until the day we finally get to hold little Doozer in our arms. They gave us a picture which really isn't that clear, but I will still post it as soon as we scan it tonight. We also go back next Wed. for our 8wk u/s and will probably be discharged from our clinic to our OB. Continue to Grow Doozer!

Now for some sports.
Un-fertility related we finally were able to play 2 softball games last night. I wasn't able to play at all last week due to the rain. We lost the first and won the second by a run. I hit 2 home runs and the rest of my at bats were good hits. 3 years ago I guess it was I shattered my ankle playing second base. The throw was high and as I came down on one leg and tried to make the tag, the base runner (which was my cousin) was sliding. Well with all my weight on one leg and the force of his body hitting my ankle the outcome wasn't good. Anyway back to last night, I played second base for the first time since. Surprisingly I felt great and made some really good plays. Up until last night I dreaded playing any infield at all, but had a blast and more confidence than before I broke my ankle. Good thing my parents and Morrisa wasn't there because they probably would have freaked out and left. Not wanting to see a repeat performance. So it was a good night and looking forward to tonights games. I will post the picture later this evening.

Back From The Mountains :(

We're back in town. I wish we were still in the mountains, but what can you do about it. Until we hit the lotto and can build our dream house up there we have to come back and work. This weekend was great. We drove up Saturday morning and met my grandmother half way up for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We arrived around noon, and jumped in helping with the building of the front porch. What a project. Luckily there were several of us working on it. We were able to put up the support beams, cross beams and the roof. Next weekend we are going back up to put the shingles on and then the job is complete.It was nice to get away. I was able to relax mentally at least. Morrisa had a very relaxing weekend. She had a lounge chair setup in the front yard under a tree and read and watched us work. It was great. I'm ready to head back up already.

We have an appt tomorrow morning for our second u/s. I'm so excited and hope all is going well. I know everything is fine. I just have a feeling that all is going to progress like it should. I will update with all the details tomorrow.

TGIF!!

Finally Friday is here. Bring on the weekend! This weekend should be nice and relaxing. My grandmother has 117 acre property out in western Maryland with a a house big enough to house the family for a weekend. My grandfather built it as a place to live once they retire, but passed before he could retire. So now it has become a weekend get away for the family during the summer. It's nice spending the time with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Even though we are all squeezed into one house it's time well spent.

This is a view looking down the hill at the back of the house. We are currently working on building a covered wrap around deck.

And this is a view off one of the back mountains.

I love it up there. I would love to build a house on the property and live up there, but the only problem is there are no jobs up there. Only a minor problem. I can't wait to get up there. The closest neighbor is a mile away and it's quiet and when it gets dark, it gets DARK!

Mountains here we come!

U/S Picture

Here's our u/s picture of little Doozer.I labeled the picture above wrong. I put egg sac instead of Yolk Sac. Egg Sac, Yolk Sac there one in the same right? Oh well. :)

Thump...Thump!!

We went in for our 6 week u/s and we were both nervous. Morrisa was nervous that things weren't progressing like they should, but even more optimistic than any other time we have entered through the clinics doors. I was a little nervous but excited at the possibility of seeing our little baby. We sat in the waiting room which only had 2 other patients in it, and it felt like an hour had passed before they called us back. Which once we got in the room I noticed we were only out there for 15 - 20 minutes. Dr O came in and immediately hugged Morrisa and congratulated the both of us which was really nice of him to do. I'm really glad that we were blessed to have a great doc through these years. They started doing the u/s and we were able to right away see her uterus which has become very easy to spot as I think we have become pros at what to look for and recognizing what is on the screen. Although we have never seen what we saw today, and it was amazing. While they were looking around Dr O explained that he had to look around before pointing things out. While they were scanning around I could notice a blinking on the screen. For hearing other peoples explanation on what to look for this blinking it what I thought was a heart beat. Dr. O then started pointing things out on the screen and sure enough there it was. Doozer's little heart was thumping away. Dr. O measured Doozer's heart rate which was 90bpm and said that everything looked great. Tears immediately filled my eyes as this (other than the birth it self) was something I've been waiting for, for so long now. We have a picture which we will scan tonight and post for all to see. Morrisa took it to work with her and hasn't been able to put it down. I don't blame her because if I was the one to hold it until we get home I would be the same way. We go back in for another u/s next wednesday. I can't wait!

Another note my mom called last night and said that my grandmother who has been pretty good since the passing of my grandfather, and she had a message for Mo. She had been watching the news and there was a story that pregnant women shouldn't talk on cell phones. She couldn't remember why & what happened if they did but all she heard was that they should use cell phones, and had to let Mo know right away. Shes too cute.

Our Zoo Trip

As promised here are some pictures from our zoo trip.

Since we are huge Baltimore Ravens fans we had to visit the ravens cage.

Aren't they beautiful?

As we were admiring Samson the baby elephant we looked up to see 5 planes flying over spelling out "GEICO". At first we thought it was a message from God. LOL

And below is the talkative cheetah we had the pleasure to spend time with. If you listen real close at the end you can hear his little squeak.

Awesome Weekend!

This past weekend was a blast! On Saturday we went to the Baltimore Zoo to see the new baby elephant they have. He was so tiny compared to his momma. It was nice because we got there as they opened so there wasn't a lot of people there yet, and were able to take our time and move around at our own pace. We got to get up close to the cheetah they have and he was very talkative just like our cats at home. It was too cool. We then came home for my softball game which once we got to the field we were notified the game was canceled. So we went to my parents house and hung out with them for a while. Their so excited at the possibility of being grandparents. Mom has a calendar which tells her what developmental stage the baby is reaching every day. On Sunday we went to church, and for dinner I took Morrisa to Medieval Times. I've went with my cousins for a bachelor party and thought she would would enjoy it. So we went and she had a blast. The food was awesome and the show was too cool. We couldn't get over how well trained the horses were. i will post pictures of this weekend later this evening.

WOW!!!

So the results of our third beta are in and not only did it increase by 66% from the last beta, it went up 105%. Our last beta was 883 and it rose to 1813!! I can't even tell you how much weight has been lifted. I was stressing big time worrying about this beta. I have to cut it short because I have reports to run, but we go in for our u/s Wed. 5/21. I'll update more later. Thanks for the uplifting comments.

Come on Friday Afternoon!

After a worry filled day yesterday today is much better. After we both had time to digest all of the information we feel much better about the level increase. Today was a little crazy as I was the only person in my department to show up for work today. I thought it was a Saturday when I walked in this morning. I actually prefer days like today because the clock goes by much faster. Hopefully nobody will show up tomorrow that way I have less time to worry about the beta results.

Morrisa has been extremely tired these past couple days which is a good sign. With my softball schedule I'm out of the house 3 days a week, so the house needs some picking up. Tonight I will be a good hubby and pick up so she can rest and take it easy. Speaking of softball it seems the three teams I'm playing for have all hit a slump as the past 2 weeks. All 3 of them haven't won a single game. It doesn't bother me really. I'm just having a blast going out and playing the games. That's all that matters to me. Luckily I play on teams where everyone is the same way. I've played on pretty competitive teams and they've all have bad attitudes. You really don't look forward to spending your free time watching a bunch of adults yelling at each other and throwing stuff everywhere because someone was thrown out going for an extra base.

Anyway I will update as soon as I hear the beta results tomorrow. Bring on the weekend!

Second Beta Result

So Morrisa just called and said that they called with the results and I could tell right away that she was worried because she didn't sound as excited as I thought. They said that the levels rose from 522 to 883 which is 69%. The nurse told her not to worry, which isn't going to happen and that it was a good rise. I told her that as long as it was over the 66% it was a good thing because they wouldn't use that benchmark if it wasn't good. Her concern is that it didn't double which she has seen everyone else's do. I have no idea if 69% is a sign of bad things but I trust in our clinics experience and if they say it's good, then I won't worry about it. I mean they wouldn't use 66% as benchmark if it wasn't good right? Should I be worried also or should I put trust in the nurse and believe that she isn't saying that to make us feel better?

Beta Results Are In

No sooner did I post the last blog when my phone began to ring, and Morrisa was on the other line saying the results were in. She said that the level was 522 and that the nurse said it was a good number. So now we go in Wed. morning for more blood work and hope that the numbers continue to rise. I think I'm still in shock that this is all happening, but extremely excited. WoooHooo!!! We have to change our chant from Dig Doozer Dig to Grow Doozer Grow! There's so much more I could say but have to hold off until after work.

Wait, Wait, Wait!!

Alright so I'm not blogging about my life right now because we're still waiting to hear from our clinic with our beta results. I know we have 10 positive test since last Tuesday, and to some that may be a little obsessive LOL. After 6 years of getting nothing but negatives, getting these positives has been fun and although I feel everything is going to come back good. I wish they would just call us already and give us a good high beta result. Anyway we continue to sit and wait.

Finally Friday

So last night we stopped by my parents house because we couldn't take not telling them. We got there and talked with them for a couple of minutes and I mentioned that there was a picture that I wanted to show them. I told them that it was a picture of a bug that the cats had found in the house and we've never seen anything like it before. Which wasn't all a lie. We have never seen one of those (a positive preg. test) in our house before. Well I pulled up the picture of a positive test and they both just stood there looking confused and mom finally looked at Morrisa and said "Are you pregnant?" It was perfect because they knew we were going in for our beta on Monday and o the thought never crossed their mind that we were going to show them that. Dad thought it was an advertisement that came up on the screen. We told them that we still had to wait for the beta, but they are excited. As much as we want to have a kid we want to give them a grandchild. We see how they are with my little cousins and so want to give them a grandchild to spoil.

I've been thinking of a good blog to post, and I think my next blog will be about my life. We've talked about recent events in infertility, and I thought I'd take you back to the beginning. So look for that to come up. Everyone have a great weekend. Tomorrow we have a mother's day picnic for my grandmother, and Sunday we're going to Morrisa's mom's house for mother's day.

Another Day Closer

So for those who don't read my wifes blog I'll catch you up. Since we have been testing positive we wanted to move our beta date from Monday to Friday. The reason for doing so was A) We don't want to wait until after mothers day and the day before her birthday in case we get bad news and B) We wanted to tell our parents for Mothers Day and wanted to have a good beta before doing so. Well she called our clinic and she was informed that her nurse that has been with us since the very beginning is GONE. What? So they passed her to her new nurse who was a little rude about the whole thing and told her that "I'm not going to do that". Her reasoning is because the levels won't be where they would like them on Friday. So we must wait a little longer.

Anyway Morrisa tested again last night and this morning (since we have never received a positive it's fun to test and see it) and both were positive. We even tried a digital and it said "Yes". We were hesitant to try the digital because all of the ones we took before were so mean with their "NOT PREGNANT" messages.
I'm glad it's Thursday! Bring on the weekend! We lost our 2 softball games last night. Oh well you can't win them all. I played good and hit another home run. That makes back to back nights with a homer. WooHoo!

Another song I love! Tunnel by Third Day http://youtube.com/watch?v=IXAAiSoBweU

Did Doozer Dig?

I promised you all that my next post was going to be better than that last post was. So yesterday afternoon Morrisa called me and said that she wanted to take a pregnancy test that evening. So for the remainder of the day, the drive to pick her up, and the drive home I was lost in space. So we get home and she does the test and while we're waiting we do the progesterone shot. Once we're finished with that we both ran into the bathroom already preparing ourselves for the negative we are about to see as we have for the past 6 years. Once we arrived to the awaiting test something was wrong. It doesn't look like all the other tests we have had in the past this one had 2 lines instead of one. A BFP? Are you serious? No way!! It can't be.
I think we both were in shock and we both started crying. We were both so excited but I felt bad because I was extremely excited and yet I was kind of holding back my excitement at first. I felt that the infertility has kind of cheated me of how I should be feeling. We should be jumping for joy and planning all this baby stuff, a room, furniture, a wish list of stuff. Yet we know all too well what could go wrong.
So we went to my softball games still excited and dwelling on the what if's. We lost the first game 15-5 but returned the favor the second game beating them 35-8. I had to throw some sports in there. I hit a monster home run, which Morrisa missed because she was busy talking with the other fans. Some fans huh? Just kidding.
Anyway we tested again this morning dreading that something was going to change. It looked just as the other did last night. We're so excited and so scared. I guess it's normal though. Below is the picture of the 2 side by side.
Now I can't wait for the beta and hope it comes back with strong numbers. I sure hope Doozer dug!

This post is going to be boring...

I've been thinking of what to say since we're still waiting to test and for our beta. It's been pretty much quiet as far as what to blog about. The weekend was good. We went on a date Saturday and went to see "Made of Honor". It was a "chick flick", but it was good. We had a good time. It was nice getting out of the house and having something take our minds off of this cycle. For my birthday I received a lot of gift cards to different places so we went to lunch on Sunday to "On the Border" which is a Mexican restaurant. It was our first time going there and that also was nice. I still prefer Don Pablos. We then stopped by Home Depot and picked up a bird feeder and some seed and went home and set it up in front of the dinning room window so the cats can watch them during the day. Other than that it has been pretty much uneventful. Sorry for extremely boring post that this has turned into. I promise I will find something exciting and possibly funny to talk about next.

Thanks Google!

Yesterday was good, at least it started that way. I was hopeful and thinking maybe this cycle could be it and Doozer will pull through. That was until I went and picked up my wife from work. She came out and got in the car and was telling how bummed she was and that she doesn't think this cycle worked. This was due to her cramps which she described as the same at the end of our last IUI cycle that ended in a BFN. The other thing that caused this depression was that she found online through a Google search some data that is used when calculating success rates for IVF between single transfers and 2 embryo transfers. This data said that the single embryo results were not from just one fresh cycle, but that of fresh cycle and one frozen cycle. So this news bummed her out even more, and brought me from hopeful to absolutely miserable thinking this is a failed cycle. This has not been the first time that information regarding infertility found through Google has made her upset and depressed, and I'm sure it won't be the last either. I know it's not Google's fault that all the depressing news my wife finds is posted on these websites but they are the vehicle that takes he there. I wish they would drive her to good news more often than the bad. Anyway that's my rant on Google and her obsession with using it as "Dr Google". I have tried to steer her from getting her info from the internet but she doesn't listen.

Anyway today has been good. Thanks to all of you wonderful people out there she is feeling more hopeful and I woke up this morning feeling my optimistic self. You combine the two and it makes for a good start to the weekend. The chant continues, "Dig Doozer Dig".

Waiting Sucks

I hate waiting. I've never been a very patient person when it comes to something that I really want. Waiting in lines, traffic, things like that no problem. It's things like this though that drives me crazy. I know I'm not alone. I told Morrisa that I wish they installed a little screen on her belly so that we could see if Doozer was doing anything. It would make everything so much easier. Since that's not the case I guess I'll just continue to go crazy waiting. Come on weekend!!

I thought that I would share with you my song of the day.