The One Year Strong Ladies!

[HappiestMom]

awww..any hair under there?...soo cute..are you home now?

 

[DaretoDream]

My Birth Story

 

[CottlestonPie]

Oh Dare, she's so precious!
And what an amazing birth story... So much respect for you going all natural. Congratulations again hun, you must be sooo proud xx

 

[Spunky]

Dare - So Wonderful!! Congrats! She's adorable!

Wanna - I turned 27 9 days before James was bprn.



AFM - Breastfeeding is giong great! ALmost doesn't hurt anymore. And Wanna - I do bottle feed occasionally to give the boobs a break! I pump and freeze to have a stock for emergency!

James is sleeping through the night and great! He's becoming much easier!

The calcifications are something in his liver. They come up on ultrasound as bright white spots the color of bone. We've seen the specialist. They've done some ultrasounds and they're the same as they were on his 20 week scan (and the 26, 27 and 33 week scans they did to check on him). THey are going to monitor his liver enzymes. He tested positive for antibodies for herpes simplex. I had 8 cold sores while I was pregnant. They are concerned about possible liver scarring (but said it's a very low chance). If any of the tests come back different in 3 months then they're going to do a biopsy. That worries me, but at least I know they're monitoring him. I'm happy to know they have an idea of what's caused it, it's a little bit of a relief.

Lindsay - I think you said you wanted new pictures. Here's my little man!

 

[HappiestMom]

The calcifications are something in his liver. They come up on ultrasound as bright white spots the color of bone. We've seen the specialist. They've done some ultrasounds and they're the same as they were on his 20 week scan (and the 26, 27 and 33 week scans they did to check on him). THey are going to monitor his liver enzymes. He tested positive for antibodies for herpes simplex. I had 8 cold sores while I was pregnant. They are concerned about possible liver scarring (but said it's a very low chance). If any of the tests come back different in 3 months then they're going to do a biopsy. That worries me, but at least I know they're monitoring him. I'm happy to know they have an idea of what's caused it, it's a little bit of a relief.

does the herpes and the calcifications have anything to do with each other? I have genital herpes (as I think I told you ladies sometime before) and will have to be put on acyclovir at around 36 weeks to prevent breakouts close to her due date...but they never said anything about it otherwise

 

[Spunky]

The calcifications are something in his liver. They come up on ultrasound as bright white spots the color of bone. We've seen the specialist. They've done some ultrasounds and they're the same as they were on his 20 week scan (and the 26, 27 and 33 week scans they did to check on him). THey are going to monitor his liver enzymes. He tested positive for antibodies for herpes simplex. I had 8 cold sores while I was pregnant. They are concerned about possible liver scarring (but said it's a very low chance). If any of the tests come back different in 3 months then they're going to do a biopsy. That worries me, but at least I know they're monitoring him. I'm happy to know they have an idea of what's caused it, it's a little bit of a relief.

does the herpes and the calcifications have anything to do with each other? I have genital herpes (as I think I told you ladies sometime before) and will have to be put on acyclovir at around 36 weeks to prevent breakouts close to her due date...but they never said anything about it otherwise

They do believe the calcifications were caused by an in utero infection - and since he has herpes simplex antibodies that means he was exposed to it. So the specialist does feel like that the cold sores were the reason for the calcifications.

They would have noticed them on your scans, so I wouldn't worry about calcifications! Since you're planning on a vaginal birth the acyclovir is a great idea. That's what they put me on for my cold sores and I took it while pregnant

 

[HappiestMom]

oh ok..yeah they havent pointed anything out..and I havent had any outbreaks..**knock on wood** since spring of last year..so...hopefully it will all be good..would hate to have a mandatory C-section coz of an outbreak right at the end... Im sure everything will turn out ok with James and its good that they are on top of it and you have some idea of whats going on and arent in the dark anymore..

 

[CottlestonPie]

Good to hear that James is being monitored and that it hasn't got worse since 20 weeks.

I think we're hitting the 4 month sleep regression. Toby has started waking up at 3:30 for a bottle. He's on 7oz bottles every 4 hours but he still gets hungry by 3:30am

 

[HappiestMom]

Good to hear that James is being monitored and that it hasn't got worse since 20 weeks.

I think we're hitting the 4 month sleep regression. Toby has started waking up at 3:30 for a bottle. He's on 7oz bottles every 4 hours but he still gets hungry by 3:30am

maybe its growth spurt time.... Common times for growth spurts are during the first few days at home and around 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (more or less).

 

[wannabeprego]

@Dare, your baby is beautiful!! congrats again to you!!

@Spunky, thanks for sharing more pictures, he is soo cute!!! And he is growing so fast too! I hope everything is going to be alright with the calcifications.

As for me, I got AF yesterday and I took it pretty hard, Me and DH had a huge argument lastnight, i think it is just the stress of everything piling up on us, my broken heart from TTC and it not happening for us, and financial worries, such a huge strain on our relationship. I am going to try to give B&B a break for a while, so I probably wont be on the site very much. I just need to take a step back for my own sanity, I am falling into a depression. Even walking around in K-Mart yesterday was hard, seeing women with babies, and even the sappy songs on the radio were making me emotional. I dont know how I am going to get through this TTC process without loosing it. I havent decided if I am going to do another round of clomid yet for August or not, I dont know if I have the energy right now to put in all of the work with TTC for August...... I might take a break maybe, I dont know, I havent made up my mind yet...I almost just want to give up on TTC and just work towards saving up for IUI, because I feel like month after month of failed attempts the old fashioned way are a wasted effort, i figure if it was going to happen on its own than it would of by now, in other words I feel pretty hopeless. I just dont know girls....

Plus my husband's job that we moved to this state for last summer is going to be eliminating over 8,700 jobs, and we have no idea how safe his job is going to be....he does have some previous military experience that helps counts towards his seniority so if they do layoffs starting out with the newest hired employees this could help him, but it is really scary. Long story short things are super stressful right now....

 

[wannabeprego]

Well I am feeling better today, I just needed a few days to accept AF arriving. I decided that I am doing another round of clomid 50 mg's again, so here I go again with another month of TTC insanity... Wish me luck. I am not ready to give up on my dreams of having a baby the old fashioned way just yet....

Hubby doesnt seem to be to concerned about the layoffs,i got to talk to him more about it when he got home from work lastnight. The layoffs wont be starting until September of 2012 and his prior military expereince and veterans preference would help protect him from being one of the people that get laid off. They would first try to get older workers to do an early retirement, than try restructuring of the departments and than start laying off some of the younger newer workers with less senoirity than hubby, so hopefully we wont be affected by the layoffs.

 

[Spunky]

Wanna - I'm sorry things are so stressful! I hope your husband's job is safe and that this round of clomid works.


Katherine - I hope Toby starts sleeping better! I now know how stressful it is to be woken up by crying and forced to stay up when you're exhausted!

 

[wannabeprego]

Thanks for the kind words Spunky....

I just contacted a nearby infertility office and asked how much IUI in the office would be. The lady qouted me $350.00, for one attempt, which includes the washing and insemination. I am so glad to know that it is affordable since our health insurance wont cover it, and that me and DH should be able to save up for that fairly quickly, hopefully in a few months. I have an infertility consultation scheduled for wednesday afternoon to talk about the procedure and what steps I will need to take next. I am not sure what kind of testing they will want me to have to make sure I am a good candidate for the IUI. I just hope that DH's count wont be to low for us to try IUI, I think that is one of my worst fears surrounding the whole thing....

So in conclusion if this second cycle of old fashioned with my clomid doesnt work out than at least I have a definate plan in place now. Wish us luck girls.

 

[CottlestonPie]

Its great to know that IUI is affordable if it comes to that hun... But I have my fingers crossed for this next clomid cycle xx

So, Toby is now rolling over. Makes nappy changing awesome fun!
Oh, and everything goes in his mouth lately... he's a dribble machine!! So last week I had carrot and hummus for lunch.The carrot was seriously cold and crunchy, so I gave some to Tobysaurus to gum on. HE LOVED IT.
We're not properly weaning yet, but he enjoyed getting something to suck on that didn't taste like toys or milk for once

(Oh, that's OH and our nephew in the 3rd pic.)

 

[HappiestMom]

aww..he looks soo happy...and look at that fuzzy hair!!....soo cute!

 

[Spunky]

Wanna - $350?! That's so reasonable! I would be so happy to hear that! Like Katherine said I hope it doesn't come down to that, but if it does that's so cool that you'll be able to afford it sooner than later.

Katherine - He's such a little man! Congrats! James has rolled front to back, but not back to front yet. So exciting! Changing diapers while rolling sounds even worse than changing diapers kicking like crazy and screaming! Oh! And I love "Tobysaurus"!!!

 

[HappiestMom]

you ladies just wait till they start crawling/walking away mid diaper change..you will be amazed at how many positions you can learn to change a diaper in lol lol...

 

[wannabeprego]

@Cottlestone, awwwww...he is soooo cute!!!! I love his fluffy spikey brown hair. What a doll!!! He looks alot like his daddy!!!

 

[NJAngelAPN]

Wow, a lot has happened in a few short pages.

Dare - Ava is beautiful. And that is an amazing birth story. MAJOR to you for going au naturel. I definitely don't have the spine for that, and I'm extremely impressed. You go, Mommy. Can't wait to see more pictures.

Wanna - I can totally sympathize. I don't have the POAS addiction you do, but I was so frustrated cycle after cycle after cycle...I thought about taking a break from BnB so many times, and I'm glad I didn't. Even though it was hard to see other ladies getting their , and so on, I would get out a good , and try to buck up for next month. It's so calming to have a plan. And I think that IUI may be your best bet. I don't know if your MD wants to do it in conjunction with Clomid, as that would increase your odds by making sure you're nice and ripe. Obviously you're an OPK pro, so finding out when you ovulate won't be an issue. As for your DH's low count, the IUI will actually help that. First of all, the washing and spinning them down cuts down on any of the bad ones, and usually they add a supplement (like food) to help beef them up and help them last longer. I was on another board, and most girls had a low sperm count post-wash - DH's were ridiculously high, which most girls were shocked by. I mean, some girls had as little as 7.5 million, and the highest I saw was 88 million. DH had 144 million the first time, and 141 the next day, with 95% motility both times. Obviously a ton of doesn't guarantee a ! And as annoying as it is, and I hate to say it, I'm obviously proof of it happening when you least expect it.

Maybe just make a plan to do IUI next month. Try not to think about this month. Stay away from the OPKs and the HPTs as they're just making you nuts. BD like crazy, but keep it fun. DH and I only BD'd once (maybe twice, and that's a stretch) in our window the month we got our BFP. I stopped temping, I stopped the OPKs, the fertility monitor, the OV watch. I just "gave up." I'd figured that since my MD told us it "was not going to happen naturally", and since I couldn't do Clomid that month, that it was just going to be a month off. I guess it took enough stress off of us that it helped! Trust me, I know it's easier said than done, but maybe there's something to it? Who knows, you may be surprised!

Katherine - Toby is aDORable! I love that fuzzy head of hair. Such a cutie. And he looks like such a happy baby.

AFM - the Zofran is my new best friend. No nausea at all the last three days since I've been taking the Rx. It's a beautiful thing! I'm actually a little afraid to STOP taking it, because I don't want it to start all over again. I feel great, more energetic, and generally just BETTER. Except...(TMI alert) for the damn constipation. Holy CRAP, that just started! Nothing for the last four days, and I feel like I could POP!
Chelsea - holy cow, the bloat! I feel like a balloon! I haven't been this bloated since I had my gallbladder surgery and was inflated like an astrodome! I've tried everything. I even snuck a cup of coffee today to see if that would help. NOTHING. Any tips, guys? This is making me crazier than the nausea. Beyond uncomfortable, and this is only nine weeks! Baby Bee is sucking all the nutrients out of everything I've eaten in the last five days!
I got my Sonoline B doppler in the mail today. Tested it to make sure it worked - I know it's WAY too early for me to hear anything, but I found my heart beat no problem. I'll try in a few days - the girl I bought it from heard her baby at 9+3, so who knows. We'll give it a shot. I see the OB again next week, at 9+6. Not sure if she'll try for it then, or what this visit will entail.

Wow, sorry so long winded. Hope everything is good with you guys!

 

[HappiestMom]

NJ..all I can suggest on constipation is glycerin suppositories..I felt like an old person buying a huge thing of like..200 lol lol..but thats the smallest pack they had..but omg they work..even if its just rabbit pellets (sorry but thats what hubby calls it lol lol) you seriously feel better... that or MacDos...go get you a huge coke..a bigmac and some fries..and geez that ALWAYS flushed me out lol..even pre pregnancy lol.. good luck!!