Faith Like a Mustard Seed: May 2014

Friday, May 9, 2014

Peek-A-Boo!

Here I am!

I know. I'm waaaaaaay late posting. Please forgive me!

Our lives are a tad crazy right now, to say the least. I tell you what---this parenting gig is a full-time job! I haven't a CLUE how Michelle Duggar does it with 19 kids! Sheesh!

I plan on posting Reagan's eight and nine month updates as soon as I have more than fifteen minutes to sit down and gather my thoughts. There have been so many changes---not just with Baby Girl, but also with our lives! Exciting stuff is happening! (And NO, I'm NOT pregnant! Hahaha!)

I'll be back on here soon, but until then I hope you all have a blessed weekend and an AWESOME Mother's Day!

TTC TImeline

Oct 2009: Married

Sept 2010: Stopped BCP; periods only w/ Provera

Sept 2011-Dec 2011: GYN consulted; SA "normal"; dx'd w/ PCOS; 3 rounds Clomid 50-150mg=3 BFN's

Jan 2012: Consulted Dr T; dx'd w/ Hypothyroidism

Feb-March 2012: 1st/2nd IUI=BFN

April 2012: 3rd IUI cancelled d/t poor response; SA repeated; morph=3%

May-June 2012: IVF; cancelled transfer d/t OHSS; 40 follicles, 26 eggs retrieved, 23 mature, 14 fertilized, 10 embies frozen

August 2012: Started preparation for FET in Sept

September 13, 2012/FET #1: 1 grade 5AA and 1 grade 3BC (both 5-day) hatching blasts transferred

September 24, 2012: First Beta=23! BFP!

September 26, 2012: Second Beta=5...chemical/miscarriage

November 8, 2012/FET #2: 1 grade 5AC and 1 grade 3BB (both 5-day) hatching blasts transferred

November 19, 2012: First Beta=473!!! BFP!

November 21, 2012: Second Beta=1325! There is definitely a sticky little bean in there!

November 26, 2012: Third Beta=7198! Grow, Peanut, grow!

November 26-27, 2012: Bleeding scare followed by brown spotting; put on bed rest until next appt...praying!!

November 28, 2012: First U/S showed one beautiful gest sac and yolk sac! PTL!

December 4, 2012: Diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma (blood clot in uterus); placed on bed rest until resolved...

December 18, 2012: SCH has resolved; cleared to be taken off bed rest! Woohoo!

January 2, 2013: Graduated from RE...on to our OB now!

February 14, 2013: Gender scan done...it's a GIRL!!

March 12, 2013: 20 week u/s done and all looks well---Praise God!

July 29, 2013: Miss Reagan Elizabeth is here! Born via c-section at 11:18pm weighing 6 lbs, 8 oz and measuring 19 inches long. God is so good!!

What I Mean When I Say __________

BCP: Birth Control Pills
Beta: the test that measures the amount of HCG in a woman's system (<5=not pregnant, >5=pregnant)
BFN: Big Fat Negative
BFP: Big Fat Positive!
CD: Cycle Day; cd 1 is the first day of a woman's period, cd 14 is "usually" when ovulation happens (in a normal cycle), and cd 28-30 is "usually" when women can expect to start their period again
Chemical Pregnancy: a miscarriage that happens before an u/s can be done; usually within the first few weeks of conception
Egg Retrieval: the procedure done to remove the mature follicles in order to fertilize them; done transvaginally; uses a needle and is done by ultrasound (usually the woman is asleep)
Embryo Transfer: the procedure of putting the fertilized embryo back inside the woman's uterus; this is done using a very long catheter, ultrasound, and a very steady hand!
FET: Frozen Embryo Transfer; the procedure of placing a women's frozen embryos (or a donor embryo) back inside the uterus, where it will hopefully implant and grow into a beautiful baby!
Follicle: the little shell an egg (future baby) is in; sometimes called a "follie"
HCG: the hormone produced when a woman is pregnant; also given to help a woman release a mature egg
HPT: Home Pregnancy Test
HSG: a test done by a radiologist to see if a woman's fallopian tubes are blocked; uses dye to "light up" the tubes
ICSI: Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection; injection of the sperm into the egg for fertilization; usually done when the sperm have some sort of defect (low motility, morphology, count)
IUI: Intra Uterine Insemination; the process of taking "washed" sperm and placing it back inside a woman's uterus to allow them to meet the egg and fertilize
IVF: In-Vitro Fertilization; the process of stimulating a woman to grow lots of eggs, harvesting those eggs, fertilizing them with "hand-picked" sperm, and then putting them back inside her to let them implant
LP: Luteal Phase; the time between when a woman releases a mature egg and when she starts her period (usually around 14 days)
Morphology: refers to the shape of a man's sperm; "normal" sperm have one decent-sized tail and a rounded head, while "abnormal" ones can have a blunt head, two heads, two tails, a short tail, etc.; measured by a % (14% is "perfect")
OHSS: Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome; when the ovaries become very swollen from fluid (from the follicles); this can lead to fluid leaking into the stomach and/or lungs, blood clots, or ovarian torsion (twisting of the ovaries)
PCOS: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome; a condition caused by wacky hormone levels that make a woman's cycles irregular and can keep her from ovulating
POAS: Pee On A Stick (obviously I'm talking about a pregnancy test "stick", not just random tree branches)
PTL: Praise The Lord!
RE: Reproductive Endocrinologist; a fertility specialist
SA: Semen Analysis
TTC: Trying To Conceive
TWW: "Two Week Wait"; the time between when a women ovulates/has an insemination/has an embryo transfer and the day she can take a HPT; a VERY stressful time!
U/S: Ultrasound