Merry Christmas and Prayer Buddy Reveal

My prayer buddy was Shannon from A Friend of Gianna who is now private.  I was praying for her and MM as they discern the future of their relationship.  Shannon is such a sweet girl and it was a privilege to pray for her and to hear her voice during Sew's shower.  I prayed for her at Mass and during my weekly adoration time.

D and I went to his parents' house for Christmas.  We had a good time and got to relax a lot.  We talked to my family on Skype since everyone was in different places and we also talked to his sister and her husband who couldn't come down for Christmas.  Baby Blondie got quite few things for Christmas and he already has a shelf in the nursery and we haven't had the first shower yet.  D's parents got us the carseat, so it's installed in our new car that we bought on Thursday night (silver 2009 Ac.cord...I'll post a picture later).  I've have carseats in my car before with my work as a nanny, but last night I realized that I actually have our child's carseat in my car.  D is driving the car today because I have the day off and I need to clean our my old car which he'll be driving.  My sister-in-laws also got us onesies and other baby stuff for Christmas.  My mom's relatives are throwing me a shower in about 3 weeks in Austin since my grandma can't really travel.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone since it's been a few months since I was out there.

I have an ob appointment tomorrow and D hopefully will be able to come. I'm doing pretty well other than my silly nosebleeds and what I think is round ligament pain or stretching of my scar tissue from my laparatomy.  Baby Blondie has been moving around a lot (including as I type this) and kicked D in the face a couple times (he was laying his head on my tummy).  I also can feel kicks going on the inside or to my cervix.  My MIL seemed to be a bit worried that I hadn't gained enough weight but my ob hasn't said anything about it.

First OB appt.

Baby Blondie's first picture

Baby Blondie's little heart is beating at 122 beats a minute and he/she is measuring at 6 weeks exactly (I'm 6 weeks, 2 days) although the baby was really close to my uterine wall which made it harder for the tech to measure.  D was there for the u/s but not the rest of the appointment because he had to get back to work.  I'm so glad D was able to be there even though it put him behind for the rest of the day.  He took the u/s picture with him back to work, but brought it home so we could scan it.  He's going to keep it on his wall at work.  I haven't had any more spotting since Saturday.  I had my progesterone draw for PPVI and I'll be getting my PIO injection this evening.

I did decide to switch obs since my ob basically said if I want to do a natural birth I'd be better off switching to a different ob and even gave some recommendations.  I made my appointment with the new ob and it'll be on September 15.  I've got to call and see if they are going to do an u/s with the appointment (and try to convince them if they aren't planning to).  

I'm feeling quite nauseous, but I still haven't had true morning sickness quite yet.  Last night and this morning were pretty close though.  I can't eat meat (or really talk much about it).  I'm pretty tired and I have get up a lot during the night to pee.  I don't really have any breast tenderness or anything.  I'm feeling bloated, but I don't think that I've actually really changed any yet.  I have still be having pressure mainly on my left side, but my corpus luteum is on my right ovary so I don't know what that's from.  It's really funny that the baby so much smaller still than the corpus luteum but already has a heartbeat.

D would like me to let everyone know that he's awesome (and a goofball).  D is awesome because he's in cleaning the kitchen and making my dinner while I sit on the couch and rest.

My brother took D's old car (D's now driving our truck and I still have my car) so he could drive back to school (here's Friday's post about the accident...he's fine).  My parents are talking about basically transfering that car into their name and then D and I would get a new car (new to us at least) once my parents get the check and they'd help us with the down payment or whatever.

Scary stuff (not pregnancy related)

My youngest brother, who is ok, got into a car accident today (and he was at fault) and possibly totaled his car.  I was driving behind him and saw the whole thing happen.  It was really scary; I wasn't sure that he was going to be ok.  I parked my car and ran over to check on him.  The other driver was older and went to the hospital, but I don't think it was serious.  Thankfully D came over from work and helped get everything sorted out.  My brother is supposed to be leaving to drive up to school in Ohio on Sunday, but we don't know how he's getting back yet.  My parents haven't gotten back to their house overseas yet from their trip to the states, so we haven't been able to talk to them.  They hopefully will be back in the next couple hours.  I'm very glad I wasn't in the car, or I'd be over at the hospital getting an u/s.

Improvement (and some other random stuff)

I've had a better start to this cycle compared to previous ones.  I didn't really have cramps, just some back pain.  I stopped bleeding on after CD7, which is a huge, let me say it again HUGE improvement since I've been going to CD 10+ most cycles.  I don't know if the antibiotics had anything to do with it, but if they are the reason I'm not still bleeding (and I'll be even more impressed if I don't have post-ovulation bleeding) then I can deal with a funky stomach and metallic taste for another 6 months.

I told D that I was done bleeding and he laughed at how happy/proud I was, but he doesn't have to wear feminine hygiene products for 2/3 of the month (ex. last cycle with 20 days of bleeding out of a 30 day cycle).  If I manage to make it to P+14 or 15 (which is of course a long way off), I may actually get my hopes somewhat up.  However, even if we don't actually conceive, I will be thrilled just to not be bleeding all the time.

Prayer buddy (and all the rest of you wonderful ladies), please pray that the bleeding will continue to stay away.  Also, please pray for my first cousin once removed, she has Stage 3 breast cancer.  My grandma is really worried about whether she'll lose her sister (my great aunt) if her (my great aunt) daughter loses her cancer battle.  We went to visit my grandparents today since we were in town (they live about 6 hours away so we always try to visit when we come even for other things), and she started crying when she was talking about it. 

Thursday and Friday, D and I went with a friend and his kids (plus his nephew) to a great waterpark in Central Texas (I bet any Texan would know where I'm talking about).  We had a great time, but it was hard to see D with our friend's almost three year old since I haven't been able to give that to him.  The good news is that D and I could definitely handle taking a 3 year old to a waterpark, just the two of us.  I got slightly sunburned and so did D (even after putting on sunscreen), but it's not too bad.

My mom is in from overseas and is at our house for the next week.  Last time she was in was for my surgery, and I spent most of the time sleeping or feeling nauseated.

The baby, a little boy, that I'm going to nanny for was born earlier this week.  I'll probably start working in about a week since the dad will be out of town for flight stuff and her mom won't be able to come to town.

This part is annoying

I'm hopefully finally done bleeding/spotting; today is CD 13. I had medium flow on CD 10 while my brother and I were at D's best friend's house visiting their brand new baby (it was a lovely reminder that my body doesn't work properly).  I'm so tired of bleeding for three weeks straight and having a 7-10+ day period.  It also interferes with intercourse since I'm bleeding for so long.   We use a couple days in the middle of the my cycle near ovulation and then it's another couple weeks before we do it again.  I'm ready for so good peak type mucus.  I need to start on my mucinex.  I forgot about it due to the bleeding, when I figured there was no point.

My trip to Austin went well.  I was pretty tired but I got to see my two of my brothers (BP and DF), my grandparents, and D's best friend, his wife and their new baby.  I also got to hold the baby for a while.  Since I was traveling, I haven't been following the Endo diet very well, so I need to get back on track with that.  I feel like I haven't spend much time with D lately, between the fact that he works most Saturdays, the couple evenings that I've worked, and the time he spends out with friends.

I don't know if I mentioned that my brother DF is finally engaged to his girlfriend of 9 1/2 years.  They are planning on a destination wedding in Hawaii next summer.  I'm sure it'll be fun but it means my grandparents cannot go to the wedding, plus it'll be expensive for D and I (although my parents have offered to help).  The other thing is that I might not even be able to go if I actually manage to get pregnant in the next five months or so.

The rest of the summer is pretty busy during the weekends.  We have 2 more weekends between now and the IF weekend August that we aren't traveling and don't have people visiting.  Next weekend, my dad will in Houston from Qatar on a business trip that happily just happens to fall over Father's Day weekend.  That means that we'll get to see both our dads for Father's Day.

I feel like this post is all over the place (even more than usual) and I apologize.  I also need to sit down and write up my faith story soon.

Crazy couple days coming up

One of my brothers in Houston right now visiting and doesn't have a car, so I'm driving down 4 hours to pick him up on Thursday morning to take him to Austin (another 3 hours) to visit our grandparents and other relatives.  D has to work so it'll just be me and my brother.  D's best friend (who lives in Austin) just had a baby (the one I went to the shower for recently) and so we're going visit them while we are in town.  We are also going to see our brother who just got engaged this past weekend.  My brother wants to go hunting with one of his friends back in Houston on Friday night, so we'll be driving back on Friday afternoon.  I'll probably stay with my in-laws and then leave really early on Saturday morning to make it back here in time for my adoration hour at 11 am.  D works on Saturday so I won't see him until after 5.  One of the good things about being currently unemployed is that I can drive halfway across Texas and back even though it'll be weekdays.

I had some pretty rough cramps this cycle.  I'm really feeling kind of frustrated and defeating in dealing with my body right now.  It's been 3 months today since my surgery.  It's CD 7, and it does look like I'm down to just very light flow/spotting which is good.  Hopefully the spotting will end pretty soon.

Ouch

This cycle has been weird.  CD 1 started off with about 15 minutes of pretty heavy bleeding, but then went done to pretty light flow.  CD 2-5 were light flow too and it's only been the past two days (CD 6 & 7) that I've had my normal medium flow.  I'm also having some pretty sharp pains that come and go (and have only happened really in the evening the past three days or so) in the area of my right ovary.  Since it's not consistent and hadn't really bothered me during the day, I haven't called PPVI but I'll call if it continues into tomorrow.

My youngest brother stopped in for the night yesterday on his way "home" (since my parents are living overseas, he doesn't really have a home) on the way home from college.  It was good to see him since I hadn't seen him since Christmas.  I'll see him again in August on his way back up to school.  He's working at a Catholic teen camp this summer and then going to Ghana for a mission trip in July.  Please keep him and the group he's going with in your prayers.

There has been so much wonderful news in the Catholic IF blogger world lately.  Congratulations to Sew, Jeremiah, and Thankful.

I need to work on hope in the Lord for myself like TCIE and Kaitlin talked about.  I've been feeling a bit down, like it's never going to happen for us (even with my FCP and Dr. H saying we have good odds).

An email should be going out about the Southern blogger get-together soon.

New Cycle and Some Exciting Stuff

CD 1 was Saturday, D's birthday, which was not ideal timing.  Earlier I had said that my six week surgery phone follow-up was April 12, but it's actually April 19.  I had missed counted.  I had some cramps this cycle, but they weren't as bad as usual and my back didn't hurt at all.

I didn't follow the Endo Diet very well a couple days this week and I've had stomach problems.  I'm going to be more careful about following it (especially avoiding gluten/wheat).

I got the nanny job that I interviewed for on Tuesday.  I'm very excited.  I'll be starting on Monday.  They have 2 1/2 year old boy/girl twins (the boy has Down's) and a little girl who is 6 months old.  The kids seem very sweet and I got along really well with the parents (and they are Catholic, bonus!).  D was very happy that I got the job since my pay ran out last week (plus he's just happy I got it in general).

My dad is going to be back in the States this coming week for a meeting (they live in Qatar), so we are going to meet him in Austin and visit with my brother and my grandparents.  While I'm in the area, I'll also get to meet Keep Calm and Carry On for lunch, which I'm very excited about as well.  She'll be the second blogger friend I've met; I met Life in Mazes about 2 months ago.

"Early" ovulation and exposure to H1N1, and Lent plans

It's CD 19 and I'm P+4, which means I ovulated on CD 15.  Since I usually don't ovulate until between CD 16-21 (and sometimes later), CD 15 is pretty early.  We had decent timing (P-3 and P-1), but of course my surgery is in about 2 1/2 weeks so I don't have my hopes up.  I'm glad that I'll be at about CD 8 or so for my surgery.

The little boy I nanny for tested positive for H1N1 yesterday and I didn't get the vaccine, so I'm hoping I don't catch it.  We are going to visit my relatives and D's best friend and his wife (so I'll be visiting with two pregnant women), so it would be an extra poor time to get sick, especially with H1N1.  I also have had some very mild UTI type symptoms that I'm trying to keep at baby with large amounts of cranberries.  Please pray for me!

I'm doing pretty well so far on the Endo Diet, which I started about a week ago.  I've got my dinner plans for done through mid-March (I didn't do any plans for the time we are in Omaha, but I sent my mom some info).  I'm working on lunch and breakfast plans.  I'm have the hardest time with breakfast since I take it with me to work and I don't want to have to cook it, and eggs are out so muffins and breads are much more difficult.  I'm not sure how well I'll be able to follow it this weekend since we'll be traveling and staying at people's houses.  It's only 2-3 days so I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it, but if anyone does have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

For Lent, I'm significantly cutting back on my internet time (and cutting FB games completely).  This means that although I'll still be reading the blogs, I won't be commenting too much.  I'm going to try to use this time for prayer, reading (focusing on spiritual reading) and keeping up with my housework (which is a difficult area for me).  I still need to talk to D and figure out almsgiving.

Have a blessed Lent everyone.

CD 1...Cycle 27

Yesterday was CD 1, after a tiny bit of pink on Sunday night.  I had a 27 day cycle, with ovulation on CD 16, but only a 11 day LP.  I'm hope that PPVI will call soon after the first of the year with the plan for probable antibiotics,  possible hydrocort (I haven't heard anything about my cortisol level...Misfit, it was just a 9am blood draw), and any other possible treatment for my uterine inflammation.  I just want to have everything in place (and hopefully at therapeutic levels) by the time my cycle after surgery starts.

My bbs hurt something serious.  I've only had pain in them for the past three or four cycles.  My incisions from surgery are doing fine.  I'm still waiting for the redness and crustiness from the allergic reaction around my belly button incision to fully heal, but the actual incision looks pretty good.

We may use days of fertility depending on how we feel, but I don't see full on Trying until after my surgery.

We had a good Christmas.  My brother and I made a whole lot of food for just 3 people, but it was really good and I have had to cook since we have so many leftovers.  I got an ice cream maker attachment for my stand blender and a mini food processor (so I don't have use and clean my big one for small amounts), and both sets of parents sent some money (which will be a big help with the whole second out-of-town surgery in three months thing).  We are going to our hometown for New Year's, which will be fun.

Merry Christmas

My youngest brother K, who is currently a nomad since my parents moved out of the country and he's in college, is visiting us for Christmas.  We didn't travel to see D's parents (who we saw last weekend) since D had to work today and has to work Saturday.  K is helping me bake for Christmas dinner since he's a wonderful cook.

My advent secret prayer buddy was Life in Mazes (her blog is private).  My intentions for her were that she and her husband would be able to find peace and hope even while grieving the EDD of Nicky and that they would be able to feel joy and hope in their continue efforts towards TTC and adoption.  I asked for the intercession of St. Nicolas, LIM's babies in heaven Nicky and Sam.

She was also my secret prayer buddy and sent me a prayer box charm and Mary and Jesus visor clip, both of which I love.  I've got the box on my key chain right now and the visor clip is on the visor (obviously!).  She also sent me a lovely letter and a Christmas card photo of her and J.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of the Lord with their loved ones.

Another brother as a priest?

One of my brothers (third of the four siblings...I'm the oldest) is a seminarian right now (the one who help to found the religious order that he's part of).  My youngest brother is a sophomore in college and is on a semester abroad in Austria.  He was recently in Medjugorje and this is what the email he sent:

Okay, so I haven't told anyone this because I wanted to tell you guys first. During the first day at Medjugorje, we climbed Apparition Hill, where the Blessed Virgin first appeared to the visionaries. We prayed the Rosary up the hill, and at the top there is a statue of Our Lady where she first appeared. Everyone sat there and prayed quietly. As I was sitting there, completely out of the blue, I hear a voice in my head, "K, I want you to be a priest." And, of course, my first reaction is "Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute, this is not what I planned." So of course I try to put it to the side and forget about it.

Later on that evening, there is adoration going on in the church. As I am in adoration, I hear the exact same thing again, and I honestly don't want to hear it. I want to have my own little plans and hopefully God will fit in them. Of course, God ruins our fun little plans and so yeah. God is calling me to become a priest. It's crazy. I still don't think I have quite processed it yet. But praise God for that. I really think this entire semester, especially on 10-day, prepared me for this in Medj. I really have just learned to trust in the Lord in all things, and to give Him all that I am. And I am so thankful for Our Lady's intercession, because I really do believe that this was the reason I finally heard the voice. I was able to be quiet, to get away from things, and just listen to the voice of the Lord.

I'm pretty sure that the oldest of my brothers will not end up being a priest since he's a big hippy, has never really been a practicing Catholic and has been dating the same girl for 9 years and bought a house with her (but still hasn't proposed).

Another first cousin once removed

My cousin and his wife are having there third child. They have a 2 1/2 year old and a 8 month old. It's great for them, but I'm so jealous. They'll have had 2 kids since we started trying and we can't even have one. They live on the other side of the country, but it's still going to be hard to see online.

The good news on this cycle is no spotting so far and I'm at 9DPO, but I'm not pregnant since we didn't use any of the days of fertility. I'm ready for it to be December and surgery time.

One out of six

You've probably heard the statistic that one of every six couples in the US is infertile, and my cousins and I are a perfect example. I have 5 cousins (on my dad's side) that have children (most have two and are younger than me) and had them without any real infertility problems (the longest it took any of them to get pregnant was 10 months). On our vacation, we visited them and we were asked by five different relatives when we were having children (I've only shared our IF problems with one cousin). We had fun hanging out with their kids and D held my cousin's 7 month old for 45 minutes (very cute), but it was hard to see what we don't have (especially since almost all are blondes...like D and I).

The weather was not ideal on our vacation (cool and rainy which is not great for swimming and other water activities). It was great to see my family that I hadn't see in 2 or 3 years. We drove the 30+ hours straight through, so that was tiring.

I did ovulate during our vacation on CD 17, and I'm P+8. However, I started bleeding/spotting today. I started the nutrition plan yesterday from Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon. I'm hoping that it'll at least get me in healthy shape for after my surgery. I'll get into more detail and let you know how it goes later.

SA results

D's SA results were good, so the issue isn't MFI. The experience was not so good, but I'm not getting into details. At least it's done.

I'm still just spotting/light bleeding. I just want to start a new cycle. I'm on CD 43 without a confirmed ovulation.

We are going to STL for his best friend's wedding next week. I'm looking for to it a lot, especially since one of my brothers will be there and I haven't seen him since November. We'll be there from Wednesday to Sunday. My youngest brother is stopping (with a couple friends) by Sunday night on his way back from working at a church camp in GA.

Technology breakdown

D's computer, our wireless router, our modem, and I all had a breakdown on Sunday evening. D's computer was his work computer so that is still with the IT dept. trying to fix it. He got a new laptop yesterday which I am borrowing today since my computer is both physically broken and incredibly slow. We had to buy a new wireless router since ours got fried somehow (the one we had was free so it wasn't as bad as if we had bought the original). Luckily the modem just got reset when the wireless blew out so we just had call our ISP to get the user name and password to reset. We also got 2 large TV that we bought from one of D's work friends for $350. We still don't have cable/satellite but we are getting satellite when my parents move to Qatar for my dad's work later this year.

I am going to visit my parents this weekend since a friend is having a bridal shower this Sunday in our hometown. My mom recently got a new computer so I'm going to get my dad to put my hard drive in her old computer and hopefully the performance will improve.

My cousin who was having premature labor at 32 weeks had her son at 35-36 weeks. He is doing well and didn't have to go to the NICU or special care nursery.

P.S. I need some prayers that the little girl that I nanny for will get into the Montes.sori school (for preschool) for the fall. She's on the waiting list and she really needs the Montes.sori style schooling enviroment. I think she will do so much better there than a traditional school environment and that will reduce my stress as well as her parents' stress.

The stress of all our technology breaking down at once plus normal period crazies was not a good combo. I'm feeling emotionally better but the cramps kicked in yesterday and now they are quite painful. Also my hypoglycemia has been bothering me a bit lately and I feel nauseated unless I eat something every hour or so.

P+8 and other stuff

This is the first time in a few months (and only three or four times in the last year) where (as of yet) I have gotten to O/P+8 without spotting/bleeding. Dr. Hilger put D and I on a 3 week antibiotics course which we start on P+1. I can't be sure, but it would be nice if it was stopping whatever is causing the crazy bleeding.

The antibiotics give me a stomachache and they give me a bad taste in my mouth, but it's worth it if it moves us closer to conceiving.

D and I went to NJ for his cousin's wedding last weekend. It was fun and we got to see all his family who we only see about twice a year. We are actually going to send a letter to his grandma, and ask her to pray for us with regard to infertility.

S (the 3-year-old girl I nanny for) punch me in the face today. I'm hoping that her parents can deal with her in a way that will reduce that kind of behavior.

Prayers for my cousin and her baby

My cousin is 32 weeks pregnant and at her dr. appt today, she found out that she is 70% and 3 cm dilated.  She is on bedrest for a couple weeks, and they gave her steriod shots to improve the baby's lung development.  I live halfway across the country so I can't go visit her and help out.  Please keep her and her family (she also has a three-year old girl) in your thoughts and prayers.  

Christmas

As I posted earlier, D and I were able to go home for Christmas.  D came home from work about 4 on Christmas Eve, said he had off on Friday, and then we finished packing and left.  We got home just in time for me to make it to 9pm Mass with my family.  Only my youngest brother was in town so we ended up spending more time with D's family.  On Christmas Day, we opened presents at D's parents' house first, and then went to my parents' house for present and early Christmas dinner.  After dinner with my parents, we went back to D's parents' and ate late dinner with them.  D's youngest sister and her boyfriend were there for dinner.  D's other sister and her husband got in late on Friday night, so we spent time with D's family mainly after that.  I got a Wii for D, so everyone spent a lot of time playing that.

My MIL got some of the pans that we still had left on our registry so I've gotten almost all of my old pans replaced.  

I'm pretty sure that I've oed in the last few days, and our timing should be pretty good.  I've still had a bit of 10C/KL, but the quality isn't as good as it was a couple days ago.  

I hope you had a Merry Christmas

D and I were able to go home for Christmas.  Spending time with the families.  I'll post later