At the ripe old age of 34 my life started over. I'm passionate about cooking and trying new dishes. I dabble in scrapbooking and home decorating, and I have an impressive shoe collection. I love to travel to new places, but Honduras is my favorite. After trying to get and stay pregnant for almost 2 years, we are expecting our first baby May 9th, 5 days after my 38th birthday.



Chris is the most amazing man I've ever known. After "meeting" on match.com, we had our first date December 12, 2007. We were engaged by July and married on October 11, 2008. I would be lost without him. I never knew life could be this good!



Followers

Friday, November 26, 2010

We know what the baby is!

Sorry to keep everyone in suspense. I couldn't post before today because we had to tell everyone in the family. First I wanted to hear the heartbeat and make sure it was healthy. After that, we could look for girl or boy parts. The baby did cooperate and it's a GIRL!!! We're thrilled. I have to admit I was kind of hoping for a girl. Mostly because the clothes are so stinking cute. And her Daddy has been saying girl from Day 1.

We decided to go ahead and use the name we loved the most. If we get so lucky as to have a 2nd and it's a boy, we'll figure out a name then. Soooo....her name will be Caroline Quinn. Caroline is Chris Mom's name, Quinn is just the name I love. We also went back and forth about calling her by the middle name, but Quinn Caroline just does not sound as good.

We had 3 small "reveal" parties, my family, Chris' Dad and Stepmom, and Chris' Mom. Pretty much everyone was guessing girl so there's a lot of excitement and Quinn has already received several baby gifts. It almost made me cry several times knowing how much people love this baby. I feel so blessed and I know I don't deserve it.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Posted by Hope 8 comments
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Monday, November 22, 2010

Girl or Boy?

Tomorrow is the big day!!! We find out if Baby Beavers is a he or a she.

I thought about having a gender reveal party but I was just to tired to get it together. Plus with the whole Thanksgiving being this week the party couldn't be until next weekend and I knew I couldn't keep it a secret that long. So I baked a few little blue and pink cakes and we'll tell my family tomorrow night and Chris' on Thanksgiving when we go to Nashville.

We thought we were absolutely positive on the name, but now I don't know. Since college I've had a name picked out but last year someone in the family used it. I know I could still use it, but I don't want to. It ruined the name for me. I finally came up with a new name, I like unisex names, but I'm torn because it is the ONLY name I like for a boy. If this baby is a girl and we use it now and then we get so lucky to have another one (yes, I'm thinking about #2 which I KNOW might not even be possible with my history, but hey, a girl can dream!) I will have used my only boy name. But hubs is not so sure about the other name I like. I want to decide by tomorrow so I can post it on my baby ticker. It's just so hard when it comes down to actually saddling a person with a name for life!!



I'm 16 weeks!!






Baby’s Size: Baby Beavers is the size of an avocado.

Weight Gain/Loss: exactly even

Stretch Marks: No

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans, long tank tops and wraps and cardigans. I have bought a few maternity specific items, but I just look fat when I wear them.

Symptoms: Sickness seems to be almost gone but I’m still not loving a lot of foods. Still pretty tired, but not as bad.

Foods I’m Loving: Peanut Butter, which is a weird one for me. The only time I eat it is when we have PB&J in Honduras. Also Cesear Salad and cereal.

Foods I’m Hating: Meat, Vegetables, anything healthy, candy and sweets. I can only eat most foods one time, then I don’t want it again.

Sleep: I sleep about 10 hours, but wake up a lot to go to the bathroom. I've been having nightmares from watching the Walking dead. No more Zombie shows!

Gender: We find out tomorrow!!!!

What I Miss: Eating breakfast with my husband. I've been to tired to get up that early.

What I’m Looking Forward To: Finding out the gender

Milestones: We bought a crib!

Emotions: I’m feeling kind of sad and guilty that I don’t love being pregnant. I thought for sure I would be an earth mother who just loved being pregnant, but so far I’ve found it to be hard. I’m hoping things will get better in the next few weeks and I for sure am not complaining, I am just grateful to BE pregnant.

Posted by Hope 5 comments
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

14 Weeks

Update on the insurance situation. I called the office of the president and my continuation of coverage has already been approved so I don't have to switch Dr's. YAY!


I know I said I wouldn't update every week, but I'm OCD and I didn't want to be updating on odd weeks so I needed to get an even week up here. Also even though I've lost weight I think my belly is pooching out way more this week than last week. I didn't think you "popped" this early. Maybe it's the shirt I'm wearing.

We are counting down the days until we find out the gender and I can't wait to go shopping. I did buy a crib. I wanted the $1000 pottery barn sleigh crib and decided it was just obscene to spend that kind of money on a bed that gets slept in for less than 2 years. But guess what!! I found it on Craig's list. I had to go out of my immediate area, but found it in Atlanta and the good news is, she's bringing it to Chattanooga this weekend so I don't have to drive very far.

I’m 14 weeks!!

Baby’s Size: Baby Beavers is the size of a lemon

Weight Gain/Loss: down 1 lb

Stretch Marks: No

Maternity Clothes: Already wearing maternity jeans, but I needed those before I got pregnant. Glad to have an excuse to wear them. Still wearing regular shirts, but big ones and wraps with tank tops.

Symptoms: Ever since the cruise I’ve been sick. I don’t throw up, but I feel bad. I’ve been feeling a little better this week, but still not wanting to eat.

Foods I’m Loving: None, just ate an apple & PB and I feel awful!

Foods I’m Hating: Meat, Vegetables, anything healthy, candy and sweets

Sleep: I sleep about 10 hours, but I wake up a lot and have to go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times.

Gender: Only 2 weeks left until we find out!!

What I Miss: Not feeling sick.

What I’m Looking Forward To: Finding out the gender

Milestones: It’s getting hard to sleep on my stomach so I bought a body pillow. Not loving it.

Emotions: Surprised that pregnancy is so hard, but still over the moon excited.

PS - Why does blogger format things any old way it feels like? The spacing is not the way it looked in the preview but I'm too tired to fight with it to try to make it look pretty.

Posted by Hope 5 comments
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Friday, November 5, 2010

Freaking Out a Bit

I got a letter a few weeks ago that my health insurance was in negotiations with the hospital where my Dr delivers. Then I got a letter from the hospital saying they wanted to work it out, but UHC pays significantly lower than other carriers. I kinda brushed the whole thing off and figured they would reach an agreement. Also, I just figured worse case scenario I would pay out of network co pays. Turns out I have zero coverage for out of network. They did not reach an agreement so even though my Dr is still in network, the hospital is not.

In the letter it said there was a continuation of coverage for those who were pregnant. So I called. It's only for 2nd and 3rd trimester. I missed the cutoff by 10 days. I'm NOT happy. I explained to them that I tried for 2 years, lost 3 babies and am in the middle of a very high risk pregnancy and I am not changing Dr's. In case you haven't picked up on it, I love my Dr. I don't think I could find another one that would be as understanding and who would let me come in whenever I wanted.

So they filed a request for the continuation and it will be "reviewed". I asked how long it would take. Their answer - we don't know. How is that acceptable to a pregnant girl who needs a Dr? I know how reviews go at insurance companies. They drag it out for months then say no. I intend to write a letter to the office of the president today. I will also be calling EVERY day until they approve it. In my opinion, they should cover anyone who was pregnant as of the day of the switch. No one who is pregnant needs the stress of changing Dr's.

So if anyone has any pull at UHC, I need your help! Otherwise, please PRAY they will just approve it in a timely fashion. It is stressing me out.

Posted by Hope 2 comments
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

13 Weeks

**WARNING** This post is entirely pregnancy related. Skip it if you need to!!




We got the results from the 12 week NT scan. The tech said they want the fold to be less than 3.5 and ours was less than 1 so that is great! At age 25, the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome is 1 in 1250. Our babies risk with the scan and combined blood tests is 1 in 2500. So we are not having the amniocentesis. Not that I would have anyway with my history of miscarriage.

I'm done with the PIO shots and I just switched from heparin to lovenox so I'm down to 1 shot a day. I still take a huge amount of pills though and they all make me gag. Now that I feel like things are more normal and this might actually work, I thought I would start posting some updates and belly shots. Someday I may want to go back and look at these. I probably won't do every week because I'm just to lazy to post that much. Please keep in mind I had a belly before this started so I know I look more pregnant than I should. Oh well!






How Far Along: 13 weeks



Baby’s Size: Baby Beavers is the size of a peach!



Weight Gain/Loss: down 1.5 lbs from pre pregnancy weight.

Stretch Marks: No


Maternity Clothes: Already wearing maternity jeans, but I needed those before I got pregnant. I'm glad to have an excuse to wear them. Still wearing regular shirts, but big ones and wraps with tank tops.


Symptoms: Ever since the cruise I’ve been sick. I don’t throw up, but I feel bad and I don’t want to eat! Not eating is a big deal for me, I can always eat.


Foods I’m Loving: Apples & Peanut Butter, it's about the only thing I've eaten that I don't feel sick after.


Foods I’m Hating: Meat, Vegetables, anything healthy, candy and sweets.


Sleep: I sleep about 10 hours, but I wake up a lot and have to go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times.


Movement: Still too early.


Gender: We find out the day before Thanksgiving. 3 weeks from today!


What I Miss: Not feeling sick.


What I’m Looking Forward To: Finding out the gender


Milestones: 12 week NT scan, chances of downs or other trisomy were very low

Emotions: Surprised that pregnancy is so hard, but still over the moon excited.

Posted by Hope 7 comments
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Baby Names - BabyNamey.com Name Badge Ticker
Lilypie First Birthday tickers

TTC #2

April 2012 - Back to RE, Bloodwork is good, order drugs from overseas

May 2012 - Uncle Robert dies, have to be in Memphis when cycle starts, postponed until next month

June 2012 - Cycle day one - wrong - cyst on right ovary, put on BC to calm ovaries

July 2012 - Ovulated through the birth control, tyring old fashion way, did PIO and heparin shots, BFN

August 2012 - 150 U.I. Follistim 1x/day, only 1 egg, cancel Ganirelix, go ahead with IUI #1, 22 million sperm post wash, heparin & PIO injections - BFN

September 2012 - Skipping a month, couldn't get the drugs in time for the start of my cycle

October 2012 - 225 U.I. Follisitm 2x/day, Ganirelix, 3 mature follicles, IUI #2, 22 million sperm post wash, PIO and heparin injections - BFP

November 2nd - 1st beta, not good - 9

November 5th - 2nd beta - 3, chemical pregnancy

November 2012 - 2 weeks BC

December 2012 - 225 UI Follistim 2x/day, Ganirelix, 3 mature follicles, IUI #3, 18 million sperm post wash, doxycycline, PIO and heparin injections,

December 19th - BFN

January 2013- 2 weeks BC, 150 IU Bravelle 2x/day, Ganirelix, 2 mature follicles, IUI #4, 20 million sperm post wash, doxycycline, PIO and heparin injections - BFP!

January 29th - 1st beta - 42

January 31st - 2nd beta - 43, not good

February 4th - 3rd beta - 320! What? Maybe this is going to happen after all!

February 7th - 4th beta - 1196, RE says I have graduated to OB!

February 13th - 1 beautiful baby, saw the heartbeat, too early to hear it, measuring exactly 6 weeks

February 22nd - Heard heartbeat!!! Measuring perfectly at 7 weeks 3 days, Due date - 10/8/13

April 25th - It's another girl!!!!!

TTC Journey to #1

October 2008 - Married, never started BC

December 18, 2008 - BFP, second month trying!!

January 2009 - Miscarriage 7w2d

February - April 2009 - trying old fashioned method, no luck

April 2009 - First RE appt. SA:163 million, excellent motility & morphology

May 2009 - HSG all clear, IUI #1 - BFN

June 2009 - 50 mg clomid, IUI #2 - BFN

July 2009 - 50 mg clomid, IUI #3 - BFN

August 2009 - Follow up with RE, says 1% chance of getting pregnant, recommends IVF

September 2009 - I don't believe Dr, decide to go to Chinese Medicine Dr & Acupuncturist

October 2009 - Appointment with CM Dr, orders an expensive, out of pocket hormone test. I go to get records from RE, surely he tested hormones, right? WRONG, never did any basic hormone tests

November 2009 - Appointment with new RE, testosterone level elevated, diagnosed PCOS, 1500 mg Metformin, Birth Control for 1 month

December 2009 - Femara & HCG trigger shot- BFN

January 2010- Femara, HCG trigger shot, scheduled IUI, think I'm ovulating before giving trigger shot, go for Progesterone test, already ovulating, IUI canceled

February 2010 - Femara, Injectibles, trigger, IUI #4 - BFP

March 5th, 2010 - 1st beta - 79

March 8th, 2010 - 2nd beta - 96

March 10th, 2010 - 3rd beta - 99, Diagnosed as chemical pregnancy, never start on my own

March 17th, 2010 - 4th beta - 113, U/S, nothing in uterus, Ectopic, Methotrexate Shot

April 2010 - Tested positive for heterozygous G20210A & MTHFR gene mutations, started baby aspirin and Folgard.

May 2010 - Laparoscopy - tiny bit of stage 1 endo removed from left ovary, drilled right ovary, no blockage found in tubes.

June 2010 - Mixed Cycle - Femara and Bravelle injectibles, trigger shot, 3 good follies, 46 million sperm post wash, IUI #5, Heparin injections - BFN

July 2010 - Femara + Bravell, trigger, 2 follies, 29 million sperm post wash, heparin injections, IUI #6 - BFP

July 27, 2010 - 1st Beta- 29

July 29, 2010 - 2nd Beta - 22 - Chemical Pregnancy

August 2010 - Bravelle, Ganirelix, Trigger, 29 millions sperm post wash, heparin & PIO injections, IUI #7 - BFP

August 30th- 1st Beta - 90

September 1st - 2nd Beta - 209

September 8th - 3rd beta- 4150

September 15th - 4th beta - 29,481

September 20th - 1st Ultrasound - 1 beautiful baby, measuring 6wks6days, heart beating away

November 23rd - It's a GIRL!!!

May 2, 2011 - Quinn Caroline born at 8:25 PM, 7 lbs 14 oz, 20.5 inches

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