Babies

Baby attempt #4 is upon us. We've had 3 unsuccessful IUI attempts, that all went "perfect" according to our Doc. After this last attempt, Doc suggested we try a new donor, so we have one all picked out and ready to go. Was much easier this time around as we'd composed our original list and had some backups! This donor isn't necessarily all of the features we originally "wanted" (dark hair, dark eyes, dark complexion), but the Mrs. says his features remind her of me and I like that. So, we're going with light brown/hazel/medium this time around. 

Picking a new donor has pumped some new breath and excitement into it for us. Anyone who's been through it understands the pure emotional roller coaster that it is. Life is essentially lived in 2 week increments: inseminate, enter 2 week wait, watch the Mrs' body for early pregnancy signs, did aunt flo arrive?, yes, call doc, schedule another ultrasound in 2 weeks, rinse and repeat. Uggghhhh!!! Such excitement highs followed by such disappointment lows. When all is said and done and we are preggo, none of this will matter; in the meantime, it's rough. 

This is all from my side of things - the non-pregnant soon-to-be mother. I can only imagine that it is different for the Mrs. as not only her mind is going through all this, but her body is our vessel, so she has much more going on that I do. 

We can only be hopeful with every new attempt. Mrs. has started acupuncture for pregnancy which she is loving; she's had 3 sessions at this point. The first 2 were during our last insemination cycle. She also saw a Reiki master and had a session with her that she said was an awesome experience. We're doing our best to stay relaxed and keep things as positive as possible. 

Now, for my horrible memory, here's the dates we've had ultrasounds and the dates we followed that with insemination:

Attempt #1: Ultrasound 5/21/12 CD 11, Inseminate 5/24/12 CD 14

Attempt #2: Ultrasound 6/19/12 CD 13, Inseminate 6/20/12 CD 14  and 6/21 CD 15

Attempt #3: Ultrasound 7/16/12 CD 13, Inseminate 7/18/12 CD 15

Attempt #4: Ultrasound 8/13/12 CD 13, Inseminate 8/16/12 CD 16 
Attemp #5:  Ultrasound 9/12/12 CD 14, Ultrasound #2 9/14 CD 16, Inseminate 9/16 CD 18. Slow growing follicle this cycle. Was 13mm CD 14 and between 16-17 on CD 16. Had +OPK Saturday morning, inseminated Sunday morning. Light spotting on Monday CD 26 and Tuesday CD 27. Changed from brown/tan to red Tuesday night and period started Wed CD 28. Not scheduled to start until Sun 9/30 if we had ovulation date right. This makes for a 9 day luteal phase. 
Had air sonohysterogram on 10/4/12 CD 9. Everything clear!! 
Attempt #6: Ultrasound 10/10/12 CD 15, Inseminate 10/11/12 CD 16. Had an HCG trigger shot morning of insemination, will start progesterone evening of insemination. This is it!

Well, attempt #6 was not it. However, lucky number 7 was the one!! I write this several months after, so I dont' remember CDs and follice measurements. It was a medicated cycle and she had several large juicy follices waiting. We were very nervous about multiples, but that didn't happen. We found out on the Mrs.' birthday -- how flippin' cool is that?!?! I told her my presents were going to pale in comparison! We are 18 weeks pregnant with our baby girl -- that's right, a GIRL!!!! Our OB told us we'd find out the sex at our 20 week ultrasound, however the Mrs. is way to nosey to wait that long. We struggled back and forth about finding out b/c I didn't want to find out at all, and the Mrs wanted to find out ASAP! I should have known from the beginning that was a battle I would not win! Our tech who've we've made friends with offered to have us come at 14 weeks and she's scan us on her own. Legs open and hamburger sign present -- all girl!! Check her out:

She's due August 1, 2013 and is doing great and growing right on schedule. She's giving mom a hard time with headaches, but I have a feeling that will continue for a long time!! Dying to meet her!!

Three Year Anniversary

August 8, 2012 - 3rd year anniversary with the Mrs. Since our wedding date has replaced today, we don't put as much emphasis on it as we use to. However, the yearly milestone is still a big one, and I wanted to acknowledge it. I got the Mrs. a card w/a love note I wrote inside, Reese Big Cup (maybe she'll want to share!), and tix to see Kelly Clarkson in September. She seemed pretty excited. I got a sweet letter, and some Fila Skele Toes!! Super excited! They are black/lime green, very sharp. I'll test them out for the first time when we float the Buffalo Labor Day weekend, then at the beach in September. Great evening! 

Past Due Dates / Things to Remember

Ray Lamontagne and Brandi Carlisle at Grand Ole Opry - Sept 21, 2011

Cirque de Soleil, Alegria at Bridgestone - June 16, 2011

David Gray at Grand Ole Opry - June 30, 2011

AC's Bday, November 18, 2011 - Got her a reading with Psychic Rebecca, What to Expect When You're Expecting Book, Gigi's Lemon Cupcake. Her parents were here for Aunt Sharon's doc appt. We all went to dinner at PF Changs, then met mom at Fleming's for drinks. Mom got her a Burberry scarf. Aunt Sharon's tumor was cancer, looking at surgery to remove then treat cancer.

Christmas 2011: Got AC: vest from Eddie Bauer, socks from Eddie Bauer, vest from Buckle, Crystal ball earrings, ring from Target, Martha Stuart lunch carriers, Sign from Christmas Village.
She got me: Dremel Trio Tool Set, set of wrenches, stud finder, clamps, jacket from Eddie Bauer, Black vest,  10 out of 10 shirt w/ CD.

Valentine's Day 2012

Had a wonderful day. My girl had to be to work early, so got up early with her. Had a gift bag and card waiting for me on the kitchen table when I stumbled out to make coffee. Scored some sweet treats, a kick ass bottle opener from World Market, some undies, chocolate covered strawberries, and a very sweet card with a hand written note inside.

For her, I made her Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls and made one into a heart shape. The idea was for all of them to be heart shaped, but these cinnamon rolls weren't made like the last ones I ate (couldn't even tell ya when I last ate them). When i tried to unroll them so that I could re-roll into a heart shape, they started to tear apart. So, I did what I could. 

I also had a Valentine's Basket for her. Inside were some treats - chocolates, twizzlers, Peeps, gummy raspberries; and a homemade card. 

Next was a tin of lemon pirrouettes and I taped to the bottom of these, tickets to the Predators and Blackhawks game for that night. 

Had flowers delivered to her work also. 2 white long stemmed callas with 1 red rose in a box from Emmas. 

We went and had a quick dinner at Cinco de Mayo, then headed to the game. Kick ass seats and the Preds won 3-2. 

Good day and night!! 

Hmmm....something to ponder

Know that things cannot be perfect all the time, but why is the middle ground so bad. Things are either perfect, or a real crap sandwich. Think it's possibly more in my head than anything else. Wonder if you think it sucks too, or are you over it and are fine when we don't get along? Should I be better with it and just let it go? Should it bother me like it does? What is healthier? You can be so mean and I wish it weren't so. Also wish I wasn't so sensitive about it. That would probably resolve the issue altogether. Looking for help to let things roll off my back better. I do love you and just hate it so when we don't get along. What's a girl to do....hmmmm.

Letter to my Wife

August 8, 2011



Happy 2 year Anniversary my Love!!

I went shopping to try to find the perfect card to express exactly how I felt about you and I realized that that card does not exist. So, I decided to make my own card/letter to try to put into words my feelings for you.

2 years ago today…we decided to make “us” official! There has not been a minute, a second, nanosecond…nothing, when I have regretted making that decision! I PROMISE! I will admit that I was scared – I worried if it was the right decision, I wondered how I could possibly be what you wanted, I worried if we would get along. Two years and a wedding ceremony later, I’m not worried! It truly was the best decision I have ever made – YOU are the best thing in my life – you are my life. You took away not only the worry I had about “us”, but you did, do, and always will take away my worries in general. I know that we can get through anything – we are meant to. I know there is no decision that we cannot pick through and work out, together. You are my very best friend. I am crying as I write this because I am not sure how I made it without you all those years and I know I will never have to make it through anything else by myself because I know I will always have you. As long as I have you, ANYTHING is tolerable. You give me so much strength and courage that you don’t even realize. You make me a better person Amanda. You pick me up when I need it, you support me unconditionally, you love me more than I can see, you make me laugh, you make me cry, you are home….

I know today is no longer our official “anniversary”, but it will forever be so very special to me and I will forever consider myself so lucky that you wanted “me”…..and still do. You are ALL that I want, and so much more than I will ever deserve.

I will always love you ALR!!

Plastic Surgery and My Mom

Last July, my mom informed me that she was going to have some plastic surgery done. This really came as no surprise, as she'd been talking about it for awhile. She's been getting botox and juvederm treatments for awhile. She takes impeccable care of herself, but as she's said, she doesn't feel old at all and she wants her looks to be in line with how her brain feels. A valid point I suppose - I'll report back when I'm 53 like her.

She was getting a brachioplasty and a thighplasty. Essentially, an arm lift and a leg lift. Through her weight loss over the years, she's done a kick ass job of getting herself into shape, however, her 53 year old body had been loosing it's elasticity and there was nothing the gym could do about that. She would be put out completely, which worried the hell out of me, they would make incisions in her armpits and groin, do some lipo to remove the little bit of excess fat she had, then cut skin, pull it taught, and stitch it up. Lovely, right?!?!?

She, as always, thought this would be no big shakes (she has delusions of grandeur, I swear). She expected to be back to work in no time, back on the treadmill in no time, and assumed she would be able to care for herself after the surgery. She agreed to come stay with us and let us take care of her after not having a choice about it. I was unbelievably nervous/scared/worried and then some. My cousin had just almost died from a medical screw up and I wasn't keen on my mom being put to sleep. I tried my best to support her despite my brain screaming, "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!".

Surgery came and went, we picked her up and went home. For obvious reasons, she could not stand up/sit down by herself. For the first two days, she was in and out of a drug induced state. We'd help get her in/out of the recliner she decided would be best for her vs getting into/out of a bed. At her one week follow up, they said the stitches weren't quite ready to come out and that she had a slight infection at the incision site of her groin. When she sat down one time on her own, she plopped a little too hard and pulled a stitch. This got infected. Doc gave us cream to put on it, and it took a couple weeks to heal - I guess it took this long due to the location. Stitches out at 2 weeks. She got to wear the lovely compression garment for 4 weeks.

Well, here we are, 1 year later. She's in the same recliner again b/c she had to have the surgery REDONE!!!!! She wasn't 100% pleased with the results form the first surgery. Doc told her it can take multiple times to reach the desired results. I know, I know....you are probably thinking the same thing I was...bullshit, he's just trying to make more money!!!!! Well, there is no charge for this time around, b/c it is still considered part of the first surgery. Some peace of mind. So this time around, there was no lipo on the legs, only a little bit on the arms. Incisions this time went from pit down and groin down, vs the horizontal nature of them the first time. They said the procedure went well and that she did fine.

She's been home for about 3 hours and woke up, so we gave her a pain pill to stay ahead of the pain. She got up to walk a trip around the couch and keep things moving a little, and upon getting up, the sheet she'd been laying on was soiled w/ a spot of blood about 6 inches wide. We had her check and she said it is blood. The spot on the sheet was wet and new, so didn't appear to be old incision blood from when she first laid down. She blotted with tissue and said it is new blood, but not excessive. She's laying down now, and we are going to check the spot again in an hour to see how much more blood is produced. If a similarly large amount, we'll call Doc.

My stomach is in knots and I feel like I could throw up. Thanks mom...hope your thighs look great!!