Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 13
Week 13.5
Week 15I know i missed a few weeks in there but you get the general idea that my belly is starting to grow!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Weekly Pictures
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 13 Week 13.5 Week 15
FREAKING OUT!!
I feel time is flying by! I’m just about half way to the due date which scares me completely as I feel I have not made any progress on getting done what needs to be done for this baby. I have no nursery set up, I have no registry completed and I have no idea what I’m really getting myself in for. I’m sure this is completely normal but it is freaking me out and I feel that no one understands. I really like to be prepared ahead of time for any major event. I mean I had 2 years to plan my wedding and I still was freaking out that I wasn’t prepared. Well I guess in a way I had 2 years of my life to plan for this event however when your trying to get pregnant you really don’t go and buy baby furniture and register as then your family looks at you like you’re a nut case.
How does one ever really prepare for their life to change in unimaginable ways? I mean I know I need to get the basics, I need a daycare, a place for the child to sleep and some other random stuff and all I have so far is oh that’s right nothing!!! I have 4 months left before the earliest I could go and in my head 4 months is not long enough to get ready for this. I lie in bed thinking about how our guest bedroom how to be converted to a nursery and that means clearing out all the junk that has accumulated and actually put a closet system back in the closet. I think about how am I suppose to know how to change a diaper, I think about how can I possibly find a daycare that I can trust to love and protect my child 10 hours a day, I think about how is my relationship with John going to change and how do I protect it so it doesn’t. Pretty much I lie away at night freaking out.
How can I feel so ready and excited and yet so scared and unprepared at the same time? I just need to get through the holidays before I freak out too much as everyone I look to for advice and help has too much on their plates right now to help me stop freaking out.
How does one ever really prepare for their life to change in unimaginable ways? I mean I know I need to get the basics, I need a daycare, a place for the child to sleep and some other random stuff and all I have so far is oh that’s right nothing!!! I have 4 months left before the earliest I could go and in my head 4 months is not long enough to get ready for this. I lie in bed thinking about how our guest bedroom how to be converted to a nursery and that means clearing out all the junk that has accumulated and actually put a closet system back in the closet. I think about how am I suppose to know how to change a diaper, I think about how can I possibly find a daycare that I can trust to love and protect my child 10 hours a day, I think about how is my relationship with John going to change and how do I protect it so it doesn’t. Pretty much I lie away at night freaking out.
How can I feel so ready and excited and yet so scared and unprepared at the same time? I just need to get through the holidays before I freak out too much as everyone I look to for advice and help has too much on their plates right now to help me stop freaking out.
Waiting game
There hasn't been a ton to post about recently, as we are currently in that waiting game. Its weird to say, as what is life but waiting for the next moment. I mean before being pregnant, we were waiting to become it. Now that we are pregnant, we are waiting for our child to arrive. It feels like being in an airport. You rush to get there, hours ahead, only to sit in a cramped terminal, waiting for something to happen. We are ready to have our number called, but at the same time, we are terrified of how different life will become.
The scary thing that we are coming to realize is that we are waiting, and yet still traveling at hundreds of miles an hour. Picture yourself standing up, looking at your feet. They are not moving. Now look up, and notice that everything around you is flying past in a blur. Its hard to accept that at this time next year, we will have a 8 month old baby crawling around. Its strange to think that next Christmas we will begin new traditions, with our own family. It is not an easy thing to decide as these traditions will be something that our children remember for their entire life.
We are excited this week to get our next checkup, and hopefully learn the gender of our baby. Fingers crossed that the baby is just as excited to show us and cooperates. At that point the waiting game will go away for a bit, as we can begin to plan that much more. We can organize clothes, setup the nursery, and think more about possible names. We will be more then halfway to the baby at that point, which is scary. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were so excited to hear the news we were pregnant? And now in 4 months, we'll be carrying a bundle of joy around to meet the world.
I'm sure we will post again soon, as the news will be too good to not let everyone know, but until then, wish us luck on the baby's cooperation and have an excellent holiday everyone
The scary thing that we are coming to realize is that we are waiting, and yet still traveling at hundreds of miles an hour. Picture yourself standing up, looking at your feet. They are not moving. Now look up, and notice that everything around you is flying past in a blur. Its hard to accept that at this time next year, we will have a 8 month old baby crawling around. Its strange to think that next Christmas we will begin new traditions, with our own family. It is not an easy thing to decide as these traditions will be something that our children remember for their entire life.
We are excited this week to get our next checkup, and hopefully learn the gender of our baby. Fingers crossed that the baby is just as excited to show us and cooperates. At that point the waiting game will go away for a bit, as we can begin to plan that much more. We can organize clothes, setup the nursery, and think more about possible names. We will be more then halfway to the baby at that point, which is scary. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were so excited to hear the news we were pregnant? And now in 4 months, we'll be carrying a bundle of joy around to meet the world.
I'm sure we will post again soon, as the news will be too good to not let everyone know, but until then, wish us luck on the baby's cooperation and have an excellent holiday everyone
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The first wave
Up to this point, Kristy had lucked out in the morning sickness department. I mean she totally deserves it with all the stuff she had to go through, she had here share of pain and discomfort. But no throwing up, none at all.
That all changed this week, and it came on rather fast. From one day everything being fine, to the next throwing up so often that it was easier to lay on a pillow on the floor of the bathroom then to rest on the couch. We couldn’t tell if this was a bug, which many people have been getting, or if she was finally getting the morning sickness that everyone talks about.
The sickness continued over the period of 24 hours and it was obvious that it was a bug. Whew, because if this was morning sickness, then it would be a long pregnancy. After that 24 hour period, she began to slowly get back her appetite and no longer felt the need to get so friendly with the porcelain throne. We are glad to say that its over.
…
We just had our first appointment with our OB, and got a chance to learn a lot more about the process ahead of us. You would think some of it would scare us, but at this point, there is no fear, just a strong sense of we have lots of plans to make, and not too much time.
The ultrasound was a little different, as this time we got to hear the heartbeat, which was a neat experience, compared to just seeing it on a screen. The doctor also was very good in showing us the arms, legs, head, ect of our baby. In fact, as we were looking at the arms, at that same moment, our baby waved. I feel bad for Kristy as since she is on her back, the viewing of all these amazing moments isn’t quite as easy to see. Needless to say I waved back.
In addition to various checkpoints, we got to learn more about our specific situation. With our unicorn uterus, the doctor felt that it’s the most likely that we will be delivering closer to the 37 weeks area, instead of the normal 40. We also learned that they will try to get a good reading on the gender of the child by Dec 23, to allow us to open an envelope on christmas day and learn which gender we will be having.
The waiting game is now old hat. We are excited to be on this journey, and again thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Its far enough for us to be comfortable letting people know, so you know what that means. Here we come Facebook!
That all changed this week, and it came on rather fast. From one day everything being fine, to the next throwing up so often that it was easier to lay on a pillow on the floor of the bathroom then to rest on the couch. We couldn’t tell if this was a bug, which many people have been getting, or if she was finally getting the morning sickness that everyone talks about.
The sickness continued over the period of 24 hours and it was obvious that it was a bug. Whew, because if this was morning sickness, then it would be a long pregnancy. After that 24 hour period, she began to slowly get back her appetite and no longer felt the need to get so friendly with the porcelain throne. We are glad to say that its over.
…
We just had our first appointment with our OB, and got a chance to learn a lot more about the process ahead of us. You would think some of it would scare us, but at this point, there is no fear, just a strong sense of we have lots of plans to make, and not too much time.
The ultrasound was a little different, as this time we got to hear the heartbeat, which was a neat experience, compared to just seeing it on a screen. The doctor also was very good in showing us the arms, legs, head, ect of our baby. In fact, as we were looking at the arms, at that same moment, our baby waved. I feel bad for Kristy as since she is on her back, the viewing of all these amazing moments isn’t quite as easy to see. Needless to say I waved back.
In addition to various checkpoints, we got to learn more about our specific situation. With our unicorn uterus, the doctor felt that it’s the most likely that we will be delivering closer to the 37 weeks area, instead of the normal 40. We also learned that they will try to get a good reading on the gender of the child by Dec 23, to allow us to open an envelope on christmas day and learn which gender we will be having.
The waiting game is now old hat. We are excited to be on this journey, and again thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Its far enough for us to be comfortable letting people know, so you know what that means. Here we come Facebook!
O no, what does that mean?
Two weeks before our first appointment with our OB, we decided to tell john’s side of the family. It was quite a challenge to wait this long, as a number of them read this blog, so they are looking for an update, and we had to be very selective about our excitement. In fact, John’s sister was kind enough to be our proxy of getting everyone together.
She gathered the family’s together under the guise of just wanting to hang out. We had so many plans as to how to tell the family. But the biggest thing that limited us was knowing that we would have to tell everyone quick, as when we came over, people would be asking us how we are. We ended up starting up the get together with a family picture.
However, instead of the usual “say cheese”, I took the picture and said “say Kristy’s pregnant…”. The looks were excellent. From some there was a cloud of confusion, only to be whipped away by the excitement of understanding what was just said. Others had the reaction of “really? … really?”. I luckily got the whole saga on camera, as the reactions were amazing, and finally we got a chance to get this great secret out into the open a bit.
Everything was going good, until one evening, Kristy saw a bit of spotting begin to happen. At first, she didn’t think much, but the spotting continued for the next day and at that point we were growing increasingly concerned as to what was happening. Our appointment was still not for another week, but if something had gone wrong, it was time to know now, not wait with the worry influencing our every thought.
We scheduled an appointment with our RE the next day, and they were very kind saying many couples need a re-affirming appointment. That gave us some comfort, that we were not alone with worries. By the next day, the spotting had went away, but we still wanted to know, what was happening.
This appoint was better then our first, as the doctor took lots of time to show us the development of our baby. We got two pictures, and the piece of mind that everything was going amazingly. I’m sure this wont be the last time we want the piece of mind when it comes to this child, so its good to know that there are amazing doctors all around us to ensure everything goes smoothly.
She gathered the family’s together under the guise of just wanting to hang out. We had so many plans as to how to tell the family. But the biggest thing that limited us was knowing that we would have to tell everyone quick, as when we came over, people would be asking us how we are. We ended up starting up the get together with a family picture.
However, instead of the usual “say cheese”, I took the picture and said “say Kristy’s pregnant…”. The looks were excellent. From some there was a cloud of confusion, only to be whipped away by the excitement of understanding what was just said. Others had the reaction of “really? … really?”. I luckily got the whole saga on camera, as the reactions were amazing, and finally we got a chance to get this great secret out into the open a bit.
Everything was going good, until one evening, Kristy saw a bit of spotting begin to happen. At first, she didn’t think much, but the spotting continued for the next day and at that point we were growing increasingly concerned as to what was happening. Our appointment was still not for another week, but if something had gone wrong, it was time to know now, not wait with the worry influencing our every thought.
We scheduled an appointment with our RE the next day, and they were very kind saying many couples need a re-affirming appointment. That gave us some comfort, that we were not alone with worries. By the next day, the spotting had went away, but we still wanted to know, what was happening.
This appoint was better then our first, as the doctor took lots of time to show us the development of our baby. We got two pictures, and the piece of mind that everything was going amazingly. I’m sure this wont be the last time we want the piece of mind when it comes to this child, so its good to know that there are amazing doctors all around us to ensure everything goes smoothly.
its too early for graduation
About at the 5 week mark, we had our first doctors appointment, where we get the visual confirmation that Kristy was in fact growing another life inside of her. Those weeks of waiting were a bit hard, as she didn’t feel super pregnant, but not as bad as the five days, as we knew that we were. We had so much excitement for our appointment as we were told that we would be able to see the heartbeat of the baby, which many people don’t get to do until much farther along in the pregnancy. It would also in theory be the last time we met with our fertility doctors before transitioning to the person who would deliver our child into the world.
For all the buildup of the day, it was a bit of a letdown now that we are done. What we thought would be an in depth appointment, turned out to only last about 10 minutes. Not that it wasn’t amazing to know that our baby was healthy, but it just went by too quick. One thing that bothered us was that our doctor kept referring to our baby as “your pregnancy”. “your pregnancy looks good” … “your pregnancy has a good heartbeat” … ect. We have worked so hard and long to have this child, that to label it as just a pregnancy, seems like a mean thing to do.
The other thing that wasn’t as fun, was that at the five week stage, there is not any definition to the ultrasound picture. Its sort of a blob. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the cutest blob I have ever seen, and to know that in that blob is our future child, made we weak in the knees, but still, it wouldn’t kill the baby to be able to way and just give us a little “hi guys!” would it?
After the quick appointment, we got a printed picture as well as the congratulations from the doctor as to graduating from RE to OB. For those of you that are not up to the newest lingo, that’s Reproductive doc to delivery doc. I guess there is a lot of lingo that im learning, as apparently im a DH, which she tells me is a dear husband.
We are used to waiting at this point, but its another 5 weeks until we meet our new doctor, and we already realize that time is flying and today is graduation from doctors, and graduation from kindergarten, college, and everything else is just around the corner.
For all the buildup of the day, it was a bit of a letdown now that we are done. What we thought would be an in depth appointment, turned out to only last about 10 minutes. Not that it wasn’t amazing to know that our baby was healthy, but it just went by too quick. One thing that bothered us was that our doctor kept referring to our baby as “your pregnancy”. “your pregnancy looks good” … “your pregnancy has a good heartbeat” … ect. We have worked so hard and long to have this child, that to label it as just a pregnancy, seems like a mean thing to do.
The other thing that wasn’t as fun, was that at the five week stage, there is not any definition to the ultrasound picture. Its sort of a blob. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the cutest blob I have ever seen, and to know that in that blob is our future child, made we weak in the knees, but still, it wouldn’t kill the baby to be able to way and just give us a little “hi guys!” would it?
After the quick appointment, we got a printed picture as well as the congratulations from the doctor as to graduating from RE to OB. For those of you that are not up to the newest lingo, that’s Reproductive doc to delivery doc. I guess there is a lot of lingo that im learning, as apparently im a DH, which she tells me is a dear husband.
We are used to waiting at this point, but its another 5 weeks until we meet our new doctor, and we already realize that time is flying and today is graduation from doctors, and graduation from kindergarten, college, and everything else is just around the corner.
Waiting on pins and needles
It’s a fitting blog title, as after the implantation, it began both a waiting game, to see what happened, as well as continuing the big needle shots. For something that we have worked towards for over two years, you would think that 5 days would be a small price to pay, to know if there was success or not. In reality it felt like another 5 years.
The problem was that we were now so close. We had a growing embryo, and it was just a matter of if it takes. Another issue was compared to the natural way, we know what is going on, so every move or motion we started to second guess. I guess that made our 5 days that much harder, as when you trying to lay low, and low stress and low exercise in preparation, it doesn’t give you much to do.
That 5 days couldn’t go fast enough, and the Thursday morning shot was something that we were so excited and nervous for. I mean what if it comes back negative … do we wait a while, or try again right away? How much can we afford to try before taking a break?
Or even scarier, what if it worked? I mean that would be amazing, but it also makes it all real, and it gives us an amazing gift, but also a gift that can be lost, which would be even more crushing.
We decided that getting tested via our bloodwork wasn’t the way we wanted to find out, so we took a pregnancy test the night before to see what we could no. At this point peeing on a stick was easy to do, but the waiting was even more unbearable to see the “life” lines appear.
After five minutes, we looked, only to see no lines. I don’t mean no pregnancy line, but no baseline as well. Was it really five minutes? Maybe we thought it was, but it was more like 2, so we waited another 5, and then another 10. I guess it’s just fate that our test was a dud, not positive or negative, but just nothing.
Kristy couldn’t drink water fast enough, as she was driven to not let the pregnancy test get the last laugh. After a gallon or so of water, we were ready for round two, and Kristy was determined to emerge victorious.
This time we were more patient, as we waited for our lives to change forever without watching the clock or starting a timer. Finally we returned to the bathroom we our eyes closed and hand locked together. Then together opened our eyes to our future. For all the commercials with two bright lines, it is not like that at all. At first we weren’t sure if we were pregnant or not, as the second line was very faint. In fact, it was good old Google that come to our rescue as we looked at others that were positive and it was usual.
With the confirmation of our hopes and dreams, a clear clarity of what it meant flashed over our faces. We did it. All the strife and pain were worth the battle, and in the end, everything worked out. It was hard to contain our desire to post the amazing news on facebook, or call everyone we knew, but we still had the official test to come. It was just like the day we got engaged, as the first thing that day Kristy needed to do was tell Renee. The same thing happened as soon as we got the Google confirmatoin, Kristy needed to tell Renee, to share this wonderful news with someone.
You would think that with the confirmation at home, Thursday would be less nerve racking, but just as getting pregnant gives you something to lose, so we worried what if the test, which already had a dud, was wrong.
All those worries were quickly destroyed by the phone call we received that afternoon. AS we picked up the phone, we didn’t have to wait long, as the first words on the other line were “May I please speak to the pregnant Kristy White?”
“Of course you can!” Kristy joylessly replied, as there was no need to talk, as we already had our confirmation. Our lives are now forever changed, and we are excited to begin this journey. Thanks to everyone for the prayers, and we’ll try to keep you up to date on the excitement that will surround or lives for years to come.
...
Our next challenge was how to tell Kristy's family. We luckly got invited to have a family dinner at there house on a weeknight. Our plan was to get something small, something of a token. We stopped at Baby's R Us, and looked at probably every peice of clothing, every toy, trying to figure out the perfect way to spill the beans.
In the end, we got Kristy's parents each a bib, with saying like grandma spoils me, and grandpa's favoriate. The small size made it easy to hide until we wanted to spring the news. The dinner preperation was going good, and before you knew it we were all getting seated to eat dinner.
"wait ... " kristy shouted as everyone got ready to cut into the food. She quickly got the bibs out for her parents and handed them each one with a sly "now we can eat". Even thought it was only seconds, the joy of watching the realization of what the bibs meant, as well as the power of love you could see in their faces was priceless. The were going to be grandparents, and they were looking forward to it almost as much as we were looking forward to being parents.
The problem was that we were now so close. We had a growing embryo, and it was just a matter of if it takes. Another issue was compared to the natural way, we know what is going on, so every move or motion we started to second guess. I guess that made our 5 days that much harder, as when you trying to lay low, and low stress and low exercise in preparation, it doesn’t give you much to do.
That 5 days couldn’t go fast enough, and the Thursday morning shot was something that we were so excited and nervous for. I mean what if it comes back negative … do we wait a while, or try again right away? How much can we afford to try before taking a break?
Or even scarier, what if it worked? I mean that would be amazing, but it also makes it all real, and it gives us an amazing gift, but also a gift that can be lost, which would be even more crushing.
We decided that getting tested via our bloodwork wasn’t the way we wanted to find out, so we took a pregnancy test the night before to see what we could no. At this point peeing on a stick was easy to do, but the waiting was even more unbearable to see the “life” lines appear.
After five minutes, we looked, only to see no lines. I don’t mean no pregnancy line, but no baseline as well. Was it really five minutes? Maybe we thought it was, but it was more like 2, so we waited another 5, and then another 10. I guess it’s just fate that our test was a dud, not positive or negative, but just nothing.
Kristy couldn’t drink water fast enough, as she was driven to not let the pregnancy test get the last laugh. After a gallon or so of water, we were ready for round two, and Kristy was determined to emerge victorious.
This time we were more patient, as we waited for our lives to change forever without watching the clock or starting a timer. Finally we returned to the bathroom we our eyes closed and hand locked together. Then together opened our eyes to our future. For all the commercials with two bright lines, it is not like that at all. At first we weren’t sure if we were pregnant or not, as the second line was very faint. In fact, it was good old Google that come to our rescue as we looked at others that were positive and it was usual.
With the confirmation of our hopes and dreams, a clear clarity of what it meant flashed over our faces. We did it. All the strife and pain were worth the battle, and in the end, everything worked out. It was hard to contain our desire to post the amazing news on facebook, or call everyone we knew, but we still had the official test to come. It was just like the day we got engaged, as the first thing that day Kristy needed to do was tell Renee. The same thing happened as soon as we got the Google confirmatoin, Kristy needed to tell Renee, to share this wonderful news with someone.
You would think that with the confirmation at home, Thursday would be less nerve racking, but just as getting pregnant gives you something to lose, so we worried what if the test, which already had a dud, was wrong.
All those worries were quickly destroyed by the phone call we received that afternoon. AS we picked up the phone, we didn’t have to wait long, as the first words on the other line were “May I please speak to the pregnant Kristy White?”
“Of course you can!” Kristy joylessly replied, as there was no need to talk, as we already had our confirmation. Our lives are now forever changed, and we are excited to begin this journey. Thanks to everyone for the prayers, and we’ll try to keep you up to date on the excitement that will surround or lives for years to come.
...
Our next challenge was how to tell Kristy's family. We luckly got invited to have a family dinner at there house on a weeknight. Our plan was to get something small, something of a token. We stopped at Baby's R Us, and looked at probably every peice of clothing, every toy, trying to figure out the perfect way to spill the beans.
In the end, we got Kristy's parents each a bib, with saying like grandma spoils me, and grandpa's favoriate. The small size made it easy to hide until we wanted to spring the news. The dinner preperation was going good, and before you knew it we were all getting seated to eat dinner.
"wait ... " kristy shouted as everyone got ready to cut into the food. She quickly got the bibs out for her parents and handed them each one with a sly "now we can eat". Even thought it was only seconds, the joy of watching the realization of what the bibs meant, as well as the power of love you could see in their faces was priceless. The were going to be grandparents, and they were looking forward to it almost as much as we were looking forward to being parents.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Report Cards never looked so good.
Sorry this post is a week late.
With the waiting over, the next step was to see the results of egg extraction and get the all important report card of how our little embryos did. At this point, the waiting was killing us, as we already knew that we had 17 eggs extracted, and only 10 were mature enough to try to become embryos. Of those 10, they already let us know that 8 had successfully become embryos. Then we had to wait five days until last Monday September 1st, to figure out how many, if any, we were be able to call viable.
Due to our situation, we were doing the day 5 transfer as it will allow more time to ensure that the best embryo was choose. But that also means that its more time for the ones that are not as strong to stop growth. That 5 days of waiting was hard as even after 1 day, our 17 become 8, so after 4 more days ... would it become 2? 1? maybe even none? What happens is that on that fifth day, we would receive a report card. We aren't even fully pregnant yet, and already we are getting report cards, yikes. At least there is no major homework, yet.
Finally that fifth day came around. Now the trick for the embryo transfer was to come to the appointment with a full bladder. The appointment was at 9 in the morning, so Kristy had a big glass of water before we headed out, and then had a large coffee on the drive. Apparently that wasn't even close enough, as after we got to the dr's office, they made her drink another huge cup of water, I mean huge like those massive big gulp sodas you always see at gas stations but you are sure no one ever buys because its more like buying a gallon of soda then truly a cup.
So we were back at waiting, waiting 30 minutes or so, to have that water fill up her bladder to the point she was almost ready to do the potty dance. We must have been such geeks at that point as we had brought our camera. We were taking pictures of the drink. Of the day. We wanted to commemorate this day, and every step we have went though on this journey. Finally, after getting a photo album worth of stupid pictures, we got a knock on the door and the embryologist came in. This was the point we were waiting for, we had worried about, we were excited about. Our first report card.
And we heard those dreaded words that have become our blessed words "You guys are so young ....". Immediately I was relieved as i could read on her face, that it was good news. Those same words could be used negatively if she was sad, like you have many more chances, but she was happy. " ... so the embryo's are doing amazing." she smiled looking down at her grade sheet. Of the 8 embryos, its most common to get about half last the 5 days, and then vary in grades. " You have 1, 2, 3, 4, oh my, 5 grade A embryos, and 1 grade B, and 2 that just need a little more time to tell." Whew talk about good news. We have lots of chances, enough chances to not worry. I guess it pays yet again to be young and doing this process.
We even got to look at the embryo that they transferred back into Kristy. We got a picture of it. How many people can show their children that hey, this is you when you were an embryo 5 days old? The transfer went smooth, and the doctor said to try to take it easy for the rest of the day, more for piece of mind then anything else. So we rented a few movies and relaxed like our lives depended on it. By the time we arrived home from the doctor however we got a call from them saying that the remaining 2, that just needed more time, had already become viable, so from our 8, we got 8. WHOO HOO! I mean I don't want 8 kids, but if we did have that many, Kristy could have her own show on TLC about her bakery where all the kids helped make the cakes with her and who doesn't love seeing kids playing with cake right?
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So now we are in the waiting game. Waiting to see if it took. Waiting to see if this journey will continue immediately, or if we will have to go to number 2 of our 8 for another shot. Wish us luck, and keep us in your prayers. I loved our first report card, and I'm looking forward to many many more thought the years of our family.
With the waiting over, the next step was to see the results of egg extraction and get the all important report card of how our little embryos did. At this point, the waiting was killing us, as we already knew that we had 17 eggs extracted, and only 10 were mature enough to try to become embryos. Of those 10, they already let us know that 8 had successfully become embryos. Then we had to wait five days until last Monday September 1st, to figure out how many, if any, we were be able to call viable.
Due to our situation, we were doing the day 5 transfer as it will allow more time to ensure that the best embryo was choose. But that also means that its more time for the ones that are not as strong to stop growth. That 5 days of waiting was hard as even after 1 day, our 17 become 8, so after 4 more days ... would it become 2? 1? maybe even none? What happens is that on that fifth day, we would receive a report card. We aren't even fully pregnant yet, and already we are getting report cards, yikes. At least there is no major homework, yet.
Finally that fifth day came around. Now the trick for the embryo transfer was to come to the appointment with a full bladder. The appointment was at 9 in the morning, so Kristy had a big glass of water before we headed out, and then had a large coffee on the drive. Apparently that wasn't even close enough, as after we got to the dr's office, they made her drink another huge cup of water, I mean huge like those massive big gulp sodas you always see at gas stations but you are sure no one ever buys because its more like buying a gallon of soda then truly a cup.
So we were back at waiting, waiting 30 minutes or so, to have that water fill up her bladder to the point she was almost ready to do the potty dance. We must have been such geeks at that point as we had brought our camera. We were taking pictures of the drink. Of the day. We wanted to commemorate this day, and every step we have went though on this journey. Finally, after getting a photo album worth of stupid pictures, we got a knock on the door and the embryologist came in. This was the point we were waiting for, we had worried about, we were excited about. Our first report card.
And we heard those dreaded words that have become our blessed words "You guys are so young ....". Immediately I was relieved as i could read on her face, that it was good news. Those same words could be used negatively if she was sad, like you have many more chances, but she was happy. " ... so the embryo's are doing amazing." she smiled looking down at her grade sheet. Of the 8 embryos, its most common to get about half last the 5 days, and then vary in grades. " You have 1, 2, 3, 4, oh my, 5 grade A embryos, and 1 grade B, and 2 that just need a little more time to tell." Whew talk about good news. We have lots of chances, enough chances to not worry. I guess it pays yet again to be young and doing this process.
We even got to look at the embryo that they transferred back into Kristy. We got a picture of it. How many people can show their children that hey, this is you when you were an embryo 5 days old? The transfer went smooth, and the doctor said to try to take it easy for the rest of the day, more for piece of mind then anything else. So we rented a few movies and relaxed like our lives depended on it. By the time we arrived home from the doctor however we got a call from them saying that the remaining 2, that just needed more time, had already become viable, so from our 8, we got 8. WHOO HOO! I mean I don't want 8 kids, but if we did have that many, Kristy could have her own show on TLC about her bakery where all the kids helped make the cakes with her and who doesn't love seeing kids playing with cake right?
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So now we are in the waiting game. Waiting to see if it took. Waiting to see if this journey will continue immediately, or if we will have to go to number 2 of our 8 for another shot. Wish us luck, and keep us in your prayers. I loved our first report card, and I'm looking forward to many many more thought the years of our family.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Finally ... it pays to be young
In almost every step of this process, with each doctor we have seen, we were always reminded of how young we were. It usually started with the doctor coming in and looking at the chart. Then looking at us and asking what brought us in. And then they look at the chart again, as if they don't believe our Date of Birth listed. And then finally they tell us something pretty close to "your very young, so you really don't need this, you can try for a few more years before you would need something as "extreme" as IVF. By this point we were used to having people look at us and second guess our decisions. And at least now we know that we weren't too young, and that this process would happen regardless, so might as well do it now compared to later.
This week we heard the same words "your so young..." but it was in many good ways. As we got ready for the egg retreval, and the daily injections were going on, it was "your so young ... so we'll lower your medication and you only need 2 shots instead of 3." So being young in that case saved us a ton of money on drugs and a bit of pain and discomfort with 1 less shot a day.
Then on the day of egg retrieval, we heard it again, a few times. As a husband, I felt so helpless that day, as I was told to wait in the waiting room and they would come and get me when they were done. With being told it would be about an hour, but i could ask the receptionist for an update if I wanted, that hour was one of the longest of my life. Originally the extraction was set for 9:45, but Kristy went back around 9:20, so I wasn't sure about if my hour was from the original time or the time she went back. As the clock was about 10:25, I wondered ... should i ask for an update now. In the end, I waiting, each minute harder then the rest, but finally around 10:48 the nurse came and pulled me back.
Its hard to say my feelings, nervous, excited, but more then anything i was trying to look for some emotion on the nurses face, to tell me how it went. Our nurse however would clean up in Vegas as her poker face gave nothing away, and the lack of any emotion or happiness made me worry more. Luckily, after we were out of the public waiting area, her poker face disappeared in a flash and a calming smile covered as she delivered the words I wanted to hear "Everything went amazing, your wife did great!". Whew.
And then the age thing popped its cute little head up again. "the typical amount of eggs we get is 10 to 12, but because your so young, we successful extracted 17." Wow. No wonder Kristy felt like she was full all the time, she had 17 golf balls inside of her insides. We were told that our next steps would be to see how many were mature, and then out of those that were mature, to see how many take to fertilized. Beyond that, we just had to come back in five days and we would begin our process of putting one back in, the best one, and hoping for the best.
The pain of the day was defiantly there, and Kristy got her 10 commandments of the next ten days as well. Now why they didn't tell us these before the procedure, I'm not sure, but I guess we'll just have to deal. No intercourse for 10 days, no Alcohol, no heavy lifting, no strenuous exercise, no pain medication beyond Tylenol, Get lots of rest, not more then 36 oz of liquid for the first few days, no scuba diving, no parachuting, and no cliff diving. Alright, the last three are made up, but i needed 10, so can you blame me?
The only thing that caught us off guard was really the alcohol. The Alcohol was something we knew when we were pregnant, we would have to give up, but this was something we planned to celebrate during the in-between process, a bottle of champagne, a target rumba drink to commemorate our journey. If we would have known before our appointment it would be done, we would have better celebrated its departure from our lives. Gave it a nice going away party.
Well after we left the hospital, It was all about taking it easy that day. We got a couple of red box movies, plus our netflix and just vegged in recovery mode. It was hard to wait that next day, as we would receive a call from our doctor in 24 hours with the results and count of where everything ended up. It was less hard as i wasn't waiting alone, but it was still something that our lives were so close to starting that next chapter, that we just wanted to know.
The call came and informed us that of our 17, 10 were mature. I'm not sure if that's normal, or not, but it doesn't matter much. We only need one. And of the 10 mature, 8 successful became embryos. Now that number is good, I know that. Its weird as we know that we'll only put one back in at a time, but suddenly its like we have 8 baby's growing. Now some may not survive the 5 days, or they may be a grade c instead of our A+ that we want. Regardless, we have great great chances to have a child and very possibly have enough for future babies too with the frozen ones that remain.
We already feel like proud parents, and not to jinx ourselves, but we are excited to begin this next stage. Its not as hard to wait for them to put it back in, as we know that by waiting, it is increasing our changes of getting pregnant on the first try dramatically. Finally in our lives, the words "your so young ..." have come in handy. Finally they have meant that our process will be that much easier, and our rewards will be that much greater.
This week we heard the same words "your so young..." but it was in many good ways. As we got ready for the egg retreval, and the daily injections were going on, it was "your so young ... so we'll lower your medication and you only need 2 shots instead of 3." So being young in that case saved us a ton of money on drugs and a bit of pain and discomfort with 1 less shot a day.
Then on the day of egg retrieval, we heard it again, a few times. As a husband, I felt so helpless that day, as I was told to wait in the waiting room and they would come and get me when they were done. With being told it would be about an hour, but i could ask the receptionist for an update if I wanted, that hour was one of the longest of my life. Originally the extraction was set for 9:45, but Kristy went back around 9:20, so I wasn't sure about if my hour was from the original time or the time she went back. As the clock was about 10:25, I wondered ... should i ask for an update now. In the end, I waiting, each minute harder then the rest, but finally around 10:48 the nurse came and pulled me back.
Its hard to say my feelings, nervous, excited, but more then anything i was trying to look for some emotion on the nurses face, to tell me how it went. Our nurse however would clean up in Vegas as her poker face gave nothing away, and the lack of any emotion or happiness made me worry more. Luckily, after we were out of the public waiting area, her poker face disappeared in a flash and a calming smile covered as she delivered the words I wanted to hear "Everything went amazing, your wife did great!". Whew.
And then the age thing popped its cute little head up again. "the typical amount of eggs we get is 10 to 12, but because your so young, we successful extracted 17." Wow. No wonder Kristy felt like she was full all the time, she had 17 golf balls inside of her insides. We were told that our next steps would be to see how many were mature, and then out of those that were mature, to see how many take to fertilized. Beyond that, we just had to come back in five days and we would begin our process of putting one back in, the best one, and hoping for the best.
The pain of the day was defiantly there, and Kristy got her 10 commandments of the next ten days as well. Now why they didn't tell us these before the procedure, I'm not sure, but I guess we'll just have to deal. No intercourse for 10 days, no Alcohol, no heavy lifting, no strenuous exercise, no pain medication beyond Tylenol, Get lots of rest, not more then 36 oz of liquid for the first few days, no scuba diving, no parachuting, and no cliff diving. Alright, the last three are made up, but i needed 10, so can you blame me?
The only thing that caught us off guard was really the alcohol. The Alcohol was something we knew when we were pregnant, we would have to give up, but this was something we planned to celebrate during the in-between process, a bottle of champagne, a target rumba drink to commemorate our journey. If we would have known before our appointment it would be done, we would have better celebrated its departure from our lives. Gave it a nice going away party.
Well after we left the hospital, It was all about taking it easy that day. We got a couple of red box movies, plus our netflix and just vegged in recovery mode. It was hard to wait that next day, as we would receive a call from our doctor in 24 hours with the results and count of where everything ended up. It was less hard as i wasn't waiting alone, but it was still something that our lives were so close to starting that next chapter, that we just wanted to know.
The call came and informed us that of our 17, 10 were mature. I'm not sure if that's normal, or not, but it doesn't matter much. We only need one. And of the 10 mature, 8 successful became embryos. Now that number is good, I know that. Its weird as we know that we'll only put one back in at a time, but suddenly its like we have 8 baby's growing. Now some may not survive the 5 days, or they may be a grade c instead of our A+ that we want. Regardless, we have great great chances to have a child and very possibly have enough for future babies too with the frozen ones that remain.
We already feel like proud parents, and not to jinx ourselves, but we are excited to begin this next stage. Its not as hard to wait for them to put it back in, as we know that by waiting, it is increasing our changes of getting pregnant on the first try dramatically. Finally in our lives, the words "your so young ..." have come in handy. Finally they have meant that our process will be that much easier, and our rewards will be that much greater.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tomorrows the day
Tomorrow is the big day before the bigger day. Its egg retrieval day!!! YAY!! we go in at 9:00 tomorrow morning and by 12 we should know how many eggs they were able to milk from my body. Here is hoping for a lot!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
This isn't easy
No one told me going through this IVF process would be easy but nobody told me how hard it would be either. I thought by the time we got to this stage this would be super easy as we had already been through the ups and downs of the testing and trying on our own and multiple attempts at IUIs. The emotional roller coaster was done right? Boy was I wrong! I'm on a whole new roller coaster, one where both my emotions are effected as well as me physically being effected.
I had no idea that these shots would become such a normal thing for me but at the same time causing me pain that has also become normal. While the needles are tiny and the shots are fast the fact that i now have so many pricks in the same area has made me bruise quite a bit and my whole stomach is super tender. The other night was the worst though i had a bad needle that refused to puncture the skin so while i tried 3 or 4 times i finally realized i had to use a new needle but by that point i wasn't sure i could take any more pain. I of course did the shot anyways as i knew it was what i needed to do. But it is hard for a person who is already in pain to inflict more pain on themselves and it took a ton of my emotional strength to do so.
I am also feeling so incredibly tired all the time and i feel so physically weak. I'm not allowed to lift anything heavy or to exercise (which i don't truly mind) I just am not feeling like myself with these restrictions. My stomach area feels in knots all the time and sometimes it feels like someone is pulling those knots tighter. I go between feeling super hungry to super full in a matter of seconds. I keep telling John that the best way i can describe how my body is feeling is full, i can't eat as much as I'm already full. With this full feeling comes the feeling of fattiness and being incredibly bloated (so not fun and i hate my clothes right now)
All these physical things make me emotionally a mess. I have no control on my emotions at all right now i feel like yelling and crying to laughing hysterically. I think my major thing is my body feels like its not normal so the rest of me feels that way too.
I hate the way i feel physically and emotionally but I know that this is worth it. I must just keep reminding myself of the end goal, which can be hard at times but i can do it. I just wish someone had told me what i was in for. oh well i guess for the time being this is my new normal!
I had no idea that these shots would become such a normal thing for me but at the same time causing me pain that has also become normal. While the needles are tiny and the shots are fast the fact that i now have so many pricks in the same area has made me bruise quite a bit and my whole stomach is super tender. The other night was the worst though i had a bad needle that refused to puncture the skin so while i tried 3 or 4 times i finally realized i had to use a new needle but by that point i wasn't sure i could take any more pain. I of course did the shot anyways as i knew it was what i needed to do. But it is hard for a person who is already in pain to inflict more pain on themselves and it took a ton of my emotional strength to do so.
I am also feeling so incredibly tired all the time and i feel so physically weak. I'm not allowed to lift anything heavy or to exercise (which i don't truly mind) I just am not feeling like myself with these restrictions. My stomach area feels in knots all the time and sometimes it feels like someone is pulling those knots tighter. I go between feeling super hungry to super full in a matter of seconds. I keep telling John that the best way i can describe how my body is feeling is full, i can't eat as much as I'm already full. With this full feeling comes the feeling of fattiness and being incredibly bloated (so not fun and i hate my clothes right now)
All these physical things make me emotionally a mess. I have no control on my emotions at all right now i feel like yelling and crying to laughing hysterically. I think my major thing is my body feels like its not normal so the rest of me feels that way too.
I hate the way i feel physically and emotionally but I know that this is worth it. I must just keep reminding myself of the end goal, which can be hard at times but i can do it. I just wish someone had told me what i was in for. oh well i guess for the time being this is my new normal!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Its working!!
Yay, My ovaries are filling up! I have 15 on one side and 12 on the other.
The drugs are working this is wonderful!!
Only downside is i'm feeling more and more bloated which is making me look pregnant too early :(
The drugs are working this is wonderful!!
Only downside is i'm feeling more and more bloated which is making me look pregnant too early :(
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The power of god's wink
As we continue our process we can't help but feel god's presence in so much we do. Its still amazing to me that with everything against us, we can still have the opportunity to have a child, that truly is a gift. We had our baseline ultrasound and it couldn't have went better. We had to go in on a Saturday, and surprisingly on Saturday the hospital is as busy as any other day, which is weird as many offices are not fully open on Saturdays.
The first good thing, minor i know, was that parking was free. Now usually its just 2 bucks. Not going to break the bank by any means, but its always like a kick to the shins a bit. I mean, when you pay thousands and thousands of dollars do they really need to ding you for 2 bucks every visit just to park. So the free parking, although it was small, still got a smile if on principal alone.
The ride up to the office was different as well as we rode up with one other couple, and I knew right away they were in the same situation. The only appointments on the weekend are the ones in the IVF process, as your body doesn't wait so sometimes you need weekend appointments. So seeing the other two couples in the waiting room, although we didn't start a conversation, it was a realization without any words that we were all in this same boat. It was as if we all looked at each other and said good luck, and then glanced away so it didn't look like we were staring all creepy like.
We ended up going into the appointment almost immediately, which is good as we have had to wait for 2 years, it was about time to get some fast action. The baseline ultrasound showed great results, 7 eggs on the right and 8 eggs on the left. So right now, we are at 15 total possible embryos. Its still early to tell how many, but i can just see fifteen little ones running around our house ... what a mad house. The doctor actually was a little concerned that with that many already present, and the fact that I married such a young and amazing woman that she might become over stimulated. So he changed the dose from the expected 3 shots a day down to 2 shots a day. Now at first glance, that's a great thing. I mean, one less shot is one less needle you have to poke into yourself. One less medication you have to measure. But the ironic thing is that the medication he cut out, was the most expensive one.
How fair is that. We purchased a medication that was 725 alone out of our 1200 and that's the one they say to not use? Ouch. Now its not sure if its a don't use forever or just to start, but still, what a waste. At least the total cost of the meds was far less then we thought. So speaking of money, as we were leaving, we asked, so, do you want to take our money now? I mean we were always told that it was something we would have to pay the full amount before the baseline. But i guess on Saturdays everything is a little different as they didn't want our money. They just said they would have us pay the next time we came in, as that would allow them to figure out how much.
Now that by itself isn't that big. But what that means is that by the time that we pay, it will be on a different credit card bill statement. That means that we will have an additional month to pay it. The power of that is that we had a slight worry that some of our funding might not be ready, and now that hopefully is not a worry, at it gives another couple of weeks of breathing room.
So what do you do when god winks at you? I say you wink right back :)
The first good thing, minor i know, was that parking was free. Now usually its just 2 bucks. Not going to break the bank by any means, but its always like a kick to the shins a bit. I mean, when you pay thousands and thousands of dollars do they really need to ding you for 2 bucks every visit just to park. So the free parking, although it was small, still got a smile if on principal alone.
The ride up to the office was different as well as we rode up with one other couple, and I knew right away they were in the same situation. The only appointments on the weekend are the ones in the IVF process, as your body doesn't wait so sometimes you need weekend appointments. So seeing the other two couples in the waiting room, although we didn't start a conversation, it was a realization without any words that we were all in this same boat. It was as if we all looked at each other and said good luck, and then glanced away so it didn't look like we were staring all creepy like.
We ended up going into the appointment almost immediately, which is good as we have had to wait for 2 years, it was about time to get some fast action. The baseline ultrasound showed great results, 7 eggs on the right and 8 eggs on the left. So right now, we are at 15 total possible embryos. Its still early to tell how many, but i can just see fifteen little ones running around our house ... what a mad house. The doctor actually was a little concerned that with that many already present, and the fact that I married such a young and amazing woman that she might become over stimulated. So he changed the dose from the expected 3 shots a day down to 2 shots a day. Now at first glance, that's a great thing. I mean, one less shot is one less needle you have to poke into yourself. One less medication you have to measure. But the ironic thing is that the medication he cut out, was the most expensive one.
How fair is that. We purchased a medication that was 725 alone out of our 1200 and that's the one they say to not use? Ouch. Now its not sure if its a don't use forever or just to start, but still, what a waste. At least the total cost of the meds was far less then we thought. So speaking of money, as we were leaving, we asked, so, do you want to take our money now? I mean we were always told that it was something we would have to pay the full amount before the baseline. But i guess on Saturdays everything is a little different as they didn't want our money. They just said they would have us pay the next time we came in, as that would allow them to figure out how much.
Now that by itself isn't that big. But what that means is that by the time that we pay, it will be on a different credit card bill statement. That means that we will have an additional month to pay it. The power of that is that we had a slight worry that some of our funding might not be ready, and now that hopefully is not a worry, at it gives another couple of weeks of breathing room.
So what do you do when god winks at you? I say you wink right back :)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Knitting
When we first started going through all this infertility stuff i got it in my head that i needed to do something for our future child that we keep my mind occupied while working on it. I decided to knit a blanket for our child. This was a crazy task as i had only knitted once before and that project came out looking like a mess. So i decided to take this project on with the help of youtube teaching me how to knit. Well i'm happy to report that my infertilty blanket is now finished 2 days after starting the shots (seems like perfect timeing to finish it to me). While this blanket is in no way perfect or even like something you could buy from a craft fair, but this blanket is my gift to my unborn child showing them that they were wanted bad enough that i had enough time to knit them something. Maybe i will even do a pregnancy knit blanket for them who knows.
Christmas Morning
Who would ever be this happy to open a box of needles?
Its funny to think of things that get us excited these days and what were we looking forward to the post, seeing all the needles. Its especially strange for me to say as needles are not something that I enjoy at all, so to get a box of them isn't my usual idea of what i want for Christmas. But thats just what it feels like, Christmas time, and the full excitement levels that go with it. We knew we would be getting them soon, but when they came at 9 am in the morning, I couldn't possibly wait until after work at 5 to open the amazing gift and see what was inside. Its mean as Kristy wouldn't be able to see, but she finally let me take it all home at lunch as long as i sent pictures so she could feel like she was there with me opening it all up.
Now at this point, we already had our training, so I had some idea of what to expect, but I admit it was still totally like looking at your stocking Christmas morning. Your excited, even if you know that its all going to be good, or if you know you will get candy or gift cards. And your still curious to see, how much did i get, what do they look like, where will i put them all. Its the same way with the drugs. Opening that box, and seeing cartons of clear liquid, packages of needles in all shapes and sizes, alcohol swabs galore and a cute red bio-hazard sharps container to round it all out. I tried to take pictures of it all, to really make Kristy feel a part of the whole opening up process. Some of the drugs had to be refrigerated so there was another cooler inside of the box that we had to open, and take out more boxes of clear liquid viles.
I almost feel like a doctor, or at least a pharmacy as we have boxes and boxes of different shapes and sizes of drugs and needles. And the hard part is that now that we had them, we had to wait 2 days to get started. Its okay though, as each step now is real progress. No longer do we feel like, a little progress forward, just to slide right back. I finally feel like I can turn over my shoulder and say, wow, look at how far we have come. I see where we started, and were gliding away, faster and faster. That made the next two days easier, to know, we are moving, we have begun this journey and its now our time.
Now with the two days passing, the reality sets in that those same needles that caused the excitement, you have to stick into yourself. Almost cruel, to make us give ourselves the shots, but its also one of the kindest things we have been asked to endure. How can we complain about a pin prick or two when we are getting this gift, the opportunity to do what was impossible 40 years ago. So as we preped for our first shot, we wanted to document it, to get it all down for us to remember forever. Taking pictures of it can only show so much, but its not as bad, or at least Kristy says, as expected. And the look in her eyes as she finished that first shot I would happily pay any price for. It was the look knowing, we're doing it, our future is becoming a reality.
Day two wasn't bad either, as if you can do day one, how hard is day two? One thing we did learn was that keeping the needles in the fridge has a nice effect of numbing the entry point a bit. Its also going to be something that gets more and more challenging as one shot becomes three shots a day, because your supposed to never give a shot in the same place. Luckily that is a few days away, and itself only lasts a week or so. I guess if we can get through the last two years, a few weeks of shots is the easiest part of those two years.
So as we continue down this exciting process, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We're finally moving and every day, we get closer and closer. We are ready for the ride that has been our lives to take off, we are ready for the future. We are ready for life.
Its funny to think of things that get us excited these days and what were we looking forward to the post, seeing all the needles. Its especially strange for me to say as needles are not something that I enjoy at all, so to get a box of them isn't my usual idea of what i want for Christmas. But thats just what it feels like, Christmas time, and the full excitement levels that go with it. We knew we would be getting them soon, but when they came at 9 am in the morning, I couldn't possibly wait until after work at 5 to open the amazing gift and see what was inside. Its mean as Kristy wouldn't be able to see, but she finally let me take it all home at lunch as long as i sent pictures so she could feel like she was there with me opening it all up.
Now at this point, we already had our training, so I had some idea of what to expect, but I admit it was still totally like looking at your stocking Christmas morning. Your excited, even if you know that its all going to be good, or if you know you will get candy or gift cards. And your still curious to see, how much did i get, what do they look like, where will i put them all. Its the same way with the drugs. Opening that box, and seeing cartons of clear liquid, packages of needles in all shapes and sizes, alcohol swabs galore and a cute red bio-hazard sharps container to round it all out. I tried to take pictures of it all, to really make Kristy feel a part of the whole opening up process. Some of the drugs had to be refrigerated so there was another cooler inside of the box that we had to open, and take out more boxes of clear liquid viles.
I almost feel like a doctor, or at least a pharmacy as we have boxes and boxes of different shapes and sizes of drugs and needles. And the hard part is that now that we had them, we had to wait 2 days to get started. Its okay though, as each step now is real progress. No longer do we feel like, a little progress forward, just to slide right back. I finally feel like I can turn over my shoulder and say, wow, look at how far we have come. I see where we started, and were gliding away, faster and faster. That made the next two days easier, to know, we are moving, we have begun this journey and its now our time.
Now with the two days passing, the reality sets in that those same needles that caused the excitement, you have to stick into yourself. Almost cruel, to make us give ourselves the shots, but its also one of the kindest things we have been asked to endure. How can we complain about a pin prick or two when we are getting this gift, the opportunity to do what was impossible 40 years ago. So as we preped for our first shot, we wanted to document it, to get it all down for us to remember forever. Taking pictures of it can only show so much, but its not as bad, or at least Kristy says, as expected. And the look in her eyes as she finished that first shot I would happily pay any price for. It was the look knowing, we're doing it, our future is becoming a reality.
Day two wasn't bad either, as if you can do day one, how hard is day two? One thing we did learn was that keeping the needles in the fridge has a nice effect of numbing the entry point a bit. Its also going to be something that gets more and more challenging as one shot becomes three shots a day, because your supposed to never give a shot in the same place. Luckily that is a few days away, and itself only lasts a week or so. I guess if we can get through the last two years, a few weeks of shots is the easiest part of those two years.
So as we continue down this exciting process, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We're finally moving and every day, we get closer and closer. We are ready for the ride that has been our lives to take off, we are ready for the future. We are ready for life.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Needles are my friend!!
Yesterday John, Renee and I went to learn all about the injections that i would have to be doing. We brought Renee along just in case John isn't around or doesn't feel comfortable giving me the shots.
It was such a neat experience, i totally felt like a dr and i'm so excited to get us started. There will be a total of 5 medications that i will have to take. We got to practice getting the right amount of medication and what it felt like to release the medication (thank goodness we weren't practicing on me)
1. Lupron- this one has a little needle and i just have to insert the needle into the vile and draw the correct amount then just inject it myself into my stomach area. This is the first medication we start off with and i get to start it next thursday. YAY
2. Follistim - this medication's needle is so weird it is in a pen like system (maybe like an epipen) we insert the vile into the pen then screw in the top and just click the dial at the bottom to get the correct amount then inject it also into the stomach
3 Menopur - This is another shot that will require me to measure out the correct amount. This requires much more thought though as you have to draw up the correct amount of water from its own vile then inject it into another vile that contains powder and mix it up. Then draw up all that fluid, making sure not to leave any drops left in the vile then injecting it into the stomach.
4 Novarel - this is a 1 time shot that has to be done exactly 34 hours before the extraction of the eggs. This one is another one that needs to be mixed then given in the stomach. John got to practice this one as if it is in the middle of the night i know i won't be able to mix it correctly.
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The last drug is the Progesterone shot that i will receive in the behind starting after the egg is implanted and if we are successful this shot will last for 8 weeks till the child is considered 10 weeks old. This the shot that John or Renee would have to do. It comes in a large vile then to draw up the correct amount you use a long thick needle (this needle totally freaked me out). Then you switch needles after you have the correct amount to a thin but still long needle to do the injection.
YAY for being a pin cushion. I'm so excited as this means this is really happening and we are on our way.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Preparing for takeoff
This long journey that we are on feels like a trip to the airport. We began this process with arriving like so many others that arrive to this stage with the hopes and dreams of what is possible. We have had our fair share of lines to go though, but we felt like we were moving. Its only looking back that you question if you were moving the wrong way on one of those moving walkways. Like you can look back at yourself, smile and say "Poor you, no matter how quickly you jog on that thing, your still not going forward."
Its only looking back now that I can marvel about the entire journey. We had the moments of the medal detector feeling with the medical appointments that seemed to take forever and always required us to undo our belts. We had moments of the more invasive searches after you set of the detector with some of the tests we had to go though that required a lot of discomfort and stress. But in the end, after going through each step in the process, we were then at the terminal, waiting to take off. Each step in the process felt like forward progress at this point, but its still a stop and go thing. Just like after you get to the terminal, you speed up for a second to get in line to board. Then you slow down and wait. Then you get on board, then you wait. I think you get the picture.
We are finally done waiting. We have begun our taxi out to the takeoff. Right now its more then just the comfort of feeling like moving, but the excitement of the takeoff that is weighing on us. We have waited so long, and watched so many of our friends and family take off and its exciting to feel like it is our turn. The journey is just beginning and we don't know if there will be turbulence along the way, or where we will end up landing and when, but its time to grab each others hand and embrace what is ahead.
We have begun working on preparing, just enough to feel like we are getting things done and keep the excitement up, without so much as to feel like we are jinxing ourselves. We are finally thinking about the joys of planning the layout of a baby's room or deciding how drastically the home improvement projects priority change when your top goal is to provide a safe environment instead of personal comforts. The entertainment center in the basements suddenly isnt as high as a priority as insulating the garage so the cars don't get so cold in the winter or hot in the summer.
I have had my internal struggles through this process, having times that i was just upset with life, the "it's not fair" that your parents always replied "life never is" to. But with the world moving forward again, I feel like all the struggles and pain and stress is worth it. Seeing that glimmer in my wife's eye as she grabs onto my hand, i know: "Although this life might not always be fair, as long as you don't give up, we will make it through this thing together." We are more then going to make it through, we are going to make our wildest dreams become a reality.
So please if your reading this, wish us luck and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We'll in turn do our best to keep everyone up to date as to our exciting journey. You've been with us through the struggles and hardships, hopefully we'll be able to share all the joy's with you as well. We love you all.
John and Kristy
Its only looking back now that I can marvel about the entire journey. We had the moments of the medal detector feeling with the medical appointments that seemed to take forever and always required us to undo our belts. We had moments of the more invasive searches after you set of the detector with some of the tests we had to go though that required a lot of discomfort and stress. But in the end, after going through each step in the process, we were then at the terminal, waiting to take off. Each step in the process felt like forward progress at this point, but its still a stop and go thing. Just like after you get to the terminal, you speed up for a second to get in line to board. Then you slow down and wait. Then you get on board, then you wait. I think you get the picture.
We are finally done waiting. We have begun our taxi out to the takeoff. Right now its more then just the comfort of feeling like moving, but the excitement of the takeoff that is weighing on us. We have waited so long, and watched so many of our friends and family take off and its exciting to feel like it is our turn. The journey is just beginning and we don't know if there will be turbulence along the way, or where we will end up landing and when, but its time to grab each others hand and embrace what is ahead.
We have begun working on preparing, just enough to feel like we are getting things done and keep the excitement up, without so much as to feel like we are jinxing ourselves. We are finally thinking about the joys of planning the layout of a baby's room or deciding how drastically the home improvement projects priority change when your top goal is to provide a safe environment instead of personal comforts. The entertainment center in the basements suddenly isnt as high as a priority as insulating the garage so the cars don't get so cold in the winter or hot in the summer.
I have had my internal struggles through this process, having times that i was just upset with life, the "it's not fair" that your parents always replied "life never is" to. But with the world moving forward again, I feel like all the struggles and pain and stress is worth it. Seeing that glimmer in my wife's eye as she grabs onto my hand, i know: "Although this life might not always be fair, as long as you don't give up, we will make it through this thing together." We are more then going to make it through, we are going to make our wildest dreams become a reality.
So please if your reading this, wish us luck and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We'll in turn do our best to keep everyone up to date as to our exciting journey. You've been with us through the struggles and hardships, hopefully we'll be able to share all the joy's with you as well. We love you all.
John and Kristy
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Ball is Rolling
So things are starting to really happen. We decided about a week ago that we really are ready to have our dreams become reality and to move forward with the IVF process so that it can all happen. Once we made this very important and final decision we called the Dr and were told what steps we needed to take.
Step 1. watch a stupid video online that shows us how IVF works. We even got to watch the little swimmers being suctioned into a tube and put into an egg.
Step 2. Go get stupid blood tests done to ensure we don't have any STD's. I would think that if i had any STD's i would have known that by now.
Step 3. Pick up birth control prescription (I know not the prescription you would think to take when trying for a child)and a standard antibiotic for John and I to take.
step 4. Make and go to appointment to learn about the shots (this is happening next week! yay and boo all at the same time)
Then at that appointment we also learn what other drugs we have to take and everything else that we need to know. Its a 2 cycle process so hopefully in 2 months are goal will be met.
I'm so excited but yet at the same time its so scary, its so much money and if it doesn't work we don't have a back up plan. We will be out of funds so there is no chance at this time for another cycle of IVF or adoption. I'm just praying that this is where we are meant to be and this is what will make our dream of having a family into reality.
I just can't believe that finally after 2 years we are really here going this route. I never would have thought this was needed. 2 years ago we were on our 1st anniversary trip to Disney and i remember standing outside the castle talking about how we were going to start trying in a couple of months and we were talking about how fun this whole process would be, well we were wrong this process has been an emotional roller coaster and was only fun for the first few months. Then our lives turned into timing my cycles and then it turned into buying a ovulation monitor and peeing on sticks every day. Then it turned into trying to find a dr then finding 2 more after that. Then it was hurry up and wait, and wait for test results, and then wait for more tests. Now it is here and hopefully the disappointment that we experienced every month is behind up and we only get the anticipation of meeting our little one.
Lord give me the strength to finish this journey and give me the dream i have longed for.
Step 1. watch a stupid video online that shows us how IVF works. We even got to watch the little swimmers being suctioned into a tube and put into an egg.
Step 2. Go get stupid blood tests done to ensure we don't have any STD's. I would think that if i had any STD's i would have known that by now.
Step 3. Pick up birth control prescription (I know not the prescription you would think to take when trying for a child)and a standard antibiotic for John and I to take.
step 4. Make and go to appointment to learn about the shots (this is happening next week! yay and boo all at the same time)
Then at that appointment we also learn what other drugs we have to take and everything else that we need to know. Its a 2 cycle process so hopefully in 2 months are goal will be met.
I'm so excited but yet at the same time its so scary, its so much money and if it doesn't work we don't have a back up plan. We will be out of funds so there is no chance at this time for another cycle of IVF or adoption. I'm just praying that this is where we are meant to be and this is what will make our dream of having a family into reality.
I just can't believe that finally after 2 years we are really here going this route. I never would have thought this was needed. 2 years ago we were on our 1st anniversary trip to Disney and i remember standing outside the castle talking about how we were going to start trying in a couple of months and we were talking about how fun this whole process would be, well we were wrong this process has been an emotional roller coaster and was only fun for the first few months. Then our lives turned into timing my cycles and then it turned into buying a ovulation monitor and peeing on sticks every day. Then it turned into trying to find a dr then finding 2 more after that. Then it was hurry up and wait, and wait for test results, and then wait for more tests. Now it is here and hopefully the disappointment that we experienced every month is behind up and we only get the anticipation of meeting our little one.
Lord give me the strength to finish this journey and give me the dream i have longed for.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Strike 3
So we just hit 3 months of ovulating on the wrong side. And you know what happens when you strike out 3 times, your out! So now we are onto bigger and better things. Or so we think. Its time to really analyze if we can afford to go forward with the IVF route. With everything seeming to break in our house and there are some of these things we aren't willing to put on hold for very long.
Our Car needs to be repaired (heat and AC not working)
dryer works now but seems to go in and out so lets hope it holds.
Our upstairs windows need to be replaced as the storm windows are not holding, so this needs to be done before winter.
Ugh there goes any real decorating i wanted to do for my house and the basement on hold indefinately.
So this weekend John and I have probably flip flopped more times than we can count and i am stressed about this decision beyond belief. I don't think i can emotionally wait for finances to be better but due to many medical bills and the misc. costs that have come up we are not in the best place to move forward either.
Oh I wish I knew what the right answer was.
Our Car needs to be repaired (heat and AC not working)
dryer works now but seems to go in and out so lets hope it holds.
Our upstairs windows need to be replaced as the storm windows are not holding, so this needs to be done before winter.
Ugh there goes any real decorating i wanted to do for my house and the basement on hold indefinately.
So this weekend John and I have probably flip flopped more times than we can count and i am stressed about this decision beyond belief. I don't think i can emotionally wait for finances to be better but due to many medical bills and the misc. costs that have come up we are not in the best place to move forward either.
Oh I wish I knew what the right answer was.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
wrong again!
So this month i'm ovulating on the wrong side again. I really don't know how much longer i can keep up a positive attitude. I know we are moving forward because we get to know each month if we even have a chance. But i feel like nothing ever happens right for us. I'm sick of it!
1 more month of trying to even do an IUI then its on to IVF
ugh i hate my life
Man i love these lyrics that i heard on Glee as they explain how i'm feeling
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.
1 more month of trying to even do an IUI then its on to IVF
ugh i hate my life
Man i love these lyrics that i heard on Glee as they explain how i'm feeling
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.
Friday, May 21, 2010
favorite things from April - better late than never
Well its hard to remember for sure what my favorite things in April were as it was so long ago. So i will do my best to come up with a few highlights.
1. Going on a great cruise and feeling the sun on my face. It being warm and being beautiful did enough to life my spirits alone, but add in the amazing food and then I'm in heaven.
2. netflixs. I love being able to plug in a movie and escape life for a few hours at a time. Even those dumb "B" rated movies make me smile.
3. The weather in Wisconsin started to get nice which allowed for more walking after work. Buddy liked this as well as he was a restless pup over the winter months when it allowed for no outdoor time.
OK guess i can only come up with 3 right now due to the fact that April was forever ago. I will do better with May i promise
1. Going on a great cruise and feeling the sun on my face. It being warm and being beautiful did enough to life my spirits alone, but add in the amazing food and then I'm in heaven.
2. netflixs. I love being able to plug in a movie and escape life for a few hours at a time. Even those dumb "B" rated movies make me smile.
3. The weather in Wisconsin started to get nice which allowed for more walking after work. Buddy liked this as well as he was a restless pup over the winter months when it allowed for no outdoor time.
OK guess i can only come up with 3 right now due to the fact that April was forever ago. I will do better with May i promise
Monday, May 17, 2010
This Month a bust
So we were going to try to do a couple of months of IUI however this month is a bust as i'm ovulating on the wrong side. $430 down the drain just to tell me that my body sucks!! I'm just so tired of everything i feel like i could sleep away the rest of the month and be happy.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Medical Bills
I'm so sick of medical bills that just keep coming in. We have spent around $3,000 just trying to do all the testing required before we can more forward. That is 3 grand that we now don't have in our pockets to pay to actually have the child and really the results from the tests were often the same information. Why couldn't we start with the MRI which was the most expensive and find our about my unicorn and just be done with that? No we had to have multiple internal ultrasounds, one xray test,another internal with bubbles, and then a MRI all to come to the same conclusion that i only have 1 tube.
John are I are going to do a couple of rounds of IUI because at this current point in time we can't afford the IVF cycle although if the IUI doesn't take, we probably will have to but things on hold for a while ( don't even want to think about how long) before we can afford the IVF.
I wish things were not so expensive. Looks like our life is going to be sitting at home never going out as we just can not afford to do anything. We have to count all of our pennies, ugh!
John are I are going to do a couple of rounds of IUI because at this current point in time we can't afford the IVF cycle although if the IUI doesn't take, we probably will have to but things on hold for a while ( don't even want to think about how long) before we can afford the IVF.
I wish things were not so expensive. Looks like our life is going to be sitting at home never going out as we just can not afford to do anything. We have to count all of our pennies, ugh!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
OUR CRUISE - THE FINAL DAYS 5 AND 6
The last day at sea, as we headed back to port, was relaxing. We had already got sunburned to the point of a few blisters, so we tried to spend much of the day reading in various shady locations. Its weird to think that in a couple of days we would be back in
Beyond reading, we spent much of the day at various shows or learning about the process of getting off of the ship. It turns out that we have options in terms of getting off. Not good options mind you, but having options is a good thing. Our options were to get off and carry our bags, or have the bags taken off for us. You get to get off first if you take the bags off yourself, but by first I mean about
As we packed our closets and drawers into our bags, we realized that we packed a bit too much. Out of our two suitcases, we could almost full one complete one with clothes we didn’t wear. We finished out the night by going to an adult comedy act. It was not that funny, but we didn’t expect much.
We went to bed, but couldn’t fall asleep. It was a mix of not wanting vacation to be over and excitement for getting to see our pets as well as sleep in our own bed. As we drifted to sleep, it was easy to see that we had a great trip, but were ready to go home.
Day 6
Lines. Lets take a step back to day 1 for a moment. As we boarded the ship, there was line after line after line and we didn’t think much of it. The ship was late getting into port, so we figured that was the cause for the current delays. There was a line to get into the parking garage that took about 45 minutes. After we got in, there was a line of about 35 minutes to get through the metal detector. And just when you felt you were done with lines, you rounded a bend to the biggest line yet, check in. That line probably took us over an hour to navigate through. And even after checking in, there was a wait to get our rooms, and long lines at some of the buffets.
Back to present day 6. Our choice of embarking should have allowed for an easy transition to land. Each deck gets to get off, and then all the people who didn’t carry there own bags off are broken up into 25 different groups and then let go a few at a time. Somehow, it didn’t work like magic as you would have hoped. We got to wait for a couple hours until they called our number, only to wait in another 45 minute line to get off the ship. It seemed like every time you rounded the corner, you found another line, 5 times as long as the one you just finally got through. After getting off the ship, we found a long line to get our luggage, and even longer to go through customs.
I didn’t realize that we would need to go through customs, as we left from an
Luckily, after getting through customs, there were almost no lines to get out of the parking lot. Its something to be said that when you end up waiting like 7 hours to get off, no one else is left in the area. Being on the road was a relaxing place after feeling like cattle. We decided to take a different way home, with the hopes of more gas stops and chances to see civilization. In the end it was a bad move, as more cities also meant far more road construction. Despite the construction, we made a great time on the drive, and got home at about
Monday, May 3, 2010
OUR CRUISE - DAY 4
I woke up at about 6 this morning.I’m not sure if it was excitement or nervousness, but It was impossible to fall back asleep. As soon as Kristy woke up (2 hours later), we got got ready for the day. One of the benefits of getting up that early, is that you can get breakfast in the dining room. As it turns out, as we got ready for breakfast, we realized that we had not docked yet. It was interesting to watch the dock. It turns out that on each side of the ship, there is a captain’s bridge that extends out to allow him to see everything.
Well, that was great to see, it made our breakfast a little more stressful then we planned. Now as we went into breakfast, we did not know it, but it was probably a bad day to do that. Our excursion was planned to leave at 930 am, and we got to breakfast at 840. That seemed like a good time to eat and get down to the excursion. As the clock went to
As we got off the ship, it was neat to see all the shops. We made it to our excursion with time to spare as apparently we weren’t the only ones that didn’t realize breakfast was an all day kinda meal. Our excursion began with a boat ride down the coast for about 45 minutes. The boat was fairly packed, but beyond that, it was pretty to see all the clear blue water. The boat took us to a Mexican “national park”. I use the quotes only because us Wisconsin-ers hear national park, and think of lots of trees and perhaps mountains or lakes. This instead was about a mile long excluded beach. The crystal blue water crashed into the white sand and made it look like a little piece of heaven.
Our first activity was snorkeling. Having went scuba diving on our honeymoon, this would be a piece of cake. What I didn’t expect however was how much we would see. We snorkled onto of a reef in the national park area, and got to see so many types of fish. One of the weirdest things is that the fish didn’t seem to care that we were there. I’m so used to seeing fish, and then the second you put your hand in the water, or do anything, they dart away like lightning. Instead, it was as if these fish were dancing with us. As the group of snorkels slowly passed above, the fish put on a show swimming this way and that. There were fish as big as your head, and ones as small as your pinkie.
It seemed that if you were patient enough to look, it wasn’t just in the reef either. On the way in, we spotted the strangest looking fish. It seem to stare at us and be thinking “ hmm, those are the strangest looking fish have ever seen” so I guess the feeling was mutual.
After we got back to shore we had a short break before going for a quick kayak ride down the coast. Our destination was a cove that contained lots of conch shells. I have seen plenty of shells, but there were real live conch inside. Everyone got a chance to hold one of the shells and the conch came out to say hello. Its sort of like a snale, but it has a single arm that it uses with a nail at the end. It uses that arm to turn itself over, or to protect itself when it feels threatened. It turns out that the white sand we were walking on, was actually full of pink specks from the shells that broke up over time.
We finished out our excursion with a Mexican buffet that left a bit to be desired, and some time in the sun, that was nice, but also lead to both Kristy and I getting a bit more sun then we needed.
In the evening we got to have dinner and try something new as one of the appetizers offered was escargot( aka snails.) After dinner we were ready for the party of all parties (according to our table mates) that night on the cruise. Despite the buildup, it was not all that special. We chose not to let that ruin our night. We’re probably one of the only couples dancing most of the night away. We were determined to make the most of the night, and have the cruise we wanted.
As we wound down for the evening and went to bed, we both began feeling a little sick. Not sure if it was the snails, or something else we ate at dinner, but both Kristy and I got pretty sick that night. The motion of the ship doesn’t help when you already feel query, but luckily, after that long night and getting out of our system, we were ready for the next day and feeling fine.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
OUR CRUISE - DAY 3
So before our trip, we had planned that our Day 3 would be an exciting 7 hour excursion to chitza itza myan ruins. As we got closer to coming down, we began to rethink the fact that spending 7 hours in the hot sun might not be all that it is cracked up to be. We ended up deciding that we would not do the ruins … and it was probably one of the best decisions of the trip.
What we did instead was a lot of rest, relaxation, and recuperation. John started the day with an upset stomach where kept him inside most of the morning. It was a really different experience from the previous day. Instead of packed areas with every pool chair taken, we found a ghost ship where we could pick any chair and then in five minutes pick another until we sat in every one.
In addition to relaxing, we finally found the serenity adult only area. It turns out that it was right by the food area we always ate at. The serenity area puts the rest of the ship to shame, as every chair has thick pads. There are two hot tubs to enjoy and the view is the right off the rear of the ship. Almost no wind, but it is a perfect location to sit and fall asleep reading.
My bad morning was fixed with a long nap, but ironically that lead to Kristy’s bad afternoon. As I was asleep, Kristy feel asleep by the pool side and got a little more sun then she intended. At least no one can say she didn’t get any tan. Right now, it’s a painful thing, but as the saying goes, “no pain, no tan gained”.
One of the exciting things that we did in the afternoon was watch the boat launch off of the Progresso port and head back into sea. It was neat to see the power, and yet ease of doing that. It felt as if the boat was merely floating above the water with easy and could go in any direction without much effort.
As we were back on the water, it was almost welcome to feel the waves again. While docked at port, there was no movement, which after getting used to it, made you feel a little weird. As soon as we were back on the water, back came the washing machine feeling.
With both Kristy and I feeling a bit under the weather, we took a nap, but least be honest, even if we were feeling great, we would have taken one. I mean isn’t that what vacation is about, long naps and relaxation.
We played it easy this evening, as we knew we had an exciting day coming up tomorrow. Our dinner was good, with the desert being Tiramisu. Its too bad that we were both still feeling a little under the weather, as if we wanted, we could have had unlimited helpings, and you know Kristy would have gotten more then 1 for sure.
This day came at the perfect time, as it would have been a shame to not feel good when you were gone from your ship for 7 hours. We’re excited for the rest of the trip, and ready for our excursion.
Friday, April 30, 2010
OUR CRUISE - DAY 2
Its not something that many wonder, but today we got to experience what your clothes feel like in the washing machine. From what people told me, being on a cruise, was no different then being on land, your not supposed to feel the sea. I must say, if land felt like this … there would be no need to drink, as the world already seems spinning.
To be fair, this all started yesterday, but I figured, why write about it, as im sure its not a normal thing. As I awoke this morning, I found it that if its not normal, then im not sure we’ll see normal at all this cruise. It’s a little disorienting in the cabin. Without windows, its fairly dark. That just makes the moving even more strange. At first I wasn’t sure if I was awake, or dreaming of floating between clouds. A loud crashing cart passing by our door confirmed indeed I was awake.
You would think the motion of the ocean would make you sick, but in reality, it just takes some time to get used to. We got served room service breakfast that brought back memories of our honeymoon. It wasn’t as good as the honeymoon, but how can you beat eating breakfast as you watch the sunrise over the ocean. Smelling the cool ocean air and watching the waves gently kiss onto the sand. Now with that said … it was good, but if you didn’t get enough, don’t worry, you could head upstairs to a buffet and get a omelet or sausage or almost anything your heart desires.
Today was much nicer weather. With the nicer weather also comes the hordes
of p
eople. We got a late start, so that meant that we had very few chairs to pick from. After walking around a bit to explore the outside of the ship, we found a couple at the rear of the ship. Kristy had her mom’s kindle, as I tried to read the old fashion way, by turning the pages. Turning the pages is not easy when you have a consistent rush of wind flowing past you. Apparently we must be moving when cruising, who would have thought? Kristy got to get her first fun and fruity drink of the trip full with a coconut monkey head to boot. The selling point of the monkey head is that it doubles as a coin bank.
Not sure if it was just me, but since kids can’t drink the alcohol, I don’t think many adults will be putting all their pennies in the pretty monkey bank when they get home. But what better way to get a tasty drink, and a nice souvenir for someone at the same time. We moved around our reading spot a few times, but despite the hunt, never found a place with sun. Don’t get me wrong, its nice and warm, but I t
hink the sun might be taking a vacation in
We got a chance to take a nap in the middle of the day, and then began our prep for the night of fun filled activities. It’s the formal night, so we get to dress up to the 9’s and have an elegant feast filled with dancing and shows. We started the night with a dance show that covered many different styles and times through the ages. Some of the numbers were good, while others were a little tacky.
Our dinner was more interesting, as we had table guests. I mean not really guests, but since the other couple did not show up the first evening, I figured that perhaps we were going to be able to eat alone all trip. They seemed nice, and have been on this same cruise ship 2 times before. They let us know that despite what we heard, the swaying we felt was very much normal, and up to this point in our cruise, its not the worse they have felt. Great.
The meal was fairly good, as we both got lobster and stuffed mushrooms. Despite the name of red lobster, I think we’ll still go for the crab. Lobster is good, but you can’t beat the crab. Kristy finished up the dinner with the warm melting cake, and we were ready for a night on the town … I mean ship.
After dinner we had a little time to kill before our
The
After this show we checked out the night club scene and realized we were not comfortable enough to enjoy the night clubs, so back to our rooms for a costume change and we went exploring again. We went to one night club and danced a few songs but realized that we could only bounce to so many raps songs and the other bar that had more our music was not open on this night. So we went up to get a snack and checked out the adult only swim area (we will defiantly be hitting this area up tomorrow), and gazed out onto the ocean with the one you love there was no better romantic way to end the evening.
The thing I was most impressed with today is that we have become more outgoing. Whether it was talking with our new table companions at dinner, or asking strangers to take our picture,
we got it done with ease.
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