The First Purchase

I have been having really vivid dreams about not having enough sleepers for the baby. One night I even had a dream that we had a boy and I had to put him in a pink sleeper because that was all we had left. I have been really hesitant to buy anything because I was afraid that I might need to return it. Considering the last Doctors appointment, I have now decided to bite the bullet and start purchasing small items. These face cloths and hooded towels are the first ones.

Doctors Appointment

Today I went for an appointment with my Obstetrician. He used that dobbler thing and found the baby's heartbeat right away. I was sure relieved to hear it as I am such a worry wort! He said that everything seems to be going as planned and that I could come off those pills once again. I hope that it is for good this time! He also said that if I have not told everyone, now would be the time. I guess that the baby has made it though the highest risk period. He then gave me a package full of useful information about pregnancy, babies and delivering in the Grey Nuns hospital. I am guessing that they wait until after the 1st trimester to hand these out.

When I walked in the office the nurse game me this pamphlet. I read it and thought that I would ask the doctor what he recommended. He would not give me a straight answer. He just responded to say that the experts are recommending that pregnant women get the shot. When I pursued a little further he started explaining a story to me about some comedian on tv who did everything that the gov't told them because the gov't is always right. Shayne and I decided that I will wait for a little while and see.

So Thoughtful

Today Shayne brought home flowers for me. It sure made my day. Thanks Shayne!

A Sign of Good Things Ahead?

The night of the IVF procedure we decided to go to Denny's for dinner as there was one located right in our hotel. Shayne spotted one of those machines where you put money in and you use that claw to retrieve stuffed animals. He thought that he would try it out even though I told him that it was a waste of money. The first time he tried he won a stuffed hippo! I was pretty excited about that. He decided to try again and won the tiger! He tried a third time and he won the fish. I could not believe it! This is so unheard of! I have never won anything with these machines never mind 3 in a row!

I have kept these stuffed animals on our dresser along with the balloon that came with the flowers that Shayne sent me. I think that I am going to move them into "the baby's room" soon.

A Reason for Being on Edge

Last night at about 9:30PM I started to cramp and bleed. We rushed to the hospital and by the time we got there it had turned to a heavy bleed. The Grey Nuns only has 2 gyno rooms so we had a long wait in the waiting room. At about 5:00AM we finally got a room and the nurse came shortly after to assess the situation. She tried to find the baby's heartbeat but was unable to. Her machine was about 100 years old and she blamed it for not finding the heartbeat. We patiently waited for the doctor to come and in the meantime, the bleeding slowed down quite a bit. The doctor came and said that I needed to have blood work and an ultrasound to see where everything stood, but it was a positive sign that the bleeding slowed down. I had blood work at about 6:50 Am and we waited until almost 10:00Am before we asked if they forgot about us. Apparently the lab did not run 2 of the tests that show whether the pregnancy is continuing. They were going to run them asap, but in the meantime, they came to get me for the ultrasound. They do not allow the Fathers to be in the room for all the measurements, so Shayne had to wait in the waiting room to be called. The ultrasound man took 44 pictures and it seemed to take forever. They do not tell you anything until they are finished and I was just dying to know what what going on. He finished taking all the pictures and then said, " Ok I will go and get your husband, what is his name?" I told him and right before he left the room to get Shayne he said," And here is the baby and this is the heart beating." What a huge relief. When Shayne came in and saw that the heart was beating he had a huge smile on his face.
If you look really closely you can see the heart beating. The doctor said that it was beating at a strong 172 beats per minute. Today the baby measured 10 weeks 4 days, which is very close to what we expected. The ultrasound man said that everything looks fine with the baby, but there still is some blood surrounding the pregnancy. I was brought back to my room to wait for the doctor to see me. The doctor advised that there is no emergency right now since the baby looks good and that I should follow up with my doctor and have an ultrasound in 2 weeks. He also stressed that I take it easy for the next 7-10 days. When I asked him what could cause this he said that there are a variety of reasons and it could be something as simple as the placenta breaking one of my blood vessels as it is growing. What a crazy night and this just reminds me that anything can happen at any time and until the first trimester is over, cautiously optimistic is the prefered route to take.

A Fantastic Guide

Today I am 10 weeks and I am now able to go off all of the hormones. It is exciting and scary at the same time. I just hope that everything stays as is.
This is the pregnancy book that I have been reading. It has been a great guide as I have really no idea what to expect. Every week I read to Shayne what has happened and what we should expect for the next week. It is really interesting knowing what parts are being developed. There is also a chapter for men and I think that Shayne found it to be helpful.
I also look at this website every week:
http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/10-weeks-pregnant.html

It is kinda neat and also gives some useful information.

I Don't Think that We Have Enough

When a friend of mine got pregnant ( Marzena) she decided that it would be a great idea to buy supplies in advance before she went on maternity leave. Shayne and I thought that it would be a great idea, but I never thought that we would actually get around to doing it. Then we came across a good deal at Wal-mart for the type of TP that we like. It was a really great deal, I think it was a package for $7.50. Shayne thought that it would be a good idea to get some and I agreed. I had no idea how much was planning to get. He asked, " So what do you think...10?" I responded by telling him that if he wanted to get 10, he would have to load them and stand in line by himself because I wanted no part of 10 packages! Sure enough he did! We could hardly fit the rest of the groceries in the car! We are going to have to clear a spot in the storage room for these products now!

Sympathy or Congrats Fruit Bouquet?

Satuday August 29 was the day that I had to go for the test to see if the IVF worked or not. The clinic recommended that I get bloodwork, but I also read in the papers that I could do a urine sample at the Doctors office. The only thing that was not recommended was a home pregnancy test. So Shayne and I went for the bloodwork and then stopped at the Doctors office for the urine test. The doctor came in with bad news, the test was negative. We were pretty devestated.
My sister brought this basket of fruit for us. It was very neat and beautiful and it put a smile on our face at least for a short time. We pretty much ate most of it except for a small bowl.
A few days later we decided to call the fertility clinic and get on the list for the other embryos that are still in Calgary. We started looking into other options as well.
A few more days passed and the results from the blood work were in. I asked Shayne if he wanted to come and we both decided that it was not necessary for him to come since we already knew the results.
The doctor came in and said, " I have some good news for you." The doctor had a very strong accent so I thought I misunderstood him and I asked him to repeat what he said. He showed me the results and explained some numbers to me and, it was true. I am a pregnant lady. I guess that the urine sample was not strong enough because with the blood work there was no question. I was in shock and called Shayne as soon as I got out of the clinic. I think that he was in shock too! We still had a hard time believing it until the fertility clinic called and verified the information.
We are also going to be cautiously optimistic because miscarriages are much higher with IVF. I am now 5 weeks pregnant and the expected delivery date is May 5th, 2010. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!