Welcome Emmalee Sandra!
August 25, 2009




Emmalee had a rough ride out, her arm is all bruised up, but depite that she's the happiest baby!


Emmalee at a month old. This is Daddy's favorite picture of her...one of her many funny faces!


Emmalee in her crib!! What a big girl already out of the bassinet!


Happy Halloween!


Emmalee and Me!

Our Miracle Arrives

On Sunday, August 23 we went about our normal day. Had dinner at my parents house, and I was a little uncomfortable, but had been for weeks. I was 36 weeks 4 days along at the time. We went home and lounged on the couch. Andy wanted to play his video game and I wanted to watch tv...so he went in the bedroom and I sat on the couch. I got up and went to the bathroom, so unsatisfying this late in pregnancy, seems like you gotta go so bad, but barely a trickle! I sat back down on the couch and was getting somewhat comfortable and then felt like I was peeing myself! It was 10:30pm...I jumped up off the couch as fast as a nearly 9 month pregnant woman can, and ran to the bathroom. I was peeing again...without knowing it and I couldn't stop it. I was skeptical, because when I stood up it trickled again...without any control! I was freaking out because I didn't want to be peeing my pants for the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy. That would suck! I was yelling for Andy to come give me his opinion...he wasn't sure either. I decided to go sit down again and would leak a little more. I called the after hours for my OB and the Dr. on call told me to go to the hospital to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid. It was 11pm, we went, sat in triage for awhile, the tested my fluids and contractions were starting. I couldn't really feel them, but they were showing up on the monitor. I was dialated 2cm and after 3 tests the fluid was not showing to be amniotic. So I asked what it could possibly be! They said maybe urine or discharge. Uggg...they had me walk for an hour to see if I'd progress any further than 2cm, nothing. So I got sent home. At 2am we went to bed, Andy had to work in the morning, and I was so upset that I was losing all control of my bodily functions. I got up at 4:30am and had to go to the bathroom, as I did every morning...I stood up and a small gush of fluids trickled down my leg...ugggg. I ran to the bathroom and peed, and was done, but the fluid continued to come. I made Andy come to the bathroom and listen...for over a minute I had a constant leak dripping into the toilet. This was NOT pee! I decided to wait til the Dr's office opened at 8:30 to call and go in and be checked by them. Since the triage people obviously didn't know what they were talking about. I couldn't go back to bed, so I sat on the couch with a towel under me, and started timing my contractions which at this point I could feel a little bit. No pain.

As soon as the clock hit 8:30am I called the office and told the nurse my story and went right in to see my Dr. I waited forever in the waiting room, contractions getting a little stronger and more uncomfortable, but bearable. When I went into the room, I told my Dr. what had happened and said "I'm leaking fluid from my crotch and I can't handle this for 3 more weeks!!!" She laughed and checked. She said it was definately amniotic fluid because she could see it coming from my cervix and pooling. So she sent me back to the hospital to be induced. On the way home to get all our stuff ready, I freaked! It was too early! We weren't ready! I didn't clean the house, or put the car seat in the car! This can't be happening! Our Dr. said to take our time because it'd be awhile before we'd get in. We got to the hospital around 10am or so and got brought to a room pretty soon after.

I was hooked up to monitors and was getting prepped for induction because my contractions weren't coming regularly and I was still at 2cm. I also had to have an IV for penicillan because I hadn't had a Group Beta Strep test to see if I was neg or pos so they just give it to be safe. Our baby girl was coming anytime, I still couldn't believe it! They never checked me since the first visit to the hospital because I was leaking and there is a higher risk for infection, so we just waited. Contractions got stronger and stronger, and I started feeling them more and eventually they decided to check me. I was 5cm and in pain, so I got the epidural. Mind you this is probably 8pm not exactly sure what time...but in the evening. The epidural is GREAT! I told the Dr who gave it to me he was an angel! I was having really intense contractions at this point that were strong and lasted for over a minute...but I couldn't feel a thing!!!! AMAZING! I had lots of visitors throughout my labor and my mother and my sister Suzanna were there til the end. My labor continued throughout the night and into the next morning had many monitors stuck on my and in me and on the baby's head. Around 7am the nurse who was now with me said I should start pushing. So for the next 3 hours I pushed, and took breaks falling asleep for a minute or two at a time, because I hadn't slept at all up til this point. At about 10:15am the next Dr was on call and she came in asking why I hadn't had this baby yet. She said the baby would be here in the next 15 minutes. I did some hardcore pushing at this point and pushed for over that 15 minutes she promised me. My pushing wasn't enough, our little girl got stuck coming out and several nurses came charging into the room and one jumped up on the bed and was over my head pushing down on my stomach. I FREAKED! Andy was pushed aside, no longer by me, and there were very serious concerned voices in the air. She came out at 10:50am on Tuesday, August 25th, crying loud and strong! After that I was calm and waited to hold my little Emmalee Sandra. It was a long 36 hours from the time my water started leaking to the delivery of our Emmalee. She was 7lbs 1oz and 20 inches. For being 3 weeks premature, she was a big premie!!! The most beautiful little girl in the world!

We had to stay in the hospital until Thursday. We were at Highland Hospital and I have to say I really didn't enjoy my experience there. I had one good nurse, but she was there only through the overnight, so we didn't get to talk to her much. The first nurse we had was very secretive almost, not telling us what she was doing to our Emmalee and making us very uncomfortable. She had some sugar issues for the first 24 hours, having her little feet pricked every time she fed. Poor baby. But it recovered and she was doing GREAT! The day we left she was 6lbs 12oz and by the next day at her first Dr. appt she was back up to 7lbs 1oz! Most babies take a week or 2 to get back up to their birth weight! We have a healthy baby on our hands!

It's 2 months later now and she's amazing! She is 10lbs 1oz and 22 1/4 inches. She is making eye contact and smiling and starting to have a laugh. She coos all the time and we have 5-10min conversations! I love being a mom for sure and am so blessed to have a husband that works hard so that I can stay home and enjoy every minute of every day with her!

couple u/s pics

My belly growing! 26 weeks


Our baby girl at 20 weeks


at 23 weeks

it's been awhile

So I'm 26 weeks along now, almost in my 3rd trimester!!! AMAZING!
We found out at 20 weeks that we're expecting a baby girl! Things have been great since the last time posted. I feel great! I feel our little girl moving around all the time and it's something so wonderful and special! We're waiting to name our little one until we see her, or that's what we're saying at this point. We'll see if we decide before she comes. Andy's working on the room and hopefully it'll be ready soon so I can move all the wonderful things we've been given already in there! All of it's in my living room right now...kinda everywhere!

Can't wait for this summer to fly by so that we can meet our precious darling girl!

8 more days

Til our Big ultrasound! Can't wait to see our babes once again, as well as see how it's going in there and find out what it is! EEK!

Yesterday was a weird day. I almost fainted. I got really lightheaded and dizzy and luckily I was at my neighbors and could use her to hold me up. I didn't fall, but when I came home I got really emotional. I called Andy sobbing of course. Then my mom happens to call and I could barely get out what happened. I didn't fall, but it really scared me. The nurse said that I probably didn't have enough protein in the morning and my sugar may have gone up high and dropped down real quickly, so that's why it happened. She told me to make sure I have protein at every meal and eat every 2 hours. This is going to be difficult. I don't feel hungry every 2 hrs. I'll do my best!!! Hopefully it won't happen again. Scary.

Our crib!

So here's our crib! My mother was so generous to offer to get it for us! She ordered it yesterday and it should be coming in the next couple weeks! We ordered it through JC Penney! The bedding shown in the photo is NOT what we're doing...but the crib is the color/style we're getting! How exciting!

Monthly Check up at 17weeks

So now I'm 17 weeks into my pregnancy. Today I had a regular visit to the doctor. I peed, they weighed me (I lost 6 lbs since 4 weeks ago), took my BP which was almost perfect! Then the Dr. did a "belly check" the nurse called it. She felt where my uterus was coming up to, and it's a little below my belly button. Then we got to hear the baby's heart beat with the "doppler"! Andy couldn't make it so I asked my mom if she'd like to come, and she did! :) It was nice to have her there! I find it so amazing to hear that little "wish-wish-wish" sound of the heart. I was hoping to have my BIG ultrasound on 4/20 but the Dr. said that may be too soon to get all the measurements that they need. So I rescheduled for 10 days after...4/30 is now our big day! Hopefully they can see what they need to, and also tell what we have in there!!!
I've definately started feeling the little cookie monster kicking! I think it's been going on for over a week or so, and it's more obvious to me now. Especially when I'm just sitting around watching tv! I can't wait to really feel it, and see it from the outside, that way Daddy can join in this amazing miracle!! :)

Most Amazing Experience so far!!!!

Today we had an ultrasound. I am 13 weeks along today, and we opted to have a Nuchal Translucency Scan (NT Scan). This scan is done before 14 weeks to give expecting parents a ratio of the chances their child that they are carrying may have Downs Syndrome. I was not at high risk for this, but wanted to have it, just to know, and also to get a look at how Baby is doing in there.

The u/s was amazing! The little Cookie Monster (our new nickname) was moving around and has grown SOOOO much! We also got to hear the heart beat again, this time it was LOUD AND CLEAR! It actually sounded like a heart beat! Amazing! The rate was 143 bpm. The scan showed that our chances of our baby having Downs is 1 in 10,000 which is slim to none. So that's GREAT! It was nice to see thing are progressing nicely so far since I don't FEEL anything yet. I really can't wait for that to start!

The only thing that sucked about our u/s today was the Tech. She was such a crotch! I don't know what her problem was, but she seemed like she didn't want to be there. She knew that this was a new experience for us and yet she didn't even tell us what we were looking at. We had to ask her a million questions. HELLO! You're doing one of the most amazing jobs in the world...and you have to be UGLY?!?! GOD! Thank goodness we're so excited about our baby, I could care less about that lady. I'm going to request to see anyone else BUT her from now on. Hopefully we can do that!

My mom is going to announce at school this week or early next that I'm expecting and she's going to be a Grandma! So that'll be exciting, especially because I'm now doing a long-term for the next couple months! YAY! We've already told everyone else there is to tell! HA! We're bad at secrets! Our next u/s is scheduled for 4/20 and we're hoping (though it's not priority) to find out what we're having! :) eek!

Just waiting....

So far I still don't feel pregnant except for the fact I'm always tired and am starting to have some aches and pains. And unfortunately...nausea has started popping in more frequently. I have the weirdest morning sickness, I'm in the shower and I have gag reflexes or dry heaves! But only in the shower! Strange! In 2 weeks we're having the NT Scan. This is a non-invaisve screening for Downs Syndrome. I'm not at any high risk for carrying a child with Downs, but we talked about it and we'd like to see how Baby's doing and if there is a high risk, we'll be a little more prepared than not knowing at all. I won't do any invaisive testing, unless it's absolutely necessary, but those tests are usually optional...as is this Scan. I had a finger prick last week, and then in 2 weeks I go for an u/s...that's the extent of the NT Scan. They take your blood work and the u/s results and tell you the ratio of your chances of having a child with Downs. I'm of course praying all is well and good, and have every confidence that our baby is healthy, but am quite exited to see our little one again! (Otherwise I'd have to wait til 18 weeks) I'm too impatient for that!!!

Darn Thyroid

So my blood work for my TSH levels came back today to the Drs. office. It's up a little bit. The level is 6.14 and my OB wants it to be down around 2.5-3. So I've got to adjust my meds. Am I going to have to go through this throughout my pregnancy? Hope not! But I guess it could be way worse. I'll adjust now and test again in 4 weeks to see that it's getting down there.

First official OB visit

I had my first official OB visit today. Peed in a cup, weight, blood pressure. Then she did a full exam, PAP and all. YAY! Says everything looks great so far. Sent me for some more blood work, my white cell count was up a little, she doesn't see why, but the blood work should clarify. Also she's testing my TSH (thyroid) and will once per trimester, which is great, I was glad to hear that, rather than every 5 weeks. Also I found out my blood type: A+! I've had so much blood work done over the years, you'd think I'd know...but nope, this is the first time a blood typing test was done! I'm going to call next week to schedule our NT Scan, which is an u/s and more blood work, to make sure we're not high risk for Downs. It'll be done at 12 weeks. Then my next 4 week appt will be after that.

Oh, By the way...My due date has changed to Sept. 17th!

I almost peed my pants!

This morning bright and early, actually it was still dark. I had to get up to get ready for my first u/s with the OB's office. For u/s's we have to go to the Brighton office. I had to drink 2 bottles of water before 7am and hold my pee until after my u/s at 8am. Driving there was TORTURE! I had to go soooo bad! I seriously almost peed my pants! We got there about ten minutes to 8 and I had to go relieve some of the pressure. Andy found it amazing that I could just go a little and then stop. Guys can't really do that I guess. Still, we had to wait about 15 minutes or so, and the pressure was still unbearable! When the Sonographer came and got us, and told me to get up on the table I thought I was gonna lose it all right there. Then I had to lay back, I may have trickled a little. But I was concentrating so hard on holding it in!

She put the jelly on my stomach, and it was very warm! I wasn't expecting that! Much better than cold, especially today! My bladder was gigantic and she could see my uterus, but couldn't see anything in it. I think it's because I'm too fat! But she said that it is still kind of early, so it may be harder to see. She focused in on my ovaries and then I got to go pee! PHEW! She did the internal u/s as well, so she could get a better view of the baby and measure the HB! We could clearly see the yolk sac, but the baby was a big blob...the u/s machine at the fert. dr. was much better. But oh well. We got to see the HB and it was measuring 171 bpm! Baby measured 8 weeks, right on track! We got a picture of our blob, and went our merry way.

My next appointment is with one of the OB's at the Greece office. This is going to be a normal internal exam, so it'll be easier than holding my pee for hours! HA! That is next Wednesday, and then it'll be a whole month til my next visit. Kinda sad we won't be having u/s every week like we have been...but kinda glad not to have to go to the Dr. so much anymore!

Visit with the Nurse

Yesterday we had our first visit with the nurse at my OB/GYN's office. She was interesting, but very informative! I know what I'm going to be doing for the next 7 1/2 months...and even have schedule 2 more u/s! One is next Thursday, this is our "dating" u/s. They do one to see if our EDD (estimated due date) is correct by the size of the baby. (I'm so spoiled, as this will be my 3rd u/s in 3 weeks!) Under normal circumstances this would be my first u/s...I'm just lucky! Then the other u/s we scheduled is for around 19 weeks where they make sure the baby's growing and things are on track, and we get to find out what it is! :) That'll be in April! Can't wait for that! We found out we'll be delivering at Highland Hospital, we're going to look in to Childbirth classes, and get "the tour"! After our fun meeting, I went for the massive blood work that you do at the beginning of your pregnancy. NINE VIALS of blood! EEK! Hopefully that's it for awhile! Having these appts, and seeing the little bean in the u/s makes everything more real! I can't wait to actually FEEL it though. That'll be the most precious!

Our little bean is growing!

We got to see our Baby Bean again today! I'm at 7 weeks 2 days today. That little dot has doubled it's size in a week and we could hear the heart beat loud and clear this time! 139 BPM! Things look great, and tomorrow we go have a visit with the nurse at my OB/GYN's office and start with them! :) So excited!

First u/s

We saw our little bean for the first time today! This just makes things so much more real! We could see the little flicker of the heart and yes there's JUST ONE! Next week I'll go for my last appt. with Dr. H at the Fertility office and then off to my OB/GYN!

Best Web Site EVER!

Thanks to Mike and Kristina, I have found the new best website EVER!

www.thebump.com

It's affiliated with theknot, you may be familiar with that. (Terri I know you are!)

I'm on there: amamommy

I've posted some BIO, and I love going on the msg boards and asking questions about things that are happening, or NOT happening to me. Keeps me busy! :)

It Did!

So my hCg doubled again from 198 to 414! So things are working in there! It's very exciting and makes me feel more relaxed. My first ultrasound at my Fertility Dr.'s office is Tuesday, January 27th! I can't wait! AHH!

bloodwork #2 this week

I called today for my bloodwork results from yesterday. What they were looking for is for my hormone level to double.
On Monday my level was 82.
Wednesday's bloodwork was 198!
So it more than doubled! Good thing!
Things are definately going on in there!

I return again for round #3 of bloodwork, and hopefully it doubles again!

Waiting to tell...

So you always hear that you should wait until you're through your first trimester to tell everyone that you know that you're pregnant. But that is so NOT us! I'm so open with everyone in my life about my infertility, why wouldn't I tell them as soon as I knew the good news!?!?!

Last night we decided to tell all family and close friends! It was quite exciting. Oh and gave our parents permission to "talk"....hahaha, that was like setting the floodgates open! My mom and his mom called their siblings within seconds of hanging up with us!

This is just such a big deal to us. How could we ever keep it to ourselves?

It's official!

So the bloodwork shows that I am pregnant!!!!! WOOOHOOO!
That confirmation just makes it so much more REAL!
I have to repeat the bloodwork tomorrow and Friday to make sure that my hormone levels are increasing properly. Since we've had such a hard time, that makes sense. They wanna make sure my body is doing it on it's own, and be ready if we may need to supplement! :)

This is so exciting!

We'll we're off to dinner with Tim and Megan, to let them in on our "secret".

OH MY GOD!

WE ARE FINALLY PREGNANT!

I really still can't believe it!



Yesterday I was talking to my friend and freaking out a little because I was just expecting to get my period at any moment. She told me, "why don't you take a test just to lessen the stress?" So I took her advice and did! I took the test, one of the + or - ones, and the - came right up, it always does...I usually sit there for 5 minutes waiting. But I left the room and came back 4 minutes later, I'm pretty sure you only have to wait 3, but I didn't wanna rush things. Low and behold, a very VERY faint vertical line was there! I FREAKED! I ran to the basement door, Andy was down there turning wood, and started screaming and banging on the walls to get his attention. He was like, "WHAT'S WRONG?" I said to just get up her I have to show him something!!! I go into the bathroom and hand him the test and he was in SHOCK! I asked him if he thought it was really right, if it was too light...but the test directions say, it doesn't matter how faint the line is, if you can see it, it's POSITIVE! Andy said he wanted to get more, so I sent him to Rite Aid and told him to get the digital ones that say "pregnant" or "not pregnant". No mistaking then...right? When he got home, he said, "are you sure you can make more pee?" Hahaha, of course I can! Soooo, I peed in a cup, dipped 3 more tests, and sat there waiting... Sure enough, ALL of them were positive! Obviously the first thing we did was hug and cry and scream. Then Andy asked me who I wanted to tell first. I immediately said "Sara". So I text Matt's cell, asking if they were at home, and sent her a picture of my tests...and she call me back, so excited! I just basically sobbed my heart out over the phone...I didn't know what to say, other than that I'm sooooo happy!

After that we decided we were going to go get some cards for our parents and go visit them. We went to Andy's parent's first. They were so excited! My mother-in-law asked me right away if she could throw me a baby shower. OF COURSE! We all embraced in a big group hug. It was great! Then we went to Rebecca and Kevin's. I got a little card for her and Kevin with a giraffe on it. Inside I wrote that they were gonna be Aunt and Uncle! That was exciting too! Then they decided to join us to go to Henrietta to tell my parents. We got there and my mother was very suspicious. I think she knew when we walked in the door. Andy had brought the camera with pictures of this bird that was in our backyard, a falcon, and was showing my dad, and then there were a few pictures of my tests. He totally went right by them and didn't even act like he knew what they were. Then I think it clicked. My mom jumped up and started crying, and we hugged forever. Dad was very happy too! Tim was pretty excited for us too.

We went out to dinner at UNO's after with Rebe and Kevin, and then stopped at Walmart so I could buy something baby. I got a onsie that says "Who needs Santa, I've got grandparents!" It was 75 cents!


WHAT A DAY! I am waiting right now for my Dr.'s office to open so I can call them and see what I have to do now! I hope I can go in today and have bloodwork and all that! EEK!