Update

Well, I haven't been posting to this blog much since Chloe was born - I started one specifically for her. :) Chloe just turned 8 months old yesterday! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by! She has been crawling for a while now and I am sure she will start walking very soon!!

The other day I was thinking about everything we went through to get pregnant, and how Chloe is just an amazing blessing! I feel like God truly blessed us with a miracle when Chloe was born!! I am thankful for IVF & our now 13 frozen embryo babies!!

After realizing how quickly Chloe was growing, I started thinking about when we would maybe want to go through the whole process of testing, doctors appointments, shots again.... it seems like planning for a second baby will be harder than it would be for the typical family without infertility issues. We have to make sure we have enough extra money for the procedure and the meds. We also have to plan to have someone to watch Chloe for our doctors appointments.

I am hoping that we can start our IVF journey again at the end of 2010. I am not really READY to be a mom again yet, but I know when the time comes I will feel differently. I want to give every bit of my love and attention to Chloe right now. I have a hard time thinking about having to split my attention and love between Chloe and another baby, but I know that it will all work itself out, right? For those of you that have more than one child, were you able to split your attention evenly?

I will keep you up-to-date on what we decide to do! And I guess every once and a while I will post a new picture of my beautiful miracle, Chloe!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season!

Chloe Faith Blog

I have decided to start a new blog just documenting Chloe's life as she grows. :) Please follow me over.....

http://ChloeFaithAsSheGrows.blogspot.com

Test Results

This afternoon Chloe's pediatricians office called and told me that the tests confirmed that she deffinatly does have GERD (reflux). We will talk about her medication at her 2 month appointment on Tuesday, July 21.

Professional Photographs

Today we had professional photographs taken of us as a family and some of just Chloe alone... here are the two we have already gotten back. :)

Chloe's Upper GI & Small Bowel Tests

Today was Chloe's Upper GI & Small Bowel tests at the childrens hospital. The test was scheduled for 10:00am, and she wasn't allowed to eat after 6:00am. She woke up this morning at 5:00am to eat and went back to sleep. At around 6:00am, I tried to wake her up so that she would eat some more - since it would be a long time before she was able to again, but she only ate for a few more minutes before going back to sleep. At 9:00am we left our house to go to the hospital. We arrived early and checked in. We paid our $150 copay (wow!) and then we sat down to wait to be called back.

At around 10:20am I was started to get impatient because Chloe was starting to wake up, and I just knew that when she woke up she would be really hungry. I went up to the registration desk and asked them how much longer it would be. The woman at the desk called down to radiology and they said that they were really backed up and it would probably be about 40 more minutes. I was ANNOYED. Then, about 5 minuntes later someone walked out and said that they weren't as far behind as they had thought. They brought us back to a second waiting room and we were given a hospital gown for Chloe to wear. We changed Chloe into her hospital gown and waited... thinking we would be going soon......

At around 11:00am I walked back to the registration desk to find out how much longer it would be. At this point Chloe was SCREAMING! She was SO hungry and my heart was breaking because I couldn't feed her.They just said "you are next". Chloe ended up crying herself to sleep. :(

At 11:20am we were finally taken back to a room. The x-rays were started and Chloe gulped down the barium... if you have ever tasted it, you know it is DISGUSTING!!!! She was just sooo hungry though. Chloe was scared at first because she was under a large machine and it just surrounded her... but she ended up falling asleep. The test lasted about 30-40 minutes. We were told we would get the results in 2-3 business days.

At 12:30pm we were back in our car and I fed Chloe before we went home. I felt terrible that she had to go that long without eat.

I hope we get the results soon.... since I feel the zantac isn't working.

A few pictures......

Life With Chloe

Life with Chloe is wonderful!!! I have never been so happy and so in love!!! Shawn & I are just in awe of her!!! She is perfect!!!

We have had a few issues though.... When Chloe was around 2 weeks old we were on a walk, I looked down and she wasn't breathing. We rushed and got her out of her carseat (attached to her stroller) and Shawn thumped her on the back (which is what you do when an infant is choking) and the saliva that was stuck in her throat got dislodged. It was TERRIFYING seeing your child almost DIE!!!! When I got home I called her pediatrician after I could pull myself together and he said it was probably just reflux and told me to come in the following morning with Chloe for him to check her out.

We brought Chloe in to the doctor and he prescribed prevacid. After about a week of her being on this medication she was still choking - we thought because the medication would get stuck in the syringe. When we went back to the pediatrician for her one month check up they prescribed zantac, which was to be given twice daily. We started this medication thinking that it would work.... WELL, it hasn't. Chloe is still choking and has stopped breathing one other time. I called and told her pediatrician and he had me call the childrens hospital to set up an upper gi & small bowel test. We go in on July 14th. PLEASE PRAY THAT THEY CAN FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH CHLOE!!

Birth Story

I was due May 8th and I thought that I would FOR SURE have her before or on my due date, since I knew the exact minute of conception... boy was I wrong. :) My doctors let me go almost 2 weeks past my due date before they talked about inducing me.

On May 20th, I went to the hospital to get prostiglandin gel on my cervix. This gel is supposed to help ripen the cervix and start dilation. I went in for this procedure at 6:30am and at 8:30am, I was sent home with instructions to return if I went into active labor. At this point I was having a few contractions but they weren’t painful at all, in fact I didn’t know I was having them - they just showed up on the contractions monitor thing.

On May 21st, I went back to the hospital for my scheduled induction. The doctor came into my room in Labor & Delivery and checked me. I was still only 75% effaced (which I had been for WEEKS) and I was 0cm’s dilated. He said that they could try to induce me, but that my cervix wasn’t favorable and there was at least a 50% chance that I would end up having to get an emergency c section because Chloe may go into fetal distress or my contractions may start coming too close together while on pitocin. He said that I could attempt pitocin, but they wouldn’t want me to go any longer than 10 hours without giving birth. So my choices were either pitocin or a scheduled c-section. A c-section was my worst fear the entire time I had been pregnant, so I didn’t really want to think about it. After discussing everything with my husband we elected to have a c-section because I didn’t want to put my baby in danger.

My c-section was scheduled for 12:00pm. At around 10:20am, my nurse came in the room asking me if it would be okay with me if we moved the c-section up to 11:15am. I said okay. I was SO nervous.

At 11:00am, they had me walk back to the operating room and they did the spinal - which terrified me. It didn’t hurt really bad, but it was a very strange feeling when the medicine was going into my back. After the medicine was in my back they helped me lay down on the skinny table and the put the sheet up so that I couldn’t see what was going on. I felt my skin start to go numb (like it does when your legs or arms fall asleep)... I could still feel my legs and body but I just couldn’t move it and I couldn’t feel pain, but I could feel people pressing on my and a LOT of pressure when they were pulling her out.

At 11:15am my husband came back to the room and they started the c-section. At 11:31am Chloe Faith was born. She started screaming the second she was out of my stomach. She had swallowed a lot of meconium, since she was overdue and they had to put tubes down her throat and her nose to try and suction everything out. After about 10 minutes I finally got to see my baby, but only for about 30 seconds before they took her away to the nursery to be examined and put under the warming light. I was a little nervous about being left alone after the procedure, but after seeing my daughter, it made every second of pain and everything I went through entirely worth it.

I was taken back to my room around noon and I was told that my husband and Chloe would be in there very soon... the minutes seemed to take forever. At around 12:35pm my husband and Chloe walked in. She was crying and I was in bed just waiting to be able to hold her. When I did, it was AMAZING!!! I was SOOO in love!!!

A few pictures since we have been home....

Chloe Faith is here

I will type out the entire story in a few days when I have more time, but Chloe Faith was born on May 21st at 11:31am by c-section. She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and she was 20 inches long. She was 13 days overdue. Here are some pictures:

OUR FIRST FAMILY PHOTO

CHLOE IN THE O.R. RIGHT AFTER SHE WAS BORN

BRINGING CHLOE INTO MY ROOMSEEING MY BABY FOR THE FIRST TIME (more than 30 seconds)
HOLDING CHLOE FOR THE FIRST TIME
SOOOOO IN LOVE!!!!!

My "39" week Appointment

Today I had a doctors appointment which was scheduled for 2:15pm. Shawn and I both guessed that we would be waiting for probably at least an hour before we got called back to a room.... we were both wrong!About 5 minutes after arriving I was called back to see the nurse.

My blood pressure was good 122/68 and I gained one pound. There was glucose in my urine, but I think that was just caused by me drinking strawberry soda (caffeine free, of course) with my lunch. After seeing the nurse we were immediatly taken back to a room. The nurse listened to Chloe's heart and it was around 142 bpm. She told me to strip from the waist down because I would be getting another pelvic exam.

The doctor came in and measured my uterus and it was measuring right on track. Then he checked me for dilation. Chloe's head is REALLY far down he said (he could feel it easily). I haven't started dilating yet, but I am 50% effaced. I asked him if it would be possible for him to strip my membranes if I am not in labor by my due date and he said they would IF I was at least a fingertip dilated.... so please pray I am at least a fingertip dilated by next Wednesday when I have my next appointment. I also asked if they could write a note to my employer stating that I need to work reduced hours and they did.... so I will be turning that into Human Resources tomorrow.

Only 10 days until my due date!! I have a little bit of hope that she will come a couple days early! :) we will see!!!

38 Week Appointment

Today was my 28 week appointment. Shawn and I made bets on how long it would take to get out of the office. I said it would take probably 30 minutes because the waiting room wasn't that crowded and I got called back to see the nurse pretty quickly. Shawn said AT LEAST one hour. Anyways, I went back to see the nurse and she took my blood pressure... it was 116/68. She weighed me and I gained 3 pounds this time, OUCH, but since I hadn't gained any and actually lost some recently it wasn't a big deal. There was no protein in my urine which was good.

After an HOUR of waiting in the waiting room we were finally called back to a room.... I was told the doctor I had an appointment with that day was the on-call doctor and he had been delivering babies all day (4 so far at that point). Chloe's heart rate was in the 140's. I was told to strip from the waist down so they could check for dilation. The woman (PA) came in and checked me and I hadn't dilated at all, but she said Chloe's head was REALLY low, so that was good. I am NOT looking forward to getting checked again though... OUCH, it hurt! She measured my uterus and I asked if it was right on, and she said that I was measuring at 36 weeks, but said that it is probably because Chloe is so low, so the measurement is not really accurate. She said it is still in the normal range though. I asked her if she could estimate Chloe's weight, so she felt my stomach and found a lot of Chloe's little body and estimated that she is probably right at 6 pounds or still in the 5 lbs. range. She looked at my feet as well and said that my weight gain was probably ALL in my feet..... She pressed on my foot/ankle with her fingers and she said she was able to REALLY indent it..... Today at work I noticed a huge indent in my foot... and I took a picture. This picture may gross some of you out, so I will put it at the bottom of this post.... Anyways, My next appointment is on April 28th.

Also, I asked my boss if I could cut back my hours to part time because I am just SOOOO exhuasted and I don't feel good half the time. She originally wasn't really up to the idea, but just told me that would be fine and just to let her know which days Iwanted to work for only half days, so I am happy about that. My last day at work before I go on FMLA is May 7th (2 weeks and 1 day away).

I cannot believe how quickly my pregnancy has flown by. I am ready for Chloe to be here, but at the same time, I will miss being pregnant.... I will NOT miss my swollen feet/ankles/hands though, that is for sure!!! It feels like they are going to EXPLODE!

37 Week Appointment

Well, today I had my "37 week" appointment. It was scheduled for 2:15pm. We got there around 2:10pm, and I was called back shortly after that to meet with a nurse. My blood pressure was 112/72. She weighed me and I lost a pound in the past week. I was told that the doctor I was supposed to see was the On-Call doctor and he had gone over to the hospital to deliver a baby so they would be working me in with another doctor or the Physicains Assistant. I said this would be fine. About 15 minuts later the nurse came back out and called me. She said that they were running really behind and asked if I would be okay with meeting with the Phone Nurse that answers questions for patients. I said that would be okay. We went back to the room and she listented to Chloe's heartbeat, and it was in the 140's. She asked if I had any contractions yet, and I told her that I had been feeling pressure and that I had period like cramping. She said that if I wanted to I could see a doctor and he would check to see if I had started dilating, but that there were 2 other patients in front of me. I said it was okay, which I now regret. OH well. She measured my uterus, which she really didn't know how to do - and she said that she measured it at 34 weeks, which was WAYYYY off. She said she never can get the measurements right. I was told that my GBS test came back negative, thank goodness!! My next appointment is scheduled for next Wednesday, April 22nd at 2:45pm. I will deffinately be checked at that appointment, and HOPEFULLY I will be starting to dilate!!!

Work Baby Shower Gifts

Here is a list of all of my work baby shower gifts:
12 Sleepers
15 Outfits
3 Shirts
3 Towels
3 Blankets
Bottles
Johnsons Take Along Bath Pack
8 Bibs
Hat
11 Pairs of Socks
Woven Booties
Shoes
"The Best Advice I Ever Got" book
Baby Book
Magnetic Picture Frame
Photo Album
Autographable picture frame
Oneside Picture Frame
Car Shades
Car mirror
14 burp clothes
"Grandma's Brag Book" Photo Album
3 Packages of Diapers
3 Packages of Wipes
$50 in Target Gift Cards

A High Chair

A Car Seat

I feel incredibly blessed with amazing friends, family and co-workers!! Thank you everyone for the gifts!!

Another Maternity Picture - Taken by Karyn Carter

36 Week Doctors Appointment

Well, today I had a doctors appointment at 3:15... we didn't get to see the doctor until around 4:10pm, but that is okay. My blood pressure was 116/78, which was good and I haven't gained any weight since my last appointment. My iron level went down to 10.4, but the doctor wasn't concerned. I had to have the group b strep test done today, and will get the results back at my next appointment (April 15th at 2:15pm). I was told that I will not be checked to see if I am dialating until I am 38 weeks, so about 2 weeks from now they will start checking me for progress...I was extremly disappointed and it actually put me in a bad mood when they said they don't check yet. I am measuring exactly as far along as I am, and her head is down still. They said they don't get concerned about the head being down until around 37 weeks though.

My work baby shower is on Friday, so I will update more after that. :)

Completed Room Pictures

There are just a few things in the corner by the crib that I have to find a place for, otherwise the room is completed!! :)

More Pictures of Chloe's Room.... not very recent though

Yesterday I added ribbon to the letters and also to the top, so we can hang them on the wall.... I will take new pictures of the room after everything is hung on the walls.

My Baby Shower

Well, it has been almost a month since I had my baby shower, but I thought that I would post an update about it anyways... :)

My shower was WONDERFUL! I have soooo many wonderful friends and of course family! Thank you Stephanie for having a shower for me!!!

I was more than a little suprised by the amount of people who came, and also the abundant amounts of gifts that I, well Chloe, received.

Here is a list of the things I received... please forgive me if I leave anything off:

38 Outfits (which added to the outfits we already have, give us a total of around 100 outfits)


3 Pairs of Shoes

3 Sweaters

5 Pajamas

18 Blankets

12 Towels

8 Washcloths

Diaper Stacker

Photo Album

Stuffed Bunny

Baby Body Wash

Dreft Laundry Detergent

Shopping Cart Cover

Coach Wallet (yes, I guess this one was for me!) :)

Baby Monitor

Burp Clothes

Boppy

Bobby Cover

Outlet Covers

Bumbo

Spoons

2 Dolls

Car Seat Base

Changing Table Pad

Diapers

Leggings

Pack N Play

Dishwasher Basket

Baby's First Calendar

Scratch Mittens

Booties

Hangers

Picture Frame

Bottle Brush

Pacifiers

Valance

Head Bands

Bath

Bathtime Gift Set

Wipes

Fresh Food Feeders (for teething)

Little Pink Bible

Nursing Pads

Diaper Genie

Bouncer Seat

Wipe Warmer

Rattle

Bibs

Mommy's Melody Bear

Travel System

Swing

This is her room AFTER we brought everything inside.... before I organized. :)

35 Weeks

Here is my newest picture at 35 weeks and 1 day.... LESS THAN 5 weeks to go!!!! :)

Maternity Picture... One of many to come

My "30 week" OB Appointment

Okay, so today was my 30 week appointment... but before I talk about that, I guess I will give a short update on the glucose test that I took a couple weeks ago.

I had to drink the nasty orange glucose syrup stuff... I thought it would be terrible, and at first it just tasted like flat orage soda, but I decided to gulp it so it would be done quicker and maybe I wouldn't taste it as much. I had to take a quick breath, and when I started gulping again it burned. Oh, I forgot to mention that about an HOUR before I was supposed to start drinking the drink I ate a pretty big chunk of carrot cake with loads of frosting (not the smartest move).. but I stopped halfway through realizing that it may make me FAIL. Anyways, about a week after I did the glucose test I called for my results, and I PASSED, but barely... I got a 131 and if it was above 139, I would've failed. Good thing I stopped eating the cake when I did. :)

Anyways, on to my appointment........ My blood pressure was good, 114/56 and I didn't have any protein in my urine. They didn't test my iron level yesterday, which kind of stinks. I purposfully ate a large cheeseburger for lunch to hopefully get all the iron I needed to pass, but that is okay. I don't enjoy getting a finger prick anyways. :) When we went back into the room they listened to Chloe's heartbeat - it was 152 beats per minute and they measured my uterus. I am measuring at 30 weeks, which is perfect. I told the doctor that I had experienced some water retention, and she said that is completly normal. She just told me to stay hydrated and put my feet up whenever possible. My appointments are now every 2 weeks, so my next one is March 10th. I also turned in FMLA paperwork to be completed by the doctor for my time off and Shawns time off of work. We were charged $25 just for a few signatures, but that's okay. :)

On Thursday we start our childbirth education class. I am SO excited. I am worried that since it is is so late (7:00pm-9:30pm) that I may doze off, but hopefully it will hold my attention enough that I can stay awake. :)

And my shower is only a few short days away, YAYY! I am super excited!! I am VERY thankful for my friend Stephanie, who is having the shower for me.

I will write more sometime around March 10th, unless something happens before then.

29 weeks

Time is flying by! Here is my 29 week picture, taken yesterday. :)

27 weeks

I can't believe that I am already 27 weeks pregnant, with only 13 more weeks to go!! Chloe is going to be here before we know it!

My baby shower is scheduled for March 7th - I am super excited!!! :)

Our last doctors appointment was on February 3rd. I went in and they listened to Chloe's heartbeat, like they always do, and it was in the high 150's. They measured my uterus, and she is right on track. :) They also told me my hemoglobin level (iron level) is 10.8, and when it gets down to 10.5 that is when they get more serious about it... they told me I need to start eating MORE red meats and eating dark green veggies or I will need to start taking an iron supplement. So, I am anemic... just like I always thought. I guess pregnancy has made it worse.... I am trying to eat foods that are high in iron. They also gave me the glucose syrup for me to do the glucose tollerence test. I have to complete the test before I am 28 weeks pregnant, which will be on February 13th. For this test I can eat or drink anything up until the time that I start drinking the syrup. Once I have finished drinking the syrup, my blood has to be drawn exactly one hour later. I am dreading drinking the syrup, but it's only 5 oz., so it won't be THAT bad. :) And as soon as they draw my blood I can drink or eat anything I want. I will deffinatly have a large bottle of water with me!!!

I can tell that Chloe is growing because her movements and her kicks are getting harder and harder. I see my stomach moving all the time and I can feel her hiccuping now also (it tickles). :)

I will write more after my next appointment, which is on February 24th, unless I post a new picture before then.

Kicking and Rolling

Well, Chloe has become EXTREMLY active in the last 5 days.... it seems like she hardly ever stops moving or kicking. She does have some breaks. I know that not everyone that reads this blog has been pregnant before, but let me tell you, feeling a baby kick in your stomach is the MOST amazing thing! I sometimes just sit on the couch with my hand on my stomach for hours. On Monday I saw something that just awed me.... I saw Chloe roll from one side of my belly to the other. I almost fell out of my chair - it has happened quite a few times since then.

Today, Chloe hadn't really been active, so when I got home this afternoon I got out my doppler to listen to her heartbeat. I have always known that she doesn't really like it when I do that, but I just had to, to put my mind at ease. Anyways, I was moving the doppler around to find her heartbeat and I felt a few tiny kicks. Then, when I found her heartbeat I felt more and more kicks... and after listening for about 3 minutes she punched the doppler REALLY hard - it was kind of a shock to me... the doppler jumped off of my stomach. I started laughing. I guess I made her mad, or possibly uncomfortable, since I was pressing down on her. I guess next time I want to get her to move, I just need to pull out my doppler and she will get extremly active. I am going to try and get a video of this next time, and I will try and post it on here. It is so funny!

I am SO in love with my little girl!!

Oh yeh, and today marks the 100 days to go mark.... Can you believe how quickly the time has gone by?? Only 100 more days until my due date!!!! Yayyyy!!! When I found out I was pregnant, I think that there were around 240 days until my due date! Amazing how fast the time flies!!!