Tag: Emma

Steps to making a baby…

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For educational purposes only šŸ˜‰

Step 1: Wake up bright and early and get ready while your significant other sleeps. Donā€™t forget breakfast! Youā€™ll need lots of energy.

Step 2: Start the long drive to the fertility clinic. Time may vary.

Step 3: Once you arrive to your clinic of choice, empty your bladder (not pictured).

Step 4: Start hitting the water. Hydration is key.

Step 5: If you canā€™t bring your significant other, bring some friends instead.

Step 6: Try to relax while being jabbed with tiny needles by your new acupuncturist friend while your bladder slowly fills.

Step 7: Dress up in your new outfit that the nurse picked out just for you. Cute!

Step 8: Try not to pee while the medical staff who are ohhing and ahhhing over this beautiful embryo thatā€™s hatching šŸ˜

Step 9: Empty bladder again.

Step 10: Facetime your husband to find heā€™s become a jungle gym šŸ™ƒ

Step 11: Find a McDonaldā€™s and order and eat French fries. Youā€™re not only hungry, but itā€™s apparently the new good luck thing for fertility challenged folks like me. McDonaldā€™s is probably behind it. They better seal the deal!

One down, 57 to go…

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Had my first progesterone shot first thing this morning. I decided to record myself while Chris gave me my booty shot just for fun. Without context, this makes for an interesting video šŸ˜‚ The progesterone is in an oil so it takes a minute to give. Also, E walked into the kitchen at the end. Round 2 is tonight and then every night for at least 3 weeks. If this embryo sticks, Iā€™ll be having ~10 weeks of shots. šŸ¤žšŸ¼šŸ¤žšŸ¼šŸ¤žšŸ¼

Lining check…

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Tomorrow, I have an appointment to see if my lining is increasing sufficiently for my transfer next week. Due to the precautions our clinic is taking, this will be the only ultrasound Iā€™ll have to check.

A lot of people have asked about how Iā€™m feeling. Itā€™s definitely hard to not ā€œwhat ifā€ this cycle like every other. I hope to post about that separately. But, one downside of this cycle is the side effects Iā€™m having from the medication. Iā€™m taking more estrogen than in the past, and I have the unfortunate side effect of near constant headaches. Not fun with a toddler running around and using me
as a jungle gym. Iā€™m also having muscle aches. Iā€™m not sure if thatā€™s a side effect or just exhaustion from everything. I tend to carry my stress and emotions in my body. The probiotic suppository is also making me veryā€¦irritated. šŸ˜¬ And, thatā€™s all Iā€™m going to say about that. šŸ‘€

Due to side effects, covid precautions, and new donors, this cycle feels different. Iā€™ve stopped predicting what everything is going to be like, because everything feels different or hasnā€™t happened at all like imagined. Iā€™m hoping thatā€™s a good sign, but itā€™s probably just happening for no rhyme or reason.

Iā€™ll hope that tomorrow is uneventful. šŸ¤žšŸ¼

(And, just for fun! Hereā€™s E exploring a trail near our property on the little bit of snow we got today. We arenā€™t showing her face anymore due to privacy concerns, but sheā€™s still growing and thriving for those that have asked.)

The moment has come…

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Wow! Iā€™ve been unintentionally quiet. The medicine Iā€™m taking makes me so tired, and motivation is hard to come by. We transferred our last donor embryo, Pumbaa, two weeks ago. Today, Continue reading “The moment has come…” →

Who loves This is Us? Hates it?

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I was really hesitate to start watching the first season, because shows tend to get so much wrong with adoption. But, I was hearing a lot of good things, so I wanted to give it a try. We ended up watching it after Emma joined our family last year, and I cried almost every episode. There were a lot of painful (but, thought-provoking) things to watch as an adoptive mother. The show is a portrayal of one family, but I connected with it even when I didnā€™t always agree with each characterā€™s decisions and actions. Iā€™m looking at you, Rebecca! I do wonder how some of those actions are viewed by people with zero first hand experience with adoption.

Weā€™re currently binge watching the second and third seasons before the fourth season airs later this month. So excited!

Hopefulness…

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As the days pass, my hopefulness is coming back and dominating my emotions. This is typical. At least for me. Itā€™s more a pattern at this point. One I havenā€™t Continue reading “Hopefulness…” →

Missed you…

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We took a mini vacation last weekend, and much to my surprise, we had NO coverage and spotty WiFi. So, I didnā€™t get to update yā€™all at all. šŸ˜¢

A lot of my ā€œfertility challenged sistersā€ have been checking on me. I really appreciate each and every one of them. Many of them know the journey weā€™ve chosen. And, they know better than anyone what may lie ahead.

Many have asked if I will do a home pregnancy test before the blood test on Thursday. I donā€™t plan to test. I knew being out of town would help with the eagerness. I have tested in the past, but it was a rabbit hole I didnā€™t want to try this time. So, I know as much as yā€™all!

Our fertility doctorā€™s office is out of town, so we are opting to have my bloodwork done locally. This means our results will be delayed until some time Friday. We plan to share the good/bad news with our families at some point on Friday or Saturday followed by sharing here.

Oh, where to begin…

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I had the first of my two biopsies yesterday. I expect we wonā€™t find out the results until tomorrow at the earliest. The fertility doctor was so nice and walked me through everything. We had a good laugh about several different things, and she has a way of putting me at ease. The pain was significant but short lived. And, the cramping she promised afterward was thankfully mild.

So, I walked out of the office thinking I got this. I had been nervous aboutĀ the procedure, but I was really proud of myself. I was excited to spend the rest of the day with Emma and her Godmother. We were going to have a girlā€™s day! It was all fun and games until about 30 minutes into our car ride home, and Emma vomited for the first time ever. Sure, she spit up plenty as a baby. But, throw up? No. And, she proceeded to throw up 5 more times on the car ride home. Emmaā€™s Godmother earned herself a medal for sure. She was a trooper and jumped right in to help with each messĀ ā¤ļø

Once I was home with my toddler napping in my arms and smelling of vomit, I couldnā€™t help but kind of laugh to myself that this is what I had dreamed about for years. When struggling to conceive and then, adopt, I daydreamed about sleepless nights with a newborn, bath time, teaching a child to read and write, etc. But, I also daydreamed about explosive diarrhea, projectile vomiting, and potty training, etc. We imagined the GOOD and the BAD. After all, they go hand in hand with parenting as well as life. But, itā€™s what you make of it.

Are we tired? Yup. Are we sad that our daughter is sick? Yup. Are we glad that we are the ones who get to soothe and care for her? You, bet!

And, we hope to do it again with another baby next year thanks to our amazing donors and fertility doctor. Time is both passing slowly and quickly, but we are excited to (hopefully) make a baby.

Hiccups…

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Emma has hiccups every now and again. She used to have them really bad when we first got home, but now, they are random and inconsistently appear in our lives. When I hear I hiccup, it startles me. It breaks up whatever I am doing, and I focus in on my little girl. Sometimes life’s hiccups make us do the same thing. Continue reading “Hiccups…” →

What is in a name? {Baby Version}

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**I totally wrote this around Easter (hence the Easter egg photo), and I’m just now finalizing and posting.**

Naming a child seems like such a challenge. It was no different for us. We had years to pick a name, but when we got the call that we would be parents to a little girl, we didn’t have a girl name chosen. In adoption, birth parents sometimes want to choose the child’s name or want to collaborate with the adoptive parents. We were given the opportunity to name this little girl who was going to call us mama and daddy. Of course, Chris disliked almost all the girl names I have ever suggested. At best I’d get a “maybe” out of him.

Last year, a friend let us borrow her collection of the tv show Continue reading “What is in a name? {Baby Version}” →