It's A Boy!

We found out on Tuesday, July 28th that Nemo is a BOY!

When we got to our Dr's office, we even happened to park in the correct spot before we knew the gender! What a coincidence :)

We had our ultrasound first to find out the gender & check out Nemo's development. Bret & I were shocked when we saw the ultrasound, he looks like a baby now! Last time, he looked more like a gummy bear than a baby. We were able to watch him move around for almost a half hour as the nurse checked for gender, looked at his heart & kidneys, measured his head, and looked over his spine. Everything is looks healthy & Nemo is growing right on schedule. 

I was in shock when she said 'It's a boy!' I obviously knew we were going to find out, but just hearing it made it all the more real that we are going to be parents!

We went to Target after the appt to find some cute 'boy' onesies. Bret detoured to the Hot Wheels aisle and spend a good 15 minutes finding the perfect cars to be Nemo's first of what I'm sure will be a vast collection. I told him that trucks, cars, & Legos are going to be back in his life. Bret's eyes LIT UP at that realization! He is so excited to be a dad & he will have so much fun getting to be a little boy again!

We waited two days (because of Bret's work schedule) to get together with family to reveal the gender. My amazingly talented friend Lacy made a cake for us to use as a gender reveal cake. 

Side note- she is also the first person I talked to about infertility. It was about one year ago that I cried my eyes out for help to her. What a difference 365 days can make!

The cake she made was beautiful (& delicious!). My parents, Bret's parents, the Rodriguezs (via FaceTime), & the Kleekamps were all present for the reveal. Bret & I cut into the cake to reveal the BLUE cake inside. What followed was shouts of joys & excitement! 

I snuck away to chat quick with my sister while Bret talked with everyone in the room. She had predicted boy & was excited to be right. Her oldest daughter, Mila (2.5y/o) was sitting with her. Mila said 'He's MY boy!' with a big smile on her face *heart melting* Then said 'I love my cousin! *heart is now a puddle* I cannot wait to see them in October & again in December!

The rest of us in Kansas ate dinner & chatted about the little boy who will be joining out family this winter. I'm so happy to have such amazing family around me!

This boy life will be very different for me, but I think I'm up for the challenge. I've been told by some boy mamas that is no love like a boy's love for his mama. I cannot wait for that! In the meantime, I have found comfort & humor in posts like this:  '10 Things I Wish I'd Known About Raising A Boy'

http://www.today.com/parents/10-things-i-wish-id-known-about-raising-boy-1D79911267?cid=sm_fbn 

20 Week Update

Officially Halfway There!

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain? 10 lbs

Maternity clothes: Still mixing maternity clothes with my regular clothes. My daily uniform this summer has been yoga capris & tank tops. I have a feeling that going back to work is going to be a rude awakening to my routine & my wardrobe!

Stretch marks: still nope, using my sister's regimen to prevents them; need to keep this up as the big weight gains are now on the horizon 

Sleep: I wake up every night about 3:30 to use the bathroom and have to get resettled after that. I prefer sleeping on my right side & miss sleeping on my back so much!

Best moment this week: We found out Baby Brown is a BOY!! Plus, we got to keep it a secret for a couple days, so that was fun!

Worst moment this week: nothing

Miss anything: Eating whatever, whenever! I have to really think about if I NEED to be eating whatever the food is

Movement: I felt little bubble on my right side earlier this week! They were going over & over & over again! At my 20 week ultrasound, I found out my placenta attached in the front. This makes it harder to feel the movement/kicks right now. Once the little one gets stronger, I will feel the kicks better. 

Food cravings: still fruit!

Anything making you queasy or sick? The occasional headache is annoying, but no sickness. 

Have you started to show? Yep! The bump is growing daily. 

Gender prediction? IT'S A BOY!!

Belly button in or out? still in

Happy or moody most of the time? staying happy, trying to remember to take each moment at a time & enjoy being pregnant 

Looking forward to: telling everyone that Baby Brown is a boy!

19 Week Update

Almost Halfway There!!

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain? 8 lbs

Maternity clothes: I have just started mixing maternity clothes with my regular clothes. My daily uniform this summer has been yoga capris & tank tops.

Stretch marks: still nope, using my sister's regimen to prevents them  

Sleep: the actual sleeping is still good, but I am still very conscious of staying on my side

Best moment this week: A little mini vacay with our friends to Grand Lake; no big plans, but it was nice to just relax & do nothing!

Worst moment this week: nothing!

Miss anything: still sleeping on my back!

Movement: I am unsure if I have felt anything. I am wondering if I there have been movements that I just haven't recognized. 

Food cravings: fruit- grapes & apples

Anything making you queasy or sick? I have headaches which are not fun. I try to drink lots of water to prevent them & take Tylenol if they occur

Have you started to show? Yep! I, of course, think I am bigger than I really am but it's obvious there's a little babe in there

Gender prediction? I thought boy, now I have no inkling either way. We find out on Tuesday!

Belly button in or out? still in

Happy or moody most of the time? staying happy, trying to remember to take each moment at a time & enjoy being pregnant 

Looking forward to: finding out Baby Brown's gender!!

Next Appointments

-July 28 @ 10:30 to find out the sex

Announcing to the World!

We told our families & our Facebook friends the good news! 

The Fourth of July is Bret's favorite holiday. It must have something to do with getting to blow things up! He wanted to incorporate fireworks into our announcement to his family. We set off some fountain fireworks and held a sign saying, 'There's nothing more patriotic than growing a new American!'  His family loved the announcement and the evening was full of hugs & congrats. 

To make our Facebook announcement, we wanted to add some KU Jayhawk love. Our wonderful neighbor took many many photos of us on the KU campus to choose from for the announcement. Here are the two we chose to share. 

My announcement included the "We prayed for..." as I wanted to allude to our infertility struggle. I don't like that it is an issue swept under the rug in our world.

So happy to not be keeping secrets anymore!

IKEA for the Win!

My husband is not the most organized man in the world. He tends to leave things wherever they end up at the end of his work shift. 

This is what his shoe pile normally looks like:

We were wasting time waiting around for the DMV (what a lovely Friday, right?) by walking around IKEA. In the closet section, I found a bench/shoe organizer. I intended it to be for our garage. But Bret said it would be great for him! And if he's willing to put it together, I said go for it!

This is what his shoe "pile" looks like now! (TJUSIG, from IKEA)

13 Week Update

Finishing up this first trimester!

How far along? 13 weeks (Dr said I am measuring 13 weeks, 2 days)

Total weight gain? 4 lbs

Maternity clothes: not yet, but my running shorts night need to be moved up a size soon

Stretch marks: nope, using my sister's regimen to prevents them  

Sleep: trying to train myself to not sleep on my back & on my left side instead; more difficult than I thought this would be

Best moment this week: hearing little Nemo's heartbeat today

Worst moment this week: always nervous something bad will happen; I feel like there's a piece of me still scared like the failed IVF, don't want to get my heart too involved

Miss anything: sleeping on my back!

Movement: Dr said Nemo is flipping around in there, but it's too early to to feel anything

Food cravings: pizza!

Anything making you queasy or sick? have only felt queasy once and I am happy about that!

Have you started to show yet? there's a little bump there

Gender prediction? BOY

Belly button in or out? in, hoping it stays that way

Happy or moody most of the time? happy, but over sensitive about most things

Looking forward to: visiting my sister later this month & seeing my sweet nieces

Next Appointments

-July 9 @ 2:20

-at 20/21 weeks to find out the sex

24 Months to Wait 9 Months

Ever wanted something so badly but were unable to grasp it? 

My husband and I want to be parents with a passion. We met my junior year of high school and were together eight years before marrying in March 2010. We have both always agreed we want be parents. We started trying in summer 2012. I tracked my period so I knew when I was ovulating so find the 'ideal time' to conceive. 

I might also mention that during this time, my husband pursued his dream of becoming a police officer. With that career change came off work/off hours. Not always easy when you are working with an ovulation calendar!

After a year of trying on our own, my GYN recommended me to seek further help with an RE (reproductive endocrinologist). An amazing fellow teacher at my school, who battled infertility as well, gave me the name of the doctor she and her husband used. That doctor had retired, but I found one of the doctors who had worked with him. 

We began seeing the RE in August 2014, a crazy time of year for an elementary school teacher!  My husband and I each went through many tests and took medicines to control our systems. 

It was determined that IVF was the best route to pregnancy for me. My egg retrieval surgery was in November 2014. It was actually the day before my husband's sister's wedding, in which I was to be the matron of honor! I took a day of bed rest, but felt up for the wedding and just took it easy that day. 

The doctor was able to retrieve 10 viable eggs for fertilization. Only 3 survived to freeze day. Instead of doing a fresh embryo transplant, we opted for a frozen because I had been on many, many meds and my body needed to regulate before another surgery. 

Two embryos were implanted in my in January 2015. Then the dreaded two-week wait began. I continued to give myself medicine (progesterone ) to help my placenta and uterine lining develop. 

Devastating news was delivered at the end of the two-week wait. My numbers were not high enough to indicate pregnancy. We only had ONE EMBRYO left!!

Our nurse/doctor asked if we wanted to continue immediately with another IVF or take some time off. Without much discussion, my husband and I chose to immediately continue IVF with our one remaining egg. 

That one egg was implanted in late March 2015. After the two-week wait (that seems more like two months!), we got great news! My levels were high enough to support pregnancy. I went back twice more to see if my levels were doubling and they were! I still didn't believe it!!  We went in for a sonogram to see if everything was developing properly and got to see they little guy/gal on the screen! We even heard the heartbeat, which made it way more real to me. 

I am still nervous something terrible could happen, but I am having faith that this child is meant for us.