Pregnancy

I'm a bit of a nerd so I requested photo documentation of the creation of our beautiful embabies. For anyone else out there who wants to know what the process looks like... the creation of life is truly a miracle!!

Please click on the blue words below to see the annotated photos!

ICSI January 2013.doc

I just found this piece on the internet and had to share... anonymous author:

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics or money or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for this child. I have longed and waited. I have cried and I prayed. I have endured and planned ...

Does anyone know if dental cleanings/topical fluoride treatment are advisable/safe while TTC or during the first trimester? I can't get a straight answer from my dentist.

We got the call this morning to let us know that Larry (the big overachiever) is no longer viable and will not become a frozen siblingsicle. I am very sad but knew in my heart that he was not likely to survive after reading the literature on 12-cell day 3 embies with no evidence of compacting... he had a heck of a start but he wasn't able to make it to the big leagues.

I've been quite sad but I know that if he was meant to survive he would have, whether or not he had been transferred. ...

Our stats so far: 16 AFC. 7 follicles aspirated. 5 Eggs Retrieved. 3 Mature Eggs Identified by Embryologist. 3 Fertilized with ICSI. 3 perfect one-cell embryos with 2 pronuclei each... ready to cleave and make us a baby...

3/3 = 100% fertilization rate!! :cD God is Good!!!!! I know that 3 doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm ever so thankful for these three that were meant to be, and I'm working hard to reframe everything that is happening on this journey so that I never miss out ...

In just 15 hours I will be in the O.R. wearing a hospital gown, waiting for the Director of Medicine to arrive to aspirate my follicular fluid and hopefully capture some great eggs! I'm scared and excited all at the same time. In some ways I wish that I was going to be knocked out, but conscious sedation is much easier on the body, easier to recover from, and it allows me to watch the retrieval process on the ultrasound screen as each follicle is drained of its fluid.

I have a ...

Some recent posts on forums and facebook about being angry at "preggos" have made me contemplate the whole jealous IF thing. I do NOT advocate trying to force ourselves to be happy and cheerful all of the time. I am a strong believer in allowing ourselves to be real and to feel our feelings... just not at the expense of others.

I think that it is okay to acknowledge that we are happy for our friends' successes but also that we are sad or jealous or frustrated with our ...

The world needs more August babies. A Leo Dragon (or dragons) would be a challenging mix, I'm sure, but I'm up for the challenge.

I used to always say that I needed to have 2 kids to have a complete family. Then I tried to have the first one for four years with no success. Kids in schools are put on special modified programs when they cannot achieve the goals everyone else can... so my new modified goal is to have one child.

It wouldn't be fair to be driving for ...