Rehearsal and ZBB

Im trying to catch up on our wild weekend before too much time goes by! So, the rehearsal dinner was Thursday. I had to rush after work to get me, Trevor and Delaney ready and get to the church in 30 minutes. The rehearsal went okay. The woman helping us was not very..helpful. She didnt have answers to a lot of questions, but we knew we could handle it. There is a fountain right when you walk in and Trevor totally wanted to go swimming. I told Delaney to hold his hand so tight and not let him jump in! They walked in just before me and my groomsman, so that worked out great.

After the practice, we went to dinner in downtown Downers. It was good food and great company. There were 4 kids total in the wedding and they became fast friends. Sam and Brian gave great gifts. Trevor got two Snappy books, which is what she gets him every occasion. :) Delaney got a bride Barbie, Tom got a personalized football mug. Sam totally spoiled me and got me a prenatal massage, a Pandora charm, nail gift card, a lovie for the new baby, a Willow Tree angel and a cute basket to hold it all.

We got home super late Thursday and crashed. Friday, we got up early for our ultrasound appointment. Delaney came with and I had her stay by my head and told her a story about why I had to undress. I told her they put the gel very low. She bought it and loved seeing her cousin. Afterward, we went to the cottage. We planned to go on the boat all day but it was overcast and rained on and off. We lounged around the house and ate a ton of food. I came in from outside to find this. He looks good holding a girl, no?

After dinner, we headed to Country Thunder. It was the typical scene, muddy, humid, full of chaos and beer. We staked a spot on the left and waited for Zac Brown Band to come on. It was another late night for Trevor, but he did great.

Delaney

Jer, Rylan, Me, Laney, Mom and Nicole

Look at those scrawny legs!

Nicole and Michael

Family of 4, thank you very much :)

Tom and his girl

Tyler

Jay and Maggie

Me and Tommy

Trevor danced a ton and had a great time. He was so tired, he was literally walking in circles with his eyes closed. After a lot of rocking and shushing, he passed out and we set him in Rylans stroller. ZBB was phenomenal! I have seen most country artists live and they were one of the best! We got back to the house around 12 and I tried to fall asleep as soon as I could since I knew my alarm would be going off at 7am!!

Ill post wedding pics tomorrow!

8 Weeks

Im back. Sort of. I am still running on empty from the weekend. But, it was wonderful. Country Thunder was great, the wedding was flawless, Trevor and Delaney were amazing, and taking yesterday day off was the best decision ever! Here is me and my two babies on Saturday. :)

How far along? 8 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Down a few pounds
Maternity clothes? Not yet
Sleep: Need lots of it!
Best moment this week: So many! Seeing Squishy again, being the pregnant bridesmaid, fantasizing about having kids next summer..kidS!
Movement: Cant wait!
Food cravings: Frozen drinks
Gender: I think girl, Tom thinks boy
Labor Signs: None here
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Nothing!
What I am looking forward to: Rubbing bellies with Evan in 9 days!
Weekly Wisdom: Sleep when you can
Milestones: Got released from the RE

Squishy looked perfect on Friday and grew so much! S/he was measuring spot on at 7w6d. The heartbeat was 152 bpm. I was officially released to my OB. I am to continue baby aspirin and the endometrin until August 21st, which is 12 weeks.
Expect lots of wedding pics this week! Happy Tuesday!

Little Change

6.5 hours until I am off for FOUR full days..I am counting the seconds.

We decided to stay home tonight and drive up to the cottage early tomorrow instead. I changed my ultrasound appointment to tomorrow morning, rather than next Tuesday. I am excited to see our baby again.

Oh yes, after much debate, we are calling the baby Squishy. Trevor loves Finding Nemo, so its appropriate. :)

Yesterday was the hottest day in 6 years. They are predicting 93 and storms for Saturday. I hope we don't melt.

At least for half of the weekend we will be doing this:

6 hours, 23 minutes and counting..

Wedding Week

Ill never forget the text message I got back in October of a sparkly ring from my friend Samantha. Surprise, her and Brian were engaged. I asked when the wedding would be and was told July 23, 2011.

The past 9 months have FLOWN and we are down to the wire here. Having my entire family in the wedding..Tom is an usher, I am the matron of honor, Trevor the ring bearer and Delaney is a flower girl, too!..has kept me very busy. If having all of that responsibility wasn't enough, it is also Country Thunder weekend. Here is an itinerary of my week:

Monday-worked, got my eyebrows done, cleaned the condo.
Tuesday(today)-working, hair appt tonight.
Wednesday-work, run to Disney store to get a new toy to occupy Trevor in the church, pedicure with Sam and Delaney, stop by Sam's parents to drop off dresses and such.
Thursday-work, have 10 minutes at home to change, rehearsal, dinner, straight to cottage. (1.25 hr drive)
Friday-relax, get a manicure, swim, Country Thunder at night..Zac Brown Band, baby!
Saturday-leave cottage with Delaney at 7:30am, get hair and makeup done, pictures, Tom brings Trevor over, ceremony, reception, hopefully a happy toddler, party ends at 12:30am, possibly crashing at my parents?
Sunday-up early, back to cottage, boat all day until Josh Turner and Rascal Flatts at night. Sleep at cottage.
Monday-REST!! We both took the day off to recuperate. So thankful!
Tuesday-Get to see the baby again!

Mix the above with the fact that I am newly pregnant and exhausted 24/7 and the weather is supposed to continue to be upper 90's with over 100 degree heat index? I have no words.

I'm not complaining..this weekend will be so much fun, just draining. I promise to drink lots of water and not push myself too hard. I finished my speech yesterday and am pretty proud of it. I hope the day surpasses all of Samantha's dreams!

Wish me luck..:)

Heart is A-Beatin'

WE ARE PREGNANT! I CAN SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS(or at least from the hill the cottage is on)..WE ARE REALLY HAVING A BABY!!

In the video, the circle is the yolk sac and the baby is above. You can clearly see the little flicker. It was 116 bpm, which is perfect.

I am totally, madly in love with our second miracle.




I stop my PIO injections and estrace. I continue on the prenatal, baby aspirin and endometrin. I return on the 26th for a last ultrasound and then am released to OB.

8 straight months of fertility treatments, over a hundred injections, bruises and blood, a full IVF cycle, 3 frozen embryos transfers, anxiety and stress, 8 embryos given a chance.

This post makes every second worth it.

Ultrasound Tomorrow!

Here I sit..thinking about tomorrow.

I must say, I am tired of anticipating these days that define our life.

Tomorrow, I must see my baby. I need to see that heart beating inside me.

It's the confirmation that everything is going to be okay.

9.5 hours and counting..

First Video

Heres a video of Trevor saying his name. Melts my heart every.single.time.

Summer Lovin'

In the Spring, I made a list of fun activities I wanted to do with Trevor this summer. He is so much fun and really easygoing and I knew he would be a blast this year. I tried to balance our summer with weekends at the cottage along with weekends at home. Its too bad work had to be thrown in there. ;)

Here are some pictures of our recent adventures.

2nd White Sox game

4th of July fireworks

He LOVED the boom-booms

4th at the parade. I told him to listen to the band. Don't you love his chair? I dont even have one that nice!

Swimming at our complex

First big kid swing ride

Centennial Beach

My 'lil pig in mud

Brookfield Zoo-and look! He does look like me sometimes!

Cars 2 with Ty-Ty

First carnival ride

Proof we do stay home sometimes..he loves dumping his stuffed animals out

Our amazing summer continues..this weekend is the cottage, next weekend is a mix of Sam's wedding and Country Thunder. Its going to be hectic! The following weekend is at home and then Trevor and I are off to Atlanta!

In baby #2 news, I really feel pregnant now. My boobs are sore and growing daily. I reallllly missed pregnant boobs and am glad they're back! I feel nauseous off and on. My appetite of out of whack. Ill be fine without eating all day and then I'm starving and scarf down 3 pieces of pizza. Then I feel sick..wonder why!? I am counting the minutes until Friday. I cant wait to see that flicker and fall completely in love with this baby.

Great and Greater

Sissy had her baby!! She arrived on 7/7/2011 at 7:39am. She weighed 7 lb. 7 oz. and measured at 20.5 inches. I guess we know her favorite number!

If you remember, I was really pushing for a certain name. They sent her stats with a picture and I was sure she wouldn't have a name for at least 24 hours. About 2 hours later, my sister sent a beautiful picture with her name:

Rylan Faith

I got choked up, I couldnt believe they picked my name! Rylan is a play off our maiden name of Ryan. I suggested pairing it with Faith because Delaneys middle name is Grace. They were going to do Rylan Elizabeth after me, but since I wanted RF, they actually gave me the choice. I went with the original choice. Love, love, love! We will call her Rylee. She is PERFECT! The picture above is her a few hours old. Everyone is crazy over her. I see us hanging around my sisters house after work many nights a week..

I took Trevor to see her on Friday, after our ultrasound. At first, he didnt even notice her and wasnt jealous when I held her. After a while, he came over and snuggled her. He wanted to poke her face and pick her up. Seeing him kiss her made me feel like our world has come full circle. A miracle holding a miracle. We attempted a pic of all 6 grandkids..it was comical.

Oh yeah, our ultrasound. I am so happy to report, everything looked great! There was a very clear yolk sac and the beginning of a fetal pole. The two things I wanted to see! I was relieved beyond belief. We return to see the baby and the heartbeat this Friday. After, we will head to Wisconsin and celebrate with the family. I am 6 weeks today and the exhaustion has kicked in. Grow, baby, grow!!

Just Breathe

Sorry for the delay..lots of thoughts and emotions in my head right now. Here's what happened.

Monday night, we went to bed at 11pm, after the fireworks and fest. I slept terrible and had a dream I miscarried. :/ I had to get up at 5:15 to shower and leave the house in time for my ultrasound.

Tuesday, we made it there on time and I was so nervous my legs were shaking. The tech put the wand in and right away you could see a sac. She browsed a bit for a second and didn't see one. She went back to the sac and had to measure it 3 times to get a reading. It came up at 5w3d, which is what I was yesterday. She showed me that it was in the perfect location and that everything looked great.

I left feeling really disappointed. I still want my large family and I do not want to go through hell many more times to have more kids! I was hoping we would get 2 this time and be that much closer to being done. My thoughts quickly turned to being thankful for the gestational sac inside me. I didnt feel any relief from the ultrasound..I want to see that heartbeat!

The nurse called in late afternoon and said lets schedule another ultrasound for next Tuesday. As the evening goes on..I get more anxious. When I get back in my car at the end of the day, I cant help but think the sac looks so empty. I remember going in for Trevor's first scan like it was yesterday. I had no clue what to look for, but the nurse pointed everything out. Gestational sac, yolk sac, fetal pole..it was all there..at 5.5 weeks. It should have been there yesterday. Yet, none of it was seen..just a sac.

I called my nurse today told her I had to be a needy patient. I told her about the past ultrasound and that I was terrified I would go in next week and see nothing. She assured me that it looks fine, but there is no guarantee. She talked it over with the ultrasound tech and they agreed I should return this Friday, to ease my mind. So, another wait. less than 48 hours. Here is babys home..if there is a baby in there. Any experiences, thoughts and input welcome!


I'm so exhausted physically and mentally. I don't want to wonder and wait. I don't want to fear the worst. I want to see a heart beating inside me and start celebrating!

21 Hours

Here I sit, 21 hours from my ultrasound appointment. A pregnant ultrasound appointment. I have not had one of those since October 2009.

I am super excited to put my legs in those stirrups tomorrow. But, my fears of the worst are coming out. I cant shake the feeling that we will see nothing on the screen.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We will be out late tonight for fireworks and have to leave the house at 6am. I want to add July 5th to one of the best days of our life.

Ill update as soon as I can. Happy 4th, everyone!