My first OB Appointment

Well, I just got back home from my first OB appointment. Man, I miss my fertility clinic already. Ugh. I just wait forever at my OB place every single time. I don't understand it but I just wait for hours. It's crazy.

Anyway, when she finally got around to seeing me she wanted to do an ultrasound of her own to see what all was happening. I was not against seeing our little one again so no problem there :) lol She said she was surprised to hear the heartbeat as loud as she did and that our little guy, yeppers she kept calling it a he...I just laughed and said my husband does the same thing :) She said the heartbeat is very strong and all looks to be doing very well.

She decided while she was there she would look at my ovaries since we did the whole IVF process. She said they looked great and bounced right back into shape it seems.YAAAA It's always great to hear the positives when I go in. Just gives me such relief and leaves me smiling even more than when I went in. Good stuff.

We received a nice package from my Mom today in the mail too. She found this Pregnancy calendar from Hallmark, her very favorite store ever. It's really cute and will give me something to do when Jim leaves on Thursday to settle in at Indy. Not looking forward to him leaving but it will all be okay so that is what matters right?

Tired

All is still going awesome this way with things. I have been very tired lately and do a lot of laying around and sleeping. It's a little hard to get use to because I am one that likes to be busy and I have lots to do around the house to get it ready for the market. This is a normal sign of pregnancy my doctor and others have told me so I'm not too worried. Just something to get use to and I am thankful that I am not having the sickness stuff yet. Hopefully I'll get lucky and not have that at all :) That would be really cool.

I was telling Jim yesterday that I don't think the little one likes it when I lay on my sides because when I do I feel yucky not long after and then I roll back onto my back side and all seems good. Go figure huh. Kind of funny.

I have my first appointment with our regular OB on Monday the 30th. Not sure what she will be doing since I just had an exam on Tuesday of this week but guess we will see.

The most AMAZING sound in the world :)

Well, today was the day. We moved our appointment up one day so we can take a trip to Indiana and look around this week.

I am so happy and sad at the same time. All is going AWESOME so far and that is the great news. The sad news is we are now being sent to my regular OB and no longer working with our fertility center staff. They are all just so wonderful and they have really made a big difference in our journey. I hate to have to go but I know it's the progression of things and it's all a good thing. We did all our thank yous and hugs as we left and it was sad to know we would not be back there until after our little one is born. if we are still in MO that is. We will send them pictures and all that good stuff as they have all their little miracles they have helped bring into this world in picture frames all along their walls. So our little one will be up there soon too :) YAAAAA

The pictures are incredible and when we heard and saw the hear beat, I cried and it was just such an amazing moment it's so hard to put into words. The heartbeat is strong like it should be, our little one is only 1 cm right now, just like it should be, and our doctor said everything just looks so great. That is all we needed to hear. He does say we are 7 weeks along and that makes me very happy. It brings us closer to that 3 month time slot.

We asked about my injections and when they might stop. He told me after April 1st I am injection free. YAAAAAAHOOOOOOO Those Progesterone shots are just a killer lately. Only 3 more of those to go.

It was a great peek in moment today with our little one and I am once again just smiling from ear to ear. This really is happening and I am loving every minute of the journey so far. Enjoy the pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3382237409/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3383054558/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3382238095/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3383054178

Lots of changes ahead

Well, let it be said that the Soko family never does things a little at a time :) lol Does anyone know what the top 3 most stressful things in a persons life are? Think about that one for a minute.......Here they are:

Having a baby
Starting a new job
Moving

Yeppers, there it is...This is now our life as we know it today! Not sure how this is all going to work out but thinking positive and I know in the end it will all be great :)

Jim lost his job back in early Jan and has been working really hard to find a job that will be best for him and fair for our family. Though he really tried to find something in MO there just wasn't anything here. He accepted a position in IN and starts his new job on March 31. It's a great opportunity for him and I think he will be very happy with this company. They offered him a great package all the way around that made both of us smile and breath a sigh of relief. Everything happens for a reason right :) I will miss him during the week and it will be an adjustment for sure, but one day at a time and we'll make it through in the end.

So now he will be doing the traveling back and fourth until we get this house on the lousy market and it sells. So I will be working to get the house ready and trying to remain unstressed for our little one and myself. I can do it I can do it I can do it! I hate the thought of leaving our beautiful home we just had built not even 2 years ago and our lot is just something I will have a hard time parting with for sure. But we have to go where the job takes us and hopefully when we get to IN we can settle in for the long stay somewhere. Just going to be the process of getting there. Lord help us along this journey as we will so need all we can get :)

Jim will be going to IN here in a few days to look for his temporary living place and he mentioned he may not be here for our next U/S on Wed. I am hoping that is not the case as this one I am hoping we get to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I would hate for him to miss out on that one especially. We'll see what happens.

Lots to do and hoping for the best all the way around. We'll get through it and when life calms down it will all be worth it.

Being pregnant and sick is no fun

Well the past few days have been long tiring and boring. I am so sick of being sick and laying in bed all day it's not even funny anymore.

As hard as we tried to stay at opposite ends of the house while Jim was sick last week I managed to catch all his fun stuff anyway.Ugh, not good. I was very nervous as it being so early in my pregnancy and getting sick. So far I have managed to go without taking any drugs to help me feel better. I just can't bring myself to do it you know. I have been watching my temp but luckily it has remained normal so that is a good thing. YAAAA Jim has been taking wonderful care of me though and I really appreciate all he does for me.

I am looking forward to feeling better so we can actually be around each other more. That is the hard part you know. It's been rough but it's getting better so that is what matters.

We are looking forward to our next ultrasound on Wed morning and will keep everyone posted and have new pictures to share :) YAAAAA

OMGoodness, I finally took the shot :)

Today is a very warm sunny Spring day and we are just loving it. Windows open and ahhh ready for Spring :) YAAA

I decided to have some fun today and took a few BELLY pictures :0) lol I can't believe I actually have a belly. Cracks me up. Never thought I would see the day. kee kee kee Hope my little belly comes back to me when this journey is all done.I would be lost without the little thing. lol Enjoy. I bet you will get a good laugh like I did. Here you go:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3363552676/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3362733535/

Trying to fight off a cold

It's been a long weekend but the weather has been awesome. We are all ready for Spring and things are blooming and Jim has the waterfall going and all that good stuff. Love Spring time.

Jim was sick over the weekend and he spent most of his time downstairs while I stayed upstairs trying my hardest not to catch what he had. I am doing pretty good so far but have a little bit of the throat thing going on. Ugh, not good. But I am doing the whole gargle with salt water thing and it seems to be helping. Hopefully that will be all I will have to do. So not enthused that I may have to take meds if this doesn't work. Just not something I want to do at all if I can avoid it you know.

All is going well in the baby department. So far no issues and I am feeling great. Our doctor told us on Friday that all looks wonderful and whatever I am doing to keep doing it :) We go back in next wed the 25th for our next U/S at which time we are realllllly hoping we might get to hear the heart beat :) I am so hoping we do because that will really make it that much more amazing. Can't wait :0)

The number and pictures are in

Wow, what a long day already. lol Our doctor was running late today of all days. Go figure.

Well, any guesses out there on what the number was???????? We are relieved at the news we received and very happy we don't need to make any difficult decisions. This has put our minds at ease big time. Now I can relax.

We have 1 amazing little one growing all by his or her self and so far our doctor says it all looks wonderful. The lining is in great healthy shape and the yolk sac was very visible. This is a great sign now mind you :) We also learned that in IVF time line we are 5 1/2 weeks pregnant right now. YAAAAAA I was really excited to hear that news. We go back on March 28 at 9:00 AM for our next ultrasound at which time we should actually hear the heartbeat. Can I just tell you that that day will be the most amazing EVER!

Jim asked our doctor what their success rate was for this cycle group that we were in and he said it was 67%. That is just amazing. They are just so wonderful and do such amazing things there. So glad a friend referred him to us way back when. They have all made a world of difference in our journey by far.

I am attaching photos from today. 1 will show the yolk sac and the one that has the 3 white arrows in like a circle.....those are pointing to the actual BABY itself. It is just so darn cool. I cried..but this will be pretty common as this journey continues :) lol

Enjoy. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. They all mean so very much to us. We are just so happy and feel so blessed for all of you and for our miracle to be :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3351955686/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3351955530/

Tomorrow is the BIG day........

I am trying to keep myself busy and not thinking about tomorrow morning. Not and easy thing to do so I have been finding out.

We have our first ultrasound at 8:30 in the morning and I just know I am not going to sleep. But then again maybe I will since last night I didn't sleep much at all. We just want to know the answer to the one question that runs through our minds all the time since we heard the amazing words..YOU ARE PREGNANT!....How many? :) Hopefully our mind will be put at ease and all will go fantastic.

To add to all this anxiety Jim is getting a really bad cold and he sounds miserable. I have been advised to keep my distance, wash my hands as much as possible and all that good stuff. I feel bad because he is sick and I can't do much to take care of him right now :( snif. I have changed the sheets on the bed and Jim will be sleeping downstairs tonight. Basically...he is downstairs and I am upstairs. Sigh, this all just stinks right now. If he is still feeling this way tomorrow he may stay home and I will be going to the US by myself. That makes me sad to think he might not be there but me staying healthy is key right now. Hopefully it will pass through and he will be feeling better tomorrow. I will be praying that is the case.

I wrote a letter to our little one (s) to be

I had an idea today for a fun page to make for our pregnancy Scrapbook. So, as my brain started racing all over the place I decided to sit down at the computer, after I made sure I cleaned my house first lol, and started just typing away.

I wrote a letter to our little one (s) to be and I have asked Jim to write one as well. I was amazed at what went through my head and all of what I wanted to share with this little one or ones. They are truly a miracle in our hearts and our eyes and the love I have for this amazing gift is just overwhelming. I didn't know it was possible to love this much so early in the process but I do and I can't deny that I don't. I don't want to deny it in any way. It is here, it is happening and it's up to me to do all I can to make sure I eat healthy, take it easy, and keep them as safe as I possibly can.

I am enjoying every second of this journey and I don't think the smile I have on my face will ever go away. I just feel so blessed and so loved to have this once in a lifetime chance. There was a time when I had accepted that having a child of our own was not meant to be. I remember the heartache, the anger, frustration and the so many questions without answers. When we learned we had a chance to try, thank goodness insurance, we never hesitated to take the chance and run with it. Glad we did and we are so thankful for the wonderful doctor and his staff that we are working with. We are in the best of hands and every day we are one step closer to holding our little one and watching him/her grow.

Never give up on a dream....You never know when it just may come true.

I have been having fun today

Well, what is one to do when she has the whole house to herself, minus the fur babies of course??????????? Hmmm, that's right...SCRAP till I can't scrapbook anymore. lol

I found a really cool scrapbook store out by us and just had to go check it out. They had lots of cool things I had not seen before and lots of fun ideas. It amazes me how much new stuff they have out to make things with and I have no clue how any of it works. I so need to get in for some classes to see what all this fun cool stuff really does. Someday soon maybe :) Here is the link to the newest pages if you would like to see them :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3345295372

Here are some fun photos we took the other day:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3344669533/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3345501570/

Getting anxious

So today I am just relaxing around the house and just trying to keep myself busy. My brain is still on over drive of course and never stops.

I so wish it were Friday morning as this is the big day we will find out how many little ones we actually have growing right now. I tried to change our appointment to Thursday instead but they were all booked :( snif. The not knowing is driving me crazy. Hoping they give us good news but worried if we get the news that we aren't prepared for ya know. Thinking positive and hoping for the best.

I have an idea for another scrapbook page but I need to find a really cool background paper to use and just haven't found it yet. Ugh, but maybe tomorrow when I go do a return I'll look and it will just be there...lol, you never know :)

Doing some research

I didn't sleep very well last night for whatever reason. Once I woke up at 1 AM my brain just went into overdrive thinking mode. Drives me crazy.

I worked on a few more scrapbook pages and then decided I would do a little internet research. Yikes, that can always be dangerous and addictive. lol

I was curious what we might see at our ultrasound this coming Friday as I know it's not going to be much at this point in time. But I was happy to know that we should at least be able to see the sac or sacs that are growing. We are very anxious to know how many we are having so we can prepare ourselves for the journey ahead of us :0) Hoping that it is only one but if it's more two would be great as well. Three, just scares us both. For many reasons but the main reason is the health of the little ones as well as myself.

I think about this all the time just hoping we won't be in that situation but knowing there is a chance we could be. I don't want to have to make a difficult decision in this process and just hope we hear great news that all is going well and no more than 2. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers please :) See what next Friday brings. Thank goodness the appointment is first thing in the morning.

I was feeling creative today :)

Today I woke up in a creative mood. This does not happen very often but when it does I try to take advantage of my time and my ever flowing imagination. ha ha ha

I had some ideas for some scrapbook pages. I want to make us a Pregnancy Scrapbook to remember every step of this amazing journey that we are so blessed to have. I have lots of ideas written down so I don't forget them as I move along. I think so far today I have a pretty good start into this little adventure. Hopefully the book will be pretty full with all the fun stuff over the next 9 months. Hope you enjoy the few pages I have made as the link below should take you to a picture of them. YAAA, How fun! If anyone has suggestions for some fun pages and would like to share, please feel free as Iamvery open to suggestions. Thanks:)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sokofamily/3336275870/

I went to the JBF sale today

Well, I ventured out for a little fun and the weather is awesome again today. I will be outside again in a little while for sure.

I went to the Just Between Friends sale today that was in our area. This is a big like resale type event that they have all across the US I guess and it's all baby stuff and maternity clothes. Pretty cool actually. I bummed around and was excited to find a brand new never used Boppy and a brand new never used travel bed still in the box. Think I did awesome as for both it only cost me like $27.00. Considering those Boppy's are like $60.00 brand new at BRU. This one is really cute too, it has caterpillars all over on it. lol It's a great place to check out if you know the gender you are having or have little ones already. The amount of clothes was never ending. Great prices too.

Wow, just looked at the temp thing we have in the house...It's 81 out there. Going outside to enjoy. Talk to you later

Think I am going to scrapbook today :)

The sun is out and it's already 58 outside. Going to be a beautiful day out there again. Will have to go enjoy it a little later.

I was looking through all my scrapbook stuff downstairs because I have ideas running through my head and hopefully that means I can actually make a few pages today. Need a few things though that I hope I can find so going to run out in a little bit to see if that is possible. lol Sometimes I can't always find what I am looking for and it's frustrating you know :)

Jim is being a good sport and trying to figure out all these other cool things you can add to your blog pages so hopefully that all goes well. I really appreciate him helping me with our blog. It's nice to see him excited about all this wonderful stuff now. I'm just loving it :) YAAAAA

Having some fun

As you can see by the new widget added to our Blog that I have been having some fun. Still trying to find out how to do some of these other cool things but it will take a while I guess. Just fun to play around with and change things up a bit :)

I started my new injection today. It was pretty painless thank goodness. But they start out that way and then the more I do them the more the areas on my thighs become. Hoping that won't be the case this time around and I just need to make sure I move around in the areas I have and maybe that will help. I'll survive it all none the less so it's all good right :0) It looks like after April 1 all the injections and meds will stop hopefully. That will be a great day. YAAAAAAA

We are hoping to hear more good news today on Jim's side of things and see what that will all mean for us in the near future. Have my fingers crossed but I have a good feeling the news will be great. Things in 2009 are all starting to fall into place so we are ready for the journey ahead :)

The Natural Wonder of It All

Not too much happening my way today. Ran a few errands and now just relaxing. I had a small time frame of not feeling so well this morning but it passed. Thank goodness. Hoping I might get really lucky and not have all that morning sickness stuff. That would be awesome huh :) lol

I recvd my new injection meds that I start tomorrow. Wasn't sure how they all worked so I called and spoke with our nurse Andrea and she was just so sweet. She was out sick yesterday and was so upset she couldn't be the one to call us with all the good stuff yesterday. She is sooooo excited for us and looking forward to seeing our ultrasound next Friday when we go in. I asked her if it would be okay if we could take a picture of the whole staff that day with us for our little one's scrapbook. She said that would be great and she would let everyone know we would like to do that when we arrive :) YAAAAAA I am so looking forward to that like you have no idea. She explained how this new medication will work and why I am on it. She assured me that it is a good thing that I am on this and not a bad thing at all. I have come to realize that getting pregnant naturally is more amazing to me than ever before. To think that this process happens without the uncountable amount of pills and injections is a true wonder to me anymore. Those that get lucky enough to get pregnant the good old fashion way, God bless you all. It truly is a miracle. lol

I have been doing some research online just looking at the time frame of things and how this little one is growing and changing every day. Sometime between this Friday and next Tuesday the little one's heart will start to beat. How exciting is that. A real little life is taking place in all it's precious glory and it's fun to know when the different processes might be happening. We feel fortunate to know certain things that some don't when they naturally conceive. Like we know when the day happened that the egg was fertilized, I felt implant on Wed morning, and knew I was pregnant 11 days after conception took place. We have pictures of our little ones in the dish as they first started their little life and the wonder of what if. Just amazing and so hard to put into words.

I started the scrapbook of our journey the other day and when I feel creative I will make sure I make it to the computer room to make my page before I forget my thoughts. lol I want to note and remember this journey for every moment we are in it. Our little one will know just how much they were wanted and loved long before they were here in person. It's going to be a great book and I look forward to making it along the way.

The number is in........

Just got the call. My Beta number is........123. Awesome. YAAAAAAA. This does not confirm if it is just one or more unfortunately. Plus, I had to order more meds and will start yet another injection every Monday, Wed and Friday. Yikes. More poor legs. They just healed up from the first round. Oh well, I survived then so sure I will survive this round too :)

We have our first ultrasound set up for Friday March 13th at 8:40.. YAAAA, I am sooo excited about that. We will hopefully know then if it is just one or not. Plus, more pictures to follow :0) lol Love those pictures. They are just so special and precious to see.

Wish my hubby were home, but he will be home tonight so it's all good.

Keep you posted as we continue our journey :)

What will the number tell us?

I was hoping to update this only one time today but just can't wait anymore :0) lol Some things just never change I guess. kee kee kee

I went for my blood work first thing this morning hoping I would have my number update by now. But still waiting. Sooooo glad I at least know I am pregnant. If I didn't know that yet I would be one pacing little lady and my floors would show that never ending walking path I would be doing.

I am anxious to see where my number is today compared to that from Friday. It may give us a good look into if it is just one lucky one or more. If it does indicate maybe more than one it will be a few more weeks before we will know for sure just how many there really are :) I think Jim would really freak out if it was more than one, but he would adjust and be just as excited as he is right now. 3 we would both be freaking out :) lol

I am also anxious to talk with our doctor to see what I can and should not do right now? This is all so new to us and we worry about doing something wrong and messing things up. Crazy I know but we don't want to take any chances you know. It's been a long road and now our miracle is here and it up to us to take special care of this little one. That will be my main focus as these next 8 1/2 months pass by. Today is actually 2 weeks since this process really got started. How cool is that. We can actually share the exact date with our little one some day. Fun things that I think about.

Stay tuned for the number update. Hopefully it arrives sooner than later :)

The rest of the story

So, as all of you now know the awesome news and I am some what more calm today I wanted to share how we heard about the news yesterday.

I had prepared myself for having to wait until Monday for any kind of news on my blood work tests. I was on my way to the post office when my phone rang and it came up as PRIVATE on my caller ID. I never answer those so I let it go. Then about a minute later it rang again saying the same thing. Figured whoever it is really wants to talk to me so I answered the phone. The voice on the other end was our nurse at the doctor's office. She is so sweet and so understands where we are coming from right now as she herself went through the IVF process years ago. She's been awesome with us and we really like her. We like the whole staff over there and that has made such a huge difference for us in this journey. She wanted to know how I was doing and how I was feeling. I had emailed her to inquire on the blood work from Friday but she was out of the office :( Anyway, she said she recvd my email and called in for the results yesterday morning. She is NOT suppose to call me with these results and made me promise promise promise not to say a word to any other staff members that she called and told me. She is too cute. Of course I promised and then she said, well okay then........Congratulations, your pregnant. I think I went into an instant state of shock and asked her to please repeat what she just said. When she did I started crying and she asked if I was okay. I said yes but I think I need to pull over :) It was just the most awesome feeling that came over me. Those words I have soooo longed to hear and gave up thinking I ever would until this chance came around our way. It was just amazing. I couldn't wait to get back home and share the news with Jim. I so made sure I didn't pick up the phone and tell him that way.

I made it all the way home and ran downstairs with my hair all upside my head and tears in my eyes. I stood at the computer room doorway and said, "How do you really feel about being a Daddy?" It took him a moment and then he was all smiles. It was perfect. Glad he was here for that because to have waited all day until he got home on Monday would have drove me crazy. lol

Now, you remember that I have those wonderful at home tests still. The ones I said I am not going to ever do again...yeppers. Well, Jim says, go take a test. I said I didn't want to because they never tell me yes. He said but they will now :) I waited until he was in the shower and took that little test praying it would confirm what our nurse had just told us :) Well, sure enough there it was in all it's two little pink lines glory. I cried again and just stared at it to make sure I wasn't just seeing what I wanted to but that there were in fact 2 pink lines. There were. I was standing outside the shower holding the test in hand so he could see it and I said "It's the cutest pee strip I have ever seen :) ".

Jim took pictures of the test while I was in the shower and when I checked my email he already had it up in Flickr and sent me the link that I added to the blog yesterday. How cute is he :)

We could not be more excited and feel so blessed to have this chance. Our miracle is here and I am going to do all I can to keep this little one safe and sound the best I can. Now it's one day at a time and pray that the next 2 1/2 months goes by without issue so we can breathe a sigh of relief. We ask that you still keep up in your thoughts and prayers and will continue to follow our amazing journey. We hope all continues to go well and our miracle will be here around November 16, 2009. AMAZING!