Life is Simply Jilicious!

Horrible blogger

2009-06-04T09:41:00.002-04:00

I am such a horrible blogger. I know those of you that live farther away look here for updates on the kids. They are all doing well. Joey is on an apnea monitor, but it doing well. Most of the alarms are for loose leads and not an actual event. We took all the kids to church last Sunday. Lindsay is at the age where she wants to be on the move all the time. She spent most of the service in the cry room with grandma Jan. That's not her fault. She has legs that walk her around now and she wants to walk everywhere. I love that little girl to death. I wish I had more time in a day to spend with her. She is walking/almost running all the time. She is saying more and more words now too. We are trying to get her to say "that's ridiculous". She hasn't quite got it yet. She knows her animals and what sounds they make now. She is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is 17 months old today. The triplets are also doing well. They are all cooing and smiling now. You can't help but smile when they smile at you. It makes all the worries of the world go away. They can also hold their heads up as well. Joey is the best at it, but the girls are catching up quickly. They are 3 months old already. Where does the time go? They have been home for 2 months now and it sometimes feels like we just brought them home. They are all over 10 lbs now. Keri is leading the pack at 11.5-12 lbs. They have rolls too that are so cute! I better enjoy all this cute baby time. These are the last babies I will have. All my kids are growing up so fast.

Thank You Abbott!

2009-05-07T11:40:00.001-04:00

My family and I would like to extend our thanks to Abbott, the makers of Similac brand products. Upon discharge, we enrolled in the Similac multiples program in which Abbott sends some of their product to assist the families of multiple births. This week we were delighted to receive the first shipment of Similac Neosure. With three babies that are quickly gaining a healthy appetite, this generous offer is greatly appreciated.
Once again……My family thanks you, Abbott!

Joey's adventure

2009-04-29T15:47:00.002-04:00

We are on day # 2 in the pediatric wing at Genesys. Monday afternoon, Joey was at home having him afternoon feeding when he stopped breathing. He stopped breathing long enough to start to turn blue. Besides that, Joey was not acting himself that day. He was very sleepy/groggy and not as alert as he usually is. We took him to his pediatrician, who sent us over to the hospital. He has been diagnosed with reflux. He had some blood work done and it all came back normal. It did reveal that he has anemia. That can be corrected with a supplement of iron. Yesterday, Mike was with him at the hospital. He said Joey wasn't doing great. He was having trouble eating and just wasn't himself most of the time. I got to the hospital last night after work. The first feeding I was there for was the 9pm feeding. Everytime I put the bottle in his mouth, he would stop breathing. I tried for over an hour to feed him. Mike called the nurse in the room. We tried to explain to her what was going on. She kept saying that she would note this in the chart and would let the doctor know about this. We were both very worried. Joey just wasn't his usual self. He usually was alert and looking around quite a bit. We set him in his bed and were just going to wait until his next feeding time. He kept crying and acted like he was hungry. We offered him his bottle and he ate the entire bottle in about 5 minutes. After that he was acting a little closer to his normal self. His next few feeding went good. He took his bottles and had very few d-sat's. For his 8am and 11am feedings, we gave him 1/2 his bottle and tried to get him to burp and then tried giving him the rest of the bottle. During the 2nd 1/2 of his bottle, he was having a lot of d-sat's and would stop breathing. He went for an upper GI and a chest x-ray. The upper GI was normal. We are waiting on the x-ray results. He was very alert after the tests. He is due for a feeding in a few minutes. I am hoping he does as well as he did last night. We are going to be in the hospital another night. He will sent home on an apnea monitor so we can watch his d-sat's. He has been taking zantac for his reflux and that seems to be helping. Hopefully we will be well enough to go home tomorrow.
While Mike and I have been with Joey, thankfully our parents have been able to take care of the girls. I have only seen Lindsay for a few minutes in the last few days. I miss all my girls. It is hard having a sick child in the hospital and 3 other kids at home. We are praying that Joey will be able to come home soon so all the Sella's can be under one roof again.

Happy Due Date!

2009-04-18T18:33:00.004-04:00

Today is the term due date for the triplets. They are all doing better than I could have ever expected. When I found out I was pregnant with triplets, I prepared for the worst. I had read that I could be on bed rest my 20 weeks and possibly have a stay in the hospital with bed rest. For me, a person that is very independent, I didn't know how I would handle that. Somehow, I managed to avoid preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and every other complication associated with a multiple pregnancy. I did develop some pretty bad swelling the last few weeks of the pregnancy, but that was about it. I never had to make a trip to the ER for preterm labor, no bed rest, nothing. I was truly blessed with this pregnancy. I worked up until I was 30 weeks pregnant. Most of the doctors were not really happy with me, but with nothing medically indicating me to be on total bed rest, I wanted to keep busy. I was pretty huge by the time I delivered. I was running out of clothes that would fit over my belly. It was also getting very hard to walk around and do the simplest of daily activities. And sleep was almost non-existent. I went in for a "routine" appointment with the high risk doctor. Baby "b (Madison) had a high heart rate. I was sent to the hospital for a non stress test. They found that the heart rate was high, but would recover quickly. They had forgot to hook up the uterine contraction monitor. As soon as they did that, they picked up the contractions that I had been feeling for the past 20 minutes. They tried everything to stop the contractions, but nothing was working. I was dilated to 4 and wasn't stopping. I did everything to make it to the 34 week mark, but they decided that 32 weeks 3 days was enough for them. February 24, 2009 the triplets came into this world and blessed our family. The past 7 1/2 weeks has been a bit of a blur. Sleep is still hard to come by. But I would not change anything. Thank you to everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers. We will need it in the time to come. I also want to thank all of our family and friends for all the help. We would really be lost without it.

Weights and measures

2009-04-15T08:44:00.003-04:00

Just a quick post to let you know that the doctor's appointment went fine. Mike and I managed to take all 3 kids out and survived =) Madison and Joseph weighed in at 7lbs and are 19 1/2 inches long. Kerilyn weighed in at 7lb 4oz and is also 19 1/2 inches long. They are growing like weeds. I can't believe they are 7 weeks old already. Time sure does fly.

Our First Easter

2009-04-12T13:20:00.002-04:00

Last Easter we were a family of 3. Who knew that one year later we would be a family of 6 =) I know that I have been horrible at getting posts out to update everyone. The past few weeks have been a bit hectic. The girls both came home on March 27th (Friday) and Joey came home on April Fools Day (Wednesday). It has been an adventure so far. If I didn't get sick enough when they were in the hospital, it's been no different since they have been home. Last weekend, I came down with the flu. I unfortunately gave it to Lindsay. She is almost back to normal, which is good. But both Mike and I both have the flu this weekend. My dad and Mike's mom also have a touch of it as well. This year has been a bad year for illness. I can't wait for the summer to get here and less sickness going around.
The trips are doing great. They are eating every 3-4 hours. The girls are up to eating 3oz each. Joey is eating about 2 1/2 oz. I will update with they weight and lengths tomorrow. They have their 6 week well baby check and RSV shot tomorrow. Our first outing with all 3 babies. That should be an adventure. Lindsay is getting better around the babies. I think she is still a bit jealous, but that is to be expected. Since I last posted, Lindsay began walking. She is now cruising all over the house. Last night she even cruised her way into the bathroom and dropped my phone in the toilet. Luckily I still have my old phone that I can have activated. At least she didn't try to flush it =)
The triplets have all been home about a week and a half and things have pretty much been a blur. Thankfully we have had at least one person here helping at all times. That has been a God send. It allows one of us to sometimes skip a feeding and get some extra sleep. Well, I better go get some sleep before the nest feeding. Hope everyone has a Happy Easter and I will try to be better at posting updates.

Some great news!

2009-03-20T12:50:00.003-04:00

I still have not been going to the hospital to see the kids because my cold sore has not fully scabbed over yet. I didn't want to expose the kids to anything more than they already have been. But I got a call today that just made my day. The nurse said that she talked to the doctor's at rounds and they think that the triplets would benefits from a visit from their mother. I just have to refrain from kissing them and wear a mask (which everyone has to do anyway because of the risk still of passing on the RSV) I can handle that. I can't wait to get up there to see them. I have been missing them a lot. I also called today to get the usual update. Keri has been taking her feedings well. She is taking every other one by bottle. She continues to do well. Joey has not been getting a bottle as he was having some breathing issues. He was showing some signs of labored breathing yesterday. They suctioned his nose and did get some actual boogers, not just snot. They also put him on some oxygen, which seemed to help. They have decreased his oxygen today and he seems to be doing better. They did draw some blood yesterday and ran some tests. The best news is that he tested negative for RSV! =) But with him having breathing issues, they have been feeding him by his tube to let him get his rest. And Miss Maddy is eating like a champ! She is taking all her feedings by bottle. Her feeding tube is even out. (I think she may have pulled it out) But the doctor's said that as long as she is eating 40-45 cc of her 50cc feeding by bottle, she can keep the tube out. The first born has to show the others how it is all done. So Joey may have had a little set back, he is bouncing back like the fighter that they all are. Keep up the good work kiddos and Mom will be up there tonight to see you all.

I also want to send a BIG THANK YOU to Mike. He sent me some flowers yesterday from the triplets. HE knew I was a bit down because I hadn't been able to see the little ones. He sent 2 pinks roses and 1 red one. They were perfect. I truly do have the greatest husband a girl could ask for, I love you Mike!!! =)

They keep growing!

2009-03-18T16:18:00.002-04:00

Mike is able visit the babies again. I'm jealous!!! I have the worst cold sore I have ever had right now. I have to wait for it to scab over before I can visit again. It has been a week since I have last visited the little ones. But I call everyday to get an update and see how they are doing. They are all over 5lbs now. Joey and Keri are 5lb 5oz and Maddy is 5lb 2 oz. They just keep making great strides in the gaining weight department. They are now officially in transition between the isolettes and open cribs. They have been slowly dropping the temperature in the isolettes to see how they would do. The doctor's gave the official orders at rounds today. All had their bottle feedings increased yesterday to 2 bottle feedings per shift. Today, the nurses were given orders that they could get more than 2 feedings if they were awake at feedings. Maddy ate 2 feedings already when I called in at 1pm. She ate all of her bottle both times in about 5 minutes. Keep up the good work girl! =) Joey has still had some decelerations in his heart rate and oxygen levels, but he usually brings them up without any stimulation. They just keep plugging away like little troopers. Mike said that they are getting big. I can't wait to get back up there and see them. I miss them so much. If I could just stay well....

Today's weight

2009-03-15T19:46:00.002-04:00

We went up to the hospital to drop off some milk for the triplets and the nurses lifted the shades so we could peek in and at least see the little sleeping miracles. When I would call in, I always forgot to ask what they all weighed. I remembered to ask when we were at the hospital. Maddy is at 4lb 13oz, Keri is 5lb, and Joey (JD) is at 4lb 15oz. They are all doing so well. I think if they keep growing like this, they will likely be over 6lb when they come home. I thank GOD everyday that they are doing so well. I also want to thank everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers.

I know... I'm slacking

2009-03-15T11:44:00.003-04:00

I haven't been too good at updating my blog. This week has been a bit hectic. Lindsay had a bit of a cold last weekend, but we didn't even think twice about it. On Monday night, she began to really have some labored breathing. We watched her for a little bit, and it just wasn't getting any better. We took her to the ER around midnight. She was diagnosed with RSV and they decided to admit her. She also had an ear infection. I had the worst experience of motherhood so far. They had to put in an IV. They thought they got one in her foot, but the fluids would not flow. So they had to take that one out and try to put one in her other foot. The entire time Lindsay was screaming her little head off. Then she was looking at me with tears in her eyes screaming "Ma Ma!!" It broke my heart. I even started to cry. All of this was going on and I had to hold her down. I hope I never have to do that again. When they finally got the IV in, she had used her energy fighting and crying. She fell asleep on me after that. She was admitted at around 7am. We had all of our kids under 1 roof. But with Lindsay having RSV, we would have to take a shower and change clothes before we could see the triplets. It was a long night. But Lindsay was released later the evening. I was very thankful that she didn't have to spend the night in hospital. She came home and slept from 7pm to 7:30am. She is feeling much better now.
She started to feel better and Mike and I came down with bad colds. Due to this, we have been banned from the NICU until we are cough and sneeze free. This is my second ban from seeing my little ones. I know it what is best for them, but it is still hard not being able to even see them. Thankfully, the grandparents have been going up to the hospital to visit the triplets and take up milk to them. Mike and I are starting to feel a little better. I am hoping by Tuesday we will be feeling good enough to go see them.
The triplets are doing good. They are still on one feeding per shift right now. They all have feedings where they don't quite finish all the bottle, but they are getting better. They are wearing cute little onsies now. They are slowly putting clothes on them and turning the temp in the isolettes down. Trying to get them to be able to hold their own temperature. They all continue to keep plugging away and doing well. A coming home date is still unknown at this time. But as long as they continue to make progress, that is all we can expect of them. GO triplets, GO!!!!

They keep plugging along

2009-03-04T14:18:00.003-05:00

I was FINALLY given the OK to see the triplets again. I still have a bit of the cold sores left, but they are dried up and scabbed over. So if I wear a surgical mask, I can see the babies and hold them too. It was so hard to leave the hospital without them. It was even harder knowing that I could not return to the hospital to see them. I cried so much Friday night when they told me that I could not see them until it was gone. But that is at all behind us now =)
Mike and I went up at lunch today and saw the 3 little angels. They were sleeping so soundly that we didn't want to disrupt their slumber. So we just talked to them and didn't hold any of them. They had their head ultrasounds yesterday to check for brain bleeds. All came back with normal results. No bleeding for any of them. They are increasing their calorie intake from 22 to 24 calories per feeding. At last check, Maddy was up to 3lb 13.8oz. She may be the first one to make it back to her birth weight of 4lbs. But they all are gaining weight now. They all pass their vision test Monday as well. They just are defying all odds. For being born at 32 wks 3 days, they are doing AMAZING!!!!! The next hurdle will be to start bottle or breast feeding. They told me that I could try breastfeeding tonight if I would like. The doctor said they could try either once per shift. I can't wait to try. I think I will try with Keri first as I have not held her yet. I am just thankful that they all seem to be healthy considering how premature they were born. I wanted to thank everyone for their continued prayers. Our prayers have truly been answered.
I can't forget my little Peanut, Lindsay. She is plugging along too. She is starting to make advances towards walking. She has taken 3-4 steps on her own when walking between Mike and I. When she is crawling, she is starting to crawl on all fours. She looks like she wants to push herself into a standing position. I think by the time her brother and sisters come home, she will be walking. She is also learning different words for things. If you ask her if she wants a waffle, she says "wa wa". She has been saying mamma and dadda for a while. She knows a duck says quack and a cat says meow. Her cat noise sounds more like ow more than meow, but that's ok. She will sometimes even say bye bye when she waves. She turns 14 months old today. She has grown up so fast. Last night, Mike would put some yogurt on a spoon and hand the spoon to her. She would feed herself the yogurt and hand the spoon back to Mike. We tried to let her scoop the yogurt herself, but that wasn't working so well. But it is the start of her trying to use utensils and eventually feed herself with them. Where does the time go?
I still can't believe that I am the mother of 4 now. Again, thank you all for the continued prayers and support. We definitely could not do this on our own. I also want to thank our parents and family for all the help this past week. From watching Lindsay, doing laundry/housework, taking Mike up to the hospital when I could not go, and the list could go on forever. We appreciate it more than we could express.
Well, off to go put my feet up. I am still trying to get rid of the swelling in my feet, ankles, and legs. It is starting to go down now, so that is good. I will update after tonight's visit on how the feeding goes.

My 3 little miracles update

2009-03-01T07:49:00.002-05:00

I was released from the hospital Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, later that afternoon, I noticed the starting of a cold sore. Normally, this would just be a bit of an inconvenience. However, having a cold sore now means that I can't visit the triplets. The sore has to be completely gone before I can go see them again. I know that they are in good hands with the nurses, but not being able to see them is really hard. I haven't been able to hold Kerilyn yet. I have still been pumping and Mike is taking the milk up to them 2-3 times per day. He went up last night at about 10pm and saw them. Here is the status as of then. They are all sunbathing right now. They all have a bit of jaundice and are under the photo therapy lights. He said that they will likely be under them until Monday. He took some pictures of them for me. They all look so cute with their little sunglasses on =) He also said that they all had their IV's stopped. Joey and Mady still had theirs in, but that they would be removing them later that night. They also have stopped the additional nutrients of lipids, extra calories, etc. They were at 20cc per feeding and they were going to increase it by 2 cc each feeding until they were up to 32cc. They are doing so well.
Thank you to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. We have truly been blessed. When I found out we were having triplets, I prepared myself for the worst. I figured they would need to be on ventilators, lots of tubes, etc. They are simply doing awesome for being born at 32 weeks 3 days. GOD has really blessed our little angels.
I just called the nursery to see how the babies are doing. All are still doing good. No real changes. Madison is up to 3lb 11oz now. Joey and Keri stayed the same since their last weighing. I forgot to ask what they were. But they didn't lose any weight, so that is a good sign. I will update more later.

Triplet Pictures

2009-02-26T19:35:00.003-05:00

We've created a new shutterfly page for the triplets. We'll be updating the pictures out there as frequently as possible. http://sellatriplets.shutterfly.com

I've also added a link to that site and the triplet blog in "Friends" on the right of the page to make navigation a bit easier.

They have arrived!!!!

2009-02-26T09:09:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has taken me to get this out here, but the last few days have been a bit busy. Here's what has gone on.
We had an appt 2/24/09 with the high risk Dr in the morning. We were to also have an appt with my OB/GYN in the afternoon for a non-stress test. At the morning appt, Baby B had a high heart rate. They were a bit concerned about it, so they sent me across the street to the hospital to have a non-stress test done there. They hooked me up to the monitors and everything seemed to be going ok, except I started to have quite a few contractions. The contractions were starting to come quite regularly. They hooked me up to an IV of fluids to see if dehydration was causing the contractions. After 1 1/2 bags, I was still having quite a few contractions. They gave me a shot to try to stop the contractions. They also gave me a shot of steroids to help the babies lungs. The shot worked for about 30-45 minutes, but they came right back. When the contractions first started, they checked me and I was 2 cm dilated. After the shot, they checked me and I was 3 cm dilated. They next tried a pill to help stop the contractions. They wanted to hold off on delivery until they could get the next shot of steroids. However, the pill wasn't working either. I was now 4 cm dilated. It seemed that the babies wanted to have their birthday on Fat Tuesday =) At 7:08-7:09 pm, the triplets made their grand arrival.
The first to be born was Madison Rae Sella (previously known as Baby B) at 7:08pm. She weighed 4lbs even. The next to arrive was Kerilyn Nicole Sella at 7:09pm (previously Baby C) weighing 4lb 5oz. Joseph Dale Sella (Previously Baby A) arrived at 7:09 pm and weighed 4lb 10oz. They were all about 17 inches long.
So far, they are all doing wonderfully. They were on CPAP for a bit, but are all on room temp. oxygen. None of them required a ventilator at all so far. They are all being fed through their tubes. Joey's digestive system is a bit slower right now, but he is still eating. For being born at 32 weeks 3 days, we couldn't ask for anything more. Mike has a triplet blog set up. The address is www.sellaweb.net/thebusydad. We will have to get some updated pics out there soon of them without their CPAC tubes on them. We are hoping to get to hold them today.
Thank you to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers. The 3 little miracles are proof of the work of prayer and GOD. I will update more later.

31 weeks 5 days

2009-02-19T07:23:00.002-05:00

I had an appt on Tuesday with my OB/GYN. Everything continues to go well. My BP was good again. (130/80, I think) I am having some contractions, but no more than 4 in an hour. They checked my cervical length, and the contractions have not made any changes to my cervix, which is great. I also passed my 3 hr glucose test with flying colors. YEAH!!! I am 2 days away from the critical 32 week mark. The goal is 34 weeks, but 32 weeks is awesome.

I hate to complain, but I have hit the point that I am ready for this to be over. My skin has stretched so much, that the lower part of my abdomen is getting to be numb. That is a weird feeling. The heartburn is also getting to be bad. I can't sleep laying down at all. I have to try to sleep on the couch almost sitting straight up. And ankles, those are non-existent now. I can barely fit into my shoes. Hopefully only 2 weeks 2 days left. We will have appts with the OB/GYN and high risk Dr on 2/24/09. I will update after then. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers.

Appt updates

2009-02-10T16:15:00.003-05:00

I had appointments yesterday and today. As of yesterday, I am officially off work. I am no longer even working from home. My ankles/feet are swelling and my carpal tunnel is getting worse. I figured it was time to get some rest before the babies come. I am 30 weeks 3 days today. So far, everything is going well. Yesterday was just a routine OB appointment. Those are usually pretty boring. My blood pressure was 124/84, which is good. I did find out last week that I failed my 1 hr glucose test, so I will have to do the 3 hour one tomorrow morning. I didn't fail by much, so hopefully I will pass the 3 hr one. The babies were measured today at our appointment. Guesstimated weights are: Baby A (boy) and Baby C: 3lb 13 oz, and Baby B: 3lb 6oz. All the amniotic fluid pockets look good too. All of the babies are also showing breathing movements, which is a really good sign. I am starting to have some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing to write home about. I think I had 5 or 6 all day yesterday. If I have more than 4 in an hour, then there would be a cause for concern. I will have to start doing non-stress tests next week. That is a common thing for multiple pregnancies.
So to sum things up, things are going as well as can be expected. The babies appear to be growing very well. By next week, they should have guesstimated weights over 4 lbs =) Good for the babies, not so good for me. Right now I have over 11 lbs of babies in there. That is a LOT more than what I had with Lindsay. She was only 7lb 9oz at birth.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We are in the home stretch now. 3 weeks 4 days until we hit the goal of 34 weeks. We talked to the doctors and they said that they are not going to schedule a C-section. If the babies and I are both doing well, they will let them stay in there. The longer they stay inside, the more their lungs can mature and the more they grow. Our next appt with our OB is next Tuesday. I will update more then.

DEADLINE MET!!!!

2009-02-01T20:03:00.002-05:00

I wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to Mike for meeting his deadline. In January, Mike and his co-worker, who is also expecting a new addition to his family in March, were given deadlines to get some things in order. Mike was given the deadline of Feb 1st to get the cribs set up. Before he sat down to watch the Super Bowl, the cribs were all set up. That is a big relief. My mom is coming up tomorrow to put the border up in the nursery as well. After that, I think the pressure will be off. We will have everything pretty much in order to be able to bring the triplets home. I am sure there are a few little things that we haven't done, but I'm not really concerned. Thanks again Mike to getting the cribs all set up. Because if you know me, if it wouldn't have been done, I would've done it myself =) Only 4 weeks 6 days left to hit 34 week!

29 Weeks and counting!

2009-01-31T19:49:00.002-05:00

I am 29 weeks today. I'm trying to be "supermom", but it is getting harder. As the belly gets bigger, it gets harder to carry around. I can't do a whole lot. I feel bad that I can't go hang out with friends on a Saturday night, but I just don't have the energy. Sleeping is getting really hard. I wake up at least once with heartburn every night. Sometimes it will go away and I can get back to sleep. Other times, like last night, I was up from 2am - 4:30am. What I feel the worst about is that I can't get on the floor and play with Lindsay. Getting down on the floor and back up again is a real struggle. I also get winded really easily. So crawling after her or pushing her around on her tractor really tire me out. Luckily we have a great support system. My grandma comes up once a week and does the laundry for us. Both of our parents offer assistance quite often. Calling and asking if we need anything at the store or if we need things done around the house. I try to do as much as I can, but I am having to learn to ask for help. Which, if you know me, is hard for me to do. I am such an independent person, I feel like I am imposing on people to ask for help. I don't have a choice now. I am getting down to the final week before the goal of 34 weeks. I need to rest as much as possible to give these babies every day inside as I can.
I am still working 1/2 days from home. I'm not sure how much longer the doctor's will allow that. It will all depend on my BP, cervix, and overall health of me and the babies. My next appt is 2/9/09.
I hope I didn't complain too much in this post. I hope my friends know that I am not trying to be anti-social, I am just exhausted. All my energy goes to growing these babies these days. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support. We definitely need it during this time.

My amazing little girl

2009-01-27T15:10:00.002-05:00

Lindsay is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is already 1 yr old. Where has the time gone? She has been cruising around furniture for a while now. She has had moments of balancing on her own, but no steps. Last night, she wanted to get to me from the coffee table. She balanced herself on the table until she had to let go. Usually she would carefully sit down and crawl. But she took a step on her own and grabbed onto my hand. I'm sure before long, she will be walking around all by herself. She amazes me everyday. I love her with all my heart. Way to go Lindsay! Keep up the good work =)

Another bullet dodged

2009-01-27T15:04:00.002-05:00

I went to the Dr's this morning to get the results of my protein level test. I am still spilling protein, but the levels appear to be stable. They actually went down a bit. With everything else going well, no specific bed rest for me at this point. They are just going to keep an eye on the levels and repeat the test next month. I wasn't too worried about being on bed rest. I just don't want to have to be on bed rest in the hospital. I don't know if I could stand to be away from my family. I could talk to Mike on the phone, but Lindsay can't talk yet. She would have no clue about why mom wasn't around. I will keep self limiting my activities and get as much rest as I can. Thanks for all the prayers through all of this. We can definitely use every single one of them. My next appt is 2/9/09. Hopefully there will be no big new until then.

Big goal: 28 Weeks today =)

2009-01-24T10:10:00.002-05:00

I've made another goal today. I have hit the 28 week mark! Up to this point, things haven't been too bad. I had an appointment yesterday to see how the babies were doing. The boy is approx 2 lb 10oz, Baby C is 2lb 9oz and Baby B is 2lb 7oz. They are definitely putting on the weight. Everything seems to be going very well with them. My cervical length is also still greater than 5cm, which is awesome. The only bad thing is that they found some protein in my 24 hour urine sample. They want me to redo the test and we will go from there. My blood pressure hasn't been too bad at all. But protein in the urine could be the first signs of pre-eclampsia. So I am hoping that the 2nd test comes back with better results. Pre-eclampsia would definitely land me on bed rest. And if the blood pressure also went up with it, then I could end up in the hospital. That would not be a good thing. So we're praying that the test next week comes back better than the first.
I had to also go to the ER last night. It wasn't for anything to do with the pregnancy. I have been sick since Monday and it has been getting worse. I have had a runny nose, sore throat, and last night developed an ear ache. I started puking up mucous and my throat was unbearable. I had went to Med Express on Tuesday and they ruled out strep throat, but they thought it was a virus. And with a virus, there is nothing that you can really do. When I went in last night, they diagnosed me with a sinus infection. Mike is going to F'muth to get my prescription filled this morning. The dose they gave me in the ER has worked wonders. I am still stuffed up, but at least my throat has no pain at all. FINALLY some relief. Hopefully I am on the road to recovery. Being sick and pregnant is no fun =(
I have an appointment on Tuesday, so I should have the results of the 24 urine sample then and we will know more.

27 Weeks!!!!

2009-01-17T06:46:00.002-05:00

I am 27 weeks today. One more week until I hit another goal! I have to admit, things are getting a bit tougher. My carpal tunnel is coming back now. It is hard to even pick up a gallon of milk with my right hand. And I can forget getting comfortable to sleep because that is nearly impossible. But the big goal is only 7 weeks away. I just have to keep reminding myself that I can do this. I think next week will be my last week actually going to week. Getting around is starting to become difficult. I still want to work from home, but just not go into the office. I will have to see what the doctor says at my appt this week.

And poor Lindsay, she has pink eye =( Every illness under the sun has been going around day care the past 2 weeks. She had a bit of a cold, but that was no big deal. Yesterday, they called and said that we needed to come pick Lindsay up as she had pink eye. We took her to the doctor and got her some eye drops. Hopefully she will get better quickly. I hate seeing my little girl hurting and there is nothing I can do about it.

Well, I better get back out to the living room to play with Lindsay and Mike.

25 weeks 5 days

2009-01-08T19:54:00.003-05:00

I had another appointment today and everything is still going good. I am working 1/2 days and the doctor said that since everything is going well, I can continue doing that. Most people think I am crazy for still working being this far along, but I would go crazy being at home all day. If there were any indication at all that something might be wrong, I would quit work in a heartbeat. But since things are still going good, I will continue to work.

Currently, baby A (the boy) is guesstimated to weigh 1 lb 15 oz, baby C (one of the girls) is approx. 1 lb 14 oz, and baby B (the other girl) is approx 1 lb 11 oz. All the amniotic fluid levels look good for the babies too. There was a concern last visit with baby B that her Doppler reading was a bit high. However, it was well within normal range today. My blood pressure continues to be pretty good as well. (with Lindsay, it started to creep up at the end of my pregnancy)

Overall, the pregnancy is going very well. From things that I had read, it isn't uncommon for women pregnant with triplets to be on some sort of bed rest by 20 weeks. I am counting my blessings that I am almost 26 weeks and I can still move around. I do self limit my activity and try not to overdo it. I think working 1/2 days has helped. I can get some rest in before Lindsay and Mike get home. The picture I included is from Christmas. I am a bit bigger now. I am starting to out grow most of the tops that I have. I will have to go shopping to see if I can find anything long enough to cover my rather large belly. 26 weeks down and hopefully at least 8 more weeks to go. If I can go longer, everyday will help the little ones.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers during this pregnancy. I thank GOD everyday that he has blessed me with the care of 3 more little angels to take care of. I can't wait to meet them, but I want them to stay in there as long as possible.

Prego update

2008-12-12T20:33:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, I have been horrible at updating the blog. By the time I get Lindsay to bed and have dinner myself, it is about time for me to go to bed. For the women that know what the fatigue of the first trimester is like, this is actually worse. I will be 22 weeks tomorrow. Only 12 more weeks to get to the goal of 34 weeks. The true test begins. If you haven't seen me in a while, I look like I am 9 months pregnant. I am carrying a little lower than I did with Lindsay, but I stick out a lot farther. But at our last appointment, everything checked out good. The babies are all about 12 oz right now. By time we get to our next appt on 12/23/08, they should be over a pound each. I may complain about getting bigger, but I guess if my belly is getting bigger, so are the babies. There is also no sign of twin to twin transfusion syndrome present either. That will usually show up by 24 weeks if it is going to develop. I'm almost there and everything is still looking good. I am on half days at work now. I am lucky I guess. So far, I haven't been put on any type of formal bed rest yet. (Knock on wood) From a lot of what I had read about higher order multiple pregnancies, if you weren't on bed rest by 20 weeks, you were fortunate. I'm sure that will be coming in the near future. I am hoping to make it until after Lindsay's first birthday party before that happens. I don't want to have to miss out on that milestone of hers. I will try harder to update more often, but I can't make any promises.

On a different note, if everyone could keep the Cram family in their prayers, it would be much appreciated. They lost their 11 year old daughter, Payton, last Saturday to cancer. She was an amazing little girl who had a wonderful spirit and faith in God. I couldn't imagine the heartache of losing a child.

Ultrasound update

2008-10-30T14:43:00.003-04:00

We went for our ultrasound this morning and the verdict is in.... There are 2 girls and 1 boy. We are excited. I had actually had a dream that the twins were girls and the fraternal triplet was a boy. All appear to be doing well so far. There don't appear to be any signs of twin to twin transfusion syndrome so far. We will keep praying that this is the news we get at every appointment. They are all between 4.5 - 5 ozs right now. The doctors have a hard time keeping the twins straight as they like to move around alot. The girls are already causing some trouble =) We will have another ultrasound in 2 weeks. I will update everyone then.

My little mover

2008-10-29T12:18:00.003-04:00

This morning started out as any other morning. When Lindsay got up, I changed her diaper and fed her a bottle. I set her on the floor to play while Mike and I continued to get ready. I finished getting her food plates ready for the day and came out of the kitchen to find Lindsay on her hands and knees. I walked over towards her and she actually crawled, in her own little way, to me. I wasn't that far away, but she actually crawled to me! My little girl is growing up so fast. In the past month, she has gotten 4 teeth, is pulling herself up, and now is crawling. She has a ways to go to get it down, but she is laying the foundation. I am soaking up all the time with her I can because I know everything will change when the 3 little ones come. We go for another ultrasound tomorrow. We are hoping that they can determine the genders then. They think that the single baby is a boy, but they coudn't tell with the twins last time. I will update after the appt.

2008-10-29T12:18:00.000-04:00

One, Two, Three.......

2008-09-30T21:17:00.002-04:00

Mike and I had our first ultrasound today. We were hoping to see our little one on the big screen and hoping to hear that the heartbeat looks good. We were in for the shock of our life when we heard the doctor say the word... TRIPLETS!!! You read correctly, we are pregnant with triplets! When the doctor first started the scan, I saw 2 sacs right away, but I didn't say anything. When the doctor asked us if this was a spontanious or natural pregnancy. We answered that we did get pregnant on our own. I asked, Why, is it twins? He answered no, it's triplets. There are a set of identical twins from one egg and one baby from another egg. Multiples didn't really cross my mind with this pregnancy. I was more worried before our first ultrasound with Lindsay since we had 2 eggs transferred. You always know that multiples are a possibility but don't really think it would happen to you. We are still in a bit of shock, but are very excited with the news of 3 babies. It will be a challenge, but GOD wouldn't give us more than we can handle. We have a great support system of friends and family, so I know we will be fine. Well, I am going to head of to bed to get some sleep. It's hard work making 3 little ones =) I will keep everyone updated.

A New Miracle!!!

2008-09-15T09:11:00.000-04:00

I know, I am such a horrible blogger. It has been about a month and a ½ since my last entry. I was giving updates on my weight loss. I got within 2 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight and hit a wall. I wasn’t eating the best, so I figured that had something to do with it. I had lost most of the weight, but my belly still wouldn’t go down. That was ticking me off! I kept at it, until I started getting sick about 2 weeks ago. I was feeling a bit nauseated. With the flu going around, I thought I was just coming down with the flu. Mike wasn’t feeling well either. When we picked Lindsay up from daycare on Friday, September 5th, they told us that 3 kids had gone home with the flu. Then we heard that Mike’s dad and my dad had the flu. I didn’t think anything more of me not feeling good. Then that weekend, I really came down with the flu. By Monday, I was feeling much better energy wise, but I was still a bit nauseous. I hadn’t had a period in 2 months, but with me still nursing, that didn’t raise any red flags. I had gone from March until July without one. On a whim, I went to Rite-Aid at lunch and got a home pregnancy test. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was taking it, so I threw the packaging away at a trash can outside work. I hid the 2nd test in my car, so Mike wouldn’t find it. I put the test in my purse and went to the bathroom. I took the test and set it on the shelf in the bathroom. I was ready to leave, so I turned to grab the test, which I was sure was going to be negative. To my utter shock, there was a big plus sign staring me in the face. I immediately started shaking. With all the issues we had getting pregnant with Lindsay; we didn’t think the chances of us getting pregnant on our own were very likely at all. I hid the test in my purse and went back to my desk. I tried to instant message Mike, but he was still in his meeting. I told him to call me when he got out. I told him that my flu was going to be lasting longer than normal. It was going to be lasting about 9 months. He didn’t quite get was I was saying. I then blurted out, I’M PREGNANT! He was with 2 co-workers at the time, so he didn’t really get too excited. I think I caught him a bit off guard. He came over on his afternoon break and I showed him the tests. (Before he came over, I went to the car and got the 2nd test and took that one too. Again, it was positive!) I could see the befuddled look on his face. This was definitely a miracle. I could get pregnant on my own after all. I guess we were just trying too hard the first time. When we told people, we seemed to get the same response of total surprise. Like us, no one saw this coming.
Though this wasn’t planned, we are very grateful for this miracle. While I was carrying Lindsay, we nicknamed her “Peanut”. Mike has lovingly nicknamed the one “Walnut” or Wally for short. I haven’t had my first appointment yet, but from the date of my last period, I would be due around mid-April. Lindsay seems indifferent on the thoughts of being a big sister now. But I’m sure when “Wally” gets here, she will be excited. I know she will be a great Big Sister!!

Stop and smell the roses

2008-07-29T14:34:00.002-04:00

I have been looking forward to this day since Mike left. He is due to come back tonight. I was at work just trying to get through the day. I got a call that I had a delivery in the lobby. I walked out to find a dozen, long stemmed, red roses. My wonderful husband sent roses to me and Lindsay. I almost cried when I saw them. I know I miss him very much when he is gone. I can only imagine how Lindsay feels. Tomorrow she will get to wake up to her dad's smiling face. I just wanted to thank my loving husband for the beautiful flowers. I would bring them home for you to see, but a certain gray fuzzball would probably knock them over =) Thanks again. They bring a smile to my face!

Another one bites the dust

2008-07-28T19:29:00.002-04:00

I lost another pound this week. My weight is in the 150's for the first time in over a year. I am 4 lbs away from pre-prego weight. I can see this is going to be a long road, but it will be worth it in the end. I am only 4 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight, but I am 23 lbs away from pre-marriage weight. Maybe by the end of the year I can reach that. No rush. I want to make sure I can keep this weight off once it is off. I know I will never be the size I was in high school, but I just want to feel good about myself. ( And look better for my husband!) Being a healthy mom and setting good eating habits for Lindsay is important too. It was so much more fun putting the weight on =)

Weight Loss Update

2008-07-21T12:46:00.003-04:00

No news to report this week. I didn't have a gain or loss. I am thankful for that. This weekend was bad for the diet. With all the munchies and the beer/food at the concert, I am thankful for breaking even. Hopefully this week will be better. My goal is at least 10 more lbs by the end of August. (I would love 15, but I am trying to be realistic) I will update next week.

Singin' in the rain

2008-07-20T19:29:00.002-04:00

Last night, Mike and I went with our friends Nolan and Jerry to DTE Energy to see Kid Rock perform. Mike and I have been to a Kid Rock concert before, but they were at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. We hadn't been to a bigger venue like this. No matter the size of the venue, Kid Rock puts on a high energy performance. I can safely say that his shows are some of the best that I have ever seen. Also performing that night were Uncle Kracker and Rev Run, from Run DMC.
The one this about DTE is that it is an outdoor venue. The show goes on, rain or shine. And well, the rain was on. Luckily, as local radio station was giving out free ponchos =) And it only rained until about 8pm or so. The rain had stopped by time Kid Rock took the stage. And as before, the show was awesome! He played some old favorites like "Cowboy" and "Devil Without A Cause" as well as some new songs like "Amen" and "All Summer Long". The sold out crowd was on their feet and cheering the entire time. It's hard not to have a good time. He also did some songs with Rev Run. They sang "It's Tricky", "You Be Illin" and "Walk This Way". The both know how to have fun and really entertain the crowd.
We didn't have pavilion seats for the show, we were on the lawn. Lawn seats are nice because you can spread out a little more and you aren't as cramped. The only downside to having lawn seats, besides the possibility of rain, is rain + drunk people + hill. That isn't the best combination. We had a few people around us who couldn't stay on their feet. It was funny at first, but tends to get annoying after awhile. Oh well, no one around us was seriously hurt. I was talking to someone while I was waiting in the line for the bathroom that a girl by them had to be taken away because she broke her ankle.
All the crazy, drunk people aside, it was a great night! GREAT music, good company of friends, and the parking was FREE. I haven't been to an event in a long time that the parking was free. The beer more than made up for that. A beer was anywhere from $7.50 - $8.50. Oh well. It was still a fun night had by all. I can't wait for him to come back.

Long Time, No Post =(

2008-07-16T20:16:00.002-04:00

I know it has been a while since my last post. I've been a bit busy/lazy lately. I get home from work and spend time with Lindsay until she goes to bed. After she is asleep, I try to keep the house picked up and get stuff ready for the next day. By time that is done, I am ready to go to bed. She went to bed at about 7:30pm and Mike had already picked up the kitchen, so I have a little bit of free time. He is in playing XBox Live with his brother, Terry. He does that more quite often during the week. And because of the storms going through right now, my satellite signal is lost, so I can't finish watching Steel Magnolias, I figure it would be a good time to update the blog on what is going on.
Since my last post, Lindsay is now 6 months old. At her doctor's appt (where she had to get 4 shots), she weighed 15 lbs 15 oz and measured 25.5 inches long. She is in the 30th percentile for height. Big shocker when you look at her parents =) She is just growing like a weed though. I can't believe she has been with us 6 months already. She has really gotten the hang of sitting up on her own. She still falls over now and again, but is overall doing very well. We have also started to give her Gerber Graduate puffs. She is learning quickly how to get the puffs into her mouth. The pincer grasp is coming along nicely. She amazes me everyday on how quickly she picks up on things. (which means she will probably pick up on any little slip of the tongue I make. I'll have to really watch myself) She went to her first Tiger's game on 7/11/08 vs the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, they couldn't pull out a victory. Oh well, she looked cute while she was there. If you would like to see her, you can go to www.tigers.com/fanfoto. The event is the July 11th game and she is in gallery 83. (I think dad was trying to pick up chicks with the cute baby) All the women he walked past had to comment on how cute Lindsay was.
I have also really gotten serious about losing the baby weight. I am the heaviest I have ever been and I REALLY don't like the way I look. I have started getting 4-5 fruits/veggies per day and watching the portions of my food. I hate to admit this, but I weighed 190 lbs when I gave birth to Lindsay. I've made a lot of progress up to this point. Today when I weighed myself at the gym, I weighed 160 lbs. I am 5 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight. My first goal is to get to 145 lbs. (that is what I weighed when we first started infertility testing) On my lunch hour, I am going to classes Monday and Wednesday at the gym. On Tuesday and Thursday, I have been running/walking outside. I am really focused on getting back into better shape. ( Round is the shape I am now, and I don't like it) I don't expect to have a 6 pack abs, because I have never had them. I just want to not look like I am 3 months pregnant, when my daughter is 6 months old. Eating out is a bit different. I can't order my usual favorites. I don't have to eat just salads and water. I can eat real food. I just have to watch my portion control and snacking. Nix the appetizers and only eat 1/2 or less of the portion they give you. I've lost 5 lbs so far. Food days at work will be tough, but I just have to ask myself, will that help me get to my fitness goal or set me back. I do give in to my cravings, but again, smaller portions is the key. When you get 5 fruits/veggies per day, you aren't as hungry between meals and easier to avoid temptation. I'll try to keep the blog updated with my progress.
Sorry to babble on there, I just figure the more people I tell about this, the more people there are to help keep me accountable. It was hard to get on the fitness wagon. I can use all the help I can get staying on. Well, I will wrap it up for tonight. Hope everyone is doing well.

We miss you

2008-07-01T12:07:00.002-04:00

Mike had to go to Maine on business this week. He left yesterday morning and will be back Thursday morning. I know it's hard on me when he is gone, but I'm sure it is harder on him. At least I have Lindsay with me. He did go out with 2 other guys from work, but Lindsay is back here with me. He did call this morning using the webcams, so he got to see her at least. But I am sure it is not the same as getting to hug her and give her a kiss like he usually does. But, we made it through when he was in Ohio for a week, I'm sure we can make it through this short trip. I miss Mike when he goes away, but I really miss him now. On Sunday, while I was mowing the lawn, I got something in my eye. I didn't think it was too bad. My eye burned a little when I took my contacts out, but I thought nothing of it. I woke up Monday morning and I could barely keep my eye open, it was watering a lot and was bloodshot. This is not what I needed the day Mike was leaving. I had my dad come pick me up at work and take me to the eye doctor. (I didn't trust myself to drive) The doctor said that I had scratched my cornea. He gave me some drops to help heal the scratch and avoid infection. Today, my eye is still red, but I can see a bit better. It is still very light sensitive though. Driving is still a challenge. Luckily I only live about 10 minutes from work. It would be a lot easier if Mike were hear, but I'll make do.

Lindsay and I just wanted to let Mike (dad) know that we are thinking of him and can't wait for Thursday when you come home =) Luv and Miss U bunches!

Happy Birthday Dad

2008-06-23T09:33:00.003-04:00

Good Morning Dad! I know I have been a bit fussy lately because of my teeth. But I wanted to wish a Happy Birthday to be best Dad in the world. I have to get back to my room, it's almost Rice cereal time =) Hope you have a good day and I will see you when you pick me up. Love you Bunches.

Love ,

Little Critter

The test results are in

2008-06-10T21:02:00.003-04:00

Just a quick post tonight. I just wanted to let out a BIG sigh of relief. The test results on the bat came back negative for rabies. That is a huge weight lifted off my mind. I don't think the bat had any contact with Lindsay, but I don't know that for a fact. But to know that the bat didn't have rabies is a prayer come true. Now we just have to figure out where the little rodents are getting in at and block their entrance.

The bats are back......and I'm not talking about the Tiger's

2008-06-08T19:43:00.002-04:00

Shortly after we moved into our house in 2006, I found a dead bat in one of the upstairs bedrooms. That freaked me out just a bit. Since we moved in towards the end of summer, that was the only one we found that year. When the next summer started, I had forgotten about the bat the previous year. I was home alone and could hear a beeping/chirping noise, but could not figure out where it was coming from. Mike came home and heard the same noise. He eventually found a barely alive bat in the room that is now Lindsay's room. We disposed of that and didn't think any more about it. That put the bat count at 2. In August, the count would double. We had been out late attending the Daughtry concert and were pretty tired. ( I was also 4 1/2 months pregnant) I awoke at 4am to our cats running back and forth across our room chasing something. I thought it might be a moth or something. When they came over by our bed, I realized that it was a bat. Yikes!! While Mike went to get something to help catch the bat, Gizmo cornered it on our dresser. He slapped it a few times with its paw. Then he turned around with it in his mouth. When he let it out of his mouth, Mike hit it with a broom, baseball style. Then he hit it again for good measure. We put a bucket over it with a weight on top and tried to get back to sleep. A few days later, we came home from work and heard the very distinct sound of a bat AGAIN!!! We could hear it in the living room area somewhere, but couldn't seem to find it. Then Mike saw the bat's wing come out from underneath the arch of my sandals. I don't remember exactly how we got rid of that one, but it didn't live to see nightfall. We could see some holes in the screens in the attic vents, so we had someone come out to fix those. We thought we had solved the problem. We didn't have any other visitors the rest of the summer. I hadn't thought much about them this year, until the other night. It was a pretty hot night and Lindsay's room was roasting. We had an AC unit in our window, so we decided to bring her in our room for the night. Because of the heat, I wasn't sleeping very well. I awoke at about 4am to the sounds of what I thought was a mouse scratching in the cubby by our bed. I wasn't for sure if it was in the room our in the ceiling, so I listened again for the noise. As I did, I saw something fly by the window. It was no mouse in the room, it was ANOTHER bat. I wasn't worried about me, I was more worried about the fact that Lindsay was in the room. I can defend myself and move if it came near, she can't. I woke Mike up to tell him about our little friend. We learned the last time from our vet, that if we find a bat in our house, we should bring it in to be tested if we awake to one in our bedroom. But we had to keep the brain in tact for it to be tested for diseases. When Mike went out in the hall to turn on the light, Haley (our cat) came into the room and ended up cornering the bat under the dresser the TV is on. We slowly moved the dresser and Mike covered the bad with a broom and we cot in under the bucket. We were able to get the bat into a box and tape it up. We delivered it to the vet and they sent it off to be tested. I know it didn't come in contact with me, but because Lindsay was in the room, I didn't want to leave anything to chance. We should have the results this week. Now we have to find some bat professionals to come find out how they are getting in and fix the problem. I don't think I will sleep too well, until that is done. But I'm glad we have our brave cats to help us capture the flying pests =)

Let The Celebration Begin!!!!!

2008-06-05T06:48:00.002-04:00

There was never a doubt.... The Cup is coming back to Hockeytown where it belongs!!!! I missed the middle of the game, but I did see most of the third period. I saw the Pens goalie, Fleury, sit on the puck and put it in for us. That mistake proved to be the game winning, and Stanley Cup winning goal. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the parade on Friday, but that's ok. I went in 1998 and have awesome pics. Well, I've got to finish getting ready for work. CONGRATS TO THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPS..... Detroit Red Wings!!! Way to go Ozzie =)

No Celebrating....... Yet!

2008-06-03T12:18:00.002-04:00

We were 34 seconds away from winning the Stanley Cup. Somehow the puck got past Chris Osgood and we were into Sudden Death! I tried to watch overtime, but I was just too tired. Lindsay woke up just as Pittsburg was cheering that they had kept us from winning the Cup that morning. But they were just delaying what Detroit fans already know...... The Cup is returning to Hockeytown!!!!!! I would've been nice to wrap things up last night/this morning, but that wasn't the case. I can't wait for Wednesday night. Let's Go Red Wings!!!!!! And my favorite Wing..... OZZIE!!!!!

Quick update

2008-06-02T07:25:00.002-04:00

I know, it has been a LONG time since I put a post out here. It's been so nice outside, we've been taking Lindsay on quite a few walks. She really seems to enjoy being outside. We've started Lindsay on Rice cereal and she loves it. She will eat the entire serving in about 5-10 minutes. (and most of it actually ends up in her tummy and not on her face!) She had been doing so well on the cereal, we decided to give her some green beans. She isn't quite sure is she likes those or not. She'll eat about 2-3 bites, and then she is done. We've started mixing a little of the green beans in the rice cereal, and she will eat those. However, she has been quite gassy with the green beans, so we are going to lay off those for a few days and then try them again.

We went to a picnic for our friend Kristi's 30th birthday yesterday and Lindsay rode in a swing for the first time. She seemed to have a good time. She loves the wind in her face. She just grins from ear to ear. We found a ticklish spot on her this weekend. Mike tickled her arm pits and she laughed so hard. She doesn't do it every time, but when she does, it is so precious. She is wearing her 6-9 month summer clothes already. (she'll be 5 months on Wednesday) She is just growing up so much. She has been on a good routine for the past 3 weeks or so. She gets a bath, bedtime feeding, and then will sleep until 5:30 or 6am. She is usually in bed by 8:30pm. It has been quite nice. The first couple of nights, I didn't sleep that well, because I was sure she was going to wake up sometime in the middle of the night. Now, I am getting some good sleep. Because I am still nursing, I had been getting up in the middle of the night to pump. Although I am quite full when I get up, I am just sleeping through the night.

Well, I am at work, so I have to cut this short. I will try to be better at getting posts out there. (The picture is from Memorial day weekend.)

1st Mother's Day

2008-05-09T12:22:00.003-04:00

It is weird to think that I will be celebrating this Mother's Day as a mom. It is a dream come true. This week has been tough with me being sick and Lindsay waking up 2-3 times per night, but I wouldn't change anything for the world. I got an early surprise when I dropped Lindsay off at daycare today. In her cubby, there was a manila envelope that said Happy Mother's Day Mommy on it. I didn't open it until I got to the car. Inside the envelope was a heart that said "Mommy, I love you this much" and her hand prints are attached to the heart by pink ribbon. It has magnets on the back of the heart and hand prints, so I have it up at my desk already. Lindsay is 4 months old now and growing like a weed. I still thank GOD everyday for allowing me to take care of his little angel. I smile every time I see those little hand prints.

So to all the mom's out there, I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day! Being a mom truly is the best job in the world.

The "official" news...

2008-05-06T09:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry, I’ve been really bad about posting lately. All of us in the Sella household are battling allergies I think. Lindsay has a stuffy nose and Mike and I have a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. Gotta love living in Michigan =)
On May 3, 2007, we got the “official” news from the doctor’s office that we were pregnant. I had gone in early that morning before work to get my blood work done. Then I had to wait until later that afternoon to get the results. Although I had taken the HPT and it had come back positive, I still needed the reassurance of the blood test. I was nervous all day waiting for the phone call. And as fate would have it, I was on the phone when they called. (I could tell by the caller ID on our cool work phone!) I was on the phone with one of our employers, and it wouldn’t be very professional to ask if I could call them back. Although this employer would’ve understood, but I still didn’t want to do that. The doctor’s office ended up calling my cell phone and leaving a message for me with the results. We aren’t supposed to use our cell phones at work, but my supervisor knew that my doctor may call me with my blood work results on it. If it was them calling, I was allowed to answer my cell phone. When I got off my work phone, I listened to the message that they left. The positive HPT result was confirmed by the blood test! I called Mike right away. We were both so thrilled. I had an ultrasound scheduled for 5/22/07. The question of pregnant or not pregnant was answered, but there was still one question left…. How many? We transferred 2 embryos, but did they both take? That was a long 2 ½ weeks. There was no way I could cheat and find the answer to this question. We would just have to wait and see what GOD blessed us with.
We had planned to go out to dinner with our parents on the night of 5/3/07 to tell our parents if we were pregnant or not. Since we knew the answer a few days earlier, we had to keep it from them until the day of the “official” test. That was a very hard thing to do. We both just wanted to scream it at the top of our lungs were so excited, but we had to wait. My parents were meeting us at our house and then we were riding out to Genji’s to meet Mike’s parents. I had a baby sleeper in the front door when they pulled up. I didn’t even have to say a word. My parents were thrilled, of course! My mom wanted to call Jan, Mike’s mom, but we hadn’t told them yet. We were going to tell them at the restaurant. We also had a sleeper for them as well. We told them and they were very happy as well. The grandma’s-to-be started planning for the baby (or babies) arrival.
Even though I had 2 tests telling me that I was pregnant, it hadn’t really sunk in yet. I didn’t feel different and I didn’t look different yet, but I was pregnant. That was the start of a wonderful journey to our precious angel. Today she is a 4 month old ball of energy and growing like a weed. It was a long wait from the time we started trying to conceive naturally until the time we got the news we were expecting, but it was all worth the wait.

I couldn't wait....

2008-04-30T08:37:00.001-04:00

If you know me, I usually can’t wait to find things out. When it came to finding out if IVF had worked or not, I was on pins and needles. I had a feeling that it worked, but I wasn’t for sure. I had been really tired for the past few days. On 4/29/07, I had been out pulling weeds for about an hour. I came in and took a 2 ½ hour nap. That wasn’t like me, unless I was sick. I thought something might be different, but my pregnancy test wasn’t scheduled until 5/3/07. I was going crazy. They tell you not to take a home pregnancy test (HPT) because some of the hormones taken during the IVF cycle could give a false positive on a HPT. I did some looking on the internet to find out what hormones would do this. It turns out that the shot given just before the retrieval is what could cause the false positive. The hormone could stay in your system for about 14 days. On 4/30/07, it had been 19 days since I had given myself the shot. Mike was working late on 4/30/07, so I decided to go to Kroger and get a HPT and give it a whirl. I knew I could be setting myself up for disappointment, but I was going nuts with wondering. I took it when the test when I got home. To my delight, I got 2 lines, which is a positive test. I didn’t know how to react. I was obviously very happy, but I didn’t know how my body would react to a pregnancy. I didn’t want to get too excited. I didn’t know if I wanted to tell Mike either. I didn’t want to get his hopes up if the test was a false positive. I just sat there for a minute to get a grasp on the situation. Mike got home shortly after I took the test. I didn’t say anything at first. Like I said, I didn’t want to get his hopes up if this was a false positive. I knew how badly he wanted to have a family. He was home about 5 minutes, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to tell him. I told him that I would need to call the doctor’s office in the morning to see if the test could be reliable or not. But I showed him the stick. He was thrilled. We hugged for a few minutes. We both wanted to shout from the rooftop with excitement. The long wait could finally be over. I was extremely thrilled, but I didn’t want to get too excited yet until I talked to the doctor’s office in the morning. I called them when I got to work the next day. They said that the test should be pretty accurate. I told my co-workers the news. They were all very happy. We also told our friends the exciting news. The hard part would be keeping it from our parents and family. We were planning on taking them out to Genji for dinner after the official test to tell them if we were pregnant or not. That was the hardest thing to do. I pretty much tell my mom everything. And to have to keep from her that a new grandbaby was on the way, that was HARD. Somehow I did it. Though it wasn’t “official”, I found out a year ago today that we had been blessed with a little angel to take care of. Today she is almost 4 months old. At her last appointment on 4/28/08, she weighed 13 lb. 8 oz and was 24 inches long. Her smile every morning when we get her out of bed makes the wait all worthwhile. So thanks to the help of modern medicine and the blessings of GOD, we found out one year ago today that we were parents =)

Lindsay returns home....

2008-04-15T07:36:00.003-04:00

On 4/15/07, I went down to Rochester for the embryo transfer. We transferred 2 embryos that day. One took and is now our beautiful little girl. My emotions were all over the board that day. I was full of hope but didn't want to get too excited. I knew God had a plan for me and things would work out how he wanted them too. I just prayed that we would be blessed with a child. We hadn't told our parents yet that we were actually doing the IVF procedure. I had to break plans with my mom a few times because of appointments. I was going to have to break plans again because I had basically be a couch potato for 24 hours after the transfer. We finally broke down and told them what we were doing. Now they were apart of the 2 week wait with us. The first 5 days of Lindsay's life were spent at the IVF office in Rochester. On 4/15/07, she returned home to us and started the long 9 month journey of development. I still can't believe our dream of becoming parents came true. I thank God every day that he has trusted us to take care of his beautiful angel.

Hello Dad

2008-04-14T09:55:00.004-04:00

Good morning dad! I rolled out of my room at daycare to the computer room so I could say hello! Mom said you are in Ohio this week. I tried to stay up until you got to your hotel so I could see you on the computer, but I was just too tired. Mom said you got there ok. I'll take an extra nap today so I am awake and can see you on the computer. I better end this so I can roll back to my room before they miss me =) Have a good day and I will see you tonight! We miss ya dad. Hurry back!

Day one without dad

2008-04-14T09:49:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day this week without Mike. It didn't go too badly. She only got up once last night (at 1:30am). She then slept until I woke her up at 6:25am. I was able to fully get ready and pack her stuff for daycare before I woke her up. She ate her breakfast and got dressed and was a perfect angel. I got us both ready and was out the door by 7:05am. It is a lot easier with Mike 's help =) I will confess, I cried yesterday because I missed him already. I hope the rest of the mornings go as smoothly as this one. Only 4 more to go!

Last year at this time....

2008-04-10T21:18:00.002-04:00

It was last year on this date that Mike and I were in Rochester at the IVF office for our egg retrieval. Who knew that was to be the start of our beautiful angel. They were able to retrieve 24 eggs that day. Of those 24, 21 were mature enough to go on to the fertilization process. Of those 21 eggs, 19 fertilized. 1 of those fertilized eggs happened to be what is now our little girl. We were blessed enough to have as many eggs retrieved and fertilized from this cycle that we have 11 frozen embryos that we can use for our next attempt. It was exactly one year ago today that our little miracle came together. We can say that we know exactly when Lindsay was conceived. But the funny thing is, Mike and I weren't even in the same city as our soon to be miracle. For the first five days, Linsday called the IVF office in Rochester her home. Today, she has blessed our home and made us a family of 3 =)

Another first for Lindsay

2008-04-10T09:26:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to get a quick post out there to share the good news. Lindsay has been getting pretty good at tummy time. She can really hold her head up a while without having to set it down. We were doing tummy time again last night. She has been acting like she wanted to roll over for a few weeks. Last night, she finally did it! She rolled over from her tummy to her back. I don't know if this is an early age for a baby to roll over or not. All I know is I am proud of my little Peanut! Congrats Lindsay!

Quick Appology

2008-04-08T10:03:00.003-04:00

I haven't written in over a week. I have been really tired lately. It seems that when Lindsay goes to sleep for the night, so do I. I just wanted to send an appology to my wonderful husband, Mike. I know that I have been quite cranky lately. There just don't seem to be enough hours in a day to get sleep, play with Lindsay, clean the house, and just relax. Hopefully you can forgive me. I will try to have a better attitude from now on. Maybe getting back into the gym will help my energy level. In any case, I am sorry for being such a b!tch lately. I love you bunches!

A day of firsts

2008-03-30T20:46:00.002-04:00

When Lindsay fell asleep last night at 7:30 pm, I had no idea what was in store. We took her up to bed about 9 pm. I thought she might sleep until midnight, if we were lucky. The next thing I knew, it was 5 am and she was still sleeping. I was shocked, to say the least. My milk supply was very full, so I went downstairs to pump and then went back to bed. She started waking up at about 7:15am. She slept the entire night. That was reward enough for me this weekend. As a bit of a reward, she got a new outfit when we went to Walmart this afternoon.

The next first came a quite a shocker. As her pediatrician called her in the hospital, "a lazy turd", Lindsay didn't take to breast feeding. She would try a few times and then push me away. It was very frustrating for both of us. I knew breast milk was best, and a lot cheaper than formula, so I have been pumping and bottling breast milk since she was born. We always say to her that she wouldn't have to wait for her bottle to be warmed up if she would just breast feed. As a long shot, I gave her a chance at it again while her bottle was being warmed up. To my amazement, she took right to it. I don't know what made me try it, but I am glad that I did. Now during the middle of the night, I won't have to pump. Mike likes it because I will have to do the feedings now. I don't think I will mind. I've only done it twice today, but it was the best feeling. It truly is a bonding time. I guess I will have to go shopping for a nursing bra now. (and a new outfit for Lindsay!)

1 year ago today.......

2008-03-24T19:59:00.002-04:00

One year ago today is the very day I started my IVF injections. I could only hope that the process would work. One year later, I have been blessed with an almost 3 month old little angel. Sorry this entry is so short, but I have to spend some time with Lindsay before she goes to sleep. She really has blessed our lives =)

My Tag Response

2008-03-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

I was tagged a while ago. I am finally getting around to answering it.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Play with Lindsay
2. Make dinner
3. Do a load of laundry
4. Clean the bottles from today
5. Read Lindsay a book

If I were to become a Billionaire, I would:
1. Pay off our student loans, house, our parents homes, our cars, and our credit cards.
2. Create a college fund for Lindsay
3. Finish the living room
4. Build a garage and widen the driveway
5. Redo all the rooms that still have plaster and put in drywall.
6. Start my own gym
7. Take a much needed vacation
8. Most importantly, I would become a stay at home mom =)
I would probably do other things, but these are at the top of the list

3 of my bad habits:
Drive too fast =)
Too critical of myself
Not asking for help

Jobs that I have had:
1. McDonald’s – senior year of high school
2. Campus Dining Commons – all 5 years of college
3. Davison Athletic Club – worked in the fitness center Senior year of college
4. GM – 2 summers while in college – worked on the line
5. Lifetime Fitness – Personal trainer for 2 years
6. Work comp claims adjuster
7. My newest job – mom to Lindsay =) My hardest but most rewarding

5 things people don’t know about me:
1. I originally was going to go to college as a criminal justice major
2. I was going to move to Colorado the year following graduation of CMU (that obviously didn’t happen)
3. I used to have a cat named Bo – after the Dukes of Hazard =)
4. I have had bi-focal glasses since I was 4 years old.
5. I took piano lessons for 3 years when I was younger.

Now, I think I will tag my husband, Mike. You can't claim I violated the tag rules. Tag Mike, you're it =)

Random Act of Kindness

2008-03-12T10:49:00.000-04:00

I know I have been really bad about doing my entries. Lindsay is interacting more now, so I have been playing with her when I get home from work. Then when she is sleeping, it’s time to pick up the house and get bottles cleaned. I will try to get more quick entries. But here is one I had to do.
In the news these days, it seems that there is nothing but violence. It is getting to where it is depressing to watch it. The stories of something nice happening are few and far between, so I decided to create my own story. Mike and I were on our way to work yesterday and we both stopped at McDonald’s. ( We had driven separately) He was ahead of me in the drive-thru line. When I got to the window to pay for my order, the lady told me that the gentleman in front of me had paid for my order. (I kind of figured he might do that, because he is such a great husband!) I asked the lady how much the order behind me was? She looked a little puzzled, but then told me. It was the same amount as my order was, so I told her I would like to pay for it. Again she looked puzzled, but she swiped my card anyway. I saw the reaction of the driver when he got to the window and she told him his order was paid for. He seemed pleasantly surprised. I didn’t hear him ask to pay for the person behind him, but I saw him pass her money. I can only assume that he paid for the person behind him. I don’t know how long it all lasted, but hopefully the person that didn’t have anyone behind them and got their order paid had a good start to their day.
I don’t tell everyone this because I want any recognition for this. I tell you this to remind everyone how easy it is to bring a smile to someone’s face. You don’t’ have to buy someone something to commit a random act of kindness. But people appreciate the little things in life. I challenge everyone who reads this to commit a random act of kindness. Your reward will be knowing that you helped bring a smile to someone’s face. Because the bible teaches us it is better to give than to receive. And by making someone else smile, you will find yourself smiling too.

2 Months Old

2008-03-04T12:25:00.002-05:00

Where has the time gone? Lindsay is 2 months old today. In just this short amount of time, she has already accomplished: 1) good control of neck muscles 2) cooing 3) tracking 4) more deliberate movements with her hands, not so jerky 5) put on almost 5 lbs, and the list could go on and on. She has changed so much too. She is filling out more too. She still looks like her dad. That's ok. No matter who she looks like, she is one loved little girl. I still have to pinch myself everyday to realize I am not dreaming. My dream of being a mother has come true. No matter how fussy she gets, she's still my little Peanut and I love her to pieces.

The start of something beautiful?

2008-02-29T07:26:00.002-05:00

Wednesday after work, Mike and I went to Saginaw to get some last minute things for Lindsay's baptism on Sunday. We got home about 6:30 pm. Lindsay was a little fussy, so I took her to calm her down. She fell asleep about 7pm. Usually she wakes up about 10 or 10:30pm and then will wake up anywhere between 2 and 3am. I was waiting for her to wake up, and she just kept sleeping. I told Mike to go to bed and I would wait for her to wake up for her feeding. To my amazement, she didn't wake up until 12:30am. She ate and went right back to bed at 1:15am. She didn't wake up again until 6:15am. I thought this might be a fluke thing. She had been a bit under the weather because of her shots on Monday. But to our delight, she had a repeat performance last night as well. Could this be the start of her sleeping through the night? Even if it isn't, it has been very nice to get some solid sleep. I may still look tired, but I am actually quite rested. I haven't felt like this since about the 8th month of my pregnancy. Thank you Lindsay for letting Mom and Dad get some much needed rest. And like Dad says every time you do something new or special, "I'll buy you an outfit". Since we are going shopping and Dad will be at a hockey game, we can buy something girly =) Although the Adidas outfit Dad likes is pretty cute. We'll see.

Shots, Shots, and more Shots!!!

2008-02-25T21:42:00.002-05:00

Today was the day I had been dreading. Lindsay had her first round of immunizations today. She had to get a total of 5 shots and one was one she had to drink. I didn't know if they would combine the immunizations into one shot or how they would do it. There was no combining here. She got 3 shots in one leg and 2 in the other. She was crying so hard she couldn't catch her breath. As a mother, I felt so bad. I knew she was in pain but there was nothing I could do but comfort her. She seemed to be doing ok. We took her to see Grandma Cathy at her work and then went to see Grandpa Eric at his work. She slept most of the time. Things seemed to be going ok. We got home and she continued to sleep in her car seat. She started to cry a little bit, so we figured she was hungry. Little did we know that she was about to let the flood gates open again. She was crying out in pain again. I forgot to ask what dosage of baby Tylenol we could give her. Mike had to call the doctor's office while Lindsay screamed bloody murder in the background. About 15 minutes after we gave her the Tylenol, she started to calm down. She took her bottle and fell back asleep. She has been a little fussy most of the day. But can you blame her. I would be a bit cranky too if I had gotten 5 shots. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new day. I just have a feeling that tonight may be a long night. Here's hoping it isn't.

Another week down

2008-02-22T07:45:00.003-05:00

It has been a week since my last post. I am back at work and things are going pretty good. I am tired, but not too bad. Lindsay is starting to sleep longer stretches more. That helps out a lot. I know I say this all the time, but she is really growing. Some recent pictures have now been posted to her photo gallery. Mike went to a Saginaw Spirit game last weekend and bought Linsday a Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle. The picture of the two of them is so cute I just had to share. She has to go for her shots on Monday. I am not looking forward to that. I hope she does ok, because I am going to be a mess. I don't like doing anything that is going to cause her pain. Maybe dad will buy her an outfit for being brave =) ( He already owes her a lot of outfits!) Well, I have to get back to work. I just had to share the cute photo. She truely is my miracle.

6 weeks of life

2008-02-15T12:11:00.002-05:00

Today, Lindsay is 6 weeks old! So young, but she is growing so much. The past 2 days have been rough. Yesterday was my first day back to work. I knew it was going to tough, but it was really hard. Up until then, I hadn't missed anything that had gone on in her life. She has really strong neck muscles and has been picking up her head and turning from side to side when she is laying on my chest. She started cooing this past week, and I was there for it. Now, I had to leave her and go back to work. I missed our song time when I would sing to her, boppy time where we would work on neck control, and kanga time, where she would sleep on my chest. The only thing I could think about yesterday was getting home to her and just holding her and giving her a kiss. Today is hard, but easier than yesterday.

Grandpa Bob is watching her on Thursday's, so at least yesterday I didn't have to leave her at daycare. She seemed to have a good time with Grandpa. She broke him in by peeing while he was trying to change her diaper. I guess that is her was of initiating the new guy. I think they both had fun. I'm sure when the weather gets warmer, they will be out for walks. I'm sure they will probably meet Grandma Cathy for lunch now and again =)

Today was the first day we had to take her to daycare. I wasn't as emotional today as I thought I would be. I think it was because we were a little rushed getting everything ready for her to take. We had to get all her bottles made up, get extra clothes, get a pacifier, diaper cream, sleep sac, burp cloths, etc. Then we had to get ourselves ready on top of that. I think becasue we were so busy, it kept the tears at bay. I am still very sad that I can't be with her, but I know she is in good hands. I will get to be with her again in about 3 hours. Before Lindsay, I would look forward to the end of the day just to be done with work. Now I can't wait for the end of the day because I get to see her. It's wierd how someone so small, who can't really do a whole lot yet, can steal your heart. It's that instant and unconditional love.

Motherhood, the hardest job, but has the greatest benefits package!

She is growing so fast

2008-02-12T18:42:00.001-05:00

As my days at home with Lindsay draw to a close, she still continues to do new things. Yesterday, she started to "coo". I thought it was a fluke thing, but she did it a second time that night. She has done more cooing today too. She seems to be righ on track with her milestones. She is beginning to track objects when they are moved. She was in the floor getting her diaper changed when I walked by. Mike noticed that she followed me. I walked back to see her and she again followed me. I am going to really miss our time together. I am sure Thursday will be one of the hardest days for me. I have already started to get emotional thinking about it. Stayed tuned for more updates on her milestones. They do so much growing in this time it is unreal.

The Battle, Chapter 3

2008-02-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

In vitro fertilization, or IVF for short, was something that I never thought would be in my vocabulary. It had never even crossed my mind that getting pregnant would be an issue. My sister had become pregnant when she was a senior in high school. Knowing that I wanted to complete college before ever even thinking about kids, I did everything I could to prevent getting pregnant. While completing my internship, I met my now husband, Mike. Early on, I knew he was the "one". I couldn't help but think about having children with him. Now we were in a position where we had to face the fact that conceiving children naturally was not a realistic option. I was never told that getting pregnant on my own was impossible, but the chances were very slim. As a woman, being told you probably couldn't do something that came so naturally to so many, was devestating. All I could think was, "Why me?" You would hear about many unplanned pregnancies and the people that didn't even want their babies. Why could they get pregnant? And why was someone who wanted children so badly not able to conceive? I knew God had a plan, but I wasn't able to figure out what it was. Now I hold his plan in my arms. And of course, he knew what he was doing. It's just not easy to wait to find out what the plan is.

The journey of IVF began by finding out how to pay for it. After doing some research, there was a specific credit card that is used to help pay for medical costs. It is more like a loan. It has a low interest rate and you could pick how long (up to 48 months) you would like to have to pay it off. After looking into it, that seemed like the best option for us. We wanted children very much. Waiting until we saved up enough to pay for it in cash would be a long wait. We applied for the card and received the line of credit we needed to pay for the procedure. The only thing that we couldn't use the card for was the medications.

We decided to go ahead with things. We weren't going to tell our families when we were going to start. We didn't want them to get their hopes up. It was hard enough to deal with my emotions let alone try and deal with the thought of them getting excited when the procedure isn't a gaurantee. We had to go to a class with other couples to get our plan and an explination of how things were going to go. We also were given a demostration of how to give the intramuscular (IM) shots and the subcutaneuos (subQ) shots. Yes, this procedure involves daily shots, that you give yourself. It's a good thing I'm not afraid of needles.

I was given the list of drugs that I would need to order and all the other supplies that I would need to get started. The first round of drugs and supplies came to a total of just over $1600. The cost is so high because our insurance doesn't cover the cost of infertility treatments. Little did I know that that was just the start of medication costs. I received the shipment about 2 days after I placed the order. The medications aren't stocked at your local pharmacy, so the office gave us a list of reputable pharmacies that you could call and order the medications from. They were pharmacies that have been used by the fertility office and were familiar with the meds and supplies that are commonly used for IVF. Along with the list of medications that we were given, we were given dates to begin what meds and the quantities that would need to be given. They were contained in folder that also had instructions for giving the shots, descriptions of the meds, directions to the office where the retrieval and transfer would take place, and phone numbers to call with any questions you have during the process. We were ready to start the process that could possibly make our dream of becoming parents come true. Our process began on 3/24/2007. The next chapter will contain the first round of the IVF process. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Time sure does fly

2008-02-06T09:28:00.000-05:00

It has been a week since my last post. The time just gets away from me. She turned 1 month old on Monday. It seems like it was yesterday that we beought her home from the hospital. She is really good at lifting her neck up and turning her head. She is starting to track things eith her eyes too. I can't believe how much she has grown as well. Everyone says how tiny she is. She is little, but to me she is growing so much. She is starting to outgrow her newborn outfits. The 0-3 month clothes are somehwat big, but not much.

I look at her everyday adn am still amazed that Mike and I created such a beautiful little girl. She is our little miracle. Your priorities definitely change when you have a child. We don't go out as much. One reason is because we are both still adjusting to getting less sleep. But we have to think of her first. I don't want her to have to be in her carseat for long periods of time. Also, I don't like to leave her for too long yet. I did leave her with her grandma while I went to the store the other day. (It was way too windy and cold and I didn't want to take her out in that.) I was only gone for about an hour, but I really missed her while I was gone. We used to be on the go all the time. Since Lindsay has entered our lives, we enjoy being at home with her. She make so many different faces and gives so much love, we enjoy hanging out with her. We still enjoy going out and hanging out with our friends, but staying out late hours is hard.

I knew our lives would change when she came into this world. Yes, we can't do everything we used to, but it really doesn't bother me. She has blessed my life in so many ways, I can't even describe. I thank God everyday for bringing her into our lives. She was definitely worth the wait. I will write the next chapter of the struggle in the next day or 2. Stay tuned....

Everyday Life

2008-01-30T14:31:00.000-05:00

Life is definitely different since Lindsay arrived. I wouldn't change any of it for the world. She will be 4 weeks old in 2 days. I have no idea where the time had gone. She is getting into somewhat of a routine, which helps with getting things done around the house. I try to follow the rule of getting some sleep when she does, but that just doesn't happen. I have to get ready for the day during one nap, pick upo the house during another, and get dinner ready during another. She is now awake more between naps. It is fun to see her look around and explore her surroundings. I've tried Boppie time in the past few days. She doesn't like it for too long, but that is ok. She is getting really good at picking up her head. Everyone says that she is so little. To me, she is getting so big. She is almost too big for her newborn clothes. I will have to return to work in about 2 weeks. I will cherrish these next 2 weeks at home with Lindsay. I'm sure she will keep changing before my eyes.

The battle continues... Chapter 2

2008-01-26T10:41:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would have to see a fertility specialist. My mother and sister had no trouble getting pregnant, so I thought there would be no problems for me. I guess that is what I get for assuming. It took me a few weeks to actually make the appointment. I didn't want it to seem real that there was a problem. But finally I made the appointment. I was pretty intimidated walking into the office. Thankfully I had my husband by my side to help me through it. They started off by taking my history and doing some blood tests of their own. Again, things came back normal. After that, they mentioned surgery to rule out endometriosis. That diagnosis had never crossed my mind. I new people who had endometriosis, and they experienced painful periods. Other than a few cramps, my periods were pretty painless. After finding out that the surgery would be covered by insurance, my husband and I decided to go through with the surgery. I had to do anything I could to figure out what, if any, problem that might exist.

Coming out of the surgery, I was pretty groggy. My husband tried to explain to me what the doctor found, but I wasn't really getting what he was saying. We went to the doctor for a follow-up appointment and he explained the findings. The had found endometriosis. The end of one tube was almost closed off and the other tubes' opening was stuck to the side of my uterus. That would explain things. With one tube being non-operational and the other being pretty much closed off, that would explain the problem. The did what they could to correct the problems. With everything else being normal, they told me to try for 3-6 months to see if I could become pregnant. Roller coaster #3

We had a new ray of hope. (or so I thought) We tried for a month or 2 and nothing had happened. I received a call from the fertility office letting me know that there was an opportunity to participate in a study to test a different drug for invitro fertilization. Participating in the study would give us a free cycle of invitro. After all the waiting, we felt like we hit the lottery. We hadn't tried that long, but we didn't have anything to lose.

Some blood work needed to be done before the procedure could you begin. On my way to the appointment where they were going to explain everything that was to take place, I received a call. They told me that my blood work came back and it showed an increased Prolactin level. (The word Duh came to mind) I new that my Prolactin levels were elevated. They told me that this disqualified me from the study. They told me that they should've never offered me the study because I had a history of increased Prolactin levels. I was crushed. Invitro fertilization (IVF) isn't cheap. I didn't know how we were going to afford to do the procedure on our own. I guess we were back to trying the old fashioned way. Roller coaster #4

This was the start of IVF for us. More of our adventure will come later.

Nobody's perfect

2008-01-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

Up to this point, Lindsay has been pretty easy. She hasn't been fussy, except when she wanted her diaper changed or wanted to be fed. The past few days has been a different story. She has been fussy, even after a diaper change and feeding. The only thing that settles her down is to be held. At least she can be soothed and isn't constantly crying. But that makes it hard to eat, catch a few minutes of sleep, or even go to the bathroom. But I wouldn't give this up for the world. She is my precious angel. I thank God every day for her. I can't believe she will be 3 weeks old on Friday.

The hard fought battle, Chapter 1

2008-01-22T14:59:00.000-05:00

For most couples, having children is as simple as stoping all forms of birth control. Usually, within a year, they have become pregnant. I never knew what a miracle children were until I was faced with the possibility of not being able to have them. I thought I was in pretty good health. I didn't have any major health problems, I went every year for my routine medical exam, and nothing out of the ordinary was ever diagnosed. So when the months went by and we hadn't become pregnant, I started to wonder why. Given that I didn't have any medical problems, to my knowledge, and I was only 25, I had to wait a year before they would start any testing.

Testing..... Round one The testing started out with blood tests. They wanted to see if there were any hormone levels that were off that might be causing some issues. Right off the bat, they found an increased level of Prolactin. High enough levels could interfere with ovulation. That avenue was pursued, but that turned out not to be the problem. Rollercoaster #1.

Round two When that turned out not to be the problem, they tried an HCG. This was a test to check to see if the fallopian tubes were blocked. When the test was performed, the dye was slow to go through the tubes, then it seemed to flow freely. They thought this may have been the issue. They told me to try another few months and see what happened. After 3-4 months of trying, still nothing. Rollercoaster #2.

Round three When all the tests came back normal for both of us, we were referred to a fertility specialist for treatment.

This started the long road to our special miracle. More of the story will be coming soon.

My angel is here!

2008-01-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

I still can't believe that I am a mother. I thank God everyday for being blessed with this little miracle. For Mike and I, she is quite a miracle. The road to parenthood was quite a bumpy one for us. But like they say, the best things in life are worth fighting for. On January 4, 2008, we were blessed with Lindsay Catherine.

The road to Lindsay began back in 2005. Mike and I were married 8/28/2004. I was working as a personal trainer. I wanted to have a steadier income before having children. I accepted my current position and started January 2005. We started trying for children the same time. 3 years later, our hard work and faith blessed us with our beautiful baby girl.

Edited by Jill
1-22-2008 at 7:55 PM