The long awaited arrival of Keiki...

After many more walks, spicy food, acupuncture, four days of labor in the hospital after being induced and a C-Section later Keiki finally arrived on 6/2/2012 weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs, 13 oz and 20.75 in. long. We are delighted beyond measure and getting into the groove of things...

We are all doing well with healing and adjusting....just so happy to finally have our family of three...

I'll probably be making this blog private so that I can put a name and face to the little bean so if you want to continue following please leave a comment below and I'll figure out how to do that soon...

xoxo, Cherm

40 and counting...

SOOooo I thought the next time I'd be posting I would be sleep deprived, exhausted and on cloud 9 with our take home baby snoozing on my chest. Well he's decided to stay snug inside my belly a little longer.

Much to the dismay of my mom and MIL who rushed down here at the first sign of early labor last Friday (5/18) nothing has progressed past a few hours of cramping and a little bit of lower back pain as of this afternoon. We've had a great week of some real quality time together, but alas no baby yet.

Yes, I've tried just about everything under the sun except drinking Castor oil which my midwife advised against as it would just upset my bowels and dehydrate me... lol!

So here we sit. Me, Keiki, Mr. Bags and the cats. Unfortunately my MIL had to go home and will probably miss the birth of her first grandchild. I feel terrible about it, but I suppose ultimately as long as she's able to be a part of his life long term that's all that matters.

It's a beautiful evening here and I think I'll go out for yet ANOTHER walk to try and get this kid moving! Hopefully the NEXT time I post I'll have a pic of the Keiki to share....

In some other WONDERFUL, exciting news my very good friend over at From IF to When has had an amazing turn of events in she and her husband's journey to becoming parents. On the adoption track after IF and treatments they had a bit of a bumpy road and in the matter of 24 hours they are now parents!!! We couldn't be any happier for them and it's quite apparent that this was meant to be. Take a look and be prepared to shed a joyful tear or two...

In the home stretch

I'm a bad, bad  blogger! So sorry! You've all probably been thinking I fell off the face of the earth. Well I haven't and I'm still with child! :) I'm 39w1d and now just playing the waiting game. I went on leave a little bit earlier than planned which is not much to complain about except that I had to do a lot of work from home. The reason was that I had a little episode of early contractions at 35w6d. I had a VERY busy, active weekend and two busy days at work THEN some co-workers threw a surprise shower for us!  It was so sweet and fun but it just about did us in. It was book themed so we received a ton a books, which I love.

Anyhoo, during the shower I was having a lot of tightness and a little bit if pain. Right after everyone left the pain wasn't going away and in fact getting worse. So I called the midwives and we went ahead and headed to the hospital. Once we got there she asked me about symptoms and how far apart the contractions were with that info she told us to go get admitted. UGH!

64 oz of water, a 25mg Tribut.aline shot and four and a half hours, later I was sent home. I was indeed having contractions and we were hoping the water would help but alas it did not.  I wasn't dilated at all, but was about 60% effaced. I REALLY REALLY did NOT want to get the shot. In fact it made my heart race and made me nauseous. But in the end it helped and Keiki stayed inside a little longer....and is still there! 

He seems to be doing well. At this point he is measuring around 7 plus pounds and is sunny side up. Not too stoked about that and am doing some yoga poses and things to try to turn him but he's gonna do whatever he's gonna do. I've been going regularly to the chiropractor to keep my pelvis in-line which will help with back labor. I've also been getting regular massages with my doula and acupuncture to get this guy moving!   

Since my last post I've had a few more showers and lots of friends giving us hand-me-downs. We feel SOOO blessed and fortunate to be receiving so many beautiful gifts from friends and family! We've gotten some lovely handmade quilts, blankets (thanks K) and even a little bear papoose( thanks M)! We cannot wait to use them with Keiki. We are feeling quite equipped and ready to go for sure. The room is done for the most part. I'm going to have my MIL paint a tree mural to finish it off when she comes. 

We did a photo shoot with a good fellow IF friend who had twins almost a year ago. It was a perfect, magical experience. With her knowing our history and capturing these moments made it truly special. We happen to take them on our 11th wedding anniversary and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. See a few of our favorites below. 

Ok now for the stats. I'm so excited to say that the next time I post he will be here!!! I can't believe it. It's been an amazing, wonderful blissful experience to be pregnant and dare I say I think I'm going to miss it. Of course holding Keiki in our arms is going to take it to a whole other level of high....Wishing you all well and I will post something when he arrives!

Status: 39w1d 

Weight Gain: 26 pounds to date. Really happy with the weight gain. Although many people say I'm "huge". I think it's because I'm all belly. 

Symptoms: Still having crazy heartburn and trying home remedies to resolve it, but lately I've been resorting to Zantac which was OK'd by my midwife. It works great, but trying not to take it too much. Having some mid back pain here and there and right low back pain. To be expected at this point. 

Cravings: Every once in awhile a hamburger or sweets

Aversions: nothing 

Exercise: walking, swam this week, prenatal yoga

Best Moment of the Week: Being done with work! Yipppeee!! I love being at home and nesting. 

What I Look Forward to: The arrival of Keiki! Could be any day!!!

32..where does the time go?!

Where did these last 8 weeks go??? I have no idea! All I can say is that between getting another little cold, feeling totally pooped when I get home from work and preparing the house for this little one to join us has eaten up those 8 weeks! I am 32 weeks now....32. I can hardly believe it. He will be in our arms in 8 weeks! Wait a minute that's how long it's been since I last blogged. OK reality check! That's gonna be here fast!

Needless to say we're as excited as ever and relishing in every kick, bump and hiccup. I'm feeling pretty good over all save for the gall bladder ache that is constantly present. I had been having it off and on in the mid 20's (weeks) then around 29 weeks it went into high gear. It was painful all the time. I went to urgent care since I don't have a PCP. The NP that saw me ordered a bunch of tests and all came back fine. Basically they told me I just have to live with it and if any other symptoms pop up (fever, nausea, vomiting) then I need to go to the ER. So far so good. Just need to encourage Keiki's foot to dislodge from that area from time to time and it feels better. :)

I am increasingly thankful for this time with him and need to remind myself to slow down and talk, read and sing to him. Our jobs and daily lives consume us so much during the week that we both tend to just come home eat and collapse into bed. A recent fellow blogger's post gave me a reality check of how things can change for the worse at any moment and that I need to cherish what is happening and WILL happen in the next 8 weeks. I hate to live in fear, but a dose of reality is good to keep one humble.

I hope you all are well out there and I will try to get back to this at least bi-monthly. Next post...showers nursery and switching docs!

Status: 32w4d 

Weight Gain: 23 pounds to date. Still a little on the concerned side of the weight gain. Not gaining the pound a week recommended. But my new doc/midwife said it may be that my body just metabolizes well and it's all going to the baby.  

Symptoms: Heart burn has better since eating earlier in the evenings and smaller meals throughout the day. Gall bladder pain not so fun although the lat couple of days have been a bit better. I been have pretty regular belly achiness at the end of the work day inhibiting exercise.  

Cravings: Last week French toast and a peach/banana/OJ smoothie. Yum!  

Aversions: nothing lately

Exercise: Still not doing well in this department. I am now getting back to prenatal yoga after three weeks of out of town business. Plus it's lighter later and getting warmer so that should help the cause. 

Best Moment of the Week: Touring the hospital after are LAST childbirth class. We have some other classes yet to take, but that was fun. Another great moment...getting the crib and Mr. Bags finishing the painting! It's all coming together! 

 

What I Look Forward to: Spring Break! Putting together the dresser, crib and decorating. Pics to come. 

Here's the latest belly pic last week taken at 30w6d. When I post again I'll put up a more recent one. 

3T update

Where does the time go? I swear I was just posting about the half way point. All is going well....this week. Last week....not so much. I had a really stressful week at work and to top it off ended up having a minor fall. I'm a speech therapist and I work with a severely handicapped Kindergarten class. One of the students was having a tantrum while we were outside on a play mat. She was close to a fence and I didn't want her to get hurt so I asked her to stand up. She's on the bigger side for her age and in her tantrum decided to push back on to the mat instead of stand up and pulled me down with her. I landed on my left knee and left hand. I really didn't fall far, but it definitely scared me and I felt a tightening sensation in my belly for the rest of the day and evening. I ended up going home and resting that evening, all morning the next day and all day Sunday. There were no symptoms that came up beside the tightening so I think everything is fine. When I saw my OB this week I told her about it and she said as long as I didn't hit the belly things should be OK. I was relieved to feel the Keiki moving around soon after it happened, so although I was a bit freaked out I was comforted by that. 

Needless to say no more "helping" students! I will have to let down my independent side and ask for help. That is one thing I'm having a hard time getting used to is not being able to do everything I used to on my own. I'm a "I can do it myself" kinda girl and asking for help more is something I'm learning to do. Now for the stats:

Status: 25w3d (officially now in the 3T!)

Weight Gain: 18 pounds to date. Only gained 1 pound since my last appointment, but my OB doesn't seem to be concerned. I'm not either. Although my DH is worried I'm not eating enough. It's sweet but I think I'm eating plenty! 

Symptoms: Heart burn has come back with a vengeance! It's disrupting my sleep almost nightly now. Trying to eat smaller meals throughout the day, not eat too late and sleep sitting up.  

Cravings: Had the craving for pancakes with peanut butter last weekend. My DH was so sweet and ran out to get me some. He would have cooked some up but we were out of eggs. :) They were delish!

Aversions: nothing lately

Exercise: Not much lately. After the fall I've been really taking it easy. Some days I have that tightening feeling and just have the urge to rest so I'm listening to my body and the Keiki. 

Best Moment of the Week: Hearing the heart beat again and the constant movement. Makes me smile every time!

 

What I Look Forward to: My upcoming baby shower in three weeks. It will be so fun to see friends and family! 

Here's the latest belly pic last week. I think he's been growing again over the last few days though. 

Navigating pregnancy in a fertile world

Going through the experience of trying for this pregnancy and waiting four years plus for it to happen has changed me. It's changed us. Not only did we have to wait that long, but we had to live through the ups and downs of trying everything from IUIs to TCM to IVF and spending thousands and thousands of dollars just to get here. Nobody can know what that is like until you've gone through it. I know many of you out there are in the same place and totally get it.

I understand that pregnancy is different for every women how ever they got there, but there's something about the fertile world making assumptions about how you got there and how you are going to feel about it that irritates me at times. Most of the time I and LOVING being pregnant. Every time I feel the Keiki move or kick it brings joy to my heart and a smile to my face, but when people make comments like, "wow you timed it perfectly" or "your husband must be so excited it's a boy" (like I wouldn't be..)  I feel a pang. Maybe it's the hormones..maybe it's left over bitterness from dealing with IF. Who knows... I try to be present and let it go, but sometimes I just want to wave a big sign that says "I don't fit into your fertile box!!"

OK enough ranting let's do some stats!

Status: 22w4d

Weight Gain: Not sure. Got on the scale yesterday, which said I lost a couple pounds, but can't be possible the way I've been eating. hehe

Symptoms: Heart burn has has come and gone, not too bad definitely trying to rule out what triggers it.  

Cravings: still nada

Aversions: Still certain smells

Exercise: Yoga today other than that...not so good. Gotta get my bootie out to walk! 

Best Moment of the Week: Starting to purge and clear out Keiki's room! 

 

What I Look Forward to: Starting to really put together a plan for decorating. Yay!

Here's the latest belly pic taken this morning. I swear my belly took a leap over the last two days. Have a great week everyone! 

It's a.....

Note: Just wanted to state that in my first blog I had mentioned having sensitive feelings about people out there who get pregnancy naturally. I wanted to clarify that this statement was referring to people whom have NEVER struggled with TTC. Anyone who has had to struggle with fertility absolutely deserves to have it happen naturally. As does anyone, but honestly I am much more thrilled for someone who's been through the ringer and are blessed with conceiving naturally. I hope that makes sense. 

The weeks are flying by! I can't believe we're over half way there. We had the anatomy scan a week ago and found out...much to our surprise....we're having a boy!!! Apparently my instincts were WRONG! It's taken all week to adjust, but we're thrilled all the same. It's funny how people assume that men want a boy and women want a girl. I've had numerous people ask me if Mr. Bags was so excited to be having a boy and is he happy to have someone to carry on his name. Honestly, those things didn't even cross our minds. We are happy either way to just be in this place and are excited to plan for our son. Eeek! So weird to type that!

The anatomy scan went really well and all looks great I'll post a pic below. We sat there with our mouths hanging open at all the things you could see in the scan. We had an OB doing it so he was able tell us everything he was seeing and was able to give us the results right there. We feel so very fortunate that all of  is going well. Now for the stats...

Status: 21w5d

Weight Gain: As of my last OB appt. I've gained 17 pounds. It seems to be right on target as I gained 4 pounds since my last appt. which was 4 weeks ago. 

Symptoms: Indigestion!! This started last week and I've had to be more careful about what I eat and how much. My appetite has slowed down and I've noticed that I'm getting fuller sooner. Tums help and sometimes I need to sleep sitting up. Other than that, feeling good! 

Cravings: nothing major

Aversions: Still certain smells

Exercise: uhhh have fallen off the wagon since coming back to work, but did prenatal yoga yesterday and planning on a walk today. Plus it's COLD out! No excuse, I know. :) 

Best Moment of the Week: Finding out the gender and seeing his little face during the anatomy scan. He continues to move quite a bit throughout the day which is a thrill all it's own. 

What I Look Forward to: Diving into getting the house ready. We have  A LOT of crap to get rid of LOL! Purging feels so good! 

Here's a pic of Keiki's little face! 

P.S. wanted to give a shout out to Tippy! Thanks for letting me steal your stats list! :)