Baby Nugget of Mine

On Monday, May 27, 2019, I went to the doctor for our 39 week checkup.  Dr. Foster told me that we was going out of town on Saturday, and if I felt like I was maybe going into labor to call the office on Friday and let him know so he wouldn't go on his trip.  I felt fine the rest of the week, but was anxious that you would come when he was out of town. I made it through Friday without anything special happening. Then, at 3:45 on Saturday morning, I woke up to some contractions.  I wasn't sure what they were at first, but decided to get a contraction app and time them.  They were already steadily 5 minutes apart!  I wasn't sure if this was real labor or false labor, so I tried to slow it down by getting in the bathtub.  After about 40 minutes in the tub where contractions didn't slow down I woke Dad up and told him we might need to go to the hospital.  We gathered what we needed for the hospital and headed in.  Dad remembers it taking 22 minu...

Weeks 29-40 (??) March 20, 2019 - June 5, 2019 (??) Big Symptoms:  trouble breathing from you being in my ribs, heartburn, anemia, swelling, fatigue, trouble sleeping What I called you: Fat Baby, Hiccup, Starfish, Pepperoni Cravings:  anything sweet, chocolate, PB&J sandwiches Memphis started obsessing over sitting ON you.  She was snuggly previously, but suddenly she needed to be on top of me almost constantly. I continued to have sonograms monthly.  By this time you turned head down and stayed that way.  For the most part you liked to hang out on the right side with your butt up in my ribs - ouch!  Later  on in the trimester you liked to move back and forth between the left and right sides. 32 weeks - you didn't want to move your face from the placenta - estimated 4 lbs 10 oz  36 weeks - the cutest facepalm!  Your hands were always in your face! Starting to look too much like daddy!  Esti...

Weeks 15-28 December 12, 2018 - March 19, 2019 Big Symptoms:  hip pain, heartburn, trouble sleeping, had 3 really bad days where I felt awful - I think you were sitting on an artery blocking my bloodflow! What I called you:  Wiggle Worm, Fat Baby Cravings:  cereal, chocolate milk, milkshakes Dr. Foster said that IVF babies have an increased rate of heart defects and that I could go see the Maternal Fetal specialists and get more sonograms and a fetal echocardiogram to make sure everything was ok. My first appointment with them was at 16 weeks.  You were starting to look like a real baby! Little hand waving At the 18 week fetal echocardiogram, they found a small hole in your heart called a VSD.  It was a bit scary, but the doctor told me that usually they close up on their own before birth or shortly afterwards.  Yours was closed up just 2 weeks later!  They kept checking for it, but they never saw it again. 20 weeks First 3D pic...

Weeks 1-14 September 5, 2018 - December 11, 2018 Big symptoms:  constant nausea - never threw up, but I had to eat consistently throughout the day to keep myself from feeling sick, weight loss, figuring out what to eat was a professional sport,  very tired, congestion What I called you:  Bean, Gummy Bear, Nugget Cravings:  cantaloupe, chocolate milk After sonograms at 6 weeks and 8 weeks to confirm you were still there, I graduated from the fertility specialist to the regular doctor!  We were able to hear your heartbeat at 6 weeks, even though you were so teeny tiny we couldn't even tell which way was up or down.  At 8 weeks you looked like a little gummy bear. Teeny Tiny Bean Gummy Bear When I went to Dr. Foster at about 10 weeks, I got another sonogram to confirm pregnancy.  This time you looked like the tiniest little person and you even waved your little arm at me!  It made me smile all day long. I was obsessed with st...

You were very hard to come by. You first grew inside me as one of 16 eggs that I took shots of fertility medicine over the course of 8 days in order to grow. Then, on July 18, 2018, Dr. Gordon put me under anesthesia and took you out of me.  You were one of 11 embryos that fertilized that day. 5 days later, you were one of 9 embryos still growing in your petri dish.  Cells from your future placenta were biopsied and sent to the lab and then you were frozen in liquid nitrogen! About a week later we got the results from the lab.  You were one of 4 embryos that had the right combination of chromosomes.  3 boys, 1 girl. At this point, Dad and I had to wait for the right timing to put you back in me to grow.  The problem was that Aunt Cara and Uncle Kevin were getting married the same weekend that was perfect timing.  So we rolled the dice and hoped that the day we got back would work out. On September 17, 2018, Dad and I went in for Transfer...