It's Baseline Day!!!!

Well hello Peeps! I know I have not posted in a couple of days, but there was not much to report. We have anxiously been awaiting this day to get here because it is what's called "Baseline Day" in IVF land.

Today they did a follicle scan to get baseline measurements before we start the stimming medications tomorrow. They saw 6 follicles on one ovary and 7 on the other. Well they also looked more closely at this 4 X 9 cm cyst I have had on my left ovary for about 3 years. When I first started going to the fertility clinic, they said it was no big deal, but for some reason today, they decided it needed to be aspirated. Ughhhhh......

So sweetness took me back at 5:45 this evening, as they aspirated the fluid off. Let me just tell you, they said it would feel like a menstrual cramp. WHATEVER!!!! That needle was over 12" long, when she stuck it into the cyst, I about came off the table!!!! They are sending the fluid off to pathology to see if they could tell if it was really an ovarian cyst or fluid that got trapped in one of my tubes. They are not sure as of now.

But now that that is done, we start stimming tomorrow morning, and I go in for my second follicle scan on Wednesday. We are in it now baby!!!

Update on Mom: well yesterday was a very trying day. The surgeon came in the morning and tried to pull the drain out of her knee, and it BROKE OFF in her knee!!! Seriously! He said he has never had that happen in 1000 knee replacements! SO she was NPO all day, and then they took her back into surgery last night to remove the drain. She came through it pretty well. Today she has battled a migraine all day (vomiting, chills, yuck feeling), so she has had a bit of a rough time. They are thinking of sending her home on Sunday now. Thanks for all the prayers, letters, flowers and calls. She and I are so appreciative!!

Sorry I did not take any pictures today, I am slacking, but just wanted to update everyone on our progress! We are keeping our eye on the prize!! It's gonna be worth it!!!

Ending tonight with an awesome Scripture-

"Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying."

-Romans 12:12 NLT

Knees Please!!

Well today was a big day for my Mom. She had a total knee replacement on her left knee. She had her right knee replaced 2 1/2 years ago, and has had such excellent results that she decided to go back for more torture (ha ha), to have the other one done.

We arrived at the hospital this morning in the wee hours, and everyone was already buzzing around. Mom was so tired, she had seen every 1/2 hour last night being so anxious about surgery, but she looked cute in her hospital gown and all.....

She had a really nice nurse named Kathy, who really took excellent care of her,
And this is her cutie pa-tootie orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dowd from the prestigious Jordan Young Institute. He was so knowledgeable and really made her feel so at ease.

This time they did a femoral artery block in her leg before surgery, and she has had such a great experience with the pain today. Last time around it was pretty awful for the first 2 days, her pain was off the charts, but with this nerve block, she woke up with her leg numb, and it has gradually worn off as the day has progressed. Highly recommend this if anyone is having an operation like this done.

So sweetness and I have been hanging around her hospital room, fetching anything she wants (except food! She is still NPO).

Thank you all so much to those of you who have called, sent gifts and prayed for a smooth and successful surgery for her. God is so faithful!!! She will be in the hospital until Saturday morning it looks like, and then home for weeks of rehab.

We only have 2 more days until baseline IVF day on Friday!!!! So excited! Will update you all then!

Many Hugs to you all !!!!!

Ending with a Scripture-

"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion"

-Psalm 103:2-4

We've been bit by the Apple (mac that is)!

So sweetness has been eyeing the iPhone for quite some time. Me too to be honest, but my Blackberry pretty much had all the features I wanted. Well, making the decision to leave Verizon Wireless after 11 years is definitely a hard one- ALL my family and most friends are with VZW, so we had to take into account the increase in the number of minutes we may use per month, since we will be loosing all those wonderful mobile-to-mobile minutes!

So after much agonizing, comparing price plans, pros and cons; we decided to go for it! I opted for the trendy Macintosh white 3G S, while sweetness opted for the classic black 3G.Of course we wanted to protect our new babies..... so we got these cool Frawg hard shell cases, sweetness went for the "Clemson Orange." ok babe whatever. He is truly obsessed with Clemson.

And out of the case, I think they look just as cool......
So if there are any iPhone owners that read my blog, i thought I would share with you some cool apps we have found in the 2 days we have had our new phones. The pic below shows the icon to the right of FACE BOOK of course, is called "Shazam". This free app allows you to hold your iPhone up to any TV, stereo, video etc, and it listens to the song and will tell you the title and artist, then take you right to iTunes, and let you buy it! We have not stumped it yet! Very cool!
For the sports enthusiasts out there (which we are, come on Football season) this is a shot from sweetness's phone showing the cool College football app, and ESPN's score center where you can list you favorite teams that are your home page for the app.

And the top right icons here from my phone show a very cool free App called "Backgrounds". It has over 7500 really cool pictures from all genres to make as your wallpaper- very cool. Also the "Battery Status" app tells you how many minutes you have left on your battery whether you are in the 3G, EDGE or O network. Kinda neat since the battery icon on the home screen only shows you approximately how much battery you have left.

And one I will use everyday, is this one. "Cell Tracker" directly monitors your acct through AT&T so you do not go over minutes or text messages. You can also pay your bill through this app!

If anyone knows of any cool apps, please let me know in the comments section!!! This phone does EVERYTHING!!!!

On the IVF front, we are getting closer....... today was the last BCP (finally!), and I am right on the money with Lupron. Friday is the big day for us....Baseline Day and first scans!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a big day. My Mom is having a total knee replacement. I would so appreciate your prayers for a safe, successful surgery for her. She has suffered quite a bit, and I am really looking to her being out of pain. I will be spending the night at the hospital tomorrow night with her, and maybe more depending on how she is doing! I will blog and let you know how she does! Thanks guys! Talk soon!

A day at the Beach

Today Sweetness and I went over to my Dad's house for a nice get together. They live right ON THE OCEAN!!! It really is such a beautiful home, I thought I would take an opportunity to show it to ya'll. Warning: lots of pics in this post!

We were greeted by Jack when we walked in the door......

followed closely by Corrin.......so sweet
and last but not least, Little Bit. (She was a rescued Hurricane Katrina dog).

After all the excitement of welcoming us in, they were then just relaxing and chillin with us in the kitchen.

This is my Dad and his wife Sue.

and then their friends Rich and Jen arrived......

Corrin was still chilaxin on the cool floor.....

And here is the awesome spread they had prepared for everyone to nibble on!

So let's take the tour I promised you of their beautiful beach house..... Shall we?

I took several pics of the beautiful "beachy" touches that Sue has put all through the house. Hope you enjoy...

The beautiful mirror in the bathroom.

Literally, the beach is THAT way, out the door!!!

This is their living room, there is a sun room just outside that big window.

This is inside the sun room looking out to their backyard! (the dunes)

cute little table and chairs in the sun room

furniture out in the sun room, beautiful beachy turquoise colors....

My favorite pic from the day, standing on their deck, looking out into their "backyard"- The Atlantic Ocean!!!

My dad built this bar right into the patio, as he says "this bar is always open!"

I loved this too; painted right on a seashell.

After all the excitement for the day, Corrin was beat, but still looking so sweet!

After we left my Dad's, we went to Target, and I was able to pick up this book below. In my People magazine this week, this book was listed as the top Pick, as it has a sequel that just came out also. It has been such a long time since I have been able to curl up with a really good book! And that is exactly what I plan on doing this evening......lounging with sweetness and this (hopefully good) book!

Has anyone out there read this book already? Tell me how it was!!!

No IVF news today, looking forward to Friday- our "Baseline Day"- full of Ultrasounds, bloodwork, consent forms and TONS of hope! Please keep praying- we need it!!

Ending with a Scripture-

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old."

-Psalm 25:4-6

A Night at Grandma's

Tonight we went over to Grandma's (my Mom's)..... as you can see from the picture below, the babies were so excited to get there!!!!

And my grandma's dog, Patches, was so happy too!

Well, you might wonder why I took a picture of this tennis ball on the bottom of my grandma's walker??? Well my aunt was trying to cut these slits to put new tennis balls on the legs, when the knife slipped.......and she sliced her hand. So off to the ER, and after a couple of stitches....she was back, but oh the drama! But alas, Nana has new tennis balls on the walker.

Judging from her smile, she was happy.














Sweetness helped my mom cook dinner on the grill and after we ate, we decided to get our last good game of canasta before my Mom has her knee replaced next Tuesday. (There will be more about that later).

Maggie checking out the card game......

Kisses Grandma.........

And after a long hard game, Mom and sweetness kicked me and Nana's butt tonight. They were so humble (see above Picture).

Maggie then let Daddy know she was tired and time to go home...... Thanks for a great night Mom and Nana! I love you guys!

On the IVF front, still status quo, injecting my Lupron as directed. We are getting excited..... please keep praying. Tomorrow sweetness and I are going to my Dad's house for a cookout. They live on the beach and I will take lots of pictures and post them tomorrow night.

I love you guys! Keep the faith!

Ending with a scripture:

For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you.
I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.

-Psalm 71:5-7

Learning Medicine

So today was so crazy busy for me. But the best part of it was going to the RE for my Medication Teaching Class. I meant to take my camera, but I forgot. Sorry! But we spent 2 hours going over all the medications I will be injecting to mature all my follies for Egg Retrieval Day.

I was surprised to know HOW IMPORTANT it is that you inject the Lupron everyday at the EXACT same time. The nurse said even 15 mins late, they have had women ovulate. And in IVF world, ovulation is BAD. You have to completely cancel the cycle. So you better believe my cell phone alarm is set to go off at all these times so I do not miss a beat. I think when it comes to this stuff, it's good that I am a triple AAA personality type. Helps me stay on top of all this.

And as I hoped, there was another woman in there with out her husband, so I was not alone being a singleton. So the plan is still keep on taking BCPs until the 27th (only 4 left) and keep on injecting Lupron every day. The next big event will be on July 31st, its our baseline ultrasound (US) and consent day. It's also the day we give them all our money :):):) But when we see those sweet little heartbeats on the screen, it will have all been sooooo worth it!

Thanks to you all for the prayers. I can't thank my Liberty family enough. My church rocks! Love you guys. Remember: Pray for twins! Have a super night and will check back in soon.

Ending with Scripture-

"You are God's child, and God will give you the blessing he promised, because you are His child."

-Galatians 4:7

Let the IVF journey begin!!!!!

So let's get this party started peeps!!! I have actually been looking forward to giving myself this injection all day! I know, WEIRD!!! So here I am getting ready to do it.......

Getting more nervous.....
All done!!!! It really was not that bad. These are insulin needles used to inject Lupron, they do get bigger from here, but this part, I can totally handle!!!

So that was all my excitement from today! I do definitely feel much better today. Thanks for all the prayers and calls. Tomorrow is the Med teaching class, should be oh so fun!!! Sweetness is not coming with me, he is trying to save up all his vacation for the Egg retrieval and embryo transfer days. But I just hope I am not the only wife there alone :(

My mom came over for dinner with us tonight, and now she and I are downloading all me and Sweetness' finances onto Quicken! Oh so fun! Am I the only one who loathes balancing the checkbook?

Have a great night peeps, and here's to you Lupron!!!! Do your thang!!!

IV Therapy and A Blog Lift !!!!

So do you like it??? What do ya think of my cool new blog lift??? I think it is awesome. If you would like to get one for your blog, go visit my friend Jen here at JenGetsFancy, and she will fix you up!!!

On to the news of the day.....

Well let's just say that today has been rough. Since my surgery last Friday, I have felt okay, but not great. But by Sunday night, I began to throw up and have not really stopped since. I got so weak today, that I HAD to go to the doctor. I was dry-heaving right in the waiting room in front of all these strangers, I mean HOW EMBARRASSING!!!!

So they started by taking some blood, DID A PREGNANCY TEST (haha), and then decided to give me a liter of saline fluids, along with 2 doses of Zofran to stop the vomiting. Of course, in true Heather fashion, no one could get an IV started!!! Finally on the 4th stick they managed to get it. Right about that time, my sweetness arrived, and sat beside me and held my hand, while we patiently waited for the fluids and meds to do their thing. After about 40 minutes I was turning the corner. The jury is still out on what exactly was the issue. The NP thinks it was an allergic reaction to the Percocet (which I told them I could not take; but that is a whole nother story), the RE thinks it is a virus (but sweetness is not sick). So we do not know what is wrong, but I am feeling 1000% better now, and am at home resting.

And I have to be ready because tomorrow IS THE BIG DAY!!!!! We finally begin injections to lead us down the road to parenthood! I begin injecting 10 units of Lupron for the next 8 days, while finishing the last 5 BCPs. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!!

As promised yesterday, below is the picture of my own personal pharmacy that has arrived at my house!! Even complete with my very own little sharps container (for you medical folk out there). The small white bags in the front are filled with all different size syringes, to inject all this stuff you see in the boxes.

That is about it for tonight! Thank you for all the prayers as we begin this journey, God is faithful, even when we do not understand, HIS timing is perfect.

Ending tonight with a Scripture:

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

-1 Peter 2:1-3

Well Don't Make a Spectacle!!!

Sweetness is blind. I mean without his glasses or contacts, my babe is 20/450!!!! Now coming from someone with perfect vision, I feel for him. He always is searching for his glasses etc. Well when we started dating, he actually got more comfortable around me and decided not to wear the contacts I was so accustomed to seeing him in. His glasses were so hideous. They were like "Buddy Holly" type! So after 6 months of wedded bliss (which includes a daily dose of these glasses), we decided to go get him some new spectacles!!!! We waited 2 long weeks for them to come in, and finally.....

Tonight we picked them up, and he does look HOT!!!!! I think he thinks so too, based on his posing for these shots!

They are from none other than Trump. Donald Trump. At least sweetness does not have that awful comb over!

Then as I was taking these shots, our fur babies wanted in on the action with their Daddy. Anyone who knows Maggie, knows how in love she is with her Daddy!

And of course our "special needs" pooch Baxter. He does not know how to pose, he just rolls over!!!

And one last attempt at a Daddy and Baxter shot..... a face bath!!! But he loves his Daddy too!


Well there is not much else going on in Sweetness land tonight. I have a post-op appt on Wednesday afternoon at my RE office. We also have our injection class that day as we start injecting Lupron Wednesday night. I can not believe all the needles and drugs that have arrived at my doorstop!!! Geesh! I will take a photo and blog more about that tomorrow!

Ending tonight with a Scripture:
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."
-Jeremiah 1:4-5