The Six of Us

Who would have thought...

Three gals with a compound of fertility issues...

All pregnant at the same time...

Together in the same place...

I love this picture of the SIX of us!!

Praise the Lord!!

Me, Beth and Marie!

27 week update!

Twenty-seven weeks!  How did that happen??!!  I cannot believe I'm almost to the third trimester already!  Crazy!

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be an easy way for an update.  I have a ton of posts in the draft category, but none of them have made it to the blog.  I'll do better.  :)  But for the meantime...

How far along: 27 weeks!

Total weight gain: Right under 15 pounds as of my last appointment.  I'm guessing it's gone up in the last two weeks!

Maternity clothes?  Yep, yep and yep.  I LOVE maternity clothes.  Seriously, they are the most comfortable clothes ever - so far, anyway.  If I would have known about that stretchy fabric in my heavier days, I would have been set!

I have a pair of non-maternity shorts I've been wearing around the house that have been soooo comfy.  I put them on last night and took them off immediately.  They were suddenly tight - OVERNIGHT!  I was going to wear a pair of carpi's that weren't maternity yesterday.  They still fit!  I put them on and Doug laughed and said I looked like a little old man who had his pants up to high.  So, mostly everything I wear now is maternity.  I don't want to look like a little old man after all.

Sleep: Pretty good, but I'm getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, which has always annoyed me, pregnant or not.  I hate getting out of bed!  I love sleep.  I sleep in a pillow cocoon these days.  We just got a new bed and it is do die for.  It's a king, sleep number with memory foam.  It moves up and down to adjust to how we want to sleep and it has been heavenly!  Pair that with a boppy pregnancy wedge (cannot live without that thing), a sleep number chambered body pillow, a snoogle maternity pillow and some regular pillows and I have to be comfortable.

Cravings: Today I woke up and my first thought was, "Mmmmm... Root Beer!"  Yep, I wanted root beer at 5:30am.  I didn't go get any and probably won't have any.  I don't even like soda!  But it's what I wanted.  I've wanted to go to Fra.zolli's for cheap crappy Italian food.  Haven't done that either.  Daily, I want anything with cheese.  And brownie batter.  I want brownie batter! I maybe have indulged a little with some brownie batter.  No brownies... but maybe the batter.  Maybe.  :)

Best moment this week: Getting the future nursery cleaned out!  Whoot!!!  It formally held everything we didn't know what to do with and the CAT!  We cleaned and cleaned and rearranged the entire house to get ready for baby.  Don't worry, we didn't get rid of the cat... just moved him to a new location.

It took almost 5 days and involved 5 rooms, many trips to the good.will and lots of stuff from the 80's that is no longer in this house!  Now, the walls are scrubbed, the baseboards cleaned and we are ready to paint.  Yay!  Such a huge relief to have the huge 'clean out the entire house to make room for tiny baby' project well underway!

Movement: Yep and I LOVE IT!!!  Baby boy is wiggling all around lately.  It's amazing how much it has picked up in the last few weeks.  I love it when my stomach goes up and down with little kicks.  It is the weirdest and most awesome thing ever.

Labor signs: Nope!  All is good.

Belly Button in or out?  In.

Weekly wisdom: From my favorite gal Hebrews, "Today, I learned that an important feature of the Snugabunny bouncy seat is that it's machine washable."  One of the many reasons I love Hebrews.

Milestones: We are THREE months out from the due date.  THREE MONTHS!!

Uncomfortable Moments:  Getting up.  Sometimes it feels like my stomach is gonna hit the floor.  Little bit of an ouch!

Favorite Moments:  Finally 'looking' pregnant and just about everything else too.  I'm trying to cherish every single moment right now.  Even when I'm uncomfortable or running to the bathroom again, I remind myself that I never thought I'd be where I am.  :)

For your viewing pleasure, a 27 week belly shot:

Hello anxiety and 2am...

It's 2:30 am and I am wide awake.  Anxiety seems to be going around the blogosphere lately and it has hit at the Hauser house.

I've always had some issues with anxiety.  I get so nervous about all the unknowns in life.  I worry about everything.  I have no control over things and it drives me crazy.  I fret.  I feel sick.  I cannot sleep.

That is where I am tonight.

It started about me worrying about a work situation that has left me with a pit in my stomach.

It escalated into me worrying about my job, our finances, our health and health expenses, our parents health, baby boy's health, Doug's long commute to his work, providing for our baby, being a good mother, etc., etc.

It quickly got out of control.

I glanced at the clock... 2am.  I tried to go back to sleep, but it didn't work.

I thought I'd look at what was up on my phone - oh my trusty iPh.one.

I saw this...

Thank goodness for Fr. Larry.  "When I fear, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3.  I needed to hear that.  I need to cast all my anxieties on Him.  He is the only one that can take any of this away right now.  I don't know why it is so hard to trust, to turn it over to Him, but it is.  

But I will try.  I'm heading back to bed and will pray and hopefully get a little more sleep before work.  

If you could all spare a prayer for me as well, I'd really appreciate it.  

My new favorite thing

Doug has started reading to our baby boy.

It is something I always dreamed about. He is one great children's book reader. I have seen him captivate tons of little ones while he reads to them. He changes voices and is so animated. It is the sweetest thing -- ever.

Finally, it's our little one he is reading to. And I love it.

That would be my green belly.  :)

SEEING BLUE!!!!

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY!!!

Dad update and Belly

Thanks again for all your prayers.

My dad finally turned a corner and is finally home from the hospital.

The verdict?  Really really bad vertigo.  Phew.  They tested everything they could think of and couldn't find a thing - which is good and bad.  They started the vertigo medicine and he started to get better... so that is the diagnosis.  While the doctor was in the room on Tuesday, my dad fell over.  No sense of balance at all.  Poor guy.  Breaks my heart to 'hear' him hurting.  I didn't see it... but I can imagine it and I do not like it!!  The doctor ordered him off work for a week.  He loves his job and needs to retire, but just won't.  Men.  :)

When I talked with him this morning, he said he hadn't fallen today.  That's an improvement, so we will take that!

I sent him a big motorcycle balloon since my parents banned me from coming to the hospital.  Dang parents didn't want me to take off work, drive, worry, etc.  I figured I'd be better help to them once they got home, so I stayed put and didn't add me arriving to their stress list.  Anyway... the motorcycle balloon.  It was HARD to order.  The gift shop lady did not understand I wanted a 'get well' balloon that didn't look girly.  She said she'd send an "It's a BOY!" balloon to him.  I was like... "Ummm... he's a 67 year old man... he didn't have a baby!"  I had to repeat that about 5 times.  So it was either 'It's a Boy!' or a giant motorcycle.  Motorcycle is was and he loved it!  He always wanted a real motorcycle (this was new information to me and my mom!) and now he has this!  Hehe.  Please continue to keep him in your prayers... he's got a long way to go.  Starting with basic walking and all.

A bad pic, but you get the idea.  :)

And to keep me busy this week... I took bump pics!  Here's the latest!  We have an ultrasound next Wednesday (5/9)... any guesses on the gender???  

Getting a little bit bigger!  I gotta work on my posture and get a hair cut!

"What's in there mama?"

Daisy was over the photo shoot and decided to put her head in the corner.  

Hahahaha! Silly puppy!

Prayers please.

My dad was taken to the hospital tonight via ambulance. He was dizzy, light headed and passing out. They are admitting him now. He has some problems with anemia and some chronic health issues - diabetes, kidney issues, etc. He never complains, so I know it had to be bad for my mom to dial 911.

I'm very worried. I do not like parents getting old. It's a horrible feeling. I'm three plus hours away, which makes it worse.

Please pray for him, Ted Johnson and my mom too. It's very much appreciated.

**Update as of Monday morning...
I finally spoke with my mom and they will be running tests today. They do not know what is wrong. He just kept passing out and was very dizzy and couldn't walk well. He's on a cardiac floor because he is high risk, but he is not having cardiac symptoms. The doctor said the level of care is higher there and with his age, they want him there. His neurological exam was not that great... But no evidence of stroke. So now we are waiting.

Thanks for the prayers and keep them coming. My mom needs strength right now. She got home around 4am and is exhausted. She told me NOT to come to Ohio. I'm giving her 24 hours and then I'm heading there. My dad was worried I'd be worried and about the baby, so he didn't even want to tell me about all this. Oh parents! Thanks again for the prayers. I'll update when I know more.

Quick Takes - Week 14 edition with pics!

1.  I'm almost finished with week 14 of pregnancy!  Whoot!  Just a few more weeks until my next u/s!  I'm hoping we might get a look at the gender at that one!

2.  I'm feeling pretty good these days.  I had had a lot of pukeyness during that first trimester.  It was so welcomed and reassuring.  Now, I feel good.  I know that is suppose to happen, but it feels so weird to not be gagging at the thought of food.  I'm still looking for that rush of energy every pregnancy and baby website has promised me.

3.  I bought a Snoo.gle body pillow.  It looks, well... odd and it had a big page of instructions.  But man, oh man, it is the most comfortable thing EVER!!!  I had been sleeping with a regular body pillow I'd had for years.  That was not working.  I would throw it off in the middle of the night.  It would either hit Doug or land where Daisy was sleeping and then everyone would be awake.  Not good.  This strange looking pillow is marvelous and stays right in bed the whole night.  LOVE IT!!!!!!!!  And it was on sale - big time!  Even better!!

4.  I went to the gym tonight.  I am still working out with a trainer at least once a week.  I'm use to my clothes feeling a little loose at the gym.  Tonight, my workout pants were a bit tight.  Finally, I was happy for pants not fitting!  I didn't notice how uncomfortable they were until I was walking into the gym.  If I wasn't in public, those pants would have been off in a second.  I'm not saying what happened to them on my drive home.

5.  After the gym, I made a star.bucks run.  I'm thinking this drink cancelled out all the work I did at the gym But it was so YUMMY!!!!

6.  Here's an after-gym little bump/baby (and puppy!) pic.  Man, my dog is cute!

7.  Speaking of dogs... Look how freaking cute this is!  Thanks prayer buddy!!  You are the best!

I will never get it.

I will NEVER understand how people can think that this precious little baby is 'just a clump of cells'.

 Baby H at 13 weeks

I just do not understand how anyone can look at that picture, even when it is a little blurry (because the baby was moving all around!), and not recognize that it is a little baby human.

I will NEVER EVER get it.

Prayer Buddy/Easter/Belly pics!

Happy Easter Monday!  Finally, Easter is here!

It seemed like a really long long Lent this year.  I'm thinking it was because some of my favorite people were off the blogs, FB and had limited Internet time. Hehe.  I'm glad everyone is back!!!  I missed my peeps!

This Lenten Season, I had the pleasure of praying for Elizabeth at Motherhood: My Greatest Adventure!  It's a new blog... but I was able to get to know her a little better by reading her old blog.  She is newly pregnant with her second child.  We are just about a week apart from each other pregnancy wise... so it was fun praying for her and her little growing baby (and her hubby and daughter, too!).  I cannot wait to read more about her in the months to come!  You will continue to be in my prayers Elizabeth!  And Side note... Elizabeth, you have the most beautiful hair!  I was in total hair envy all of Lent!

A BIG THANKS to the blogger praying for me... Hebrews!!!  She's one of my best blog friends and we talk almost every day... so I was so surprised it was her... and SO THRILLED!!  Thanks PB!  You rock!

We had a great Easter weekend.  We went to Ohio to see my parents.  It was great to see them again, since it had been a little while.  Everyone was entertained by Miss Daisy - she is an attention seeker after all!  My mom and I went maternity clothes shopping.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  I got a great start on my maternity wardrobe and everything looked pretty dang cute!  Whoot!

We were also able to celebrate my dad's birthday while we were in town.  That went great!  We all got my dad one of the Ne.w iPad's.  He was THRILLED!  So much he teared up when we gave it to him.  He's an emotional guy - one of the many reasons I love him so much.  It wasn't the iPad that made him tear up... but us getting something like that for him.  Seeing him excited about downloading apps... too cute!  He's finally speaking my language!  Hahahahaha!  Now if he'd just get a Mac.Book and an iPhon.e... we'd be set!

Dad tearing up.  Never mind me standing next to him.  I had just gotten out of bed.  :)

Easter mass was really nice.  My parents parish is a lot different than ours, so it is a nice change of pace.  My Easter boo boo... I left my nice Easter clothes in Indiana!  Ahhhh!  They were hanging in the bedroom and didn't make it into the car.  I realized it right around the time we were finally at our destination!  Dang!!  That is SO ME!!  I didn't find any dress pants while I was shopping on Saturday and the dresses/skirts didn't work because it was freezing on Easter morning (and my legs - not exactly skirt ready!)  So... I wore blue jeans to Easter mass!  ACK!!!  Everyone is all dressed up and I was in jeans.  Luckily, I had brought a sweater!  I wanted to carry a sign that said... "I really would have dressed up.  I forgot my clothes in Indiana!"  Hahahaha!  Oh, well!  I'm thinking God was just happy I was there!

At least I didn't wear the sunglasses to mass!

Our official 2012 Easter photo.  

My parents with their Grand-Dog, Daisy!

I started to take belly pics last week. I'm getting a tiny little bump.  A lot of it is just my chubby tummy moving around... but I'll take it.  Yay!  So... here you all go!

Daisy was not all that interested in the photo shoot at first.  Those are my FAVORITE pink sweat pants.  SO COMFY!! Seriously, Doug won't let me leave the house in the them... but I live in them at home!  

So I had to wear them for a pic!  Hahahaha!  And then I remembered I was in the white shirt last week!  Time for a wardrobe change! 

I grew!!  Keep growing Baby H!

Baby H growing - in pictures!

I'm officially 12 weeks pregnant now!  I still cannot believe it.  Here are the pictures I promised!  I love love love looking at them and seeing how much our little one has grown.  I have an u/s on Tuesday -  and I cannot wait to see what he or she has been up to!  I get so crazy nervous before each scan, but feel a wonderful sigh of relief each time I see our little one up there on the screen.  It makes my heart very very happy.

7 weeks

8 weeks

9 weeks

10 weeks

Isn't that amazing how quickly a little person starts looking like a little person???  I am so amazed by it!  The baby was moving all around at the 9 and 10 week ultrasounds and it was so fun to see it kick and wiggle.  GOD IS SO GOOD!!

It's been hard to post.

It seems like I would have a lot to post about these days.  I've had doctor visits... ultrasounds of our little one... we've been to a baby store or two, etc., etc.  But the truth is, it has been hard to post about it.  I would go to write a post or post an u/s picture and I couldn't push publish.  I'd just start crying, thinking about my IF days and delete the whole thing.

I'm not looking for a pity party here, trust me.  I know without a doubt how very very blessed I am.  I have just gotten a few emails asking me why I hadn't posted and making sure things were OK with me and Baby H.  So I thought I'd explain.

It's nothing new.  I was warned way before my BFP that I might have some, ummm, confusing and interesting emotions when I finally found myself pregnant.  I believed them, but it seemed so far away, so distant that it didn't hit home at all.  Even in the first few weeks of my pregnancy, it didn't hit home.  Then, I took a moment to stop and think about everything and wham... emotional craziness breakdown ensued.

I feel OVERJOYED. I cry at the drop of a hat thinking that there is a tiny little life inside me.  I still cannot believe it.  Me, pregnant?  Really?  Yep, really.  I will randomly look at Doug and say, "Oh my goodness we are having a baby!!!!"  He will reply, "Yes dear, I know this," in his very calm reassuring voice. I am crazy blessed.  Just three tiny months after surgery and we conceived.  During a wonky cycle at that.  It is still so crazy and I'm not sure when I will really believe it.  Maybe in the delivery room.

I feel SCARED.  I spent the good several weeks of my pregnancy praying my little heart out that something would not go wrong.  I have been given the most amazing gift and my biggest fear is that it will go away.  Before each doctor visit, I was so excited, but also petrified that there would no longer be a heartbeat, that the baby hadn't grown, that my morning (or all day) sickness was due to my progesterone supplements and not real pregnancy hormones.  Seriously, Doug is a saint.  He has walked me off the ledge many many times in the last several weeks.

I think IF takes some of the innocence of a pregnancy away.  We know too much.  So many of my fertile friends never spent their early pregnancy days wondering about their progesterone levels of how their HCG was rising.  Ectopic pregnancy was not something they googled excessively due to their former tube surgeries... because they never had any tube surgeries to put them at risk!  They didn't have multiple ultrasounds because they were considered high risk.  Heck, several of my fertile friends found out they were pregnant around 9 - 10 weeks!  I'd had 4 doctor visits by then!

I never imagined telling random people I was pregnant, followed by a "please pray... I'm so worried about Baby H." It was like I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I have been so use to things not going right, that when all of my early doctor exams went great, I hardly knew what to do.  I'm still afraid.  Even as I type this I'm hoping Baby H is doing just fine in there.  I'm thinking this fear, while I'm not going to let it consume me, will be sticking around for a while.

I still feel a bit RESENTFUL.  I wasn't sure about this emotion and it's been hard to swallow.  I have several IRL friends popping up pregnant right now.  We are due around the same time.  Many of them had just started trying.  I still feel a tad bit of a cringe when I hear, "We just got off the pill and boom!"  Seriously.  The pain of IF is still there, even if the IF isn't.  I almost want to wear a sign that says, "I'm not exactly like you!  It took us over two years to get pregnant and it wasn't easy!"  But there is no sign.  I know my time with IF doesn't win me a special award.  But the ease of others getting pregnant still hurts.

Along with the resentment, I feel UNCOMFORTABLE. It feels very strange that I'm all of the sudden in the mommy group.  I was the only one in my little lunch group without a baby.  Now, the pregnancy talk at lunch is about me, not the others, and it makes me feel weird.  I tend to change the subject when anything baby comes up.  There is still one girl in our group who hasn't conceived.  I am acutely aware of how those baby talks made me feel.  The last thing I want to do is hurt her.  While she has assured me that she is nothing but thrilled for me, I still worry.  We were a little pair of infertiles who would cry and joke about it.  Now, I'm with the others and she's not.  I don't like that.  It's odd I'm clumped in with the fertiles, especially because I don't feel fertile at all.

I feel like I'm in an in-between spot right now.  When I went to sign up for prayer buddies this lent, I drafted an email to sign up for the IF buddies.  Right before sending it, I realized I really should be signing up for the general prayer buddy group.  It didn't occur to me until right when I was sending the email.  Weird weird feeling.  I just don't know how to not be an IFer yet.

I'm also uncomfortable asking 'mommy questions' to those fertile friends.  I so wanted to be part of their conversations for so long and now I don't want to ask them anything.  Maybe it's because for so long I felt so separate, so out of it, but in a way I liked that.  I was praying and praying and fighting for a baby, while they were popping out kids and quickly getting sterilized after giving birth.  They never had to fight.  Again, it doesn't make me super special... but I liked being part of an IF group who knew what it was like to really value a BFP.  So, asking questions, talking about the baby like I've always been one of them seems - wrong.  Like I'm part of group I use to really dislike.  I'm just babbling and not explaining it well, but maybe you know what I mean.

I feel RELIEVED.  Knowing that we conceived, that it is possible, is a huge relief.  The heaviest weight of my life has been lifted off my shoulders.  It is the very best feeling.

Finally... I feel GUILTY.  Yep, I do.  Majorly.  This is probably the main reason for my lack of posting.  I hate to think that there are so many that are still waiting that haven't gotten their BFP.  It pains me that those who have been waiting longer, who deserve it more aren't talking about their baby yet.  I pray for them everyone each day and am so humbled that I have this gift.

I remember what announcements were like.... what baby talk feels like... baby/ultrasound pictures of FB feel like.  All those feelings are still right there.  While I was often 'saddened' or 'hurt' by the common pregnancy announcement, I never felt bad about IFers getting pregnant.  But that's just me.  I was always genuinely thrilled that someone had 'crossed over'.  It gave me hope and I loved following their pregnancy journey and seeing baby pictures.  I know everyone has good and bad days and can handle some things and not others on certain days.  I fell into that category each month.  I hate to think that my posts or my pregnancy cause others pain.  HATE IT.

While all these emotions are swirling around my head all the time, I cannot let any of these feelings consume me.  I know I have a right to be happy about this little one.  I have waited for a long time for this and I want to write about it and remember it all.  I blog about my life and this is my current life.  I need to get back to it and so I will.  I'm bound to make mistakes, get my emotions all messed up and such.  I'm still adjusting to this new state of life... so please be patient.  I'm working on it... I promise!

Later this week... Baby pics will be coming!

I love bloggers and BEHOLD!

I think people either get the relationship among bloggers or they don't.  I'm sure I have some IRL friends that would think I'm crazy for saying that some of my VERY BEST friends are people I have never met.  But it is true!  There is just something about the friendships we have here - it's almost indescribable.  And when you do meet ... it's like you are seeing an old friend again.  It is the best!

This weekend affirmed how much I LOVE BLOGGERS!  I went with my IRL/Blogger friend Sarah to the Behold Conference in Illinois.  It was such a fun road trip.  We talked the entire time... so much that Sarah lost her voice!  Yep, no voice!  We met up with some amazing other bloggers!  LOVED IT!!!!!!

The conference was really fantastic.  Great speakers, great music, awesome confession, chocolate and great friends.  How does it get any better than that??  I'm sure someone will post about all they learned from the talks and such... but you know me, I like to keep it simple.

Things I learned (that aren't really that deep - I'll leave that to the other ladies):

*Women like to cry.  We cried (happy tears) ALL DAY LONG!  Every talk made me cry... but in a good, very awesome way!

*Going to confession... even when I'm not 'in the mood' is FABULOUS!!  My confessor was awesome and I LOVED IT!

*I am not all that stylish.  They did a little fashion show and I'm just glad I didn't make the 'what not to wear' list.

*I need to start doing kegel exercises.  I was told that after the baby, when I laugh, I just might pee a little too.  I never thought I'd learn that at Behold!

*When the nun is talking about using technology excessively and I'm checking Facebook on my iPhone  at that exact moment... I have a problem.

*It is very good to sit right by the bathroom when you are newly pregnant.   Bathrooms are good.

*Women can have looooong conversations... even when two members of the group have no voice!

And most of all...I had a great time celebrating our Catholic faith!! Man, I LOVE BEING CATHOLIC!!

I also love to post pictures!  You all better mark your calendars for Behold 2013!!!!

Sarah and I in the car... gotta love a good road trip!

Couldn't you just eat those feet??  Love little Elizabeth B!

We met Jen from Conversion Diary!!  Ahhhh!  

She was in the 'Meet the Bloggers' part of the conference.  

 I'm not sure why they didn't ask out little blogging group to be a part of it.  Hahaha!  

And... Leila... SHE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE!!!!!!  

How can you tell you are at a Catholic event?  You see a lot of nuns and babies.  So sweet!

Catholic bloggers... Almost there, Me, Sarah, JBTC, My Heart Exults and In Her Footsteps!

The blogger babies were pretty into the conference too!

Catholic babies are the CUTEST!!

One final photo after dinner before hitting the road for home!  Can't wait until next year!!!

And... One more thing I learned (well, I kind of knew this already)... 

It is great to come home to these two!!

Please pray...

Please pray for my cousin Joe.

He is a 46 year old military man living in Washington, D.C.  On Tuesday, he had a massive heart attack and is on life support.  The doctors have him in a medically induced coma and he is not responding as they would wish.  They were planning on taking him out of that coma yesterday, but were unable to do so.

He is one of 8 children.  My oldest cousin (Joe's older brother) died a few years ago from colon cancer.  My aunt and uncle do not need to lose another son.  All of Joe's siblings and his parents are now in D.C. with him and by his side.  Please hold them all up in prayer.

Heartbeat!!!

Our first ultrasound went GREAT this morning!  I was a ball of nerves.  I've been that way pretty much since we got the BFP.

There was ONE (it wasn't twins!) beautiful little baby with a beating heart!  It was the most wonderful sight to see and hear.  Love love love!!

We were early for the appointment and so we were scanned early, which was wonderful!  It was such a relief to know the baby was where is was suppose to be (I had had nightmares about the baby being in a tube) and that the heart was beating away!  I have a little bit of a bleed, which they will watch, but it should be fine.

We met with Dr. G after the scan.  It was so great to have him say, "What a blessing! This is a 'Praise The Lord' moment!"  He must have said, "Praise the Lord" about 10 times while we were meeting with him!  I've never had a doctor say that.  He said that he loved how 'my case' came together.  I had a bucket of health problems when I first walked into his office over 2 years ago.  A lot of those are now fixed... and now there is the blessing of a baby.  Wonderful!  I agree with Dr. G... Praise the Lord!!!

I go back next week for a second scan... then I'm off to my regular OB.  Beth is going to go with me so she can see Dr. G.  He was her Endo surgeon first... before her three kids!  I would have never found Dr. G without Beth!

This is all so crazy, I still CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!

Here is Baby H.  What a cutie!  Thanks for those continued prayers!

Yep... PRAISE THE LORD!

Not-So-Quick Quick Takes

1.  We had a few birthdays this month.  First, Daisy turned ONE!!!  Can you believe it?  We had a little party with hats and a little cake.  Spoiled much??  Yes, but she (and we!) loved it!

Happy Birthday Girl.

I think she liked her cake!

Such good sports.  :)

2.  Next up was Doug's birthday.  I do not have the best record in celebrating his birthday.

Birthday #1:  The first year we were together, I had to work a pro-life dinner on his birthday.  He spent his birthday listing to a ex-abortionist speaker talk in vivid detail about the evils of abortion procedures.  Not exactly a "Happy Birthday!" moment.  It was bad!  He left that dinner saying that was the most depressing night of his life.  Way to go Jenny!

Birthday number #2:  I was dead set on making him a cake.  See below.  It was a disaster.  Plus, the Colts lost the Super Bowl that day.

It's true... I did try.  Eeek.

Birthday #3:  I don't even remember it, so it must have been bad too!

Birthday #4:  This year, I was determined to at least make it a little better.  I think it went ok.  We had a little party with some work friends.  I didn't make a cake.  I bought cuppies and some fun St.ar Wars themed party decorations.  Yep, finally a good wife!  I also got him a special gift.  Best birthday together so far!

Yummy and not made by me!  Perfect combo!

Wild About Daddy.  Best birthday gift I ever bought!

3. I'm not so sure about Lent this year.  I usually look so forward to it and this year... I am pumped for it... but not like I should be.  My soul is ready for it... needs it... but I'm having trouble getting 'into' it.  

So, for Lent, I am:

*Giving up being negative about a few crazy liberal friends of mine that drive me up the wall.  I've decided to spend time praying for them instead of wanting to scream at them every time I see one of their FB posts.  I've 'unsubscribed' from their FB posts so I can focus on the positive, instead of the negative.  If I take all the liberal, political stuff out of it... deep down they are GREAT friends.  They need prayers and I need to be a better friend.  This might not seem like a lot... but man praying for those that drive me crazy is hard!!  One of them is someone who was so insensitive to my IF... so there are a lot of wounds there.  I will do my best.  

*We are also doing the 40 Days, 40 Bags Challenge.  This house is FULL and it is driving me NUTS!!!!

Goodbye crap... we don't want you in our house!!

* I'm also limiting my time online.  Why??  Because all my favorite people are giving up FB and pin.interst.  So... the Internet is a little boring these day!  

4. I recently joined a Catholic book club and I LOVE IT!!!!!  I *knew* this blogger and she invited me. It has been great!  The ladies are wonderful and the discussions are fantastic!  Love it!!  

5.  Speaking of the above blogger... She and I will be going on a Catholic Road Trip next month!  Whooo hoo!  We are going to the Behold Conference in Peoria, IL.  Is anyone else going????

6.  I've been feeling pretty good lately.  The second time my progesterone was tested, it was a little lower... but still great at 26!  My doc put my on some oral progesterone as a precaution and that's been fine.  I have had a few pregnancy symptoms.  Today is really the first day that I felt nauseous all day.  I didn't get sick... just felt yuck.  I was so thankful for feeling sick!  I've never been so happy to want to puke ever!!  I've had bits of nausea at night for the past week... but today seemed different.  I'm tired, but I always am.  I also have some interesting things happening with my Boobular area.  Lets just say it's not that cold out... and they are at full attention all the time.  Apparently, that is normal.  I'm taking that as a good sign!  Hehehehe! 

7.  Doug and I are anxiously awaiting my first ultrasound on Monday.  I am praying my heart out that all is well with Baby H and that we will see a beating heart!  I know I haven't posted much since my initial HCG numbers and such... but it is so very overwhelming that I can't even write anything coherent about it.  I start thinking about it and I just cry.  It's so surreal and crazy and such a miracle -- hard to put that into words!

And... Hi Prayer Buddy!  Thank you for all your prayers!!  If you are new here... WELCOME!!

I married up

Last year Doug gave me Daisy for Valentine's Day - one of the best gifts ever!

This year Doug wrote me a beautiful love letter.  Full of lots of mush and romance.  I read it and it made me cry.  What a sweetie.  Gotta love him.  

So, what do I do to show him my love?  A Valentine's day card?  A love letter?  Nope.  But I did write him a little poem - with improper grammar and all.  

Yep.  I married up.  : o)

HCG Update!

Drum roll.... HCG for today was 302!!! It's has tripled since Monday!! Whoot!!! Whoot!!!

Progesterone was 45!

Good news all around. Keep growing baby! I am overjoyed!!

My first ultrasound is not for a few weeks since Dr. G is out of the office. But all is well!

This is a major lesson in trust!! I like to have some control and I have zero control right now. I just keep praying and saying, "Jesus, I trust in You!" I have my moments of panic, but, overall, I feel more peace since (trying!) to turn it all over to Him. Every time I get up from my desk at work, I say a Hail Mary. If I start thinking of the baby, I say a prayer. Constant prayer is what is keeping me sane! I don't know where I would be without it.

Thank you all for all of your support, prayers and congratulatory comments!!! A simple "Thank You"
seems totally inadequate. You all mean the world to me and I cannot thank you enough. You are all in my prayers!!

HCG NUMBERS!!!

Just got the call from Dr. G's office! My first HCG draw was 102!!!!! It is right where it is suppose to be!! They are still waiting on the progesterone and will call me when they get the results if low at all. Next blood draw is Wednesday morning!

OH MY GOODNESS I'M REALLY PREGNANT!!!

I am floating on air and am so excited for this little life!! Grow baby, grow!!

Side story: I did my experience my first almost stalker-like behavior today. Dr. G's office does not officially open until 9am. But they are 'open' doing ultrasounds for monitored cycles and such from 7-9am.

Well, there was no way I was driving to work, waiting until 9am to call, waiting for a call back, driving back to their office to pick up the order, get the blood draw and then drive back to work!! No way! Nope! I showed up right after 7am. They didn't even act like I was crazy! Just gave my orders and said they would call ASAP!! Whoot!!

And you know why I love that office so much??? I didn't even have to tell the nurse or receptionist my name! I know I've been there a lot lately, but I didn't expect that! Or maybe I was on a potential stalker list so they were expecting me. Hehe.

Big Fat Positive!!!!

This morning was my testing date per my doctor.  If I hadn't started a new cycle by today, I was to test and then call him Monday morning.  It has been 16 days since my HCG shot and I'm P+15, CD 29.  I've NEVER had a CD 29.

I hadn't started or spotted or had any cramps yesterday... 

I dreamt about testing and tossed and turned all night...

I woke up this morning at 5AM, POAS in the dark and then hopped back into bed with Doug...

When we turned on the lights we saw this...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!  WHOOO HOOOO!!  WHOOOT!!!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Doug said he knew it all along!  I just started crying and screaming!  Praise the Lord!!  Praise the Lord!!

We went to mass and adoration.  We both cried such happy and thankful tears.  

I still cannot believe it.  I am in total shock.  I feel like I am in a crazy dream and it is not really happening.

I will go in for blood work tomorrow to confirm the results.  I am so excited and nervous and overjoyed and petrified all at the same time.  

I'm scared it is a fluke and I just have leftover HCG in my system... scared about my tubes... worried about my thyroid.  Ack!  That blood test cannot come fast enough.  I'm thinking of camping out at Dr. G's office. I'm sure he has had infertiles do that before, right??

I am just praying and rejoicing!!!  After all, no amount of worry will change anything.  It is all in God's hands!!  Please pray along with me!!  I/We need them!!

St. Gerard, pray for us!

St. Rita, pray for us!

St. Anne, pray for us!

St. Gianna, pray for us!

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Our Lady of Joy, pray for us!

St. Elizabeth, pray for us!

Blessed Pier Georgio Frassati, pray for us!

St. Theodore, pray for us!

St. Robert Ballarmine, pray for us!

St. Anthony, pray for us!

All Holy Men and Women, pray for us!

Grow Baby H, Grow!!

"THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US, AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY!!"  

 ~ Psalm 126:3

P.S.  We are keeping this away from face.book and the 'real world' for a little bit.  Thanks!