12 week - ready to kiss 1st trimester goodbye!

Finding out that you are pregnant at 4 weeks along can make the first trimester feel like a year! Fortunately the all-day sickness really only lasted about 2 weeks, the hypogrlycemia only a week or so and now I'm feeling pretty good. Evening heartburn/nausea is no joke but it's not every day.

My husband and I started taking our daughter for walks in our neighborhood almost every evening. We are fortunate enough to have the Intercoastal Waterway just a mile and a half down the road so it makes for a nice little outing. Brennan loves to ride in her stroller, point out and touch every fire hydrant and throw rocks into the river. We look for fishies, alligators (or as she calls them alligatorts) and birdies. Here are a few photos from last night's walk.

As for baby snowflake "shim" (named by my mother-in-law) is doing great!  Nice strong heartbeat and very active on ultrasound. Adam still wants to keep the gender a surprise and I want to find out like yesterday!  All babies start out as "boys" then the genital tubercle (which looks like a penis) becomes either the shaft of the penis for a boy or the clitoris if it's a girl.  Well at 12 weeks baby had a very prominent tubercle, so who knows maybe it will stick around and we will have a boy!!

There is a theory called the Ramzi method. It can predict the gender of a baby based on the yolk-sac/placenta location at 6-7 weeks. According to Ramzi it can predict the gender of 97.2% of males 97.5% of females. According to this theory we are having a boy!!

Baby is about the size of 2 pennies side by side. I haven't gained any weight yet (thankfully) and I'm not yet showing. The 2nd trimester begins the end of this week. I can't wait to see what the next trimester holds!

Looking forward to 4 more weeks of begging my husband to let me find out the gender and I can't wait to feel those kicks!!

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10 weeks

One of my favorite moments as a midwife is finding an early baby's heartbeat for the first time. My patients tell me all the time that seeing it on the ultrasound screen is one thing but hearing it for the first time is even better. I have cried with women countless times as they hear that fast thumping heart for the first time. I have cried with patients and friends as we discovered that their baby no longer had a heartbeat. I have also rejoiced with women as we find the heartbeat on ultrasound after minutes and minutes of unsuccessfully searching with the doppler.

At just 9 weeks and 3 days we heard the heartbeat for the first time. I couldn't believe my ears as I heard that fast little heart just beating away. Every time I've found the heartbeat for another mama I've wondered what it would be like to hear my baby's heart beating for the first time. I've wondered what it feels like just to be pregnant. Now I know just what it's like. It's incredible. It's amazing. It's a miracle. Only God could have created this.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. God hears our prayers and blesses those who trust in Him. I am unbelievably blessed and appreciate the ability to share this time with all of you.

Current gender/surprise status: Adam wants to keep it a surprise and I want to find out! When we hit 16 weeks he will make a final decision. It will be funny to see how many times we both flip flop between now and then.

Brennan was my assistant tonight for a quick photo update. She couldn't resist getting in front of the camera herself.

Side note: deep fried pickle spears.... wow!!

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Happy 9 Weeks Baby Snowflake

We made it to another milestone!  We are officially 9 weeks which means 6 fewer pills per day and no more suppositories!  Baby snowflake is really starting to take shape. You can see a head, body and little arm and leg buds. Baby is about the size of a grape and has a strong heartbeat!

Brennan is already in love. She says that baby snowflake is a sister and that her name is Molly. My 5 year old sister-in-law calls her sparkle princess unicorn or something along those lines. In this 9 week ultrasound you can see how much the baby has changed in such a short amount of time. Watch closely at the end and you can see baby move!

Before Adam and I even started trying I remember telling him that I had to have a daughter. I am one of six girls and I absolutely adore my mother. I couldn't imagine never getting to experience that mother-daughter relationship. I told him that if God only gave use boys then we would adopt a girl. Well God decided we would adopt our girl first.

Adam is IN LOVE with Brennan. He is wrapped around her littler finger. She turns into the sweetest little snuggle bug when daddy is around.  They are best buds and he wouldn't change her for the world. They golf, they fish, they play with the doggies, they wrestle, they gang up on mommy. But he would love a little boy. I imagine because he wants to experience the relationship that he shares with his father but from the other side.

We go back and forth on whether or not we should find out the gender. I have my little girl and would love for my husband to get his little boy. I would also love for Brennan to have a little sister.

So now you get to weigh in.  Comment on this blog post with whether or not you think we should find out the gender and why!!

Prayer requests: Help us make it out of the first trimester!

Please help me pray for a new friend who is waiting to find out if her IVF cycle will be giving her a little blessing of her own

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Little Flicker

6 weeks 2 days and we have a heartbeat!!

Some people seem confused as to why we call our baby "baby snowflake".  Nightlight Christian Adoptions has a program called Snowflake Embryo Adoption and Donation. They says that just like a snowflake every embryo is a frozen, unique gift from heaven!

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Scrapbook

I initially planned to do these photos just for us but they are too cute not to share. I think I will make a little scrapbook of our journey and use it to explain embryo adoption to our baby to be.

Fertility Center of Charleston - We love Dr. Singleton!

Beautiful Hatching Embryo - Frozen 5 years

First Time I've Ever Seen 2 Lines!

Still the Best Nausea I've Ever Had

Too Early for a Heartbeat But We Saw the Fetal Pole

Someone LOVES Her Baby Snowflake

Reading to Baby

Found the Baby in Mama's Belly

Next up: hoping to see the heartbeat on ultrasound tomorrow!!!

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Beta #3

Had our final beta hcg today. Officially 21dp6dt (are you following my lingo yet?). In my head I was hoping for at least 2,000. One of my sweet pregnant nurse friends graciously stalked the results for me. Beta today was 5,057!!!! Doing my happy dance today. Ultrasound Wednesday. It may still be too early to see the heartbeat but I'm hoping to see the yolk sac (what will become the placenta) and the fetal pole (what becomes the baby). A heartbeat would be amazing!! 

Fell in love with the app called Sprout. Here is what our little Baby Snowflake looks like this week. About the size of an apple seed. 

edited to add: no, that does not mean twins!!

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Beta #2

We had our repeat quant today. Like I said last week the first was 119 at 11dp6dt (11 days after transfer). The goal to pray for was 357 and our repeat today was 349!!! That's great news. Everything seems to be increasing as it should. They like to do 1 more blood test a week from today. The goal for that is around above 2,000. My fertility clinic likes the first ultrasound to be done at 7 weeks but being a midwife surrounded by OB-GYN's I'm not sure my uterus can wait. We may cheat and do the first ultrasound at 6 weeks which would be the first week of March. We will see how patient we can be.

Everyone keeps asking how I feel. We are probably a little early for pregnancy symptoms but I do have increasing breast tenderness and one other symptoms. I'm not tired per say but I sort of feel like I've just had a glass of wine. I feel the tiniest bit dizzy and loopy all the time. Very weird.

I will stay on estrogen pills as well as progesterone suppositories until around 9 weeks. I'm sure that magnifies any pregnancy symptoms.

Thank you all so much for your love, support, prayers and well wishes. This is one loved Baby Snowflake!

Keep praying a healthy sticky baby!

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