Our Journey...

I smell something stinky!

2008-11-23T14:33:00.001-08:00

Well 2 post in 1 night! I wanted to share a picture of cute little skunk :)

It's about Time!

2008-11-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Well where do I begin! The past 7 months have been AMAZING!

It all started on April 13th when at 2:52am my water broke! It was very uneventful and the beginning of the rest of our lives as parents. After I rushed into the bedroom to announce to Dan that my water had broke I decided to call tele health to see if I need to rush to the hospital. I luckily was not having any contractions so I was able to hang out for a few hours before we had to make our way to St. Thomas.

We arrived at the hospital just shortly after 5:30AM where we made our way to the assessment room. After a while I was finally admitted and we got the ball rolling!
At this point I still was not having any contractions so they decided to put me on ocytocin to start the contractions. I am not sure how long I was on that but I would say that I tried to withstand the pain for about an hour before I decided it was epidural time.

Once I receied the epidural they bumped up my dosage of ocytocin and the contractions started coming on strong- lucky for me I didn't feel a darn thing! I kept telling Dan that it was a wonder drug! Oh and it was! LOL At roughly 7 or 7:30pm I was fully dilated and ready to push. I thought once you were fully dilated that it was just a few pushing and your baby was out- the nurses informed me otherwise and said I would likely be pushing for a few hours- boy they were wrong! After I started pushing they told me shortly ther after to stop because they had to wait for the Dr. Once the Dr arrived it was just a few pushes and Rhys was out.

Our beautiful baby boy was born at 7:57pm weighing in at 6 lbs 13oz. We were overjoyed with emotion and really disbelief that our baby was finally here. It was the best feeling to have him in my arms it was as if he was meant to be there- he fit like a glove.

The past 7 months have gone by so fast and we have already had some firsts- 1st Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween and teeth! We are looking forward to another first in the next month- 1st Christmas! Hopefully I won't wait this long for my next post!

Itchy,Itchy,Scratchy, Scratchy!

2008-04-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

OMG is all I can say! I am not sure why or how this started but for the past week I have been unbearably itchy! I can't stop scratching my entire body. I have heard that some women experience it during pregnancy but I thought I lucked out and than bammo at 39 weeks pregnant the itch hit! LOL

Well it is 2 days until my due date! Wow I can't believe how fast that went. Seems like yesterday this all started. We are ready to welcome our little one into our lives. Sure hope Bronx and Riley are too! I went to the Dr last week and I was already 2 cm dilated! He did a procedure on me called a membrance sweep. This is supposed to help bring on labour naturally. The Dr was certain that we would have a baby before the weekend. Of course I was so excited so I called my Mom and she decided that she would make her way down for the weekend. Well what do you know Dr's can be wrong! No baby! It was disappointing but life goes on. I went for another Dr appt on Monday and I was 3 cm dilated and the baby is now "engaged". The Dr was happy with the progress so far so now we wait.

I finished work yesterday so I am taking this time before the birth to relax and enjoy quietness as I know it! It won't be long before I am getting up every few hours to nurse and start being a Mommy! I have a great support system with Dan and I already know that he is going to be a fantastic Daddy. He has been great throughout my pregnancy and really helped out whenever he could without any complaints. He is an awesome man and I couldn't have married anyone better.

Well that's all folks! Next time I write it will likely be after the baby is here. Wish us luck!

Time flies when your having fun!

2008-03-24T17:52:00.001-07:00

Well it sure has been some time since I last wrote! A trip to Florida has come and gone and poof I am due in less than 3 weeks!

I have been feeling great but the increasing size in belly makes sleeping a bit of a challenge at times. I still feel well rested when I wake up but I do up at least once in the night to take a washroom break! LOL I guess it is to be expected at this point.

I am still active with exercise and eating well. I think that helps with a good pregnancy. Well at least that what I am contributing it to at this point.

The nursery is just waiting for the dresser and bookcase that will be picked up on Thurs. My Dad's business is making it so hence the reason why it is only getting to us this week! Once everything has a home I will feel a lot better.

I am going to see the OB once a week now and have an appoinment tomorrow. So far he has been very pleased with my pregnancy. He said it was a text book pregnancy. That makes me feel good :) Hopefully it will be a text book labour and delivery. Let's keep our fingers crossed for that one!

Dan has been fantastic. He is so helpful around the house and with anything I can imagine. There is no doubt in my mind that when our little one arrives he will be the picture perfect Dad. He is wonderful and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Well, time to get some rest so I am signing off. I may write again- likely when I am overdue and going stir crazy!

Until then.....

Time is flying by...

2008-02-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

Well I am now over 7.5 months and I can't believe how fast it has already gone! It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. we had our first OB appointment this week and it went well. Typical Dr visit- check weight, blood pressure and urine for protein- all is well! The baby is a mover that is for sure! Everytime they put the doppler on my belly the baby is always moving around- hopefully it will be this anxious to get out when the time comes!
We are off to Florida soon- only 6 more sleeps! We are both looking forward to relaxing and spending time together to prepare for our baby. This will be our last vacation together before we start our family! Wow that seems weird to say - our family :)

Anyhoo, signing off for the night!

Phew!

2008-01-29T18:32:00.000-08:00

About 2 months ago when Dan and I went for our 19 week ultrasound the tech found a cyst on the babies brain. She told us not to worry and that it would more than likely go away on it's own bewtween 24 and 28 weeks. We wanted to be safe so I made an appointment for another ultrasound. Last Friday we had our ultrasound appointment and the cyst is gone. What a relief! I wasn't worried anyways but it is nice to know 100% that we don't have to think about it anymore.

Baby Nursery is coming together!

2008-01-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! A new year and many exciting things to come! It won't be long now before our baby joins the family! I can't believe how quickly the past 6 plus months has come.

Well we finally bought the baby crib. I went to Port Huron a few days ago with Sheila and bought it at Toys R Us. It is so amazing how much less expensive things are in the states. Now all we have to do is get a dresser and a blind and start putting the nursery together. Dan was hard at work putting the crib together but he got it done in an hour so I was impressed.

Once everything is together I will post an updated pic.

My pregnancy is still going fantastoc. I have been experiencing Braxton Hicks ( so I think) the past week or so. It feel likes my stomach is so tight and hard. Seems to happen after I eat- maybe I am eating too much at once? or maybe too spicy? I am not even sure if what I am experiencing is Braxton Hicks but I explained it to January and that is what she said. No biggy and not really uncomfortable so I will just go with the flow!

Signing off.............

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-28T05:35:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe that I am already 6 months along in my pregnancy. I have been feeling great thankfully! I feel blessed that I haven't had any sickness or aches and pains. I guess pregnancy agrees with me :)

Well we didn't win the baby nursery contest but that's ok. I am sure that someone else must have needed it more than us.

Christmas has come and gone and now the New Year is just around the corner. Hard to believe that the year has gone by so quickly. It has been a different year for us with the deaths of both grandmothers and then the exciting news of a new baby. I think 2008 is going to be great ( mind you a little less sleep!) and I can't wait to meet our baby.

The baby has been so active the past month or more. It is always reassuring to get a kick or roll. It is such an amazing feeling. The other I read that if you listen at this point in your pregnancy you can hear your baby's heatbeat just from putting your ear on your belly. Well of course I couldn't reach but Dan was able to hear the heartbeat ( no it wasn't my heartbeat!) Pretty neat!

Well that is about all for now!
Happy New Year

Enter to Win!

2007-12-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Well All is well in babyland! I had a Dr appintment last week and things are looking good. I am up 8lbs and uterus is measuring normal. All good things to hear.

So I heard about a contest on the radio the other day for a chance to win a $5000 nursery/accessary and I decided to enter. You simply have to tell your story of why you should win. Here is ours..........

This is the story of the gift of love. A Grandmothers devotion and love for her family.

It started long ago when I was young. My Nana used to come and stay with our family for holidays and special occasions. She was a very loving women and family was of the utmost importance to her. I remember how she would always make us feel special and she was always a very important part of the family. As I grew up and went off to school the visits were not as often but I knew that over the holidays I would always see Nana.

After I met my husband Dan, he would join in our visits and she thought of him as another grandchild loving him just as much as the rest of us. I couldn’t wait to have a child of my own to be able to share with Nana.

Our journey began in February 2005. We had been married in September 2004 and had decided that we were ready to begin our family. Easy right? We thought so too! How hard could it be? Everybody was getting pregnant so we thought we would follow suit. Wrong! By July 2006 and many months of frustration we decided to seek some advice and were referred to a fertility specialist. The sound of that word scared both of us but we were optimistic and moved forward with hope and an open mind.

We met Dr. Martin from the Southern Ontario Fertility Technology Clinic (SOFT) in August 2006 and by September 2006 we found ourselves sitting in his office hearing the results of his findings. “INFERTILITY” that word rang through our ears like a loud bell. How could this be? We were young, healthy and ready to be parents. We were devastated but still hopeful at the same time. After our initial reaction we listened carefully to our options and decided to proceed with Intrauterine Insemination ( IUI) . I thought it would be a piece of cake but little did I know it was a bit more complicated than that! IUI consists of very close monitoring of the womens cycle and includes daily ultrasounds and bloodwork. This meant many early mornings to the Dr. office but a small price to pay for the end results.

Like most people I was still extremely positive about IUI and thought that it would work the first time we tried it but I was wrong again! I was certain that we would beat the odds and I would be pregnant right away. The percentage of conception with IUI for us was about 4-6% but we still pushed forward. After 4 unsuccessful attempts at IUI we decided that we needed to look at other options so back we went to see Dr. Martin. It was clear to us that Invitro (IVF) was our next step but with such a drastic increase in cost from IUI we decided to try our luck 2 more times with IUI.

In amongst all of this personal turmoil our family also went through the unexpected loss of my Nana. With all of the funeral arrangements taking place in Toronto we were faced with yet another obstacle. My 6th and final IUI was scheduled for the morning of my Nana’s service. We were torn because with an over 2-hour drive from London to Toronto we could just barely make the service provided traffic was on our side. Was this a sign? We knew that Nana would want us to proceed and with the support of our family we were able to make it happen.

After the IUI we had to wait to find out if it worked. Let me tell you that it was the longest 2 weeks of my life! Here I sat with so many thoughts running through my head. Was it a coincidence that this was all happening at this very moment? or was it fate? Well not every story has a happy ending ( or so we thought at the time) because this last IUI attempt was unsuccessful. Again we were devastated.

As a result of Nana’s passing I was left with an inheritance. It just so happened that this inheritance would cover almost exactly the cost of the IVF fees we would incur. We held the thought close to us that although she couldn’t be here to share in the joy of a baby this was Nana’s way of sending her love.

On July 22 ( which just happened to be the day after my Nana’s 90th birthday) we had a successful egg retrieval and on August 8th we found out that we were finally pregnant! We were overjoyed with our news and couldn’t believe that this day we have been longing for was finally here!

As if having to face the loss of one grandmother wasn’t heartbreaking enough we also unexpectedly lost Dans grandmother less than 2 months after Nana. Through the sadness of losing the dearest members of our family we feel comfort in knowing that these two ladies are looking down on us with a smile.

We know that we have been anxiously waiting for this day to be here and we hope that by sharing our story if anything we can give other people hope and encouragement, as we believe miracles happen!

They will be making the decision on Dec 15th so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Until next time....

It's a ....... BABY!!!

2007-11-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

Ha Ha!!! Well we had our ultrasound a few days ago and opted to not find out the sex of the baby. We want it to be a surprise as there are so few of them left in life.

The ultrasound went well and Baby Mabee was VERY active- kicking and moving around. My Mom came down for the ultrasound and she was amazed. She had never been to an ultrasound so it was a great experience for her to see her grandbaby in utero.

I can't believe how big the baby has gotten since the last ultrasound 7 weeks ago. Even though it doens't even weigh a pound yet it has certainly grown a ton!

Once I figure out how to post pictures I will put up the photos. This time we weren't able to record the ultrasound- the tape wouldn't work :( It is unfortuante because this is our last ultrasound. Also our IPS screening ( bloodwork) came back. It is negative so that is a relief. The IPS screening is for chromosonal defects, Downs Syndrome and other things.

Other than that I have still been feeling fantastic! We have painted the nursery so next on to the expensive stuff- furniture!! It is an exciting time and the baby has also been kicking around more the past few days- throughout the entire day. Maybe it's going to be a soccor player- that's what Dan keep saying! In Dan's case we hope it's a golfer! lol

Will post soon :)

Thud, Thud!

2007-11-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

Well here I am 18 weeks and 6 days but who's counting! All has been going so great. I have been feeling better than ever so I guess this whole pregnancy thing is agreeing with me! I am lucky that I have not been sick what-so-ever. Whew!

So I have been feeling quite a bit of movement from that little baby inside me. It all started about 2 weeks ago. I was sitting at my desk and felt 3 thuds in my belly! It was great. I knew what it was right away because it was something that I hadn't felt before. Since that day it has only been getting stronger and more often. It is a great feeling I tell ya- nice to know that something is actually going on in there! Dan was able to feel it too which was very exciting.

Well we have our last ultrasound appointment next wed. My Mom is coming down for it so I am looking forward to seeing her and sharing the experience with her and Dan too!

I will post pics next week with the updated photos of Baby Mabee!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the snow- URGH!!!

Dr Appointment Today!

2007-10-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Well today we have a Dr appointment and we will get to hear the babies heartbeat. I think I will look forward to that every month! It isn't the same as the ultrasound but at least we will know that everything is going good :)

I have still been feeling GREAT! I am soooo lucky that I didn't have to experience morning sickness or anything for that matter. With the exception of feeling dizzy every morning in the beginning I can't complain and really how can I even complain about a little dizziness.

I am officially up 4 lbs and growing! Although my belly isn't really apparent to anyone I can see changes. I am still fitting into my regular clothes but friends keep telling me that one day soon I am just going to pop! It's a waiting game. It really is different going through pregnancy when you haven't done so before. Let;s face it everyone reads the books so you always compare your own pregnancy with the books or others that are expecting. I should just remember that everyone is different and every pregnancy id different. With the exception of being a little more irritated ( I think Dan would say a lot irritated!) I feel the same. I am continuing with my daily exercise routine and eating healthy.

Well that is it for now- ultrasound appointment Nov 21st- can't wait!

It's baby Mabee!!!

2007-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

12 week Ultrasound- what a great day. It was so surreal to see our little baby moving around and kicking. WOW! is the only word I can use to describe the experience.

12 1/2 weeks and counting!

2007-10-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe that I am already over 12 weeks pregnant! If I didn't know any better I wouldn't even think I was pregnant! Now I am gettting a little bit of a belly but nothing you would notice.

Tomorrow is a big day for us- we get to go for another ultrasound and see our little baby. At this point the baby is the size of a large plum or maybe a little bigger. It is going to grow a lot in the next few weeks. We are able to tape the ultrasound so it will be nice to have something to keep.

We decided to have a party on Friday so that we can share our goods news with our friends all at the same time. We are also going to my Mother in laws on the weekend to tell her the news. She is going to be thrilled! We are going to take the video with us. I can't wait!

Thump, Thump!

2007-09-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well today was our first ultrasound appointment- they day we see our babies heartbeat! We were filled with excitement and a bit of nervousness. All went well! It was such a neat thing to see and hear! There is only one baby so a bit of relief for Dan ( although he would be happy with 2) The babies heatbeat was 181 beats per minute. We saw it moving around- the head and the arms. It almost looked like it was waving at us! I am 9 weeks and will have my next ultrasound on Oct 4th when I will be 12 weeks. I can't wait to see how much the baby grows.

I am also happy that I am feeling better this week. I didn't have morning sickness but was nautious for the past 2 weeks. All part of our exciting journey. Oh almost forgot our due date is April 12th. Another Aries in the house should be interesting!

Siging off for now!

Blogging the journey

2007-09-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well I lied- I said I wouldn't wait this long until I posted another blog and I did! Sorry

Well things have been pretty normal except that I have been feeling nautious for the past few weeks. Some foods just really turn my stomach and then some things I just crave like ham and cheese sub from subway- go figure!!

We are going to the Dr's on monday for an ultrasound to see the heartbeat. We are really excited about this day because it will really make things real in our world. I can't wait! I will have to schedule my 3 month ultrasound soon as well.

It really has been killing us not telling anyone about our exciting news but we wanted to be safe rather than sorry. After we had to cancel our first IVF procedure we decided that we would keep it quiet. There are a few people that know but that is only my parents, sister and father-in-law. We know our news is safe with them although they are anxious to spread the word too!

We have decided that we are going to have a little get together on Oct 5th. The get together is really to tell all of our friends the news. We figured this was the best way to tell everyone at the same time. We just hope that people understand why we have kept this quiet.

Anyhoo, I am at work so I will sign off until monday!

Better late than never!

2007-08-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been a little lax in writing in this blog! The last time I wrote I left you hanging about our pregnancy results............... POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!! I am pregnant :) Our first blood test was very high- 880 (whatever that means) the second test (2 days later) they look for a 60% increase in the number. I succeeded with a whopping 1937. We had such a great day. I was off work so Dan and I headed to the golf course for 9 holes.

So it has been a few weeks and everything is progressing good I think. I guess I am lucky that I have noth experienced any morning sickness but because I feel the same it makes me feel as I am not pregnant. I have been dizzy in the mornings and yesterday we had a bit of a scare. On our way back from camping I passed out 2 times in a burger take out restaurant. Dan was waiting in the car with Bronx. It was pretty scary and an ambulance/paramedic were called. Luckily there was a Firefighter in the restaurant who sat with me and took my pulse while we waited for help. I think it was a combination of dehydration and lack of food. We went to a walk in clinic ( as we were not in London) and the Dr. advised that I go to Emergency. I did but after waiting for 2 hours and no sign of seeing anyone in the near future we made the decision to come home and see our own Dr. in the AM.

I went this AM to see the Dr and my blood pressure is back to normal ( well normal for me) and they did bloodwork. All is well thank goodness :)

Siging off now but I won't wait this long to write again.

The wait is killing us

2007-08-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

Well tomorrow is the big day- the day we will find out if I am pregnant. Oh my god! We have been waiting for this day for so long and now it is finally here. I am a mess! It is all that I have been thinking about for the last 2 weeks but intensely for the past 2 days. Every thought I have is about our fate based on 1 single blood test.

I have so many thoughts running through my mind and it is hard to keep focussed. I am off tomorrow from work. I am sure I will have a hard time sleeping tonight but what will be worse is having to wait for the phone call from the Dr. to let us know the results.

This is it folks- we are keepiong all body parts crossed and we are ready :)

And so it begins

2007-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

We have patiently been waiting for this day for a long time. Exactly 10 months ago we found out that we likely wouldn't be able to conceive a baby the "traditional" way. We have gone through a lot the past while from bloodwork, ultrasounds, injections and list grows. Finally we are at the last step IVF. On Sunday we had our egg retrieval which went great but the after effects were killer! I felt as though someone had stabbed me in the stomach about 100 times. Thankfully this feeling didn't last too long but it still took 2 days to recover. We had our egg transfer yesterday so now we wait for 2 weeks and see! I think these next 2 weeks are going to be LONG!! I guess happiness comes to those who wait or at least that is what I am hoping.
I still feel the same as I did before the retrieval and transfer except I am anxious. Time will tell.
Wish us well :)