6 Weeks

I have successfully made it past six weeks. I've had little to no cramping and what I've had has been minor and I haven't spotted or bled at all. I'm praying like crazy that our little guy will make it through and catch up to where he needs to be. Do you notice how I'm calling it a "he"? I'm convinced it's going to be a boy because I wanted a girl so badly. Then when it wasn't measuring up to par, my mind was put into perspective and now I don't care so much as long as he's healthy.

Ok, Enough With the Dreams!

My dreams are so real! I can't believe how much detail is in them. Last night, I dreamed that I went to work and when I came out I went to go get my car (Shark Bait Ooh Ha Ha). I got in and I drove to my red car (which I don't even own anymore). I left the keys in the ignition and the car running and got out to get some stuff out of my red car. While I was pilfering through my stuff, Shark Bait Ooh Ha Ha was stolen...and I didn't even notice until I rose up and started back to it. So, I freaked out, naturally. I went into the security area and told them that my car was stolen. They decided to call the police. While I was waiting for the police I decided to move my red car to a different area so I could keep an eye on it. After I moved my car I went back to the security office, which happened to be more like a house with three or four living rooms. So I sat down and here come my parents and family to sit and wait with me. When I say family, I'm not talking about sisters and brothers. They weren't there, but my grandpa and uncle from my dad's side were there and an aunt and uncle from my mom's side were there. They were just waiting for the police with me. The police were super slow for some reason so I need to go back out to my red car. I go back to the parking lot and it was GONE! Both of my cars were stolen and the only people out there were some guys who were cutting down a tree. I figured my car had been towed because the guys needed the space for the tree so I didn't say anything about the second car being stolen. I went back in and the police still hadn't shown up. Then my alarm started going off (I forgot to turn it off for Saturday morning) and I woke up very groggy. I had to think for a minute about my dream and finally realized that I don't even own the red car anymore. Though, I did go to the window to make sure Shark Bait Ooh Ha Ha was still out there. He was an he was sitting in the same space we had parked him in last night.

More Vivid Dreams

I don't usually dream, let alone vivid dreams that I can remember details about. But, after looking back at when my Orc dream was, I was pregnant then. I was pregnant when I dreamed about my fertility doctor being my dentist. Last night, I had another vivid dream. I've read and heard that your dreams become more vivid when you are pregnant and if that is truly the case, I have that symptom...which makes me happy since I have very few other symptoms.

In my dream last night, I was at a church camp. My dad and I were both counselors and we were watching a couple of kids play tether ball. Do you remember tether ball? I was a tether ball queen in grade school! I loved it! If only the Olympics had a tether ball match....ANYWAY, so these kids were playing tether ball and they were kids I recognized from church. One kid can be mean at times and he was cheating in the tether ball game. He wasn't hitting the ball hard enough to even go into the other person's range. He was just making it stationary as much as he could so the other kid would get tired and quit and he would win by default. So, I put a stop to that because it wasn't nice! Then Dad started talking about the kids' t-shirts. The cheater kid had a t-shirt on that said "I let my sister hold my hoagie!" HA! It had a picture of a house that had a hoagie sandwich sticking out both ends. I don't know if my dream brain was in the gutter or if I have actually seen this shirt. I don't think I've ever seen that shirt, but I could have. Either that or my dream brain is creative! We decided they didn't need to be wearing shirts with slogans....which happens to be a rule at the place I work. We aren't allowed to wear anything with slogans or brand names written on it. Then my stinking alarm went off so I didn't get to see Dad and I get on to the little kids about their inappropriate clothing. Why do I have to dream in the morning? I never get to finish my dreams!

Keep Dreaming Blogger Buddies!

Nerves and Dreams

Tuesday evening I went to bed thinking of nothing but my ultrasound the following morning. I was so nervous about everything and couldn't sleep well and woke up a few times during the night. But, I did have an interesting dream in the wee hours of the morning. The first thing that happened was that my mom made my sis, my hubby, and I a dentist appointment. I am a little confused as to why my mother was making these appointments for us. That is not normal anymore....maybe when we were in high school. Anyway, so we were going to the dentist. When we get there I'm the only one that will go in. So, I go in and there are a ton of people in the lobby waiting to see the dentist. I am finally called back and I get in the chair and, low and behold, my fertility doctor is my dentist! Then my alarm went off and I had to see the man I dreamed about in person. I thought about telling him that he was in my dream, but decided against it. I don't want him to take that wrong....or get a big head!

1st Ultra Sound

Russ and I went in today to see our baby. It was the most beautiful little dark spot in my uterus that I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it only measured at 4 weeks and 5 days. I'm 5 weeks and 5 days today so it's 6 days behind. If we had conceived the old-fashioned way I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd just chalk it up to my cycle being off. But, since we did IUI then there really is no room for discrepencies. We did see the gestational sack and the yolk. They both looked perfect. I go back next Thursday and we need to see a fetal pole and a heartbeat at that time. If we don't, then this is probably not a viable pregnancy. This really stinks. My doctor said that we don't need to be too concerned with it at this time, but I'm completely freaking out. Please pray for us during this difficult time.

Shout-Out, a Song, and Due Dates

First, I want to thank all of my faceless friends from the WebMD Trying to Concieve: Infertility Support Group message boards, my blogspot friends, and my sis. I love that you still come to my site and comment and support me in this journey. It takes real courage to be happy for someone who is in my position. You guys are wonderful friends and I really do appreciate all of you.

Second, have you heard the new Toby Keith song "She Never Cried in Front of Me?" If you want the lyrics, click here. Well, I like this song. It's catchy. I like the tune and I think Toby Keith is a good singer, albeit a little raunchy at times. The first few times I heard this song, I felt really sorry for the guy. But, then, after thinking about it more, I thought that he was probably a typical man and just didn't notice his woman was crying. Now, Russy is really great about this. If I'm crying or sad, he usually says something like "what do you want and how many?" Basically, anything to make whatever it is that is getting me down better. Typically, though, guys are so involved in themselves (because they can't multitask maybe) that they don't notice what the women are going through. So, I'm thinking that this woman probably cried in front of him and he just didn't notice.

Third, I'm having a difficult time figuring out my due date. This is really irritating. I plugged my information into WebMD which promptly told me my due date should be 4/16/09. Then I went to 4woman.gov and plugged my information in there. They said that my due date should be 4/24/09. An 8 day difference? I'm going to assume it's going to be around 4/16/09 because that seems to be the trend with some other calculators. I'll just have to see what my doctor says.

Nerves and Stomach Issues

I don't know whether I'm imagining the stomach issues or not. I would think I'm not because I'm not one to act sick when I'm really not. But, is it odd to have some stomach issues at only 5wks? I haven't puked up my guts or anything, but I have been a bit queasy at times. Usually a few crackers or a rice cake will clear it right up. Anyway, I'm just thinking it's too soon to have symptoms and wondering what your (those of you that have been here) take on it is.

I am super nervous about my ultrasound on Wednesday. I'm excited about seeing the little blob (I assume it's going to look like a blob at this point) but I'm also worried that WandBoy won't find anything. I haven't spotted since the day I thought the IUI didn't work. Now, looking back, I'm thinking that could have been implantation spotting. Who knows? My body is so out of whack that anything is possible. Anyway, I'm nervous and I still have two days to go until the appointment. Oh, the pain!!!

I found a Chinese Gender Predictor on the net the other day. I figured it would be fun so I plugged my info in and it said that I'm going to have a girl. I don't really believe in these things. It had a 50/50 shot! But, it sounds nice.

See ya Blogger Buddies!

Beijing or Bust!

I love the Olympics. This is really the only sporting event I'll watch on TV and get excited about. It doesn't even matter what competition it is. I was watching boxing the other day and was yelling for our guy to win. This post, though, is not about Kerri Walsh, Misty May-Treanor or Michael Phelps though all are extremely talented. I want to talk about the Chinese gymnastics team and the underage scandal. Personally, I believe that if their passports checked out and the IOC and whatever the other thing is that checks things like this say they are ok, then we need to quit worrying about it. So the Chinese girls looks younger than 16...so what? Chinese women age a bit slower than us white women. And my real opinion is this: even if they are 13 and 14, they still beat the Americans and everyone else. They obviously deserve their gold medals and we need to just leave it alone. Now, if it does come out that they really were underage, they should have to pay the consequences, but for now, their stories check out and I'm excited for them. With the Chinese, it's really an all or nothing game. Go China!

hCG Chart

I figured I would post this since it could be interesting for some of you. This is a chart of my hCG levels. It looks like I have a singleton in there!

Follow-Up to My Vent

I was asked to make a list of things appropriate to say to someone who is going through infertility. The list I came up with is as follows:

1. "I'll be praying for you." This is the most comforting words you can give a person, at least one who believes in God.

2. "You're in my thoughts." Again, comforting, but also letting the infertile person know that you understand this isn't an easy thing to go through.

3. "Try not to lose hope." This let's the infertile person know that you are hoping for them and that they aren't alone in their hope.

4. "This, too, shall pass." I love this quote and I use it all the time. It reminds me that this world is fleeting and if this doesn't happen for me, it will be ok.

5. "God will make a way." I love to think like this. God is in control and His plan is better than mine!

What you could say to someone who is newly pregnant after a battle with infertility:

1. "Congratulations." This is the first thing that comes to my mind. There is no need to be pessimistic at the get-go.

2. "I'll be praying for you." If you feel pessimistic say this instead of "I hope you can carry it to term." It basically means the same thing with a lot more tact.

3. "I'm so happy that this is finally happening for you!" If you know how long the person has been struggling to get to this point, just be happy for them. They need your support.

4. "You must be completely thrilled." Something like this let's the person know that you understand the struggle they had and that you know how much they wanted this.

I hope this helps some of you. By the way, the same principle applies for people who talk to others with terminal illnesses such as HIV and cancer. Be careful with your words. You never know when they might hurt someone.

Let's Talk About Vitamins and Minerals

I was very curious about my vitamin and mineral intake and whether I was getting enough of certain kinds for baby. The NP at the clinic had asked me about vitamins during my first appointment with her. At that time, I wasn't on anything. I had been for a while, but I had quit when it was clear I wasn't going to get pregnant on my own. She said that a multi-vitamin would be fine as long as I was getting enough folic acid (800 to 1,000 mcg for a pregnant woman). So, I went that day and bought a bottle of Women's One Daily vitamins and a bottle of Folic Acid supplements. I have taken them religiously ever since she told me I needed to.

Well, I was on WebMD, one of my favorite sites, and was looking at an article about prenatal vitamins. It had a list of what you, as a pregnant person, should look for in a vitamin. The list goes as follows:

• 4,000 to 5,000 IU (international units) of Vitamin A
• 800 to 1,000 mcg (1 mg) of Folic Acid
• 400 IU of Vitamin D
• 200 to 300 mg of Calcium
• 70 mg of Vitamin C
• 1.5 mg of Thiamin
• 1.6 mg of Riboflavin
• 2.6 mg of Pyridoxine (I understand from researching on the internet this is the same as Vitamin B6, if I'm wrong on this, please tell me)
• 17 mg of Niacin
• 2.2 mcg of Vitamin B12
• 10 mg of Vitamin E
• 15 mg of Zinc
• 30 mg of Iron

I'm going to assume this list is accurate since it is from WebMD. Even if it isn't, I am still following the instructions given to me by my doctor...ok, Nurse Practitioner so I'm really not too worried about it, more curious. I hit a few roadblocks when I was trying to add up how much of each I was getting. I just went off of my vitamins and the Slim Fast that I drink, not my other dietary intake. Well, Slim Fast doesn't have the actual amounts of each vitamin on it's nutrition label. It only has the daily percentage of each vitamin/mineral based on a 2,000 calorie diet. I tried to search it on the net, but didn't get anywhere so I had to work with it. I made my personal calculations off of the values a normal woman should be getting based on a 2,000 calorie diet since that seems to be the norm.

All in all, I am getting more than enough of everything except for iron. Keep in mind, though, that this is only based upon my vitamin and Slim Fast consumption. I assume I make up the iron I need in everything else I eat.

Also, if you were wondering, I don't only drink the Slim Fast for breakfast and lunch anymore. I have started to supplement my diet with real food, too.

Stay Healthy Blogger Buddies!

I'm Busy

While on the phone:

Russ: "What do you want me to do about my car?" (it broke down on the way home from a preaching gig on Sunday)

Me: "Well, I don't know!"

Russ: "Fine! I'll see you later!"

Me: (I was in the car with my parents at the time) "I have no idea what he wants me to do about it? Produce another car? I can't. I'm busy producing a person!"