Our final insemination was on 11/4/13.  I worked a half a day, and then left to spend the rest of the day with my family.  Bobby-Jo had severe cramping and nausea the day of the insemination with lots of breast tenderness and "stars" she so often spoke of during her pregnancy with Bernice.

We are at day 7 now and she is still speaking of breast tenderness but nothing else really.  I suppose if she doesn't get her period this weekend (day 25/26) we'll test next week.  I don't really know, and I don't know how to feel.

Sept 26

Peed on a stick, negative.

10 days

The waiting is almost unbearable.  Ten more days until we can do the at-home pregnancy test.  I want to know now! I want to be able to smile that smile that no one but Bobby-Jo knows.  To say that we will have a new addition to our already perfect family.  Time seems to just drag on and on and on.  I speak to her tummy...every morning right before I leave, and saying good night to the tummy is the last thing I do before I sleep at night.  Talking, holding, hoping.  So much pressure right?? NO! If it isn't meant to be, okay, it isn't meant to be.  But if it is?!?!?

I love you Bobby-Jo.  As much as this means to both of us, our family is perfect no matter if we are 3 or 3+.

1259

That is the number of days between our the successful insemination that gave us Bernice and the insemination for the new life we will bring into the world.  Well, I cannot say for sure that the insemination worked, all I can say is I feel very spectacular about how things are.  But what does my "feeling" matter, B is the one that had the procedure done, she should be telling us how things "feel".

It has been a pretty long journey in comparison to the one we experienced when trying to get pregnant with Bernice.  Let me see if I can recap and get you caught up quickly...
November/December 2012 we started tracking ovulation and timing on B's period.  We knew we wouldn't we able to start the actual process until after the new year, but wanted to get an idea of how things were working this time.  Same time frame 26 days between periods.  Nice job B staying so regular...

FEB 20: We had a consultation with Dr. Jaffe who recommended we get B on CoQ10 and her prenatal vitamins.  We scheduled the HSG (hysterosalpingogram) and were making sure everything was good...turned out her right Fallopian tube is blocked we didn't see full flow.  We scheduled another where Dr Jaffe would "blow" out the blockage and get everything flowing well.
APRIL 11: 2nd HSG was unsuccessful in unblocking her Fallopian tube.  The left side is the good side and the one we have to hope for most ovulation to occur on to ensure we can collect the egg and bring it down to get fertilized.
MAY 10: 2nd consultation with Dr. Jaffe and we opted to go with a few more drugs to grow a few more eggs and try to utilize the good side most: after the follicle scan when she starts her period, she then takes Letrozole to grow grow grow.  We give 5 shots of Bravelle to mature mature mature and then the trigger shot 36 hours before insemination to tell the egg to come on.

We had two more vials of donor specimen that would allow for Bernice to have a full blood sibling.  We wanted to maximize our chances of doing this.  At the end of May her period started we went through the processes, shots, scans etc did not inseminate as the eggs were on the blocked side.  Mid of June we stared all over, shots, scans insemination July 1 > no go  July period: shots scans insemination with Dr Silva and Lauren on July 27th, in Iowa for our wedding, period started August 8.  No full sibling for Bernice.

What do we do now...we couldn't do anything for August which was good as it gave us time to evaluate what we wanted...where we stood...how we both felt emotionally, psychologically and financially.  We looked around on the CC website off and on for about 3 weeks trying to narrow it down see if there was anyone out there we really liked, etc.  We decided to try two more times.  Due to Bobby-Jo's age we figured if it didn't work by the next two times, we would be a 3 member family happily.  WE both really want to have another baby, I think we will be devastated if it doesn't work out, but I also think everything happens for a reason and sometimes you just don't question it.

Insemination try #3 for Baby #2 was on September 14th 2013.  That is what I am celebrating today.  Only time will tell if this was a successful attempt.  I have asked Bobby-Jo not to do anything, lift anything etc.  I want her to stay as relaxed and calm as she can, give this the best shot of working.

She's finally here!

Bernice Violet made her entrance into the world on Thursday, December 30th, 2010 at 2:23pm. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Labor started around 10p on Wednesday the 29th. B did an amazing job through all the pain and contractions. She got very tired at the end pushing and pushing to bring our daughter into the world. We soon discovered that Bernie had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice and under her arm once. No wonder she had such a hard time making her grand entrance.

B did a wonderful job as Bernice is a beautiful little girl that we both cannot stop looking at, holding and kissing all over. She has truly made me a different person and I know B would say the same.

So our journey into motherhood had come to an end, but our journey through motherhood has just begun. We couldn't be more happy or filled with love. Children do make this world a better place and we are overjoyed in our opportunity to make our space in this world just that much better.

I hope you have enjoyed this journey as it has been filled with every emotion possible. Thank you all for taking it with us.

BCCB

Week 36

So let's see...

Saw Susan the Midwife on Monday. She said B has started to dilate! Who knew it would start this early. Only 1 cm, but still... She also told us BG (baby girl) is turned, head down. Makes it easier for us to try to determine which part is sticking out when we are playing "guess that body part" lol! She stressed with B to do her squats and try to find a fitness ball to sit on. She also recommended B go see the chiropractor for the sciatic nerve pain she is having, but we forgot her name. We start weekly visits until BG's arrival.

We had our shower on Saturday the 27th! The Cameron sisters plus Mummy, did a great job. We played guess the chocolate bar: melted chocolate in a diaper and you had to guess which type of chocolate bar it was. We also played "remember what is on the platter", and tried to cut a piece of string that matched B's belly circumference. It was a wonderful. It was a fun jungle theme and the cake was really good too.

We think we have all the clothes washed and are going to go thru the dresser to try to put away the bigger clothes to make room for the smaller things we have. We are also going to get a chair in the next couple weeks or so. Want to have everything all set for BG's arrival. We are very excited to finally meet her.

Week 35

It's week 35 and we have 36 days until our due date. :)) We are ready, I think. We are still looking for a rocking chair to put in the nursery, but if BG comes tomorrow, we would be just fine.

We were surprised again this week with a friend's huge generosity. She gave us a Bumbo, a floor mat, a walker, and a bunch of clothing. We have been enormously lucky with all the wonderful gifts we have received the past few months.

We went out of town last weekend for my grandmother's funeral. We flew and poor B was so swollen when we got home. She did a lot of walking, not to mention helping Sarah with Calder. Things are much better now, but it did take a couple days for the swelling to go away. Aside from last weekend, she has been pretty luck so far with little to no swelling thus far.

We've been watching a birthing class online this weekend. It's been pretty interesting and very informative. So many different things to think about. The great thing is although they are presenting many options, we've been able to stick with our original birth plans with little difficulty.

BG has been very active this week. B is feeling more tired as we get closer. She is finding it difficult to get and stay comfortable. The waddle has started too. When I said "36 more days" to her earlier, she looked at me with utter disbelief. The time has gone very quickly.

Overall, B is feeling good. We are getting more and more excited as the day gets closer.