One Day Closer

First, I want to apologize, because this blog is not going to be one of the best. We are in a holding pattern right now, and that is not going to change until Saturday. Today seemed like just another day. We got up this morning, went to work and came home. It was nice to have our friends Scott and Neilly over for dinner though. Their little boy is on the move and is a lot of fun. Although the final determination will not be made until the blood test on Monday, we feel the home pregnancy test will give us some perspective. For me it feels like Saturday will never get here. I cannot imagine what Amy is going through. We are nervously optimistic and anxious to get the news. Luckily, we have quite a bit going on to pass the time.

Today, I am thankful for Amy's new obsession, recycling. It is amazing how much can be recycled and how much is completely wasted. Today's song is "Supply and Demand" by Amos Lee. It was one of the few songs I heard today that I like. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday. Saturday is just around the bend.

Z

Approximately 108 Hours....

I guess it is obvious that I am counting down until I can take a home pregnancy test. Saturday will be my 14th day from retrieval and that is when I can take it. Some people suggest that I don't BUT I know my body and my previous pregnancies and that HCG will show up if I am. Not to say that all hope is lost if it is negative, but it was right the last time. My goal this week is to keep myself as busy as possible. If I don't have time to stress about it, then I won't get all in a mess. It is better for the baby...that is my excuse.

It was so wonderful to get back to work today! 3 days at home was SOOOOOOOO boring! I was wide awake at 5:45am, and I think that it shocked my husband when he rolled over at 6 to wake me up and I was alert. That is not the norm. Usually he has to almost force me out of bed! Luckily Tuesday- Thursday I will be busy, but Friday... not so much.... I will have to create things to do. THANK YOU to all of our friends that are inviting us to do something with them, not only for our fabulous company, but also to occupy our time. We are having dinner tomorrow night with Scott & Neilly, Wednesday night I have a Junior League meeting, Thursday we are going to Enid for a jewelry party (well, my husband is not going for the jewelry, but he is coming with me) and then there is Friday. Yeah, I will probably be able to hear crickets chirp. I need to get something on the schedule ASAP!

Saturday night our friends Dave & Amy are coming into town. I have already warned them, I will either be ecstatic or a HOT blubbering mess. Hopefully it is the former one! I heard some horrible news today. One of my former coworkers, who I really enjoyed passed away. She was only in her early 40's. Today, I am thankful for the gift of life. There have been times where I wished it was over, but the next morning am thankful I still exist. It truly is something we take for granted. The song of the day is "True Love Ways" by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. I am a HUGE Buddy fan, a true musical genius who died before his time, and it is my favorite song of his by far.

Keep us in your prayers! We only have a few days left!
~Amy

I Love Crest!

Today has been a FABULOUS day! We woke up, went to church... yet another one that we thought was nice, but not for us.... and then we went to the grocery store. Since moving to Edmond, we have tried out new grocers. Everyone knows that I will not go to Walmart unless I absolutely have to, but Target is always too packed. Along came Crest. I love it. Their produce is always fresh, their meat department always has a great selection and they have wonderful customer service. Not to mention we spent $102 today at the store and had a basket full of fresh veggies, fruits, and even steaks. Deal of the century! Now, I have heard things about the one in Midwest City, but the one here in Edmond is super nice. Love it.

We came home and watched another movie! That makes 10!! I have 2 left! My husband and the neighbor finished the fence, and on the way broke another post. So that means, more fence repair this week. Tonight, just more relaxation preparing for work tomorrow. One week from tomorrow we will know if we are preggers! This will be the LONGEST week of our lives. Even though we have done it before, it is never easy. I keep trying to zone in on my body to see if I can tell if I am pregnant, but all the times I have been pregnant, I did not know it until about 4 weeks. Right now I am only (literally) 8 days pregnant. Anyway, we cannot wait to get the positive blood test results so we can unveil the baby to everyone! YES, to clear up some questions, we do know the sex, we have just chosen not to tell anyone (except family) until we have the positive results.

Today I am thankful that I got to get of the house! This morning, after leaving church, I had to squint because the sun was so bright! The song of the day is "Linger" by the Cranberries. I was a huge fan in high school and heard that song again today. Also, he has been singing it around the house!

I hope everyone has a great week and please pray that I keep myself busy so I do not dwell on this the whole time! Thanks! ~Amy

I Think I'm Going Crazy!

Day 2 1/2.... 7 movies down... NYC Prep marathon...Mastered game on the computer.... Over working Facebook... I am BORED! Last night I continued my movie marathon, then fell asleep. Because I am doing NOTHING active, I am bright eyed and bushy tailed at about 6am. My husband loves it.....

This morning my husband and our neighbor got after it fixing the fence. They have set the posts, and tomorrow they will add the fence back to the posts. My mother came over today and brought us lunch. Now my husband and mom are out and about; he is getting his haircut and mom is shopping. So, I am in my bed, attempting movie #8.

We did spend sometime last night looking at baby names and nursery ideas. We have had set names forever, but now, all of a sudden, we are not so set on them! My husband's little brother came over last night and informed us that one of our favorite names is a slang reference to male genitalia in England. He thinks that it is not that big of a deal, but I do. What if our child studies at Oxford, or falls in love with a Brit and then goes home to meet the family? OR, what if another movie like Austin Powers comes out and makes that nickname a household name... As you can tell, I am not comfortable with it. I can't wait to paint the nursery and get that ready. We were looking at cribs last night, and we love the round ones. I know what some of you are thinking, I am counting my eggs before they hatch (metaphorically, of course) but I just really feel good about this round. There have been too many positive signs. I refuse to think otherwise, until I have proof.

The song of the day is "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen. I do love that song, but it also fits like a glove today! I am watching a movie right now that deals with the military, so today I am thankful for our soldiers defending our country. They are sacrificing their freedom, so we can have ours. What could be more selfless?

Enjoy the nice weather!! ....(tear)..... ~Amy

I am Going Nuts!!!

So it has now officially been 24 hours since I have been in bed. I am going NUTS! Luckily my mother came in today and has been watching movies with me, but I am getting restless! I am so impressed with women that have to do this for long periods of time!

So we were so excited yesterday about Quad, that we forgot to mention this is what we came home to:

Yep, the storm knocked over our fence. Awesome. My husband's little brother is coming over in a while to help him dig up the old concrete and then tomorrow our neighbor and my husband are going to put in new metal posts. Apparently we missed quite the storm!

Today, I am thankful that I don't have to be in bed longer than this weekend! I am not cut out for this!! The song of the day is "Gives You Hell" by the All American Rejects. Why? They were singing it on the Today show this morning and it has been in my head all day!

Talk tomorrow! ~Amy

One Is All It Takes

Today was implantation day. We slept in and got some extra rest. I drove Amy to her massage appointment to help her relax even more. While Amy was getting her massage, I got a call from the doctor with the results of the chromosome testing. We had nine embryos that went through the testing. Only two of the nine were chromosomely normal. The good news is one of these was graded as an A-! (Embryo #4 a.k.a. "Quad") The other normal embryo had poor qualities and it was evident by the time of implantation that it would not be making it. It is hard to believe that after retrieving 32 eggs we ended up with one. No complaints though. It could always be worse. Here is Quad's first picture.

Not many parents are privileged to have a picture of their child 5 days after conception. After leaving the massage, we went and had lunch with Amy's mom. We ran a few errands, and it was time to head to the doctor's office. We had a chance to speak with the doctor before implantation. He discussed the chromosome testing results. In addition to testing the number of chromosomes, the geneticist was able to test for certain chromosomal abnormalities and was even able to analyze the chromosomes to determine the sex of the embryos. Is that not amazing?

He showed us the above picture of Quad and was very pleased with the way things were progressing. When comparing the picture of this embryo to the embryos we put in during our first cycle, this one is further along and stronger. We were a little disappointed having only one to implant but very happy to know how strong it was. The implantation went perfect and only took a few minutes after everything was in place. I truly believe that God has a plan for this embryo, because within a minute of the completion of the implantation, the storms in OKC knocked out power to the building. The doctor has to use an ultrasound machine to place the embryo in the uterus, and implantation would have been impossible without the power. God held back for just long enough.

We headed home and got Amy into bed to rest. Earlier in the day we stopped by Blockbuster and rented 12 movies. She is confined to the bed all weekend. It has been about 4 hours since implantation, and she is already getting restless. I have no doubt that she can handle it though. Today I am thankful for this in-vitro process that provides Amy and me with the opportunity to have children. The song of the day is "I got a feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts and prayers. Amy and I are so lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

Z

If We Can Just Get Through the Night

So today was spent in Shawnee at a tribal council health fair. The whole time I was manning my table, I kept looking at my phone to make sure I hadn't missed my husband's call. It is like sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear! He finally called me at 4:45 and told me that he had talked to the doctor and that we have 3 eggs that are moving along PERFECTLY (one was one of our A's) and 3 that were moving along well. The other 3 the doctor did not mention, so we can assume they are struggling. So we have 6 good eggs. That is not bad, we just need 3 to be genetically OK. Right now they are in the compaction stage. From what I understand, my babies are currently morulas. Hopefully by tomorrow, they will turn into blastocysts and that is where we will have the best quality possible. The doctor told him that we might wait to do implantation on Friday morning, but I hope it is tomorrow, if I have healthy eggs. If we can just get through tonight, we will know tomorrow how many of the 9 total eggs, but more importantly of the 6 healthy ones, are genetically OK.

On another note, why is it so hot? OMG! I am miserable. I can hardly stand it! I feel for people that work outdoors! Today, I am thankful for the support I have from everyone. We know you won't, but please don't get offended if we don't return a call, text, or email as soon as we would like! We are blessed with SOOOO many great friends, and supportive family, that sometimes we cannot reach everyone! But, whomever wants to call us Saturday, please go ahead! I will be in bed and I am sure I will be bored, bored, bored and he will be going nuts with me!!! Today's song is "Hold You in My Arms" by Ray Lamontagne. This song is so wonderful and has such deep meaning, but most of all it is what we want more than anything. We are so ready to hold our child in our arms and move to that next chapter of our lives.

BIG BIG BIG news tomorrow!

Oh - P.s. I moved my massage to tomorrow morning. I thought it would be best!! ~Amy