Fall bucket list

Fall is my absolute favorite season. The leaves changing colors, cooler temps, breaking out the boots and sweaters, pumpkin everything, mums on the porch, crockpot meals and football on the weekends. Fall to me feels like a new beginning. I always make a list of things I want to accomplish during the Fall and Winter. Linking up with Jenn to share my list for Fall 2016:

-Tackle Bella's ACL surgery and recovery (surgery done, recovery in the process)

-Decorate front porch for Fall

-A Panthers game and weekend in Charlotte

-Mountain weekend with girlfriends

-Order nursery furniture

-Gender reveal party

-Host baby shower for my cousin

-College football game/tailgate
-Halloween/trick or treating with my niece and nephew

-Visit the Raleigh Farmer's Market

-Visit a pumpkin patch
-Babymoon/anniversary trip to the Grove Park Inn

Pregnancy update: weeks 1-14

How far along are you?
14.5 weeks

Size of baby?
A large Georgia peach

Movement?
Not yet

Symptoms?

-Starting on the day of transfer I began having cramping off and on. I was so excited to feel it so soon because I was praying that meant baby was "implanting". Apparently it was true! I have continued to have cramping off and on. My doctor has reassured me over and over that it's just my uterus stretching to accommodate growing baby.
-Sore boobs began even before transfer from my progesterone injections but that has gone away for the most part.
-Exhaustion is something fierce. Whew it's all I can do to not fall asleep on the drive home from work. I am hoping this goes away soon because I need to get my butt back in the gym!
-Just in the past 2 weeks I have had a pretty constant headache. I had a migraine basically all Labor Day weekend and had to stay in the dark. Taking Tylenol is like taking a sugar pill… it does nothing!
-I was literally praying for nausea so that I could feel some reassurance that things were working. Everyone kept telling me, "just wait until 6 weeks, it will come!" I literally woke up on the morning of 6w0d and felt like death and it lasted 24/7. For about 4 days I couldn't eat anything or even function without feeling like I was going to puke everywhere. Luckily my doctor is A-ok with me taking Zofran so that got me through work. Thankfully I only had to take it for a few days. Since then the nausea comes and goes. Sometimes I feel it right when my alarm goes off, sometimes it doesn't set in until 7pm or so. I will be hovering over the toilet smiling and telling my husband how thankful I am to be feeling this way. I am loving every second of every terrible symptom!

Sleep?
I have NEVER had trouble sleeping in my entire life until now. I usually fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow. This has seriously changed! I am waking up usually 4 times a night to pee and usually wake up around 5:00am for good and can't go back to sleep. So weird because I.am.so.exhausted at all times.

Gender?

We will find out at our anatomy scan around 18 weeks when we can have a fun gender reveal party with all our family and friends. I have always wanted a boy first and G wants a girl. Of course I will be over the moon with boy or girl! I really had no gut feeling for a while but I am starting to lean towards girl.

Cravings/aversions?

Not craving anything but the thought of 90% of food makes me gag. So basically I am eating what doesn't sound terrible to me and it's mostly unhealthy. Cereal, bagels, crackers, Gatorade, fresh fruit, etc. Looking at or smelling fish or chicken puts me over the edge!

Maternity clothes?
I took the plunge and bought 3 pair of maternity jeans last weekend. Where have these been all my life?! They feel like Heaven! I haven't worn them yet but you better believe I will be living in those things once it starts getting cool outside.

Missing most?

I thought I would miss champagne or a cold beer but I really haven't missed it. I think because my stomach has been feeling so queasy. I did miss having mimosas with my girlfriends this past weekend when we were tailgating. Not missing anything terribly right now… super thankful to NOT be able to drink or eat deli meat or sushi!

Hubby?
So excited. He tears up at every single ultrasound (as do I). Going through infertility has truly made us appreciate every tiny part of this. He is the best hubby, waiting on me hand and foot when I feel terrible. He loves putting his face up to my belly and "talking" to baby.

Nursery?

The nursery will go where our guest bedroom currently is and the guest bedroom will be moved to our "study" aka junk room. That room is filled with our desks, a couch, and basically all our crap that we have nowhere else to put. The first step is cleaning this room out so that's where we are now. Once it's empty we will move the guest bedroom then have a blank slate to start working a nursery! It will definitely keep us busy all Fall!

Best part of the week?
I am super spoiled because there is an ultrasound machine at my work so I can basically get one whenever I want to. I've had at least 10 ultrasounds already… I'm addicted. I had one this past Wednesday and baby looked SO big and was moving ALL around!! Makes me so so happy.

Looking forward to?
Finding out the gender! I can't wait for that! We already have both a girl and boy name picked out (and we have for years) so I can't wait to start calling baby by name! And start shopping for nursery. Also can't wait to start feeling baby move. That will reassure me that baby is doing ok in there. I honestly can't wait for every part of this pregnancy! Eeep I'm just so sticking excited!

Bella's ACL surgery

Our first baby had ACL reconstruction surgery on Wednesday. We have been dreading this process since March, back when she tore it but knew we had to bite the bullet and have it fixed. We were told to "rest her" for a few months and see if it would heal. However, she is a German short-haired pointer… they are super active dogs full of energy and we knew she would never be able to run in fields or on the beach again if we didn't have the surgery. Now that beach weekends are over, we went ahead with the surgery because we will be home bound for a few months while she recovers.

Her surgery was performed at a specialty surgical practice two hours from our house. The orthopedic PA in me was so fascinated with the whole procedure but it was not fun having it done to your own dog! She had to spend the night there Wednesday night and we were so sad without her! We were asking ourselves what we talked about before we had her haha (and I'm sure it will only get worse with children). I took yesterday off work to go get her and spend the day with her at home. She cannot do anything for 8 weeks. No jumping on the couch, no going up and down stairs, no going outside without a leash, no playing, and in her crate if we aren't home. Do you guys know how impossible that is going to be with a GSP?? So for the next 3ish months we will be nursing our princess back to health. Carrying her outside to go pee pee, lots of snuggles, extra treats and TLC. Hurts my heart seeing her in pain but I know it will be worth it in the long run! I can't wait to see her running in fields next spring!

2016… the year of endless medical and vet bills. 2017, please be nicer to our wallets ;)

Embryo transfer day and the end of our IVF journey

[In case you missed it, you can read all about our May 5th, 2016 egg retrieval here.]

After egg retrieval I felt like death for about 7 days. They got 44 eggs which is A LOT. After going back and forth on whether or not to do a fresh transfer (5 days after egg retrieval) or freezing all embryos, waiting 6 weeks for my body to recover, and doing a frozen embryo transfer, I decided to wait. I was so sick of shots, I had OHSS, and I just didn't feel like my body was a healthy environment to be putting one of our embryos back into. It was a tough decision at the time because that meant 6 more weeks of waiting, starting oral estrogen 3x a day, weekly doctor's appointments to monitor, and starting progesterone shots again. In the end I am super thankful we decided to wait. I honestly don't know if we would have had these results had I done a fresh transfer.

Starting 2 weeks after egg retrieval I began going back to the doctor weekly for ultrasounds and blood draws to make sure my body was ready for transfer. I began taking estrogen 3x a day and a progesterone shot at night. [By the way, PIO intramuscular shots are the WORST! Thick, progesterone in oil that leaves a lump under your skin. I had to take both the estrogen and progesterone shots until 10.5 weeks pregnant. My butt was covered in bruises ouch!] At our appointment on June 17th we officially got the green light that we were ready to transfer an embryo on June 24th!

June 24th, 2016

We woke up bright and early feeling like kids on Christmas morning (but even more excited!). We made the all too familiar 2 hour drive to our fertility clinic and then stopped for breakfast. I had to drink 24oz of water before transfer so that I had a full bladder during the procedure. That was TOUGH! I hate the feeling of having to pee! I got all changed into my gown, booties and hat then we were taken back into the procedure room. We watched as our perfect little embryo was transferred from a petri dish and into my uterus. Ultrasound showed us the whole thing on a big screen on the wall. It was amazing! I will never forget my doctor telling me, "Everything went perfect. You should be cautiously optimistic!"

Despite my doctor reassuring me that the embryo was not going to "fall out", I decided to lay there for a little while, still terrified of losing this very expensive embryo. I was officially "PUPO"-- pregnant until proven otherwise! We made the 2 hour drive home and the rest of the day was spent relaxing on the couch (doctor's orders!), eating a whole pineapple (core included... supposed to help with implantation), and doing everything possible to make that baby STICK!

Our first family picture

I was told to wake up the next day and go about my normal routine. We spent the day running errands, hanging out, and had a date night that night... my first night ordering a "mocktail" instead of wine which was pretty exciting! My blood draw to confirm whether or not I was pregnant was scheduled for 9 days post-transfer. I already knew I would test at home before then because let's be honest, patience isn't my best quality. My husband tried to convince me to wait until the blood test... sorry babe.

June 29th, 2016

5 days post-transfer. I knew multiple people who tested at home on 6 days post-transfer and got a faint positive. I woke up on day 5 and just couldn't wait another day. With hubs already at work, I ran into the bathroom and was fairly certain I was going to die of a heart attack right then and there. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Never in my life have I been so nervous/anxious/worried/excited. I peed on that expensive stick and walked away. When I came back into the bathroom my world was forever changed. The first time I'd ever seen two pink lines. Holy shit. Now what? Pee on a digital one obviously. Yes +.

I flew to my husband's work and texted him to come outside. I said I "forgot to give him something"... worst excuse ever. When he got to my car I shoved a gift bag at him full of daddy-to-be books and positive pregnancy tests. He lost it, bless his heart. I knew he would! I was still in shock and unable to cry. He did enough crying for both of us :)

Every day until our blood draw I peed on a stick like a crazy woman to make sure the lines were getting darker. And they were! On 9dp5dt (9 days post 5-day transfer) we headed to the hospital at the beach for my confirmatory blood draw. We were at the beach for 4th of July weekend so my doctor's office allowed me to have it done there and have the results sent to them. I will never forget the phone call I got a few hours later from my amazing doctor. "Hi Owen how are you? I'm amazing because YOU ARE PREGNANT! We want your HCG level to be above 50 and we are thrilled if it's above 100. Yours is 270! Congratulations momma!"

Talk about the best phone call of my life. We had to return back to the hospital 2 days later for one last blood draw. They like to make sure your HCG is doubling every 48 hours and it was! Grow baby, grow! What a whirlwind 2 weeks. We were still living on cloud 9 and in disbelief that it actually worked, that our miracle baby was finally in my belly. So many answered prayers, sleepless nights, shots, thousands of dollars all worth it.

We are so very lucky and blessed that we had success after our first round. We definitely had a long road to get to where we are now, but we are also well aware that some people go through multiple rounds of IVF without success. We will never take any aspect of this pregnancy for granted! And for those of you trying for your own miracle, do not give up! If you have any questions about IVF don't hesitate to email me at davisduoblog@gmail.com

We have some news...

Davis Duo will soon be upgraded to Davis Trio... we are expecting a precious baby in March! I am bursting at the seams with excitement and love for this baby that we have been praying for for so long. We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this miracle!

I can't wait to fill you guys in on all the details. Check back later this week for a pregnancy update, hear all about our embryo transfer, and my thoughts on pregnancy after infertility!

Weekending: Eric Church concert!

This weekend was one of the first weekends we haven't been at the beach! Friday night we had dinner with some friends who are about to begin IVF. We got to talk them through the process, let them know what to expect, and encourage them. 

Saturday morning it was up early to drive an hour to my cousin's baby shower. It was such a sweet time with family and friends. I am so thankful for my husband's family and all my beautiful cousins on his side! I can't wait to meet this sweet baby girl.

 After the shower we sped home to get ready for the Eric Church concert. We had a big group for tailgating then we headed inside the concert which started off with Kid Rock, which, by the way, I am NOT a fan of. After Kid Rock came Eric Church who was AMAZING! If it weren't for the ridiculous, obnoxious drunk people sitting in front of and behind us, it would have been one of the best concerts I've been to. My husband and I started listening to Eric Church the first year we began dating when he wasn't well-known at all and have loved him ever since.

+++

Speaking of "when we started dating"… 7 years ago today a tall, blonde, UNC baseball player picked me up and took me on our first date. He asked if he could take me out to dinner and I politely declined, thinking that he would be a hugely cocky Division I jock. And I couldn't have been more wrong! My mom forced convinced me to call him back and say yes, telling me that I "needed to meet new people in college". And the rest is history! Here's a major throwback to our first picture together. Look at that graphic tee HA!

Linking up with Meghan and Biana

Role Call!

One of my very favorite bloggers, April @ A. Liz Adventures started a fun little "role call" game and I have loved participating and reading all the responses so I decided to steal borrow this idea from her!

I feel like I have fallen off the face of the blogger earth lately so in an attempt to re-connect and get to know new readers, let's play this simple game. All you have to do is answer the question below in the comments! So easy!

What is your occupation?

Whether you're a SAHM, a full-time blogger, or working in corporate America, this is one of my favorite things to know about fellow blogger ladies. I'm an orthopedic Physician Assistant and I love my job! My hours are 8am-5pm Monday through Friday but it definitely varies. I take call 7 days a month, which usually includes one weekend a month. On that weekend I typically just have to answer my pager and go to the hospital once a day to make rounds on our inpatients.