The TTC Timeline

I have been noticing as of late that a few of the infertility blogs that I reed there is a button up in the top of their blog that says TTC timeline. For those of you lucky  blessed duckies who conceived right away TTC stands for trying to conceive. One day I will write a post on all the infertility/trying to conceive lingo. You probably would be shocked. I remember the first time I started coming across these abbreviations I was totally lost.  Anyhow, these TTC timeline are a separate page in your blog that basically lists out dates and or procedures/tests you have had  to endure while on this journey. I have many thoughts on this and since I have not quite been able to come to a conclusion on my opinion of this said timeline I thought I would express my thoughts in list form. 

1. Since we have been trying to have a baby for 15 months without success. It is these blogs that have allowed me to realize that there are others going through this exact same thing and I am not the only person on the planet. 
2. It makes be super aware that 15 months compared to women my age struggle with infertility is very minimal.
3. These timeline are very informative to those of us going through the same thing. It is nice to be able to know what to expect next and how long things take. 
4. I feel like for these women this is an acknowledgement of there struggle. I know sometimes when  life is happening all around you can feel lost and forgotten about. It seems to be a good way to be able to heal and reflect upon each milestone or date. 
5. At what point do you qualify for a timeline? Is that kind of weird but then super cool once you have a baby b/c that will always be there to remind you of what you went through?
6. What if that is just being overly obsessive? I guess who cares I blog for many different reasons all personal to me and no one has to read your blog.

When I decided last year to just be real and use this blog as a healing tool I decided that if could help even just one person not feel alone and approach me about miscarriage or infertility then it was all worth it. I want to be an open book and my dream is one day weather that is in a year or twenty to partner alongside a ministry or start my own support group for women dealing with infertility right here in CU.  So here is my TTC timeline in post form not page  or button form. 

Spring 1999 - Luke and I meet - I go home and tell my mom I have found the guy I am going to marry and one day have his babies. (yep pretty weird considering I was in eighth grade)

June 2004 - Luke and I start dating and he tells me we are on the five year plan before marriage

July 2008 - We get engaged finally

May 9,2009 - Married (All most five years to the day we start dating.  Agree to the 5 year plan about having babies)

November 2009 - Throw that birth control out the window they make me crazy. Not trying for kids at all.

May 2010 - 1 year anniversary (I throw the 5 year plan out the window and have baby fever but Luke not so much)

Jan 2011 - Not trying but not preventing, start charting

May 2011 - Start trying (start peeing on OPK tests) Bad Cyst this month on ovary

June 2011 - WE GET PREGNANT THIS MONTH

July 2011 - Miscarriage

August - November - Temping, charting, timing, gave up pop, another cysts bursts, hot flashes, crazy cycles, using progesterone.

December 2011 - Diagnosed with hyperthyroidism start meds. 

February 2012 - Mister gets tested and gets some poor results.

March 2012 -  Mister retests and gets good results see doctor. Doctor says if not pregnant again by may to come back. 

April 2012 - Freak out I am miscarrying again go see doctor and multiple blood tests, internal & external ultrasounds yuck.

May 2012 - 1st Reproductive Medicine appointment. He reviews my tests and says he thinks it is endometrosis. Schedule Laporoscopy.

June 2012 - Start the 24 pill a day routine of Shaklee just as one last ditch effort before surgery.

July 2012 - Lap Surgery - Endo found and removed, blocked tube, fibroid on uterus(not big so was left alone), some sort of mass type thing on another tube that was acting like a weight removed.  

I have said it before and I will say it again, hope is a powerful thing. Here's to hoping (and praying) this list stays small. And even though I am not sure who reads this silly blog if you ever need a ear I would be glad to listen. :)

E is for Ellery

I have wanted to post this for a few days but was waiting until Laura made the official announcement on her blog. My best friend just had her baby. Ellery Wynn was born in the wee hours of the morning Saturday. Her poor mama was put through quite a marathon birth. I know I am probably a little biased but this baby is probably one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. I am not even joking. 

It has stunk big time to be so far away the last few days. Every time I get a new picture of this sweet babe I just wish I could smooch her cheeks. 

I have had a lot of friends have babies and i have been super excited for them but this time it is just  extra special. I am already counting down the days I get to head down to Texas to meet this sweet girl and see her mama (Andrew, I am excited to see you 2). 

Lap Check

Wednesday I had my laporscopic surgery and it really could not have gone any better. I did have endometrosis removed as well as a blocked tube and another mass cut out. The doctor numerous times throughout the video of the surgery said that all these things made complete sense as to why I was having trouble getting pregnant. Dr. Jarrett said that he would give us three to four months to get pregnant on our own and if nothing happens we will get aggressive with the next step. 

It is a wonderful feeling to have answers and to also feel like we get to start with a clean slate. Last July I was not a very happy camper and  this July even though I am in a little pain I am hopeful. Here's to hoping next July I will be posting a picture of a beautiful little babe of my own. Thanks to all of you who prayed and have checked in on me the last few days.

One Year Ago.....

One year ago today at around 11:00am I found out I was pregnant. We had just got back from Arkansas the night before and Luke had left a few days before me to head up to Peoria to tile his mom’s floor. I had woken up that morning and thought it was strange that I was a week and a half late aside from a tiny bit of spotting about a week before.  We had just started trying the month before and so I really in no way thought I could be pregnant. I also had had a cyst that I knew about and honestly thought that was probably the problem.  

I just decided I was going to take the plunge and take a test.  I peed on the stick left it in the bathroom and kind of forgot about it for the next hour b/c I was doing laundry. When I finally remembered I ran back in the bathroom to see a blazing positive. Talk about completely shocked. I honestly did not believe it so I ended up peeing on another and it was positive again. Still thinking that this could not be correct I ran to Wal-Mart to get another brand just to check it out.

Sure enough that one was positive. I started really freaking out and at that point decided I better call Luke. I really did not want to have to tell him over the phone but he was not supposed to be back till the next day and there was no way I was going to be able to wait. When I told him I know he was surprised at just how fertile we both were.

Crazy what can happen in a year. I remember thinking after I miscarried that I surely would get pregnant within a few months b/c I had gotten pregnant so fast the first time. Little did I know? However Luke and I both agreed that even though we would not wish for anything different we have both grown a ton. My surgery is a week from this Wednesday so all prayers would be appreciated.

Family Car Vs. Fun Car Part 2

Sunday after church we drove around to every other dealership in town trying to just get a feel for what else is out there. We realized Saturday night that until we actually decide what we want it is going to be hard to pick something out. Don't get me wrong I always know what I want and could have had a perfect option bought and in the garage by now but when the debate of family vs fun is still going on it makes it a little difficult.

We both had decided that probably sticking around the $30,000.00 range made us feel a lot more comfortable. But let me tell you that is hard if you are looking for a midsize SUV unless you want to to buy a car with a ton of miles already on it. 

Here is what we deducted after Sundays little outing for the Family car:

1. Mazda CX-7 (5 seats and around $25,000 - $27,000 brand new) We liked the CX-9 but we were talking an extra 10 grand for the 3 seats and just not what we were wanting to spend.
2. Nissan Murano - Sharp looking car but only 5 seats and upward of $43,000.00 for more base models dollars. Rather have a Buick Enclave or Highlander for that type of money b/c you get more seats. The Rogue just seemed to small.
3. Hyundai Santa Fe: Not bad but would rather have the Toyota Highlander it would last longer.
4. Honda CR-V - Have heard great things but just not our favorite.

And of course we looked at a few more BMW's and a Mercedes that were a little older and few more miles (2008 - 2009 range) that brought their price under our $30,000.00 bench mark.

Monday morning rolls around with still no decision. We feel like we have decently looked at most of our options and so now it is time to sit down and make a decisions.  Luke calls me multiple times that day first starting out with let's just buy a cheap car something that will get us around like a 4 or 5 year old fusion (hello that is what we are giving away remember) or a few year old Hyundai. Can you believe this I was thinking all along that we had two categories, decided on a budget and now a new wrench in the plan.

Anyhow by the end of the day I say let's just do the BMW.  You have always wanted one, you work hard and long hours, we do not have kids yet, we are not over extended on our house and have to have the money for when we have to have that family car so let's just cross this off your bucket list.

He agree's and we spend Monday night testing out a few BMW's. Funny thing is even the salesman after talking to us for awhile was advising us on getting something like the Toyota Venza because it really did make since for what our plans were in the future. 

Day 2 & 3: Family Car 0 vs Fun Car 0

Family Car Vs. Fun Car Part 1

So we are officially shopping for a new car as of Saturday afternoon. We are giving our car to some family friends and so the pressure is now on to find another car so Luke can get to work.

Honestly I could probably give him my car and bum rides to work or bike because work is less then 2 miles away. As I was walking this morning with Jennifer I realized just how blessed we are to have two cars. Jennifer was telling me when her and Don were first married they shared one car. I believe this is what my parents did as well while my mom was still in school. Get this when my Nanny and Papaw were first expecting my Aunt Terry they did not even own a car and they  did not have a phone. So when my Nanny went into labor they had to go and borrow a phone to call for a ride. Can you even imagine?


Anyhow Saturday afternoon we went out to start our search for a new car. If you know my husband anytime we are shopping for anything over $100.00 his anxiety level rises to new levels. The funny thing is this may be the first time that he was actually excited about shopping. He may have had a warped idea of how much cars cost but excited nonetheless. As we pulled into O'Brien the big debate began. 

Family Car Vs. Fun Car

You would tend to have thought that my hubby would have been on the practical side airing towards the family car option but if you guessed that you guessed wrong. Yep my husband who when we were putting our first offer on a house on Springfield (which we did not get) was laying on the ground in the realtor office trying to not hyperventilate over buying something that cost over a hundred thousand dollars. Wish I could have caught that moment on tape it would have been a keeper for sure.

Luke has been eyeing this little beauty for some time in OBriens car lot. Here are the stats:  USED2011 BMW 3 Series Automatic in Black on Black 24,000 miles (Sticker Price:$37,995.00)

I am not going to lie to you I would not be opposed to bopping around town in this little number but the back seat is pretty small and we do not need this new or this expensive of a car that is really just for fun.

The next option was the family car. Stats: USED 2010 Toyota Highlander fully loaded black with tan leather 26,000 miles (Sticker Price: $37,995.00)

This car really is a great car it can seat up to 8 people so we can start popping out the kids or have twins and be fine. However when we went over to look at the new ones you could basically get the same thing for just a few thousand dollars more. The problem was this would put us around $44,000.00 once tax, title and license fees were done. 

We left really wanting both things but feeling like the FUN car was not practical and the FAMILY car was just a lot of money to spend on something that only lasts 5-10 years. 

After Saturday the stats were Family Car 0 - Fun Car 0