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Join me as I share the ups and downs of our ongoing journey to parenthood.
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Catch up with the blog from the beginning.
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Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 2
Read more: Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 2The tampon-like medicine I mentioned in Pt. 1 was called Cervidil, and I had it in for 12 hours before it got me to the correct dilation. In the labor timeline, this puts us a little before mid-morning on Saturday, April 20. Once I reached 3 cm, it was time to insert the dilation balloon. …
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Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 1
Read more: Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 1It’s been a minute since my last post, which leads into this week’s blog. Look back here. When I arrived at the hospital, I took the nurse’s suggestion and asked the greeter for a wheelchair. I felt a bit silly, honestly; I felt fine. But my nurse recommended it, and who was I to question…
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The Unexpected
Read more: The UnexpectedOn Friday, April 19, I went in for a non-stress test. I’d been going in for those tests twice weekly for the previous few weeks, and they’d all been textbook up until this point. And this test was also textbook… until the very end. The nurse took my blood pressure, and it was a little…
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The Baby Shower
Read more: The Baby ShowerOn April 14, we had our baby shower. When I planned the date with my sister (the amazing organizer of the event), we figured mid-April would be best. Close to the due date but not too close, and hopefully the weather would be better than it would be in March. (Then again, it is Colorado,…
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Quick Update
Read more: Quick UpdateIt’s been quite a while since my last post, and there’s a very good reason for that. I had plenty of topics to talk about, but I’ve found myself not having a lot of time lately to write about those things. On Sunday, April 14, we had our baby shower — which I will still…
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The Non-Stress Tests
Read more: The Non-Stress TestsAfter my gestational diabetes diagnosis, I was given time to see if diet and exercise could manage my blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough. I kept having slightly high fasting readings in the morning. Because of that, the maternal fetal medicine docs decided to put me on insulin at bedtime. A week or…
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The Growth Scan
Read more: The Growth ScanWhile there was at least one doctor’s appointment between the EKG and the growth scan, it was fairly routine and not much to write about. Usually at these in-between appointments, they’ll measure my belly and then use the doppler to hear Rowan’s heartbeat. It would’ve been my 28-week appointment, and my belly was measuring at…
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The Glucose Test
Read more: The Glucose TestWhile I was at the EKG appointment, I asked the doctor when I’d need to be tested for gestational diabetes. It’s something all pregnant women have to be tested for, and I’d honestly been worried about it most of the pregnancy. My sister experienced it in her second pregnancy and said it wasn’t fun. Hers…
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Rowan’s EKG
Read more: Rowan’s EKGIt feels like lately I’m starting off every blog with an apology about missing a week, and I am sorry I missed last week. It was a little busy at work, and then after that, I managed to pick up a nasty chest cold. Anyway, it’s finally time to get back on track and keep…
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Unintended Consequences
Read more: Unintended ConsequencesBefore I get started with today’s blog, a few disclaimers: If you follow the news regularly, you’ve likely heard about a recent state supreme court ruling in Alabama that has had major consequences in the world of IVF. For now, it’s limited to one state, but the precedent it sets could have implications nationwide. The…
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The Anatomy Scan
Read more: The Anatomy ScanApologies for the lack of a blog last week. I took a three-day course through work which was incredibly valuable, but it also made for a busy week, so blogging wasn’t a top priority. Anyway, right after Christmas and deciding on Rowan’s name, Nick and I had our first anatomy/3D scan. This one was particularly…
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What’s in a Name?
Read more: What’s in a Name?I haven’t really talked about it too much on the blog, but getting Nick to talk about baby names had been like trying to pull teeth. Every time I’d bring it up, he didn’t want to talk about it or said he wasn’t ready. It frustrated me to no end. I gave him a list…
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Christmas!
Read more: Christmas!One of the nice things about living in Colorado is that we’re centrally located for our family. Nick and I both have siblings on the West Coast and parents in the Midwest, so holidays in Colorado can be a nice compromise. This year, the Jacksons came out for Christmas with their two pups, Chloe and…
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Bumpdates!
Read more: Bumpdates!So, I haven’t been taking bump photos as regularly as I should, but I have taken a few. In those early weeks, there definitely wasn’t a bump to show off, so I didn’t think to document it. Even now, Nick is skeptical if there even is a bump. A few times while I’ve been getting…
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A Heartbeat
Read more: A HeartbeatThe Monday after Thanksgiving, it was time for our 16-week appointment. This time, there wasn’t an ultrasound, but we finally got to hear what we’d be waiting to hear for so many weeks! It was time to hear Baby Jackson’s heartbeat! This time around, there wasn’t any swishing away, just a strong little heartbeat going…
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Symptoms
Read more: SymptomsIt may seem weird to tell you about my symptoms from the first trimester when I’m well into the second. But there was a lot of stuff to catch you up on first. In the first few weeks of the pregnancy, I felt pretty good. There was some minimal cramping, but no major symptoms. That…
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Thanksgiving
Read more: ThanksgivingThe week of Thanksgiving was special for many reasons. It was our first big holiday with a little one on the way, my whole family was coming to our house to help us celebrate, and we held our gender reveal party! Mom and Dad arrived on Tuesday, and Em, Drea, and the boys arrived on…
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More Ultrasounds
Read more: More UltrasoundsIn early October, we had our 8-week appointment and ultrasound at Kaiser. Once again, everything was textbook. At our first appointment, they’d told us we should be able to hear the heartbeat at the 8- or 9-week mark, so we were excited to possibly hear little peanut’s ticker. At this 8-week appointment, they said we’d…
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Trauma
Read more: TraumaAs I mentioned last week, Baby Jackson is doing great. I don’t want anyone to worry about that when they see this week’s post title. But the title is very appropriate for what I’m going to share. Sometime between our first couple of ultrasounds, I had a scary flashback. I went to one of Nick’s…
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The First Ultrasound
Read more: The First UltrasoundFirst, I’m sorry I’m a week behind on posting this blog. I should’ve known the week of and the week after Thanksgiving was just going to be too busy and fun to sit down and write a new post, but I was optimistic. I’ll share more about our fun holiday week in an upcoming blog…
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The Details
Read more: The DetailsSince Harvey officially let the cat out of the bag, I can finally share all the details of when everything happened. I shared about how our frozen embryo transfer went, but I intentionally left out when it happened. While I am trying to give an honest account of this process, I also wanted a little…
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Harvey’s Announcement
Read more: Harvey’s AnnouncementA few blogs ago, I shared about our special Great Dane, Aurora. I thought it only fair I share a little bit about Harvey, our Pitbull mix, too. But first, Harvey has a very special announcement he’d like to share… That’s right… our embryo transfer worked! Harvey’s going to be a big fur brother. We’re…
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Memory Lane, Pt. 2
Read more: Memory Lane, Pt. 2After Nick and I met at the coffee shop, we decided to set up our first date. We settled on dinner and mini-golfing. When I asked what restaurant to meet him at, Boston Market was his reply. I was a little surprised. Boston Market didn’t really seem like a date-type restaurant to me, and all…
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Memory Lane, Pt. 1
Read more: Memory Lane, Pt. 1Yesterday, I was scrolling Facebook and a memory popped up. It was from 10 years ago, and it was the very first picture Nick and I took together as a couple. It got me thinking… I haven’t ever shared here how Nick and I met. So let me change that. [In my best Sophia voice…]…
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Sorry!
Read more: Sorry!More than just one of my favorite games as a child… Sorry! is how I feel about the last few weeks with no blog posts. There’s been a lot going on. Our Fall and last-of-the-year softball season wrapped up last week, and it’s nice to finally have all our evenings free. I got a promotion…
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The Transfer
Read more: The TransferAs promised, we’re back to the IVF journey this week, and it’s time to talk about the exciting part of the FET – the actual transfer! The night before our transfer, Nick and I went out for sushi and cocktails. This would *hopefully* be my last raw fish for a few months. The next morning,…
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Period Talk
Read more: Period TalkDisclaimer: For any male readers, given the title of this blog, I completely understand if you want to skip it! The only thing I’d suggest is, if you have a loved one who suffers from painful menstrual cramps each month or who is trying to find period products that are better for the environment (or…
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General Musings
Read more: General MusingsThroughout this FET process, I’ve had some general musings I thought were worth sharing here. First, I’ve talked before about how weird IVF is, and I’m finding new ways it’s weird now that I’m going through the FET process. The biggest weirdness is knowing the exact date you might be pregnant. These days, thanks to…
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Aurora
Read more: AuroraI had a post scheduled today. It was some general thoughts and musings on the IVF and FET process so far. And we’ll get to that next week, but something big happened last week that I need to share. Most of my family and friends already know, but I wanted to talk about it here,…
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The Shots
Read more: The ShotsYou’ll probably recall I had a lot of anxiety about the Progesterone in Oil (PIO) shots, so I thought it’d be good to provide an update on how those have been going. As I expected, I was building up the shots in my head and making them scarier than they actually are. There are also…
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Our Embryos
Read more: Our EmbryosA couple of months ago, when I shared the news we had two viable embryos, I mentioned we were going to keep the gender(s) to ourselves for a little while. During our third egg retrieval, our numbers started out so good, and I was so hopeful and optimistic we’d have at least one or two…
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How It’s Going
Read more: How It’s GoingLast week, I shared about my FET schedule which was really a one-sheet of color-coded madness. When I saw all the meds I’d be on and there would be multiple types of estrogen, I was a little worried it might make me moody or hormonal. So far, I don’t think that’s been the case, but…
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Color-Coded Madness
Read more: Color-Coded MadnessOnce we knew we were moving ahead with a frozen embryo transfer (FET), my new FET nurse emailed me my schedule and sent in all my prescriptions to the pharmacy. Folks, as the blog title implies, the schedule is pure, color-coded madness. And I thought egg retrieval was a crazy process with lots of medications…
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Another Regroup
Read more: Another RegroupRecently, we had another regroup appointment–this time with Dr. C. (Our first regroup appointment was with Dr. G. in our first cycle.) In the past, we’ve done our appointments with Dr. C. virtually since it tends to be more convenient. This time, though, we wanted to meet in person. The regroup went really well. I…
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Focus
Read more: FocusA couple weeks ago, I shared about my anxiety surrounding the frozen embryo transfer (FET) phase, and you might be wondering, am I doing anything about that anxiety? The answer is yes; I’m trying really hard not to stew in my concerns and worries. But I’ve also been trying to shift my focus. I’ve been…
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The Hand-Off
Read more: The Hand-OffIn the last week of June, my IVF nurse told me to pick up a new birth control packet and gave me a day to start it. And then she said a short sentence that gave me more anxiety than I anticipated: “Let me know on your cycle day one, and I’ll transfer you to…
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Fourth of July!
Read more: Fourth of July!I know I mentioned last week that I’d be back to the IVF journey this week, but I completely forgot about the holiday, so let’s talk about the Fourth instead. I’ll plan to jump back into IVF next week. Growing up, the Fourth of July was the biggest celebration in my little Indiana hometown. They…
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Family Vacation
Read more: Family VacationI’ve mentioned it a couple times on here already, so I figured it’d be good to do a blog about our recent family vacation to Orlando. We were there June 10-17, and it was a much-welcome getaway. Especially after we got such bad news from our most recent egg-retrieval procedure. We shared a house with…
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The Next Step
Read more: The Next StepThe next step in our IVF journey begins, and it all starts with three procedures.
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Quick Update
Read more: Quick UpdateHey readers, sorry I missed regular blog day yesterday. I’m actually on a family vacation in Florida right now. I plan to tell you more about our vacation and share some photos in a couple weeks. I did want to go ahead and share a quick update with you, though. Once we get back from…
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Floored
Read more: FlooredLast Thursday, we got our Day 5 update on our embryos. As a reminder, we’d started with at least 15–potentially 19. It was a new record. The nurse said we had three nearly at the blastocyst stage and one was still at the previous stage–the morula stage. The rest were still somewhat progressing, but the nurse…
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A New Record
Read more: A New RecordAs promised, I’m back on regular blog day with an update. The day of my procedure, I posted an update on the IVF That Facebook page, and as it turns out, the numbers were even better than I was initially told. I’ll back up a bit for just a minute, though, to give you a…
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An Auspicious Day
Read more: An Auspicious DayToday’s the day! For a couple of reasons… Read more in the latest blog. #ivfthat
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Here We Go Again… Again
Read more: Here We Go Again… AgainWell readers, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to do a blog post last week. There honestly wasn’t too much going on on the normal blog day (Tuesday), and, as I find myself saying over and over again in this blog, we were “hurrying up and waiting.” The week before, I’d re-ordered all the…
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The Approval Letter
Read more: The Approval LetterThe Approval LetterMay 10, 2023 Last week, on blog day, I was still waiting to hear back about whether our next IVF cycle would be approved by Kaiser or not. The very next day, I received the approval letter! I wasn’t overly worried the procedure would be declined, but it was in the back of…
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Still Waiting…
Read more: Still Waiting…Not much news to report, other than I’m still waiting on news…
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Fits and Starts
Read more: Fits and StartsI had every intention of writing a blog last week. There wasn’t a whole lot going on, but I could provide a few updates. But then I got busy at work, and, eventually, the week got away from me. The biggest updates were about our next cycle and a procedure Nick was going to have…
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Beating the Odds
Read more: Beating the OddsI had tomorrow’s blog written and ready to go. I wrote about how we were still waiting on the results of the genetic testing for our two embryos. I shared about my conversation with my IVF nurse who recently asked me if I wanted to jump right in to my next egg retrieval. The thought…
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Hope is Hard
Read more: Hope is HardOver the weekend, we received Day 5 and Day 6 embryo updates. Last year, I received a Day 3 update as well, which was bad news. I was hopeful this year that if I didn’t receive an update until Day 5, maybe that meant there was no bad news to share before then. I thought…
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Embryology Update
Read more: Embryology UpdateLike 2022, 19 eggs were harvested during my egg retrieval procedure and the numbers breakdown starting out was also pretty similar. The morning after, the clinic called with an update. Below is a comparison between my two procedures: 2023 2022 These numbers are incredibly similar. So much so, that I’d be lying if I said…
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Turning a Hobby into a Business
Read more: Turning a Hobby into a BusinessI mentioned in a previous blog I wanted to find a way to turn this hobby of mine into a business. I’m happy to report, I have! #ivfthat
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The Recovery
Read more: The RecoveryLearn about our first few days with Rowan in the postpartum room!
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Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 3
Read more: Rowan’s Birth Story, Pt. 3Wow, I didn’t expect this to be a three-parter, but the more I started reliving Rowan’s birth and writing it out, the more I started remembering everything. (I know it’s been a minute, so here’s a look back at Pt. 1 and Pt. 2.) Memory is a funny thing. During the labor, I thought for sure…
IVF That 