Decisions!

I had another doctor appointment on Feb. 27th. It went great. We went in and my OB came in with a nurse practitioner. He told me since the babies are so close together he would rather look at them via the in-office sonogram instead of trying to find and hear them both on through the doppler. He also asked me if I would mine the NP practicing her sonogram skills on me. OF COURSE I WOULDN'T! lol I'll take any and all opportunities to see our babies as much as possible. We got to watch them for about 5 minutes. They checked their heartbeats, but didn't take a reading on them. I just can't help but smile ear to ear when I see them moving around in there and know that they're growing and healthy!

My OB also wanted me to have my first visit with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor (aka, high risk) next week so I will see her on March 6th. This is simple a precaution because I'm having twins. There isn't anything wrong with me or the babies at this point. I do have a higher risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, etc. That is the reason why I have to see the MFM doctor. I do believe that I have started having some problems with my bloodsugar dropping low. This scares me some. I know the symptoms of low bloodsugar and that is definitely what I'm experiencing. I will definitely be talking to the doctor about this because I'm not supposed to have my glucose test until 26 weeks.

The most exciting thing about seeing the MFM is we also get to have our anatomy scan. This means we'll find out the sexes of the babies! We will find out on March 6th!! I'm so ready, and it's just in time for 2 consignment sales so maybe I can get some good bargains!!

My next appointment with my regular OB is March 29th. I'm not sure how often I will be seeing the MFM. I do know after 20ish weeks I will have an ultrasound every 3 weeks to check the growth of the babies.

We have officially decided on names for the babies. We have a set of names ready for each possible gender scenario (boy/girl, girl/girl, and boy/boy). I love them and so does Thayer.. and we don't really care what anyone else thinks. These are our babies and we'll name them what we want. All of the first names are pretty unique and the middle names are common. I think that makes for a nice combination.

We also have a date set for the baby shower. It will be on May 4th. It's pretty early, but that's good because I could be put on bedrest pretty early in my 3rd trimester. Also, it is out of state in Kansas and it's a long drive when you're super pregnant (4 1/2 hours). I'm really looking forward to it!

I have also found a photographer to do our maternity and newborn pictures. We've decided to have our maternity pictures taken at the park where we got married. I think that is a great idea and it is a beautiful park!

Lovin' It!

So I had a great visit at the OB/GYN today! I love my doctor. He really listened to everything I had to say and put all the concerns I have to rest. It was such a great visit, especially compared to the bull I dealt with up in Minot. Because of the weight loss, he thinks that I will be fertile all on my own. He did agree to put me on fertility medications (Clomid) for 3-6 months to just help things move along faster.

He told me that the reasons my periods are so much lighter now is because of the weightloss but it's not really a concern. The reason it isn't that big of a deal is because fat produces estrogen which causes the uterine lining to build up much thicker, now that I've lost so much fat I don't have as much estrogen production to cause the lining to be overly thick like it was before. Also, the reduced estrogen production is what is really helping with my PCOS. He's not worried about my progesterone dropping and causing miscarriage again because of how much more healthy I am now. He also thinks my luteal phase is still long enough to enable me to get pregnant.

So, with all of that, next month I will start one Clomid again. I'm should be ovulating any day now, so it is too late for this cycle. I will be on it for CD5-9 which is different than when I was on it before. Last time I was on it for CD3-7. The main difference between CD3-7 and CD5-9 is follicles. On CD3-7 you produce more follicles but they will be less mature and on CD 5-9 you produce fewer (possibly only one like a "normal" person) but it will be much more mature. Also, this time I will be starting on 50mg. Last time I was on it I was started on 100mg. He is starting me out at a lower dose because he doesn't even think I will technically need the medication.

I can't even begin to explain how happy I am about finally getting quality healthcare. The medical care in North Dakota was a complete joke.

So, the doctor thinks we will have something to celebrate by Christmas time! Here's to hoping. Keep your fingers crossed for a little baby Olin on the way in the next few months!

Yay for Tomorrow

I now have two days of my internship under my belt. Both have been great days. The school is huge compared to what I'm used to. Everyone is very nice and welcoming. I've met a few of the kiddos I will be working with. Special Education works a little different at the beginning of the year. We're letting the kiddos get used to their new classroom before we start pulling them out for their "intervention" time. Some of the kids are going to be a handful for sure, but I have a good mentor teacher and the paras in the room both have a background in education. All in all, I really love the room. It is a little... weird that my mentor teacher is the same age as me. She's working on her Master's right now as well and has about a year left.

On to other news...

Tomorrow I have my appointment with the OB/GYN! Wish me luck! I really hope he listens to me and will let me do a few rounds of Femara. I'm not scared at all walking into this appointment. I'm looking forward to it and to get the ball rollling on fertility treatments again. At the same time, I know that I might be met with more disappointment. The treatments give me even more hope than I usually have and it makes getting my period that much more difficult. I am hoping my doctor is willing to listen to everything that I have to say. I've done my research. I know my stuff. Hopefully I won't have to go through too many other tests. I foresee bloodwork in my future.

I haven't ovultae this month yet. Today is CD 16. I took an OPK yesterday morning and this morning. Today's was darker than yesterdays. That's usually how my cycles go. The lines on the OPKs get progressively more dark until I finally get my positive. I will test again in the morning so I can be sure to let my doctor know the results. This month is my lazy ovary's month and I usually ovulate later (CD19ish). I wonder if the doctor will put me on progesterone from the beginning or wait until I actually get a BFP. Just so much to talk about, but I'm SOOO ready!

Bring on the Craziness

The husband and I have been back home visiting family and friends for the last weekish. It's been a good visit. It's so nice to be close enough to home that we can come home for a weekend  to see everyone. We wanted to get one last visit in before the craziness starts. Thayer begins his fall semester on the 20th. He's taking 15 credit hours, which is the most he's ever taken. I'm sure it will kick his ass because he's such a procrastinator and would rather play a video game than study or do his homework. He doesn't devote the time he should to his school work. I saw him doing that all summer with his summer classes.

Tuesday I also begin my internship for my final semester of Graduate school. I'm taking 6 credit hours of graduate credit. 2 hours for my internship, 2 hours for my scholarly project, and 2 hours for medical trends in Autism Spectrum disorders. It's going to be a lot because the intership is like having a full time job and the scholarly project is very extensive. I'm estimating my final paper for the project will be at a minimum 40 pages long.

Thursday is also my big day. I'm going to see the OB/GYN and hopefully get prescribed Femara. That's what I really want and that is what I'm going to push for. I've been taking my extra B vitamins and iron to hopefully help with my uterine lining and luteal phase. I'm hoping those will give me the results I want. I'm currently on CD14, but I probably won't ovulate for a couple more days. This cycle we are also trying something new called Softcups. These are little cups you can insert in your vagina instead of using a tampon. A lot of women have started using them while TTC because it will also help keep the semen and sperm up by your cervix instead of leaking slowly back out. It's worth a shot. I got 14 in a box for $5.48 at Walmart. If anything, I've heard it really helps with the messiness.

So next week all the craziness begins. It will probably continue up until the point I actually graduate in December. I'm not really how well my final semester in Grad school will mix with fertility drugs, but I'm tired of waiting. I've had to put off so many of my plans and dreams because I was a military wife and I'm simply not doing that anymore. BRING IT ON! lol I can handle it, even if it does make me a little crazy.

Lay the SMACK down!

So tomorrow, I'm going to call Dr. Billings and lay the smack down. I called today to go ahead and make my first OB appointment. He doesn't want to see me until I'm 10-12 weeks. Now... I understand that this is "standard"... but I don't have a standard pregnancy. I have a special, fertility treatment induced pregnancy. Because of my PCOS, I need to have my progesterone levels monitored routinely. They also should check to see if I have any clotting disorders because those are common in women with PCOS as well. These two things are some of the reasons so may women with PCOS miscarry. I'm trying to breathe and not be upset. I asked the nurse and the appointment person if because of the IF treatments and Clomid, etc. if he would want to see me earlier. She said, "No, he likes to treat everyone the same." Well, I'm not everyone... I'm SOMEONE and I will get what I want. I will also call my RE and see what he says. I gotta be my own advocate in this stupid, backasswards place. I KNOW what needs to be done. It's not difficult to google. Most women on my PCOS support forums were seen in their 6th-7th week to make sure that everything was ok. I'm also not sure of my due date. I know my last period was Feb. 4th, but I'm pretty sure I ovulated late in my cycle which would throw my due date off. Additionally, because of the Clomid, there is an increase risk of twins. I'm not sure if I should be lifting considering all my risk factors for miscarriage... I just want to see a doctor and get some answers. Today, work at me so aggravated that I just wanted to put me 2 week notice in. I really really did. RAWR.... ok... now to breathe and not stress.