Christmas

We woke up this morning to a white Christmas.  I think there was only a 30% chance so it was definitely a Christmas miracle (as someone in family said).  I made homemade crepes with berries and powdered sugar for breakfast.  

After breakfast we listened to Christmas music and opened presents.  This year we didn't go to Charleston to visit my cousins so it felt really weird.  My Mom is in town so we have had a lot of fun with her.  Julia and Ethan really wanted to spend Christmas day at home since they have always been out of town.  I will admit it was nice to wake up Christmas day at home, but I really missed my other family.

We hung out all day watching movies and eating appetizers.  For dinner we had a turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes.  After dinner we played Blokus that my brother Bryan and his girlfriend Lauren gave us for Christmas.  We had a blast playing the game!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!  Lots of love!!

Zoey & Bella have matching dresses of course!  

(Mimi aka Grandma got them for xmas)

Ethan got sweatpants, shirts, a sweater, game for his xbox, money and gift cards.  

Julia got earrings, leggings, jeans, shirts, Victoria Secret yoga pants, shirt and lotion/spray and a gift card.

The kids got Craig a really nice pen for work

Mom opening her presents...she loved the pandora charms from John, Sue and Tommy!

We got Mom an iPad mini and she loved it!  

Craig and the kids got me 3 charms for my Pandora bracelet (my friends Phil and Kat got the bracelet for me for my birthday) and I loved them!  I also got a purse, perfume, yoga mat, beach bag, computer case, sandals and gift cards.  Craig got sweaters, Jawbone speaker and lots of gift cards.

Christmas dinner

Christmas Eve Eve

My brother Bryan, his girlfriend Lauren and her son Aidan came Sat night and stayed until Sun.  We had fun hanging out with them and wished they could stay longer.  Aidan loved playing with Ethan (he called him Ethy), Tommy (Ethan's friend) and Julia.  We opened presents and listened to Christmas music and had fun helping Aidan with his new toys.  We loved the remote control car, soccer ball, book and games.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve to everyone!

Aidan, Lauren and Bryan

Zoey (my Mom's dog) and Bella)

Ethan and his friend Tommy (we love his friend Tommy!)

Zoey & Julia

Julia's 16th Birthday

Julia turned 16 and we surprised her with a new red Fiat 500 Sport.  We looked at the cars on Friday and went back on Saturday and bought it.  She was SHOCKED!!  She was so excited!  

We celebrated her 16th Birthday at Sunda with our family, my Mom, Annie (Julia's friend that we love!) and Tommy (Ethan's friend that we love!).  We sat at the Chef's tasting table so we could see them making the sushi, which was pretty amazing.  We ordered a ton of food (rock shrimp, edamame, lemongrass beef lollipops, 2 sushi rolls, fried chicken dish, chicken pad thai and of course dessert).  We also ordered fun drinks (non-alcoholic for the girls) which were delicious.  We opened presents and Julia got a gift card from Tommy with a box of chocolates (he also made a toast to her which was adorable), really pretty Tiffany key chain from Annie that is on still on it's way because it is sold out everywhere, purse, wallet, leggings, earrings, bracelet (from us and my Mom), money (Ethan gave her money and the cutest card that he picked out) and lots of cards.  It was such a fun night and we were so happy to spend it with Julia, Ethan and their friends and Grandma!

Julia & Annie

The whole crew

Julia & Annie (practicing with her chop sticks)

Ethan & Tommy

My Mom & I 

(we are so happy to have her in town for xmas!)

We ordered lots of desserts!

POSITIVE Pregnancy Test & HCGs ~ December 20th - 27th

The two weeks between the IVF transfer and getting the results of the pregnancy test last forever.  It's the worst part of the IVF process.  I was very emotional the few days before I got the results because I didn't think it worked and knew this was our last chance.  While Craig worked out with his friend Jason, I was bawling and texting my BFF Allison about how IVF didn't work.  I tried to remain positive and reassure myself that whatever is meant to be will be.  When Craig came home he told me a great story that I have to share.  He said he did 30 sit ups with heavy weights and could barely finish the set and wanted to quit before he was even done with the 30.  His friend Jason told him to do 50 more and Craig didn't think that was possible as he was exhausted.  He said to himself if I can do 50 more Maria is pregnant.  Out of nowhere he had a burst of energy and was able to do all 50 with ease and he said at that moment he knew I was pregnant.  When he came home and told me this story I was even more upset and hysterically crying because I was so disappointed that my body just cannot get pregnant.  The next morning when I woke up Craig told me to take a pregnancy test, but I told him I didn't want to because I already knew the results (negative) because I didn't feel pregnant.  He insisted on me taking the test so I finally gave in and took it and had the biggest shock of my life...IT WAS POSITIVE!!!!  The line was very faint (see first picture) at first, but it got darker as time went on.  I was so excited and in disbelief, but then it all made sense as to why I was so upset.  The pregnancy hormones were making me crazy and emotional.  The official blood test was set for December 21st at 8am and then they call around noon with the results.  I was very happy that I already knew I was pregnant when I went in for the test, but I still wanted that confirmation that I was pregnant.  When the nurse called me she gave me the amazing news and told me my hcg was 343 (they want it above 25) and my progesterone was 35 (they want it above 10).  I went back again on December 24th and my hcg was 889 and my progesterone was 42.2.  They want the hcg to double every 48-72 hours so my numbers were great.  I went back for my final hcg test on Thursday, December 27th and my hcg was 3004.  I go in on Jan 3, 2013 for my first ultrasound at 6 weeks.  I'm so happy, nervous and anxious!  

Pregnancy Tests

December 20th at 6:22am

A little while later the line got darker

Baby Journey, IVF Retrieval & Transfer ~ Dec 6th & 11th

Baby Journey

Craig and I have been trying to get pregnant for almost 6 years and have been through so much it's hard to even write about it.  We have done 5 IUIs, 4 fresh cycle IVF cycles and 5 frozen IVF transfers which resulted in 5 miscarriages (2 chemical pregnancies (early miscarriage at 4 weeks), 2 miscarriages at 7 weeks (the first one back in 2008 was after taking a break from IUIs and we got pregnant on our own, but lost the baby and had to have a D&C and the other one was in 2011 when they saw a sac, but no baby inside), and one miscarriage at 14 weeks (baby had a fatal problem with her bladder and we had to have a D&E at 14 weeks).  

IVF & Adoption

Craig and I decided we were done with IVF after the last frozen transfer in 2012.  My insurance stopped covering fertility treatments and the emotional roller coaster had taken its toll.  We started the adoption process over the summer and met with an attorney from back home.  I looked through several adoption portfolios and started working on ours, but it was so overwhelming because I have so many pictures and I wanted it to be perfect.  For some reason I could not finish it and I would later understand why.  In September I realized I had money left over in flex spending that I would lose if I didn't use by December so we had to make a decision about what to do next.  We decided to give IVF one last chance and continue the adoption process at the same time and let fate take its course.  Craig and I got our fingerprints done (for the adoption) in November and we were waiting on the adoption paperwork, but for some reason it never came.  I had to e-mail the agency 3 times before it finally came the week before Christmas.  I started the shots for IVF November 23rd, the day after Thanksgiving.  I took shots for about a week and a half and had many appointments for ultrasound and blood work to monitor my progress.  I didn't have as many follicles this time around as it normally goes down as you age.  

IVF Retrieval

December 6

The retrieval went really well and they took out 9 eggs, but we won't find out how many are mature and how many made the fertilization process until tomorrow.  My transfer will either be a 3 day or 5 day, which means the IVF transfer will either be Sunday or Tuesday.  The pregnancy test will be December 21, 2012.

IVF Transfer

December 11

We had to arrive at 7am for the transfer and they gave us the results of the retrieval (7 were mature and 5 fertilized).  We met with the embryologist and he recommended we transfer 3, as two were morulas and one was an early blastocyst.  After fertilization the mass is called an embryo when it has 8 cells, then morula when it has 32 cells and finally blastocyst when it has 100 cells.  We still have one fighting to make it to the blast stage so we can freeze it for the future and the other one did not make it.  We decided to go ahead with their recommendation and transferred 3.  Sadly, the last one did not make it to freeze.  Now I have to wait 2 long weeks for the results.  I will be on complete bed rest for 2-3 days and then light bed rest the rest of the time for an extra precaution.  I have a lot of magazines and movies to watch.  (Thanks, C for your adorable care package!!!  Love ya!!!)

Pictures of Craig and I in our scrub gear before the IVF transfer:

Decorating the Christmas tree

Today we picked out the Christmas tree and decorations.  We bought a small tree, garland for outside, bows and lights.  Julia & Ethan helped decorate the tree while we listened to Christmas music.  Craig did a great job decorating outside.