Play Day With Peyton

GG's Visit

Addison's GG came to visit her for the first time and was also able to be here for Peyton's 1st birthday. We were so happy that GG was able to come. Addison sure loves her GG (and so do Scott and I).

Addison also loves the quilt that GG made for her. Thank you GG.

Here's one more pic of the princess. She is starting to love sitting up and she loves her Bumbo seat.

It's Official!!

We travelled to Kansas City this last weekend to attend the adoption finalization court hearing on Monday morning. Not that we haven't felt like Addison's parents since the beginning, but now we are officially her parents.

Here are a few pics of the day:

Addison has changed so much this last week. She has really started to talk and coo. She had a good talk session with her MiMi (Scott's mom) this last weekend.

Here is a picture of her sitting up.

2 Month Checkup

Addison went to the doctor today for her 2 month checkup. (It was scheduled for last Friday but her doctor had jury duty so it got moved.) My little girl is getting too big. She weighs 10 pounds 15 ounces (50%) and is 23 inches long (75%). She also had her shots today. She cried some, but once I was able to pick her up she calmed down, so she did really good.

Here's a new pic of her playing with her star.



Here's a pic of her cuddling with her blankie.

Pictures

There isn't really much to report on Addison so I thought I would just post some new pictures of her.

Addison loves her Papa and Grammy.





I am just loving all her smiles now.



She is looking less and less like this every day:



She goes to the doctor Friday for her 2 month checkup and shots. I am not looking forward to the shots, but I can't wait to find out how much she has grown.

Smiling

Addison has started smiling some off and on in response to our voices and smiles. We finally were able to capture a smile on camera.

She is still doing really well. Around the 3 week mark she became a very fussy baby, but I think we are on the downward end of that and she seems to be less and less fussy every day. She is starting to have more alert "happy" times. She is sleeping really well. At bedtime, she gets her bottle and then sleeps for about 5 hours, then another bottle and sleeps another 4 hours, so we cannot complain about lack of sleep.

We love seeing all the changes she is making every day.

Pictures

We had a friend come and take some family pictures and 4 wk photos of Addison. They turned out really good. She took over 200 pictures and then did some editing to them, so we have many, many new pics of Addison. Here are a few of them:

And this is just a sampling. There are so many good ones, I had a hard time choosing just a few to show.

One Month Old

I cannot believe it has already been one month. It has gone so fast. Addison has changed so much. Today at her doctor's appointment she weighed 9 pounds 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

Here are some new pics:

Enjoying Parenthood

We are home and adjusting to life with a newborn. Although, it really is an easy adjustment. Addison is really a good baby and we are so in love with her. She sleeps well, eats well and is very good sitting in her carseat so I can run errands or go shopping. We are really lucky to have gotten such a good tempered baby. Not to mention that we think she is the cutest baby around.

She is starting to have more wakeful periods through the day and likes to law on her playmat and watch her star with plays music and lights up. She also doesn't mind her "tummy time." It is amazing to watch her change literally overnight.

Here are some new pics of her:

Scott is also trying to adjust to going back to work. He started back last Monday, but it has been difficult with the nighttime feedings (he wants to help out with these). I found him like this the other day.

Coming Home!

Giddyup! We got the call this afternoon around 2:00 that we get to go home!
Right now the plan is to rest up this evening, get up early, and try to get home before it gets too terribly hot.

Mommy, Addy, and Grammy are already working on the resting up.

Off to the City

Today we took a trip to the big city. In this case, that big city is Wichita. Addy got to enjoy a couple of new experiences: a somewhat long car ride (45 minutes each way), a walk around the mall, and a trip to pizza hut.

Here we are in the mall

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...at pizza hut. no, addy had no parmesan cheese (what her daddy really loves)

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this is just a picture i really liked from this morning. addy looks so much like a 'real' person sleeping on her arms

First Doctor Visit

Addison went for her first doctor visit this morning.

Before we took off, we did a little bit of relaxing in the sun. Addy was totally relaxed and cool as a cucumber. Grammy took lots of shots, and this is one of my favorites.

so...how many people does it take to keep a baby's thermometer in her arm pit? the answer, it seems, is 3. we ended up having to take a second try, but she checked out ok.
The doctor did some checking of the eyes, ears, etc... Addy is still a little jaundiced, but the sun time should help that, and the jaundice usually peaks around day 5 or so anyway (which is about where we are).
This was another picture from earlier in the morning--one of Grammy's close ups.
After we got back to the hotel, someone had a snack that appears to have resulted in a full belly. Didn't stop her from having another snack an hour and a half later. I think there's a reason that Addy is already almost back up to her birth weight (she's now 7.10...only one more ounce to go).
Mom and Dad couldn't be happier.

New Visitors

Over this weekend we've had a good troup of visitors.


Gary (Papa) and Mindy, Dwayne, and Peyton arrived on Thursday. This allowed Terri to stay in a separate room for a night or two, allowing us to have some alone time with Addison. Peyton is helping Addy learn what it means to be a baby as well as giving us hope that life w/ a new one is more than eat/sleep/poop (though we're definitely having fun just watching Addison as she makes it through her first few weeks of life).

Uncle Cyril and Aunt Teri dropped by on Saturday morning and spent a lot of time holding Addison (and playing with Peyton).

Saturday afternoon arrived with Mimi, Steve, Jennifer, Haley, Hannah, and Paige about the same time Cyril and Teri made there way back to the normal world.

Altogether, life is going pretty good. Mom and Dad aren't getting quite enough sleep, but when Gary, Mindy, Dwayne, Peyton, Mimi, Steve, Jennifer, Haley, Hannah, and Paige all left this morning, Grammy (Terri) stayed on with us to give us a break or two from time to time.

We still can't wait for our ICPC to go through and to get home, but wherever we happen to be we're enjoying our new one.

Addison Elisabeth

A lot of you who read our blog may already know the wonderful news, but we adopted our baby girl this week. Addison Elisabeth was born on August 8, 2007.

She was born at 8:34 PM and weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces @ 20.5 inches tall (long?).

Thank you all for all your prayers and thoughts over the last months. Your support as we've gone through various ways of having our first baby has meant the world to us, and we hope that you will continue to keep is in your prayers as we raise our new baby.

Here are some more photos.

No babies

Yesterday (Monday, 7/30) we did a blood pregnancy test that came back negative. We're pretty heartbroken about it as you can well imagine (the actual mix of emotions is pretty hard to describe, though sad and angry cover it best).

In any case, we continue to thank you for your prayers and support and ask that you would continue on, both as we work through this and as we make plans for what happens next.

More Needles, More Drugs

I had more bloodwork today. This was supposed to be the last time until my pregnancy test, however, my estrogen level came back on the lower side of normal (and my doctor is an over-achiever) so he started me on estrogen pills, along with the estrogen patch and progesterone shots, and I will have to go back for more bloodwork on Friday. I am glad my doctor is over cautious though and wants to do everything possible in order for this to work.

Thanks again for all your prayers. Please keep them coming as we still have some waiting until we find out if we were successful.

The Wait

While we wait to find out whether the IVF worked, I am trying to take it easy for the next few days. I have also been getting daily IM (intramuscular) injections of progesterone in oil. In a normal cycle, after a woman ovulates, the ruptured follicle produces progesterone until the placenta starts to produce progesterone around the end of the first trimester. Because I did not ovulate normally and had my eggs retrieved, that is why I have to take progesterone shots. So, if I get pregnant, I will most likely have to continue to progesterone shots for 10-12 more weeks.

I had to go to a hospital today to have blood drawn. My doctor called back and wants to increase my progesterone dosage and I will now be wearing an estrogen patch. The hormones are definitely raging. (Poor Scott).

I'll have more bloodwork on Wednesday to check my progesterone and estrogen levels.

We continue to be amazed everytime we read the comments on our blog and cannot thank everyone enough for their prayers.

Transfer time

Today we got up, did our morning shot in the "hip" (that's doctor speak for "buttocks"), had some eggs for breakfast, ran some errands, and around 2:30 transferred our embryo's. The doctor said that our two were in super condition and had already formed into morulas, which is the stage that the embryo usually is at after about 4 days (ours were at day 3.33 or so). So things are looking really good.

Generally speaking, embryos are transferred back in on day 3 as 8-cell organisms or on day 5 as blastocysts. Our's are somewhere in the middle of that, having already begun compacting and developing into specific cells (aka, the baby, the placenta, the sac, etc...).

The next step is that Lez has to stay in bed, flat on her back for the next 24 hours, the first six of which she isn't supposed to get up at all. We also will continue the progesterone shots that we're now doing every morning. Today was the second day of those...if the pregnancy holds, we'll do that every day for the next 10 weeks (I like to say "70 days" but Lez likes "10 weeks" b/c that sounds shorter). The bed rest is so that nothing moves around, allowing the embryos to settle in nicely into the place where the doctor put them.

Implantation should occur within the next 10 days or so, and before too terribly long we will find out just how successful this IVF adventure has been.

We can't say enough how much we appreciate all the prayers that have gone up on our behalf and ask that you continue to keep us and our possible babies in your prayers. We consider it a miracle that our two eggs were of such good quality and have not only survived (as many eggs that get fertilized never develop into embryos or survive past a day or two) but have taken off like they are on a mission. Again, thanks for your prayers and concern.

Still Hanging in There

Both embryos are hanging on. All our prayers are definitely working. It is really a miracle we haven't lost one.

I have my embryo transfer tomorrow at 2:30. We will put both back in. Then I am on strict bedrest for 24 hours. I will have Scott post tomorrow when we get home to update everyone.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I will feel so much better tomorrow when those embryos are put back in their home. Hopefully, they will make themselves very comfy.

We're Still in the Game

Well, out of the four we have two left. Two were not mature. The two that were mature have been fertilized and the dr says they look good so far. Although, we are not out of the woods yet. Either embryo could stop developing or they could split unevenly. Please pray for our embryos, that they will make it to Thursday when they will be transferred back into me.

Egg Retrieval

Well...not horrible news, but not fantastic either. I had about 12-15 follicles, and the ultrasounds showed I should have gotten between 8-10 eggs. However, we only got 4. We are pretty disappointed, because this doesn't leave much room for error. The dr said this happens from time to time, either my follicles were empty, or the eggs in the larger follicles were not maturing like they were supposed to. In a normal cycle, when I had only one follicle, I probably wasn't producing an egg. So, he said this is most likely the reason why we haven't gotten pregnant yet. He also said, it could very well be caused by the endometriosis.

Usually, not all the eggs they get will be mature, not all the mature eggs will fertilize, and not all the eggs that fertilize will develop normally and be viable for transfer. So, we are hoping the 4 we got were super quality. Also, because we only got 4 instead of just putting the eggs and the sperm together and letting them do their thing, they are going to ICSI all four eggs. That means they will take one sperm and inject it into an egg. This means, a greater chance of fertilization, but it also makes the eggs a little more fragile.

We'll get a call from the dr tomorrow, to tell us how fertilization went and how they are developing. If we have any that make it, they will be transferred back on Thurs.

Please keep us in your prayers, we REALLY need them now. We are hoping for a miracle and that all eggs will make it to embryos so we can put 2 back in and freeze 2 for use later if we need them.

Ultrasound #3

Today I went for bloodwork, ultrasound #3 and a mock embryo transfer. The ultrasound showed that some of my smaller follicles did catch up, so I am hoping to get about 15 eggs, with about 10 being mature. So, I will do a "trigger shot" tonight, which will tell my body to ovulate. Then on Monday morning I go in for the egg retrieval.

The retrieval will be an outpatient surgery. Thankfully, I will be put out. They take a needle and put it through the vaginal wall and aspirate the eggs out of the follicles. I'll find out that day how many eggs I have, and we will find out Tuesday how many eggs fertilized. Then on Thursday, hopefully we will have some viable embryos and I will have the embryo transfer. The embryo transfer is an easier procedure. They run a catheter with the embryos inside up into my uterus (guided by ultrasound) and deposit the embryos into my uterus. I am awake and get to watch this procedure on the ultrasound. This is what they practiced for today and it didn't hurt, just a little uncomfortable. On Thursday, they will give me a Valium, so I should be good and relaxed.

Thank you again for all the thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray, specifically for the doctor to be able to get a lot of eggs, for my eggs to be good quality and for them to be able to be fertilized.

Ultrasound #2

Things are going well. My bigger follicles are slowly growing, and some of the smaller follicles look like they might catch up. My dr doubled my medication for the next two nights in hopes of helping the smaller follicles along. He thinks we should get 8-12 eggs out for the retrieval procedures. I go back again on Saturday for another ultrasound and more bloodwork. We'll know more after that visit about when the retrieval will be next week.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. I know they are working.

Ultrasound #1

I went to the dr yesterday to have an ultrasound. He measured 6-8 larger follicles and then there were about 6 more that were smaller. I was hoping for a few more larger follicles (some women get 20-30 follicles), but I am trying to think positive. I also don't know if my body can produce 20-30 follicles safely. Last month, I had 6-8 large follicles and my estrogen level reached a really high level and I was at risk for hyperstimulating. That is why I am on a very low dose of medication this month. Hopefully some of the smaller follicles will catch up in the next few days. I go back again tomorrow for another ultrasound and more bloodwork.

As a side note, I was able to give myself my morning injection for the first time today. I have been lucky to have a very supportive husband that has given me all of my injections so far. Our schedules didn't work out today, so I had to do it myself. I shocked myself and I didn't feel it.

So Far, So Good

I went to the doctor today for bloodwork to check my estrogen levels. Theoretically, your estrogen level is about 200 for every mature egg you have. My eggs won't be mature yet, but they can watch this level rise as I use the stimulation medication to indicate how many eggs I have. They also don't want your estrogen level to get too high, because you can get hyperstimulated, which is dangerous and can land you in the hospital. My doctor just called and said everything looks very good. So, I get to continue my mediation at the same amounts. I am really glad about that, because the mediation really burns as it's being injected and I didn't want to add any more liquid to either of my two nighttime shots.

I will go back to the doctor Tuesday for more bloodwork and for my first ultrasound. I can't wait for the ultrasound, it will show how many follicles I have growing. They measure the follicles on the ultrasound. When the follicles reach a certain size, they are supposed to contain mature eggs. I am feeling some movement, and fullness so I know I have follicles growing.

Thank you for all your prayers. They are working.

The Next Step

It's been a long time. We haven't heard a word from the adoption agency about any prospects. We are a bit disheartened by that and getting to be frustrated with the agency we are working with. We thought when we stopped infertility treatment two years ago, that adoption would be much easier because all we had to do was wait. No drugs, no doctors visits every other day, no raging hormones. We thought we would get picked and bring home a baby and it would be so easy. Boy, we were wrong.

Shortly after we got home after the failed adoption, we decided that we didn't just want to sit around and wait anymore. We decided to be proactive and put our eggs (no pun intended) into as many baskets as possible. We just want a baby, we don't care whether he/she comes through adoption or through pregnancy. So, I contacted a new doctor that one of my friends recommended to me. He has been great and we are really happy that we changed doctors. We had an unsuccessful IUI (intrauterine insemination) last month. We were pretty disappointed because I responded so well to the medication this time, as compared to two years ago. The doctor was baffled. I am getting really tired of hearing "You should be pregnant by now, we just don't know why it hasn't happened yet."

So, we decided to jump into IVF (invitrofertilization). I had surgery a month ago to prepare my body for the IVF. Then I started daily Lupron injections a week and a half ago. Lupron basically shuts down your pituitary gland to stop it from producing hormones so that we can control my body with the drugs. People were telling me to prepare for instant menopause. It really hasn't been too bad yet, I've only had a few hot flashes. Today, I had an ultrasound to clear me for my stimulation drugs. The stimulation drugs are what cause my ovaries to grow lots of follicles (hopefully). So, today I got to have three shots in my belly. Let me just say, I hate shots.

Here is a picture of all the drugs that I will take this month. So, far the side effects I've had are hot flashes and being very tired. I am also a pretty emotional person anyway, but I cry at the drop of the hat. My poor husband is going to have to deal with a crazy woman this month.




I'll go to the doctor pretty much every other day for blood work and ultrasounds to watch my follicles grow and then in about 10-12 days I'll have an egg retrieval. Then three days later I'll have an egg transfer.

I know this is a lot of information, and some of you may not find it very interesting. However, before we started this infertility business I knew nothing about any of this. I never knew what some people had to go through to have children. I just want everyone to know what we are doing.

Please pray for us. Pray that my body won't fail us again. Pray that the drugs will do what they are supposed to do. Please also continue to pray for our potential adoption. We would love to be able to experience both adoption and pregnancy as ways to grow our family.