Camping

End of the trip.  It was a such a beautiful day!

John and Julie!

This weekend we went to San Onofre State Beach to camp for the weekend.  It was our first camping trip since being married and we had a great time!  We relaxed by the campfire reading and playing card games with our good friends John and Julie!  We also went down to the water to watch the surfers catch waves.  One of my favorite things about California is that you don't have to go far to feel far away.  It was a great break from our normal routine and fun first in our marriage.  Dan has always loved camping but I haven't camped. . .well for maybe 20 years?? We will definitely go again! 

Dan, the camping expert, making his morning coffee!

Seriously!?

Well we were SUPPOSED to find out the gender of Baby Shack today.  Key word here. . ."supposed".  Dan and I walked in for our appointment to a room with no ultrasound machine.  I just confidently told Dan, "It is probably one of those portable ones."  Well then the doctor came in with a pocket fetal doppler.  Yes. . . the same gadget that I paid a mere $45 for last week.  When we asked why we weren't doing an ultrasound he launched into an explanation as to how I am not far along enough, how if we did an ultrasound today we couldn't see much and that I needed to be atleast 17 weeks along,  to which he asked, "How far along are you?"  People, how come OBs ask their patients how far along we are?  Don't they know this stuff?  When I first came in last month they asked me for my due date.  I just told them, "I thought that is what you are supposed to tell me!?"  I got our due date off the internet calculator and that is the due date they used for me.  Anyways, after the LONG explanation as to how it is too early to tell the gender he looked at us with pity and said, "You guys are just spoiled from going to the infertility doctor's office where they do an ultrasound every appointment."  I totally get what he meant but I didn't take it kindly.  Dan I changed lots through our infertility experience, but "SPOILED" is not one of the qualities we picked up along the way.  Honestly, I felt like saying this:  "Dr. B. .. we are rookies here.  I don't know what is supposed to happen every week of my pregnancy or at every appointment unless you tell me and at our last appointment in May YOU told us that at our June appointment we would be doing an ultrasound for an anatomy check and gender identification.  I only "EXPECTED" an ultrasound today because YOU told us we were going to have one!"  In reality I just sat there and looked at him while fuming deep inside.  He then got the doppler out and told me this could take a minute.  I told him exactly where the baby was (I had just used our fetal doppler the night before) and just like that we heard Baby Shack's heartbeat.  And then that was it.  I can't believe we drove that far for something we could have done at home.  Silly.  BTW why are they so stingy on ultrasounds?  Is it expensive to turn the machine on?  Is it dangerous to the baby?  It is not like an ultrasound takes that long to do.  As Dan and I walked out of the doctor's office I whispered under my breath, "I miss Dr. K".  I am sure Dr. B is a great doctor.  Everyone has told me so.  Maybe I am spoiled.  Dr. K and his staff never made me feel stupid. . . ever. 

So after our appointment today we set up our ultrasound appointment for the anatomy scan on June 21st at 9am PST.  That is the day of our 8th wedding anniversary so hopefully we will have a good appointment and then celebrate with a fun day together.  So you will all have to wait 15 more days with us before we know how Baby Shack's body is doing and if Baby Shack is a boy or girl.  At least this kind of waiting is a happy kind of waiting.  =)

The Doppler Has Arrived!

Several weeks ago Dan and I won an ebay auction for a pocket fetal doppler and today I picked it up at the post office and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again!  It was $45 for a brand new doppler.  I love that we can hear the heartbeat whenever we want now!  I am really looking forward to our ultrasound on Monday so we can know if we are having a boy or girl!!!

This is the video that explains how the doppler works. 

Sleepless Nights: Coughing, Choking, and Puking OH MY!

It is a REALLY good thing that this weekend was a long one because I have not been doing well.  I've lost six pounds in the last week.  I am having trouble eating and sleeping which I am going to blame mostly on pregnancy.  Nobody ever told me about how all your muscles relax during pregnancy.  It began with heartburn then I would wake myself up at night choking on my own spit.  The last four nights in a row I haven't been able to sleep more than a few hours.  Every time I finally relax into a deep sleep fluid comes up and I begin to choke which develops into an evil croupy cough that lasts all night long.  I've tried sitting up while sleeping and it still happens!  Has anyone else had this crazy symptom and if so what did you do to sleep?  I still have a month of teaching left and I can't keep the pace up on only a few hours a night!  I might call the doctor up this week and see what he says.

I can tell . . . the end is near!

I get sooooo excited when I begin to see these:

and also these:

 

because I know that the end of the school year is near.  YEA!!!  In Southern California in late spring the Brazilian Jacaranda trees are in full bloom.  It is just so breathtaking to drive down the street and see this strikingly beautiful purple tree peeking out of the neighborhood.  Another really common plant in this area is night blooming jasmin.  These ground cover plants look pretty all day but in the evenings (especially warm evenings) their wonderfully enchanting scent is so alluring.  I choose jasmin as the centerpiece for the tables at our wedding reception.  Our 8th wedding anniversary is coming soon in June and the smell of those flowers takes me right back to wonderful memories of our wedding. 

I've never been so ready for summer vacation.  One thing I love-hate about my job is that there is an end and a new beginning.  I can't imagine living a life where I just perpetually worked week after week after week.  I like being a 10 month employee and having an end to my job and new start two months later.  It is also hard to get back into a work routine after being out of it for a few months.  It is around this time when I begin making my summer plans.  This summer we are not traveling the world but rather preparing for our world to change.  We are going to set up the nursery, clean out the garage and closets, and take all of our birthing and pregnancy classes at our hospital.  Today one of my work colleagues gave birth to her first child and I can't tell you how super excited I am for our baby to arrive now!  The weeks are going by soooo slow to me.  I am looking forward to my transition to being a mom and when I see these purplish trees I remember that that dream is just a little bit closer!

These are just a few of the jacarandas across the street from my school.

Welcome Trimester Two!

Tomorrow I will be 13 weeks pregnant and I still can't believe it except that my body keeps reminding me.  March-May is traditionally my busiest months at work and these past three weeks the all day nausea has been hitting me hard lately.  The key for me has been constant snacking because when I get hungry I feel pretty bad.  My two go to snacks that I cannot be without lately have been:

These cookies have a good dose of ginger in them to calm my stomach.  Don't you love how they make sure you know that they are "Cookies For People"?  Ha ha!

Cubed cheese - My favorite is an Irish cheese called Dubliner

 A week and half ago we got to meet our new OB, Dr. B.  We really connected with him and felt comfortable immediately with him.  We didn't have to explain what embryo donation was and he knew all about the meds I had been on and I loved that he didn't ask me for the first date of my last period.  Ha!  We were a little sad that we weren't going to get an ultrasound during that appointment and he could tell we weren't going to be satisfied until we knew that our Baby Shack was okay.  He grabbed a doppler and while it took him awhile to find it (thus the worried look on my face in the video) we did hear a very strong and healthy heartbeat!  We thought the doppler was so cool that we bought one for $45 on ebay and look forward to using it when it arrives in June!

We decided to skip the tests that tell you if the baby might have down syndrome.  We didn't want to do any tests.  We don't need any more drama.  We don't need "notice" of any potential health problems with our child.  Knowing of any potential problems wouldn't impact our course in this pregnancy.  It was a little strange to be one of many pregnant ladies in the waiting room before our appointment.  I seem to feel compelled to tell everyone who finds out about our pregnancy that it took us seven years to get pregnant.  Perhaps I subconciously want EVERYONE to know that this baby is SPECIAL!!!  As we left our appointment the office staff gave us a packet from St. Jude's where we will be delivering and told us that we needed to register for the hospital and any classes we want to take before our next appointment.  I can't believe we are doing all this already!  It is helping it to seem more real.  Our next appointment is on June 6th and we will be doing the anatomy scan and learning if we are having a boy or girl!  We are super excited for that appointment.  =)

Released! The Tale of Two OB/GYNs

 At our last appointment with our RE (Dr. K) he released us to my OB/GYN at 10 weeks pregnant.  I stopped taking my shots a week ago and this past week I have felt more pregnant than ever.  I don't know if the meds were protecting me from certain symptoms or if just being further along has brought them on stronger.  I have been more tired, more hungry (all day and night long), and I started to get the all day long nausea.  Honestly, I don't mind one bit.  It gives me comfort to have strong symptoms.  I work all day and literally come home get into pjs eat take out (which Dan usually brings home) and am fast asleep before 9pm.  (In my defense I do get up at 5am for work everyday.)  This growing a baby thing must be hard work for the body because mine is worn out!


Leaving Dr. K and the Very Clueless OB Office
I have to admit that it was sad for me to leave Dr. K.  He is like a security blanket in all of this infertility/pregnancy stuff.  I trust him, he encourages me, he is so knowledgeable, he is dependable, his staff is respectful and kind, and I am used to the highest level of service that they provide.  We just moved to our current home a few years ago and so last October before our first FET I decided upon a new OB/GYN who was recommended to me.  My experience fell far below my expectations.  While I know no doctor will understand our situation quite like Dr. K this OB and his group made me frustrated.  First it is not that close to us (although out in dairy country nothing really is super close).  Second, after working all day and then rushing to make my appointment I had to wait 45 minutes past my appointment time to be seen.  I asked another patient if that was normal and she said yes.  Third, the office staff was not so friendly; I felt more like an intruder rather than a guest in their office.  But the icing on the cake was meeting the doctor.  In his defense he was really nice.  We talked about my infertility, my weight loss, and my upcoming FET.  After explaining what we were going to be doing (FET with donor embryos) because he had NEVER heard about it before, he just looked at me and asked, "So how come you just didn't do IVF?"  I knew he wasn't mocking our choice to do donor embryos.  He genuinely wanted to understand our choices so I educated him by giving him a very frank and thorough response to which he simply replied, "Oh."  While this is no reflection on his ability as a doctor or even his bedside manner necessarily, I just hate that I have to explain myself in detail to a new doctor.  And honestly people!  This is the 2010s!!  What OB in Southern California has never heard of embryo donation???   I left that appointment a bit unsettled.  But when I called back this past Monday to schedule my first OB appointment with him for when I am 12 weeks pregnant like Dr. K instructed me to the secretary informed me that I must make an appointment to see a nurse first and then they would decide if I could have an appointment with the Dr.  I tried to explain to her that it has taken me SEVEN years to get pregnant and that I was already 11 weeks along and needed to see the Dr. and not the nurse next week.  She wouldn't have any of it.  After I already explained that I was being released from my RE she asked for the first date of my last period.  Seriously???  Lady I haven't had a period in like five months because of birth control!  She was clueless.  She was totally rude and then put me on hold for 10 min. to see if there were any appointments at all.  Dan told me to hang up and I did. 

Enter the new OB office. 
I had just received a different referral from a friend and after some research and learning that several of my coworkers had used this OB office and loved it we decided to call them and see how it went.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!  The receptionist was wonderfully kind.  She didn't put me on hold.  She (the secretary) knew exactly what embryo donation was because their office specializes in working with infertility patients and high risk pregnancies.   I rejoiced in my heart because I knew that coming here I would be understood without having to explain myself and defend why I might be a bit more nervous than most pregnant women.  She made me an appointment with the doctor that I preferred for this coming Tuesday and then scheduled all of my upcoming appointments (every four weeks) through the month of August!!!  We totally made the right choice.  I feel comfortable going to my new OB now and look forward to seeing Baby Shack again on the ultrasound machine!  Oh and the hospital that we will be delivering at is amazingly nice.  I am so thankful for good medical insurance so we can go there.  I only have one more week left in my first trimester!  I am getting more and more excited everyday.