April Showers..

..and some pretty flowers.


I was finally able to get some flowers planted for the spring. Sorry the pictures aren't great. It was raining and I really didn't want me or my camera out there very long.

Well, not much new here. AF was nice for me this cycle, but I still seem to have small episodes of extremely light spotting every now and then. I was pretty much done with AF on CD 4 though. I have never had one that short.

My follicle scan is on Monday. I think my sister-in-law will be going with me. If she can't then my mom will. Jared can't come this time and it's not like I need someone there with me, but my SIL is very interested in all this and so is my mom. They both think it'd be really neet to see the scan.

I may be going car shopping on Saturday. My Sable is 8 years old and we want to get a new car for me before a baby comes. Just have to decide if we want to go ahead and buy a different car now or wait until I am closer to the end of my pregnancy. We are thinking of getting either a minivan or small SUV like a Ford Escape. Moms.. what would you recommend? I am not opposed to a minivan, but I do kinda lean towards an SUV a little more. If we do go for a minivan, we will wait until I am actually pregnant before we get one. Ideas???

Baby lamb

I have been blog crazy lately. We're just taking all sorts of fun pics though :) Jared and I went to the farm yesterday (where we used to live) and visited with Ted for a while. He's looking ok, a bit older to me and a little ribby. He doesn't seem to be underweight but just needs a little more padding on those sides. Anyways, lambing season is starting up and they have 1 lamb so far. They had to take him away from his momma because she wasn't caring for him or nursing him. Sheep can be really stupid animals. haha. And that is who God refers to us as... His sheep. I wonder why?? hehe Anyways, Jared got some cute shots of me holding the baby lamb. He was trying to nurse on my chin. I wish I would have had a bottle to give him.

veil making

On Thursday, my friend Lesley who is getting married, came over with her friend/maid of honor and we all made Lesley's veil. Her wedding will be on October 6.

Lesley and Lauren

Me
Lesley, Lauren and me
again

This next pic doesn't have to do with making the veil, but I will share it anyways.

The crib with the bedding on it

Picture web site

I started this post asking if anyone knew of a good picture hosting web site, but I have found one and really really like it. Our other web site where I kept my pictures had some inappropriate things posted on it a few different times and it was starting to become more frequent. I decided to delete all of my pictures from there and find another picture site that was more secure.

The new one is here: http://amyandjared.myphotoalbum.com/

Saph- I have used Kodak in the past as well, but it wasn't quite what I was wanting. Thank you though.

Oh and yes, AF is here full force. I start Clomid again on Saturday and have my follicle scan on Monday, April 30th. I also got my progesterone level back and it was 17.1. The nurse said this was a good number. The Dr. likes to see it above 15. YAY! Please pray that my uterine lining is thicker this month. That was the only concern that my Dr. had with me and Clomid.

The Nursery

I got the crib and changer and it is all set up.It looks great in the room. I just can't wait until the day where I have a little someone to sleep in there.

Pink

I am seeing Pink today. I imagine AF will be here full force today or tomorrow. But hey, at least the Clomid did what it was supposed to. Now it is only a matter of time. I realize that it is possible to get a BFP on your first month of clomid, but I know most ladies take a couple tries on it. Let's hope round #2 is our lucky one!!

I did have my piano tuned on Monday so I need to get a new video of me playing, as promised.

Also, I may be buying my crib and changing table tonight. I have had my eye on a set that is sold at a nearby store. The store is selling out of them and will not be re-ordering any more. I know it is not the only crib and changer in the world, but I really had my heart set on it.

All along, Jared has said that I can buy it once I become pregnant, but now that I learned that it may not be available much longer, he said that I could go ahead and buy it now. He also said I had better be happy with it because I am not returning this one.

They don't have any more of the color that I want except for the floor model. They will not offer any discounts on it, but I am determined to find a few flaws and see if they will give me a discount. I will also ask that I have the original packaging and I absolutely will need to have the instructions/manual that it comes with.

I am really excited and will post pics, once we get it. Jared will be thrilled that he will not have to put a crib together. Hopefully we will have something to fill it with very soon!

Here is the stock photo of the crib and changer:

Answer..

I added the yellow lines to show you where the 2nd line is.

UPDATED with a pic of my Answer test. I took it apart. Can anyone see a line (it would be to the left of the control line)?

I took an Answer test at work today (made a quick trip to Walmart) and it looks negative. Those $Tests are such crap. Oh well, I will update if anything changes of course. I am not sure when AF is due now, but I have no pink whatsoever. I guess I will just be surprised when she comes. Hopefully she won't embarass me. haha

We're back

Jared did great in the 1/2 marathon. He finished in 1 hour and 55 minutes.


My test does not look so great anymore :( It was so convincing this morning. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself.. you'd think I would have learned by now. Jared says he is taking my tests and won't give them to me until AF is officially late. With the Clomid though, I really don't know when AF is due. It should extend my luteal phase for me. Without Clomid, AF would be due tomorrow but I don't think I will see her tomorrow. We'll see, I'll keep you all posted though. Sorry to get everyone's hopes up. It still could be a BFP, but it is looking pretty evapish now.

Ummmm

Ok, I am getting slightly excited. This morning's test looks darker to me, but it still is so stinkin faint. I had to get up around 4:15 to pee (good sign) so I decided to go ahead and test. Bad idea. Now I can't get back to sleep.

I am thinkin this is the real deal but it is still a little too early to tell. I would take Kim's advice to use a digital but I think I am just scared of seeing the "not pregnant" flash back at me. Maybe I will tomorrow, if I have a good looking test tomorrow morning too. Part of me thinks that this could still be left over from the shot, but because this morning's test looks better than yesterdays, that is beginning to not be a concern.

Well, I have a couple pics but, the lighting right now is bad because it is still dark out. I don't like using a flash on these because it washes out the test. I will try and get better ones later, once the sun comes up. Oh, also.. Jared is running in a half-marathon this morning in Lawrence, KS. I will post pics of that later as well.

Untouched

Touched-up
Touched up

Snow

Wanted to add some pics of the snow that we got overnight.

Our nieghbors poor tulips

See below for my testing post! Also, I believe you can enlarge my pics now, thanks for the tip from Staci!!

Test at 10DPO

I went ahead and tested this morning, even though it is still really early and I think AF is right around the corner. I definately have a line there but please don't get too excited.. I am pretty sure it is a nasty evap line that these dollar store tests are prone to and I have had these before. This one is pretty bad though because it is really dark.

What makes me think it is an evap is because it really doesn't look very pink to me, it looks grey. And in the 2nd pic that I will show you, it is pretty thin looking. Here are the pics. I have 2 different pics but I adjusted them:

Here is Pic 1
untouched

Pic 1 again, touched up

Pic 2

Untouched

Pic 2 again, touched up

Pic 2 again, inverted

Again, I don't really think these are true BFP's. I will test again tomorrow and see if there is a difference. Stay tuned...

Hospital Gown

My sister sent me a link to some darling hospital gowns that are made for ladies in the delivery room. She found it on some celebritiy baby blog. They cost $65.

I loved the idea of having a "pretty" gown to wear in the hospital, but if you know me, I like to try and make things on my own, if at all possible. That way it costs alot less. I googled a search for a hospital gown pattern and found a site where you can download a pattern for free! I am so excited. I need to go fabric shopping with my mom and sis so they can help me pick out the perfect print.

I have lots of time to make one, but I might as well get started ;)

Our Easter was great, Thank you Stac! We went to church in the morning then came back home. We left home around 4:30 and headed back up to Independence and had dinner at Jared's parent's house. My siblings were able to join us and also some good friends of the family. I completely forgot my camera, even though I had it all ready to go, I accidentally left it behind. My parents were in Oregon so they weren't able to join us.

I am at 7 DPO today. 5 more days until I test for real. I did take another test just a couple days ago and there was still a faint pink line there. I imagine it is out of my system by now, but I really don't feel like wasting another test, even though they are only $1.

I go in on Friday to have my blood drawn to check my progesterone levels. Hope those come back great!

Since a post is no fun without pictures, I will post a pic of Jared's new vehicle. If you remember me posting a while back about buying a cheaper truck, well... we did buy one. But Jared decided that's really not what he wanted. What he really wanted was another Nissan Xterra like we just had a year ago. So, we sold the truck to my sister and her hubby and Jared got his wish. We go through vehicles so much, it's embarrassing.

Just for fun..

I took a test:Hope this is what we see in about 10 more days :)

I may test again in a few days to see if the HCG from the shot has left my system.

easter eggs

I changed my ticker to show a nest with 3 eggs. It reminded me of my uterus this cycle! haha

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments, prayers and thoughts. It really means alot to me.

It is so crazy how this whole conception thing works. You'd think that since I have 3 eggs floating around inside of me.. surely we could fertilize at least 1 of those!!! If not all of them! Could you imagine triplets?

Laura and Dani- You are so right. This will definately be the longest 2WW ever!!

and Jenny, if I am having triplets, you absolutely need to start lactating! No arguing. hehe ;D

I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high. Although women can become pregnant on their first cycle of Clomid, the odds are really not in my favor. God is bigger that Clomid and infertility though and if it his timing, then it will be done.

Today is O day.. another busy night ahead for us :)

3 Mature Follicles!!!

We had our u/s today and I had 3 mature follicles!!! I am so excited!! 1 was pretty large (almost too big) measuring at 27 mm, and 2 were the "perfect" size, according to the nurse, measuring at 20 mm. The nurse explained that when a follicle is matured and becomes as large as my 27 mm one, the egg can become cystic in nature and is sometimes not fertilizable; however, it still could be.

My uterine lining was measured at a 7. They like to see it at a 10, but I still have a few more days for that to thicken, before implantation would occur, if we fertilize 1 of my 3 eggs that will be ovulated very soon.

I received the HCG injection which will make me ovulate and the nurse told us to BD tonight and tomorrow. I should ovulate within 12-36 hours so probably sometime tomorrow. YAYYYY!!!

I will have my blood drawn on the 13th to check my progesterone level. The nurse told me that when we do become pregnant, they will put me on progesterone to help support the pregnancy, even if I have a nice progesterone result.

She told me that I responded very well to Clomid. The only thing that wasn't great was my lining, but it should be able to thicken up nicely between now and implantation time. She said that can be a side effect of Clomid.

Now that I had the HCG injection, I will test positive on a pregnancy test (even though I may not be pregnant). The HCG should leave my system within a few days; therefore, if I do not have AF in a couple weeks and I test positive then it is because I am pregnant.

I am just so excited about this and have a really good feeling that we will be blessed soon. I know the Lord is hearing our prayers and I am so thankful that we had an awesome appointment.

Please pray that we will fertilize at least 1 of those 3 eggs and my lining will thicken and that my progesterone level is good. Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

Happy 1st Birthday, Andrew!

Just wanted to share some pictures of my nephew, Andrew's birthday party that was last night.

Andrew with his FAVORITE Aunt (you know it's true, Jen)

The Birthday Boy!

He loved the football!

Yummy cookie cake!

My sweet niece, Ashley

My sister Jenny with her DH, Chris

Trying to get Andrew to take some steps

Baby Tate

Jared and I were able to visit with our friends Nate and Angie, who just had their 2nd baby, a boy, on Monday, the 26th. Her labor and delivery was so fast, she didn't even have time for an epidural.

His name is Tate and he is just a doll. I got to hold him for about 15 minutes and I just fell in love. I can't imagine holding my own baby one day. Ooooh, I can't wait :)

Here is a pic of us holding Tate. My hair looks horrendous and Jared doesn't look too excited. It really is a scary picture but I'll share it anyways. haha

I took my last dose of Clomid yesterday. No bad side effects for me!! YAY! Just some minor hot flashes and night sweats and maybe a couple headaches. 5 more days until my ultrasound to check my follicles. I am so excited :)

I start my new job on Monday. I have a going away lunch with my current team on Friday and then I have a welcome lunch with my new team on Monday. Yummy but not good for the scale.

So glad the weekend is almost here :)

2 down, 3 to go

My first day of Clomid yesterday was not bad at all. I did have a night sweat last night, but big deal. We'll see how the symptoms progress or if they get any worse. I've got 4 more days to find out.

Jared is being so cute about the whole thing. He woke up to go for a run this morning and I was still in bed. Before he left, he came over and put his hand on me and said, "It's almost 7:30. Remember that you have to take your medicine." He reminded me last night as well. He wants to have a baby almost as badly as I do. I love him :)

Yesterday was Jared's dad, Gary's birthday. We went for lunch at The Olive Garden with him and my family. Judy, my MIL is still in Washington with her mom who just had a stroke. I gave Gary a framed picture of our dog, Obi. Gary loves our dogs so much, but he has a special place in his heart for Obi. Jared got Obi before we even met and when he was living at his parent's house, so Gary got to be with Obi from day 1. They have a special bond :)

Obi loves to sit by my feet when I play the piano. I put a blanket on my shiny, black piano bench so Obi wouldn't scratch it and then I put Obi on top of that. I got a few great shots but this one is my favorite:

Operation Clomid

I sure hope this stuff will work for me.

Today is CD 1 of cycle #12. I will be starting Clomid on Saturday, Day 3 and end on Day 7. I called into the nurse line and they will be calling in my prescription for me. I also received the results of my blood test and those came out perfectly normal! YAY! That means that I do not have any indications of PCOS.

My u/s is scheduled for April 3rd (CD 13) at 3:15 pm and they will check the size of my follicle(s). As long as there is 1 that is mature, they will give me a shot of HCG which will induce ovulation and it will be baby making time again.

I fixed the video in my post below so it should be viewable now.

I have been home sick yesterday and today. I am ready to be well again!!

It's here!

My piano came right on time today. In fact, the movers were waiting for us when we got home from work, only a couple minutes though. Well, I am going to try and upload a video. I tried Stac's advice, but photobucket isn't letting me upload the file type that my camcorder saves the video clips as.. need to work on that. But, Youtube let me upload it. Hopefully it works:

The piano really needs a tuning so it sounds a little brassy.

In other news, I am pretty sure AF is a couple days away. My cervix has moved up today and softened. I also noticed a tiny spot of color when I checked up :( Clomid, here we come! If AF comes on Thursday, as expected, then I will start Clomid on Saturday, CD 3.

Symptoms

I am 10 DPO today and not having a lot of real convincing symptoms, but maybe some. There are a couple different things that I have noticed this month that I haven't in the past, but you know how symptoms go.

-I have had sore nips ever since I ovulated. This is one thing that is new, although, in the past 3-4 days, the soreness comes and goes. But they were really sore in the first week after ovulation.

-I noticed a sore throat yesterday morning when I woke up and I still have it today.

-Sunday night was the first night I started getting tired fairly early, but I can get fatigued when I get close to AF so this could go either way.

-My cervix is still low and rock hard and very closed. Usually by 10 DPO, it starts to move on up and open slightly. There is still lots of day left though, so it could begin to change throughout the day.

I do not have much CM which is probably the main thing that makes me think I am not pg this cycle. Most times, pg ladies will have increased creamy CM, but not always. So only time will tell.

My piano is arriving at home today between 4-6 PM. As promised, I will get some video of me playing. I can't promise it will sound great because the piano will probably be very out of tune. Pianos normally need tuning after a move and it also wasn't very in tune when I played it at the store. The tuner should be out within a week or two.

I got a new...

Piano and a new job!! YAY!

Let's start with the more exciting topic.. my new piano =D I should get it probably on Tuesday of this next week. I am really, really excited. I will have to take some video of me playing and figure out how to post a video on here. I didn't get the piano that I showed in my prior post.. I ended gup getting a Samick 48" upright. Here is the beauty:

About my new job.. I will probably start either March 26th or April 2nd. I'm glad I got out of my current department when I did. I have a feeling that things will start going a little haywire here shortly when everyone is leaving because they feel like their position is being threatened. So, I am happy about my move; although, my shift/hours are really going to stink. I will be salaried now, but the position requires me to stay later in the day, until around 5'ish. I am so used to leaving work at 3:30 or 4 at the latest. I've been spoiled. We'll see though.. there is some flexiblity with that.

Jared's Grandma has shown some improvement, but we are not out of the woods yet. She could use prayers, if you think of her. Her name is Zelma.. here is a picture of us with her and my parents at Christmas time. This is from my FIL's camera: