Protecting Infertility Treatments

Infertility has become a BIG part of my life, not by choice, but something I had to face and overcome. I had no help from the government, no help from my insurance company but that didn't stop me from making my dreams become a reality. The infertility community, the support from friends and family and my faith was the reason we kept going and never gave up. I will always be an advocate for the infertility community and stand up for our rights. So when I hear of a politician, who's never had to deal with infertility, make statements about fertility treatments and how he believes they should be regulated, I get pretty worked up.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gingrich-vows-to-ban-embryonic-stem-cell-research-questions-in-vitro-practices/2012/01/29/gIQAIO9saQ_story.html

Dear Mr. Newt Gingrich, you have NO idea what us women and men go through to have a family of our own. I guarantee if your wife or your daughters were struggling with infertility, you would be ashamed of yourself. Stick with what you know and stay out of our business if you can't help us.

Your statement that embryonic stem-cell research amounts to “the use of science to desensitize society over the killing of babies.” is simply ignorant. I did not make embryos to simply throw them away. I was lucky and able to create enough embryos to continue to grow my family. Although we will never use all of our frozen embryos, we will choose to either donate them to another infertile couple or donate them to science. If they are donated to science, my embryos will not be grown further, but remain a clump of cells, to be researched on how they can help solve the mystery of infertility so others hopefully don't have to go through what so many of us have and also to see if stem cells can cure some of the horrible diseases out there.
And in regards to stem cell research, are you also saying that those of us that choose to store cord blood and tissue for future use are also doing something wrong? Stem cells are a precious gift that should not be thrown, but used to help others who are suffering a horrible disease. It is not wrong to research how stem cells can save lifes but should be something that is supported. Why rely on drug companies who take millions of tax payers dollars when we may have the answers right in front of us?

I am not a baby killer and I have done nothing unethical. Shame on you for accusing me of that. You will NEVER have my vote.

Waving the white flag

I may have my first pregnancy complaint. I know, I said I wouldn't complain about a thing during this wonderful time, but wow, this head cold is kicking my butt! I had an awesome first Trimester, but now that I'm almost 14 weeks (tomorrow!), my luck has ran out. It started out as a sore throat for about four days, which I knew was leading to something; it was just a matter of time before I woke up with the dreaded head cold. So here I am, three days in and I feel miserable.

The worst part is not being able to drug up to get through the bouts of feeling miserable, instead, I'm here just trying to bear through it. The netti pot has been my friend but that can't help everything. All the pamphlets from Dr office say I can take some meds such as Sudafed, etc, but of course Dr. Google says otherwise. Even when I was at Target to see if I could find some meds, the pharmacist warned me not to take anything unless I had to. Well at what point is taking something a must? I think I've reached it! The last thing I want to do is harm the baby, but I also know I need to be healthy for the baby.

So I broke down. I gave in. I raised the white flag. Dear Head Cold, you win. I took two Sudafed two nights ago so I could fall asleep and then two more last night. I'm hoping it's not enough to hurt the baby and yet enough to make me feel better; hopefully a win-win. Also self-prescribed: some Tylenol during the day to keep my fever down, lots of liquids and even more naps and Lifetime movies (how convenient that it's their "Stay in Bed" movie marathon this weekend)

And I truly am grateful that my immune system is choosing the baby over me; I'll take the suffering from this cold as long as our little bundle is healthy and safe. But I do still get to whine about not feeling good :)

Goodbye zippers and buttons

Although I'm not showing much yet, most of my pants are getting either uncomfortable or unwearable. By the end of the day, I rush home and have yoga pants on before the door even shuts behind me. And then I have lines on my belly from my pants, proof that the belly is expanding, while the pants are not.

So this past weekend I took a trip to Motherhood Maternity. Wow. This is a pregnant woman's dream! I didn't realize maternity clothes can be so cute...and so COMFY! I definitely went on a good day as the jeans were buy one get one half off. Perfect. I loaded up on two pairs of jeans, some pajama pants and two shirts for $90; I was very pleased.

And now that I've worn the jeans with the big belly band, not sure I'll ever go back..even after baby! (okay, I'm sure I will when I get my waistline back) They are so comfy and super cute! And until I get more pants, the belly band will do - either way I'm no longer using those evil zippers and buttons on pants.
Grow Belly Grow!

Let the guessing game begin...

We had another ultrasound this week and got to hear the heartbeat finally! The moment I saw the image of our baby on the monitor, I lost it and continued to cry the whole time. The image of that little baby in my belly was simply amazing and the heartbeat..wow. Such a beautiful sound!!

As a lot of you may already know, we're not finding out the gender and letting God surprise us! Our journey was very controlled and we're ready for a surprise ending! So let the guessing games begin, here's our first picture of the baby when he/she doesn't look like a gummy bear :)

With that tiny foot in the air...future soccer player? cheerleader? Or possibly a threat to momma that soon enough that foot will be jabbing at my ribcage!

Baby steps can be BIG steps

I didn't realize it would be a huge deal, but making the first big purchase for this baby definitely was. Every day, I would jump online and look at it, knowing I was going to buy it, but I just couldn't hit that "Buy Now" button. I'm not sure why, as we're totally confident that everything will be fine with me and baby, but this was the first big step into allowing ourselves to begin the planning phase of having a baby. Of course we know he/she is coming, but up to this point, we hadn't begun thinking or planning for the changes this will make in our lives, in our home, and in our hearts. Perhaps hitting week 12 was just what we needed to kick-start this! So this morning, I did it. I hit the "Buy Now" button and our first big purchase for Baby Barrett is complete! Nursery bedding has been ordered and is on its way!

Here's a sneak peek at the colors...

Although I still have a lot of work to do in the office to clean it out and make way for the nursery, I'm now one BIG step closer. This purchase has definitely got me more motivated to get going and get everything all packed up so we can get closer to buying the nursery furniture and getting it all set up. Ready for some bigger steps!!

Pinch me!

Sometimes I truly need someone to pinch me. Remind me that it's not a dream, I really am pregnant!!

Today marks week 12, one-third of the way there! I've been so lucky and have had a great first trimester. No morning sickness or nausea, just sore boobs and very tired. No complaints here!
The best part is when the realization that this is really happening hits me. It most often happens when I'm driving to work in the morning, that is my quiet time to think about the day or what's going on in my life, and then it hits me. The tears start rolling and I'm not sure I can smile any bigger. I remember that I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mom to a beautiful baby. Our dreams are finally coming true. Oh. My. Gawd!!!

I'm sure the hormones help aid this almost daily phenomenon, but I know that after all we've been through, we simply cannot be happier. I can't even express the joy in our hearts, and when I do, I usually start to cry. So watch out, the next time you see me and pinch me to remind me that I'm pregnant, the tears will be joy, not pain!

Fruity-licious

I recently read in one of my pregnancy blogs that cravings can start as early as the second month. For some reason I had thought it would hit much later, like second or third trimester, but this definitely explains it! I am all about FRUIT!

It first started about a month ago. I got home from work and all I could think about was gummy worms. So I called the hubby and told him to get me a bag on his way home. Turns out that's all I needed for dinner that night, though I don't advise eating a big bag of gummy worms for dinner; the stomach did not approve about an hour later. And Skittles, I put a big bag of those down within a matter of days but realized I can get the sweetness of fruit, without all that nasty sugar.

Ever since then, I've been a fruit-a-holic. I've always liked fruit, but really didn't each much of it. It always seemed to go bad before I could eat it, so I quit buying a lot of it. Well...we no longer have to worry about fruit spoiling at our house!!

Thankfully the produce section is the first place in the grocery store and I've been taking full advantage. Did you know they sell kiwi's by the bag??  Didn't realize how much I liked kiwi's, until now. And it's not any particular fruit; I like to mix it up. I ate half a canteloupe yesterday for breakfast and had to stop myself. I bet I could have finished the whole thing in no time! I'm thinking my next fruit purchases will be all about berries....

I think my OB will be happy to hear about my cravings. I'm usually a big salt person so this is a great change and definitely good for Baby Barrett. Hopefully it sticks!
I also had a friend tell me that craving all this fruit means it's a boy...only time will tell!