So that I don't forget

I made it through my first week alone at home with Baby C. Now, we are in the middle of week number two. Right now, I am scheduled to go back in fours weeks. We'll have to see about that...

Last Wednesday, we went out with my sister and her son. I had several things to return and/or exchange and we had lunch. It was nice to have my sister with us. I was able to get my bloodwork completed.

I still hadn't heard about the results almost one week later; so, I called them today. My TSH was 1.88. That's the best it has been in a long, long time. My T4, which I have never had checked before, came back at 9.1. They also said that was good since it was in the reference range of 4.5 to 10.9. Sounds good to me!

I have lots more pictures to post! We almost have Baby C's room complete so I will be doing the second nursery post soon. And, I need to tell you about my newest addiction....

Right now, I am off to the post office to mail some things I sold on e.bay!

My ICLW History

Even though I have only been blogging since the end of April ’09, I thought it would be neat to track my journey through my ICLW posts.

My first ICLW post wasn’t made until September. I had just had my second miscarriage and first D&C after our IVF cycle. We had lost our twins.

For my October post, I posted a picture of my medications for our upcoming FET cycle. And, in November the cycle would get started. This would be our first of two FETs.

My November post is a “get to know me” post.

I posted some pictures of our Xmas decor in my December post and everyone gave us good thoughts after we learned our FET was not successful.

In January ‘10, we were at a point of confusion. We didn’t know what direction we wanted to head.

Then, in February, I posted about our Homestudy Education classes. We had just made the announcement that we had decided to pursue adoption.

In the next month’s post, March, we were in the midst of getting everything turned into the agency and had recently had a failed IUI cycle.

My April post gave a countdown of things to come. We had decided to transfer our last embryo, summer was getting closer and we were getting closer and closer to being put on the waitlist.

My May post brought good news. I was pregnant. My betas were doing what they should. And, we were homestudy approved May 5th!

Then, in June, I talked about how much things could change in one month. My first u/s had given us bad news. Our baby was not developing appropriately. On June 24, 2010, I had to have my second D&C. In June, the 17th to be exact, we finally turned in our profiles.

My July post introduced our daughter, Baby C. We had gotten THE CALL on July 17th.

And now, I sit here writing this post while my precious daughter sleeps. I can’t believe everything that we have been through since we started trying to get pregnant in March ’08.

I know that my DH & I have truly been blessed. I know that our ‘wait' time was not normal; and that we were/are very lucky. It’s hard for me to put into words exactly how I feel. I am still processing everything. I can’t wait for my future ICLW posts to track Baby C’s growth, likes/dislikes, accomplishments, etc… I can’t wait to have you all follow our journey.

Agency Visit

We have talked with our SW a couple of times in the last week or so. She had to reschedule our next meeting. That was no problem. One time, she accidently called us. After we missed the call, we of course called back. But, we did learn that Baby C's BM wants to set up a meeting. We are estatic!

Wednesday (8.18) we went to the agency for a visit. TheY recently changed their location so it was nice to see their new digs. Everyone loved Baby C! It was nice to reaccount Baby C's story with people that understand and that we can openly talk to. We payed our placement fee and turned in a ton of pictures for the birth family. I can't wait to hear what they say about them. We also gave the agency two pictures (one for Baby C's records and one for their brag board).

Apparently, they had talked to Baby C's BM Tuesday. Everything was well and that is when she told them that she would like to have a meeting with us. I can't wait to hear when this will be.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what we can talk about? Say? I feel like I am just going to say, "THANK YOU" over and over again.

*By the way, I am stoked... our agency has had 4 placements in the last 30 days and 7 this year! This is awesome since our agency is just now doing placements again after a long time of not.

Welcome Home Party #1

This past Sunday (8.15.10), we hosted a Welcome Home Party for Baby C!

I cannot thank my Sister C enough for all of the help that she provided.

There were a ton of people there for the cake and ice cream social. The coloring pages, bubbles and pinatas were a huge hit with the little ones! The ice cream toppings were a hit for everyone! My Sister C brought tons of toppings for everyone to choose from. I don't have a picture of the gift table before we opened Baby C's gifts, but no words can describe how generous everyone was! I am still sorting through everything and I did laundry all morning today.

1 Month

Baby C is 1 Month old today!

At birth, Baby C weighed 5lbs 14.22oz and was 19 1/2" long.

Six days after birth (at her first appointment), Baby C weighed 6lbs and was 19 1/2" long. Her head measured 13 1/2".

At her 1 month appointment (which was a day before she was a month by weeks, last Thursday), Baby C weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 20 1/2" long. And, I believe her head measured 14".

When we first brought Baby C home, she was easting S.imilac (2 oz every 4 hours). We have since changed her formula twice trying to find the best fit for her. She is now eating 3oz at almost every feeding and the feedings range from every 2 1/2 to 4 hours. She is a very gassy baby not matter the forumla, the amount, burp or not, etc... She usually burps pretty well for us, but lately she gets so upset when we try to burp her during her feeding.

Baby C is strong. I swear she was holding her head up a couple of days after she came home. In the bathtub, she likes to plant her feet and push her bottom up out of the water. I think that she is going to roll over sooner than later. I swear she has already. Maybe that was a fluke.

Baby C is absolutely in love with her boppy! DH and I have even fallen asleep on it!

I can't believe she has been in this world a month already. We are so blessed!

In the Midst

The day that we were to bring Baby C home, my RE's office called. It was one of my favorite nurses. She had called to tell us about the results of the D&C.

We learned that our precious Baby's chromsomes were 45X. It just wasn't meant to be.

My heart sank. With the previous D&C that we had, the results came back normal. This time, they didn't. Part of me was o.k with it, because it gave us a reason why everything had happened.

Was it just bad luck? Is there something not right with my eggs? His sperm?

We were supposed to leave for Illinois on Wednesday, July 21st (two days after bringing Baby C home). My appointment with Dr. K.wak-Kim was that Thursday.

At first, we hesitated to cancel our plans. What if we did and then things didn't work out with Baby C?

So, we didn't cancel until that Tuesday. We were so lucky. The w.ebsite that I use to make our reservations normally doesn't make cancellations that close to the dates, but they did this time! We weren't able to get our money back from the B.rewer's game or Circus that we were going to, but Baby C is well worth it!

This past Monday, I called the RE's office back. I needed a refill on my thyroid medication and wanted to restart my M.etformin. Again, I talked to one of my favorite nurses. You see, we had not told them that we were even going throug the adoption process.

Our nurse was estatic for us! We even got a card in the mail from her personally. She put the order for my thyroid tests in with it; I need to get that completed this week sometime. She asked if we would bring Baby C to the office sometime soon to see everyone. I hope to get there sometime soon...
Sweet Angel Baby

6.24.10

Hats That Are Too Cute

Aren't these so cute? I am in love with E.tsy! I got this set HERE.

Blog Face Lift

I am in need of a face lift, do you have any good recommendations?

 Traditionally, I change it for all of the seasons/holidays,

but I would like something made specially for Baby C!

Nursery- Part 1

I have never picked out paint so fast before. The day before we brought Baby C home, we had spotted a bedding set at BRU that we loved. The Tuesday after we brought her home, we sent my MIL to pick it up and also some decor that went along with the set. I basically walked into L.owes knowing the basic colors that I wanted. I looked at a few variations and made the decisions rather quickly. The corners where the two colors meet, were terrible to complete even though we used F.rog Tape. We didn't really want to wait the three days (for the paint to completely dry) to reapply tape. The two colors, sage green and pale yellow, also meet on one side of the door to the nursery. That was a pain too.

 

My FIL helped my DH do most of the painting. I mainly helped by cheering them on and completed a few touch ups here and there. We did most of this the weekend after Baby C came home.There is a short hallway as you walk into the nursery. And yes, that is a baby gate. That's the gate we us for our puppies when we want to keep them out of a certain area of the house.

We purchased this unit and the bins at M.eijers. I absolutely love it! Yes, my FIL is wearing a miner's light (also used for night fishing) to spot places that needed to be touched up.

I found and orderded the crib that I wanted on the Wednesday after we brought Baby C home. It arrived the following Monday. Uncle B helped to put the last few pieces together.

The Sunday after Baby C came home, I ordered her rocker/foot rest and dresser/changing table. It arrived the next Friday! I can't remember where we had gone, but I was happy to see the delivery on our porch when we got home. Uncle B and nephew A helped my DH put these pieces together.

More to come soon...

Change in Our House

When Baby C first came home, we didn't have anything. Well, we had a few outfits, blankets, wipes, and a carseat combo, but nothing compared to what we needed. We also had the diapers, formula, dry wipes, soothies, etc... that the hospital had provided. but, as soon as we got home and broke the news, our family started bringing us things.

For the first couple of weeks, our dining room table was Baby C's changing table. We found a huge box of wipe refills at W.ally World for $8. I never realized before how many wipes that we would need. At least the dining room table got used!

I have always thought that my kitchen was small, but now I know it's really small. I had to rearrange some of the cabinets to hold her feeding supplies. I am not sure I am leaving it how it currently is, but it will work for the time being. My sister C brought us her monitor system, play yard and bouncy seat the night Baby C came home. They have all come in vary handy! She is still sleeping in the play yard.

I never realized how many bottles that we would need. My sister and some of my coworkers also provided us with some bottles to use. We ended up buying some more ourselves. I thnk that we can buy stock in nipples. And, who knew that there are some many chocies?

I am so glad that we finally have someone to use our guest bathroom~ I guess that you can now call it Baby C's bathroom. We got the shef from W.ally W.orld for $15. I was looking for something with doors, but everything was so costly. That shelf will work for now.

I had found a dresser that I thought would double as changing table at I.KEA, but when we got there it wasn't the right color. I wanted white and it was off white. But, on the way out we spotted this for our living room. For the first week, our kitchen counter was Baby C's dresser and then this shelf was her dresser for another week. Now, I just need to find bins that fit! We plan to use this for pictures and decor, but mostly for toys.

It's amazing how much our house has changed... but of course, we don't mind at all!

Blog Name Change

I think it's that time...

I need ideas.

What do you think a good name would be for our blog?

Baby C & Puppy Love

Our puppies love Baby C! And, they apparently love her toys too!

Tradition

I have had THESE bookmarked in my favorites for months now.

I bought them on 7.23 so, of course, I didn't have them when Baby C got home.

We took her ZERO pictures on 7.30; she was two weeks old.

I plan to take a picture on the 16th of every month through her 1st birthday.

Bath Time

She loves being in the bath so much... that she doesn't enjoy getting out!

We're In Love

Fabulous Friday

C****

7/16/2010

5lbs. 14.22oz.

19 1/2"

Thankful Thursday

Wordless Wednesday

More to follow...