Going Strong

I thought Wednesday was never going to get here. But, it finally did!

We rushed home from work and got to the office just in time for our scheduled appointment at 4:15pm. However, we didn't get taken back to the ultrasound room until 5pm and Dr. T didn't come in until around 5:30. But, it was all worth.

She had recently gotten a new machine that has a big screen hooked up to it. The first thing I noticed was how much bigger the baby has gotten. We spotted the heartbeat and our RE took a look around. It's hard to sit there when she is taking her time and not saying much. Then, we had one of the best experiences ever. We got to hear the heartbeat! It was sooo amazing to hear! She didn't measure it, but see said it was around 140-150 bpm. She said it was very normal. She also measured the CRL and we measured just fine based off of our last ultrasound. Actually, we measured one day ahead of what we should of from our last look at the baby. Today, I am 7w3d.

How have I been feeling? Well, morning sickness kicked in the day of our first ultrasound and has gotten progressively worse. This past Monday, I called my RE and  I am now taking a generic brand of Z.ofran. After so adjustment in dosage, I am like a different woman. I feel strecthing, pulling and cramps every now and then. My back aches here and there. I am so hungry, but can't find anything that sounds good. Honestly, I don't care how I feel. I just want everything to be ok.

It's hard. I want so bad to be excited. But, we are holding back. Our past makes it so difficult to enjoy this at all.

Our RE is seeing us again at 9w on 2.7 and she also referred us to an OB. We are seeing him at 10w on 2.14.

I can't wait to see our little one again. I hope and pray that everything is ok.

Ohh, we haven't told anyone yet... but you all of course!

All Smiles

the title says it all.will post more asap.

Wednesday - A Big Deal

We have our 2nd ultrasound tomorrow at 4:15pm EST.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

I will try my best to update when I get home from the appointment.

Chloe's 6 Month Pictures

Here are some of our favorites!

(The dress is Gymbo. We bought it at one of the M.other's Exchanges that we went to last fall for a couple of dollars. I bought the shirt custom made HERE. Tell her that I sent you! She has great prices.)

6 Months

Can I just say that Baby C isn't as easy to take a picture of anymore! She just crazcks me up!

Today, Baby C is 6 months old. Her 6 month appointment is 1.24.11. I can't wait to hear her stats. She is wearing 6 months clothes. Although, the onesie in the picture is size 6-9 months. She is in size 3 diapers. So far, she has had sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, apples & bananas. Today, she has started eating baby food twice a day (once mixed with rice and the other time oatmeal). She rolled over from her back to front for the first time on Monday and now she won't stop. I have found her on her tummy several of the last mornings. The funny thing is that her legs are still crossed. She crosses her legs ALL of the time. It is sooo cute! She popped out her first tooth Sunday and another popped out last night. We are going to be picking up her new carseats very soon. She likes to sit up on her own for periods of time to play (we have to put her there--she can't quite get there on her own just yet).

She is growing so big, so fast! I can't believe it's already been 6 months!

Bananas

I am beginning to think that this child will eat anything.

I couldn't even stand that smell of it, but she loves it again.

Could it be?

Our Saturday started off quite early. On our way to our appointment, we had to stop to get gas. And, I wasn't feeling that well at all. We got to the office a little early, but they were able to take us back soon after we got there. After completing the basics (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, etc...), we were placed in the room for the ultrasound. I was happy that we didn't have to wait long. I don't think that I could have handled it.

When the ultrasound first started, I saw the gestational sac right away. I was happy that it was in utero. Then, I quickly got nervous. Was it a blighted ovum? After a few seconds, I saw a yolk sac. Our RE confirmed what I was seeing. And, then, there it was. A heartbeat! It was so amazing to see.

I have no idea when I ovulated. We have no idea what I should be measuring. I thought I would be around 6w2d, but the measurement gave us around 5w5d. Should I worry? Our RE didn't seem to be. She said, "everything is going well so far." She isn't releasing us just yet.

I asked her to check my TSH level. So, I should hear back about that soon. I hope that it's in check and if not we can take care of it soon. No other bloodwork was checked.

Our next ultrasound is 1.26.11 at 4:15pm. I hope and I pray that everything continues to progess as it should.

Outfit From Baby C's Birthfamily

Baby C in one of her outfits from her birthfamily.

Apples, Apples

Baby C tried apples for the first time on the evening of 1.4.11.

Beginning Our Adoption Journey

One year ago, we made took our first step in the process of adoption. We attended our first orientation meeting. My, oh my, how things have progressed!

Here is the post explaining our new journey. It's good one!

Christmas, Again

On 1.2.11, my brother came into town. We had a wonderful lunch at my sister C's house and gifts were passed out afterwards. What a wonderful holiday season we have had!

Friday's Surprise

I had noticed my Aunt was late. My DH had kept telling me to just test. So, I did. The positive instantly showed up. I yelled to my DH to come and look. I looked at the packaging to make sure the test hadn't expired. It hadn't. We were, and continue to be, in complete shock.

We called our RE immediately. Of course she wasn't in, but after we paged her she called us back shortly after. She chuckled because the office had just been on our adoption agency's website that day looking at our profile (it's stil up there). We reviewed a little bit of our history and decided that bloodwork was in order. That night, we went to K.roger to get another test. The next morning I tested again to make sure it wasn't a fluke. It wasn't. It was just as positive. We have never had lines so dark.

We had to rush around to get the bloodwork, but I will save you from having to read that long story. But, around 11am we finally got it drawn. That afternoon, we got a call from our RE. My HCG was 4700 and my P4 was 7.4. The HCG was good, but the P4 made me nervous. Our RE didn't seemed too concerned. She just stated that she would normally like it about 10 in a treatment cycle. So, I am now on progesterone. We picked that up at K.roger Saturday evening.

The last few days have been bonkers. Monday, after school, I had more bloodwork. It was ordered STAT, but since I was there so late we just received the results this afternoon. My HCG went up to 8955 and my P4 went up to 14. Both are going in the right direction. Our RE, again, wasn't too concerned that my HCG didn't quite double since it was already so high. What do you think? I hope that the P4 level also continues to rise. I am guessing I am in the middle of the 5th week of pregnancy (I am really unsure due to wacky cycles).

I will be honest. I haven't been taking my S.yntroid or G.lucophage like I should. I am now. My RE also put me back on Baby A.spirin and a new prenatal with tons of folic acid. We are holding off on the H.eparin. I am scared. I am nervous. I don't know what to think.

Could this be real? Could this happen? Is this going to work out?

As of now, we have an ultrasound scheduled from 11:15am on Monday. Thoughts and prayers please.

UPDATE: U/S moved to 10:15am Saturday.

Thoughts & Prayers

We are in need of thoughts and prayers.

Don't worry, Baby C is just fine.

Yum, Squash!

On 12.29.10, Baby C had squash for the first time.

I am beginning to think that she will eat just about anything.

Seventh Post-Placement Visit

We had high hopes that this would be our last post-placement visit. But, if you read yesterday's post you will understand why our seventh visit may not be our last.

When our SW arrived we immediately told her what we had learned as far as the possible dates. She too couldn't believe it. But, we are all hopeful that it won't take as long as orinally told. She is going to contact our lawyer in the coming days to make sure that everything is in order and to learn more about the waiting that we may have to experience.

As always, our SW wanted to play with Baby C. When she first arrived, Baby C was sleeping. Yes, we gave in; we woke her up. She was in a zip-up, gown sleeper when I brought her out. But, our SW quickly wanted to play with her legs and feet. So, I offered to change her. She needed to get ready for the afternoon anyway.

Most of the visit was spent talking about and opening the girfts from Baby C's BM and maternal birthgrandmother. We had assumed that all of the gifts were from Baby C's BM, but our SW let us know that they all were not. Baby C's birthgrandmother also signed a greeting card and one one of the tags said the gifts were from her also.

All of Baby C' gifts.

Orginally, I hadn't wanted to visit with Baby C's BM and birthgrandmother until after finalization. If you remember, we only learned in late Novemeber that Baby C's birthgrandmother even knew of Baby C. Now that finalization may not be as soon as we would like, we have been discussing what we want to do. I am still now sure. But, I am sure that whatever decision that we will make will be the best for Baby C.

Meeting Our Lawyer

About two weeks ago, the receptionist from our lawyer's office called. She told us that they had paperwork that we needed to sign. In order to file for a court date, these papers needed to be signed and the paperwork from our agency needed to arrived at our lawyer's office. Of course, we wanted to get our part completed ASAP. So, we set-up a time to to meet with our lawyer for the second time this past Wednesday. The meeting itself didn't go as planned. We read of the all of the paperwork checking for typos. I have to admit that it was strange seeing Baby C's name typed especially since it had her BM's last name as her last. All of the paperwork was fine though.

I asked our lawyer to again explain the next steps. He told me again that he needed the agency's paperwork. We figured that the agency would get their part done in the days following since our last post-placement visit was the next day, Thursday. He went on to say that he would then file the paperwork and we should expect it to take one month. I immediately said "One month until our court date? Or, one month until we hear back?" He went on to say that it would be around one month until we hear about our court date and perhaps one to two more months until the court date. We were we in SHOCK. I was actually very upset. His receptionist told me that it would take 2-4weeks until we went to court when I called the first time to set-up the first appointment.

The bad news didn't stop there. He went on to mention his fee. Again, his receptionist told me a number. A great number. That's one of the reasons we went with his firm. His number Wednesday wasn't sooo great. It had actually doubled. He left the room to get our fee sheet and my DH and I lost it. He may have overheard us or just felt bad... But, something changed. When he walked back in the conference room he took off $500 the fee he had just given us because the process was a lot easier for him than normal (he has never done a private agency, domestic adoption---I believe he has only completed foster-to-adopt finalizations). Great, $500 off but it was still $250 higher than our orginal quoted fee. Whatever it takes though!

We shouldn't have to meet with him again until the court date itself. We hope that his timetable is wrong and that we hear from him sooner than later. If we can't get a court date within thirty days we will have to have another post-placement visit. And, we will have to continue those for every thirty days until finalization.
Did I mention that we have to pay mileage for our post-placement visits since we live over a certain distance from our agnecy? Grr..

Fingers crossed!

Christmas Day - Part 2

Baby C posed for pictures before we left for my sister's house. Her shirt said "My First Christmas."

Baby C is sitting up so well now (not on her own, but with our help to get there).

After we ate, we openned presents. But, Baby C was too sleepy. So, she went down for short nap while everyone else exchanged gifts. When she woke up all eyes were on her as she openned up her presents. Again, she was spoiled with gifts.