Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Saturday, October 25, 2014
2014 World Series
We're so excited about the Royals winning the American League Championship in the Weaver house! Watching them play in the World Series has been so fun! They've won two games so far and lost two (well, we're about to lose the second) but we Weavers still bleed blue! Go Royals! We'll still be cheering you on tomorrow!
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Two Little Cuties!
When it was time to leave for preschool this morning, this is what I found. This kid loves her puppy! Happy Fall, from both of my babies!
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Learning to Write Her Name
A few weeks ago, we began working on writing Gracie's name. Just her first name and only in capital letters. She is doing very well. She can easily form the G, C, I, and E. She struggles a bit with the R and A, but I'm so still so proud of her for picking it up so quickly! I know that all parents feel this way, but it's just so crazy how fast they grow up. It really feels like I was pregnant with her just a few short months ago and now here she is, writing her name with her right hand, holding her marker so perfectly. It's pretty insane!
These pictures were taken the first time she wrote the letters of her name altogether, on the first day we practiced! Not too bad. Not lined up perfectly, but not too bad!
Below are few pictures of the girls practicing their pre-writing skills in their Salt Boxes. It's just table salt in a box. They trace the notecard with their finger first, then draw the shape in the salt. They love it! Kyle loves it, too, but he doesn't need as much practice as the girls do right now.
These pictures were taken the first time she wrote the letters of her name altogether, on the first day we practiced! Not too bad. Not lined up perfectly, but not too bad!
 |
| She's so proud of herself! |
Below are few pictures of the girls practicing their pre-writing skills in their Salt Boxes. It's just table salt in a box. They trace the notecard with their finger first, then draw the shape in the salt. They love it! Kyle loves it, too, but he doesn't need as much practice as the girls do right now.
 |
| Tracing |
 |
| Drawing |
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Update on the Family Expansion Front
Several friends and family keep up with the goings on of our little family through my blog, but I haven't had time to fill in many of them on the happenings in the baby factory. Before anyone gets too excited, there's no "baby in my tummy" just yet. But I'm hopeful there will be someday!
So here are the details, for those who are interested (and also for myself, for 20 years from now when I can't remember all the details)! For those who aren't interested in the nitty gritty of the baby factory, you may want to stop here and look for a less personal post this weekend!
After delivering our little one (a girl, as genetic testing revealed) on December 14, 2013, my cycle came like clockwork 28 days later. My cycles alternated between 41 days and 31 days for the next 4 months, but then leveled back out by summertime.
Also, in that time span, my endocrinologist took me off my thyroid medicine because my thyroid levels were too high. Since then, we've checked my thyroid over and over again (about every other month) and it's been normal without medication. It's very normal for a thyroid to cycle in and out of function when you've got thyroid disease. I've been on thyroid medicine since August of 2010... which is the month before Gracie was conceived. As soon as I started levothyroxine, I got pregnant! My endocrinologist says that it will wane again and I will need to go back on the medicine, or I could even need to take medicine to bring my thyroid levels down at some point. He also said that because my cycles are regular, the thyroid must be functioning adequately. An obvious sign of thyroid disease can be irregular periods.
In April, Ryan and I decided we were ready to try again and began doing what couples do when they're trying. We've been pretty successful at it in the past. Conceiving Gracie just after I started thyroid medicine. Conceiving our first miscarriage-baby the first month we tried. And conceiving our second miscarriage-baby after 2 cycles of trying. I'm pretty in-tune with my body and have always been able to tell when I ovulate. But in April, when we started trying, I noticed a lack of ovulation symptoms. The most obvious was little/no cervical mucous (I told you to stop reading if you didn't want details!). But we tried anyway, obviously with no success. Then in June we started using ovulation predictor kits to determine if I was even ovulating. Which the tests said I was having an lh surge... the precursor to ovulation. I was a little conflicted because what I felt didn't match the tests. We went with it for a few more months, but in August I met with my OB/GYN and he tested my progesterone level on day 23 (I had gotten a positive lh surge on day 18). The test results indicated that I did not ovulate. We tested again in September and the doctor said my progesterone was too low and did not indicate ovulation.
Additionally, when I went to the OB/GYN in August, he brought up a new theory. He told me about an autoimmune condition that presents during pregnancy. Conditions like Lupus and a bunch of other autoimmune disorders can cause blot clots to be thrown during pregnancy, which ultimately kill the baby. Because of my 2 miscarriages, he wanted to test me for these conditions. Upon the initial tests, he said my Lupus indicator was elevated and wanted me to see a hematologist. After more blood tests and a couple of weeks of waiting, the hematologist concluded that I do not have a blood clotting disorder, inside or outside of pregnancy. I was relieved, but not surprised. I didn't feel any symptoms of Lupus and have never had clotting issues in the past.
So because I wasn't ovulating my OB/GYN referred me to a specialist, a reproductive endocrinologist. I met with them today and learned about all of our options. It was highly informative and such a positive experience. She spent an hour going through all of my history to get a good feel for what's been going on. I even learned that according to the progesterone tests of the past 2 cycles, I am ovulating. I guess most OB/GYNs want your level to be 15 or higher, but the specialist says it needs to be above 2. Quite a discrepancy, if you ask me. She gave me all the science behind it. My level in September was 7.8, so according to the them, I ovulated. Anyway, we're going to begin fertility treatments with my next cycle... which should be next week. Ryan and I need to make a final decision about whether we want to take chlomid or letrozole, but both have the same success rate - around 30%. The specialist said she thinks this treatment should be effective for us because we've been so successful with conceiving in the past. I hope she's right. The goal with both drugs is for my body to produce 1-3 healthy follicles (which then release the eggs) to increase our chances of fertilization. Rather than one egg each month, the goal is to get a few eggs. The chances of multiples is low, only 10%. We're only hoping for one though!
I also got some blood tests today to test my egg quality and quantity, as well as my vitamin D levels. Apparently vitamin D is related to fertility, who knew?! We should have those results back in a week or less. There are a few other tests we can elect to have run. Semen analysis (doesn't seem necessary), HSG to test for a blockage in my plumbing (probably not an issue because of my history), and a saline uterus test to look for fibroids and/or cysts (again, probably not an issue because of my history and I lack symptoms like heavy bleeding). So we're holding off on those tests. If we're still not having success after a few months, we may look into them.
The specialist offered options like injections to induce the release of the eggs or insemination in the office with Ryan's lil' guys and my lil' eggs. But for now, we're only opting for the drugs early in my cycle and we'll try to keep the rest in the bedroom. She said that a general rule of thumb is 3-4 cycles of no success means it's not going to work. So we will roll with that and give it 3-4 months before changing the game plan.
I've been up and down with my trust in God's plan with this whole thing. On a day to day basis, I'm very confident in God's plan and waiting on His timing. When I'm nearing the end of my cycle and really hoping for a positive pregnancy test, I sometimes get a little fixated on my own plans, instead of His. I also struggle when we have setbacks that seem to prolong things, but I try to remind myself that all of this is part of God's plan, too.
We would really appreciate your prayers for us. Prayers for patience and trust in God's will. Prayers that I can let go of my own plans, including the ideal month to deliver a baby or the ideal age span between siblings. Prayers that when we do conceive, the pregnancy goes smoothly and ends happily. And prayers for Gracie. She continues to ask every day, multiple times a day, if God has put another baby in my tummy. Yesterday it was so sad, she told me that she doesn't think God is ever going to put a baby in my tummy because it's been a long time and He hasn't done it yet. I told her that I still trust Him to bless us with a baby! I can tell that God has designed her to be a big sister someday, and I just really want to help her fill that role. I really am confident that it will happen someday, when the time is right!
So here are the details, for those who are interested (and also for myself, for 20 years from now when I can't remember all the details)! For those who aren't interested in the nitty gritty of the baby factory, you may want to stop here and look for a less personal post this weekend!
After delivering our little one (a girl, as genetic testing revealed) on December 14, 2013, my cycle came like clockwork 28 days later. My cycles alternated between 41 days and 31 days for the next 4 months, but then leveled back out by summertime.
Also, in that time span, my endocrinologist took me off my thyroid medicine because my thyroid levels were too high. Since then, we've checked my thyroid over and over again (about every other month) and it's been normal without medication. It's very normal for a thyroid to cycle in and out of function when you've got thyroid disease. I've been on thyroid medicine since August of 2010... which is the month before Gracie was conceived. As soon as I started levothyroxine, I got pregnant! My endocrinologist says that it will wane again and I will need to go back on the medicine, or I could even need to take medicine to bring my thyroid levels down at some point. He also said that because my cycles are regular, the thyroid must be functioning adequately. An obvious sign of thyroid disease can be irregular periods.
In April, Ryan and I decided we were ready to try again and began doing what couples do when they're trying. We've been pretty successful at it in the past. Conceiving Gracie just after I started thyroid medicine. Conceiving our first miscarriage-baby the first month we tried. And conceiving our second miscarriage-baby after 2 cycles of trying. I'm pretty in-tune with my body and have always been able to tell when I ovulate. But in April, when we started trying, I noticed a lack of ovulation symptoms. The most obvious was little/no cervical mucous (I told you to stop reading if you didn't want details!). But we tried anyway, obviously with no success. Then in June we started using ovulation predictor kits to determine if I was even ovulating. Which the tests said I was having an lh surge... the precursor to ovulation. I was a little conflicted because what I felt didn't match the tests. We went with it for a few more months, but in August I met with my OB/GYN and he tested my progesterone level on day 23 (I had gotten a positive lh surge on day 18). The test results indicated that I did not ovulate. We tested again in September and the doctor said my progesterone was too low and did not indicate ovulation.
Additionally, when I went to the OB/GYN in August, he brought up a new theory. He told me about an autoimmune condition that presents during pregnancy. Conditions like Lupus and a bunch of other autoimmune disorders can cause blot clots to be thrown during pregnancy, which ultimately kill the baby. Because of my 2 miscarriages, he wanted to test me for these conditions. Upon the initial tests, he said my Lupus indicator was elevated and wanted me to see a hematologist. After more blood tests and a couple of weeks of waiting, the hematologist concluded that I do not have a blood clotting disorder, inside or outside of pregnancy. I was relieved, but not surprised. I didn't feel any symptoms of Lupus and have never had clotting issues in the past.
So because I wasn't ovulating my OB/GYN referred me to a specialist, a reproductive endocrinologist. I met with them today and learned about all of our options. It was highly informative and such a positive experience. She spent an hour going through all of my history to get a good feel for what's been going on. I even learned that according to the progesterone tests of the past 2 cycles, I am ovulating. I guess most OB/GYNs want your level to be 15 or higher, but the specialist says it needs to be above 2. Quite a discrepancy, if you ask me. She gave me all the science behind it. My level in September was 7.8, so according to the them, I ovulated. Anyway, we're going to begin fertility treatments with my next cycle... which should be next week. Ryan and I need to make a final decision about whether we want to take chlomid or letrozole, but both have the same success rate - around 30%. The specialist said she thinks this treatment should be effective for us because we've been so successful with conceiving in the past. I hope she's right. The goal with both drugs is for my body to produce 1-3 healthy follicles (which then release the eggs) to increase our chances of fertilization. Rather than one egg each month, the goal is to get a few eggs. The chances of multiples is low, only 10%. We're only hoping for one though!
I also got some blood tests today to test my egg quality and quantity, as well as my vitamin D levels. Apparently vitamin D is related to fertility, who knew?! We should have those results back in a week or less. There are a few other tests we can elect to have run. Semen analysis (doesn't seem necessary), HSG to test for a blockage in my plumbing (probably not an issue because of my history), and a saline uterus test to look for fibroids and/or cysts (again, probably not an issue because of my history and I lack symptoms like heavy bleeding). So we're holding off on those tests. If we're still not having success after a few months, we may look into them.
The specialist offered options like injections to induce the release of the eggs or insemination in the office with Ryan's lil' guys and my lil' eggs. But for now, we're only opting for the drugs early in my cycle and we'll try to keep the rest in the bedroom. She said that a general rule of thumb is 3-4 cycles of no success means it's not going to work. So we will roll with that and give it 3-4 months before changing the game plan.
I've been up and down with my trust in God's plan with this whole thing. On a day to day basis, I'm very confident in God's plan and waiting on His timing. When I'm nearing the end of my cycle and really hoping for a positive pregnancy test, I sometimes get a little fixated on my own plans, instead of His. I also struggle when we have setbacks that seem to prolong things, but I try to remind myself that all of this is part of God's plan, too.
We would really appreciate your prayers for us. Prayers for patience and trust in God's will. Prayers that I can let go of my own plans, including the ideal month to deliver a baby or the ideal age span between siblings. Prayers that when we do conceive, the pregnancy goes smoothly and ends happily. And prayers for Gracie. She continues to ask every day, multiple times a day, if God has put another baby in my tummy. Yesterday it was so sad, she told me that she doesn't think God is ever going to put a baby in my tummy because it's been a long time and He hasn't done it yet. I told her that I still trust Him to bless us with a baby! I can tell that God has designed her to be a big sister someday, and I just really want to help her fill that role. I really am confident that it will happen someday, when the time is right!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
They did it!
Well, they did it! The Royals are moving on in the playoffs! We've waited a long, long time for this. Great job, boys! So tired, so worth it! It's a good day to be Royal!
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