So I am the type of person with an amazing memory...I can rememeber everything including the tiniest of details normally. In fact it gets on my husbands nerves quite a bit ;) However...I have seriously lost allllll of my memory. I have noticed it getting worse and worse as the weeks go on, but didn't realize how bad it was until I had to call and pay a bill to my homeowners association. I was so embarrassed when I called and they asked me "what community/neighborhood do you live in" I literally froze in silence and memory. I had absolutely no clue the name of my neighborhood...its not like we just moved in or something, but I could not remember to save my life. The lady was like well do you know your street name and it took me a minute, but thankfully I did remember that at least and she was able to look it up for me.
This pregnancy brain or lack of brain I should say is affecting everything from the little stuff to the big important stuff. Who knew how much these precious little growing babies would affect soooooo much of my life and take it over?! But I will not complain...there are two precious blessings from God and we could not be more thankful...I can handle this!!!
January 27, 2011
January 25, 2011
Honeycrisp and Fuji
The babies are now the size of apples or as I like to say we have a Honeycrisp and Fuji growing in my belly!!! Holy cow they are getting big! They went from lemons to apples in one week. Its amazing the changes they are making and how they are growing and just excites us so much...keep growing babies!!! 15 weeks!!!
No wonder every single day my belly is getting bigger and bigger! Somehow I managed to lose a pound between Dr appointments but yet my belly continues to get bigger...so wierd how that works! The maternity clothes are in full affect for sure. I am very lucky and blessed to have family and friends that have donated a few things to me...please keep them coming. I never realized how expensive all the maternity clothes are. I use to always walk by Motherhood Maternity Store and dream about the day I would wear their clothes...now that time is here...feeling super blessed!
In the beginning of the belly growing I was a little concerned with how quickly I was showing (and having a hard time hiding the lil bump) but as my hubby and loved ones remind me...HELLO you are having TWINS...TWO BABIES TWO BABIES ;) I was relieved to learn and read that this is absolutely normal. In fact I just learned that a twin pregnancy looks like a singleton pregnancy 8 weeks ahead...I don't know if I am wording this right or making sense, but basically I at 15 weeks look like someone with one baby does at 23 weeks! So incredible to think about and learn all this stuff. We are just so thankful to be blessed with some great people in our lives that have had twins and that we can learn so much from (thank you all for all your support already...you know who you are and we love and appreciate you)!
We love you Honeycrisp and Fuji and can't wait to see how you change by next week!!!
Love, Mom
No wonder every single day my belly is getting bigger and bigger! Somehow I managed to lose a pound between Dr appointments but yet my belly continues to get bigger...so wierd how that works! The maternity clothes are in full affect for sure. I am very lucky and blessed to have family and friends that have donated a few things to me...please keep them coming. I never realized how expensive all the maternity clothes are. I use to always walk by Motherhood Maternity Store and dream about the day I would wear their clothes...now that time is here...feeling super blessed!
In the beginning of the belly growing I was a little concerned with how quickly I was showing (and having a hard time hiding the lil bump) but as my hubby and loved ones remind me...HELLO you are having TWINS...TWO BABIES TWO BABIES ;) I was relieved to learn and read that this is absolutely normal. In fact I just learned that a twin pregnancy looks like a singleton pregnancy 8 weeks ahead...I don't know if I am wording this right or making sense, but basically I at 15 weeks look like someone with one baby does at 23 weeks! So incredible to think about and learn all this stuff. We are just so thankful to be blessed with some great people in our lives that have had twins and that we can learn so much from (thank you all for all your support already...you know who you are and we love and appreciate you)!
We love you Honeycrisp and Fuji and can't wait to see how you change by next week!!!
Love, Mom
January 21, 2011
Today's Dr Appointment
Things went very well today!!! We were under the impression that we would just be meeting with the Dr for a quick check up but were very pleasantly surprised when the Dr came in wheeling the ultrasound machine!!! The first thing we did was the fetal doppler so we got to hear my favorite noise...the twins heart beats! They sounded great. Then we had a very quick ultrasound...everything looked great two beating hearts and two little wiggle worms growing!!! We also got our results back for the first trimester screening that was done last week and everything came back normal!!! Praise the Lord everything is looking great with the babies and we are so thrilled!
As for me...my infections are gone...YEA!!! However, I have been sooooooo exhausted this week and come to find out I am now anemic so she wrote me a new RX for an expensive med that should help out with some stuff thats been going on. Also this week my back pain has come back quite a bit...I'm sure the fact that I am not on any of my normal meds, have not done physical therapy in months, and have been gaining weight has A LOT to do with it. Along with this I also have a rib that is popping in and out. The Dr suggested this lovely Prenatal Cradle to help with the back pain as well as the rib popping in and out so we will see if it helps at all. One more thing to add to the looonnnggg list of things to do and get, but hey these precious little ones are worth all the pain and everything else!!! We love you babies!!!
As for me...my infections are gone...YEA!!! However, I have been sooooooo exhausted this week and come to find out I am now anemic so she wrote me a new RX for an expensive med that should help out with some stuff thats been going on. Also this week my back pain has come back quite a bit...I'm sure the fact that I am not on any of my normal meds, have not done physical therapy in months, and have been gaining weight has A LOT to do with it. Along with this I also have a rib that is popping in and out. The Dr suggested this lovely Prenatal Cradle to help with the back pain as well as the rib popping in and out so we will see if it helps at all. One more thing to add to the looonnnggg list of things to do and get, but hey these precious little ones are worth all the pain and everything else!!! We love you babies!!!
January 18, 2011
14 Weeks
I have subscribed to daily emails from the Daily Kick by Parents.com each day it updates me on important tips and the babies growth and exciting things going on. I got the most exciting email titled: "Say Goodbye to The First Trimester"! Such an excting milestone for us and we are feeling so incredibly blessed and excited right now!!!!!! Seriously thank you for all of your support and prayers and please keep them coming!!!!!!
Woooooooooohooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woooooooooohooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 14, 2011
Guess the sex of the babies
Wednesday I had to go back to the Dr for yet another infection...got some more meds and should be good to go. Just waiting on some more labwork to make sure its not in my kidneys...so prayers would be greatly appreciated! While I was there the dr had to do a quick ultrasound to make sure I was not going into preterm labor...I do not show any signs PTL!!! She also took a quick look at the babies and discovered they are sitting very low. The DR said to me..."are you going to the bathroom alllll the time"...I said yes and she starts laughing and turns the monitor of the ultrasound and shows me the active little baby is sitting directly on my bladder already and was literally jumping up and down. It was cool to see but not to so much the funnest thing in the world...but hey you little ones are worth it!!
So yesterday we had our first trimester screening testing. Several have asked what this is and what it does so...According to the Mayo Clinic here is the deffinition of what it is and does:
"First trimester screening is a prenatal test that offers early information about a baby's health. Typically, first trimester screening is done between weeks 11 and 14 of pregnancy — earlier than many other prenatal tests.
First trimester screening includes two steps:
If your risk level is low, first trimester screening can offer reassurance of a healthy pregnancy. If your risk level is high enough to cause concern, you may choose to follow first trimester screening with diagnostic testing — such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. These tests are more invasive but can reliably determine whether a baby actually has Down syndrome or Edwards syndrome."
Things went really well from what the ultrasound tech said. She said the measurements looked good from what she saw, but she is not the Dr. The measurements will be sent out along with the bloodwork that I had done and then a Dr will anazlyze all of that together and we should get results within the next two weeks.
The ultrasound was high deff so it was really amazing! You could see everything...we still had a hard time figuring everything out, but the tech was awesome and explained everything on each baby numerous times. One of the babies kept waiving to us as if saying hello...it was really cool and of course hearing their little heart beats is just the best sound in the world! The heart beats went down a little bit which is perfectly normal. I guess they are higher in the first trimester and then they go down to between 120 and 160 as you get in the second trimester. One baby was around 161 and the other was around 158 or so. And the coolest part of the ultrasound was that she gave her opinion on the sex of the babies!!! Now it is not 100 percent because it is still very early, but she has been doing this for 20 years and was pretty confident in her opinion. For now until we are absolutely certain we are not going to announce it quite yet, BUT I would love to take a poll and see what everyone's guesses are! So below this post please comment and tell your guess on the twins sex and any name suggestions are gladly accepted as well or email us at tracib321@msn.com if you want to keep it private. For those that did hear yesterday PLEASE don't say anything to anyone...we are by no means 100 % on this.
I will post picts later of the ultrasound from yesterday!!!
So yesterday we had our first trimester screening testing. Several have asked what this is and what it does so...According to the Mayo Clinic here is the deffinition of what it is and does:
"First trimester screening is a prenatal test that offers early information about a baby's health. Typically, first trimester screening is done between weeks 11 and 14 of pregnancy — earlier than many other prenatal tests.
First trimester screening includes two steps:
- A blood test to measure levels of two pregnancy-specific substances
- An ultrasound exam to measure the size of the clear space in the tissue at the back of a baby's neck (nuchal translucency)
If your risk level is low, first trimester screening can offer reassurance of a healthy pregnancy. If your risk level is high enough to cause concern, you may choose to follow first trimester screening with diagnostic testing — such as chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. These tests are more invasive but can reliably determine whether a baby actually has Down syndrome or Edwards syndrome."
Things went really well from what the ultrasound tech said. She said the measurements looked good from what she saw, but she is not the Dr. The measurements will be sent out along with the bloodwork that I had done and then a Dr will anazlyze all of that together and we should get results within the next two weeks.
The ultrasound was high deff so it was really amazing! You could see everything...we still had a hard time figuring everything out, but the tech was awesome and explained everything on each baby numerous times. One of the babies kept waiving to us as if saying hello...it was really cool and of course hearing their little heart beats is just the best sound in the world! The heart beats went down a little bit which is perfectly normal. I guess they are higher in the first trimester and then they go down to between 120 and 160 as you get in the second trimester. One baby was around 161 and the other was around 158 or so. And the coolest part of the ultrasound was that she gave her opinion on the sex of the babies!!! Now it is not 100 percent because it is still very early, but she has been doing this for 20 years and was pretty confident in her opinion. For now until we are absolutely certain we are not going to announce it quite yet, BUT I would love to take a poll and see what everyone's guesses are! So below this post please comment and tell your guess on the twins sex and any name suggestions are gladly accepted as well or email us at tracib321@msn.com if you want to keep it private. For those that did hear yesterday PLEASE don't say anything to anyone...we are by no means 100 % on this.
I will post picts later of the ultrasound from yesterday!!!
January 11, 2011
Finally making the blog public!!!!!!
After working on this blog for a while now I am finally excited to publish it and let all my family and friends know about it. I have put a lot into this so I hope and pray that you will enjoy it. I updated the past two and a half years of our lives. It is a lot to read and I do not expect everyone to go back to the beginning. If you do choose to go back to the beginning just click on archive on the left side and click on 2010 and then work your way back. (I had originally started this blog right after our honeymoon to share with the family and friends so that is why there are post in 2008) Everything that has been posted so far is a recap of what has happened to this point...from now on it is going to be a current update and much more personal!!!
Please feel free to share this blog with anyone that may get any type of inspiration from our journey. That is a huge reason for doing this blog. I have been so encouraged and so much more by others blogs and their journey and I hope and pray that I can do the same in return for someone out there.
I cannot wait for our twins to one day read this and see the journey we went through and the amazing miracle and blessing from God that they truly are!!!!!! With God all things are possible and this is such an example of that!!!!
*Prior to this post please ignore any dates listed as they are not accurate. From now on they will be though!*
Please feel free to share this blog with anyone that may get any type of inspiration from our journey. That is a huge reason for doing this blog. I have been so encouraged and so much more by others blogs and their journey and I hope and pray that I can do the same in return for someone out there.
I cannot wait for our twins to one day read this and see the journey we went through and the amazing miracle and blessing from God that they truly are!!!!!! With God all things are possible and this is such an example of that!!!!
*Prior to this post please ignore any dates listed as they are not accurate. From now on they will be though!*
January 6, 2011
January 5, 2011
Lots has happened since my December update. We reached 12 weeks!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Such a huge deal for us and we were so excited! Reaching 12 weeks meant big things in our case. I have been taking several meds throughout this pregnancy since day 1. As stated in an earlier post I have been on Metformin for over a year now and becuase of the IVF increased my dosage to 1000 mg of the extended release twice a day (increasing was not fun as it brought on all the side affects again, but hey its worth it). From the night before retrieval I started with Progesterone in Oil shots intramuscularly in my butt every single night (this helped my progesterone levels and to support the pregnancy)...they are not the funnest thing because it is a very thick oil that you can feel going in and it hurt. Sometimes Carl enjoyed giving them a little too much I do believe and on accident on occasion hit a nerve...that HURT! Until a little after week 8 I took Estradiol twice a day which was an estrogen that helped with the lining of my uterus. I was also taking a baby aspirin at night as a blood thinner and taking prenatals. And because in my case I have some sort of autoimmune disorder I had to take Dexamethasone each morning which is a steroid.
Since we reached 12 weeks it meant stopping the rest of these meds (other than the prenatals of course). This was a HUGE deal but also very scary for me for many reasons...I was worried about the obvious to say the least and how it would affect the babies, but I know that Dr Toma knows what he is doing and I had to listen to him. The last day of meds was exciting and scary all at the same time...and we did it!!! And as anyone who suffers from PCOS and takes Metformin knows it makes a huge difference in your life. It balances out your metabolism is one of the huge things...before Metformin my weight was all over the place. I was skinny as a rail at times and all of a sudden I would blow up like a baloon especially in my face and I never knew or understood why until I was at NCCRM and started the Metformin. Being on the Metformin got my body back to where it should be and balanced things out that the PCOS had affected. In turn it also helped with my energy level a ton along with many other things so needless to say this scares me that I may blow up like a baloon again and my energy level and attitude may plummet, but I have to do whats best for the babies...they come first and if that means no more Metformin and getting out of whack it will be worth it!
After stopping the meds things seemed to be ok...I already noticed several things change but I was only concerned with the babies being ok. One major thing after stopping the meds is the morning sickness...I have been very lucky with this pregnancy which kind of scared me considering my first two I was sick as a dog, but I truly believe that the meds and where I am at in my life has made a huge difference. The sickness didn't start for me until around week 11 and was not too bad, but it got a little worse after stopping the meds, but I am totally fine with it knowing it will all be worth it! Praise the Lord for making it to this point! Such an accomplishment!!!
Dr's Appointment
Today was a big day for us! It was our very first appointment with the regular OBGYN and the first appointment since stopping my meds. I went in at 10 am and met with the financial coordinator and we went over my benefits and what it is going to cost us. Then I went to the lab for lots and lots of blood to be drawn. After that I met with the head nurse for about an hour and a half and we went over our entire history and then she let me ask questions...I had a million of them and she was so patient and answered each one. Carl then got there and we got to meet the midwife. The practice that we are at has 5 midwives and 3 doctors. We will rotate through each of them at some point, but later in the pregnancy we will most likely just see one of the Dr's since we are having twins and high risk. We really liked the midwife we met with. She too answered all of our questions and went over a lot with us. She also got the fetal heart doppler and was able to locate and measure each babies heart beat...I just LOVE hearing their little heart beats it just is the most peaceful feeling ever! The babies heart beats ranged in the 160's and 170's...very strong!!! After that and an exam she then did an ultrasound and we got to see the babies...the midwife had a tough time finding the second baby at first and was killing me with the ultrasound, but she finally found the baby and the pain she caused went away. They are growing right on target and we are just so excited and feeling so blessed!!!! I was so relieved and excited that things looked great after stopping the meds!!! The bad news of the day was that I have a really bad urinary tract infection so I will be on antibiotics to hopefully take care of it...we are just hoping it has not gone into my kidneys and the meds will do the trick. I have also had a crazy head cold since December 30 so I could use some prayers to get well quickly. I go back next week for my first trimester screening and will get to see the babies again I cannot wait!!! This is an early test to check for things like Downsyndrome and Spina Bifida and such so we could truly use some prayers for this! Then we go back the following week to meet the Dr. From what we were told yesterday we will be seen every two weeks at least for now.
It was also a big day because we made it Facebook official. So now the whole world will know. Until now we have been keeping it between a group of family and friends that have been loving, supporting, and most importantly praying us through every step of our journey. We would like to again thank each one of you and hope you know how much it has meant to us and helped us!!! We love you all and are praying for y'all as well!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!
We also have decided to do Trimester pictures...some of you may think thats a little much, but we have been through a lot and are so incredibly blessed and excited about this and want to remember every bit of the process!!! Plus we want to compare the growth of the belly and twins :) We are blessed to have a friend who is an amazing photographer and is going to document our journey for us!!! Thank you Tonya Mae Photography...you are awesome and if you are in the Raleigh area you should deffinately look her up! Here are the pictures below! Hope you enjoy...
Since we reached 12 weeks it meant stopping the rest of these meds (other than the prenatals of course). This was a HUGE deal but also very scary for me for many reasons...I was worried about the obvious to say the least and how it would affect the babies, but I know that Dr Toma knows what he is doing and I had to listen to him. The last day of meds was exciting and scary all at the same time...and we did it!!! And as anyone who suffers from PCOS and takes Metformin knows it makes a huge difference in your life. It balances out your metabolism is one of the huge things...before Metformin my weight was all over the place. I was skinny as a rail at times and all of a sudden I would blow up like a baloon especially in my face and I never knew or understood why until I was at NCCRM and started the Metformin. Being on the Metformin got my body back to where it should be and balanced things out that the PCOS had affected. In turn it also helped with my energy level a ton along with many other things so needless to say this scares me that I may blow up like a baloon again and my energy level and attitude may plummet, but I have to do whats best for the babies...they come first and if that means no more Metformin and getting out of whack it will be worth it!
After stopping the meds things seemed to be ok...I already noticed several things change but I was only concerned with the babies being ok. One major thing after stopping the meds is the morning sickness...I have been very lucky with this pregnancy which kind of scared me considering my first two I was sick as a dog, but I truly believe that the meds and where I am at in my life has made a huge difference. The sickness didn't start for me until around week 11 and was not too bad, but it got a little worse after stopping the meds, but I am totally fine with it knowing it will all be worth it! Praise the Lord for making it to this point! Such an accomplishment!!!
Dr's Appointment
Today was a big day for us! It was our very first appointment with the regular OBGYN and the first appointment since stopping my meds. I went in at 10 am and met with the financial coordinator and we went over my benefits and what it is going to cost us. Then I went to the lab for lots and lots of blood to be drawn. After that I met with the head nurse for about an hour and a half and we went over our entire history and then she let me ask questions...I had a million of them and she was so patient and answered each one. Carl then got there and we got to meet the midwife. The practice that we are at has 5 midwives and 3 doctors. We will rotate through each of them at some point, but later in the pregnancy we will most likely just see one of the Dr's since we are having twins and high risk. We really liked the midwife we met with. She too answered all of our questions and went over a lot with us. She also got the fetal heart doppler and was able to locate and measure each babies heart beat...I just LOVE hearing their little heart beats it just is the most peaceful feeling ever! The babies heart beats ranged in the 160's and 170's...very strong!!! After that and an exam she then did an ultrasound and we got to see the babies...the midwife had a tough time finding the second baby at first and was killing me with the ultrasound, but she finally found the baby and the pain she caused went away. They are growing right on target and we are just so excited and feeling so blessed!!!! I was so relieved and excited that things looked great after stopping the meds!!! The bad news of the day was that I have a really bad urinary tract infection so I will be on antibiotics to hopefully take care of it...we are just hoping it has not gone into my kidneys and the meds will do the trick. I have also had a crazy head cold since December 30 so I could use some prayers to get well quickly. I go back next week for my first trimester screening and will get to see the babies again I cannot wait!!! This is an early test to check for things like Downsyndrome and Spina Bifida and such so we could truly use some prayers for this! Then we go back the following week to meet the Dr. From what we were told yesterday we will be seen every two weeks at least for now.
It was also a big day because we made it Facebook official. So now the whole world will know. Until now we have been keeping it between a group of family and friends that have been loving, supporting, and most importantly praying us through every step of our journey. We would like to again thank each one of you and hope you know how much it has meant to us and helped us!!! We love you all and are praying for y'all as well!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!
We also have decided to do Trimester pictures...some of you may think thats a little much, but we have been through a lot and are so incredibly blessed and excited about this and want to remember every bit of the process!!! Plus we want to compare the growth of the belly and twins :) We are blessed to have a friend who is an amazing photographer and is going to document our journey for us!!! Thank you Tonya Mae Photography...you are awesome and if you are in the Raleigh area you should deffinately look her up! Here are the pictures below! Hope you enjoy...
January 5, 2011
September through December 2010
In order to update our friends and family on our journey over the last few months I have been sending out email updates. I figured it would just be easier to share each of these emails on here in order to update you on the last few months. (Plus lately my brain has been a little like mush so this helps me out a lot!!!) They go into pretty deep detail of what we have been going through each step of the way. So here is the last few months..........
SEPTEMBER 2010
Email that I sent out on September 12
Dear Family and Friends:
As most of you know Carl and I don't often like to discuss all that is going on with us and our infertility issues...not because we don't want anyone to know what is going on, but because it is just REALLY hard to talk about. I have a hard enough time talking to Carl about it and sharing/expressing my feelings and thoughts to him let alone sharing it with others. So I am sending you guys a link to a blog that is just incredible (to us at least). My wonderful sister-in-law Lindsey (THANK YOU) shared this link with me and it has just been such an inspiration and help to us in so many ways. The blog was started by a friend of ours, Kristen, from high school. I won't share too much cause she explains it all in her blog, but she and her husband are going through basically the same stuff Carl and I have been going through...their problems even started at the same time as ours! Its so incredible the similarities that there are...she even found out she had PCOS due to an ovarian cyst rupturing in her which is how I found out I had PCOS too (of course I also found out about Endometriosis too which is about the only difference in us). But she started this blog back in May to her unborn child that she already loves unconditionally. She shares every bit of the process that they go through inlcuding all of her feelings...and she holds nothing back which I LOVE! There are videos too which just amaze me that she can do this.
I went back to the very first blog and read from there and I hope if you have time that you can too so you get an understanding of what we go through. I had Carl go back and read from the very beginning...which I didn't know if he would really do it, but after he started reading he was just amazed and couldn't help but read it all. After he read/watched them he came to me and I could just tell that he had a change of heart...literally!!! He said to me that he now gets it (and that I need to express myself like her from now on) and understands why at times Im so sad, and why certain simple circumstances can upset me, and how he now gets the mood swings from all the fertility drugs. I didn't realize how much different this experience has been for him than me. Yes he has been there for all the appointments and everything that has gone on but he didn't understand all that the drugs and procedures have been doing to me and how incredibly emotionally draining this has all been...guess I forget guys aren't so emotional and dont always just get it...you have to tell them! And its not even just guys to be honest...unless you experience this first hand you will never fully understand it all which I am so thankful for that fact and wish this on NO ONE!
In this blog Kristen puts it all out there...every feeling whether physical or emotional. So as my husband just said as I am writing this "If you ever want to know how Traci feels and what we are going through READ THIS BLOG and you will understand"! Truly everything that she says is a feeling I have DAILY!!! They however are at a step in their journey which we have not taken yet, but when we do I am thankful that i will have her to turn to.
Which to catch everyone up on us and where we are at...about a month and a half ago we sat down with our doctor and he said we have reached a point where basically our only option left is to do Invitro Fertilization...it was quite hard to hear and very frustrating to say the least. We also then sat down with a financial advisor who went over our cost with our insurance and up front before they will even start the process its a whopping $7500 with insurance!!! So we plan on having some fundraisers...hope y'all are ready to help out cause we are going to need all the help we can get ;) But we obviously do not have the money to do this nor are we prepared mentally, physically, and emotionally yet for this extremely tough and wearing process...however if that is what it is going to take we will absolutely do it as soon as we can...we cannot wait to be parents one day, but in the meantime are enjoying loving on our nieces, nephews, and friends little ones...and yes I may baby hog at times, but I think Im allowed at this point :)
So I hope that you guys can take the time to check this page out and that you get something out of it. I also hope you realize that some things are harder for others and that you will take the time to consider that and others feelings. I hope one day I can be as brave and bold and start our own blog and keep you guys informed! Another big reason I am sending this out tonight is because I am also requesting for lots of prayers for Kristen and her husband as they find out tomorrow if the IVF worked! It is a HUGE day for them and they truly need to be lifted up in prayers from everyone!!! And one other thing...please don't be afraid to ask us anything or to tell us anything...we can handle it!
And finally...I know a lot of people have been asking about my back procedures and stuff...well basically we are at square one again and back to being miserable. Forr the past year I was off my meds and stopped all the procedures thanks to physical/manual therapy twice a week and now my lovely insurance has decided that it is considered maintenance and no longer showing improvement which they do not pay for maintenance evidently which we are finding out the hard way (they are in fact not going to pay for any of my July or August sessions so I have a very large bill for that). So I had a couple procedures over the last couple weeks...which unfortunately have not helped at all and with the flu season work is crazy and absolutely killing me physcially so I could use some prayers for my body as well!!!
Thank you all for all your prayers and love and support throughout our journey! We appreciate it and love you all!!!!!!
Traci and Carl Huffman
The link to the blog: http://ohhappymiracle.tumblr.com
(To go back to the very beginning click on archives and scroll to the bottom and start at the very end and work your way back!!!)
So a couple weeks later Kristen and I finally found some time where we were able to get together and sit down and share everything with each other. At the time she had just found out that she was pregnant after going through IVF!!! I was thrilled for her to say the least!!! So I picked her brain and asked her a million questions about IVF. Before this day it was something Carl and I thought maybe one day we will get to that point but no time soon, but after meeting with her I was was more willing to do it asap and felt way more at ease and comfortable with it. THANK YOU Kristen for everything!!!
After we met Carl and I talked about things a lot more in detail and were becoming more and more open to the idea of seriously doing this!
OCTOBER 2010
Again it is going to be much easier for me to just share emails that we sent out to our family and friends so here is what happened in October:
Hello everyone! Its Traci again. Well, my bedrest is coming to an end and I will be heading back to work tomorrow. Its been a relaxing few days and I have been very well taken care of thanks to my amazing hubby and family and friends who even made my birthday as special as can be considering not being able to go anywhere or do anything. So a huge THANK YOU to those that helped out...y'all are the best!!!
Just real quick I know everyone is wondering and asking what is the next step...well its pretty much a waiting game at this point. I do have to go and have some bloodwork tomorrow to check some levels and make sure I am where they want as far as hormone levels and the meds are at the right dose. I will have that done and will find out the results tomorrow afternoon and then we wait until the 13th of November for our pregnancy test. I will go to the doctor for bloodwork that morning and then wait for the call! Its gonna be a long couple weeks, but hey it is all in God's hands and we have done all that we can do and we trust that! I will be taking it VERY easy over the next couple weeks. I am not allowed to lift anything or do any bending or manual anything and am to have NO STRESS!!! Carl has said he is fine with me on bedrest for 9 months if thats what it takes he will take care of me
I am blessed with a wonderful husband that takes great care of me and I can't thank him enough!
Email update sent Novemeber 12, 2010:
First of all let me thank each of you for your incredible support and all of your prayers throughout this journey of ours. It has seriously meant the world to us and just been such an encouragement and inpiration and so much more!!!
Now, I know everyone is expecting for us to go have the first HCG pregnancy blood test tomorrow, but after a few issues last weekend/this week they decided to let us come in a day early to test. So I went first thing this am to have blood drawn and then headed to work to wait............
I received a phone call on my way back from lunch today from my sweet nurse Carla (my heart litterally stopped when the number showed up and I was nervous to answer, but I was thankfully with my Big Sister Angela who told me to answer...so I did...thanks Angela for your support today and always). It was GREAT news!!!!!!!! We ARE PREGNANT!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! We are excited and feeling so very blessed!!! For those of you who are wondering or know anything about levels my HCG was 515 and my progesterone level was 49.5 which is great. The next step is to go back in on Sunday and then Tuesday for bloodwork...they want to see the numbers double each time. So we have a very long road ahead and still need all the prayers and support from you all that we can get! Again thank you all and we will keep you posted!!!
Love and lots of hugs, Traci and Carl
Email update sent November 14, 2010:
Hey everyone! Thank you for all the sweet responses to the latest news!!! We are so excited and full of all sorts of emotions and appreciate the continued much needed prayers and support!
Just wanted to send a quick update on the bloodwork that I had this morning...It was great they wanted my HCG (the pregnancy hormone level) to at least double. So today my HCG was 1250 and Progesterone 46.1. It more than doubled which is what they like to see! Next step is to go back on Tuesday for the same thing. We will let you guys know! Hope everyone has had a great weekend and has a good week!!!
Love, Traci and Carl
Email update sent November 16, 2010:
Hey everyone! Just wanted to send out a very quick update on my blood levels from this monring. My HCG level has gone up to 2863 so it more than doubled which is great!!! As of today I am 5 weeks and 2 days...which is a little further than what I thought but because of IVF they calculate a little differently. So that makes my due date July 18, 2011!!! Due to my history my first ultrasound will be sooner than 8 weeks...its going to be next Tuesday which is around 6 weeks!!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers...we truly appreciate and need them!!! Now I have to get back to work...busy busy busy today!
Lots of love, Traci and Carl
Email Update sent November 22, 2010:
Hello! Hope that everyone had a great weekend and is excited for Thanksgiving!
Several people have been asking when our first ultrasound is so I figured it would be easier to do it this way. Plus wanted to ask you all to keep us in your thoughts and prayers~ It is scheduled for Tuesday Novemeber 23 at 2:45 (tomorrow!). So we just ask for LOTS and LOTS of prayers for a healthy baby(s) (and momma) that is growing accordingly. We are not real sure what we will see or find out tomorrow since it is still very early, but as of today we are 6 weeks along PTL!!! We will let you guys know how things go and truly appreciate all the love and prayers and support!
Love and hugs, Traci and Carl
Email update sent November 23, 2010 Titled: Huffman Party of............
First of all let me thank each one of you for your continued thoughts and prayers and suppport throughout our journey. The power of prayer is absolutely amazing let me tell you!!!!!!!!!!!
Today went GREAT!!! The doctor began the ultrasound and pretty much immediately said......THERE IS TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes we are having TWINS!!! We got to see two little heart beats and the babies (I am so excited to say babies and know thats true) are on point as far as size as you will see in the pictures below! We are so excited and feeling so blessed! We know that we have a long way to go but are just beyond thrilled and blessed and know that with prayer and support this is going to be an incredible journey and with God all things are possible!
For now I will continue on all of my meds and 1 shot a night which I am totally ok with!!! The next step is to go back in 2 weeks for our 8 week ultrasound. So I am just gonna take extra good care of myself and be a lazy bum for the next 9 months!!! Hope you are all doing well and have a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
Love, The Huffman's
PS The ultrasound picts didn't come through all that clear but you get to see both babies separate and together and get the jist of it!!!
DECEMBER 2010
Email update sent out December 2, 2010:
Good morning everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know we actually went back to the Dr yesterday for another ultrasound...I have just been understandably nervous and every little thing has been worrying me. Plus we are going out of town this weekend and just have lots going on in the next few days and I just was having a hard time waiting till next Tuesday. So after speaking to my nurse and some prayers we decided the best thing was for me to come in early just to double check things and to put my mind at ease...the last thing they want is any stress on us...they are so good about helping keep that to a minimum!!! In fact after the ultrasound the Dr said I can come every single day and he will do the ultrasound as long as we pay for it...Carl quickly told the Dr to be quiet before I actually took full advantage of this offer and we go even more broke
Anyhow back to the ultrasound......it looked great!!! The babies are growing and their little hearts were just beating away! It is soooooooooo amazing to see and so special and calming!!! It is still too early to hear them according to the Dr so we are going back now next Friday and are hoping to hear them by then although its still quite early. The baby on the left of the ultrasound picture is now measuring 7 weeks and 0 days and the baby on the right side is now measuring 6 weeks and 6 days!!!!!!!!! As of yesterday I was 7 weeks and 2 days along (they said it is absolutely normal for them to measure a few days off and they are growing which is what they want to see)!!!!!!!!! I am so thankful I was able to see them yesterday and Praise God that things are looking good and there are two healthy babies with beating hearts!!!!!!!! Thank you all for your continued support thoughts and prayers...we have a long way to go so we appreciate everyone of them throughout this and each of you!!!
Now I need some very important help...believe it or not I do not have an OBGYN here. When we moved here back in 09 based on the advice of my Wilmington docs I went straight to NCCRM which is strictly just an infertility clinic. They are connected to Triangle OBGYN so that is an option and suggestion from Dr Toma (anyone have any experience there?). I would like to ask for all of your advice and suggestions first however. Please tell me any good or bad experiences and any suggestions and or advice you have when it comes to OBGYN and hospitals as well. I realize some of you are out of town or males, but I am sure you have a friend or family member or have heard things that could help us in this huge decision we need to make! Thank you all in advance for any and all advice good or bad...we want to hear it all so we are able to make an informed decision!!!
Hope everyone has a great day and I will send the latest ultrasound picts soon when I get a chance to scan them in...we were hoping to share video with you guys but my camera didn't record the whole thing we thought it did. We will try again though next week!
Love, The Huffman's
Email update sent out December 8, 2010:
Hey everyone. Really quickly just wanted to let you all know we go in tomorrow morning for our next ultrasound/appointment. We would appreciate your prayers!!! Also thank you to those who gave your advice on OBGYN's and hospitals...sooooo much to think about and consider. If you didn't have a chance to share your thoughts yet please feel free to do so at any point...it would really be appreciated! Hope that everyone is having a great week!!!
Email update sent out December 9, 2010:
I was able to upload the video onto here...its kind of long but towards the end of the video we got to hear the babies heart beats for the first time...it was incredible!!!
SEPTEMBER 2010
Email that I sent out on September 12
Dear Family and Friends:
As most of you know Carl and I don't often like to discuss all that is going on with us and our infertility issues...not because we don't want anyone to know what is going on, but because it is just REALLY hard to talk about. I have a hard enough time talking to Carl about it and sharing/expressing my feelings and thoughts to him let alone sharing it with others. So I am sending you guys a link to a blog that is just incredible (to us at least). My wonderful sister-in-law Lindsey (THANK YOU) shared this link with me and it has just been such an inspiration and help to us in so many ways. The blog was started by a friend of ours, Kristen, from high school. I won't share too much cause she explains it all in her blog, but she and her husband are going through basically the same stuff Carl and I have been going through...their problems even started at the same time as ours! Its so incredible the similarities that there are...she even found out she had PCOS due to an ovarian cyst rupturing in her which is how I found out I had PCOS too (of course I also found out about Endometriosis too which is about the only difference in us). But she started this blog back in May to her unborn child that she already loves unconditionally. She shares every bit of the process that they go through inlcuding all of her feelings...and she holds nothing back which I LOVE! There are videos too which just amaze me that she can do this.
I went back to the very first blog and read from there and I hope if you have time that you can too so you get an understanding of what we go through. I had Carl go back and read from the very beginning...which I didn't know if he would really do it, but after he started reading he was just amazed and couldn't help but read it all. After he read/watched them he came to me and I could just tell that he had a change of heart...literally!!! He said to me that he now gets it (and that I need to express myself like her from now on) and understands why at times Im so sad, and why certain simple circumstances can upset me, and how he now gets the mood swings from all the fertility drugs. I didn't realize how much different this experience has been for him than me. Yes he has been there for all the appointments and everything that has gone on but he didn't understand all that the drugs and procedures have been doing to me and how incredibly emotionally draining this has all been...guess I forget guys aren't so emotional and dont always just get it...you have to tell them! And its not even just guys to be honest...unless you experience this first hand you will never fully understand it all which I am so thankful for that fact and wish this on NO ONE!
In this blog Kristen puts it all out there...every feeling whether physical or emotional. So as my husband just said as I am writing this "If you ever want to know how Traci feels and what we are going through READ THIS BLOG and you will understand"! Truly everything that she says is a feeling I have DAILY!!! They however are at a step in their journey which we have not taken yet, but when we do I am thankful that i will have her to turn to.
Which to catch everyone up on us and where we are at...about a month and a half ago we sat down with our doctor and he said we have reached a point where basically our only option left is to do Invitro Fertilization...it was quite hard to hear and very frustrating to say the least. We also then sat down with a financial advisor who went over our cost with our insurance and up front before they will even start the process its a whopping $7500 with insurance!!! So we plan on having some fundraisers...hope y'all are ready to help out cause we are going to need all the help we can get ;) But we obviously do not have the money to do this nor are we prepared mentally, physically, and emotionally yet for this extremely tough and wearing process...however if that is what it is going to take we will absolutely do it as soon as we can...we cannot wait to be parents one day, but in the meantime are enjoying loving on our nieces, nephews, and friends little ones...and yes I may baby hog at times, but I think Im allowed at this point :)
So I hope that you guys can take the time to check this page out and that you get something out of it. I also hope you realize that some things are harder for others and that you will take the time to consider that and others feelings. I hope one day I can be as brave and bold and start our own blog and keep you guys informed! Another big reason I am sending this out tonight is because I am also requesting for lots of prayers for Kristen and her husband as they find out tomorrow if the IVF worked! It is a HUGE day for them and they truly need to be lifted up in prayers from everyone!!! And one other thing...please don't be afraid to ask us anything or to tell us anything...we can handle it!
And finally...I know a lot of people have been asking about my back procedures and stuff...well basically we are at square one again and back to being miserable. Forr the past year I was off my meds and stopped all the procedures thanks to physical/manual therapy twice a week and now my lovely insurance has decided that it is considered maintenance and no longer showing improvement which they do not pay for maintenance evidently which we are finding out the hard way (they are in fact not going to pay for any of my July or August sessions so I have a very large bill for that). So I had a couple procedures over the last couple weeks...which unfortunately have not helped at all and with the flu season work is crazy and absolutely killing me physcially so I could use some prayers for my body as well!!!
Thank you all for all your prayers and love and support throughout our journey! We appreciate it and love you all!!!!!!
Traci and Carl Huffman
The link to the blog: http://ohhappymiracle.tumblr.com
(To go back to the very beginning click on archives and scroll to the bottom and start at the very end and work your way back!!!)
So a couple weeks later Kristen and I finally found some time where we were able to get together and sit down and share everything with each other. At the time she had just found out that she was pregnant after going through IVF!!! I was thrilled for her to say the least!!! So I picked her brain and asked her a million questions about IVF. Before this day it was something Carl and I thought maybe one day we will get to that point but no time soon, but after meeting with her I was was more willing to do it asap and felt way more at ease and comfortable with it. THANK YOU Kristen for everything!!!
After we met Carl and I talked about things a lot more in detail and were becoming more and more open to the idea of seriously doing this!
OCTOBER 2010
Again it is going to be much easier for me to just share emails that we sent out to our family and friends so here is what happened in October:
This was sent on October 21, 2010:
Hello everyone! Hope that you are all doing well and enjoying the fall! Just wanted to send everyone the latest on what is going on with us. So much has happened since our last email update so I will try and fill you in as best I can. If you are receving this email it is because you are a special part of our lives and someone we love and we would truly appreciate your love and support throughout this journey. Fair warning though this email is very detailed so be prepared. After all that we have been through with this over the last few years I have become more of an open book then ever. So it is only fair to me to put it all out there and be as honest as possible. Although we are putting this all out there to each of you...This is still a VERY personal journey, but sharing it this way is just easier and will help with any questions you may have but be afraid to ask...plus it keeps us from repeating this a bunch of times. So keep reading on if you want to join us on our journey...
As you know we have been through a lot as far as fertility issues are concerned and after a couple years, two surgeries, two miscarriages, and all that has gone on in between with the ups and downs we have been considering doing In-Vitro Fertilization. 2 weeks ago we attended a class on IVF to get a little more familiar with the process...it was extremely overwhelming to say the least. However after talking with the nurses and the dr and each other we made the decision to go ahead and start part of the process for it. We were HOPING that I could do what they call an "injectable cycle" which meant I would take all the drugs and stimulants to get my body to react and they would monitor me closely and then we could do IUI (insemination)...this would save us THOUSANDS of dollars and not be such a big procedure. So we went ahead and ordered the meds...all $700 worth of meds that is, and thats not even for all of them. In the meantime we had some more tests performed and the day I started the injections we got the results back from these tests and after speaking with the dr it was determined that basically our only option for a healthy baby is to proceed with IVF and not IUI. We were extremely bummed and frustrated and fully prepared to give up because we knew that we could not afford this right now. However, because I had already got the meds and started them we took a step back to really think things through and I prayed about it quite a bit. We came to the conclusion that we felt like we were ready for this and the ONLY thing holding us back at this point was financial reasons. So we reached out to some family and have been more than blessed with the help that we need. We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives and we can never thank you enough for your help!!! So since we were blessed with the help that we need we truly felt like this was God's way of telling us to do it!!! So we make the decision to do it!!!
Since this big decision things have happened sooooooo fast! Last week I had one last back procedure that we are hoping gives me the most relief possible to get me through as long as possible! They went in my lower back at the Facet joints at levels 3, 4, and 5 and did a procedure called Radio-Frequency ablation...they litterally burned and ablated my nerves all on the right side of my back. As you can imagine it was a VERY painful process to say the least but I can already tell a difference...I just hope its a big one and lasts! Then Friday morning the intense IVF process started. I started my daily Dr visit for blood work and ultrasound...I go first thing in the morning and then they have this voicemail line that they leave you messages on to check that evening for results and instructions. So last Friday night I started with several medications by mouth and 2 shots (this is what the picts are of the majority of the meds and the three current shots). Carl is being an excellent nurse and has become quite the pro at injecting/stabbing me...he prob likes it s lil too much
The shots make me Very sleepy...and I have bruises all over from them and one of them feels like fire going in (the nurse says its the way it formulated why it hurts so bad), but hey if this is what it takes I can doooo it! Just excuse the hormones for a while please...they are all over the place!! So far the ultrasounds and bloodwork have been GREAT! They even took the dosage down on one of my shots...however they also had to had a 3rd shot...the shot part of the 3rd isn't so bad but the side effects on this one are not so fun...especially the headaches and bloating...not to mention the weight gain from them all! So tonight I continue the shots and go back tomorrow morning for more bloodwork and ultrasound. After tomorrow we are going to know a lot more (hopefully). If things continue to look good such as my hormone levels have to rise and be where they want and as far as the ultrasound they are watching the follicles (eggs) growth; we will move on to the next step. As of yesterday I had like 8 or 9 on my right ovary and 4 or 5 on the left with quite a few little ones as well...they have to watch them to make sure they grow at the rate and the way they want to see. I can literally feel all of them in me...its so wierd and because my ovaries are so swollen plus all the little eggs I am already using the bathroom like crazy!!!
So the next step is daily dr visits to monitor until around day 14 give or take (which is actually this next Wednesday!!!). Then they make the decision for the date of retrieval. For retrieval they will knock me out under anesthesia and then go in and take out all of the eggs that they possibly can. They will be transfering the eggs to a team standing by that will talk to them throughout the surgery letting them know how the eggs are and how many and all that good stuff. Carl will give his sample to them as well and then they will take that and do this procedure called ICSI which is an important part of this to get the best stuff possible! Then they put it together and wait to see if it grows! Then its a waiting game for a few days...anywhere from 2 to 4 days (which means we may miss out on some big upcoming events which we will be sorry about but if thats what it takes we have to do it). Within those stressful waiting days they will monitor to see if an embryo grows. They have a scale that determines how well the embryo(s) do and to determine if they will then transfer any into me. If there is a good embryo(s) they then have me come back in and will transfer them into me and then send me home to be on bedrest for four important days!!! And then..........we wait!
We are very well aware that there is so much involved in this and that is may not work, but we are trying to be as optimistic as possible and no matter what happens we know that God has a plan for us! We just ask for your love and most importantly prayers and positiveness throughout this. We need nooooooooo stress at all. The staff at the clinic doesn't even want me to do anything at all throughout this so I am going to try and keep things as stress free and laid back as possible! I am even starting a new job that is going to be less physically and mentally...so wish me luck!
We are still trying to come up with some fundraisers right now so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let us know!!! We are going to have a last minute yard sale at my parents house this weekend to help us out so if you have anything you want to donate or if you are in the Raleigh area and want to come by please let us know...we would appreciate it!
Again thank you all for being here for us and we will try and keep you all updated!!!
Much love, Traci and Carl Huffman
Carl sent out this email on October 25, 2010:
This was sent out on October 25, 2010
This was sent out on October 30, 2010 by Carl:
Hi guys this is Carl I just wanted to let everyone know that today went very well. We were able to transfer two embryos today and the embryos were both very strong they scaled them between a 1 and a 4, 4 being the strongest one of ours was a 4 the other one was a 3+ witch the docs. were very happy about. The actually transfer procedure was very cool and wasn't to bad on our soon to be momma so that's a blessing it self. Traci will now be on bed rest for 3 days doing nothing at ALL so I will be taken great care of her and making sure she has no stress that is one of the biggest things. Hope everyone has a great halloween and happy bday to miss Olivia sorry your god parents couldn't make it but its for a good cause we love all you guys thanks for all the support Carl and Traci
The videos below are from the day of transfer
This was the update emailed on November 2, 2010:As you know we have been through a lot as far as fertility issues are concerned and after a couple years, two surgeries, two miscarriages, and all that has gone on in between with the ups and downs we have been considering doing In-Vitro Fertilization. 2 weeks ago we attended a class on IVF to get a little more familiar with the process...it was extremely overwhelming to say the least. However after talking with the nurses and the dr and each other we made the decision to go ahead and start part of the process for it. We were HOPING that I could do what they call an "injectable cycle" which meant I would take all the drugs and stimulants to get my body to react and they would monitor me closely and then we could do IUI (insemination)...this would save us THOUSANDS of dollars and not be such a big procedure. So we went ahead and ordered the meds...all $700 worth of meds that is, and thats not even for all of them. In the meantime we had some more tests performed and the day I started the injections we got the results back from these tests and after speaking with the dr it was determined that basically our only option for a healthy baby is to proceed with IVF and not IUI. We were extremely bummed and frustrated and fully prepared to give up because we knew that we could not afford this right now. However, because I had already got the meds and started them we took a step back to really think things through and I prayed about it quite a bit. We came to the conclusion that we felt like we were ready for this and the ONLY thing holding us back at this point was financial reasons. So we reached out to some family and have been more than blessed with the help that we need. We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives and we can never thank you enough for your help!!! So since we were blessed with the help that we need we truly felt like this was God's way of telling us to do it!!! So we make the decision to do it!!!
Since this big decision things have happened sooooooo fast! Last week I had one last back procedure that we are hoping gives me the most relief possible to get me through as long as possible! They went in my lower back at the Facet joints at levels 3, 4, and 5 and did a procedure called Radio-Frequency ablation...they litterally burned and ablated my nerves all on the right side of my back. As you can imagine it was a VERY painful process to say the least but I can already tell a difference...I just hope its a big one and lasts! Then Friday morning the intense IVF process started. I started my daily Dr visit for blood work and ultrasound...I go first thing in the morning and then they have this voicemail line that they leave you messages on to check that evening for results and instructions. So last Friday night I started with several medications by mouth and 2 shots (this is what the picts are of the majority of the meds and the three current shots). Carl is being an excellent nurse and has become quite the pro at injecting/stabbing me...he prob likes it s lil too much
The shots make me Very sleepy...and I have bruises all over from them and one of them feels like fire going in (the nurse says its the way it formulated why it hurts so bad), but hey if this is what it takes I can doooo it! Just excuse the hormones for a while please...they are all over the place!! So far the ultrasounds and bloodwork have been GREAT! They even took the dosage down on one of my shots...however they also had to had a 3rd shot...the shot part of the 3rd isn't so bad but the side effects on this one are not so fun...especially the headaches and bloating...not to mention the weight gain from them all! So tonight I continue the shots and go back tomorrow morning for more bloodwork and ultrasound. After tomorrow we are going to know a lot more (hopefully). If things continue to look good such as my hormone levels have to rise and be where they want and as far as the ultrasound they are watching the follicles (eggs) growth; we will move on to the next step. As of yesterday I had like 8 or 9 on my right ovary and 4 or 5 on the left with quite a few little ones as well...they have to watch them to make sure they grow at the rate and the way they want to see. I can literally feel all of them in me...its so wierd and because my ovaries are so swollen plus all the little eggs I am already using the bathroom like crazy!!!So the next step is daily dr visits to monitor until around day 14 give or take (which is actually this next Wednesday!!!). Then they make the decision for the date of retrieval. For retrieval they will knock me out under anesthesia and then go in and take out all of the eggs that they possibly can. They will be transfering the eggs to a team standing by that will talk to them throughout the surgery letting them know how the eggs are and how many and all that good stuff. Carl will give his sample to them as well and then they will take that and do this procedure called ICSI which is an important part of this to get the best stuff possible! Then they put it together and wait to see if it grows! Then its a waiting game for a few days...anywhere from 2 to 4 days (which means we may miss out on some big upcoming events which we will be sorry about but if thats what it takes we have to do it). Within those stressful waiting days they will monitor to see if an embryo grows. They have a scale that determines how well the embryo(s) do and to determine if they will then transfer any into me. If there is a good embryo(s) they then have me come back in and will transfer them into me and then send me home to be on bedrest for four important days!!! And then..........we wait!
We are very well aware that there is so much involved in this and that is may not work, but we are trying to be as optimistic as possible and no matter what happens we know that God has a plan for us! We just ask for your love and most importantly prayers and positiveness throughout this. We need nooooooooo stress at all. The staff at the clinic doesn't even want me to do anything at all throughout this so I am going to try and keep things as stress free and laid back as possible! I am even starting a new job that is going to be less physically and mentally...so wish me luck!
We are still trying to come up with some fundraisers right now so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let us know!!! We are going to have a last minute yard sale at my parents house this weekend to help us out so if you have anything you want to donate or if you are in the Raleigh area and want to come by please let us know...we would appreciate it!
Again thank you all for being here for us and we will try and keep you all updated!!!
Much love, Traci and Carl Huffman
This was sent out on October 23, 2010:
First and foremost I would like to say a BIG thank you to all those that have reached out to us in response to our email!!! We cannot thank you guys enough for your love and support and have been overwhelmed with the calls, emails, and messages and they mean the world to us!!! We are sorry if we can't respond personally to each due to all that we have going on, but please know it means the world to us!!! With that said lots has happened since our last update...
I went back to the Dr on Friday and based on the way things were looking on the ultrasound we were told that our retrieval date could move up to Tuesday but based on my daily message from the results of my labwork there was no real indication as to whether that was the case or not. They did drastically reduce one of my meds which I thought was a good sign tho. Then today we woke up bright and early (after a night of no sleep thanks to the AMAZING game and win by the Rangers...WOOOHOOOO World Series Baby) to have a yard sale at my parents house to help us raise money. We went to my parents and set up and started the yard sale and then I left the troops to sell, and I headed to my dr for the daily visit. I was shocked when the nurse began the ultrasound and was like "wow...we may have you do your trigger tonight and do the retrieval Monday based on what I see". Of course it also depened on my bloodwork and what the dr thought of all the things put together. I was also shocked to find out that my dr is out of town at a conference through Tuesday...this freaked me out, but I was assured that his partner is just as wonderful and is doing several retrieval and transfers this weekend. So I left the doc and headed back to the yard sale...we did AWESOME by the way thanks to my amazing family for all their help and contributions...THANK YOU ALL!!! By the time we were on the way home from the yard sale I got a message from the nurse to call her...I knew something was up because its normally just a voicemail left on the hotline I get all my results on. So I called her back and also checked the hotline and found out that based on the results of today we will do the "trigger" tonight and then the retrieval will be Monday. The "trigger" means that I will stop two of the shots that I have been doing...I will still do one and also add two more that are going to trigger my body to be ready for the retrieval on Monday. So I will still have to go back tomorrow morning for more bloodwork and then as far as everything comes back the way they want we will be heading in Monday morning at 8:30 for the retrieval!!! This has all happened soo fast, but we know that God has a plan for us and is in control and we have to trust that. We are nervous and excited and could use your prayers and support now more than ever!!! I will try and update after we find out the results of tomorrow and know whats happening for sure!
Thank you all!!!!! Traci and Carl
I went back to the Dr on Friday and based on the way things were looking on the ultrasound we were told that our retrieval date could move up to Tuesday but based on my daily message from the results of my labwork there was no real indication as to whether that was the case or not. They did drastically reduce one of my meds which I thought was a good sign tho. Then today we woke up bright and early (after a night of no sleep thanks to the AMAZING game and win by the Rangers...WOOOHOOOO World Series Baby) to have a yard sale at my parents house to help us raise money. We went to my parents and set up and started the yard sale and then I left the troops to sell, and I headed to my dr for the daily visit. I was shocked when the nurse began the ultrasound and was like "wow...we may have you do your trigger tonight and do the retrieval Monday based on what I see". Of course it also depened on my bloodwork and what the dr thought of all the things put together. I was also shocked to find out that my dr is out of town at a conference through Tuesday...this freaked me out, but I was assured that his partner is just as wonderful and is doing several retrieval and transfers this weekend. So I left the doc and headed back to the yard sale...we did AWESOME by the way thanks to my amazing family for all their help and contributions...THANK YOU ALL!!! By the time we were on the way home from the yard sale I got a message from the nurse to call her...I knew something was up because its normally just a voicemail left on the hotline I get all my results on. So I called her back and also checked the hotline and found out that based on the results of today we will do the "trigger" tonight and then the retrieval will be Monday. The "trigger" means that I will stop two of the shots that I have been doing...I will still do one and also add two more that are going to trigger my body to be ready for the retrieval on Monday. So I will still have to go back tomorrow morning for more bloodwork and then as far as everything comes back the way they want we will be heading in Monday morning at 8:30 for the retrieval!!! This has all happened soo fast, but we know that God has a plan for us and is in control and we have to trust that. We are nervous and excited and could use your prayers and support now more than ever!!! I will try and update after we find out the results of tomorrow and know whats happening for sure!
Thank you all!!!!! Traci and Carl
This was sent out on October 24, 2010:
So I went back to the Dr this morning for more lab work and around 11 am got a call that they needed me to come back in for another shot. Evidentially one of the shots that i had to do last night and again this morning did not take the way they wanted to so they had me come back for another double dose of it. They said it happens and is nothing to be concerned with so we went back immediately and got the shot. After the shot the nurse told me that everything is a go and to be back tomorrow at 8:30 am to prep for the procedure at 9 am. So we are excited and nervous all at the same time, but trying to stay as calm and relaxed as possible...which is HARD. Thanks to a precious friend sharing this verse with me I keep trying to remember it and remind myself of Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ".
Tomorrow is a huge day for us...I know that the actual procedure and being under the anesthesia will be fine but we are just concerned with the next step...the BIG part!!! We need tons of prayers that the embryos will grow and form a healthy baby(ies)!!! Please pray for us and the doctors and all the staff involved. We are ready and preparing for all the possibilities that lie ahead and will let you guys know how things go! Thank you again to our incredible and supportive family and great friends for everything! We love and appreciate you all and look forward to what comes next!!!
Love, Traci and Carl
Tomorrow is a huge day for us...I know that the actual procedure and being under the anesthesia will be fine but we are just concerned with the next step...the BIG part!!! We need tons of prayers that the embryos will grow and form a healthy baby(ies)!!! Please pray for us and the doctors and all the staff involved. We are ready and preparing for all the possibilities that lie ahead and will let you guys know how things go! Thank you again to our incredible and supportive family and great friends for everything! We love and appreciate you all and look forward to what comes next!!!
Love, Traci and Carl
Carl sent out this email on October 25, 2010:
Hello everyone this is Carl i've hacked my rock star wife's email to update everyone. Today went very well. As you all know today was retrieval day so we went to the doc. at 8:30 they took us straight back and prepped Traci. The procedure was only suppose to take about 20 mins but it def was longer than 20 min seems like a life time to me as I waited to hear the news it really probably took 45 min. But with that said we were very successful, they retrieved 21 eggs which is great they were very pleased and so was I. Traci has been recovering all day it was more painful than we expected due to the high number of eggs that they retrieved but my wife being the trooper that she is we made it through it. We will not get any news till wed. Knowing these people it will probably be 5 o'clock on wed. but its all good we can wait. I wanted to thank everyone for all of the nice emails and text messages that we both have been receiving all day we do appreciate it. I hope all is well and everyone have a great night and a good tues. Traci is starting her new job tomorrow so add that to the prayer list that she makes it through, the day. Thanks again we love all you guys Carl
(this is a picture of me before the retrieval)
This was sent out on October 25, 2010
Hello everyone!!! Sorry it has taken me so long to write today, but I am writing with exciting news. The lab called me this afternoon while I was in a new hire training class. I walked out of the class very nervous to answer the call, but knew it was the dr office. I answered and it was the lab guy...who I could barely understand, but what i did understand was he said he has good news and that there was 13 good embryos...Praise the Lord!!! He then told me my date for transfer will be this Saturday morning...we were thinking it would be tomorrow, but hey they are the pros and have their reasons and I have been doing some internet research and am understanding more as to the reasons. I asked him all types of questions, but to be honest I was too excited and I could not understand him so I will have to call back tomorrow to get those questions answered again just to make sure I heard and understand everything. As of now we are a go for Saturday though. Anything can happen between now and then and we are well aware of that, but know that this is in God's hands and he has a plan for us! We still need all the prayers we can get and appreciate them all!!! Thank you so much for all the texts and emails today...they so help us and mean the world to us knowing you are praying and supporting us!!!
Much love to you all!!! Traci and Carl
Much love to you all!!! Traci and Carl
This was sent out on October 30, 2010 by Carl:
Hi guys this is Carl I just wanted to let everyone know that today went very well. We were able to transfer two embryos today and the embryos were both very strong they scaled them between a 1 and a 4, 4 being the strongest one of ours was a 4 the other one was a 3+ witch the docs. were very happy about. The actually transfer procedure was very cool and wasn't to bad on our soon to be momma so that's a blessing it self. Traci will now be on bed rest for 3 days doing nothing at ALL so I will be taken great care of her and making sure she has no stress that is one of the biggest things. Hope everyone has a great halloween and happy bday to miss Olivia sorry your god parents couldn't make it but its for a good cause we love all you guys thanks for all the support Carl and Traci
The videos below are from the day of transfer
NOVEMBER 2010
Hello everyone! Its Traci again. Well, my bedrest is coming to an end and I will be heading back to work tomorrow. Its been a relaxing few days and I have been very well taken care of thanks to my amazing hubby and family and friends who even made my birthday as special as can be considering not being able to go anywhere or do anything. So a huge THANK YOU to those that helped out...y'all are the best!!!
Just real quick I know everyone is wondering and asking what is the next step...well its pretty much a waiting game at this point. I do have to go and have some bloodwork tomorrow to check some levels and make sure I am where they want as far as hormone levels and the meds are at the right dose. I will have that done and will find out the results tomorrow afternoon and then we wait until the 13th of November for our pregnancy test. I will go to the doctor for bloodwork that morning and then wait for the call! Its gonna be a long couple weeks, but hey it is all in God's hands and we have done all that we can do and we trust that! I will be taking it VERY easy over the next couple weeks. I am not allowed to lift anything or do any bending or manual anything and am to have NO STRESS!!! Carl has said he is fine with me on bedrest for 9 months if thats what it takes he will take care of me
I am blessed with a wonderful husband that takes great care of me and I can't thank him enough! Email update sent Novemeber 12, 2010:
First of all let me thank each of you for your incredible support and all of your prayers throughout this journey of ours. It has seriously meant the world to us and just been such an encouragement and inpiration and so much more!!!
Now, I know everyone is expecting for us to go have the first HCG pregnancy blood test tomorrow, but after a few issues last weekend/this week they decided to let us come in a day early to test. So I went first thing this am to have blood drawn and then headed to work to wait............
I received a phone call on my way back from lunch today from my sweet nurse Carla (my heart litterally stopped when the number showed up and I was nervous to answer, but I was thankfully with my Big Sister Angela who told me to answer...so I did...thanks Angela for your support today and always). It was GREAT news!!!!!!!! We ARE PREGNANT!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! We are excited and feeling so very blessed!!! For those of you who are wondering or know anything about levels my HCG was 515 and my progesterone level was 49.5 which is great. The next step is to go back in on Sunday and then Tuesday for bloodwork...they want to see the numbers double each time. So we have a very long road ahead and still need all the prayers and support from you all that we can get! Again thank you all and we will keep you posted!!!
Love and lots of hugs, Traci and Carl
Email update sent November 14, 2010:
Hey everyone! Thank you for all the sweet responses to the latest news!!! We are so excited and full of all sorts of emotions and appreciate the continued much needed prayers and support!
Just wanted to send a quick update on the bloodwork that I had this morning...It was great they wanted my HCG (the pregnancy hormone level) to at least double. So today my HCG was 1250 and Progesterone 46.1. It more than doubled which is what they like to see! Next step is to go back on Tuesday for the same thing. We will let you guys know! Hope everyone has had a great weekend and has a good week!!!
Love, Traci and Carl
Email update sent November 16, 2010:
Hey everyone! Just wanted to send out a very quick update on my blood levels from this monring. My HCG level has gone up to 2863 so it more than doubled which is great!!! As of today I am 5 weeks and 2 days...which is a little further than what I thought but because of IVF they calculate a little differently. So that makes my due date July 18, 2011!!! Due to my history my first ultrasound will be sooner than 8 weeks...its going to be next Tuesday which is around 6 weeks!!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers...we truly appreciate and need them!!! Now I have to get back to work...busy busy busy today!
Lots of love, Traci and Carl
Email Update sent November 22, 2010:
Hello! Hope that everyone had a great weekend and is excited for Thanksgiving!
Several people have been asking when our first ultrasound is so I figured it would be easier to do it this way. Plus wanted to ask you all to keep us in your thoughts and prayers~ It is scheduled for Tuesday Novemeber 23 at 2:45 (tomorrow!). So we just ask for LOTS and LOTS of prayers for a healthy baby(s) (and momma) that is growing accordingly. We are not real sure what we will see or find out tomorrow since it is still very early, but as of today we are 6 weeks along PTL!!! We will let you guys know how things go and truly appreciate all the love and prayers and support!
Love and hugs, Traci and Carl
Email update sent November 23, 2010 Titled: Huffman Party of............
First of all let me thank each one of you for your continued thoughts and prayers and suppport throughout our journey. The power of prayer is absolutely amazing let me tell you!!!!!!!!!!!
Today went GREAT!!! The doctor began the ultrasound and pretty much immediately said......THERE IS TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes we are having TWINS!!! We got to see two little heart beats and the babies (I am so excited to say babies and know thats true) are on point as far as size as you will see in the pictures below! We are so excited and feeling so blessed! We know that we have a long way to go but are just beyond thrilled and blessed and know that with prayer and support this is going to be an incredible journey and with God all things are possible!
For now I will continue on all of my meds and 1 shot a night which I am totally ok with!!! The next step is to go back in 2 weeks for our 8 week ultrasound. So I am just gonna take extra good care of myself and be a lazy bum for the next 9 months!!! Hope you are all doing well and have a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
Love, The Huffman's
PS The ultrasound picts didn't come through all that clear but you get to see both babies separate and together and get the jist of it!!!
First Belly Picts 6 weeks 1 day
Email update sent out December 2, 2010:
Good morning everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know we actually went back to the Dr yesterday for another ultrasound...I have just been understandably nervous and every little thing has been worrying me. Plus we are going out of town this weekend and just have lots going on in the next few days and I just was having a hard time waiting till next Tuesday. So after speaking to my nurse and some prayers we decided the best thing was for me to come in early just to double check things and to put my mind at ease...the last thing they want is any stress on us...they are so good about helping keep that to a minimum!!! In fact after the ultrasound the Dr said I can come every single day and he will do the ultrasound as long as we pay for it...Carl quickly told the Dr to be quiet before I actually took full advantage of this offer and we go even more broke
Anyhow back to the ultrasound......it looked great!!! The babies are growing and their little hearts were just beating away! It is soooooooooo amazing to see and so special and calming!!! It is still too early to hear them according to the Dr so we are going back now next Friday and are hoping to hear them by then although its still quite early. The baby on the left of the ultrasound picture is now measuring 7 weeks and 0 days and the baby on the right side is now measuring 6 weeks and 6 days!!!!!!!!! As of yesterday I was 7 weeks and 2 days along (they said it is absolutely normal for them to measure a few days off and they are growing which is what they want to see)!!!!!!!!! I am so thankful I was able to see them yesterday and Praise God that things are looking good and there are two healthy babies with beating hearts!!!!!!!! Thank you all for your continued support thoughts and prayers...we have a long way to go so we appreciate everyone of them throughout this and each of you!!!
Now I need some very important help...believe it or not I do not have an OBGYN here. When we moved here back in 09 based on the advice of my Wilmington docs I went straight to NCCRM which is strictly just an infertility clinic. They are connected to Triangle OBGYN so that is an option and suggestion from Dr Toma (anyone have any experience there?). I would like to ask for all of your advice and suggestions first however. Please tell me any good or bad experiences and any suggestions and or advice you have when it comes to OBGYN and hospitals as well. I realize some of you are out of town or males, but I am sure you have a friend or family member or have heard things that could help us in this huge decision we need to make! Thank you all in advance for any and all advice good or bad...we want to hear it all so we are able to make an informed decision!!!
Hope everyone has a great day and I will send the latest ultrasound picts soon when I get a chance to scan them in...we were hoping to share video with you guys but my camera didn't record the whole thing we thought it did. We will try again though next week!
Love, The Huffman's
Email update sent out December 8, 2010:
Hey everyone. Really quickly just wanted to let you all know we go in tomorrow morning for our next ultrasound/appointment. We would appreciate your prayers!!! Also thank you to those who gave your advice on OBGYN's and hospitals...sooooo much to think about and consider. If you didn't have a chance to share your thoughts yet please feel free to do so at any point...it would really be appreciated! Hope that everyone is having a great week!!!
Love, The Huffman's
Email update sent out December 9, 2010:
Hey everyone!!! We had a great appointment today!!! We got to hear the babies heart beats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing!!! We have a video the file is just so large I am going to have to figure out how to share it with everyone. Both babies are growing right on target....they are now on top of each other which the dr says is great. The baby on top is measuring 8 weeks 3 days and the one on the bottom is measuring 8 weeks 2 days! Praist the Lord!!!!
I am at work now but will try and send some picts and video out asap! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!!!!!! Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!
Love, The Huffman's
I am at work now but will try and send some picts and video out asap! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!!!!!! Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!
Love, The Huffman's
I was able to upload the video onto here...its kind of long but towards the end of the video we got to hear the babies heart beats for the first time...it was incredible!!!
8 weeks 4 days
Email update sent out December 23, 2010:
Merry almost Christmas Eve everyone!!! Just wanted to send out a quick update. We had another ultrasound today and it was AWESOME!!! The babies are growing right as they should be (one measures 10 weeks 4 days and the other measures 10 weeks 2 days) and their little hearts were just a beating away! They actually look like babies now with little arms and legs...it was so incredible!!! The bigger little one is super active...it was so cool to see and just so amazing!!! We had to talk the Dr into letting us here the heartbeats again...he claims he does not normally do that but as you will hear in the videos to come I asked for a Christmas present...and he did it! He even called in another nurse to show him how to measure the heart rate...it was 178...very fast and healthy!!! He only measured the one but I was thankful for that and did not want to push it. We did get to hear both of them and they were strong as can be (Ill send that video a little later).
We were also officially released from the specialist and are now going to move on to a regular OBGYN!!! This is exciting because it means things are going awesome...it is also a little scary because we have become so close with this amazing staff and know we can count on them for anything at anytime. Plus I am still on my meds for another 11 days (which means I will be 12 weeks!!!!) so I will be in between Dr's while coming off my meds. We just ask for your continued prayers and support especially through this transition. We also made the big decision on the OBGYN. We will be sticking with Dr Toma's practice and going to Triangle OBGYN. We are familiar with some of the Dr's and they deal with the most twins and its Dr Toma's practice who has been an amazing Dr for us and part of our journey. I even asked him today if he ever delivers babies anymore and he said he does for friends and family and he would for US...I almost cried but felt sooooo amazing when he said that! This also means we will most likely have a C-Section, but I was already well aware of that. (I will also send a video of this conversation out later)
We are just feeling so incredibly excited and blessed!!!! Thank you all for the prayers and support and we hope you have an amazing Christmas!!!
We were also officially released from the specialist and are now going to move on to a regular OBGYN!!! This is exciting because it means things are going awesome...it is also a little scary because we have become so close with this amazing staff and know we can count on them for anything at anytime. Plus I am still on my meds for another 11 days (which means I will be 12 weeks!!!!) so I will be in between Dr's while coming off my meds. We just ask for your continued prayers and support especially through this transition. We also made the big decision on the OBGYN. We will be sticking with Dr Toma's practice and going to Triangle OBGYN. We are familiar with some of the Dr's and they deal with the most twins and its Dr Toma's practice who has been an amazing Dr for us and part of our journey. I even asked him today if he ever delivers babies anymore and he said he does for friends and family and he would for US...I almost cried but felt sooooo amazing when he said that! This also means we will most likely have a C-Section, but I was already well aware of that. (I will also send a video of this conversation out later)
We are just feeling so incredibly excited and blessed!!!! Thank you all for the prayers and support and we hope you have an amazing Christmas!!!
Christmas 2010
We had a wonderful Christmas this year and so much to celebrate and be thankful for. We spent Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family. We went to the early church service as a family taking up two whole rows in church and got to hear the message of the miracle of Jesus birth and be reminded of what the true meaning of Christmas is. Then we headed back to Pop-Poo's (my grandpa) and had a yummy steak dinner. After dinner we headed down to the family room for our tradition of watching A Christmas Story and opening gifts...we had a blast and lots of laughs.
Christmas morning we woke up early and went to my parents for a delicious brunch and opened gifts and celebrated with them including singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.
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| Happy birthday Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Then we headed over to Carl's parents to celebrate with his family. It was great! We stayed in our PJ's all day long and got to spend time with the family open more gifts and eat lots more food!
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| The Twins got their own oven mits as stockings since they are still "in the oven" :) |
After a long fun day we headed home and had our own little Christmas. It was such a special time and we truly feel so blessed and just praise God for our many blessings!!!!!!!!!! The next day we woke up to a BEAUTIFUL winter wonderland. Carl had fun on the Go-Kart in the snow thats for sure. I just took it easy and had a nice relaxing day!
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