14 Weeks

I can't believe that we get to find out at our next appointment if this little baby is a boy or girl! I am about 90% sure that it is a girl and Mario feels that strongly that it's a boy! I love that we think differently bc it will be that much more exciting I think. Either way we don't care one way or the other. We just want a healthy little baby!

Not a whole lot has been going on in the Arroyave household. I have still been pretty sick;-( I did go to the doctor Tuesday and got a prescription for nausea and I also tried acupuncture yesterday. I am willing to try anything at this point! Mario finished his 2nd Masters degree!!!! Other than working and finishing his school he's been on the road a lot cycling. Today he is out with his friends putting in 100 miles....crazy! Abbie and Wade are loving that mama has been out of school all week, they love being indoors all day and sleeping on the couch with me during the day:) I did feel okay one day so they were thankful to get out of the house for a little walk.

At the docs on Tuesday I got to hear the heartbeat which was sitting strong at 161 bpm. Once again baby was super squirmy. We were listening to it and then it just stopped so the doctor would move the doppler again and bam heartbeat was back and kicking and then gone again. We for sure have an active little thing! I am ready for our next sono when we can see how big she/he is. I expressed to the doctor that I was concerned about the baby not getting enough calories through me bc I'm not eating like I should be. He assured me that the baby takes what it needs first and then leaves me with the rest so I did feel better about that. Hopefully with the meds I'll get to enjoy some great food during Christmas and can fatten this baby up!!! I love little chunky babies so I need to get on the food:-)

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and remembers the reason for this time of year which is the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ! Thank you God for sending your son into this world knowing that one day he would suffer greatly to take on ALL of our sin so that one day we can live Forever with you!

*I'm finally going to upload pics today of the IVF process and possibly a picture of the miniature baby bump (believe me you might have to zoom in to 100%...it's small)

How far along?   14 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 0 lbs 
Maternity clothes? No...just have to unbutton the pants:)
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: still amazing!
Best moment this week:  hearing the baby through the Doppler

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? eating and feeling good
Movement: No
Food cravings: Absolutely not

Anything making you queasy or sick: Food

Have you started to show yet:  just a tiny bit

Gender prediction: Girl for me...Boy for Mario

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In (I have noticed that it's kind of flat now)
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both
Looking forward to: Christmas with the family!

My Husband almost set our house on fire:(

Well I am now 12 weeks along! I told my students at school last week which was fun...they are so excited. They keep asking me "Mrs. A do you want a boy or girl?". I am definitly vomiting on a weekly basis and not eating like I was. Any suggestions on how to find foods to eat that sound appealing and can give me some calories? Nothing ever sounds good. The one time that Whataburger sounded awesome turned out not to be so awesome:( A kid mentioned enchiladas this last week which sent me running to the trashcan. They were all so confused...hahaha! So anyways, this is what's going on with me at this time of pregnancy...misery...which I'm thankful for.

Mario is still being the wonderful husband that he always is! Anytime I need anything, he's in the car going to get it for me. This weekend he is in Austin at a training camp with his Velossimo boys! So I'm chillin here on the couch with my "babies": baby a, Wade, and Abbie:-).

This last week Mario thought it would be a great idea to use our fire place for the first time. I completly agreed (not any more)! One night he cleaned out the cold ashes from the day before and put them into this cardboard box. He didn't move the box away from the fireplace and a some of the wood jumped out and landed in the box. He thought he got the hot ashes out but needless to say our house filled with smoke quickly (which our dog noticed first) and the box was on FIRE! Mario rushed the melting box outside while I got a towl and was splapping it against the carpet to make sure the other ashes didn't spark up....talk about an Adventure!

My friend Becca who I'm always mentioning on here...the one that told me about Dr. Le and has gone through this whole process with me is Pregnant with TWINS!!! Both of her embryos took! I'm so excited for her and her husband Scott.

Nothing new really, just trying to finish off the first semester strong at school...so ready for a break! I have my next doctors appointment on the 20th which is always exciting!

How far along?   12 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 0 lbs 
Maternity clothes? No...just have to unbutton the pants:)
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: still amazing!
Best moment this week:  Went by fast

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? getting out of bed feeling 100%...EATING (mexican food)
Movement: No
Food cravings: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Yes....the thought of food 

Have you started to show yet:  just a tiny bit

Gender prediction: Girl

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both
Looking forward to: This week at school...going to be Fun!

10 weeks 4 days

Well, I've made it to almost 11 weeks! I feel like I've already been pregnant forever...knowing so early makes it kind of hard! I have felt great up til this point:) I had a great last week of school right before thanksgiving but came down with a cold/sinus issues that Friday. From Friday on, it's been all down hill. Friday I went to the doctor and got my flu shot and my head checked out to make sure I didn't have another sinus infection. Thankfully it was just a head cold. That mixed with pregnancy for some reason can put an active woman down!:-) Saturday through Tuesday I pretty much don't remember a whole lot bc I was either on the couch asleep or in my bed sleeping. I kept telling Mario that I feel "off". I couldn't really describe what was wrong I just didn't feel right or good for that matter. Wednesday we took off for San Antonio to see my mom and that side of the family. The car ride down was horrible. I think it was a mixture of car sick and the beginnings of "morning sickness" (except not in the morning). I literally said hi to everyone and visited for a little bit and was off to bed by 7:30. Thursday morning I woke up feeling a little better until after breakfast. My mom (a nurse) game me some meds for the nausea which did help for most of the day which was really nice bc we had a great time out at my aunt's house will all of my cousins. We ate, laughed, talked, ate some more, and watched the Cowboys win against Mario's Miami Dolphins. At around 5 that afternoon it was time to go bc this girl started to feel not so great! As soon as we got home I was back in bed. So much for getting to visit with my mom and aunt:( Friday we woke up and traveled home...same as ride down there. Although, Mario stopped at McD's to grab lunch  (not me) and his coke really settled my stomach:) I love Mcdonalds coke!! That night we hung out on the couch watching some House episodes and spending time with one another. Mario was been so good to me this whole week. I know it has to be hard watching your spouse feel like poop all day, but he has been a champ! Yesterday, I had a great day!!! I woke up and drove to Denton to visit with my dad's side of the family. I got to see my nephew and got to go visit my Nanny's new apartment that she moved into. Of course on the way out I swung by my granny's house to show her the sonogram pictures and to chat with her for a very short time. On the way home, I met with my best friend Tiffany for lunch. Man, did I have an appetite:) I think I definitely caught up on all the lost meals from this week. We then went by her parents to say hi and then I was back on I-35 to get home to head to my friends promotion party. It was a Great Day! It was so good feeling like myself. Today is another story....:) I know that this is part of the wonderful process of growing a baby inside your body and that it's not always easy. I feel so thankful to have felt so great for this long. I am attaching pictures of weeks 7, 8, and 9 weeks of little baby a. It's so crazy to see how fast they grow!!!!! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and didn't get to crazy with Black Friday:) Thanks for following us and your continued prayers.

                        This was week 7 when baby was measuring a full week behind and had a super slow heartbeat.

                   This was week 8 when baby obviously had grown...still measuring a week behind but has a strong heartbeat of 156!!

       I went to my first OB appointment on Monday with Dr. Morehead here in Waxahachie (we both really like him a lot) and baby was only measuring 2 days behind. This little baby was an active little thing. It was doing a 180 on the screen:) Just a squirming around I guess having some Fun! I'm guessing it gets a little boring in there so it has to get creative with what it can do so why not dance...probably why I'm not feeling good:) :) :) He/She is so cute already! This sono was taken at 9 weeks 5 days. 

How far along?   10 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 0 lbs 
Maternity clothes? No 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: still amazing!
Best moment this week:  Seeing the Family

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? getting out of bed feeling 100%...can't complain to much though. I felt great for 9 weeks 
Movement: No
Food cravings: No, hard to find things that I want to eat
Anything making you queasy or sick: Yes....the thought of food 

Have you started to show yet:  nope

Gender prediction: Girl

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both
Looking forward to: feeling like myself and Dec 21st...next dr. apt

Backing up a few weeks

On November the 2nd, we went in for our first sono and to find out the big question of how many. Dr. Escobar informed us really quickly that it was one baby and then proceeded with the measurements. Both Mario and I could tell from his tone and his facial expressions that he seemed a little concerned. He took a couple of measurements and told us that the baby was measuring a full week behind and had a pretty slow heart beat. He also told us that he wanted to see us in a week which is not typically normal. Usally after your first sono with them, they release you to your ob. So needless to say, instead of leaving all happy and excited we left speechless. It was not something we were expecting to hear. So for the rest of the week he had to rest in God's Soverignty. The verse that Mario leaned on was Phillippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

It was crazy how quickly a full week went by! On November 9th, we found ourselves making the drive back to LasCalinas for another sono and to hear whether baby A was growing. After sitting in the room for a while waiting for Escobar, he finally knocked and came on it. We could tell right away from the screen that things were looking good. It no longer looked like a grain of rice but you could see a little baby! Well, it actually looked like a teddy graham but I could tell that it was definitly bigger! We could also tell by the way Escobar was acting that he was much for relaxed and didn't seem at all concerned. He proceeded to do the measurements. One showed 7 weeks 1 day and another showed 7 weeks 4 days. This meant that I was still showing a week to 3 days behind but it also meant that it grew a full 7 days within the last 7 days!! We also got to hear the heartbeat which was really cool. It measured 156 bpm which went up from either 111 or 101 bpm (can't remember). We were all smiles when we left the office that day. They released us to go to my regular ob. I will post pictures later this week of both of the pics that we have so far so you can see the comparison bt week 7 and week 8. My next sono will be November 21st which I will be almost 10 weeks at that point.

I received my first baby book of what to expect from my dear friend Ashley Davis. I came in today from a baby shower and Mario who had been gone all weekend found it and was reading it :-) Thanks Ashley, I love it!!!!! My friend Becca who has also been going through IVF finds out tomorrow if she is pregnant or not, so please keep her in your prayers. She had also put two embryos in her.  Mario's parents will be driving in from Miami next week to spend Thanksgiving with us, so we have lots to look forward to. This week is going to fly by with class elections going on and my formal observation tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great week and awesome Thanksgiving. A good question to ponder with this week is::: Is Jesus your Cornerstone or just another brick in your wall?" You can read about Jesus being the Cornerstone in 1 Peter 2.

How far along?   8 1/2 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 0 lbs 
Maternity clothes? No 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Amazing! Usually in bed by 7:30 or 8:00 :) 
Best moment this week:  hearing baby's heart beat

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? not really 
Movement: No
Food cravings: No
Anything making you queasy or sick: no

Have you started to show yet:  just a little pudge...nothing hard  :)
Gender prediction: Girl but everyone keeps calling it a he (I wouldn't mind)
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving with my family!

Is it one.....two....or three......????

This is the question of the day! Some of you may be wondering why it says maybe 3! Well I had a crazy dream that one of the eggs splitand we were having triplets, two boys and a girl. Yes, I woke up sweating! Then, at homegroup I found out that one of my friend had the same dream...that I was having triplets. Anyways, do I think it's three? No, I don't! This mama actually has a strong gut feeling that it's ONE! Mario has a gut feeling that it's TWO! Well we will know here in about an hour. Either way, we will be thrilled whatever the outcome. Knowing that two living embryoes went in me, it would be sad if one didn't make it but Gods plan is bigger than ours and He will give us exactly what we can handle! So, question for you!!!! How many do you think were having? Is it one? Two? Or three? You'll find out soon!

The results are in...

Well our 10 days of waiting to find out are officially over. Wednesday, I went in for blood to test my Hcg levels. Anything over a 5 is considered pregnant but the higher the better. On Thursday we got the call letting us know that my levels were at 211! They want to test you again two days later just to make sure things are okay and that your numbers are going up and not down. They should double every 48-72 hours. So Friday, after a long emotional rough day at school I went back for them to take some blood. By the way,I'm now used to all the needles and bloodwork but these last two really HURT! I was really anxious today to get the phone call with my numbers. I was actually at the midlithian fall festival helping out at our church booth when the called. They told my congrats that my number was 435...it doubled! I'm pregnant! We went ahead and scheduled my sonogram for November 2nd at 3:00 to see how everything looks and to find out the question that I'm dying to know...is it going to be one baby or two babies??? We are very excited and praise God for everything! We are still very very early on in the pregnNcy so please continue praying for us. It's so awesome knowing that whatever happens is Gods plan for us. I love being able to rest in that! Yesterday at work I kind of forgot that I was pregnant (still hard to believe sometimes) and I lifted a child who was over 100 pounds. I didn't think anything of it until the nurses aide looked at me and said what are you doing??? I had my first breakdown thinking oh my gosh how could I be so careless when a co-worker of mine had to remind me...God made this child and don't you think Gods going to protect it! She is so right, I love that I have amazing Christian women at my school keeping me in check in the midst of emotional breakdowns:):)

My friend Becca who has been going through this whole process with me starts her stim meds today! Please keep her in your prayers! We have got to spend a lot of time together lately and I am so excited for her.

Stay tuned and follow us on this journey of our life!