19 Week Bump and Baby Names

If we have a little boy, his name will be:
Cadel Arroyave

If we have a little girl, her name will be:
Brielle Arroyave

19 weeks....21 weeks to go!

I am writing tonight feeling so blessed. Our Anatomy sonogram today showed no signs of anything being wrong with this little "nugget". Everything looked great with baby! However, I have a low lying placenta again! Last time it was partial but this time it is complete meaning fully covered. Here is an article explaining more in detail:

Placenta previa (pluh-SEN-tuh PREH-vee-uh) occurs when a baby's placenta partially or totally covers the mother's cervix — the doorway between the uterus and the vagina. Placenta previa can cause severe bleeding before or during delivery.
The placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby and removes waste products from your baby's blood. It attaches to the wall of your uterus, and your baby's umbilical cord arises from it. In most pregnancies, the placenta attaches at the top or side of the uterus. In placenta previa, the placenta attaches to the lower area of the uterus.
If you have placenta previa, you'll probably be restricted to bed rest for a portion of your pregnancy and you'll likely require a caesarean section (C-section) to safely deliver your baby.



This being said, I will have another sonogram at 28 weeks to see if the placenta moves up. I know that tons of women have C-sections and I'll be fine if I end up needing one but please join Mario and I as we pray for my placenta to move up!

When it came time to find out the gender, the TV went off and  same as last time, I had to cough and turn, and cough some more (baby would NOT cooperate)! It took a good while for her to get some pics! I would not mind finding out but Mario really wants it to be a surprise so I totally respect that! If I do decide to find out, I won't tell anyone when I find out, sorry now if I lie to you. I want this for Mario and so Don't Ask Me! I already have tons of nursery ideas and so I'm excited to get started on it!

On January 1st, Mario got to feel the baby move for the first time! What a great way to start 2014. I've been feeling he/she since 14 weeks but he finally got to feel it move!



Here are my stats with Annalise and then of this Nugget!
ANNALISE:

How far along?   19 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 6 lbs (107 to 113...doc seemed happy)
Maternity clothes? Pants
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: not so great this week, I think she is waking me up with all her kicking
Best moment this week:  Seeing our baby and finding out it's a girl

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? nope
Movement: Yes...ALL the time...you can even see my stomach move
Food cravings: Pickles (daily) and Milk

Anything making you queasy or sick: My back pain (not sick but it HURTS)

Have you started to show yet:  yes, people our now commenting

Gender prediction: ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!No longer calling her IT

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: talking about names and working on the nursery

THIS BABY:

How far along?   19 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 1 pound from last appointment which puts me at negative 2 total.
Maternity clothes? Jeans, I'm carrying really low meaning it's very hard to wear regular jeans.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Great when I'm not having sinus issues. Every time I dream about whether it's a boy or girl, I wake up right before! :(
Best moment this week:  The sonogram today, heart rate was 145 and I loved seeing it's cute face!

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? feeling 100%, I'm having better days but I'm ready to feel GREAT!
Movement: YES!
Food cravings: MILK and PICKLES (same craving as with Annalise)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Food (typically dinner)

Have you started to show yet:  Yes, a little round bump. I'm carrying this baby different from Annalise.

Gender prediction: Mario and I still think Boy! After the sonogram today, I feel that even the baby's face looked more Masculine then Annalise's did...yes, call me Crazy but it does!

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In/Out...kind of both
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm definitely more Moody this go around unfortunately. Trying to control it :).
Looking forward to: Working on the nursery and my time with Annalise. Today is the first day that I got a little emotional thinking about having two children. Don't get me wrong, I'm so EXCITED about number 2, but I'm definitely going to cherish the sweet time that I have with just Mario, myself, and Annalise.

Boy or Girl?

Boy or Girl?

Mario and I have decided that we are not going to find out! We want to be surprised this time. It's funny the reactions you get from people when you tell them you're not finding out. Some say, "that's awesome, it'll be fun". Others..."ohh, ok that's cool". Hahaha.

We go to the doctor on Monday for our Anatomy sonogram which was my favorite with Annalise! I'm pumped to get to see this little rascal!

I love the fact that whether it's a boy or girl, God created this little being and He is giving us exactly what He wants us to have. Thank you Jesus for blessing us with another baby. My prayer more than anything is that this little boy/girl will grow up knowing Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior. That "it" will have a sweet relationship with our Father.

14 Weeks

Last week, Mario's parents drove in from Miami and his sister and her husband flew in! We had a great, fun filled week! It definitely went by way to fast. I did feel really good while they were here. There were 4 days that I didn't even have to take my medicine but sadly, it came back :(

This week I had another appointment with Dr. Morehead which was fine. We chatted about how things were going and I got to hear the heartbeat. I'm really bad at remembering but I'm going to guess it was around 152 bpm.

ANNALISE:

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!

THIS BABY!

 This is how big I'll expand when I've had a full tummy...crazy!

 This is how small I am when I can't eat lunch or dinner

Annalise is my buddy! 26 Weeks to go!

 

 

ThIS BABY!

How far along?   14 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -3 (yah! gained one pound putting me at negative 3)
Maternity clothes? No, I have the rubber band going on with the jeans though!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Good....dreams are getting even weirder!
Best moment this week:  My time with Mario!

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? not having crazy dreams, being able to eat whatever and whenever
Movement: YES! Crazy so early this time.
Food cravings: MILD and PICKLES ( I might be drinking too much milk, but it's so delicious!)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Food

Have you started to show yet:  Yes, especially after I eat...If I don't eat, it's flatter

Gender prediction: BOY

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy when I'm feeling good
Looking forward to: Christmas with the family, a break from school, and DECEMBER 30th when we find out what this little nugget is!!!!!!

 

10 Weeks

I am now 10 weeks 2 days and I just had my first appointment with Dr. Morehead! Even though I love my fertility specialist, I love being back with Dr. M. I did have to call him at 7 weeks for some Zofran for the Nausea that started around 6 weeks. Unfortunately, even with the medicine, I have had a really rough time this pregnancy. I feel nauseous all day long with the evening time being even worse. Cooking has been impossible. Thankful for my sweet husband that has been a trooper with feeding himself and Annalise. It definitely makes it a lot harder having a child this time. Last pregnancy, I would come home and be asleep by 6:30 which made the nausea disappear.

My doctor's appointment was awesome. I got to see the little nugget and how much he/she had grown in 3 short weeks! The 2nd sac was still there but it was definitely more collapsed this time around and Dr. Morehead thinks it'll be gone by my Anatomy sonogram at 18 weeks. Heart rate was still sitting strong at I think 148.

This was from Annalise at 10 weeks 4 days and then I'll post with this pregnancy! Notice the gender prediction :).

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

How far along?   10 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -4 pounds (yes I've lost 4 pounds from not being able to eat)
Maternity clothes? No 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Awesome...when I'm not having weird dreams
Best moment this week:  Seeing the baby and how much it grew. I got to see the legs, arms, and little face.

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? Spending quality time with Mario and Annalise, I've been tied to the couch...sick!
Movement: No
Food cravings: No No No NO NO
Anything making you queasy or sick: YES...ANY FOOD or the thought of food

Have you started to show yet:  yes, a little pooch.

Gender prediction: BOY (Mario and I both think it's a boy!)

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Neither...SICK
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving with Mario's family and hopefully felling better by then!

I think if we have a boy....coming up with a name is NOT going to be FUN! Thankfully with Annalise, Mario loved it. We never agreed with boy names last time!

My tiny little pooch :)

Back again

September 12, we went back again to implant 2 more embryos (meaning we now have 1 more frozen). We sent Annalise off to granny's house for the long weekend so I could really relax this go around and not have to worry about picking her up. Thursday morning I drove up to Denton to drop her off and then headed back down to pick Mario up from school. We then drove to the doctor to implant two of our remaining 3 embryos. This time was honestly different from the first two. The first two times went super quick. This time started out no different, the embryologist came in and showed us a picture of our two embryos and told us Doctor Le would be in shortly. He came in and began practicing  inserting the catheter through my cervix to my uterus. Usually this process takes 30 seconds to a minute. After 15-20 minutes, he still was not successful. Finally after getting it, the embryologist came back in with our two babies and inserted them. They always take the catheter back to the microscope to make sure they didn't get stuck in the "straw" but actually were implanted.

A picture of the two embryos. The one on the right is still in the blastocyst phase which makes it a lower grade.

Once we got the "their in", he tilted my bed back and had us lay there for 30 minutes like they did the first time. Dr. Le during this time began to explain why it took so long this time for him to find the opening. Without drawing a picture, it's really impossible to explain in words but anyways, everything was fine and he told us we had no reason to worry. He also told us that of all the couples that implanted frozen embryos last year with him, only one couple ended up with twins meaning our chances of two were very slim...

Not really sure what Mario was showing me here but this is him right after the embryos were inserted. He is such a sweet husband who has been so tender and caring during this whole process. He prayed over these sweet babies. No matter what the outcome, our prayer was that God's will be done.

Selfie of me and the babies.

On day 10 my hcg levels came back super super high. One thousand, two hundred thirteen. The nurses told me to not be surprised if I was pregnant with twins, that those numbers were in the multiple range. Honestly I was in shock but after experiencing the miscarriage last time, I knew I didn't need to get to excited until I found out if my numbers doubled. Sure enough, my numbers more than doubled.

At 5 weeks, we went in for a sonogram to find out if it was one baby or two babies. The sonogram revealed two little round sacs. I thought Mario was going to pass out! We left the office feeling very scared. Of course you start thinking about finances and having 3 children all under the age of 2 and that's kind of scary. We were so thankful though to be pregnant and we were continuing to trust that God knew what that was going to look like for us.

The sac on the left was a little smaller than the one on the right, but it was hard to get a good measurement bc even though it looks like they were right next to one another, baby b was actually behind baby A making it look smaller.

Unfortunately, that weekend at a woman's conference, I started bleeding (not spotting) and I was very sure that I was having another miscarriage. I had just gone through it a couple of months prior and that's exactly how it started out. Thankfully I was with some amazing friends who prayed with me before I left and was there with me when I was feeling very down. I went home and laid on the couch waiting for the cramps to start. They never came. I continued bleeding but experienced no cramping what so ever! I knew that that was a good sign! That next Monday we went back to the doctor to find out what was going on.

Sure enough the sonogram still showed two sacs that were bigger than the last week. They were both growing. This time though we could actually see a baby in one of the sacs and not only that but we heard the heartbeat. The doctor told us that it was still probably too early to hear anything but God was so good to us to let us hear it! When we went to look at baby B, we could not find anything in the sac. They told us that more that likely we were just pregnant with one and that the next week that sac would be gone completely. It's called the Vanishing Twin Syndrome.

Picture of baby A. Heart rate of 160. (Annalise's at 7 weeks was 156)

At 7 weeks we went back in to find two sacs still nice and round and growing but this time it was confirmed that we were pregnant with one. At this time, I was released to my OBGYN. They assured me that the 2nd sac would more than likely be gone by the next sonogram. Honestly it was bittersweet knowing that we were pregnant with just one. We are so excited about having a 2nd child and we give ALL praise to Jesus! For we know that this child is from Him.

God is Faithful

Back in May we had a consult with our Fertility Specialist to discuss implanting more embryos and to see what this "go-around" would look like. Crazy to say, but because of where I was in my cycle, we started the process that day!

This time around was going to be so much easier that the last, I had a patch to wear, 3 different medications and a cream. On June 21 ( a year after my due date with Annalise) we implanted 2 nice looking embryos. As you can see the one on the right was already beginning to hatch out meaning it was ready to implant in the wall of my uterus.

 



I felt like they were a lot more relaxed this time around, not sure why. Last time they implanted the embryos and then immediately they tilted the bed back and had me lay there for a full 30 minutes. This time as you can see they implanted them and then 2 minutes later had me get into a wheel chair and wheeled me to another room to hang out in a recliner for 30 minutes. I have to admit is was a lot more comfortable!

 



Once my time was up I was wheeled to the car and was told to lean my seat back all the way and to be horizontal for the next 24 hours. I was also told not to lift anything over 5 pounds for the next 2 weeks...haha yeah right I said. When you have a one year old I'm pretty sure that is impossible! Mario was definitely super daddy that whole weekend as I "vegged" on the couch.

On Day 10 I went in to test my Hcg levels but I "cheated" and tested at home as well and so I already knew the result. But as expected they called me the next days with my number 154..."Congratulations, you are pregnant".  Two days later I went in to make sure my numbers were doubling but because of the 4th of July, I wouldn't get the results until that Friday. Friday came and went and I never heard anything and when I called, the office had closed.

Well....you might be asking? I miscarried the baby just shy of 5 weeks. When the symptoms started I was honestly in shock, I didn't want to believe it but deep down I knew what was going on. Today I had a sonogram to confirm it...an empty uterus.

Have I grieved....yes. Am I upset....yes. Do I think about only having 3 to go back for....yes, all the time but I also know that God is faithful. God already knows how many kids we end up having in the end and because of that I can rest at night knowing that I worship a God who loves me and has a plan for my life far greater than I can see. We sang this song at church on Sunday that I wanted to share.

"Never Once"

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful