TRIPLETS!!!

I am in complete and total shock....so is my husband! Last night I barely slept a wink because I was just so worried that we would be heartbroken today at our ultrasound....quite the opposite. Actually overwhelmed and surprised is more of our reaction! Luckily my husband recorded the ultrasound so you can see exactly how it went! I cut it down to 10 minutes but really all you have to watch is the first 2-3 minutes to hear the news. Turn up the volume on your computer...kind of hard to hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T88xgZW7DM8

My NP was trying to wrap around her head how we got 3 fraternal babies (all with their own sacs) out of one mature follicle in our last IUI. Obviously there were more that grew between the last ultrasound and the IUI. It just boggles my mind how they all took this time around. I have to go get a flu shot tomorrow and my phone has been ringing off the hook from different depts at our hospital about different classes that I have to take. The NP said I could swim, yoga and walk as far as exercise goes. I plan to start yoga soon and looking forward to bobbing around in a pool all summer. I have another ultrasound at 9 weeks and then probably have another one after that before being released to my Ob/Gyn. We talked about risks of one baby leaving us or possibly two or maybe all three will be born! I am taking one thing at a time and just going with whatever life gives me. She said I will start showing pretty quickly and that I might have to go on bedrest but anything can happen at anytime. We'll just see how it all goes! I am trying not to freak out or anything....it honestly has not really hit me yet. Due date is approximately November 15th but probably more like October or maybe even Sept.

So now what?! I am taking it all in...my husband has called me several times today to get a game plan going. I have no clue what we are going to do! I am more worried about carrying 3 babies in my 5'1" body frame and he is more worried about the money aspect of it after they come. I love how we both think ;) Luckily we are moving to a bigger home that will fit all 5 of us and two cats just fine. The car sitation has to be figured out....he has a Jetta and I have a Mazda 3 and neither can fit 3 carseats. One of the cars will need to be upgraded. As for care taking.....I have no idea! The cost of taking care of 3 babies will probably be more or close to what I make and that's not worth it. We might have to suck it up and for me to stay home for a few years...which was definitely NOT in our plan. Living in California is beyong expensive and it will be hard to do but I know we can do it! His parents and my Dad and Step-Mom live about 15 miles away and my Mom lives about 30 miles away. Hopefully we can get some help....I am just not even sure yet!

So that is the update!! Crazy how much your life changes so drastically in one day! I keep looking at my body just thinking how I will never have this cute figure again LOL (kidding!) and how I wish I had about 6 more inches on my body! That would help a lot!

Thanks for the love and support always ladies! Anything is possible and I am proof of that! 36 with High FSH and pregnant with triplets! Who would have ever thought!!! Love you all!

xoxox, Monica and 3 Turkeys!

5 weeks 1 day today

Well I haven't posted a journal in a while. I finally hit the 5 week mark yesterday which seems surreal. You know how you have downloaded all of these pregnancy apps on your phone in the hopes of REALLY using them one day? Okay I know i am not the only one that did this LOL! Every month I would hope and pray that it would continue to go past Week 5 and yesterday it did! It's very surreal and a bit overwhelming but soooo very exciting! My husband and I are just completely in love with this baby already and looking forward to many more milestones to come. We sit and talk about "What ifs" and "How do you feel about that" when it comes to our baby. We are finally having the conversations that I always dreamed about. We have not told a lot of people....maybe about 5 of my friends know and a few of his co-workers know because he was confiding in them for advice about IUI and IVF procedures. Our families do not know yet and it has been tough not sharing with them but I think worth it. We will share our good news on Easter. Then probably mid May make the big announcement to everyone and do the whole FB update thing where I scream from the rooftops that we are pregnant!

Our first ultrasound is on March 29th which I am excited about. Would like to know how many little turkeys we have in my belly ;) With my high beta numbers I am a bit overwhelmed but taking it one day at a time. I will be happy with whatever has been given to us (hopefully just not too many! Be careful what you wish for!)

The pregnancy symptoms are slowly coming but for me it helps me mentally know that I am indeed pregnant. The biggest symptom is the intense cramps I get about 5 minutes at a time. I usually just calmly breathe them out and they go away. I have been taking Tylenol on occasion to help with the aching dull pain at night so I can sleep. That is another weird symptom....I am not sleeping well at all! I hardly get a full night's rest in and that is the hard part. I wake up tired and in a fog most of the day just waiting to get home so I can lay my head down and rest. I get up and go to the bathroom constantly but not because I have to pee or anything. Mostly because the toilet helps my cramps and I think I am so anxious right now that I find myself playing with my iPhone in the middle of the night to pass time because I can't sleep. So much on my mind. I finally got a nap in today where I slept for 3 hours which was much needed. I was having major hunger last week but not so much this week. The only new symptom I have started today is my nipples are getting sore.

My husband has been so great in all of this and making sure that I take it easy and not to worry about much except the baby. It's a long story but we are in the middle of a stupid lawsuit right now with our next door neighbor (she is suing us). Because she is suing us, it's hindering the sale of our condo which we are hoping to move out of soon and move into a bigger home where my brother lives (he is moving). We are just ready to move on from this small place and away from her but not able to because of the holdup. After talking with my Step-Mom, she advised us that we suck it up and hire a lawyer to handle this for us. We really didn't want to have to pay out of pocket for something so lame but she is right. It's better to pay some money and do it right, then not hire someone and get screwed over by our neighbor's lawyer. I actually was very relieved when we made that decision yesterday. Let someone else do the work for us and hope that we get reimbursed the court and attorney fees at the end. My husband was so great....he told me not to even think about the lawsuit or the neighbor and that he is going to handle everything. He does not want me to stress out or anything. So I feel now we are making progress with this house/lawsuit thing and one step closer to our next home!

So that is my update! I have affectionatly named our baby "Little Turkey" only because he/she is due right around Thanksgiving LOL! I know it probably sounds bad but I feel like I have a turkey in their roasting right now! ;)

4 weeks 5 days

It still feels soooo early in this pregnancy but things are progressing quite nicely! I had my second blood test on Wednesday and the results that came back were very good...almost too good. There could be more then one lingering in my belly! We will know for sure March 29th when I have my first ultrasound and i am 7 weeks along! Wow!

On Thursday after I found out my positive second blood results, I called the IVF center and told them my good news that I was cancelling my cycle scheduled for May. They will be giving us back our deposit....woohoooo! It was really sweet because the financial counselor woman that I have been dealing with this whole time, told me "Congratulations! I am so happy for you" when we were saying goodbye. I choked up tears and said Thank you and then had a really hard time holding back tears. Such a relief that we are not having to go through IVF!!

My only symptoms right now are more hungry then usual and cramps. Sometimes my cramps get so intense that I can't sleep. I got up about 5 times last night every two hours or so because of the intenseness of my cramping. It comes for about 20 minutes and then leaves for 2 hours. It's this really strange feeling when the cramps finally subside....it's almost euphoric and I feel like I am drugged up when the cramps stop.....my body just feels relief. It's kind of weird to explain. I know these cramps are something I will have to deal with for the next 9 months and I am okay with that. Hoping between the cramps, my late night cereal breaks and excitment that I can finally get some good sleep. I feel like I haven't slept well all week!

It's exciting that I am able to tell some of my closest friends...the love is just so overwhelming and it's funny how most everyone reacts with a relief for us. A relief that this battle is hopefully over for us and a relief that we won't have to spend all that money to have the family we dream of having.

Once we get through selling our condo and moving and dealing with this crazy neighbor's lawsuit, we can finally focus on everything baby over the summer. I am looking forward to finally telling our whole families Easter!!

Best birthday gift ever!!

Such a lovely picture!! It makes me smile and be so happy!

Still waiting to hear back from my nurse about my second blood test but I should hear from her in the morning. I took two pregnancy tests tonight just to be on the "safe side" and the turned positive really fast!!! First time ever seeing this before!!!! Hsien hasn't stopped smiling since Monday!

I am feeling okay for the most part except I am more tired then usual and still have lots of cramping. The most unusual symptom is that I am hungry ALL THE TIME! I am not even joking! If I don't eat in time, I get hungry pangs that are horrible. The last three nights I have been waking up at 2:30am STARVING and in pain from hunger. Thank God for cereal! I eat a bowl and 30 minutes later I am back to sleep. Hsien thinks it's all so weird Ha! Ha!

Another symptom is I am definitely more irritable then usual....things irritate me so much quicker then ever! I cannot believe my attitude sometimes. Tonight I didn't even know who I was! Ahhhh hormones!!! Now I get it when they talk about pregnant women being so hormonal. I hope this isn't the case till November.

But again...I am not complaining about any of this!! I will take it all...10 times! I am just so grateful to be pregnant right now....this truly is the biggest dream coming true. I cannot wait to be called "Mommy"!

I'm Pregnant!!!

No...you did not read that wrong! I am pregnant! Can you believe it??!!! I honestly felt in my heart that it would not happen this way!

Monday I went to go get my pregnancy blood test done. Usually I just wait for my period to come because doing the lab test just seems too heartbreaking. I was waiting patiently all day at work for my results. My friend Kim in San Diego who I met from my "Trying to Concieve" boards was texting me back and forth giving me comfort. She found out she is pregnant on Saturday and we were both hoping that we would be pregnant together. She got the results of her 2nd blood test and I was still waiting and waiting....

Finally at 1:30pm on Monday, I get a phone call from my Nurse practitioner Debbie. I had missed the call because I was on the other line. I call her right back up and head straight to the hallway at work. She tells me "Guess what? You are pregnant!!!" I screamed in the hallway and ran all the way down to the bathroom where I locked the door and squeeled with excitement and tears running down my face. I couldn't believe I had finally gotten this phone call!!!! She was excited too and I was so happy that she was the one that did the IUI and was now calling me up to tell me the good news. She told me to go back on Wed for another blood test to make sure the number is rising and to check a few other things. Also that i need to schedule my first ultrasound in 2 weeks to check heartbeat. She also talked about drinking more water, taking my prenatal vitamins and to avoid soft cheeses. OMG my head was spinning...I really had no idea what the heck she was talking about Ha! ha! My brain is in a fog right now. So after the phone call....I headed out to the car to call Hsien who was estatic and relieved. Relieved that we are not having to go down the IVF route and have to pay all that money. Strangely also I had an afternoon date with my very pregnant friend and so of course I told her too when I got to her home. I couldn't hold it in and I was so happy to say that her and I were pregnant at the same time! Of course her only having 2 weeks left...but it still counts! =D

So here I am...pregnant! I feel crampy, bloated and just plain yucky but am I complaining HECK NO!!!! I hope that little baby is settling nicely into my uterus and wants to stay for another 9 months and be healthy and happy for me.

If all goes well....baby will be coming in November 2011 right before Thanksgiving! I can't believe that we will be hanging up that extra stocking this year for our little one. This all feels so unreal!

So now...I wonder who reads my blog? This post will surely get a reaction...so send me a text if you have read this! =P I am not really making announcements or telling a lot of people obviously until my doctor clears me that we are okay but I think it's okay to tell the people that care. And also....NO FACEBOOK posts about this! LOL! I know it will be harder for me but I just want to be extra cautious right now....I am still cautiously optomisic at this point.

Wow....so I'm pregnant! Now what?!

IUI #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BgXRjzQgTA

This is the video of my IUI #3!

Wow...what an adventure leading up to IUI #3. I am glad it's here and done and now I can rest and relax. So glad that it worked out that the IUI fell on a Monday and not past Saturday.

Our weekend in Tahoe together with friends and to my Aunt's funeral was a nice one. The snow was heavy and windy but we managed. I really enjoyed seeing the faces of our friends that we see maybe once a year. My Aunt's funeral yesterday was beautiful....brought tears to my eyes how many people came to it! She was well loved in the community and highly involved in theater. At one point, the priest had asked us to stand up and give Aunt Sue a standing ovation because that was what she requested at her funeral. OMG...tears were in full force at that point. My Aunt really outdid herself on the music selection and prayers for her own funeral. We sang "What a wonderful world" and how fitting were the words to that song for her. I never have fully paid attention to those words but I love it...it's now one of my favorite songs. I also got to meet my Uncle's two daughters from his previous marriage yesterday! My Aunt Sue and Uncle John have been married for 40 years but I never had the chance to meet his daughters! They are so wonderful and I am so sad that I never met them until now. They are sort of like my cousins ya know! They live in Virginia and I vowed to keep in touch with them. They are both in their 50s and just amazing women...a physical therapist and nurse practitioner with hearts of gold. I believe that the reason I never met them until now is a deep one that I will never understand....but I am glad I have now. I feel like I have gained more family after I have lost one. I was able to take a few items that belonged to my Aunt Sue. One was a cute blue thermal shirt with snowflakes on it and it a blue zip up hoodie...SUPER CUTE! I wore both to the IUI for good luck. It felt like she was right there with me.

My husband and brother were great...we left Tahoe today at midnight and got home Monday morning at 4am. My brother let us stay at his house that morning since it's so close to the clinic. I finally told my brother everything about our troubles of getting pregnant and he was so sweet. He hugged me before my IUI and said "Make me an Uncle!" heheh The sperm collection was dropped off at 8am and our IUI was at 11am. It went really great....43.6 million swimmers and one golden egg! Hoping this is it!!

My Nurse Practioner talked about maybe trying one more IUI after this if needed before IVF. She knows we are scheduled for IVF in May. The NP thought about just having me do Femara next cycle to see how I did since I only produced one follicle on Menopur and Femara. That would cut my costs wayyyy down....from about $1500 for the injectables to only $20 for the Femara. It might be worth giving a shot but hopefully we won't need another shot at this.

Feeling crampy and tired...and that is good! Laying here relaxing and reading. I had the day off Tuesday from work too...basically for my sanity more then anything since my weekend was so go go go!

Thanks for reading my super long update! ;) I'll find out the results on March 7th. Hope they are positive!!

I am so tired of this IUI Roller Coaster....

and I want to get off NOW!!! It's a good thing I am writing and not doing a video journal because I am full of F Bombs right now

So I went in for my Day 7 Ultrasound. My lining is thin and I have one follicle measuring 10.5. Whoopeee. I am so pissed off! And you know....I was drinking raspberry tea leaf for the previous months and my lining was always really great. The one month I decide to not drink it..and my lining is thin...of course! Ugh!! I wish I had been drinking it last week....grrrrrr!!

So I have one follicle at this point. They are continuing my meds and I have another ultrasound on Thursday AM. The doctor thinks my IUI might be on Saturday morning.

This is probably the WORST weekend for me to being doing IUI and I am so frustrated. Isn't it always how this is????!!

So my husband and his best friend plan a yearly snow trip to Lake Tahoe every year during President's holiday. His best friend and wife fly out here from Washington DC. They take the 4 days off and snowboard Fri, Sat and Sun. Our plan was to leave Thursday night and head up there and snowboard Friday and Saturday with all of our friends. Sunday unfortuntaly is my Aunt's funeral which also happened to fall on this weekend. We have to head out and drive about 2 hours to my Aunt's funeral Sunday morning. Luckily her and my Uncle lived close to Lake Tahoe so it's not a big deal for us to take the day away from our friends and spend it with family. Then after the funeral that night we were going to head back to the cabin we rented in Tahoe. We were all planning to head back on Monday afternoon but no snowboarding...just packing up and leaving.

So Lake Tahoe is about a 4-5 hour drive for us (sometimes longer if the traffic is bad) and the weather forecast says that the snow will be pretty good because of all of the rain we are getting and to bring chains or you will be turned around.

So guess what?! I have to tear my husband away from his friends Friday night so he can drive back down home for 4 hours and do the IUI Saturday morning at 10am. By the time we get back up to Tahoe it's 5pm and the snowboarding is over. So my husband will probably get ONE day of snowboarding with his friends. This really sucks! I have decided to not even go up until after the IUI on Saturday. I am in too much of a bad mood to want to ski on Friday. I'll just go to work and not take the day off like I planned.

I really really really really hate this! I cannot wait to be done with IUI. I have no good feelings about this cycle and wish I just went with my gut and went straight to IVF.

Thank you Infertility for yet again ruining a perfect weekend for us!!! I hate you so much!