Thursday

December 30

Today marks Jennie's 7th week of pregnancy. Her land-mine scarred booty will receive 9 more shots per week for at least another 5 weeks. Ouch!

Each night before bed, I inject Jennie with a 2cc dose of progesterone in olive oil. On Tuesday and Saturday nights, she also receives an injection of estradiol valerate. I was under the impression that these shots were supplemental to the health of her uterus. But, the doctor told us these shots were keeping Jennie pregnant right now. Her body will take over the baby making process around the 12th week of pregnancy.

If you ask Daphne just about any question, her answer will be "five" about 90% of the time. She is infatuated with showing her finger extended hand while shouting, "I want five!" Jennie asked her if she wanted 7 or 8 of something not too long ago and Daphne replied, "No Mommy, I want 5!" To her, five is like infinity. "I want five brothers and sisters!" "I want five dollies!" "I want five pancakes!"

This week Daphne discovered an even larger infinity. With both hands outstretched, she now proclaims, "I want five plus five (insert random item here)".

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

December 27

Today, Jennie's 7 week ultrasound was performed.

We have one healthy 6.5mm embryo with a sweet sounding heartbeat (125 beats per minute). Here's your first look at our second child:

Baby XYZ


Daphne had an exciting, white Christmas! She received so many wonderful dolls, toys, and clothes... I think she is truly in heaven.

Here are some new photos of my little pooh bear:














Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

December 21

PREGNANCY UPDATE: precise dates below based on a routine doctor visit yesterday.

EDD (estimated delivery date) = August 17, 2011

Jennie will be considered 6 weeks pregnant this Thursday. Based on Daphne's early arrival, I predict baby XYZ's delivery date will be closer to August 10th.

Jennie's next ultrasound is Monday, December 27th in the morning.

Here are some new photos of Daphne with MiMi & PopPop (Jennie's parents):







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Thursday

December 16

It's official!

Jennie's third blood test to measure hCG came back with a value of 1817. It needed to double over the previous reading of 690 to be considered prego. She had an extra 437 to spare...

An ultrasound to count the number of yolk sacs (number of potential children) will occur the week of December 27th. That will be considered the week 7 ultrasound.

Re-read Daphne's 7 week ultrasound transcript.

A baby at 7 weeks looks like:


Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

December 14







  • Jennie's initial hCG reading from last Friday was a 195. (A very high starting point)

  • Jennie's second hCG reading from yesterday was a 690. (The value needed to triple and it did)

  • She has a third blood draw tomorrow at 10:30 am. (The value should double)



Embryo(s) are approximately 22 - 23 days old (7 days old at transfer on November 29th).

By LMP standards, Jennie is considered 4 1/2 weeks pregnant.

Re-read similar transcripts when we became pregnant with Daphne...

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

December 13

Jennie has a follow up visit later this morning at the doctor's office. They will draw more blood and compare the hCG levels to her initial test from Friday.

Here are some new photos of Daphne while we continue to wait on the pregnancy test results:









Daphne riding a motorized kiddie cart


Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Saturday

December 11

Yesterday's pregnancy blood work was merely a baseline to measure Jennie's beta hCG levels.

She is scheduled to have another reading on Monday and if it has risen, they will schedule a third reading to determine if she's truly pregnant. The third test date is to be determined (maybe Wednesday?).

The peepee sticks are not entirely accurate due to all of the shots, hormones, etc that Jennie's body has been experiencing.

More to come...

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

December 6

Jennie's first of potentially three pregnancy tests (by blood draw) will occur this Friday, December 10th.

We have three possibilities: not pregnant (boo!), pregnant with one (yay!), or pregnant with two (oh geez!).

New photos coming soon,
Dave T.

Implantation complete

Baby #2 (and possibly #3) implanted successfully this morning.

The embryo on the left was an "A" grade and very nice looking.
The embryo on the right was a "B" grade and appears to be doing well.

Remember, Daphne was a "B" grade embryo and we think she is absolutely perfect!

Re-read the transcript of Daphne's implantation...

Here's a quick recap of our babymaking history beginning in the Summer of 2007:
===================================================
A hyperstimulated Jennie produced 61 follicles for harvesting.
32 eggs were extracted for a fertilization attempt with a Petri dish of my finest sperm.
16 eggs became properly fertilized through ICSI and began dividing.
Only 6 embryos developed beyond the blastocyst stage in "A" or "B" grade (well enough to be used for IVF).
2 fresh embryos were implanted to produce Daphne and the other 4 were placed in the freezer at -280 degrees.
Today, the clinic thawed 2 embryos successfully and implanted them into Jennie's uterus while leaving 2 in the freezer (for possible future use).

November 29

Today is the big day!

Jennie's implantation of two frozen embryos will occur (if all goes well) in the mid-morning. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for a good outcome.

There is always a risk of the embryos not thawing properly or the implantation not succeeding, but we are trying to remain positive.

Daphne wants a little brother to boss around.










Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

November 23

While Thanksgiving is only two days away, I am already thankful for the many blessings I have in my life. Daphne keeps asking us for a baby brother (to torment). She has been practicing her mommy skills by dragging her little dolly around the house by an arm or leg (and not bumping the doll into too many walls). She loves giving her "baby" a pretend bottle and rocking it to sleep.

Jennie had her follow up doctor visit today to inspect her uterine lining. The ultrasound nurse assured Jennie that her lining looked great and we are still on schedule for implantation next week.

Of the four embryos we have in the freezer, we have 3 "B" quality and 1 "A" quality ready to thaw. Since Daphne was a "B" quality embryo, I can only imagine how perfect the "A" will become.

I will post some new photos before Thanksgiving Day.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Monday

November 15

Here's the latest news:

Jennie had her suppression check (routine doctor appointment) on Wednesday, November 10th. She was fully suppressed by Thursday morning and began the estradiol valerate injections (.1 mL two times the first week in the rump) at night. She continues to take injections of Lupron in the belly each morning after waking up.

At her appointment last Wednesday, an ultrasound of her uterus was also performed. Everything is progressing well and she returns to the doctor next week.

I will post some new photos of Daphne-doodle this week.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

November 9

Jennie has her suppression check tomorrow. Basically, her hormone levels will be evaluated (blood draw) and an ultrasound will be performed. She is on day 9 of her Lupron shots in her belly.

The embryo transfer is still on target to be implanted the week of November 29th.

Oh yeah, tomorrow is my 38th birthday. I'm old...

Daphne is spending the night with Mimi and PopPop since I have to take Jennie to the hospital at 0 dark 30.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Saturday

October 30

Tomorrow I will post some pics from Daphne's Trunk or Treat at the local YMCA.

Here are some other new photos of Daphne for you to enjoy...







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Thursday

October 28

Tomorrow is Jennie's birthday! I won't reveal her age, but she will be 2 to the 5th power plus 5 years old.

Upcoming dates of interest for baby #2:

Jennie has received her hormone medication and has a scheduled doctor visit on Wednesday, November 10th (suppression check?). The embryo transfer is tentatively scheduled for the week of November 29th.

I will be posting photos from the Trunk or Treat at the YMCA tonight...

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Saturday

October 16

Here are some photos of Daphne at a local "punkin' patch" as she calls it. "I really like punkins, Daddy!"

She had such a great time in the Hay Maze, walking through the sea of pumpkins, and seeing all the farm animals. I believe we will be going back next weekend.








Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

October 15

I am terribly sorry. I have not forgotten about promising to post the new Daphne photos. Many apologies, but I am attempting to function on less than 3 hours of sleep.

After the exciting hockey game last night, I had to log into work to do some "after hours" tasks. So, I will post some photos tonight (hopefully).

I have my work cut out for me this weekend! Our freshly seeded yard keeps getting shredded by bicycles, foot traffic, and visiting cars. I feel like I am walking on eggshells trying to maintain it. My deepest fear (and I know it will happen eventually) is that someone or something will end up destroying one or more of our irrigation sprinkler heads. Three have been ran over so far... ouch!

I will be chipping away at Jennie's "honey do" list of chores all weekend long.







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.