Better late than never?

Wow, has it really been since November that I last posted? Time really flies and a lot has happened since then. For those that have no idea what we have been up to, I thought I would give a quick run down of the past 6+ months. Grab a snack... it is a long one! :)

As many know, we have tried to start our family for the past 6 1/2 years with no success. We tried several fertility options - several tests and appts with specialists (3-4 yrs ago), clomid (couple years ago for several months), super ovulation ( spring of 2009 2 cycles) and finally IVF (InVitro fertilization - Oct 2009). To educate some... super ovulation involves hormone injections for 3-4 weeks then ends with artificial insemination, when that wasn't successful we waited until after Girl's camp in June 2009 to set our IVF consultation appointment to start that process. Finally, after our original appointment in August was canceled because our doctor left the practice for personal reasons, we chose another doctor in the same practice to meet with a couple weeks later for the consultation. After meeting with the same doctor and gaining confidence in them, then having to choose another one to meet with was a bit stressful but as I look back very minor in comparison to the coming challenges we would face during this journey. After the consultation appointment in mid-September it was decided that we would start IVF during my next cycle at the beginning of October. There were 2 different injections at the beginning of this process daily then one injection changed to progesterone (can I say HUGE needle!) and was continued for several weeks. The pain in my hips will be a constant reminder of this amazing process. :) We have truly witnessed miracle after miracle during this process.

Long story short, after more miraculous events during our egg harvesting and transfer process, we found out on November 21st that I was pregnant! I will add a few entries documenting the process in more detail when I can. But here is a copy of the email I sent to family and dear friends when we found out. To explain a bit... the doctors were watching my fluid intake, weight gain etc.. because I had very enlarged ovaries (they are supposed to be the size of cherries and mine were the size of large grapefruits!) Many complications can come from this but will be explained in a follow up post.

Email:

Hello all,

Our doctor asked us to come in today to take the blood test to see if I still had to monitor all of intake of Gatorade and output from my bladder. Well, the results were positive. We are going to be parents! There are so many emotions it is hard to express in words. Calling our parents was exciting and also very emotional, our siblings were so excited! It is a great day in our home and we look forward to the coming adventures. Our main doctor would like to see another blood test Monday to verify I am pregnant but the level they are looking for is 100 and I was 200 so that looks pretty good.

I am still supposed to monitor my weight because if it goes up more than 2-3 lbs in a day I will have to start the monitoring, Gatorade and bed rest again. The doctor said I can resume my normal activities as long as I feel up to it but that my ovaries will be tender until I am 12 weeks along. They told me I am currently 4 1/2 weeks pregnant and that my due date is July 30th. We will find out in 3 weeks when we do a viability ultrasound how many heart beats there are and I will still have progesterone shots every day until Jan 1st. Good times! :)
We will be praying that I keep the baby(s) through the 1st trimester and would love any additional prayers on our behalf. We know we have gotten this far because of the many prayers from all our dear friends and family. I know I have expressed our gratitude before but we really couldn't have made it this far without all of you and your faith and prayers - we have felt them!

Thanks for everything!

Much love!
Brad and Angela

We then found out on December 9th, 2009 that I was pregnant with twins! What an exciting day that was for us. Another email to family titled "Three heartbeats" -

Hello,
I am sorry this is coming a bit late a few of you have called concerned something went wrong yesterday but all was well. I got home late last night from the doctor appointment and visiting teaching so didn’t get a chance until now to send this out.

Ok so Brad thought it would be fun to put the title “three heartbeats” to throw you off, he said “Well there is Angela’s heartbeat and the twins!” He thinks he is so funny! Anyway, the ultrasound went well we saw 2 tiny heartbeats and the sacs had grown a bit since last week’s ultrasound. Dr. Kirtly Jones said the heartbeats were strong and she feels good about how they look, one sac was smaller than the other but she said it is nothing to be concerned about. I asked about possibility of miscarriage and she said it is the same as with any normal twin pregnancy. There is a 20% chance I could lose one or both over the course of the pregnancy.
She also looked at my ovaries, they are a bit smaller but are still the size of a large orange. She told me to continue to take it easy and that by week 10 or 12 of the pregnancy they should be back to their normal size, which is the size of a cherry. My hips are pretty sore from the progesterone injections and after this appt the Dr. said I could start taking the progesterone a different way to save my poor hips. Halleluiah!

It was the last appointment I will have with the wonderful staff at the Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine on the U of U campus. The staff there have been incredible and I can never thank them enough for all they have done to help us get to this point in our journey. I have my first regular OB appointment on Dec 28th. It is still hard to believe we are really to this point, we feel extremely blessed!

Thank you, as always, for your kind words and continued prayers we have felt them!

Love,
Brad and Angela

I know this is becoming a LOOOONNGGG post but thought it best to catch those up that need it so I can continue to update my blog during the rest of my pregnancy. Thanks for your patience! :) Being pregnant with twins has been exciting and challenging all at the same time. Twin pregnancies are considered high risk - so we have the opportunity to see a perinatologist at the new IMC hospital on 53rd South every 3 weeks to check the progress of the babies. Here is the email from the first appointment on February 26th, 2010.

Hello again,

I know it has been a while since my last update but nothing to eventful has happened until now. Well, except I finally purchased maternity pants a couple weeks ago and can I just say that I suffered TOO long squeezing into my regular pants! I didn’t know I could be so comfortable in pants until then! It’s the little things isn’t it?

Anyway…we had our first ultrasound yesterday at the new IMC hospital with a perinatologist. (for those like me who have no idea what that means.. it is an OB subspecialist that monitors high risk pregnancies) Good news first. We found out that baby A (the one on my right side) is a boy! He is measuring at 18 weeks at 1 day (I was 18 weeks yesterday) and they were able to see everything but his spinal cord. He looks healthy and has a strong heart beat. They both move around like crazy – kicking and moving their arms – it is such a miracle to see.
We were unable to see baby B’s gender during the ultrasound. That baby’s heartbeat was strong, he/she measures at 18 weeks and 3 days, showed signs of most of the major organs but they were unable to see many things because the amniotic fluid was too low. At first the ultrasound technician told us that the low fluid would make it so she wouldn’t be able to see as clearly the gender because the ultrasound uses the fluid to enhance the view of the baby’s organs etc… She said that sometimes the fluid will get better over time and they would check it again at the next appt. We didn’t think after that explanation that we had anything to worry about. Then the perinatologist came in to discuss in more detail. She proceeded to tell us that there are several reasons why the baby has low amniotic fluid in its placenta - somehow my water could have broken early (I haven’t had any signs of that yet), they did a test and said until I am further along she wouldn’t be able to know that definitively but said my cervix didn’t look ruptured. – another reason could be the baby’s placenta isn’t able to do its job properly ( I know there is a more formal name or description she gave but can’t remember) – I could have had some random virus when I was younger that didn’t affect me but was passed on to my placenta (she took blood to test for this) – OR lastly, there could be fetal abnormalities/birth defects. She said kidneys may not be developing properly, his/her urinary tract could be blocked or there could be a congenital heart defect. She told us that there is a very small chance the baby can still progress normally and have a successful birth but then may have problems with his/her lungs since those are not seen via ultrasound, only at birth. She said there is also a possibility the baby could pass away while still in the uterus but that if that happens baby A should still progress normally and have a successful birth. Since it is still early, she said they will monitor the growth of the baby and if he/she continues to grow normally I may have to be on bed rest the last couple months of pregnancy and there is a small possibility the fluid can increase and the rest of the pregnancy will go along as normal. If you want to read more about this condition it is called oligohydramnios, you can Google it.

As you can imagine we left the 3 hour visit to the hospital with many emotions and thoughts running through our heads. Of course we are excited to know we are having a little boy and that so far he looks healthy but also a bit discouraged with the knowledge that baby B may continue to have complications. After the appt, we ended up going to a birthday party for an amazing woman in our ward who just turned 99 years old. She is such a great example of faith and testimony. As we were there, we were able to discuss some of the day’s events with some of our dear friends, which increased our desire to have hope that things may still work out and that we will continue to trust in the Lord’s will for our family. Then with the encouragement of another dear friend Brad asked our Bishop to give me a blessing. The blessing mentioned several things about promises made and His will for us and our family which gives us even more reason to trust in Him. We will have to make some difficult decisions over the next few weeks and pray that we will be able to listen more intently to the Spirit as we are guided through this trial. We have leaned very heavily on our faith and testimonies of the gospel and know that whatever is supposed to happen for our family will be what is best for not only us but also the 2 spirits our Heavenly Father has entrusted us with at this time.

We, along with our immediate families, will be fasting together this next Sunday March 7th and would invite anyone who would like to join us to participate that day. We are so grateful for each of you and the many prayers and words of encouragement you have given us over the past few months. We couldn’t feel more love than we have felt during this past year.

Much love,
Brad and Angela

Most recent ultrasound email.... April 7th, 2010

Hi there!

We had another ultrasound today and will have one every 3 weeks until I deliver unless something more alarming shows on any future ultrasounds. Both babies have grown which is great news! Our little boy is still on target measuring 23 weeks 5 days and baby B is measuring 22 weeks 6 days which is still within normal ranges for how far along I am. Baby B still has very low amniotic fluid and the kidneys and bladder still look about the same size. The doctors had expected the kidneys and bladder to continue getting larger, so we are hopeful that where things have stayed the same this could be a good sign. We are still aware that everything is in our Heavenly Father’s hands but will continue to pray for our little miracle.
I have attached a picture for those I haven’t seen me recently. I hadn’t been excited to take pictures but after many friends have told me I need to document my developing belly I decided it was time. I am carrying both babies really low and today at the ultrasound they were both breech with one on each side. I have started feeling movement but nothing that is noticeable outside, Baby B is harder to feel but I can still feel some movement. They are both active when watching the ultrasound and even though baby B is more restricted we can tell he/she has a lot of energy.

We finally decided today on a crib and dresser set – YIPPEE! We can pick them up in a couple of weeks. I also order some bedding that arrived today. I am grateful for friends that encouraged me to register and go shopping a couple weeks ago to keep the excitement of having a baby front of mind! I think the news of baby B had caused that excitement to decrease so I am glad to be back! Thanks again for the many prayers and encouraging words…. Keep them coming! We still have our good days and sad days but are keeping our chins up.

Love,
Brad and Angela

The past 2 months have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster but we still hold on to the hope and faith that Heavenly Father knows what the plan is for each of our children and at this point we will not know anything more until our sweet baby b is born. At that time we will know more about his/her lung development, any damage to the kidneys/bladder or any other complications that can arise from low amniotic fluid. We continue to see the perinatologist every 3 weeks to check in on the babies development and know we will continue to see the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father during the remaining weeks of this pregnancy.

I will try to be better at updating this blog as we continue our journey... Thanks for your friendship and prayers!

Here is a picture from when I was 23 weeks along.