Friday, December 28, 2007
Today is the Day
It is Friday morning December 28th, 2007 and Amy and I are so excited. Amy was so excited that she tossed and turned in bed last night thinking about what is in store for us today...as for me, I am just as excited, but I slept just fine last night--probably snoring all night which I am sure made Amy's tossing and turning that much more enjoyable. At 10:30 this morning, we have a doctor's appointment to do our morphology ultrasound...just a strange word to tell you that today we find out what our little baby is...
What do you think?
Is it a Boy?
Is it a Girl?
We will know this morning. I said in an earlier post that going through IVF, you get to see weekly ultrasounds when the baby is less than 1/2 of an inch long and resembles a bean (with a heartbeat). Those were so exciting. We haven't seen any pictures of the baby since that time so today is going to be incredible. The baby is approaching 6 inches long from crown to rump and will actually look like a baby when we see it this morning. Have I mentioned how excited we are?
And what does an excited mom-to-be do when she finds out...she goes shopping of course. Amy has her plans already set to go shopping as soon as we find out. Her parents made the drive from North Carolina yesterday so they could be here and my parents will also be in the room for the ultrasound. We are all so excited.
We are going to be updating our blog this weekend with more pictures from Aruba, Christmas in North Carolina and of course from our visit to the doctor's office today. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.
What do you think?
Is it a Boy?
Is it a Girl?
We will know this morning. I said in an earlier post that going through IVF, you get to see weekly ultrasounds when the baby is less than 1/2 of an inch long and resembles a bean (with a heartbeat). Those were so exciting. We haven't seen any pictures of the baby since that time so today is going to be incredible. The baby is approaching 6 inches long from crown to rump and will actually look like a baby when we see it this morning. Have I mentioned how excited we are?
And what does an excited mom-to-be do when she finds out...she goes shopping of course. Amy has her plans already set to go shopping as soon as we find out. Her parents made the drive from North Carolina yesterday so they could be here and my parents will also be in the room for the ultrasound. We are all so excited.
We are going to be updating our blog this weekend with more pictures from Aruba, Christmas in North Carolina and of course from our visit to the doctor's office today. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Week 17
Amy is now 17 weeks pregnant. We have an appointment with Dr. Fonteneras today to do a check-up before we leave for Aruba on Wednesday. Amy is feeling good and her belly continues to grow. She has felt some movement, but she is not sure if it is the baby or other things moving around in there. She should begin to feel the baby's movement in the next few weeks so we are very excited about that.
It is going to be a crazy week as we both have so much to do, so this may be the last post until we get back from Aruba--I may try to post some pictures from Aruba if my internet allows me to do so.
It is going to be a crazy week as we both have so much to do, so this may be the last post until we get back from Aruba--I may try to post some pictures from Aruba if my internet allows me to do so.
Maternity Shopping
On Saturday, Amy & I went on our first Maternity Shopping trip. I never imagined the selection in these stores & the neat things in each of them. The first stop was a shop called Now Showing at Hilltop (I have put under our links)...it had some great stuff in it for expectant mothers and newborns. I am going to have to get a second job because I am a sucker for cute baby stuff and boy do they have some cute things. They also had some great maternity clothes and Amy was able to get a few things for Aruba (from the Clearance rack no less). The next stop was another store at Hilltop called Maternity Boutique. Again, they had some great things for Amy. Again she found some items for Aruba (from the Clearance rack again--I am so proud of my thrifty shopper) and then we happened across the adorable t-shirts we had seen in so many magazines from Dr. Robin's office and we promised each other that we would get them once we found out we were pregnant...this store had them for both Mommy & Daddy so of course we had to buy them. Here are a couple of examples, until we get our pictures in them: I did buy the one pictured (Look what I did).
We bought the ones we liked in the store and then went to the t-shirt company's website, which we have put in our links, and bought a few more...they are great t-shirts and for Amy, they are one-size-fits-all so they will grow with her.
We had a great time shopping at these stores and will definitely be back to each in the near future to get some winter clothes.
We bought the ones we liked in the store and then went to the t-shirt company's website, which we have put in our links, and bought a few more...they are great t-shirts and for Amy, they are one-size-fits-all so they will grow with her.
We had a great time shopping at these stores and will definitely be back to each in the near future to get some winter clothes.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Our Little Bean
Although going through infteritily treatment is difficult to say the least, it also has its advantages...early ultrasounds. This picture is one of the first after we found out that Amy was pregnant. The baby, or "Bean" as Jillian, one our IVF nurses termed it, is clearly evident in the Yolk Sac. At this point it was only half an inch long and already the heartbeat could be seen and heard. Do you think it looks more like Mommy or Daddy?
Results are In...Amy's Pregnant
We are trying to catch everyone up on how we reached Week 16 of pregnancy. We will rewind a few months to the end of our IVF journey.
August 30, 2007--Dr. Robin and her staff successfully transferred two embryos. The two-week wait then began until we found out if the embryos held on tight.
September 13, 2007--Happy Birthday Dad. It was Kevin's dad's birthday and what a great gift we received. We were on our way to install Amy's parent's new kitchen in Advance, NC and had stopped at a gas station in Suffolk, VA. We were expecting the call, but it was after 5pm and we grew even more nervous. It was after 5:00, so did that mean the worst? Inside the gas station, Amy's phone rang...it was the New Hope Center. Willa was on the other end, "Congratulations" was all we had to hear and we both fell apart. What great news! So what did we do? We went out and bought a cookie cake decorated to spread the word to all of Amy's family.
After surprising Amy's family with the great news, it was back to Virginia to surprise Kevin's family. It was hard to hold back our excitement so before long everyone would know.
August 30, 2007--Dr. Robin and her staff successfully transferred two embryos. The two-week wait then began until we found out if the embryos held on tight.
September 13, 2007--Happy Birthday Dad. It was Kevin's dad's birthday and what a great gift we received. We were on our way to install Amy's parent's new kitchen in Advance, NC and had stopped at a gas station in Suffolk, VA. We were expecting the call, but it was after 5pm and we grew even more nervous. It was after 5:00, so did that mean the worst? Inside the gas station, Amy's phone rang...it was the New Hope Center. Willa was on the other end, "Congratulations" was all we had to hear and we both fell apart. What great news! So what did we do? We went out and bought a cookie cake decorated to spread the word to all of Amy's family.
After surprising Amy's family with the great news, it was back to Virginia to surprise Kevin's family. It was hard to hold back our excitement so before long everyone would know.
Introduction from Daddy Riley
I am so excited that after all of our trying we are finally expecting. This week marks Week 16 for the pregnancy and everything is great. Amy has been so wonderful. There are no words to explain how strong she has been through everything, even as painful as it has been. I realize how lucky I am every day to have such a wonderful wife who endured so much physical pain & mental anguish to get to this point...I love you Amy!
We are both fortunate to have found the New Hope Center. Dr Robin and all of her staff are absolutely wonderful and were there for us whenever we had a question or needed anything. Their work is truly giving couples like us New Hope and they are simply the best.
It has been a long struggle for both of us. This month marks the 2 year mark since we decided we would try to start a family together and we have both been through a lot, of course Amy has been through a lot more than I have which is definitely not fair to her or any woman going through all of this...is labor & delivery not enough pain for you to endure? From charting temperatures, to Clomid, to Insemination, to In-vitro, we have experienced many highs and many lows, but through everything we experienced it together and that really helped both of us. It was still the most difficult thing that either of us has had to endure, but the result will be amazing. I look forward to that day in May '08 when I get to hold our little baby in my arms and all of our pain and struggles are just distant memories.
We are now working on finishing up the new house. What a joy it will be to be able to build a nursery in our home. We will soon be able to decorate the nursery with the appropriate decor...is it a Boy or a Girl? We will soon find out...then we have to start buying clothes, diapers, furniture and so many more things that for years we have looked at, but could not buy. Until then, I will continue to talk to our baby, rub Amy's tiny belly and dream of what is to come. I promise more pictures and notes from Daddy Riley so check back often.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers.
Dadddy Riley
We are both fortunate to have found the New Hope Center. Dr Robin and all of her staff are absolutely wonderful and were there for us whenever we had a question or needed anything. Their work is truly giving couples like us New Hope and they are simply the best.
It has been a long struggle for both of us. This month marks the 2 year mark since we decided we would try to start a family together and we have both been through a lot, of course Amy has been through a lot more than I have which is definitely not fair to her or any woman going through all of this...is labor & delivery not enough pain for you to endure? From charting temperatures, to Clomid, to Insemination, to In-vitro, we have experienced many highs and many lows, but through everything we experienced it together and that really helped both of us. It was still the most difficult thing that either of us has had to endure, but the result will be amazing. I look forward to that day in May '08 when I get to hold our little baby in my arms and all of our pain and struggles are just distant memories.
We are now working on finishing up the new house. What a joy it will be to be able to build a nursery in our home. We will soon be able to decorate the nursery with the appropriate decor...is it a Boy or a Girl? We will soon find out...then we have to start buying clothes, diapers, furniture and so many more things that for years we have looked at, but could not buy. Until then, I will continue to talk to our baby, rub Amy's tiny belly and dream of what is to come. I promise more pictures and notes from Daddy Riley so check back often.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers.
Dadddy Riley
Welcome
It has taken a while for me to jump on this Blog bandwagon, but what a great idea it is and what a great opportunity for all of our friends and family to stay updated on Amy's and Baby Riley's progress. It doesn't seem right for me to be writing the first post, but Amy does not know anything about this yet. We have talked about it several times and well, SURPRISE Honey. We will do our best to keep this blog updated with all of our fun news and events throughout the pregnancy, culminating in May with the arrival of Baby Riley.
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