No answers - still going to high risk pregnancy appointment

Just a quick update.   Last Thursday I had talked to our doctor. He was going to talk to another doctor that day and also review Matts bloodwork to see if we even had a problem.   Thursday ended with no call.  Friday no call.   Monday no call.  Tuesday no call.  Me = ticked.   What is with this doctor??!!   I am NOT impressed by him AT ALL. I called and left a message Tuesday night.  A nurse called me back Wed morning and apologized for no one calling earlier.   She said my doctor had talked to a genetist and they thought we should hold off on further testing and just come to the high risk pregnancy appointment (a genetist will also be involved) and if my husband needs more lab work done they will do it then.   Umm....ok.   Why don't you do the lab work before our appointment so we know if there is really an issue.  Did my doctor review Matts old lab work which he said he was going too?   They never said.  Surprise!    I am really getting used to and expecting them to not be on the ball.   And this is supposed to be a good clinic!!   I miss my old doctor!!!  

Matt and I decided if we don't proceed with IVF because of another pregnancy we are taking Cassie to Disney World this year!  

Have to run....I need to go to bed  since I have to be up around 4:30 to watch The Royal Wedding!!  How exciting for Kate to not only be getting married but becoming a princess, a future Queen and have the entire world talking about and watching your wedding!! 

Our Easter - pics coming shortly (hopefully)

Church service was amazing this morning.  There was standing room only in the sacturary, 2 other rooms were filled and people standing with their children in the foyer watching the sermon from a TV.   We stayed in the sanctury till the sermon began.  I asked my husband how many people he thought the church sat....he thought 700.   And it was full.   The first song was a Chris Tomlin song "And if our God is for us".  It was amazing.   The music was beyond moving.   Every single person was singing.   I was so moved that I couldn't even sing because I wanted to sob.   I am so thankful for Jesus.  So thankful that he died and rose from the dead to today.  He is risen!!  To be in our church which was packed to the gills singing praises to God, to hear everyone singing and praising Jesus was amazing.  It was very intense and moving.  After the service the Police needed to help in directing traffic....how amazing is that.   I love that cops needed to be at church to help because there were so many people leaving and arriving to church to worship.  He is risen!!

After church we went to my parents for brunch.  Matts parents came along as well.  We enjoyed yummy food and Cassie got to enjoy another Easter Egg hunt.   After her nap we went to Matts parents house where we had a fantastic dinner and another Easter Egg hunt.  It really was a great Easter!

I have tons of pictures to post from Easter but when we got home last night our computer had crashed and blue screened on us.   Its driving me nuts that I can't load up the pics of Cassie in her cute Easter Dress!!   I need the Geek Squad here stat!

And we have not heard back from our doctor concerning the E Antibody yet.  I am starting to get irritated.  

Coloring and Hunting Eggs

Yesterday Matt had a 1/2 day at work.  When he got home I was curled up on the couch taking a little nap (which I never rarely do).  He curled up next to me and we took a nice afternoon cuddle/nap.   Later that evening after dinner we colored Easter Eggs.    Cassie loved it....so did Matt!

Showing off the stickers on her egg

 Applying her stickers

 tick, tock, tick, tock...waiting for the egg to be done

 And still waiting....

 Posing for pics while waiting.....

 Daddy checking the egg

 Still not done!!   We like the dark colored eggs!

 "Come on Egg!!"

 We really enjoyed coloring the eggs.  We had K-Love on and I told Cassie what the true meaning of Easter was.   I think we will make Good Friday our traditional day to color eggs.

On another note I spotted how Cassie had left her animals one day.   I find it so fasinating how she lines up her animals in straight lines or in this pic they are all "ganged up" on a pink bird in the middle. You can't see the bird in this pic but all the animals are in a circle and all are facing in.

 You can barely see the pink bird in the middle.  Looks like the pig and chicken are trying to get in on the action.

This morning we did an Easter Egg hunt because tomorrow is going to be such a busy day I don't think we will have alot of time.

 We gave her an Easter Basket when she woke up

When she walked out of her room and saw the eggs everywhere the first thing she said was "What a mess!"   She then proceeded to pick up the eggs and put them in her basket.

 She really loved spotting the eggs in different spots

 Just spotted another egg!

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter tommorrow!!  He is Risen!!!!

E Antibody Drama!!

I don't know where to start....first I will start off with some things that we were not happy about that happened at the clinic yesterday.   In my last post I said the doctor did the HSN which insurance does NOT cover.  This costs us close to $2,000.   It is needed to make sure there are no fibroid or polyps that would stop an embryo from implanting.  We don't understand why our doctor went ahead and did this test when he knew he was going to tell us to put IVF on hold and getting pregnant could result in a high risk pregnancy.  Wouldn't you tell the patient about the E Antibody and complications associated with it FIRST and then see if the patient wanted to proceed with the HSN or wait until we talked to the High Risk Pregnancy doctors?  I mean if the doctors were to tell us it would be extremely high risk to proceed chances are we are not going forward with IVF.   Matt was pretty upset by this and I agreed with him.   He ended up calling the doctor and told him what we thought about this.  The doctor actually agreed with Matt and told him they will not bill us until we talk with the High Risk Doctors and decide how to proceed.  He admitted he made a mistake.

Second....when we were discussing all of this with the doctor I asked him if my medical records from our old clinic showed what the results were for the E Antibody.   He didn't have my records with him, he didn't bother to go and grab them, he just said "I don't think they ran OB panels".  Really?   Your not even going to check?   You don't know for sure but you THINK??   I was not happy with this. When we got home I called and left a message telling them I wanted them to review my medical records from our first round of IVF and to send me a copy of the blood work.   This morning I get a call not from a nurse but from our doctor.   He was looking at our medical records and said they DID test me for this and it turns out I had the E Antibody way back then!!  

• My old clinic NEVER discussed this antibody with me
• I was pregnant with Cassie without knowing I carried this antibody

My new doctor is going to review all of Matt's blood work to find out if Matt carries the E Antibody in which case we are fine and there are no problems!  If he can't find lab work for Matt on this he will have him specifically tested for this antibody.  Is this why my old clinic never brought it up because Matt had the antibody also so it wasn't even an issue??  That is our thought.  If Matt doesn't have the antibody then we are pretty lucky that Cassie had no effects!!

Why did I, as the patient, have to request the doctor to please review my medical records?   He should be doing that without me pressuring him.  Before he sat down with us to tell us we needed to halt everything and there could be problems he should have had all the facts straight and reviewed all our medical records!!! 

It wouldn't surprise me if Matt is carrying the E antibody.  I remember our old clinic remarking on our blood results.  We are the same blood type and are both RH negative.  Because we are both RH negative I didn't need the Rhogam shot.   I don't think they had ever seen a couple both be negative.  Now it could be we both carry the E antibody?  If that is true I don't know how in the world either one of us got it because I didn't get it thru childbirth since I had it before Cassie was conceived and neither of us has had a blood transfusion.  We may end up being a mystery to the doctors! :o)

I am waiting for the doctor to call me back, he is going to let me know if he finds any lab work results for Matt or if Matt needs to come in again.   I'll let you all know how are saga continues!!!

NOT what we expected to hear......

So this morning I got a call that my estradiol levels were elevated which indicated I may have a cyst on my ovaries. (This was unexpected but there was something more unexpected) We got to the clinic and the nurse took me back, told me they would do the HSN and also an U/S to verify if there is a cyst and then the doctor wanted to talk to me about something else. OK. Turns out I do have a cyst which isn't a big deal, very common and they go away on their own. The HSN looked good as well.

We went into a room and he told me my bloodwork came back that I have the
E Antibody. Before we proceed any further with IVF we have to meet with a High Risk Pregnancy doctor! So here is the lo-down on the E Antibody.(this is long)

On a blood cell are many proteins. From what we are gathering my husbands blood has the E protein. This is a normal protein but because I don't have it...this is where the problem happens. Once my blood comes into contact with the E protein it thinks that its an "invader" and my body makes antibodies to fight and kill it. Once those antibodes are made they stay with you forever in case the "invader" comes back. The doctor thinks when I was giving birth to Cassie I was exposed to this protein...meaning she inherited her Daddies blood. (They assume the placenta tore during birth and the blood from the placenta mixed with my blood) Sometime later is when my body made the antibodies. Since Cassie was already born this didn't effect her.

So again...having the E antibodies means my body is prepared to kill off the "E" protein if it was to be exposed to it again. This becomes a risk and concern for future babies. A baby has a 50/50 chance of having the Mom or Dads blood type. If the baby has my blood type then everything is fine and there are no risks. But if the baby has my husbands blood type then there are risks because the baby will have the E protein and my body has the E antibodies. So....if the baby has my husbands blood and and the babies blood leaks though and mixs with mine my body will create more antibodies and attack my unborn baby. This will cause the baby to be anemic, stillborn, heart failure or other problems. If the baby were to become anemic the doctors would have to do in the womb blood transfusions for the baby. If I became pregnant I would need blood draws done often to measure the amount of antibodies. If they were to start rising above a certain number then blood trasfusions in utero would be needed.

Now...there are women who have this antibody and go on to have healthy pregnancys, alot of cases are very mild BUT not in all cases. In the severest cases babies can die.

Scary huh? We were shocked. So our next step is to meet with the High Risk Pregnancy doctor to discuss things and IVF is on hold. This puts a whole new spin on things. Do we really want to proceed with IVF knowing it could result in a high risk pregnancy? I know its a 50/50 chance but it is darn scary.

Maybe we are just destined to have Cassie. More than ever today we are reminded of what a miracle she is. When putting her to bed tonight she wrapped her little arms around my neck and just squeezed. She then said "I love you Momma". We stayed like that for a couple of mins. So blessed.

Sick little girl

Cassie woke up not feeling well this morning. She has had a runny nose the past few days with a slight cough, other than that she had no fever and acted totally fine. I heard her wake up this morning, walk to her door and yell "Good Morning". 5 min later I got out of bed to get her but she had crawled back into bed and went to sleep. At 7:40 she woke up and wanted to get up. She walked into the living room and laid down on the couch right away. She spit some clear stuff up and I heard her tummy make some noises and it sounded like she may get sick so I rushed her to the sink. I asked her if she needed to throw up and she said yes. She spit some stuff up (clear) and said she felt better. I am wondering if all the drainage from her nose went into her tummy to make her feel yucky. I gave her some water and she laid on the couch watching Mikey Mouse Clubhouse for 30 min. I could tell her eyelids were heavey and then she called for me. I put her back into bed at 8:30. Its now 10:00 and she is still sleeping. She definitly must not be feeling good. Today will be a day of staying in pjs, sleeping, cuddles and cartoons.

Blood draws, Egg hunts and Suckers

Yesterday morning we headed to our clinic to have both of our blood draws done. It was quick and painless although I could feel myself starting to syke myself out once I saw all 7 vials of blood she needed to draw. I don't have any problems with needles (thank goodness!) or blood but seeing all those vials....made me a little queasy. Cassie sat on my lap during the blood draw I sucked it up and did just fine. Cassie asked me "You OK Mom?" Awwww......I told her I was fine. Matt did say I looked a bit pale after I walked out of there. He only had 2 vials drawn he wasn't sucked dry like I was :o)

Since we were right next to the mall we went there and Matt bought Cassie a Hello Kitty backpack. She loves Hello Kitty. She walked around the mall with it on her back. We figured she can load it up with toys and other things when we go up North this summer and when we spend days at the Grandparents houses. We also have 2 weddings out of state this summer so it will come in handy.

Later that day my Mom and I went to church and we helped hide 7,000 Easter Eggs. Behind our church is a huge field so we scattered them everywhere. It was a lovely spring day....NOT!!!!! It was 32 and snowing!!!! Last weekend it was 80 and this weekend it was 32 - no like. Matt showed up with Cassie later and the family worship started at 5:30. They did some nice things but we both agreed the music was way to rocky and loud for toddlers and the service was WAY to long. We were there for 1 1/2 hours. Cassie did awsome. She was very intent on the music, skits and sermon. Afterwards we did the Easter Egg hunt and it was done in 1 min. All 7,000 eggs gone. The kids went wild. When they blew the whistle I picked up Cassie and ran for some eggs otherwise we would have been left in the dust with no eggs. And yes...there were kids who got no eggs. Out of 7,000 some kids got nothing. All the kids did get gift boxes filled with little toys and candy. All in all we had we had a good time.

Enjoying a sucker from church




IVF - I started my birth control pills this morning!

Things are getting planned!

Cycle day 1 started yesterday. I called my clinic to set up my day 3 FSH. Tomorrow morning hubby,I and Cassie are taking a drive to the lab to have our bloodwork done. Sunday I start the birthcontrol pills. My HSN is scheduled for Wednesday along with a refresher for an injection lesson and we will also sign consent forms. Its looking like we may have to bring Cassie with us next Wednesday as our parents may not be able to watch her. I don't like doing that because I know how it feels to be sitting in that office childless and then someone brings in their children. I remember sitting in our clinic being childless and a lady had her toddler in with her....and I specifically remember thinking "They should not allow children in this waiting room" and now I may be that women bringing her child.

I start the birthcontrol pills this Sunday! The nurse said I will start injections May 19th/20th. Holy Smoley, its crazy to be marking my calender with all of this info again.

Easter at the Y

Today was Easter at the Y. They had a whole bunch of events going on.

Nana came with us. Daddy was in Chicago....


Cassie did an Easter Egg hunt!


They had egg hunts sorted out by ages....0-4 they just laid a bunch of eggs on the ground and the kids put them in their basket. They had a limit of 8 eggs....Well Cass didn't want to stop at just 8 but she did.

Mommy and Cassie


Next was face painting! Cass loved this.


Painting her nose....


Adding Whiskers...


Ummm.....there is something on your face. Both girls just stared at each other very concerned.


My little bunny...kitten...whatever she is supposed to be.


The Easter Bunny! Cassie loved him - no surprise there. She gave him a high five, waved high non-stop and blew him kisses.


Coloring was up next (Cass kept an eye on the Easter Bunny and waved high the whole time)


Adelyn and Cassie (I think Cass spotted the Easter bunny again)


Coloring her Easter Egg






We made a tissue paper cross next.


Then Daddy arrived!! Yea!


She got Easter Tattoos


And that was the end of Easter at the Y. We headed out to lunch at Culvers, came home and my little bunny is fast asleep!

IVF Consult for #2!

This afternoon we met with the doctor at our new clinic. It really was so much easier walking into a fertility clinic than the first time around. We went over our old records and discussed what our protocol would be. My big question for this new doctor was the E-Tegrity test that my old clinic did. Our new doctor does not do that test and said they don't believe in it. He was also surprised by the amount/dosage of meds they had me on to create follicles my last cycle, this had been because I had been on Lupron for so long it had totally suppressed my cycle so they really had to use alot of meds to stimulate me. So hopefully since I won't be on Lupron this time around my body will create alot more eggs than my last cycle. The plan is to start me out on a high dosage right off the bat and tone it down depending on how many follicles they they start seeing on ultrasounds....they don't want to overstimulate me!!

We are starting the Prep Cycle this month and it looks like the stimulating cycle will be next month. Right now I am waiting for the first day of my next cycle and will call the clinic to schedule my day 3 FSH and other blood work.

Here we go!!

I'm a smooth operator!

This morning Cassie and I went to Gymlingo. There was a woman there that we knew from a class at the YMCA. She had a 2 year old (who was in class with Cassie) and another baby. She was telling me the baby was 11 months old already and I said, "Really? You were pregnant with him in the class right?" Ummmm - stick foot in mouth. NO. She was not pregnant when she was in class with us. The baby had been born 2 months prior, she just still had a tummy. Whoops. When she corrected me she also emphasized "SHE was 2 months old when we were in class". So I not only said she was big enough to still be pregnant after having the baby 2 months prior, I also said her daughter looked like a boy. But...to my credit she did have her dressed like a boy. She was wearing a green/white shirt and green camo pants. Stop talking Melissa!!!

Yesterday we decided to go to the museum. Cassie behaved so good (except for the one minor temper tantrum when she wanted to keep riding the elevator). Her 2 favorite things were the dinosaurs and the butterfly's. Butterfly's were pretty much the big hit of the day.

She was pretty good about being gentle with them


She had a couple land on her head


We had to make 2 trips to the butterfly exhibit


They loved Matt and kept landing on him


She loved it!


Sitting nice


I told her if she kept tipping what would happen....


Did she listen?


Of course not