It has been a loooong time since I have blogged! Life has just been too crazy for it. It's still crazy, but it has slowed down to the point where I think I might have some time to update this thing. So here we go!
Work
I have been working toooo much! My current jobs:
Abbie
My baby is now a toddler! She is hilarious and wonderful. And so.very.busy. The girl just doesn't stop. And she wants all the things that are off limits. Dog food, cords, toilet water, trash, phones, remote controls, lamps, dirt, credit cards, knives... ALL THE THINGS. So childproofing has been a bit of a nightmare. We kind of have a system now, but she definitely keeps us on our toes.
[caption id="attachment_2162" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Who me?[/caption]
My latest obsession is carrying her on my back in all sorts of fun-and-expensive wraps, and it's an effective hobby for this toddler. She is so chill on my back; she loves hanging out there while I do things around the house. And you can do so much with a baby on your back! I thought front carrying was helpful, but on my back is a new level of awesomeness. Once Tom realized how much I get done with her on my back, he told me I could buy as many wraps as I want. Thankfully I'm too frugal to go crazy, but I've definitely been adding to the pile.
[caption id="attachment_2155" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
I was surprised to discover that this torso carry is my favorite! No tugging on the shoulders, and she is super secure back there.[/caption]
Her brain is always working; you can see the wheels turning as she contemplates the next thing she is going to do. And when she's working on something, she breathes heavily and loudly as it is obviously SUPER important she get the job done. She's talking, though most of it is still unintelligible babbles. She doesn't have enough words to carry on conversations, but she really wants to converse, so she makes up all sorts of nonsense. She especially loves making sing-song yodeling type noises. Her sweet voice fills my heart with joy every day!
It's hard to remember the days when she didn't move everywhere. While I miss the baby stage, she's definitely much happier being able to move around and do things. And it's so much fun watching her learn and grow and experience the world!
[caption id="attachment_2158" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
"Hi big dog! Let me examine your teeth!"[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2153" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Busy baby off to the pool![/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2159" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
She loves emptying laundry baskets and spreading the clothes alllllll around.[/caption]
Future Baby #2
As much as I hoped we would be magically fertile after Abbie, time has reminded us that we are not. We went back to see our fertility doctor (with Abbie, who destroyed the office and astounded him with her busyness), and he recommended that we take advantage of my AMAZING new insurance and apply for IVF coverage.
[caption id="attachment_2163" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Busy toddler with the doctor that helped bring her to us![/caption]
That was two months ago, and we decided to go forward with the testing for IVF while I began weaning Abbie. I really didn't think it would be covered, but I appreciated the time to keep nursing her (I am not too happy about weaning and wish I was fertile enough to not have to). As with all things insurance, the process was slow until it wasn't. After a month and a half of testing, we got approval right away! So this means that we can do IVF at a DRAMATICALLY reduced cost. We got pregnant with Abbie via an IUI, but it took a year of treatment and 7 IUI's for that to happen. So IVF would be more efficient, plus there is the benefit of extra embryos. I'm not sure yet if I want a third baby, but if I do, the clock is ticking for me. So the idea of freezing embryos made with my eggs at age 34 (almost 35) is appealing.
So, all that to say that we will be starting IVF... next week! The plan is to PGS test the embryos and do a frozen transfer, so we won't actually be doing a transfer until September. Insurance won't cover PGS, but since we are paying so little for the cycle and we have had a miscarriage, the doctor strongly recommended we do it for the peace of mind.
One concern with IVF is extra embryos. Of course I worry about too few embryos, but since I do respond well to the drugs and all my test results are great, we could end up with some extras once we have built our family. So after a lot of thought, both Tom and I have come around to the idea of embryo adoption. And since making that decision, it has been really fun to think that we could be a part of someone else's fertility journey at the end of all this!
So, please keep us in prayer as we embark on this new adventure. For all to go smoothly and for me to endure it without too many breakdowns. I am quite excited for my meds to arrive-- all sorts of sciencey fun is coming my way! IUI shots were fun, but this is a whole new ballgame! Of course, I'm sure trying to grab needles and vials will be right up there with stealing knives from the dishwasher in Abbie's book :)
Work
I have been working toooo much! My current jobs:
- Full time day job- I still do this from home (with the exception of every other Friday), and I still enjoy it. I always have plenty to do, so it keeps me pretty busy all day.
- Online teaching job #1-I've been doing this one for years, so I have it down and can keep up with it fairly efficiently. But what really wore me out last semester was...
- Online teaching job #2- I was asked to teach an online Chemistry course, and I never turn down teaching Chemistry courses, so I said yes even though I had no time for it. While job #1 has everything created for me, this job involved me creating the entire course from scratch. Thankfully I've taught Chemistry enough that I had most of the materials created, but I still had to get them all formatted into online class sessions and create videos for them. So there was a lot of time spent on this last semester after the baby went to bed. Every minute of every day was accounted for, and I had a LOT of breakdowns. The nice thing is that now that the class is created, it's much easier to manage. So I'm teaching it again this summer, but it's almost as easy as job #1 is to manage.
Abbie
My baby is now a toddler! She is hilarious and wonderful. And so.very.busy. The girl just doesn't stop. And she wants all the things that are off limits. Dog food, cords, toilet water, trash, phones, remote controls, lamps, dirt, credit cards, knives... ALL THE THINGS. So childproofing has been a bit of a nightmare. We kind of have a system now, but she definitely keeps us on our toes.
[caption id="attachment_2162" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Who me?[/caption]My latest obsession is carrying her on my back in all sorts of fun-and-expensive wraps, and it's an effective hobby for this toddler. She is so chill on my back; she loves hanging out there while I do things around the house. And you can do so much with a baby on your back! I thought front carrying was helpful, but on my back is a new level of awesomeness. Once Tom realized how much I get done with her on my back, he told me I could buy as many wraps as I want. Thankfully I'm too frugal to go crazy, but I've definitely been adding to the pile.
[caption id="attachment_2155" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
I was surprised to discover that this torso carry is my favorite! No tugging on the shoulders, and she is super secure back there.[/caption]Her brain is always working; you can see the wheels turning as she contemplates the next thing she is going to do. And when she's working on something, she breathes heavily and loudly as it is obviously SUPER important she get the job done. She's talking, though most of it is still unintelligible babbles. She doesn't have enough words to carry on conversations, but she really wants to converse, so she makes up all sorts of nonsense. She especially loves making sing-song yodeling type noises. Her sweet voice fills my heart with joy every day!
It's hard to remember the days when she didn't move everywhere. While I miss the baby stage, she's definitely much happier being able to move around and do things. And it's so much fun watching her learn and grow and experience the world!
[caption id="attachment_2158" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
"Hi big dog! Let me examine your teeth!"[/caption][caption id="attachment_2153" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Busy baby off to the pool![/caption][caption id="attachment_2159" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
She loves emptying laundry baskets and spreading the clothes alllllll around.[/caption]Future Baby #2
As much as I hoped we would be magically fertile after Abbie, time has reminded us that we are not. We went back to see our fertility doctor (with Abbie, who destroyed the office and astounded him with her busyness), and he recommended that we take advantage of my AMAZING new insurance and apply for IVF coverage.
[caption id="attachment_2163" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Busy toddler with the doctor that helped bring her to us![/caption]That was two months ago, and we decided to go forward with the testing for IVF while I began weaning Abbie. I really didn't think it would be covered, but I appreciated the time to keep nursing her (I am not too happy about weaning and wish I was fertile enough to not have to). As with all things insurance, the process was slow until it wasn't. After a month and a half of testing, we got approval right away! So this means that we can do IVF at a DRAMATICALLY reduced cost. We got pregnant with Abbie via an IUI, but it took a year of treatment and 7 IUI's for that to happen. So IVF would be more efficient, plus there is the benefit of extra embryos. I'm not sure yet if I want a third baby, but if I do, the clock is ticking for me. So the idea of freezing embryos made with my eggs at age 34 (almost 35) is appealing.
So, all that to say that we will be starting IVF... next week! The plan is to PGS test the embryos and do a frozen transfer, so we won't actually be doing a transfer until September. Insurance won't cover PGS, but since we are paying so little for the cycle and we have had a miscarriage, the doctor strongly recommended we do it for the peace of mind.
One concern with IVF is extra embryos. Of course I worry about too few embryos, but since I do respond well to the drugs and all my test results are great, we could end up with some extras once we have built our family. So after a lot of thought, both Tom and I have come around to the idea of embryo adoption. And since making that decision, it has been really fun to think that we could be a part of someone else's fertility journey at the end of all this!
So, please keep us in prayer as we embark on this new adventure. For all to go smoothly and for me to endure it without too many breakdowns. I am quite excited for my meds to arrive-- all sorts of sciencey fun is coming my way! IUI shots were fun, but this is a whole new ballgame! Of course, I'm sure trying to grab needles and vials will be right up there with stealing knives from the dishwasher in Abbie's book :)
Congratulations! That's so exciting!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great, crazy life!
ReplyDeleteI am reading backwards here so I have already read the IVF update BUT can I just say those cute pigtails..oh my they are so precious!!
ReplyDelete