Los Porchs

The world of infertility is a cruel one but the sense of belonging that the blogging community brings to me is overwhelming supportive and has indeed gotten me through rough times before our IVF and along the way.  In very happy news, one of my fellow IVF gals had her baby on Saturday!  I've followed her story closely because our timelines are so similar.  Check out her story and that precious new baby here .  My thoughts and wishes for peace are with those who are still in the trenches of infertility, particularly with a girl I've known for a very long time who is starting an adventure with her husband in the realm of embryo adoption.  We were fortunate that IVF worked for us, but for some couples, that (painfully) expensive and intrusive process does not work.  Embryo adoption is such an amazing thing and Porch and I have discussed the possibility of donating unused embryos when our family is complete.  It's certainly something that demands careful thought, but could cha

I let out the biggest squeal of joy when I went to get the mail today and found this package waiting for me! Seriously, I've been stalking Bobbi's life and seeing everyone's amazing teasers was making me so much more excited to get our pictures!  I'm so happy to share the amazing work done by Bobbi at The Salty Peanut.  I highly recommend her to all of my Wisconsinite friends, particularly those in the Madison area, though she's willing to travel.  Check out the website here  and let her know that Mrs. Porch sent you her way!  Her work speaks for itself so I won't gush too much...... I seriously cannot pick a favorite.  So I'm not going to.  But you can!  :) Just 19 days until Baby Porch is predicted to arrive!  I'm so happy we got these back before she arrived; it's such a fun way to remember this exciting time in our lives.  And soon, we won't look nearly as well-rested, but we'll have a cut

We have ourselves a full-term baby!  She has the official blessing to come any time she's ready; I have finished my coursework for the summer term and things are (mostly) ready at work.  I'm so excited to meet this little person and start this new adventure as a family of three.  Everyone in my family kept telling me stories about how early their babies came and I was early, Porch was early, everyone was early..... which I suspect means that this baby girl will come late.  Just to break the mold.  ;)  (She gets that from her mother) How far along?  37 weeks Progress:   None.  Cervix is closed, she dropped (but just a little).  We aren't expecting her anytime soon. Total weight gain:   I've gained 20 pounds total. Maternity clothes?   I find my choices are getting fewer and fewer as I continue to grow... but I refuse to buy more as we will be all done in 3 weeks or less! Stretch marks?   I suspect I have the starting of a stretch mark, but it's in a

A somewhat uneventful week has passed and Dr. G says that Baby has dropped a little but doesn't expect her to join us anytime too soon.  Which is good, because he's headed out of the country for a week.  Kind of scary to know he won't be around, but to be honest, I'm not overly attached to him.  Is that bad?  I don't care who's there to catch the baby as long as she comes out healthy & Porch is there with me.  That's basically my entire birth plan:  get to hospital ( preferably  WITH Porch), have healthy baby, bring baby home.  Like it?  Me too.  So does my doctor.  ;)   Until the time comes for her to join us, I am savoring every last kick and roll as she gets ready!  I didn't even realize I was having Braxton Hicks contractions until today at my appointment when they started and the doctor pointed them out to me, "Looks like you're having some Braxton Hicks there!"  I was kind of surprised.  I hadn't really noticed them much or

We have lived in our current place for about 2.5 years. Sunday marked the first time EVER that we walked to the neighborhood park and participated in open swim at the pool. I don't know why it took so long... maybe because we're not usually here on the weekends? Not sure. But Sunday was such a gorgeous day that we couldn't resist the urge to be outside but this preggo needed to be cool. I mentioned the pool and called to find out deets (hours, type of swim, fee, etc) and we slipped on our suits & were out the door in no time! We had been working all morning to assemble baby gear and catch up on laundry so we welcomed the break. We spent about an hour soaking up the sun and floating around in the water. We really aren't going anywhere (no more trips to the cabin or Green Bay for me) between now and the baby's arrival so I suspect that if the weather is nice, we'll be more likely to consider the pool.  Hey, it's clean, free, and close to home. Can'

Porch and I are seizing this amazing Sunday afternoon and are spending it together, assembling all of Baby Girl's new gear. I figured we're close enough now (30 day) that it can't hurt to have things up and ready for whenever she decides to join us. We're doing a lot of cleaning and "get ready for baby" chores today but we plan to end the day with bbq chicken on the grill and some refreshing drinks. Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday... are any of you tackling projects today? I'm considering tackling a mobile project I saw on Pinterest but we'll see... dont want to be tok ambitious! Xoxo Momma Porch (I kinda want to call Porch Poppa Porch but it seems creepy)

As I approach 36 weeks, I have this deep appreciation for the journey that has brought us to this point in the pregnancy.  Yes, I am uncomfortable 80% of the time, but with every ache and pain (and onset of heartburn), I am reminded of how long it took to get here and how fortunate we are that we're here now. People have said that I'm very laid back and a "low maintenance pregnant lady" (that was my mom) and I truly believe it's because I've been given this amazing opportunity.  I am someone's mommy!  And Porch is someone's daddy!  And we're finally getting the opportunity to  raise someone !  We're not going to sleep ever again and we're completely okay with that. I am very aware of how fortunate we are that IVF worked for us the first time, that we are weeks away from welcoming our daughter to our family.  I continue to think of those who are still trying to add to their family and hope that they too will someday know the joyous aches

I don't often toot my own horn professionally.  I work really hard to make the child care center I work at amazing for the children, families, and my staff.  I spend a lot of time at home reading about best practice.  I keep going back to school like some sort of glutton for punishment (though this latest adventure came without adding to the student loans so it was much welcomed). The state of Illinois has recently launched ExceleRate Illinois, a Quality and Improvement Rating System.  Programs strive to earn a circle of quality (licensed, bronze, silver, or gold).  They claim it's not meant to encourage competition, but really?  You've named these circles after medals.  Who wants to be bronze?  I want(ed) gold, baby!  Programs who had participated in the previous program (QRS) or had NAEYC accreditation were grandfathered into ExceleRate with a provisional rating.  We were rocking the Gold provisional rating. SO... When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped into

We might have a name picked out (nothing like waiting until the last minute).  We're not sharing and it's only partly because we want it to be a surprise.  It's also because I'm a little nervous that we'll change our minds when we meet her.  Though I'm like 95% sure she will fit right into this name.  It's perfect and I love it. I also think I started nesting this week.  I got home on Monday night and went to town cleaning, organizing, everything.  We have her crib ready for her, which seems funny because I'm pretty sure she'll be hanging with us in our room for a while ;)  Her room is coming together, things are getting put away and organized and it makes me so happy! How far along?  35 weeks Progress:   None.  Cervix is closed, she hasn't dropped -- she ain't goin' no where anytime soon. Total weight gain:   I've gained 19 pounds total (my guess is that's 59% Drumsticks -- which I have found a replacement for:   Pop

No one ever believes me when I respond to their question of "How far along are you?"  A woman on the street today, mid-conversation (on the phone), asked me the question and when I said "34 weeks" she just said "No way!!!"  I would have been so annoyed to be on the other end of that phone conversation.  But I had to laugh too.   On my walk to the red line, this man said "Congratulations, Beautiful, on your pregnancy.  He must feel like one lucky man," as I passed by.  Things that should probably creep me out but instead made me smile. Although, in full disclosure, I was terrified that the woman was gonna go all Private Practice on me and try to steal my baby or something.  I watch too much tv. How far along?  34 weeks Total weight gain:   I'm holding strong with a total gain of 17.6 pounds.  Maternity clothes?   Some of my maternity pants seem snug, but really, they're just doing their job.  I feel better in shorts an