Los Porchs

It's a great feeling when nothing fits and the ol' baby bump just kinda hangs out of my shirts. Guess it's going to be dresses to work for me from here on out... c'mon little sister!!

yesterday was eventful; after an evening and morning of cramping with spotting, i was advised to head to the emergency department for monitoring to make sure all is well with the littlest porch. it was a long time spent waiting but i got a sneak peek at the baby via ultrasound (making sure the placenta wasn't over the cervix) and holy moly you guys - that baby is gettin' BIG. i always picture this tiny little bean in the lowest part of my body but the ultrasound tech was way up on my belly - and there was baby! hanging out! heartbeat was wonderful at 138bpm and the little one was dancing around which was amazing to watch! our anatomy scan is in early february & i am so excited to find out who this not-so-little bean is & learn about the growth so far. we've started throwing around names (okay, i throw a name out there and watch porch's face for reaction) and thinking about what we will actually need for this kiddo. so far, all i've come up with is a crib (an...

i got a wusic heartrate monitor for christmas from my father-in-law & tried it right away. i felt like i heard the heartbeat but tonight after we wrestled charlie to sleep, i laid in bed and found it definitively. that little heart was BUMPIN! there was no confusing that with my own, it was very much the beating heart of my little nugget. tonight after i vacuumed the living room, i told porch it felt like baby was tucked away on the left side of my body, i could just feel a heaviness there and sure enough - that's where i found the little one! i think it's important to note that the directions clearly said best results after 16 weeks, which i just hit on friday. while i'm not feeling movement, i am very much aware of this kiddo's presence both in the new bump i'm rocking & just this heavy feeling on my left side. but hey - i think i'm done barfing! it's been several days now & i think i'm in the clear!! xo d

Just rollin' right along with my littlest homie; had our first visit with my ob/gyn yesterday and everything looks unremarkably wonderfully "fine." Heart rate was at 160 bpm and this nugget currently the size of a cherry looked very gummy bearish to me. Also, did you know that ultrasound envy is a thing? It's not? Well, it should be - I have a mama at work who is 11 weeks and had ultrasounds done at her provider (different network) and they are amazing - 3D and breathtaking. Meanwhile, my kiddo legit looks like a lumpy ghost, but it's fine. Haha, I just never thought to be jealous of someone else's ultrasound. Anywho, off to another day in paradise at work now that I dropped off my biggest little homie. Just enough time to come home, get dressed, try to eat something, grab coffee for work and head out! My next class starts on Monday and I'm ready for it. Shoot. I never told you about that, did I? I started coursework through UW-Platteville for my Progr...

When I was pregnant with Charlie, I was sick very little. I knew my triggers and stayed clear. With this one... all bets seem to be off & I never know when the dry heaving will come on. While it's not technically severe (throwing up 3 times a day for 3 days), it's annoying and frustrating me as I have a job that doesn't really allow "sick days." What I really need is a mid-day nap but you guys, I am the world's worst napper. I will lay down for a quick nap and 4 hours later be rubbing my eyes, begging for more sleep. I am a BIG fan of sleep. Also of not throwing up. Hope you guys are doing well... it's not exactly the most exciting time because we don't have an updated ultrasound and haven't been seen by the regular ob yet but that day is quickly approaching.  My last shot & estradiol pills are Wednesday, November 22nd and I am PUMPED. Someday we'll be exciting and -- nope. I'll still be over here gagging and wishing for the 2nd t...

We've been quiet, that's for sure. I won't lie, it's because I am either throwing up -or- googling to see what's going on and finding out what's wrong with me and/or baby. Yes, I know better. No, I don't think I can actually stop. Not until I get another peek in there & can feel assured that everything is going well. Shouldn't I feel assured by this nausea and exhaustion? I would if those weren't also possible side effects of the medications I take until 10 weeks. But alas, here we are!

Wow, there was a whole lot of silence from me these past few months and I just kinda felt the need to check in with you all!  I've gotten some messages asking if things are okay -- they are!  We're good! No.  I'm not pregnant. But ohmygosh you guys, I often feel so damn tired after chasing Charlie around that I sometimes feel like I'm first-trimester-tired.  You know the kind.  Barely awake past 8:30; falling asleep in your toddler's (albeit full-sized) bed and not waking up until 6am and realizing what you've done.  Yep. But we do have some news on the baby front... kind of... not really.  Okay, so we don't really have news per se, I feel like that somehow indicates we're pregnant.  What we're doing is going to meet with an RE here in Wisconsin and making a game plan for when we can do an FET (frozen embryo transfer).  We have 4 embabies frozen in Chicago waiting on us to get our poop in a group and bring them home!  :) Th...

I'm a little more than a week deep into my maternity leave from work and as I was all excited that I had 5 weeks left and man, won't it be awesome that we'll someday have a routine and life will be slightly more cohesive than just me sitting around, watching movies, napping, snuggling, and feeding Baby -- two things occurred to me.  Two semi-distressing things: Porch goes back to work THIS Friday. School starts for me next Thursday. So my super awesome partner in this baby experience will be out of the house roughly 8am-7pm (on a good day) and Charlie & I will be left to our own devices.  Very much a sink or swim scenario, but I suspect we'll swim.  And then find our way to the nearest Starbucks before binge watching Sex & the City seasons (much to her father's dismay) and working on internship stuff. I have to go back to school for the fall, though luckily, I will be working on my internship and only have seminar and (1) it's not every week (2)...

Thank goodness this isn't my 40 week update; I was really nervous that I'd have to write one of those and even possibly the dreaded 41 week update!  Today was her due date, but we got to meet her just a little early.  Charlotte Esther joined our family at 2:07am on Friday, August 8th... and changed our lives forever.  There's now a squishy baby who calls for us and loves nothing more than snuggling on our chests.  We are, in fact, living the dream.  A dream 4 years in the making and worth every moment.  My heart is so full of love for Charlotte and I am so excited to see how she grows and changes. I have always enjoyed reading the birth stories of my blogger friends' babies and felt it gave me hope as it was the final moment in the battle against infertility, the crossing of a finish line.  So today, in celebration of love and this chubby cheeked baby girl, I share with you the story of Charlotte's birth. Charlotte's Birth Story... I woke up Thur...

Ugh.  Here I am, still pregnant, still working... I really thought this gig would be up by now.  I'm so thankful though that my body has made it this far and that Baby Porch has had the opportunity to grow safely in my body.  I remember how excited I was to make it to 24 weeks (viability, baby!) and that seems like it was so long ago.  Now I'm actively encouraging her to make her way out of there, even though I know it's going to hurt like hell. Which is another thing.  Every ache and pain, I begin to wonder, "Is this it?  Let's go!" and then nothing.  I'm  a little anxious about labor & delivery and what to expect, but I also trust that my body will do what it's meant to or that Dr. G will help us along as needed.  We're 7 days from her due date and I'm not too sure when we'll get to meet her... maybe we should start a pool! How far along?  39 weeks Progress:   None.  Well, cervix is closed. She's dropped a l...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ha...

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 rea...

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)

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:   ...

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 bet...