BABY BUSINESS

I've had several people ask me about the doctor's appointment and I know even more people praying for us, so I wanted to give y'all an update on where we're at (I'm getting much better about talking about it =)). First, thank you all so much for praying for us and for the words of encouragement I've received from so many of you. As hard as it was to talk about all of this initially and the feelings of embarrassment I felt, it truly has helped knowing there are so many other people who have felt the same way and to see the different stages other people in this situation are at. Makes it less scary.

So, I finally had my first appointment yesterday. I say first because there are already 3 more on the calendar! It's going to be a process and a few months before I have any real answers, but I am already feeling much more optimistic just to have a definite plan now and have the process started. 

At my appointment, my doctor checked my cervix and took my blood for lab work. My cervix is good and I will get the results from my lab work next week. I am going in next week to have a sonogram of my ovaries to make sure there isn't any abnormalities there. 

What I learned yesterday was I have an almost-abnormal cycle. No surprise there. An normal cycle is 28-35 days. Mine is on average 34 days with several cycles skipped altogether. This may be causing me not to ovulate at all. Which is as easy a fix as taking a pill every day. So before anything my doctor wants to find out when and if I am ovulating every month. A large part of the problem is what I was using to track ovulation times before was based on an average cycle. [[ I feel really stupid for not realizing this! I can't help but wonder if we'd have a baby right now if I had. Especially if that ends up being the only problem. ]] So for the next couple months, I will be taking ovulation tests and tracking everything the old-fashioned way- on an actual paper calendar. =P Then I have a follow up appointment in January to go over that info and come up with a plan based on that and the results from the other tests. 

Also, my doctor told me to start taking Similac prenatal vitamins. Similac specifically. I already had some prenatals (that I never even started taking) but I got the Similac ones anyway. Doctor knows best. =)

And that's where we are now concerning Baby C. Again, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate them so much. 

WOW...WHAT A WEEKEND!

To be honest, I was dreading this last weekend all week long. I gave myself a lot of pep talks trying to talk myself into being ready. There were plans for each day of the weekend and the funny thing is... they were all FUN plans. Nothing I should dread at all. But most of you know (and I've posted here a couple years ago) I have a severe case of homebody-itis. Especially when special monthly hormones just tell me to sleep. 

But, as always, it was worth fighting myself. This weekend was so much fun! The most social weekend I've had in a very long time. Here's the recap:

Friday: One of our friends from our LifeGroup threw a birthday party for his wife at their house. It was great getting to know them a little more outside of our LifeGroup setting.

Saturday: In the AM, Chris's work had a family day where they opened up the warehouse and cooked out. You could tour the warehouse and see how they put together the locomotives and there was bounce houses and activity booths for the kids. It was nice getting to meet his work friends and finally put a face to the names. In the PM, my sister-in-law, Erica, had her 80's themed birthday bash! It was fun getting dressed up (my husband even let me poof his hair and give him a mullet!) and having a good time with family. There was a lot of photo booth fun as well...

Sunday: Church in the AM and then Chris's dad and step-mom came over to watch the Cowboys game.

AND my lazy homebody tendencies were even appeased this weekend since I was off work yesterday (Monday) and got to lay in bed all day reading. All in all, a pretty great weekend.

How about you guys? Did y'all do anything fun this weekend?

2 WEEKS AGO

I have picked up my computer to write a post several times the last couple weeks only to keep putting it off. This time not because I didn't know what to write about but because I knew exactly what I needed to write- exactly what I needed to get out.

It's been a rough, emotional couple weeks. Two weeks ago, for the first time in probably a year, I needed to take a pregnancy test. Two weeks ago, the words "not pregnant" caused my heart to break a little. And a little more the week after that.

I promise, 98% of the time I deal really well with the fact that we aren't getting pregnant. I don't know if it's the fact that 13 *I think that was the last count* different acquaintances/friends have recently announced their pregnancy. (That's not an exaggeration. Baby Boom 2015 y'all.) Or the fact that it was the first time I even needed to take a test in a long time. But for whatever reason, it hit me really hard. I didn't try and get my hopes up- in fact I had a ton of other logical excuses for what else it could be- but it still didn't stop the tears from falling. Luckily, I have an amazing, supportive husband who is there every step of the way.

So, today I have officially taken the first step to finding out what is preventing us from conceiving. I made a doctor appointment to be examined. And I'm terrified. I guess that's why it has taken so long for me to actually do it. There's always been some reason to put it off. And as much as I look forward to at least just finally having an answer and being able to move from there in the right direction...it also makes it so much more real. Something could be wrong with me.

I have a few weeks until the appointment, but if you think of me, I wouldn't mind the prayers.