Monday, May 4, 2009

This is a pretty big day.

Today is the anniversary of my embryo transfer. (I blogged a bit about it on my main blog too, which includes a little tribute to the embryos themselves.)

To celebrate the day, I have decided to do a picture tribute (with a video at the end) in which I posted one or two pictures for each month since the big day one year ago. I hope my little trip down memory lane is even a fraction as cool for you as it is for me.


These are The Fab Four. We believe Karl is the top left embryo. (It's weird how I feel about all my little embryos. Although only one stuck, my heart feels each and every one was just as important as the one who is sleeping behind me right now.) ...




I was receiving BFNs through 10dp3dt. On 11dp3dt, I got a BFP on a digital and my beta was a mere 15. The next day, on 12dp3dt, the FRERs started picking it up...




After one hell of a rocky start where I was told my pregnancy was non-viable and ectopic, this is what we saw, along with a tiny little heartbeat, at 7 weeks...




It was the 4th of July and my body was starting to show. I was still in the 'fat' phase, but if you knew I was pregnant, you could tell it was a baby belly. To help people get the idea, I wore a shirt which read "The Future Lies Within"...




August came and went and Labor day brought the balloon festival. It's early in the morning, but we go every year...




I still can't believe my luck. To have two beautiful little girls and expecting another baby. I wonder why I have such terrible medical problems with my body. Maybe it's to "pay" for them. If so, I'm okay with that ...




In September, my best friend in the world (widow of Karl) married one of the greatest guys in the world. I was lucky enough to be a co-maid of honor with another friend of mine (the girl on my left)...




After the wedding and still in Arizona, another great friend of mine (since Jr High!) threw us a "baby shower", which was really a simple BBQ. I didn't expect a shower, especially for a 3rd baby, but the chance to celebrate Karl was so awesome. It was a swimming party and as you can see, I certainly took part in the swimming aspect and wore my suit ...




We already knew the gender of the baby, but at the beginning of October, and at one of my 28 ultrasounds, we got the money shot ...




This is what I looked like from the outside just two days after the ultrasound in the previous photo ...




A month later, at 29w, this is what I looked like ...




And this is what I looked like naked ~wink~ ...




December was already here and one of our friends came over to take some pictures. She's amazing. Here are the girls in their punk rock element ...




There is something about black and white photos that can really change the mood of a photo session. I know I already picked a picture of the girls, but I can't help it ...




Yet another "naked" picture of myself. I was 35 weeks ...




It was Christmas and each year I get a pair of pajamas. I wasn't going to change the tradition of wearing them the next night just because of a big belly ...




It was suddenly January 9th and I was scheduled to go into the hospital to have the version performed. This is when the doctor tries to manually turn the baby around inside my belly, so I could try to deliver vaginally. I was a day away from 38 weeks and was headed to the hospital within minutes of this picture. I would have the baby by the next morning ...




The Version worked and Karl was head down and on his way out. I was fully in massive labor here and managed to smile and look like I was having a good time. I'm actually just 3 hours from delivery here and due to my journaling, I know I was +1 station, 95% effaced and 6cms dilated. I can guarantee I was ~not~ as happy as I look ...




And then he was here ...




I was rushed into surgery minutes later and wasn't there to see my husband hold his son for the first time. But thankfully it was captured on camera ...




When I was out of surgery and through recovery, I was able to introduce Ella and Allison to their brand new brother ...




We got him home and tried to settle in. We pretended these little newborn smiles were 'real' smiles, but we knew better. But so what! They sure are funny nonetheless ...




Without blinking, he was already a month old. Breathe in. Breathe out ...




When you catch an expression like this on camera, it's pure gold ...




At 3 months old, he is still spending a lot of time sleeping. We know it won't last ...




It's now the beginning of April and he can chill in his bumbo seat. How in the world is time going by so fast? ...




Three months old and bath time = camera time ...




I just took this picture this evening and he is 5 days away from being 4 months old, although as an embryo, he was transferred into my belly exactly 1 year ago. I know it's a cliche, but it's true - the days are slow but the years are fast. Happy Cinco de Mayo my baby boy ...




~*~*~*~


This video was taken last month and it's got to be one of my favorite videos ever. It's just a video of me lulling my little one to sleep, as he starts out completely awake and a little over a minute later, he's sound asleep. The quality is low due to the lighting, but it doesn't matter to me. And maybe this will be boring as watching grass grow to everyone else, but I can watch it over and over.




~*~*~*~

If you got this far (wow!), thank you for taking the journey of this last year with me!

43 comments:

Kerry said...

He is precious and your girls are adorable! Time sure does fly!

Sara said...

Great post!! What a nice trip down memory lane!

calliope said...

oh wow- I am all weepy over here. What a stunning post of an amazing journey. Thanks for sharing all of this.
xo

Steph said...

Wow! A whole yr already! I remember the "not much hope" part of that journey & I'm so happy that you have little Karl now.

You're kids are so beautiful! (i'm sure you know that)

Velma said...

Wow. What a beautiful tribute. How awesome!!

areyoukiddingme said...

You have the most beautiful children!

Lisa said...

Time goes by so quickly. I cannot believe the boys' had their first birthday on Saturday... enjoy every second of it!

The kids are beautiful! And the tribute is something very special... Great job, Nancy!

Christie said...

congrats nancy!! as a follower/stalker of yours since we were pg with our firsts, i think i was most excited for your with karl. that was a beautiful tribute to all the heartache & struggle you've gone thru this last year+. and look at the fabulous prize you got at the end of it all!!! congrats again on a beautiful family!

Kristin said...

Wow...what a wonderful journey and that video was so sweet.

KatieM said...

Wow I can't believe its been a year!This post was amazing. Also, I see Ella in Karl for the first time with that last picture. =)

Julie said...

Thanks for sharing all the pictures. I'm so sorry for all the heartache you went through in your journey to have your beautiful children, but it is wonderful that you can now look back after being successful. What a difference a year can make.

jenn said...

what a wonderful post! love the year in pictures- great job capturing all the memories! happy cinco de mayo to all & a very happy 4 months to the adorable little man! can't believe how quickly it goes by.

Jamie said...

I love how your chronicle your life with so many pictures to share with us.

It's funny because I don't really ~know~ you, but looking back at your pics, I'm all, "Awww, I remember that!"

JP said...

What a great post! You're fam is so photogenic!

Tara said...

Great post, Nancy.

jill said...

Posts like that are a joy to read. Thanks for sharing :)

Shannon said...

What a great story! Thank you for sharing it with us.

Amanda said...

What a crazy beautiful journey it has been! Your babies are all just so beautiful.

Kaci said...

Um yeah, I totally cried reading this post. He was a precious embryo and he's a precious almost 4 month old. Where does the time go? Your girls are beautiful too :)

Anonymous said...

Okay, call me emotional/hormonal (cuz lord knows the past 3 days ALL I've done is cry!) but this video (and post!) brought tears to my eyes. I need to run now and blow my nose but thank you for sharing this with us. It was amazing from embryo-start to Karl-finish!

P.S. I think baby Hunter liked it too cuz he's now doing a tango in my belly!

Michelle said...

Great post!! Going through things like you have I'm sure makes you appreciate the struggle and then the reward!

Funny I remember when Ella was born and then the struggles you had with getting her...by far though I think you've been thru the ringger with Karl's pregnancy..but it's a blessing he's here and totally fitting in with your family!!

btw: Have you gotten to the point where you are overwhelmed with "helping hands"?

Miss Tori said...

This was such an awesome journey, thanks for recapping it for us. You can so tell you're a way-cool mom. Congrats on fulfilling your dreams!

Melis.sa said...

This was such a sweet post! i had tingles the entire time :)

Morgan Owens said...

Aww, I love posts like these...so precious! You make the cutest babies mommacita!

Valerie said...

I loved the post and the video. I wish my little guy would go to sleep that easy.

Christina said...

Congrats Nancy, that was a really great post!

Jen said...

It is so amazing to see it all laid out in pictures.

Robin said...

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing..

~Chel~ said...

WOW! A year?! Holy moly! I remember you going in and all the mess w/ the not viable pg! WOW!!! I can't believe he's almost 4 mths old anyways!!! WOW!!! Time does fly!!!!! Thanks for the memory trip!!

Anonymous said...

that is very sweet.

Krista said...

Congrats! nice post.

Wordgirl said...

Oh it was such lovely fun to see it all over again -- and jeez Nancy but you look beautiful in that labor photo -

No surprise --a beauty inside and out...

And is it me or does it just seem like yesterday?

XO

Pam

Denise said...

I love this post. I've been thinking about all of these anniversaries lately of what was happening a year ago and I just can't believe what a difference a year makes. Thanks for sharing your journey!

Anonymous said...

I need to know the magic touch of getting him to sleep in less than a minute! He's beautiful. -Karyn

Photogrl said...

Beautiful post.

Geohde said...

Awww. It's lovely to have it all as a story in the one spot, in photos, no less.

xx

g

Ali said...

Oh, Nancy, that video was so precious!

Jennie said...

I've been out of the blogger life for a month and a half and I'm catching up on all the blogs I follow. I LOVE your blogs and it was so wonderful to see Karl again. He's getting so big. The video was priceless with his little hands moving and his little sounds.

George said...

You've come a long way...so much has happened. Happy Anniversary!

Aimee said...

Beautiful photos. Absolutely gorgeous.

Elana Kahn said...

I love this post!!! I should do something similar when I get to 1 year past transfer, but I don't have nearly as many pictures of myself...make that none except for belly shots and ultrasounds. lol Time really does fly when you're having fun! ;-)cc

Glennformer said...

Loved it! Thanks!

2blessed2stress said...

Nancy, I just "stumbled" on your blog today! Your children are precious, I enjoyed reading Karl's journey through his first year! What a beautiful way to capture it! ;)

Have your best day ever!

Dawn