27 weeks

6 years ago I married my best friend! Happy Anniversary Honey :) This coming year we go from a family of 2 to 4! I won't have a quiet house to blog next year :)

December 15, 2007

Today is officially the last day of the 2nd trimester :) Tomorrow begins 28 weeks and the last 3rd of the pregnancy. It is hard to believe that we're hoping these babies stay put for another 9-10 weeks. The time is going so fast.

I had an ultrasound Dec. 3rd to check on the growth of the babies. My mom came along to see her grand babies. They put on quite a show for Grandma! In fact, neither baby stopped moving the entire hour. I'm afraid the 4 oreos I'd eaten shortly before the ultrasound might of had something to do with it :). Both babies are growing strong and growing at the same rate which is wonderful. Both weighed approx. 2lbs. Neither baby would cooperate for a profile picture but the tech got a couple of fun pictures. The tech was amazed at the length of baby girls extremities. I think she takes after her dad!  Baby boy doesn't have quite as long extremities but looks more stocky. We can't wait to meet them!

Baby Girl gave us a wave and yes, those fingers look long :)

Baby Boy showed us his feet!

For most of the pregnancy I've felt great! I'm still feeling great just starting to feel pregnant. I think the baby bump is growing by the day and my back and hips are screaming about it. I'm still sleeping pretty good at night just wake up many times for a bathroom run or just to turn over. I'm learning the new limits my body can handle (which isn't easy). 

I'm loving feeling both babies move around. At times it feels and looks like my belly is going to explode! Tim has felt them move a couple of times. It never fails, when he comes to feel and watch both babies stop moving :) 

 26 weeks

27 weeks...I think it grew from last week :)

The nursery is slowly coming together. Over Thanksgiving Mom and Dad came down and helped paint. The furniture arrived last Saturday. So we've gotten that together and put in the room. I have a few items to hang on the walls but that will wait until Christmas Break.

 Changing Table

 Dresser

 Crib (the box has the 2nd crib, we'll put it up later)

The rocking chair.

Looking forward to Christmas Break (in a week) and getting excited to celebrate the marriage of my best friend, Lisa Truemper to Michael Scott on Dec. 28th. Bridesmaid dress fitting tomorrow night....wish me luck!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

23 Weeks

It does not seem possible that it has been 23 weeks since this pregnancy started! I'm excited the end is getting closer and closer. I can't wait to meet these babies! The reality that there are 2 humans growing in my body has become more and more real in the last few weeks. I have started to feel kicks and/or hits from both babies. It is an amazing feeling. Just the last few days I've noticed I can see my belly move when some of the kicks/hits happen! It's going to be crazy when these babies are bigger!

22 week baby bump!

It has been a busy couple of weeks. On Nov. 6th we had another ultrasound and were blessed to have baby A cooperate so we could see the gender!

We are so excited to be having a baby BOY and GIRL!!!!! I have had a feeling from the beginning that it was a boy and girl but didn't want to get my hopes up. We have had names picked out since October but didn't want to share them until we knew for sure. We can't wait to meet Grayson James and Kate Laura in early March.

The ultrasound continues to show 2 healthy babies. Both babies are measuring on target and each weighed 1.3 pounds. I can't thank the Lord enough for these 2 amazing blessings.

On Thursday, Nov. 7th Tim and I along with my parents headed to Oklahoma City to visit my brother Vaughn and wife Val along with their little boy Landon. Landon was born the end of July and I wanted to visit in August so bad but the morning sickness was too bad to even think about flying. In fact thinking about it made me feel worse! I couldn't wait to snuggle my nephew! 

While in Oklahoma Tim, Dad and Vaughn drove to Dallas, Texas to visit the George W. Bush Library and Museum and Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was shot. They had a great time. 

Tim sitting behind in the replica of the Oval Office the day Bush left the White House. 

I had two requests while in Oklahoma one was to go to the horse races. I have always wanted to see them in person. So, Saturday night we went to Remington Park to watch the races! I wasn't very good at choosing winners :) In fact, both times the horses I chose came in dead last :) Realized I was better at just watching.

Tim and I at Remington Park

The second request was to drive around the area of Moore, Oklahoma that was devastated by the tornado in May. Even though its been 6 months there is still so much damage. I was incredible to be driving down a street and see one side of the street that is normal but the other side of the street is treeless, new houses are being built and in some places you just see driveways. I'm very thankful where I live we don't have to worry about tornadoes.

It was also fun to connect with a friend from childhood. Bryn and her family moved to Oklahoma earlier this year. It was nice to connect and meet her son Luke. 

Bryn and I

Luke and I

She also brought a baby gift which included 2 blankets she made!

As Thanksgiving approaches I can't help but think of all the blessings the Lord has given us this past year. A cute healthy nephew Landon, 2 healthy babies growing inside me and amazing doctors who are helping keep my dad healthy and strong through his fight with cancer. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're having...

At least 1 boy...baby B was very cooperative at letting us peak but baby A wouldn't spread the legs :). We're so excited to know the gender of at least 1 of the babies. We'll have another ultrasound in 4 weeks so baby A has another chance to show the goods :).

It was the anatomy scan today so the ultrasound lasted about 1 1/2 hours. I was getting tired of laying by the end of it but when there are 2 babies everything has to be done twice. It was an amazing experience to see both the babies and watch them move around. 4 weeks ago I couldn't make out they were even babies but today it was very evident. In fact at one point baby A was kicking Baby B right in the nose. It was truly amazing to watch. The whole time I was laying their all I could think was Thank You Lord for Your creations.

Both babies weigh 9 oz. and are right on size for 18 weeks. Everything looks healthy and beautiful.

Baby A (head on the right). He/She is stretching and arching his/her back at this point.

 Baby Boy (head on the left). He is laying perfect for the camera :)

It is now becoming more evident everyday that I'm pregnant. I have had to have the talk with many of my students about not touching my belly. "You can look but you can't touch!" I had a 4th grader last week tell me, "Mrs. Krober, your belly is getting bigger and bigger every day!" All I could do was agree. 

18 Weeks

Because of the multiples I will most likely not make it to 40 weeks. In fact my goal is 37 weeks so I've hit the half way point in this pregnancy. It is incredible to think I'm half way to meeting my babies. The babies I've been praying for for many years. Thank You Lord!!!!!

16 Weeks

It is hard to believe I'm in my 16th week of being pregnant. I'm so thankful to the Lord for this amazing blessing and experience. I have wanted to count the weeks of my pregnancy for so many years and it is actually happening. My growing middle is a constant reminder.

I can't say I'm sad to see the 1st trimester finished...it wasn't fun. The last week has been a turning point. I feel less nauseous and more "normal" everyday. I'm now enjoying the stretching and pulling of my abdomen :) However I do find that easier to handle than the constant nausea.

Just the last few days I'm beginning to think I'm feeling some movement. I'm still not sure what I'm suppose to feel but I have some weird, unique feelings every once in a while in my upper and lower abdomen which I'm now thinking are the babies moving.

We had an ultrasound at 14 weeks. Everything looks good. Both babies were measuring on track and squirming around. We didn't get very good pictures because both wouldn't stop moving. Baby B was more active than Baby A. The tech also tried to see the sex but couldn't see anything conclusive. I didn't want to hear "it could be a...." so I only wanted to know if the tech could really tell. We go back for another ultrasound at 18 weeks and hoping this time we'll see the sex and get some good pictures IF the babies cooperate.

Here is a picture of me and my "slight" bump (I still just feel fat) at 14 weeks....

At school I told the staff on our first day back but I didn't want to tell the students quite yet. I wasn't ready for all the questions that could be asked. However I did tell them I had a secret written on my trading card (each staff member has a trading card that the students can earn) and the first student to get my trading card would know my secret. It didn't take long for a 5th grade student to get my card. It was fun to watch his reaction. However, he didn't want others to know so he kept it quiet.

A 2nd grade girl got my trading card a couple weeks ago and it was the talk of the entire school that afternoon. She announced it to anyone on the playground that would listen. However she was adding that they were twin girls. When I asked her about this she said "I know they are both girls, you will see". So I will have many confused students if the results are different.

There is another student at school that every day says "you still don't look pregnant"....all I can say is "thanks". It has been fun to watch each students reaction to the news.

We received our first baby present from my amazing hair stylist Leslie. Leslie has cut my hair for as long as I can remember...these quilts are beautiful.

The picture doesn't do justice. For those of you wondering....I don't know what the nursery decor will be yet, waiting until I know the gender.

That's all for now!

Journey to Pregnancy

Over the last four years we have been hoping to start a family. We never dreamed it would be so difficult! Last summer we started entertaining the thought of seeing a fertility specialist to see if there was a reason why we were not getting pregnant. October 2012 we met with a fertility specialist (The Center for Reproductive Health) in Spokane and began the many months of testing.

In February 2013 we found out our difficulty was male infertility. Tim has lots of sperm and it is healthy but it has very low motility. The low motility makes it difficult to conceive. In the next 3 years we had about a 15% chance of conceiving on our own but you have to remember there is a 20% chance of miscarriage for all pregnancies but with IVF in 6 months (3 cycles) we had a 90-95% chance of conceiving. So, with the low motility our only option was IVF (in vetro fertilization) if we wanted to continue treatment. Due to the low motility we would also need to use ICSI (Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) with the IVF.

We were ready to have a baby and didn't want to wait hoping it would happen (we've already been there). IVF is an intricate, expensive and emotional process so it wasn’t an easy decision. After weeks of praying about specifically IVF and months for guidance with the whole fertility process we decided to move ahead with IVF. We trusted the Lord with the entire process and truly feel He was directing us to this path.

 

So in June 2013 we began our 1st IVF Cycle. June 5th-15th I had daily injections of 2-3 hormones and every other day trips to Spokane for 7am blood draws and ultrasounds!!! On Monday, June 17th I had 14 eggs retrieved. 12 of those eggs were healthy and fertilized. 5 days later (June 22nd) we had 2 embryos transferred into my uterus and 5 embryos frozen for later use. Then came the 9 days of waiting and laying low hoping 1 or both of the embryos would implant. 

On July 1st I headed to Spokane again for a 7am blood draw. The nurse called mid morning to let us know we were PREGNANT!!!! My beta (results from the blood draw) were at 202 and it needed to be at least 50! The next milestone would come July 3rd when that beta needed to double and it did it was 496! We went on July 10th for an ultrasound to see if 1 or both embryos had implanted. There were TWO! July 18th we had another ultrasound and saw two beautiful heart beats. July 31st was our last 7am appointment in Spokane and we heard two amazing heart beats. Everything was going great so the fertility clinic released me to my OBGYN.

On August 15th I had my first OBGYN appointment and we again had an ultrasound and saw 2 babies growing strong. One baby was resting while the other was doing summersaults! 

I know those 2 babies are growing because I've felt horrible for the last 8 weeks. Praying/hoping it gets better over the next couple weeks.

Our "official" due date is March 10, 2014 however with multiples it is very likely they will come early. The hope is that I make it to 37 weeks (which would be mid February).

We are extremely excited and thank The Lord everyday for the two amazing blessings He has given us!

**If you want more information about IVF or ICSI, just google it!**