The Retrieval

After a week of sonograms and blood work, I finally had the retrieval today. It was a bit of a roller coaster over the past week: my ovaries were a little sluggish and didn't want to cooperate. At my last sonogram, we had 5, maybe 6, follicles that were responding. Better than the 3 from my second sono! Well, they told Mike when I got out of surgery that they were able to get 12 eggs! Amazing! 

We will get a call from the embryologist tomorrow to let us know how many were fertilized and when we can expect the transfer date. They initially thought, since they weren't expecting many eggs, that the transfer date would be Sunday. But since there were considerably more than that, it may be Tuesday so that they can evaluate all the embryos and choose the best two.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. My nurse even told me she was praying for us specifically! Please continue praying for those little Belknaps, and for us too. :)

Shots and Sonograms

I started my shots on Saturday. One in the stomach in the a.m. and one in the stomach in the p.m. The one in the morning must be made of liquid fire because it burns like crazy! The one in the evening is cake...no burning, no fire, just a little pin prick. I just finished my fourth day of medication; only approximately six to go! Until the next medicine, but that's for another day.

This morning I had my first sonogram since I started the shots and so far everything looks good. I have seven follicles on the left ovary and six on the right ovary. Lucky thirteen!...did I just hear someone say paluthda? (I know someone knows what I'm talking about!) Anyway, the follicles are small, which is normal at this stage. I have sonograms on Thursday, Saturday, Monday and possibly Tuesday to measure the size of the follicles. I will probably have a better idea after the Saturday sonogram when the retrieval will be.

I will post a follow up on Thursday.

Go MAVS!

Belknap Family Update

I know blogs are so last year, but I wanted to have a place where I can make sure I keep everyone up-to-date and not forget anyone. So, blogging it is. My commitment is to try to keep this as updated as I possibly can, and when I cannot, have Mike do it.

On to our news. For those that already know, sorry to repeat myself. For those that don't, this is for you. After many unsuccessful years of trying to get pregnant, Mike and I have chosen to do at least one IVF cycle and then adopt after that. This is my attempt to keep everyone informed of our journey. I am not shy and intend to document every gory detail. I'm sorry to those who feel uncomfortable with over-sharers.

Today was my first sonogram to determine my baseline for the next couple of weeks. I got my call from the doctor this afternoon advising that we were good to go, that I am to start my injections on Saturday, and what the dosage was for each shot. Here we go! We are off and running!

This post is to simply ask for everyone's thoughts and prayers. We are cautiously optimistic about this and are praying for success...if not for the IVF to work, for the following adoption process to be seamless. Please pray for my health (physically and mentally), for the success of the treatment, and most importantly for our marriage. I know that this can be so stressful on a marriage, and our main focus must be our relationship with each other. We believe in the power of prayer and know that God hears and answers them!

More updates and doctor's reports to follow.

G and P

If anyone wants to see the cutest pictures EVER of Gaite and Paige, head on over here.

Christmas Contest

So, we had a Christmas party at work where there was a prize for the ugliest Christmas sweater. I won. I'm sure you can see why. Ugliest, most hideous, and homemade...and a special thanks goes out to Lisa who helped make this possible.

Yes. Those are cotton balls tacky glued to a t-shirt, with jingle bells for buttons, and a felt carrot nose with a felt top hat and scarf. Hideous!!! And a winner!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

One of the ONLY things that I like about this time of year is that when it gets cold, that means it's time for FIRESIDE COFFEE!!! Woo-hoo!

I love holiday cheer.

I love the smell of fires burning in chimneys.

I love having a fire in our fireplace.

I LOVE sleeping when it's cold.

I love getting days off of work.

I love guiltless eating.

I love my Christmas tree.

I love Thanksgiving.

I love giving gifts.

And I really, really love Fireside Coffee!

In The Navy, In the Navy

Well, last weekend was the weekend that the ole Smith family headed up to Great Lakes, Illinois to watch our baby graduate from the Navy’s basic training. It was beautiful, emotional, heart wrenching, and exciting all at once.

None of us (except for Beau) had been to Chicago before, so that was a new experience. It was FREEZING! Holy cow! It was as cold in November as it gets the entire winter here. Much too cold and windy for me. The wind was biting. The air was cold. The sun never really came out…the sky was gray and cloudy. We arrived at O’Hare on Thursday evening, and made the 30-40 minute drive up to Great Lakes, grabbed a bite to eat, and settled into our hotel. We stayed at the Navy Lodge, which may not be the Hilton, but it was VERY affordable and clean. And did I mention close to the base? That was the best part! As soon as Andrew would call in the morning, we would race out and head down three traffic lights to pick him up. It was so great!

Friday morning we got up before it was light outside and headed to the base. We hadn’t seen him yet, and we were anxious to get to him. We had heard that we needed to get there super early to get a good seat and to get there before the division t-shirts ran out. (Each division gets to design their own flag, and then they make a limited number of t-shirts that match and sell them the morning of graduation.) We were definitely there early, got a great seat right in front of where Andrew’s division was supposed to stand, and waited, and waited, and waited. Totally worth the wait!!!
The PIR hall (graduation is called Pass In Review, or PIR) is a long warehouse looking building that seems as long as a football field. There is a roll up garage-like door that opens and each division marches in the door, down one “sideline”, and up the back “sideline”. Visitors sit along the front “sideline” as they watch each division come in and then take their place in the hall facing the visitors.
Andrew’s division was second to last to enter, so we were at the end of the hall. We saw his division march up, and we started hunting for Andrew. They all sort of look alike with their matching uniforms, hats, and shaved heads. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen was when I finally caught a glimpse of Andrew marching in with his head up and his shoulders back. It was absolutely beautiful. I can’t describe it, but I will never forget the way he looked. We all immediately burst in to tears (and I mean “we ALL”). We then made it through the rest of graduation, found Andrew afterwards, and then tried to beat a path out of there, lest he get stuck on base when we wanted him all to ourselves!
Dropping him off at the base each evening was terrible. It just sucked having to watch him walk back to his barracks each evening instead of getting to stay with the family. But the next morning, we did it all over again. We got to go into Chicago to the Navy Pier (freaking cold right on the water until we realized that we could walk inside…genius); went to the Sears Tower (I didn’t go up, but drove around the block a few dozen times because I couldn’t find parking that wasn’t illegal); went to a huge mall at Gurney Mills (similar to Grapevine Mills); and ate.
It was just so great to get to see Andrew, and laugh at his humor, and listen to him apologize to Mom over and over for swearing in front of her. A lady thanked him for his service while we were out, and he said, “Thank you, ma’am.” I cried when she told him that, and I really cried when he thanked her. He held doors open for people; he took his hat off when he went into buildings. He really has changed so much in so little time. He was sad to see us leave, and we were definitely sad to leave him. I wanted to pack him up in my suitcase and bring him home. But I didn’t, and he has already left basic training and arrived in Groton, Connecticut, where he will begin his A School on December 1. He doesn’t get to come home for Thanksgiving, but hopefully he will be able to get a few days at Christmas. Can’t wait to see him again, and I really can’t wait for Mike to get to see him. I am just so proud of Andrew, although I still say he might should have his head examined. Haha!

I am a proud (some might describe it as psycho) Navy sister!!!