New Year Cards and Invites... Tomorrow?

Last year, we sent "Happy New Year" holiday cards instead of Christmas cards.  I'm doing the same this year because it's just SO nice to not worry about them until after Christmas.  Well... this year, I had them printed, stuffed and ready in plenty of time, but when I went to print the labels, my printer driver was corrupted (the ink was dried-up anyway, so whatever...).  I hate my printer.  But, I digress...  They're ready to go out tomorrow - hopefully they make it by New Years :).

On the same day, I will also be mailing invites to our Gender Reveal Party.  We are throwing a party (not a shower 'cause we really have all the gear we need) because we want a reason to celebrate this baby on the way.  Plus, I think the idea of telling our family and friends at one time is super-fun.

Close family and friends - sorry, but you'll likely get both pieces of mail from us on the same day.  Have a Happy New Year!

Freaked Out... Again

I didn't feel any baby movements on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, so I did what I do so naturally and freaked out.  My new doctor was very willing to see me the day after Christmas to check on the baby's heartbeat.  Nice and strong - 160 BPM - and we could hear the baby rolling around. 

I have felt the baby moving around plenty since then, go figure.  I don't know what I'd do without my understanding, caring team at VWC!

And... Just 'cause... Here's a "bump selfie" from a little over a week ago.  I'll work on posting these more regularly so I can look back at them after the baby arrives :).

Merry Christmas!

It's no secret that I love Christmas and the month or so leading up to it.  We have been having so much fun this season, and last week did not disappoint :).

On Christmas Eve, we spent the day with my Dad and his wife at their annual Open House.  It was a wonderful party!  And it was the first opportunity for many to congratulate us and to see the growing belly.  What fun!

Ryleigh was ready to go to bed in a way I've never seen before...  She set out milk and cookies for Santa and then listened for his sleigh bells.  When she heard them, she took off like a rocket SCREAMING for her Daddy that he needed to come in from the garage and tuck her in.  She needed to go to sleep IMMEDIATELY!  I smile so big just thinking about it... She laid down and was either asleep or perfectly still about 2 minutes later.

Christmas day was also very exciting! After opening gifts and playing with toys for a few hours, my in-laws, mother and sister all joined us for lunch.  It was a lovely time with family and quiet time for us, which I appreciated.

Weekend of Celebration

It's a very festive time of the year, and we're not letting it get by us!  Friday evening, Barry and I decided to celebrate all the positive, wonderful changes that have come our way at the end of this year and put residual stress aside. We went out to Ruth's Chris for a fabulous 4 course meal and made our way home later than I've been able to stay awake in months.

Then Saturday, we spent the day with my wonderful family. My Dad and his lovely wife moved into a new house, so we joined them and my step siblings at the new house for a day of merriment and (of course) eating and drinking.

And in baby news, we toured St. Francis Hospital on Sunday. It's SO close to our house and my OB practice has an office there, so we decided to give it a shot... I was very impressed! I'm going to switch to the Midlothian office, and we're going to plan to deliver there. Big decision and one I'm glad we've made... Now to get my appointments rescheduled...

Growing Fast and Feeling Better

I can't believe I'm 15 weeks pregnant!  Apparently, the baby is now the size of a naval orange.  And I now know for sure that I'm feeling movements :).  They're very small and infrequent, but they're certainly there.  And the belly is growing fast enough that people at work are starting to take notice (my weight gain is right on-track, so I know it's not a "food" belly).  This is the good part of pregnancy - only sick every now and then, have more energy and it's starting to be something I can talk about openly.

In other news, Ryleigh's actual birthday yesterday was a huge success.  She loves her new "Frozen" PowerWheels Jeep and enjoyed her cupcake party at school.  I can't believe she's 4!!!!!

And... Barry received news today that he passed the first part of the Primary Program at work.  It's tough to explain, but it's a big milestone that took months and months of work.  I'm so proud of him!  We're going out on a date tomorrow to celebrate!

Muscle Spasms?!

I understand it's "too early" to feel the baby move between weeks 14 and 15, but I could swear when I'm laying very still that I feel small movements. They feel like what I remember of baby movements, but part of me wonders if they could be muscle spasm since it's so early... I'm going to give myself another couple weeks to figure it out, but how fun would it be to look back and realize I was feeling the baby at 14 weeks!

Panic Attack!

In other baby news... I had a panic attack on Thursday :(. I had them more frequently in high school, but it has been awhile. This one stemmed from worrying that something went wrong and that I had lost the baby. I had no symptoms or reasons to worry, but these panic attacks rarely stem from a true threat. I had a full day of travel to a client site in Arlington, so I just tried to ignore the anxiety and move on. But come Friday morning, I was still worried, so I reached-out to my doctor's office. They were so wonderful and accommodating! They made me feel that my illogical feelings were still valid and worked me in so I could hear the baby's heartbeat via doppler. Perfect 151 BPM :). I've also been considering switching my hospital for delivery to St. Francis, and that's the office I visited for my doppler. I met a super-nice doctor, so I now feel confident that if I make that decision, I'll have a doctor I really like that can deliver at St. Francis.

Photo Shoot!

We had lots of reasons to take pictures, so we had a great session with Courtney Taylor Bowles - holiday cards, pregnancy announcement and Ryleigh's 4th birthday. Here are a few of our favorites!!

Ryleigh's Birthday Party!

I can't believe Ryleigh is turning 4 on Dec 17... Where did the time go?!?! We celebrated her birthday with a party at home on the 6th, and she had a blast. It was Frozen themed (food, decorations and, of course, the cake). Here's a picture of the cake that I made from scratch.

It was a lot of work, but totally worth it! I'm glad we announced the pregnancy before the party because everyone got to see my starting baby bump.

And then the next day, we went to Busch Garden's Christmas Town. It was a wonderful time with friends in one of the most festive environments I know :).

Fetal Doppler

Have you seen that you can now buy fetal dopplers? They cost approximately $50 and you can listen to your unborn baby's heartbeat at home. I'm intrigued, but not quite ready to swipe my Visa yet. I'm wondering if it would give me peace of mind or feed my paranoia...

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Today is Barry's 32nd birthday, and we're having a low-key celebration tonight with his parents.  Then this weekend, we're getting together with a group of friends for a dinner sans kiddos.  AND... I gifted him some super-cool lights for his Jeep this year, and he is very excited about them.  I am very proud of myself :).

But in baby news, we had a wonderful early birthday gift yesterday.  At my standard OB appointment, we had a 1st trimester screen (a few days late...) and found that our baby is at the lowest possible risk for trisomy 13 and Down syndrome.  We are so pleased and excited!  What a wonderful way to welcome the 2nd trimester!

So Much for which to be Thankful!

We are right smack-dab in the middle of the holiday season.  And I love it!!!!

Thanksgiving was a lovely day with family.  We ran around all day, so Ryleigh and I were both EXHAUSTED by the end of it.  Next year, I'm considering hosting.  With two little ones on different nap schedules, I think it'll be less tiring to do the cooking!

Thanksgiving morning was exciting in our house.  As I was getting dressed, Ryleigh joined me in the bathroom and put both her hands on my belly saying, "Woah, that's a big belly.  Is there a baby in there?"  I couldn't help but answer her direct question with a "yes."  She was so excited that she hugged me tight and said, "It's a sister; I just know it's a sister."  So sweet!  I asked her how she'd feel about a baby brother, and she responded, "We will need to decorate the crib with Spiderman."  I think that's approval??

And now our family's excitement turns to Ryleigh's 4th birthday and preparing for Christmas.  Decorations are up, invites are out and party plans are under-way.  We even arranged for a "4th birthday" photo shoot, complete with New Year card family photos and some pregnancy announcement shots.  I'll post those up here when I get the final images to share.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Busy 2 Weeks!

So, I said we wouldn't be living in 2 week cycles anymore... Well, that's simply not true.  "Just a couple more weeks" is my motto :).  I've been dealing with morning sickness - thankfully not as tough as when I was pregnant with Ryleigh.  But, chasing around a pre-schooler and working full-time, I've been sick enough...

We've also had a couple of episodes stemming from my ovarian hyper-stimulation that have taken us back to the doctor for u/s.  At 8w5d, the baby was measuring right on-time and all looked good.  At 11w5d, the baby was measuring 12 weeks and looked like a baby!  Moving around and being shy (i.e. covering his/her face with his/her hands).

We finally have a picture that looks remotely like a baby (less like an alien), so I'll go ahead and share one now.

After 2 Years of 2 Week Cycles... There's Another Baby on the Way!

We are so excited to tell the world that the Gooden family is expanding and that we are expecting another baby, due June 10, 2015.

For those who don't know our story, we have had a tough couple of years trying to grow our family. 4 miscarriages and tons of fertility testing and treatment later, we are FINALLY sick and exhausted and EXCITED!

We can finally break the 2 week cycles we've been living (medicate and try/wait 2 weeks, medicate and try/wait 2 weeks, repeat, repeat...). For those who are interested and understand RE "speak," here's what we went through once we finally got into the hands of a fertility guru (3 losses and a year of heartache later).
Jan 2014 - Femara, 1 follicle, pregnyl, BD, BFN
Feb 2014 - Femara, 1 follicle, pregnyl, BD, BFN
April 2014 - Femara, 1 follicle, pregnyl, BD, BFN
May 2014 - no meds, IUI, BFP, chemical loss
July 2014 - Femara, 75 Follistim, 3 follicles, ovidrel, IUI, progesterone, BFN
September 2014 - Femara, 75 Follistim CD8-13, 7 follicles, ovidrel, BD, BFP!!!!!!
DPO 9, beta 13
DPO 13, beta 104
DPO 15, beta 259
DPO 27, beta 9,910
6w5d - 125 bpm
8w0d - 166 bpm
8w5d - 178 bpm

As we did with Ryleigh's pregnancy, we'll use this blog to document the joy and excitement of the next few months. We cannot wait to share the wonderful experiences of our pregnancy (and the craziness that will surely ensue).

All Our Love and Excitement,
Englash, Barry and Ryleigh