Hudson & Addison

This weekend, I got together with two of my college roommates - Janell and Heather. Janell hadn't met Heather's daughter, Addison, yet. She's 5 months old already! And, I think the last time Heather saw Hudson was last July! I can't believe it has been that long. I get to see both of these ladies quite often, but we rarely are all three together. It was a short visit ... dinner at Cracker Barrel, but it was nice. Heather with Hudson
Janell with Miss Addison
Hudson just wanted to touch her...it was soo cute!

Janell and Hudson stayed with us so it was fun to see him and Kahlua interact. Kahlua did very well. The only real problem is that she tends to bark...A LOT!...hence the raw hide bone she is chewing on. All Hudson wanted to do was stare at Kahlua and try to pet her. I think it might be time for a puppy at their house? ha!

Here is the last photo I have of Hudson and Kahlua (July 08 - 3 months old)...

Kahlua is so protective!

Anniversary?

You may be asking yourself, "What anniversary is this?" Dating anniversary? Engagement anniversary? Wedding anniversary? ......nope, it was exactly one year ago today that we met our RE for the first time. I'm not sure this is really an anniversary I want to celebrate, and I know I don't want to be thinking about it next year on April 30th! The one thing this does bring to mind is what has happened in the last year:

• 3 IUI's
• 1 miscarriage
• 1 IVF/ICSI cycle
• many trips to Urbana
• 2 nights in Indy
• 11 BFN's
  

What else is more fitting? Today was my start cycle appointment for IVF #2!!! The u/s and b/w looked good this morning...E2 below 20, 8 antral follies on the right and 14 antral follies on the left. And, we've decided to add one more medication to the mix - DHEA. From what I was told today, there is a recent study showing that it helps with follicle stimulation. If you remember, in our first IVF cycle, we only had 4 mature follicles. We are hoping for around 10 this time. So, I'll be picking that up at the grocery store this weekend.

Here we go!...

National Infertility Awareness Week

National Infertility Awareness Week is a movement to raise awareness about the disease of infertility which affects 7.3 million Americans. Visit Resolve for more information.

In recent weeks, I have found that those dealing with infertility have some similarities to those grieving the loss a loved one. I say this because a friend in my bible study lost her husband recently and when we were getting advice on what to say and what not to say, the answers were similar to how to talk to someone dealing with infertility.

First, don't act like the situation doesn't exist (ie: not talking about the person because they have passed on or talking to someone dealing infertility about their journey). Although some people do not like to talk to others IRL about infertility, I am an open book. I would rather someone ask me about it and talk to me rather than act as though it is not something affecting my life. It has become a huge part of who I am at this time in my life and has changed who I will become.

Second, you'll never understand what the person is going through unless you have been there (and even then, situations are different). And, if we've never been in their shoes, we can empathize with them and try to relate to them based on what we have learned over time. I honestly believe that God has given Jason and I this 'bump in the road' for a number of reasons - 1) to learn to rely on Him and trust Him and 2) to educate others around us on the 'world of infertility'. I hope that I have done that in the best way possible and that I will continue to do it even when I have my miracle baby.

I also discovered that the biggest reason people don't know what to say or how to act is because of the lack of openness about it. When is the last time you saw a movie about someone dealing with infertility? I always say that if I had cancer, everyone would be talking about it but since it's infertility no one wants to discuss it. Guess that's because awareness has been raised about the different types of cancers and treatments. Let's start bringing awareness about infertility!

8 things

8 Things.....

Jessie at The Adventures of the McKinney Twins tagged me for this one. Jessie is one of the success stories from my RE's office...thanks for giving me hope!

When you get done reading all these interesting things about me, you can complete it, too!

8 Things I am Looking Forward To:

1. Consistently warm weather.
2. A weekend scrapbooking with friends.
   
3. Getting our pergola completed before opening the pool.
   
4. Watching lots of Cub games! We are going to two games so far!
   
5. Our 2nd IVF cycle...
   
6. Planning our next vacation - Hawaii?
   
7. The end of July and being done with my summer conferences (only to really be working on a big one for January).
   
8. Pool parties throughout the summer with family and friends!
   

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Went to work.
   
2. Had lunch with a friend.
   
3. Got the oil changed in the car
4. Attended a picnic with my little "sister"
   
5. Watched Biggest Loser
6. Watched the Cubbies get another win!
   
7. Checked my e-mail
8. Left comments for ICLW
   

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Stay home and still get paid!
   
2. Sing well
   
3. Travel whenever and wherever I wanted without thinking about the cost
   
4. Run ... it was such a good feeling watching Jason participate in a half marathon ... what a great atmosphere, just not sure I could do it!
   
5. Hire a maid! (Me, too, Jessie!)
6. Get a pedicure, manicure, and massage every week!
   
7. Have the right words to encourage others.
8. Be creative and witty!
   

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Two and a Half Men
   
2. Amazing Race
   
3. Biggest Loser
4. Survivor
5. Law & Order SVU
   
6. The Bachelor/Bachelorette
7. Dancing with the Stars
   
8. Chicago Cubs baseball!
   

Welcome ICLWers!

This is my first time participating in the International Comment Leaving Week (ICLW). I thought this would be a great way to "meet" new people so I am looking forward to it.

For those of you who are visiting for the first time...THANKS! I am not a very witty or funny writer, but I hope you will stick around to see what life is like in the Patterson house. You'll see that I blog about pretty much anything - family, friends, activities, tv shows, and, of course, our infertility battle. You can find a timeline of our journey to the right, but I'll give you our info here, too.

As a teenager and young adult it was made very clear to me that having children before marriage would not get me my "big, white wedding" ... and, of course, who doesn't want their big wedding? So, naturally, I was on the bcp until we decided we were ready to start trying. I met my husband, Jason, in October of 2000, and we got married in May of 2003.

On our one year wedding anniversary, we decided we were ready to add to our family. I remember conversations about people who tried to have kids and when they quit trying they would get pregnant supposedly because "they just quit worrying about it" (at least that's what those people believed). I certainly didn't want to be categorized into that group, so I wasn't going to obsess over trying...and, I didn't. We were young, Jason was finishing his degree, we were traveling and enjoying life. After about two years, I began wondering what was going on, maybe we weren't really trying all that hard so I started tracking my cycles. (I didn't even know how long my cycles were before this!) They seemed to be okay, but a little irregular - ranged between 28 & 35 days.

After 29 months of BFNs (October 2007), I talked to my doctor about checking things out to see if there was something preventing us from getting pregnant. I had a blood test that day, and Jason had his semen analysis the next day. Lucky for us, everything came back normal. (FYI - my husband is a cancer survivor - so glad to know that the treatments didn't cause any problems) Their first recommendation was Clomid - the lowest dose (50mg). After 5 months of clomid with timed intercourse, an hsg (all clear), and 5 BFNs, we were referred on to our wonderful reproductive endocrinologist (RE)!

We met with Dr. J in April 2008 and instantly liked him. He was very knowledgable and had a genuine interest in helping us. Of course, he thought we would get pregnant right away. After 3 IUIs and 1 miscarriage, we moved on to IVF. Our first IVF was in January and resulted in a BFN, so we are on to round 2! We'll be starting stims at the beginning of May and are hoping and praying for our BFP!

Birthday Celebration

I know...3 posts in one day...lots to catch up on! After we left Rockford on Friday night, we had to head to my parent's house for our regular birthday celebration. It is so hard to get together for each person's individual birthday that we now group them. So, in the spring we celebrate January, February, March and April birthdays.

my SIL Kelly holding Reid

Aunt Amber & Nicole

Aunt Amber & MitchellMichelle with Reid
Reid - 7 weeks old
We had awesome homemade pizza by my mom and an angel food cake with a frosting that my grandma used to make. Yes, my mom is using an electric knife to cut it! :-) It actually wasn't hard, but the frosting which was supposed to be a "sticky" frosting hardened so we weren't sure how it would cut with a regular knife. This actually worked out quite well!

The birthday people -- me, Nicole (14), dad, Michelle, Reid

Hudson turns One!

Jason and I headed north to Rockford on Friday night to spend a little time with one of my college roommates, Janell, and her family. Her son had his 1st birthday on Thursday, and although we weren't able to stay for the party, we wanted to come visit for a while.

He is so photogenic!! What a sweetie!

And, he can even "High-five" at one year!

Happy Birthday, Hudson!!

Sorry we weren't able to stay for your party!