Just some picture updates! 👶🏻

Finally got a good picture of baby boy! 

Heart rate of 125 today at the appointment- we had to wake him up from a nap... or at least pester him. He really likes to be active around 7:30/8:00 when I get to sit down. ;) 

In my opinion, we've got another Miles headed our way! 

Gestational diabetes... is going just fine. Insurance paid for this fancy meter that sends the results to my phone and I've been tracking for a week or so. I haven't had any spikes... so I am really not concerned. But also, I am not a doctor- so I have to follow directions. 

 

Tough guy, tough pregnancy.

 

I guess tough is relative. Maybe I shouldn’t fuss. This guy is giving me a run for my money though. It's too easy to compare the pregnancies and maybe that's the problem. I can't remember ever being so uncomfortable, even with twins! And this early?!?! This guy has been making me sick for some time, and when I thought I'd gotten past the nausea part- now we're looking at gestational diabetes! My sugars were elevated for the one hour so I did the three hour test and my numbers were concerning enough to qualify me as being gestational diabetic. So thanks, kid. 

Could it be IVF vs natural conception? Or my old age of 34? Or the pressure created on my body from already going through three IVF procedures and two pregnancies? Maybe not having three others that need me? Or everything??

The worst part, it's hard to whine about- because I am also so very thankful that my body was able to make this happen and FOR FREE! I mean, I’m amazed daily that this is reality. But then it's hard to walk around with this pressure and pain at the same time, ha! 

This new guy still doesn't have a name either- which is no fault of his, haha. We just cannot find a fitting name for him! 

I am almost 30 weeks along and I know we will be scheduling the c-section when I get to 39 weeks, so less than ten weeks to go! Doc is thinking the 21st of May, I’m shooting for the 25th! 

Very good news is that I get ultrasounds at the next couple of visits! That’s the best part! ♥️

In other news, these three kids are rock stars. Lucy is growing like a weed and figuring out that she doesn't actually "run the world as previously believed.... Callie is using full sentences and saying, "I see you" and "Where are you" and "I am reading!" She's hilarious. Miles is charming anyone that looks his way... strangers at the playgrounds keep telling me how cute he is... and he's eating it up! 

The interaction between the two littles is so precious too. Callie calls him Mi-ahs and Miles calls her Allie. 

We are fighting with skin ailments currently and already getting the dermatologist involved. Lucy is spotty with eczema which we’ve working on for awhile. Callie has some spots of molluscum-which the doc is helping get rid of one-at-a-time. Miles, poor guy- is suffering from both- so his skin is just rough right now. Any home remedies or solutions? The doctor is just about out of options and at $40/each per visit- we’re about to bow out. 

Anyway, life is good-kids are cute- and our countdown to summer is also countdown to baby, so there’s no complaining about that! ♥️

24 Weeks! Viability!

 We've made it to 24 weeks and that's exciting because that means viability. That means...hospitals will have the equipment to care for a teeny tiny- if something should happen. My pregnancy apps say he's the size of a papaya, chocolate cake or a bunny. I plan on cooking this kiddo as long as he'll allow (or doc is ready).

This pregnancy has been the toughest- by far. From the spontaneous surprise to comparing it to when we prepped my body for weeks and months... to caring for 3 littles while growing a baby.. and this guy being a "normal" pregnancy so there's a lot less attention from professionals- also, he made me throw up- like a lot of times. Add in a bit of global pandemic, weekly schedule changes and new protocols for basically everything in life. On the other side, it's also been a perfect time to grow a baby- we stay away from people and germs, we aren't eating out nearly as often, and virtual learning is less physically demanding (but mental challenges make up for that). I have also attended several "elective" scans to make sure my nerves were assured that all is well. :) 

This little guy had a heart rate in the 160s at our check up last week where we talked about scheduling, vaccines and surgeries. I am feeling movement and he is strong. All is well with us. 

In the world of Lucy, she knows now. If you missed the Facebook post- she wasn't thrilled about the idea of another kid taking up room as they run in the hallway.... She's come around to the idea and even requested multiple more siblings and nope. 

Miles and Callie have no idea and I'm sure they'll be just as clueless when he gets here. They both looove babies and seek them out, so I'm sure it'll be fun! 

Oh Boy!

 The holidays may be over but the excitement at the Bratcher house is an all year occurrence. 

Miles and Callie had their 18 month well check this week and well, they are still perfect. 

Miles is 32.5 inches tall and 28 lbs. Callie is 32.2 inches and 24 lbs. If you’ve been around them lately, it was not hard to believe that Miles is a tad heavier. 😂

They have all kinds of words, and most you can understand.... Miles is still super obsessed with Big Bird, Ho Ho, all things momma and he’s added words like hot dog, bath, and up please, to his vocabulary. Callie talks... a lot. She’ll tell ya all about the “plane outside, balloon in the sky, chicken too hot, stop, thank you,” and so much more. 

They are both climbers, pushers, movers and runners. This age is so fun and so very active. I’ll also admit that Lucy didn’t know what a movie was until she was about three.... and Callie asked to watch Moana the other day.... so obviously I’ve been a little tired. 😔 Miles and Callie can sit and watch a movie longer than they probably should be able to at this age. 

Lucy is usually a helpful sis. She is also the reason they are fast runners... they practice in our hallway and sometimes they are running to escape her “love.” She’s always working on gentle touch and keeping her hands to herself. She’s loving preschool still and gives me the daily report of her classmates name by name. So if your kiddo attends her preschool, I probably know what they thought about snack today. 😄 She’s four and asks like she knows everything, she bosses people around until they tell her to stop, and she still has no idea she’s getting another baby in May. 

So this new kid- he’s a BOY! Yes, we are super psyched! Making even teams, being able to have a boys room/girls room, using the boy items that Miles is finished with- all fun stuff!! 

I was able to take the funniest pictures of the crew with their gender reveal shirts on with no questions asked.😆 

Now for names, we have exactly zero ideas. I’d like for it to mesh with the others well, have an L, one or two syllables and not repeat the first initial with anyone else. Simple, right? We didn’t have any girl names ready either, so either way we are starting from scratch. We thought coming up with Miles and Callie’s names were tough. 😄

2020, amIright?

    So what in the world are those Bratchers up to now? I mean beside being "essential workers," surviving a national pandemic, raising three- super fun kiddos and just being all around non-stop? Well, as you've heard- we're adding one more to the mix! 

     I'd like to say that I'm a medical miracle, but I'm not sure how that works. Maybe that's the point though- I have no idea how this worked. I mean, obviously, we know how this works. Not sure how we go from paying thousands of dollars for a shot at getting pregnant and even failing embryo transfers to donating our frozen embryos to conceiving naturally... 2020, right?

     So once upon a time, I was feeling yucky. I very rarely feel sick and I hardly ever go to a doctor outside of fertility issues- heck- I didn't even have a family doctor until I scheduled an appointment to see if I had the flu or something else (Not even going to jinx myself). After scheduling with a new doctor- I reexamined my symptoms and thought, if I was normal... these symptoms would mean... huh... I took a test and made a different appointment that day. 

How could I not know immediately, right? Well, I don't have a regular period, and I've been diagnosed as infertile- that's all.  

   In making that appointment- I turned out to be an assertive patient and even though the nurse practitioner tried to brush me off with a urine test (Hello, I already did that part myself!) I was able to get an ultrasound to determine viability. So there ya go. 

   In processing the news, I went on to schedule an ultrasound with Early Images in Jeff the next week and then because, well, this was big news to process- I emailed my fertility doctor and set up another ultrasound for the week after that. (She was on maternity leave but I got in with another doc in the practice, who was so helpful!) So three weeks into knowing and three ultrasounds later- I start cooking up announcement ideas and Christmas cards. Processing. I have since had several (many) ultrasounds and doppler checks to assure my heart and head that this is real! 

That brings us quickly to nausea, fatigue, irritability and all those cute pregnancy symptoms.  Happily welcomed with a "FREE BABY?!!?" mentality. Haha.  

Here's the craziest part (I mean, not the craziest but if you followed my two other pregnancies, its crazy), I haven't had hives!! No insane itching, no raised welps and no over heating skin to cool down. Yes, there is sensitive skin, a dry spot here and there- but no itching hives!! So, per my case study on myself- it had to be the IVF drugs that my body was reacting to, right? I have gotten sick- more than with Lucy, less than with Miles and Callie- whatever that means. The heart rate from yesterday (Dec 10) was 154 with the doppler, as it was the shortest visit in the history of doctors appointments. 

I have an appointment scheduled for the anatomy scan on Jan 4- which will be just past 19 weeks. We will hopefully be able to find out the gender. Who needs more surprises.... hehe. My official due date is May 28, which is also the last teacher day of school. We will see what happens! 

Well, what do ya know?

 

How about that? We couldn't have a merrier Christmas if we tried!