I'm gonna be an Aunt Sue!!! :)

That's right - I'm gonna be an aunt and I'm SO excited! Shawna (brother's wife) is 15 weeks as of tomorrow. I can't wait to find out if it will be a boy or girl. Then I can commence to buying all kinds of gender-appropriate things. :)

Although I was really looking forward to being pregnant with Shawna and having our kids be so close in age, (I actually found out about it the day before we got our sad news) I know His timing is perfect. Praise the Lord for this precious gift!!! This baby is truly a blessing to all of us and I can't wait to meet him or her!

The baby is due April 22nd. Here's what I'm looking forward to with my niece or nephew:

1. holding that bundle of joy for the first time - Oh I can't wait!
2. babysitting my niece or nephew - for free (that's right, so hand em over!)
3. seeing some of myself in some way in the baby (a laugh, personality, or my oh-so coveted ability to bust a move)
4. taking lots and lots of really fun pictures
5. seeing him or her smile at me, recognize me, and reach out their arms for me
6. watching them play in their first organized sports game or dance recital (face it Mark, it might happen)
7. being able to hype him or her up and then send them home ;)
8. having them meet, become buddies, and pal around with my future kids

I'm not quite sure when the appointment is to find out the gender but rest assured, I will announce as soon as I can. :) Please be in prayer for little baby Steenback and Shawna and Mark. They've been such an encouragement to myself and Septtro. I know both of them will make fantastic parents!

Dr Appt Update

So I had my doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. I had to wait almost an hour to see the doctor, but once I did, I realized it was worth it. She was extremely attentive and knowledgeable - willing and open to do whatever necessary to help me get pregnant again. I didn't feel rushed at all while talking to her...very nice and personable.

Basically, she further explained PCOS and told me what she would do now is get some blood work done to test my insulin levels. Apparently, my other doctor never tested for that. Sometimes women with PCOS can be insulin-resistant and this can cause health issues such as diabetes and high cholesterol down the road. She would then want to do an ultrasound to look at my ovaries herself and also check out everything else. She's a very thorough doctor and very precise and careful. Afterwards, as long as she sees what my records show (that I do have PCOS) and perhaps depending on what my blood work reveals, she would want to put me on Metformin [I knew it! :)]. She gave me several articles to read on PCOS, wants me to keep track of my basal temperature (my other doctor didn't even care to see my basal chart when I offered), and keep taking Reliv. She was very open to Reliv after I told her the success of others so that was encouraging. She said she didn't care how I got pregnant - only that I did and if Reliv helped do that, she was fine with it. I let her know I really don't like medicines but after hearing her and reading the articles, I feel Metformin might be a good option but I'm gonna try to give Reliv a chance first.

I won't see her again until December 3rd. That will be when I have an ultrasound and she'll go over the blood work results. I'll have to go to the lab for blood work in the next couple of weeks. We thought maybe I'd get to see her sooner but she's obviously very busy. That's ok with me. She pointed out some numbers on my blood work from several months ago that will hopefully change in the next few months. I'm hoping maybe my blood work I have done in a few weeks will reveal some progress after being on Reliv for a few more weeks.

All in all, it was a good visit and I feel encouraged. I'm fairly sure I'll end up switching to her as my primary doctor. I'm very thankful the Lord led me to her. I think she'll be very helpful. My weeks are still filled with good days and bad but I feel like at least physically, I'm getting myself on the right track.

Acrobatic Doggies

I've discovered a new setting on my camera and have been practicing with Suka and Tillman (brother's dog). Here are some of the better pictures...

It's almost like she was trying to pose for the camera instead of catching the ball.

I love this one

I love this one too - she's so happy! :)

Yeah sometimes she forgets to open her mouth.

Hahaha...I love her ears in this picture

Break it down, Suka!

Yes, she does actually catch it every now and then.

Tillman has some ups!
I really wish this picture wasn't in the shade because it would have turned out a lot better

I guess it helps he's a bit OCD - all he can think about is "ball, ball ball"

I kept mom in the picture so you can really get an idea of how high he's jumping.

They like to fight over who can get the ball first. They love each other so much! :)

Handsome lil devil isn't he?

She was being so frustratingly cute. I was trying to get her to lie down so I could get a good picture of her and she kept doing an army crawl towards me and then flipped over. So I gave up and just took the picture.

One Day Closer

My mom has been such an encouragement to me these past couple months. At the end of a lot of emails and phone conversations, she'll tell me I'm one day closer. One day closer to getting pregnant again. One day closer to meeting my baby. One day closer to being a mom. And you know what? I can't wait! :)

I have an appointment at another doctor's office a week from today. She's a doctor that has PCOS and has had a miscarriage and also has a young child. So I'm hopeful that she will be able to more adequately direct me down the right path towards a good, healthy pregnancy. Not that I blame my previous doctor for what happened. It's just they're more hands-off and let you decide whereas I'd rather someone with the experience guide me a little bit more. I'm not switching doctors at this point - just getting a second opinion on everything. I might end up switching but I'm just not sure yet.

I've started taking a vitamin shake twice a day. It's called Reliv and my mom has taken it for about 10 years. I guess there's been a lot of women with PCOS who've had success so I'm hopeful it will work for me as well. It actually helps with all kinds of health issues. I guess the biggest sign for me that it's working at this point will be if the skin on my back and shoulders starts to clear up. That seems to be a pretty consistent sign that my body isn't quite where it needs to be (while on clomid, it was clear as well as when I was on birth control). I don't like taking medicine so I really do hope taking this route will work. The doctor I'm going to see next week puts a lot of women with PCOS on Metformin and I'd rather not take that but we'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

Praise God for His never-ending grace and His all sufficient power over my circumstances. One day closer. I'm one day closer...

Kris' Wedding

So I'm a lil late posting this but better late than never right? I did take my camera but didn't take any pics...the ones below are from my cell phone. Kris looked amazing and the wedding was a lot of fun; it couldn't have been a more perfect day for an outdoor Charleston reception!

Hahahaha...I thought this was pretty funny - it's even spelled correctly!

Kris gettin all ready before it's time to walk down the aisle!

Laura and me

Cubee Crafts!!

A very fun website has been discovered and it's lots of fun. It's called cubeecraft.com and they continuously add characters. There's even a template to make your own. I made Lion-O (from Thundercats) for Septtro's birthday and he enjoyed him quite a bit. :) The Brain sits at my desk. Here are some pictures of fun we've had:

Lion-O

Mega Man

The Brain - up close and personal

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jason Vorhees face off

Darth Vader meets another prime evil as he casually happens upon The Brain