Let it snow...!

Don't worry i didn't really let her shovel!

I managed to actually score a snow day today...well a snow half day really. I worked this morning and was supposed to go back tonight. All afternoon i was hoping that they would call and cancel, it had been snowing steadily since i left work at 1 and i didn't really want to go out in it again. I texted my boss but didn't heat back from her, so decided that maybe they had decided to still go. Last year i had to pick them up after a night out that ended with a flat tire, on a very similar night to this. We headed out to clean off the car and shovel some of the 5" that was on the ground. I made my way up to work and was met at the door by my boss - they had decided not to go and 'forgot' to call me. Argh!!!
Anyway i got to spend the night at home with my honey which is always a bonus!




Tomorrow we're supposed to have brunch with a bunch of friends and their kids. We'll have to wait and see what happens with the weather, don't think it's supposed to stop snowing until 11 and they are over an hour away. Now that we're expecting it's funny to be invited to things that are kid centered, think that normally we wouldn't be included in this group. Added to that is of course the fact that I'm usually working! I have to be at work at 4 so that will play into the plans for the day too.


If you haven't already guessed I'm really over work right now. I can't wait for this week to be over and for them to head to FL. Most importantly is that they are going without me, i get to stay here!!! J and i will get a week off together. I can't wait to relax and spend lots of time with J and hopefully catch up with some friends too. I've been putting in lots of hours recently and feel like I'm always there dealing with their stuff and neglecting my own. Can't help wondering how the baby will fit into all that......

I'm looking forward to Christmas, even if i don't get to celebrate Boxing Day here. We're spending Christmas Eve with J's family and Christmas Day with friends. On Boxing Day i'll be at work packing them up and shipping them off to FL, wishing J and I were in the Motherland with my family. We have our ultrasound booked for the 30th and i can't wait to see the baby. Think we are still undecided about finding out what we're having but definitely leaning more towards finding out. So watch this space!!

Sneak peak...

This is from our 8 wk ultrasound. The last time we got to see the baby and when we were released from the clinic. We are trying to schedule our next ultrasound for around 20 wks, which will be between Christmas and New Year. Can't wait to see the difference!

Meanwhile we've started to do a little bargain hunting, some of the sales have been too good to pass up! This kid is going to be so well kitted out between stuff we've been buying and hand downs that are coming our way. We picked up a great rocking chair and ottoman for the nursery. It is so comfortable we are both sitting in it every chance we get, I'm sure we are going to spend lots of hours hanging out, feeding, playing and reading to the baby.

We have decided to use a group of midwives for the delivery and had a good visit with them on Monday. The baby was moving around so much it was hard for the midwife to get a good read on the heartbeat. The first time she tried it was 144 and we could hear it go in and out of the doppler, then she tried 2 more times and got 152 both times. The last time we were there is was 180, so it's gotten a lot slower.

I better get back to work I can hear the baby waking up from his nap. I'm in Nantucket for the weekend for work but will post more on that later!

Guess what!!

Yep. We're having a baby!!!











Our baby is due May 20th and we are happy to be ending the first trimester and heading into the second. We kept it very quiet for the longest time, a record for me! But we decided to only share with our parents to begin with. Over the last week we started to tell friends, extended family and work. The responses have been great and my parents and sister are making plans to come out next summer. J's mom has her knitting needles going at top speed!

Crazy busy!

We have been really bad bloggers and haven't added anything recently. I was told ages ago that it was my turn and just haven't gotten around to it. But here i am better late than never!
J is back into the groove of things at work and i'm sure it's like she never left. If she's missing the endless days of summer she hasn't said.
As for me. I was jumping up and down for joy when my charge went back to school. Her being back in school means that i'm finally based back in NJ for a while and we get some structure and schedule to our days. She made the transition into the olders class without any problems and her after school activities have filled up too. The little squirt and i are doing a couple of classes too. It was a shock for him to be with kids his own age to begin with and he wasn't sure about it all to begin with. After 2 weeks he's finding his feet and becoming more comfortable with all the activity.
This weekend is looking to be a busy one. We are headed to a friends wedding, followed by a Brandi Carlile concert on Saturday. On Sunday we are going to celebrate a friends birthday with dinner. Then on Monday we are going to see Pink. I know J is really excited. It's going to be great fun. Luckily for me i have Friday off, so that will give me chance to get ready for the big weekend!

Self-Confirmed Druggie - Not Really

Ha! I just did my first official self-inflicted subcutaneous shot of folli-something or other. I dialed my special number (75 iu) and secretly wished I was dialing up a number on a Sleep-Number Bed. You can indulge in this luxury at your nearest Radisson Hotel. I definitely think the Brit and I need to invest in one of these treasures as I LOVE soft, cuddly beds and she could totally hang on one that is hard as the nearest rock! Ok, well not that hard, but pretty firm none the less.

But, wait! Back to my shot. We just started our 5th cycle of IUI. This one is different because we are using the Gonadtropins for the first time. This will make you produce more than one egg - so the chance of multiples increases slightly. That scared the Brit (of all people). She is Ms. Nanny Extraordinaire, but got a little gray when the doctor agreed, "Yes, we cannot control for only one pregnancy." Secretly, I am thinking how cool that would be to have a bunch of little J's running around. Haha - that is probably why The Brit got a little freaked out! LOL. I just hope something kicks in this cycle and works out. If it did, we would be due at the end of May - a Taurus baby. Both the Brit and I are Taurus signs. So can you imagine? I keep telling her that this is the stuff that Reality TVs is made of. Forget Jon and Kate. Make room for
"J & The Brit - Just Can't Take It!" It would be Jon & Kate meets Super Nanny for the Logo channel! Haha, can't you see the marketing appeal??!

Oh yeah, the shot...I was a good girl and watched all of the how to videos. I would pause, complete the step and move on. Of course, my favorite part was flicking the pen to get the air bubbles out. That would have been a good job for the summer- official needle flicker, dont ya think?

So back to the docs office on Wednesday for more bloodwork and an ultrasound. They will see if we need to increase the dosage of the Folli-whatever it is called. Supposedly the first half of the cycle is slightly shorter so I best order some more Randy Danny to be sent to NJ soon. Should be greeting him in less than two weeks.

Off to watch Law and Order!

As i watched my blond haired, blue eyed charges play today i couldn't help but wonder what our kids will look like. Will one look like me and the other J as we're both planning to carry. I'm hoping that we bought enough randy danny that our kids will be half-sibs, but there is no guarantee that it will work out that way. Who knows how long the TTC process will take for me and we have to get J pregnant first!
Our appointment with Dr B went well and we found out that we have to do 2 rounds of IUI with shots before we can move on to IVF. Think we were both thinking going straight to IVF, as that has the greatest chance of getting the BFP we so want. But guess if we need it, it'll give us a trial run with all the shots, timings and any possible side effects. I was a little freaked by the increased chance of multiples. I'd really prefer just one baby at a time, but we'll take what we get. Some people find that weird especially as i'm a twin myself.
Cycle number 4 is drawing to a close. When J went in for her blood work after the insems they told her that it looked like she probably hadn't ovulated. We think we may have triggered too soon as the newbie Dr pretty much l let us decide when we wanted to do the shot. That meant no second shot for J and a weird sense of disbelief for us - kind of bummed, but also not quite believing it, hoping that they screwed up, wanting them to be wrong. We'll find out for sure by the end of the week.
J is driving up tomorrow so that we can spend 2 nights together. It was such a great surprise that she arranged. I can't wait to see her and look forward to the summer being over and getting to go home. I don't enjoy the amount of time i have to be away from her, but right now it's part of my job and we just have to get through it.

Number 4

This morning was the second day of insemination. We have a new donor, affectionately called Daniel by S, but nicknamed Randy by me. So I am combining the two and calling him Randy Danny! Let's hope his little swimmers are feeling randy this go round. 15.9 million and 16.0 million respectively. It is amazing how many more you get when you go for ICI vials as opposed to IUI viles that George was. The typical George expresso shot was 8 or 9 million. We thought we hit pay dirt when we were using the last of George and they said there were 12 million. Woohoo, we thought. Nothing though. So Randy Danny, we're keeping our fingers crossed. I go back for blood work on Tuesday morning. Keeping my fingers crossed that all of these damn yams/sweet potatoes /oysters actually help to raise my progesterone, which is typically just under 6. We need that magic number 8.

The great thing was that my sweetheart was home and was able to come to the appointments like normal. Despite having to work this weekend in LI, she will be home for Monday and Tuesday. We meet with Dr. B on Monday to discuss next steps if Randy Danny doesn't do his thing. This cycle seems to be moving fast - maybe cuz life is moving a little faster these past two weeks. This week will be fun because my good friend T. is coming out and then I'm heading down to Atlantic City at the end of the week. The only super downer is that S. is leaving for Nantucket, yet again, on Wednesday. She will be gone for three weeks. I hope I have a new heartbeat for her to hear when she comes home at the end of August! :) At least she doesn't have to drive up in the truck with her bosses as she sits wedged between two wingey (did I spell that right honey?) and whiney kiddos.

Well off to bed. Happy weekend!

Home again

We are finally home. Back in our little 'cottage'. I've been gone for a month and although it feels great to be home it's a little strange at the same time! I'm sure it'll take no time at all to get back into the swing of it. The sad thing is that I'll only be back for a week before I hit the road again ;-(



We spent the weekend in Plymouth for a friend's wedding. It was so much fun, the best wedding that I've been to. It was great to hang out with our friends and the bride and groom thought of everything to make sure it was a great party. How many wedding have the guests donning wigs to boogie to the eighties music?

Although the weather had been more than a little grey and rainy leading up to the big day, the day itself was gorgeous. The sun shone and it was dry.
We partied until 2 am. Can't remember the last time i did that.
It was great to catch up with everyone, especially those that traveled in from other countries to be there. We did miss those that couldn't make it, but a great time was had by all.
J got to have a drink as we are at the start of our 4th cycle. It managed to shift the attention to someone else who elected not the drink and started some raised eyebrows!

We have picked our new donor and had a great time checking out the new feature on CCB. They match donors to celebs that they look like. Thankfully we think the celeb they matched our donor with is a good looking guy, even if we don't know who he is!!!

Have started sticks and will probably insem at the end of the week. Fingers are crossed for number 4!

Quality time

I've been keeping my eye on all the blogs that are TTC this month and hoping for good outcomes for everyone and us along with them. But sadly one by one they haven't gotten the BFP results they were hoping for and neither did we.
Now we have to pick ourselves up, dust off and prepare to start over again. We have no George left so the search for our next donor has started. I find looking through all the options incredibly overwhelming. When you plug in your search criteria there are so many to look through. I want to see each and everyone, but find myself loosing track and getting them confused. Guess what i'm saying is that i've pretty much handed that task over to J. Once the list has been narrowed down and we're looking at the full profile and baby pic etc, i'm more able to get into it all.
J is going to try IUI again next cycle and then we have an appt with Dr B to talk about what our next step is.
The exciting news is that i only have 2 days left at work before my vacation starts!!!!
I'm psyched to be getting a break and even better is that J is coming to Nantucket. We are going to stay here for a few days before heading to our friend's wedding. I'm so looking forward to lots of quality time and plenty of hand holding!!! We don't have any great plans for our time here, we're just going to see what we feel like doing and of course it depends on the weather! 2 whole weeks of just the 2 of us is going to be great...tho maybe J will be sick of me by the time that's done!!
I hope the next few days fly by and that the vacation time leaves me relaxed and rejuvenated. My batteries are definitely nearly empty and need to be recharged. Being away from home for weeks on end is the toughest part of my job. The more i build my life with J the bigger the wrench leaving is. It's like a part of me is still in NJ with her and i need her by my side to really be able to feel whole again.

Bootie update.

As you can see our future Boobala now has 2 booties. Still not completely sure about the size but i have time to play around with it a little more!

Had to resist the urge to ask a lady if i could try one on her new baby the other day...might have been OK if i actually knew her. But not sure how well a stranger would take that if approached at the park! Like to think i would be chilled enough to comply, but who knows.

Added a little something new just for you baby! Love you and can't wait to see you. xoxo

Something New

Everytime I log onto this blog, I notice something new. The Brit is a team member now and that is dangerous! She is changing pictures, stats, backgrounds and everything else under the sun! Haha! It looks great cutie. I love the pics of the bootie. Can't wait until you come home. I bet you will have two perfectly sized booties for the future Boobala :)

Tomorrow morning I go for some blood work to check out the progesterone level. Hopefully it will be up there. I've been a good girl and have been taking my vitamins. I'm doing yoga (go me!) and learning how to just "be". So hard for one who constantly needs a plan. Ah, whatcha going to do. This is my first summer off since I was like 12?!?! I don't know, but you get the hint.

Oh forget to say that there were 12 million little George's in both sessions. I guess like the Brit says, you save the best for last! So let's hope that George meets Gertrude (yes, I've decided to name my egg) and they do what needs to be done. It has been a full moon after all!

Well off to let the kid in. Keeping positive. Can't wait to see ya Brit! xoxoxo

Knitting

I just realised something.....
During the 2 weeks that we are waiting for our BFP i always start a new knitting project. I'm not that great at knitting but have been giving it a go recently. Last month i started work on a hat and booties for the baby. The bootie pattern made an incredibly small bootie and i needed to rework the pattern. When we didn't get our BFP i put my knitting away again with only 1 bootie complete.




Now that i'm back to waiting again the knitting bag has come out and i've started to rework that bootie pattern again. Hopefully this time i'll get it right and we'll get the news that we'll have a baby trying them out in the spring!!!

I'm looking forward to finally getting a day off tomorrow...but i have heard that one before so we'll see. My boss is taking the baby to East Hampton so i'll be here with the child and Dad, should make for some down time for me and chance to try on some dresses for our friend's wedding.

Ramblings from the Brit!

It's so funny the number of times that i have picked up the phone to call J only to get a text from her arrive just as the call is going through. Despite being up in Nantucket we are so connected it's as if she's a part of me.
I'm really hoping that will hold true tomorrow as she goes ahead with the first insem without me there. I missed the first insem last cycle because of work, but was there for the blood work, ultrasound and second insem. My fingers and toes are crossed that this cycle will work, but it will be weird to know that i wasn't there when our child was conceived.
So the agonizing two week wait will begin. Maybe it's better for her that I'm here and not there...constantly watching, looking for any sign that she may be pregnant. Trying to walk that line between being hopeful and optimistic, yet at the same time trying to prepare for another disappointment.
I know that it will happen, it just isn't in our control as the when that will be!

Happy 4th of July!

So I went to thedoctors today. No, not for insem, but to see when I am going to OV. Today is day 14 and despite all of the worrying by the Brit that we would have a truly American baby, I hadn't surged yet. What is so ironic is that in the begiining of the cycle, the right side was the active one. However, once time moves on, the left side is the one with the large follicle. Go figure. There was a good follicle on the left side this morning (21mm). It looked about ready to surge. So the doc gave me the HCG shot to help it along. I go tomorrow and Monday for insem. So fingers crossed.....

Happy 4th of July Brit! Watch out for thos fireworks! :)

Still Waiting

It's funny how everyone that is trying to get PG states that they live their life in two week blocks. I usually do too. Except this week, I feel like the OV sticks and the fertility monitor are my best friends. I'm living in a single day kind of mode. How quickly can day 14 get here? I wake up in the morning and have a lovely chat with the fertility monitor - what day is it today? Will you be on the first square or second? Then after inserting the stick into the monitor, I either grumble because it is so finnicky or tap my foot impatiently waiting for the five minutes so the results will display in the window.

Then it's off to work and the regular routines of the day. By the end of the day, I am looking for my second new friend, the Clearblue and Easy OV sticks. I prefer the digital because I love to see my friend smile up at me rather than try to determine the mood based on the "color" of the stick. Today is only day 11, so hopefully only 3 more days to go. I think that would be so funny to have insem on July 4th. The Brit keeps saying that that would be so American to conceive on Independence Day. Oh well honey, for baby number 2 we'll try for Boxing Day or Mother May Pole Day or I'm the Queen Day (whatever you all celebrate in the Motherland). So yes, I think I will show up at the doctors with sparklers and dressed in red, white and blue. I might as well be festive for the occasion!

I just found out that my other American friend (Mxx) who now lives in England is ten weeks pregnant! Yay! After a few bouts of IVF, it has paid off! I'm sure she is already decorating the room with all sorts of American paraphenalia. Now all she needs to do is send those baby-making vibes this way!

That's it for now. Only 18 more days until the Brit comes home! That is if THE FAMILY doesn't change their mind! Bye!

Missing My Honey

So the Brit has me hooked on reading blog posts. I used to snicker everytime she told me about little "so and so". I would ask innocently who is that? All the time trying to rack my brain if this was a friend she told me about that I should remember. But, alas, it was one of the little kids on the posts. The Brit is hooked and talks about these families as if they are long lost friends. I used to think she was crazy. (The operative word here is "used to")! Not only have a begin to read these blogs as if they are the modern Days of Our Lives, but now I am understanding that we are so not in our journey alone. Thanks Brit - ya got me hooked! So when people ask me what I am going to do with my summer off - I should just respond "Blog-hopping"

We are moving into our third time with IUI this month. I am the lucky one trying to conceive. With rounds 1 and 2 unlucky and no results, I found any reason to deny why it couldn't happen. The latest is that it is all an insurance conspiracy so they can get my money! I know - crazy. Anyway we are on round three. Just finishing up day 6 of my monthly. I am going to use the fertility monitor to make sure we don't miss the OV days. The only bummer is that the Brit Nanny is off in Nantucket with "THE FAMILY" for three weeks. Totally stinks and I do miss her so much. Hopefully time will pass. Maybe I will have a great present for her when she comes home! Luv ya Brit.

My Very Own Post

So, I did it. I created a name for the blog all by myself.
I hope the Brit does approve.
She couldn't think of anything so told me to be creative.

Only thing is, I want something that everyone can remember
So Viola! The Brit Nanny and Me was born.

We will be entertaining anyone who reads this with our daily quips about life
and our everyday adventures to try to become mommies.
Oh, who are we kidding. It will probably just be The Brit and Me reading our own postings :)

Off to watch Jon & Kate, Plus 8. What is the big announcement?!
Come back for some updates and to learn more about us!