Florida in the Sprinter Van

We made our way to Melbourne, Florida for a family trip this year at the beginning of this month. I'll post all of the pictures here. It was quite the adventure getting there with all ten of us on a redeye flight. We had such a great time and it was so relaxing! We rented a Sprinter van, which was quite the hit driving that big thing around. Jord and Dan took turns driving it the whole time. We mostly went to Cocoa Beach almost every day. That was the favorite spot. I was kind of taking it easy because I was bleeding and dealing with my hemorrhage during this time. This made it so I was Dawson's little buddy on the beach most of the time, which I didn't mind one bit! It was nice to relax, although I did have some FOMO watching everyone out in the ocean swimming in the waves. 

We loved visiting the Kennedy Space Center. Dad was especially excited to go! It turned out so cool and we spent most of the day there one day. We loved spending most of our evenings at the Airbnb swimming in the pool, visiting, and eating junk food. We also tried lots of yummy restaurants! Coconuts on the Beach was so good, we had to get it twice! There was one night we went to this restaurant (I can't remember the name) and Ash and I ordered coconut shrimp. We both ate all of it in the dim-lit restaurant, only to get to the last bite and realize it was VERY undercooked. We told the waitress and she acted all weird about it. When she talked to the cook, she came back and told us that was their new way of cooking shrimp. We were like uhhh you can't eat shrimp raw. You just can't!! We were freaking out since it can be so scary being pregnant. So I ended up making myself throw up in the parking lot. That then made my throat hurt the rest of the week haha. BUT we never got sick, thank the heavens! I haven't eaten shrimp since then. 

I love this family of mine and I'm so glad we make traveling a priority! It always makes for the best memories. 

Finally... a BABY update!

I have been meaning to get on here this past month, but everything has just been... a lot. I've been in a really weird place. 

Let's just get to the point... WE'RE FINALLY PREGNANT! I still can't believe I get to say those words every day. It surprises me each time. I'll back up and talk about how everything has been this past month since finding out. It's been a whirlwind! 

In the last post, I talked about the transfer and how that went. Then we had the dreaded two week wait... it feels like years, really. It was such a long wait. Luckily, we had my grandpa from Ohio in town staying at my parents', so that was a nice distraction. I was supposed to get my first blood draw done on July 21st, but I was sneaky and asked the nurse if I could come in early on July 19th, which was ten days past my transfer date. That's the earliest my clinic will do. I was excited to be able to do it two days earlier AND I decided not to tell Dan so it could be a surprise on Monday. 

Well, a few days before the blood draw, I got antsy and took a test. Haha. The first test I took was six days past transfer, so July 15th. I woke up super early and took my cup of pee out to the back patio. Dan was watching T.V. on the couch. I figured I'd take the test out there while watering the flowers and Dan would have no idea. I was SO nervous. I was not expecting it to be positive because it was so early. I dipped the pregnancy test in the urine and then watered my flowers. I was shaking so bad and I just kept thinking to myself, "I just NEED this to be positive. Please let it be positive." Sure enough, I walked back over to the test and there it was!!... a light, but VERY obvious positive. Holy cow. I sat there in shock, just whispering to myself and Tilly that I was pregnant. Then I realized, how the heck will I keep this a secret until MONDAY? I'll post the picture of my first test here. I was really excited because I could tell the line was darker than it was for our last transfer AND I tested a day earlier this time. 

It was crazy because right after I found out that morning, I headed to the gym to walk on the treadmill and this song immediately played in the car. Crazy, right?!

I immediately was like, I can't keep this secret to myself until Monday. Who can I tell?? I ended up texting Allie and she was so excited. She became my person who I talked to every day. I continued testing until Monday to make sure the line was getting darker. It was slow and steady, but it was getting darker!! So different from last time when it was just getting lighter. During this time, Dan kept asking me how I was feeling and I just kept saying I was feeling symptoms and feeling really good about things. At this point, I was having a hard time sleeping, having some weird dreams, sore boobs, and some slight cramping. 

On Saturday at a baby shower, my mom and sisters were asking me how I was feeling. I didn't want to tell them like that, but they could tell I was acting weird and kind of had a clue that day. That weekend felt like forever!! I could NOT wait to tell Dan. 

Finally, Monday rolled around. I woke up and took yet another test and I also took one of the classic Clearblue ones that say "pregnant" or "not pregnant". I have surprisingly never taken one of these because they've always been such a trigger for me, but I already knew, so I figured it was safe. Isn't that an amazing sight? Also, notice how dark my lines got over the few days. 

Then, I went to the clinic for the blood draw. It usually takes a few hours for results, so I packed my morning full while I waited. Dan headed to work. 

I went and walked on the treadmill at the gym and then I got ready and went to Target and Chickfila with Natalie and Jennie. I told them when I got to Target and they were so excited. They both started crying in Target. It was adorable. I loved being with them that morning so I wasn't as anxious. It was also fun to be with them when I got the results. I got the results when we were in the parking lot at Target. 

That's when I got the best news ever... not only did I get confirmation that I was pregnant, my beta numbers were through the roof!!! 451 was my starting number for my HCG, which is really high, especially since I had tested two days early too. The nurse called me and talked about how the numbers looked so high. We potentially thought it could even be twins!! She told me to get my 8 week ultrasound scheduled with my OB, to come back in to the fertility clinic at 6 weeks for an early ultrasound, and that my due date would be March 27! Pretty crazy. Dr. Verrilli also sent me this message that I thought was really cute. 

It was so fun spending the morning with Nat and Jennie and getting to celebrate. Then, it was finally time to head home and tell Dan. I could hardly wait. 

Around 2:00, I told Dan I was making some lunch and that he should come home early to have some. I didn't know exactly when he'd show up, so I kept watching out the window. Finally he got home. I turned the video on my phone to record and he walked in. I asked him to come check the oven because it didn't seem to be heating up like normal. He walked over and checked the knob and was like, "It looks fine!" I told him to look inside. In the oven, I had a hamburger bun. He saw it and immediately knew what it was. Haha. Then I told him to open up the bun. This is what I had inside. He had no idea I had gone to the doctor that morning. 

He was so in shock that I had gone in already! It was such a surreal moment getting to FINALLY be excited together after some amazing news. It was the best day! Everyone was anticipating an update, so we couldn't surprise everyone like we wanted to. But I facetimed Tay, Madi, and Kale and told them. They were so excited! 

I had gotten these mugs after our other transfer when I was feeling really hopeful, but I had to put them away when things went south. It was so cool to finally be able to pull them out and be excited. The socks Dan is wearing I have had for over a year waiting for this day. It was so crazy getting to finally pull them out. Don't let Dan's face fool you, he's so excited. 

That night, we got some dinner from Costco and told the family to go over to mom and dad's. We didn't do anything crazy as they were all kind of expecting the news. Dan just wore his dad socks and we waited for someone to notice. 

Then we decided to book a flight for the next morning to go surprise Dan's family in Cali. We were only there for a night, so it was a long day of going around telling everyone. We bought a bunch of Prego sauce jars and started off with his Grandma Jan. We put the sauce on her porch, rang the doorbell, and hid behind their van. When she opened the door, she was like, "Hello!" and we came running out. Dan had to kind of give her some clues about the Prego because she didn't get it at first, but then when she did, she was so excited. We had a nice visit with them that morning. 

We headed to Dan's parents next. We got caught on the camera there and our doorbell thing didn't work. They came out and saw Dan holding the sauce. His dad caught on first and then his mom figured it out. They were more just confused at why we were in their front yard! Haha. It was nice getting to visit with them. Then Ashley got home from work and we put the sauce outside for her to see it on her way in. She walked in with the sauce and we were standing there. She started screaming. Her reaction was the best. 

We went and told Sarah and Nic next. That one didn't go so well because Nic was trying to get Sarah to come home from work so we could surprise her, but she kept working later and later. When she finally got home, she saw the sauce as she walked in the garage door. Then we were out back. We came running from the backyard once she was inside. She was so surprised and so confused at first. Haha! Then she finally figured it out. The next morning, we went and told Dan's cousin Melissa and his Grandma Joyce. They were together. His grandma thought we were saying we wanted to go to dinner. Hahahah. They were so cute. Melissa was so excited!! On our way back to the airport, we stopped and told his other cousin Katie. It was a quick trip, but great to see everyone! I was feeling SO exhausted by the end of it. 

I got my second blood draw on Thursday morning and everything looked amazing. My HCG had gone up to 1,502. It's supposed to double every 48 hours, so this was amazing!! Since then, we've told some more people like Danny and Alex, Jeff and Cherie, and some more of our friends. It's been amazing to share the news with everyone. 

The next couple of weeks after telling people were really hard to say the least. I was SO in my head and every little thing would worry me. There were a couple of days in there where I had some spotting. I was also having this weird slight cramping that was on my left side way more. This *can* be a sign of ectopic, so I was freaked out!! I spent so much time on discussion forums online trying to figure out what was going on. I'd say those two weeks were far worse of a wait than the two week wait to finding out we were pregnant. Not only that, but my hormones were going crazy. I was starving all the time and SO SO moody. I don't feel like I ever really got excited because I was so full of fear. 

FINALLY, after what felt like years, we had our first ultrasound. What an amazing day. We went in on August 3rd for our ultrasound. I was 6 weeks 2 days along. I was not sure what we'd see. I was so scared of something bad happening. But she stuck the ultrasound probe in and there was our baby, nice and clear. Holy cow. What a surreal moment. Then she let us hear the heartbeat and we both teared up. It was so special. We got lunch at Knickerbockers after and I had Dan just pick me something because the food aversions had begun. Nothing sounded good. I had to choke down my breakfast that morning. 

Unfortunately, that night, we had the biggest scare. We had gone to Dan's hockey game and we were chatting with Tay and Kyle in the parking lot after. That's when I felt a few huge gushes. I knew that wasn't good. When we got in the car, I told Dan and he found a white towel in the car so we could see what color it was. Bright red. Ugh. I've never seen Dan drive so fast. I called Payt to ask her what she thought I should do because she had a bleeding scare when she was pregnant and had gone to the ER. She told me that the ER can't do much. They could do an ultrasound, but there's nothing they can do to stop a miscarriage. I ended up calling the on-call nurse. Once we got home, blood was just falling out of me, about teaspoon size into the toilet. I was on the phone with the nurse. She told me to stay calm and that 50% of the time, this can be normal. But to come in for an ultrasound the next morning. We spent the rest of the night googling and then went to bed. I could barely sleep that night. It was the worst feeling. I kept waking up hoping I was having a nightmare, but then realizing I wasn't. 

We went in the next morning and... there was the baby! Just fine. They did find that I have a subchorionic hemorrhage. This is blood that is pooling around the gestational sac. I'll put a picture here. 

You can see the dark surrounding the sac. That's all blood. My bleed is moderate. The doctor said they see this a lot in women who do IVF for some reason. I couldn't figure out how we went from everything being normal that morning, to this that same night. Maybe the vaginal ultrasound brought it on? Who knows. They told me that I'd continue to have spotting and to take it easy. We left for our family trip to Florida that night, so I took it really easy the whole trip. I continued having spotting and I even had some more bleeding a few days later. It wasn't nearly as bad as the first time though. Since then, it seems to be clearing up, which is really good. The hope is that the hemorrhage is being absorbed. Hopefully we won't see it at the next ultrasound at 10 weeks! I feel really at peace about it though. 

So that's that! That's the update. It's been a wild ride. The past couple of weeks, I've been dealing with lots of nausea and the only food that sounds good is fried, unhealthy food. So Dan has been struggling to get me to eat healthy food. Not only that, but I've been SO tired and so moody. I feel a bit depressed even. It's like I haven't even been able to get that excited. It's like there's this dark gloomy cloud hanging over me. Hello, first trimester, I guess. Luckily, I'm 8 weeks tomorrow, so hopefully only 4ish more weeks of this and I'll feel better!! 

We are so so grateful and still can't believe there's a little gummy bear growing inside of me right now. I think we're both still in shock about it.

Grow little baby, GROW! 

TRANSFER DAY

I'm finally getting around to writing about our second transfer. I'm now 3DPT (three days past transfer), so I thought I'd better get my thoughts down. This transfer went SO much smoother than last time. It was such a relief. I'll give a rundown of our day. 

We had our transfer on Friday, July 9th. I woke up nice and early (not normal for me) so that I could have a nice, relaxing morning. Dan slept in, so I had a quiet house to myself. I showered and washed my hair, made some scrambled eggs, and wrote a letter to our embryo. That really helped me to get in the right headspace. I also watered the flowers so I wouldn't have to do that later. I woke Dan up and he got ready. Then we were off to our big day. I had acupuncture first, so Dan dropped me there. It was so nice to lie there and relax so I could get my mind right. Then Dan picked me up and we headed straight to the U. 

When we got to the U, they put us in a room to go over consent, take my vitals, and take my valium. I had requested valium because my last transfer was so rough. They gave that to me and told me it would take twenty minutes to kick in. Before that, Dr. Verilli brought in the picture of our embryo. Thank the heavens, it survived the thaw! There's a 1/20 chance they don't survive the thaw, so I had been worried about that. So we already know it's a strong little one. This is our 4BA embryo. It looks amazing according to the doctors. Dan thinks that little thing sticking out is a weiner. He's clearly hoping for a boy. Haha. Isn't it crazy that that little thing is a makeup of Dan and me? Like what? 

First family photo! 

After about twenty minutes in the prep room, they took us over to the transfer room. It gave me all the feels since it was the same room we were in last transfer. It really brought back a rush of emotions. They gave me some lucky socks that I was just going to take home, but Dan insisted that I put them on. Since I was pretty high in the sky, Dan had to do it for me. I was trying to slowly drink water so I didn't have a suuuuuuper full bladder like last time. Anyway, the next part went really fast, like seriously five minutes. Dan held my hand as they raised the bed, made me spread my legs, inserted the speculum, then the catheter (it slipped right in this time, btw). Then the embryologist showed our embryo on the screen. It was pretty cool because there was this bulge coming out of the side. They said that meant it was hatching and "looking for me". I thought that was the sweetest thing. I think once it thawed, it had started hatching. The embryologist then brought out our little embryo in a tiny tube. They placed that tube through the pre-placed catheter and dropped the little buddy off right in the lining. They said it looked "perfect" - nice and fluffy like they want it. 

If you look closely, you'll see the mouse pointing to where it got dropped off, right in my lining. I can't believe how much faster the whole process was this time. Afterward, I told Dan I didn't even need the valium. I went pee and we were on our way. We were early to my acupuncture appointment, so I asked Dan to stop at McDonald's for some fries. A lot of people in the infertility world say that their fries are good for after transfer because of the salt. Dan said I was eating them in slow motion and I kept dropping them all over me. He said I would go to pick it up with my fingers very slowly and decide at the last second not to pick it up. So by the time I was done, fries were all over. Hahahah. We went back to acupuncture and I had a nice nap while I lay there. It was the best. 

We took the best naps when we got home and then some of my family and Grandpa Todd came over to visit for a while. It was nice to see all of them and celebrate our special day. When they all left, we relaxed the rest of the night and watched Palmer, which was amazing! 

Dan's been getting lots of practice with baby Dawson lately. I think he's enjoying it quite a bit. He's so ready to be a dad. 

Some pretty flowers from Daniel. Notice the color? He thinks it's a boy. 

Pretty flowers from my mama. 

Tay and Madi also surprised/scared the hell out of me the night before the transfer. As we were sitting on the couch, they put the code in the door and came in yelling "Happy Transfer Eve!" It was adorable. They had this little vase of flowers from Tay's garden and this random Twilight book that Madi said, "Do you want this?" I guess Tay had gotten it and wasn't going to read it so she was giving it to me. They took me to get some ice cream and we had some good chats in Tay's new car. It was such a good night! 

Tay also came and relaxed with me the day after my transfer. We had some good chats, got Cupbop, and watched Crazy Rich Asians. It was such a good day! 

We are so grateful for such a great support group. We're feeling good. I've been a bit crampy the past couple days, which from what I've read, is a really good sign! So I'm feeling positive. I think overall I've felt different about this transfer. It just feels right and it feels like it worked. Something in my gut just tells me. We find out with a blood test on July 21st, so here's to a little over a week of waiting! Let's hope I can wait until then and not test on my own. 

We are feeling so so grateful and happy. Stick little embryo!!! 

summmmmmer part 1

I wanted to drop some pics and give a little update on what's been happening this first part of the summer. I can't believe it's already July 6th! Like, how? It seems like school just ended. I'm always wishing that summer would last forever. I'm so good at the stay-at-home dog mom life. We've just been so busy, so I don't think that helps slow time down at all! Lots of exciting things happened this month. 

Our therapist, Carly, challenged us to get out on more dates, so this was our first one to Whiskey Street for some yummy food and drinks! Look at that cutie. 

Mom, Ash, and I took the pups to Memory Grove one day for a little dog walk. It was fun to get out and have some good chats with them. The pups obviously enjoyed themselves! Some girl in the park even stopped to give them a puppacino. 

Lots of wedding things for Tay and Kyle! We had so much fun planning this co-ed shower. We played some silly games, played kickball (even preggo Natalie kicked), ate some nachos, and had some margaritas! I sure do love all of these amazing friends of ours. 

 

Us girls got out for a hotel night. We had so much fun swimming, eating Buffalo Wild Wings, making baby mama Tik Tok videos, getting yummy cake at The Chocolate, and staying up way too late chatting. I'm so grateful to have my mom and sisters in my life. 

We had a fun little birthday celebration for cute Jennie up Millcreek canyon! We all got tipsy off of mimosas and made some yummy breakfast! Grateful for all of these people in my life. 

Tay and I tried to take little Z on a special date when William was born. She was too nervous to go with just us, so Nat came along and hid in the store while we looked at some fun toys. We had so much fun! 

Got to spend lots of time with this little cutie. I sure do love him. He has gotten so big since this picture! This was when he was only about a week old. I've tried to spend time going over and hanging out with Natalie a couple times this summer. It's been nice to visit with her, hold little Will, and play with Z. 

Payt and I got an itch and chopped my hair! I've been loving having a fresh chop for the summer. I do miss my long hair sometimes though.

We were lucky enough to get to go to Vegas for a night to watch Allie and Geo, some of our favorite people, get married. Allie looked so beautiful in her maternity wedding dress. Look at that background! We had fun eating tacos, catching up with friends, and having some yummy drinks. Such a fun night! 

Dan kept playing lots of hockey! Lots of fun nights watching the games with Rach and Tay. We even went to Denny's a couple times after the late games, just to be disappointed by the horrendous wait times at midnight. I love how close Dan has gotten to Wade and Kyle. 

We had a super fun visit from Ashley! She stayed with us for Memorial Day weekend. We got to go see A Quiet Place 2, go eat lots of yummy food, take her to see our lot, go hiking, watch Dan's hockey game, and just visit. It was such a good time! 

I snapped some fun maternity pics for Payt and Jord in grandpa's backyard on Memorial Day. It's a good thing we did it, cause little guy decided to come early! 

We got to have a fun little BBQ for Memorial Day at grandpa's. We had some yummy burgers and salads. Summer nights are always nice in grandpa's backyard!

My baby brother graduated!! What the?! It's so crazy and makes me feel old. We all had fun going to his graduation and getting sushi after. We celebrated again a couple weeks later with a BBQ with friends and family. I didn't get any pics that night though. 

We got to shower our sweet friends, Allie and Geo! They are having a baby in August. I can't believe it's so close. Dan and I had fun making breakfast tacos and parfait cups for everyone. We even had a mimosa bar! It was a beautiful day. Then the boys got drunk and we were at their house super late. See the pictures below. Haha. 

The day before Payt had Dawson, Dan insisted we have her go eat this pizza at Cafe Trio. Sure enough, she went into labor late that night! Apparently, this pizza is known for putting women into labor. So we had a fun little lunch with Payt and Jord. 

And then he was born... and all our lives have been forever changed. Dawson Oakrey Myler. He made me an aunt for the first time ever. It has been the most amazing experience getting to see my baby sister become a mom. 

Because of stupid Covid, only my mom and Jord got to be at the hospital and visit. But my mom and I had the bright idea to have me take her bracelet and go see them... well I did... but shhhh it's a secret. It was so nice having some time to hold him before he came home. What a precious angel. 

This was the day he came home and my first time babysitting while Jord helped Payt shower. Haha. What a precious boy. I'm obsessed with him. 

I didn't know what it would feel like to be an aunt, but it has been the best experience. It's like he feels like mine, but in this different way. I can't wait to watch him grow up. I've loved having the summer off so I could help Payt take care of him, clean, and keep some healthy foods in the fridge. It's been so fun to spend lots of time over there with her and the little babe. I've also loved getting some good shots of him. 

I took a break from the baby and had a fun weekend staying at Tay's while Dan went on the bachelor trip for Kyle. He had so much fun! I helped Tay with some wedding stuff and then we got tipsy one day and sat in this tiny pool. We had so much fun! 

We had a fun little birthday brunch for Natalie at Little America. We loved getting together and celebrating her. It was so fun to have little Zeann join us! 

Some more cute pics I took of Dawson one day. It was an impromptu baby shoot in his room, but we got some good pictures. I'll never stop taking pictures of this cutie. Isn't he the squishiest little guy? 

We had another bachelorette party for Tay! We ended up staying at my house. We went swimming and then all came back to get ready for the evening. Madi gave a toast, we got some cute polaroids, had some drinks, and headed to Sapa for some yummy food. Then we spent the rest of the night singing and dancing at Keys on Main. It was so much fun! We loved celebrating Tay! 

We had the best weekend celebrating Tay and Kyle! We got up there Friday to help set up and got our camp set up. That night we had a really fun rehearsal dinner at the campground. The next day was wedding day. We spent the morning decorating and then they tied the knot that evening. It was seriously the perfect day and I'm so glad we were such a big part of it. We all drank, ate, and danced the night away. I will always remember being on the dance floor screaming to "Mr. Brightside" with some of my favorite people around. These are the moments I live for. 

Dan and I had the best anniversary getaway. It was so nice after the long wedding weekend to just relax and just be us. I was in charge of planning our date for this year, so I made it all a surprise for Dan. We started off with massages and pedicures. Then we got the yummiest Mexican food for lunch. After that, we headed up to Snowpine Lodge and relaxed by the pool for a couple hours. It was so nice and the most beautiful view around us. Then we got ready and had a nice dinner at the bar. I loved how everywhere you sat, you had a beautiful view of the mountains. We spent the rest of the night relaxing and watching T.V. in bed (something we can't do at home haha). We had the yummiest breakfast the next morning at the restaurant in the lodge. Then we went up and hiked Cecret Lake. It was so beautiful! I can't believe we just hit our two-year mark of being married. It seems like it has gone SO fast! Love that guy. 

Had to get in some more snuggles with this little guy after not seeing him for over a week. 

We went to Tanner Park with the pups and little Dawson! It was so fun, but Payt thinks she might have been a little ambitious to think she could do that. 

Been loving these farm-fresh eggs from Beltex lately! 

Someone needs to convince this cutie to keep his beard short. Doesn't he look SO good??

We had the best night with our friends on the boat at Utah Lake! It was beautiful. I got to wake board for probably my last time in a while since I'll hopefully be getting preggo this week. 

We had the best 4th of July (well, 3rd of July since the 4th was on Sunday)! We had to go to the Magna parade of course. Then we had a little lunch back at mom and dad's after and mostly relaxed the whole day. Then Patty did a firework show for us. What a cutie! We ended up staying super late since we all got chatting while we all sat around Dawson and stared at him. 

On the actual fourth, we went to Geo and Allie's for a BBQ! They had to get the shot ski out of course! Geo made some yummy food and we had so much fun visiting all night. 

Well, that's all for now! I hope the second half of the summer will just SLOW down! Grandpa Todd gets into town tomorrow. Yay!!