Tag: IVF

National Infertility Awareness Week |Infertility Uncovered

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Infertility Uncovered

Today marks the second day of National Infertility Awareness Week, and if you follow our blog, you know that we’ve been on this path of infertility for quite a few years.  I was so afraid to share our story a few years ago because it was personal.  And let’s be honest, I was ashamed I couldn’t do the one thing I was made to do.  I was frustrated (and still am) that I never get the opportunity to surprise my husband with a pregnancy announcement or throw a gender reveal party and feel comfortable that I won’t lose the sweet baby shortly after. My heart still aches from time to time when I see that baby announcement from someone else, but I also celebrate because I know just how precious that gift of life is.  If you follow my posts this week, you’ll read about the 4 moments that truly brought me to where we are now.  Where I can celebrate precious life others get to celebrate…. But first, here’s a recap of our journey.

A little over 9 years ago we decided to start our family and were told we should have no issues because everything “looked good.” Fast forward to today, here’s what two healthy individuals with no signs of any potential issues went through: 

  • 2 miscarriages
  • 1 empty sac pregnancy (where there is a sac and your body thinks your pregnant but you really aren’t)
  • 2 ectopic pregnancies, which resulted in 2 emergency surgeries.  1 of which was life threatening.
  • 2 lost tubes, meaning never being able to have a natural pregnancy again.
  • Months and months of hormones
  • 5 heaven babies that I think about every single day.  
  • 2 new doctors (THANK THE LORD FOR THEM)
  • Countless injections, daily meds, and hormones
  • 1 round of IVF
  • Large medical bills that insurance doesn’t pay for, because ya know, infertility is not acknowledged always. (You should be able to hear my eyeroll from where you’re sitting reading this)
  • During IVF – 15 embryos, 13 fertilized (yay), 2 survived by Day 5 but they were rated so poor they didn’t receive a grade, 1 embryo that took.
  • 1 sweet baby boy that I get to hold every night

When I think about our journey, I don’t remember all of these little details and events unless I really think about it.  When someone asks me about our journey, my mind tends to focus in on 4 certain moments, life changing moments.  Do you know what I remember most? Follow me this week and I’ll share them.  Some moments may seem like I will always be broken, but even in the darkest moments, God prevails, as He always does.

If you know someone going through infertility – feel free to share my information with them.  Sometimes it just helps to talk to someone that understands what they’re going through.  Everyone’s journey is different, mine is very mild compared to others.  I don’t share my story for myself (although it does help get through the tough times) but I share for others.  I’ve had women literally all over the world reach out to me to ask me questions or advice and I’m here for them. So never hesitate to give them my # or tell them to message me.  #infertilityuncovered 

 

16ish months

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The days are moving faster and I feel like less time is being spent with Zayden. Probably not, but it seems like he just doesn’t need as much attention from us as he did when he was a wee little baby. He’s climbing up into the chair by himself, eating by himself (when he chooses to eat and not throw it on the floor), picks books up and reads them to himself…or really just points out the animals he likes best. He throws trash away, and sometimes the remote, my cell phone, basically anything that can go in the trash can does. 😂

Zayden says more and more words every single day and it blows me away the amount of information he takes in. He truly is our little miracle and he shows us that every single day!

Some new things we have done the past month is:

Travel to Hawaii, it took me 34 years to make it to HI and you got to in your first 2 years!

First haircut – which was super terrible, so you also got your second haircut the following day 😂

Mastering the stairs like the little climber you are!

First dentist appointment which went surprisingly well and you received an great report from them!

Sleeping has gone from not bad to beyond pitiful but we are patient and will continue to love on you on bad nights. It will pass and we know it.

This has been a good month bub, as every month is with you. ❤️ Now let’s reminisce on this haircut transformation! Where did my little boy go?

Never give up that glimpse of hope.

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“Happy Implantation Day!” a sweet friend text me this week. I thought to myself, wait is that my implantation day in 2017, did I forget about it, was I blocking that day and it’s chaos? Her question encouraged me to look back on that day and remind myself what I was feeling. So I did. I didn’t read it all the way through because I had errands to run and it was sad and my emotions were coming back to me and I just couldn’t right then.

The day continues and our sick little guy ended up not sleeping basically from 1:30-4 this morning. He can’t sleep unless I’m holding him, I can’t sleep unless I’m not holding him. So there we are, me holding him and wishing I was just getting some sleep. I found myself a little irritated and finally I just said, “Hey God.. I am thankful for a crying baby. I am grateful for my lack of sleep because it means we have him. So thank you.”

I was the reminded about the implantation day text so early this morning, I went back through my blog and found 2 posts from 02/15/17. Implantation Day. Countless shots, medications, and lots of tears and we finally reached this day. It was nerve-wracking to say the least. I’ve posted the 2 blogs from that day below for you to read if interested but my emotions were all over the place and my summary is below:

02/15/17 – Before the Call

02/15/17 – After the Call

  • Nervous as all get out. We had 13 embryo.
  • Receive a call first thing on implantation day and all embryos are poor quality and they weren’t sure any of them would make it. My faith, patience, emotions were shattered.
  • Wait. Wait. Wait a few hours to see if we can even implant any.
  • Receive another call to come in and we will transfer the best 2 if we wanted to but basically don’t give your hopes up because they have such a poor rating they can’t rate them.
  • My faith still shattered, but I prayed.
  • Go in to the Dr. and we put in the best 2. It was so difficult to not cry but I sucked it up and held it in. Made it through the appointment and literally did nothing for the rest of the day. I was upset and defeated but I knew I needed to trust God.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions, my faith was shattered more than a couple of times, my frustration had overcome me more times than I can count, but on the other side we have one sweet, amazing, strong, a little crazy, cuddliest, orneriest toddler that you can imagine. So I will continue to love those sleepless nights and I will watch all the episodes of Curious George for the 18th time (literally what we are watching right now, I guess it’s better than Baby Shark -I even whispered Baby Shark in my head, just in case he has telepathy, in fear he will want to watch and dance to it again) 😂 🤞

Our chances of a successful pregnancy per history was a big fat 0. Maybe the Dr. chances were slightly higher but I knew in my heart that after losing 5 babies and ending up with losing both of my tubes, that our chances were next to nothing but God knew something I didn’t. He had a bigger plan. And I’m so thankful we didn’t give up hope and we trusted Him. To anyone going through infertility, I pray for you and I hope your faith isn’t shattered and I hope you never give up. Sending love to all of you today on our Implantation Day! ❤️

Written by Chasnie & Zayden 😊

Living with a 1-Year Old

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Life has been crazy keeping up with a 1-year old! I still can’t believe he has grown so much and developed are sweet and ORNERY personality! Everyone that hangs out with Z talks about how sweet he is, what they don’t always get to witness is the crazy side of him. I mean, as I am typing this he has accidentally given me a black eye from “fake falling” on my face. lol

It’s been a little exhausting keeping up lately. Teething has taken over our nights and early mornings which has led to minimal sleep again, but that will pass soon (or so I hope)😴

Some new things little man has been doing this month is running around nonstop, being more interactive most of the time vs not, picking up his messes but making them more than not, and being extra affectionate which I will take a sloppy kiss from that sweet boy any day! ♥️. He has also said a few more words so we wanted to write them down to remember them! Of course the norm, like mom and dad and bubba (whoever that is):

Bubbles

Butt bomb (haha, is that a bad word?)

Della

Water

Baseball

Bath

Della (apparently she’s his favorite)

Backpack

Jesus – thank you to some kids songs the says this with conviction!

Yes

Baby

Woah

And a few others I can’t seem to think of…

Keeping up with a 1-year old brings a whole different level of love, happiness, patience, joy…all of which we just are reminded daily that he is worth every second. Thank you God for giving us such a sweet, ornery boy in our lives.

1 Year Old | Zayden Gray | My Superman

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Over a year ago, we sat in a hospital room talking to our doctor about how we only had 2 embryos that have survived and they were so poor they couldn’t even rate them. They asked us if we wanted to proceed forward and try anyways… With no real hope, we prayed over those 2 embryos every day and today we have a healthy 1-year old. Cue the tears 😭.

What a superhero, little miracle, blessing from God you are Zayden Gray. We have spent 365 days with you in our arms or chasing you around. You have kept us on our toes each and every day as we figure out this whole parenting thing!

We have gone through so many firsts with you, firsts that I normally wouldn’t think twice about but we have cherished every single one. I can’t wait to see how the rest of our future goes together! ♥️

A few things you’ve learned this month:

Learned how to climb a ladder

Being more affectionate, especially with the puppies. They love Z’s hugs & kisses

Say a few new random words (backpack, phone, baseball)

Going up & down stairs 😬 which happens to be your new fave game.

Causing destruction

More teeth – molars this time!

Being a little daredevil 😬😬

Using utensils

And the best part …starting to look like your mama! ♥️

Your first year in pictures:

11 Months | Zayden Gray

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I just can’t….you are growing up way too fast little man! Today you are 11 months and we will be celebrating your first birthday before we know it!

We started this month off in California but stayed close to home for the rest of the month, besides a quick trip to hang with your cousin John while we did a shoot in Kansas City. God was looking out for our schedule this month because we spent most of it passing a little sickness around. Luckily, you managed to break away from it after a couple of days.

This month you’ve really been trying to master your walk. You choose to walk most places, unless you need to get there fast and you stick with your power crawl 😂. Some other things new you’ve been doing this month:

*Kick and throw balls

*Say “mmmmmm” when you really love your food, but you close your eyes and say it, which makes it even cuter.

*Says, “I love you” or it sounds really close!

*You can find your ears, nose, toes and private parts but I’m pretty sure all boys don’t have an issue finding them.

*You still only recognize dogs, cows and birds as animals, apparently they are your favorite.

*We made our first trip to the Amazeum which was fun overload for you!

*We did our first painting, and I must say you’re quite the artist! 😊

*Ollie and Della are your favorite puppies this month but you really want Charlie to be your best friend. Maybe one day…

*You give hugs & kisses way more frequently and it just melts this Mama’s heart! You can never get enough of those, especially when they aren’t asked for but just random ones. ♥️

I can’t help but remember how long the process was to get you. We struggled for so long for you. You may not be our only little man but you are the only one we’ve gotten to hold, receive hugs and kisses from, and get to watch grow in front of our eyes. We are so thankful for you Zayden and cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!

10 Months – What? How!

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Oh my word you are growing and growing you are not so little man! 10 months?! Let me say that again so it sinks in…10 months have flown by and I can’t believe in 2 months we will be holding a one-year old!

Some changes have happened over the past month, but you became boss man to me, which means mama won’t be home as late as she normally is! Other changes you’ve been going through are:

  • A couple of steps here and there, but not full on walking yet. I assume that’ll happen when we forget you can actually walk! 😂
  • Peek-a-boo & chasing mom/dad are still your jam.
  • Ollie has become your favorite pup.
  • 1 1/2 new teeth have been added to your collection.
  • Your athletic ability is really coming out – stacking things, throwing balls (or throwing anything for that matter), and crawling through tunnels.
  • We are officially on watch for an attempted escapist. Once, you pushed the kitchen chair all the way to the door just to attempt to unlock the door. Not thrilled about this new trick, but pretty cute!
  • Your booty dance is on point. 😂
  • We took your 12th flight and traveled all the way to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Big Sur, first zoo and aquarium and subway ride. And I can’t forget to mention meeting with friends you’ve never had a chance to meet til this month! We actually got to celebrate your 10 month with ice cream and hanging out with the Joneses!
  • You’re starting to become more cuddly and wanting to lay down with us without us trying to force a nap. This is a moment we don’t want to forget. All these are moments we don’t want to forget!

Zayden, you are such a blessing to everyone you meet and I cannot imagine life without you! I can’t wait to see what the next month brings us!

9 Months

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Hey little man, slowwww down! Zayden continues to make us smile each and every day! Recently, I went back and re-read the beginning of our blog, the beginning of our story and it just reminded me how much of a blessing he is!

Some new changes:

Standing up! This one is huge, he actually stands up when he’s distracted and will stand for awhile, but once he figures out he’s standing he falls to the ground like he isn’t ready just yet, but will be walking soon!

Sleep is our friend! Naps and bedtime have been fully embraced by you…so until next regression that is bound to come, we will enjoy our sleep with you!

We had to move your bed down a notch because you are master escape artist already and we didn’t want to give you more of an opportunity to escape. I’m not kidding – you have figured out how to open doors and drawers, and this morning you figured out how to climb on me to open outside door. So momma will be installing more complicated locks soon!

You love to dance, with us and on your own.

You’re a peek-a-boo champion. You’re so good, you even like to play peek-a-boo with yourself! 😂

Bottom lip manipulator – gosh, when did you get so good at this??

Speaking of that bottom lip, you’ve finally figured out what “No” means and you use your bottom lip appropriately. It works most of the time but I’m not going to tell you that.

Climbing stairs is your new hobby! Of course baby gates have been installed, but if we are with you we will let you master those stairs more.

Getting down (and on) the couch, bed, basically anything taller than you, you’re figuring out how to get on and off (feet first)

You are waking up on your own and patiently waiting (for the most part) for us to get you! And the sweet hugs first thing in the morning are my new favorite thing.

You traveled 8 hours in a car to KC to see your friends, Harlow & Kylie. This was a huge achievement because you have your carseat so much but you survived and we survived. And you loved playing with your friends!

Throwing a ball or anything that resembles a ball. Your aim is a wee bit off, but you’re loving playing fetch and tossing ball back and forth (especially with your cousins – they make things so much more fun!)

The dogs are still your best friends and they love you more every single day, it could be the food you throw at them on the daily, but you never know! 😂

You love your walker! On of your favorite games is running after us screaming as you try to catch us. I’m sure we look like a bunch of maniacs but it is sure fun bub!

Babble, babble, babble. I don’t know what you’re saying 99.9% of the time but you are confident in your speech! Ha.

Currently you are a little clingy to me but I’m enjoying every single moment. I know this time will pass and I’ll have to share more of your hugs with others, but until then I’ll just enjoy this time.

Kisses & Goodbyes – we’ve been working on kisses and goodbyes for a month or so and you’re a bit stingy with both!

You continue to be such a sweet, calm (mostly), chill little man and we really couldn’t have gotten any luckier! You truly a miracle we will never forget that. We love you bub ..keep being your ornery, playful little self! ❤️

Update on life

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Whew, life has been a whirlwind. Just a quick little update on just {life} in general. Two big things we have been working on and keeping to ourselves for the most part, but sharing because there is no such thing as too much prayer! 😊

1. Adoption – we are still moving forward and excited each and every day but also overwhelmed at times. Overwhelmed with paperwork, waiting, paperwork, waiting, home study, waiting, classes, waiting, more paperwork and waiting…see the trend? 😊 We all know the wait is worth it but prayers as we continue to go down this road are appreciated! I strongly feel there is a child out there waiting for us to scoop them up but we know there is a plan and we just have to wait for it, do our part and wait a little longer til the time is right! Some dear friends of ours were matched with a child and we are so so excited that they will be taking home their little one likely in August! Ah! So it is continued prayers, patience, hope and listening to God and His plan that keeps us going through the wait!

2. We did a little thing. We decided to go back to our doctor in KC and just get ourselves checked to see if we wanted to do IVF again in the future, that we could. We received fantastic news that we are more than healthy enough to do it again (if we choose to in the future), and let me be clear…we may not but we didn’t like not knowing if that door was still open or not. So again, we’d appreciate prayers for patience and discernment as we figure out if this is something we should try again. We unfortunately have no frozen embryos so we have to start from scratch, meaning all the shots, all the meds, all the hot flashes and injecting hormones and emotions all over again. It isn’t a decision we will take lightly.

Anyways, we love for prayers to be rained over us as we continue to balance life with Z, adoption, and determine if IVF will be in our future or not. Thank you friends for following us on our journey, your support and love has overwhelmed us! ❤️

8 Months

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Ah bubs..I start to tear up thinking you’re already 8 months old! ❤️ You have been growing so fast and blowing through “milestones” I can barely keep up!

The last couple of months you knew how to crawl but it was a slow/army crawl but overnight you’ve become a speed crawler, like we could enter you into the Olympics if it was an event!

You’re pulling up on everything, up-down-up-down and you want to walk with us everywhere. You have mastered walking in your walker, you just need to figure out how not to run into everything! We may actually master walking on our own this month, we shall see!

We went from 4 to 6 teeth this month!

We took our first family photos and you did it without crying one time. We were prepared for a meltdown because trust us, most kiddos have one before or during a photo session, but I think you’ve embraced this child of photographers life and went with it for us!

We added one more flight back from New Mexico in your 8th month, making it a total of 14 flights, 9 states and 1 country which is pretty cool you traveling fool!

You’re currently “too cool to smile” but you can’t hide it very well.

Buddy you are sleeping through the night (woohoo!). Thanks to a few mom friends, we got through a little tough phase, and now you are sleeping through the night, from 7:30-5 am, but once 5 am hits you’re awake and back to your wild man lifestyle. We’re still working on this nap life but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. You do good, as long as someone is napping with you, which I’ll just soak that in as long as I can.

You’re a bit of a daredevil, loving to “fall” and letting us catch you, pulling yourself up on questionable things, and balancing yourself on dad’s hand!

You have gone to your first wedding (Uncle Will & Aunt Whit’s) and you’ve had your first sleepover at the house with Liam!

Dancing is your jam and doing the “monster face” has become a daily thing (my favorite).

We are still working on a few signs like “milk” & “more” but we haven’t quite figured those out yet!

Bub – we love you more than you possibly could imagine. You have made this parenting thing a breeze (so tough, but you’ve made it so enjoyable that we forget the tough moments). We can’t wait to see what the future holds and where we adventure to next! Keep on growing little man! ❤️