Interesting Facts About Being Prego

Just thought we would share some quirky facts about pregnancy with you just in case you or someone you know is considering getting pregnant.

• During pregnancy, the average woman's uterus expands up to five hundred times its normal size, hence the frequent need to urinate.
  
• Many women find their vision off-kilter during pregnancy.
• You might re-act somewhat irrationally to seemingly innocuous things. (This is really fun for your partner...not).
  
• Your breasts are likely to feel more like lead balloons than sexy swimsuit enhancements. (This could also be really fun for your partner but your partner should be aware of the inevitable slap on the hand he/she will receive if he/she dares to touch your bazookas.)
  
• More often than not your water doesn't break before delivery, but instead must be broken by the doctor using a crochet like needle. (Ooooh a giant needle like thing going up your hoo haa! Now doesn't that sound fun?!)
  
• Your hair and finger nails grow incredibly fast. (This could be a danger to lesbians everywhere.)
  

Even with all of these odd and sometimes really uncomfortable side effects, pregnancy is a miracle from the moment of conception and we both feel extremely lucky to be a part of it.

Pregnancy Update

Right now we are almost 6 weeks pregnant. Here's a little info on how baby Novoa is developing and what he/she looks like now (this is not an actual image of baby Novoa).

• The arms and legs continue to develop - These limbs are stretching out more and more. Later on you will be feeling those feet and elbows up close and personal right in your bladder!
• Brain is growing well - Did you know that over the course of the remaining months that your baby's brain will develop over 100 billion neurons? This is just the beginning!
• Lenses of the eyes appear - If you could catch a glimpse inside, you would notice your baby's appearance becoming increasing like a newborn's.
• Nostrils are formed - The position of the nose seems to shift into its proper place as well. Soon, the nerves running from the nose to the brain appear.
• Intestines grow - Initially these are actually located outside the baby's body within the umbilical cord.
• Pancreas - Your baby is now equipped to deal with digestive enzymes and take on processing the insulin and glucagons the body needs to function.
  

In other news...Jennifer went in for some blood work this morning and we just got the report that her hCG (this is the hormone that is only produced when you are pregnant) and progesterone levels are all where they should be and everything is proceeding beautifully. The other good news is that Jennifer only has to get shot in the butt for 5 more weeks! Yippy!

The next steps...Jennifer still needs to go back next Monday, March 3rd (also our 1 year anniversary!!!) for another blood test and then we go for an ultrasound and blood work on Monday, March 10th.

Pregnant We Are!!!!

With great anticipation we waited by the phone until we heard the glorious sound of it ringing. Upon answering, the nurse proceeded to tell us that we are indeed pregnant!!!! It's all a bit surreal but the reality is slowly sinking in. We're pretty sure our faces are going to be hurting by the end of the day from all the smiling we are going to be doing. We really appreciate all the support of our wonderful family and friends throughout this whole process. We are in for a great adventure and look forward to enjoying the ride with everyone!!!!

Tick Tock...the Clock Has No Mercy

Who ever said "Time flies when you are having fun" was wrong. We've been having lots of fun this week yet the time is not going by fast enough. When the doctors said this was going to be a tough two weeks they weren't kidding. The anticipation is killing us but we're holding strong. One good bit of news is that Jennifer found out that she is probably having a little allergic reaction to the oil that the Progesterone is in and that's why she is experiencing itchiness and some pain during the injection. The doctors said that if the results come back that we are pregnant then the rest of the shots that Jennifer has to take (for 6-8 more weeks) can have a different oil and most likely one that she is not allergic too. Apparently the doctors have had several patients complaining of the same symptoms and the change in the oil content seems to alleviate them. So, at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel for Jennifer a.k.a. The Incubator Super Trooper.

More Shots

As promised, here are some pictures of the lovely Progesterone shots Jennifer has to have every night. Again, she's been on these shots since Monday January 28th and will most likely have to continue taking them for 6-8 weeks after she is formally announced as pregnant (which hopefully will be on Monday February 18th).

Transfered to Safety

<--- A highly magnified image of the actual embryo that was transferred.

The egg has finally been transferred successfully to it's new home!!!

On Wednesday January 30th Marina underwent some minor surgery to suck out all the viable eggs that she had to give. It was a very successful transfer and they retrieved 13 eggs! You know how excited we were since the number 3 means so much to us. All the eggs were immediately fertilized and set aside to grow in a little petri dish while Marina went home in a sedated and somewhat loopy state to recover. By Monday February 4th the fertilized eggs had grown considerably (about 70-100 cells) but only 6 of the original 13 were left. All were vying for the ever so coveted spot of Jennifer's uterus but only one could win. Within 15 minutes of starting the procedure we were looking at a picture of what could turn out to be our little baby. It was a very surreal experience and it's fair to say that Jennifer's worst part was that she had to do the entire thing on an overly full and sensitive bladder.

And now we wait, and wait, and wait until Monday February 18th when Jennifer will go in for a blood test to see if she is in fact pregnant. We can't wait to know the answer and we are very positive and hopeful that the outcome will be wonderful. Look for another update come February 18th.

By the way, Jennifer unfortunately still has to take some very large shots in her ass and if she is pregnant she gets to continue the shots for 6-8 weeks! You can bet she is really excited about that. We will be posting some exciting pictures of those shots very soon.

The Shots

The shots, oh the shots. At first we thought we had these shots in the bag, but then they just didn't seem to end. Jennifer started her shots on January 4th and is still going strong. Marina began her regiment on January 7th and has since stopped them as of January 28th. At first the shots consisted of small subcutaneous injections using an insulin size needle. Not painful at all. Easy. But then we got a rude awakening....well really Jennifer did when she had to start the Progesterone shots, which uses a fairly large size needle. It's not really the size of the needle that's the issue but mainly the fact that the Progesterone kind of hurts as it goes it and the ass muscle gets very sore on poor Jennifer. We do lots of butt massages and applications of heat to minimize the pain. It's a lot of work but it will be all worth it in the end.

Inspection Day - December 17, 2007

{Written from the perspective of the Oocyte}

Today was a an eventful day for me. A funny looking probe like structure peered at me to see if my existence was in fact ok. I am happy to report that yes, I am indeed in good shape and will be ready for my big adventure soon. I received my preliminary itinerary and my ovulation launch date will probably be some time between January 28th - February 1st. Hopefully there will be no delays and I can board my Ovulationcraft on time.