Our (In)Fertility Journey - Part Three

Read Part One here.
Read Part Two here.

After the appointment, I felt defeated. Removing my Fallopian tubes was such a permanent decision, but it was our only option if we wanted to have children. A few weeks after the appointment, I had a CF clinic appointment and brought all of this up to my CF doctor. Surprisingly, she was not on board. She did not want me to go through surgery because she wanted me to get a second opinion. She thought the surgery was too drastic of a measure and that we could do IVF without having to remove my tubes. She was seeing the CF side of things and my fertility doctor was seeing the "getting me pregnant" side of things.
I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I deeply respect my CF doctor and everything she has to say, and I've never gone against her advice before, but I just knew I had to go through with the surgery. It was very hard for me for a couple weeks, deciding if I was going to go through with it, but I finally called my CF doctor and told her it was something I had to do. She supported me and apologized for sounding so against it, and she understood why I wanted to go through with it.

On a Thursday in late February, Tim and I headed out to the hospital to have my tubes removed. Here's what I wrote about the surgery the day after:
"Overall, things went well. We arrived at the hospital at 12:30pm expecting the surgery to start around 2:30. Well of course it didn't go according to plan – I was taken in the operating room around 3:45 and the surgery began around 4:30. All I remember is going into the operating room, switching myself onto the operating bed and the anesthesiologist telling me not to be nervous and that I'll be in good hands. Next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room around 7-7:15pm with a mask on my face giving me some albuterol. They let me go as soon as I was able to get up and walk to the bathroom. I had to prove that I could urinate (to make sure nothing got messed up down there) and then they let me get dressed and leave. We didn't get home until almost 11pm because the roads were terrible due to the snow and ice storm we got while we were at the hospital.

My fertility doctor was the one who performed the surgery and talked to my husband, Tim, after the surgery was over. He told Tim that I only had one tube removed! Apparently both of my tubes were surrounded by a significant amount of scar tissue (I'm assuming from my meconium surgery at birth). They removed the scar tissue on my right side and my right tube because it was so dilated and bad. They removed the scar tissue from my left side and around the tube and realized that my left tube is perfectly fine – no mucus or fluid in it! Yay! Due to the amount of scar tissue, I had to have 4 incisions, but they're pretty small.

The doctor also told my husband that we aren't going to go straight to IVF. My husband said he wants to put me on "drugs" and let us try to get pregnant naturally! I was VERY surprised and excited to hear this!!! Going into the surgery, I thought when I came out there was no chance of us getting pregnant naturally anymore! I don't know if this means Clomid or IUI, but our post-op appointment is next week, Thursday morning, so we'll be able to discuss everything then – I'm really looking forward to that.
Finally, my lungs are doing pretty well. I haven't tried my Vest yet, but I did do an albuterol treatment this morning to help open and loosen things up. I am able to cough and spit, but it's a little painful, mostly for the incision right at my belly button. I've also only been taking ibuprofen for the pain. They wrote me a prescription for Zofran (or something), but I haven't had it filled yet – I don't think it's necessary. 
Long story short, no IVF right away! I still have one Fallopian tube! And now I'm recovering at home and I'm not as uncomfortable as I thought I would be. Overall, I'd say it was a successful surgery!"

The next week, I had a follow-up appointment with the fertility doctor to check my incisions and discuss the next steps. It worked out perfectly that right after the surgery, I got my period, so I was at the beginning of a brand new cycle to start treatment. We decided to try six months of Fermara (which is just like Clomid, but since I didn't respond to it before, he wanted to try something different) with timed intercourse. Then if it didn't work within six months, we'd go to Fermara with IUI.

Of course I was super hopeful that the first round would work and was heartbroken when it didn't, but the doctor and nurse both told us it'll take a few rounds to get everything right. Since I was only doing each round with one working Fallopian tube on my left side, if my mature follicle was on the right that month, there was a very, very slim chance it would work at all because there was no way the follicle could get to the right spot without a tube to transport it. So each month I would take Fermara on days 5-9 of my cycle, then I'd go in for internal ultrasounds around day 12 and every few days after to make sure my follicles were growing and to see which side they were on. Once my follicle(s) were large/mature enough, I would give myself a shot of Ovadril to make myself ovulate. Then we'd do what we had to do and wait two weeks to see if it worked. We did this for four months, March - June, with no success. It was very emotionally tolling for me because each month I'd get my hopes up and each month I kept getting negative tests. There was even a month where I produced three mature follicles and nothing happened - that was frustrating! So after many discussions with Tim, we decided to try our July cycle with Fermara, Ovadril and an IUI.

Rock CF Weekend!

In November, after Tim and I completed the CF CLIMB, I was determined to get back into running/exercising regularly. I found a 5k/half marathon in Michigan put on by a fellow CFer and

was determined to do it...well, the 5k. Little did I know, that a month later I'd be pregnant, so all running plans went out the window.

Well, the Rock CF half marathon & 5k are tomorrow and I'm pretty bummed I'm missing out on meeting some of the very individuals that inspired me to start running to take better care of myself. But I decided it was a safer and smarter choice to stay home so I wouldn't expose my five month pregnant self to other CFers' germs. I know it was the right choice, but I am definitely going to be sad seeing all of my friends' pictures tomorrow because I'd be there in a heartbeat if there wasn't this precious baby growing (and moving like crazy!) inside me. But, there's always next year!

So I'm wishing GOOD LUCK to everyone I know running at the Rock CF 5k, relay and half marathon, including my friend Kaitlin who I worked with while I was an assistant a couple years ago (who does not have CF) and is running her first half marathon! So proud of her and happy she chose it to be for Cystic Fibrosis. Know that I'll be cheering you all on and rockin' my Rock CF shirts all weekend for you!!!

19 Weeks

Monday, March 24 - 19w, 3d
This month has flown by! This week you're the size of a large tomato or mango, and you're going through a ton of sensory development in your brain. Some apps say that you can hear my voice now, although others said you could a couple weeks ago. Either way, I can't wait to start building your library so we can keep reading to you. Your arms and legs are now proportional to each other and the rest of your body. You're also beginning to grow your hair on your scalp and eyebrows.

Saturday, I went to a bridal shower for Becky, and everyone was so excited to see my little belly with you! Grandma and Grandpa were, of course, super excited, too. Grandma even got you a couple little outfits and a little blankie with a rattle...but Archie's claiming it for now. He'll keep it warm for you. :-)

While I was at the baby shower, daddy was busy at home working on your room. The last step, and biggest, before we can start actually putting your room together, is to refinish the floors. Daddy didn't want to do this while I was home because the fumes are pretty bad. Here's what it looks like after the first coat. :)

Yesterday, your daddy applied another coat to your bedroom floor, and then we left for the day to do your last registry at Babies R Us. We still want to add a couple more little things that we couldn't find to the Target one, but for the most part, we're done with them. It's amazing how much 'stuff' you're going to need, but we couldn't be more excited! We're already only a month away from the first shower which is going to be put on by my awesome coworkers.
After we finished up at Babies R Us, we got some lunch then I spotted a Carter's store! That was dangerous! Everything in the store was 50% off because they were having a Spring Sale and it was so hard to not buy every single thing in the store, it was all so cute!! I've been telling Daddy that I wasn't going to buy anything for you until after our showers, but yesterday I just couldn't resist....and either could Daddy! Originally, Daddy tried to limit me to only buying one thing, but soon started picking out things too and we compromised with four. :)

I hope you're able to fit into this before it gets too chilly outside!
Otherwise I'll just put some pants underneath :)

Here's the other side :)

Daddy picked this one out & it goes with the hat below.

I could not resist this ADORABLE dress!!! I'm sure you'll probably wear
it only once, but it is just so cute!

We picked this out for you for when we go camping! 

It's reversible & goes with the cute little outfit Daddy picked out :)

After we went crazy in Carter's, we went to Lumber Liquidators (for Daddy) to check our prices for hardwood flooring for the kitchen. We finished the evening at Menards picking out hardwood floors which we special ordered and will eventually put in the kitchen. After we got back from our full day of activities, I think I felt a few more of your little flutters when we were going through all of your stuff. Over the past week or so, I've been feeling tiny, weird feelings in my belly at random times, but I have no idea what it is - it feels like if someone where flicking me from the inside! It's very hard to distinguish if its just my tummy rumbling or if it's your little movements. I try to explain what they feel like to Daddy, and he just thinks I'm crazy! He thinks that I'm feeling you, but I'm still not 100% convinced yet. I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks when hopefully those feelings will become more distinct, stronger, and more frequent.

Last night, I hung up the additions to your wardrobe in our room -- you have quite the collection already!

The top row is stuff that Daddy & I have bought for you.
The bottom row are gifts - the super cute purple & teal outfits are
from Auntie Catie and the rest is from Grandma.

March 26 - 19w, 5d

I just have to add that for the past four days, I've had very stable blood sugars - my highest has been 120! (Fasting is supposed to be under 100 & two hours post meal should be under 120) I'm very proud of myself for really watching my diet and keeping them safe and stable for you! I hope I'm able to keep this up for the rest of the pregnancy. :-)

Our (In)Fertility Journey - Part Two

To read "Part One" please click here.

After getting settled into our new rental house, setting up my classroom, and starting a brand new job teaching Kindergarten, you'd think the last thing on my mind would be getting pregnant - of course not! It's something I've always wanted and I knew it wasn't going to happen without help. I learned that one of my teacher partners was currently going through fertility treatments and decided to confide in her everything that we had gone through and asked where she was getting her fertility help from. She referred us to a wonderful clinic about 45 minutes from our new town. In late October 2012, I had my first consultation with the head nurse at the clinic.

The consultation went very well, in my opinion. I explained everything that we had been through with the genetic counselor, and the Clomid and she wanted to take a step back, dig deeper, and figure out why I wasn't getting pregnant before just putting me on some hormones. Good idea! I already liked this clinic better! And, when I asked if they had experience with CF and pregnancy, she told me she had a woman with CF in the previous day who was working towards her second pregnancy - awesome! :-) So over the next couple months I had several tests done including lots of blood work and a procedure called an HSG, and Tim had to get a semen analysis done - just to make sure he wasn't the problem. During my HSG, they inserted dye into my uterus and through my Fallopian tubes to make sure that they weren't blocked or obstructed in any way. They took x-rays the whole time to watch the dye to make sure it flowed through my tubes properly. The procedure itself wasn't too terrible, just some mild cramping during. After the procedure (which was done by an extremely pregnant doctor...of course), the doctor told me that she noticed some slight dilating in my tubes, but otherwise everything looked fine. She didn't go into detail about what that meant, so I was under the impression that this "dilating" wasn't going to be a problem...

At the end of December, a couple days before Christmas, we finally met with the fertility doctor who went over the results of all of the testing we had done over the past couple months. Tim's semen sample was pretty good, some of his sperm were not fully mature, but he said he had a big enough sample of ones that were, that he wasn't too concerned. He referred Tim to a male reproductive specialist who didn't give him too much information. Tim ended up researching online how to make his sample better, and started taking some vitamins. When he had a repeat test done a couple months later, his sample was completely normal. :) If only my issues were solved with a few extra vitamins...

The fertility doctor then explained that my hormone levels looked normal, but my tubes did not. He said that they were filled with an "embryo-toxic fluid" called hydrosalpinx which is harmful to my follicles and any embryo that tried to implant in my uterus. He said it would be best if we just "took them out". And I think that I was in such shock from trying to absorb all of this that I misunderstood what he said and thought he meant we had to take out my whole female reproductive system! I started crying while he was talking because I though "this is it, I'm never going to be able to have kids. They just have to rip everything out of me." That was not the case. He re-explained it to me, assuring me that we could still get pregnant even if I didn't have Fallopian tubes, we just couldn't do it naturally - it'd have to be through IVF.

The job of the Fallopian tubes is to bring the mature follicle to the uterus to wait for sperm to fertilize it. Without Fallopian tubes, there's no way the mature follicle could get to the uterus which meant there would be no way to naturally get pregnant. The IVF would help me produce mature follicles, then they would have to surgically be removed from my ovaries, Tim would give a semen sample, and our egg & sperm would be fertilized in a lab, and once it was mature enough, it would be inserted (through a catheter) back into my uterus to hopefully implant itself.

The plan was to have a laparoscopic surgery, which would be minimally invasive with two or three tiny incisions, to remove my Fallopian tubes. Once we decided to do the surgery though, there was obviously no going back - we would have to get pregnant through IVF. We left the appointment with a lot of information to digest and a surgery scheduled for the end of February to remove my tubes.

Our (In)Fertility Journey - Part One

Many people have absolutely no idea the journey Tim and I have been through to conceive our little girl. Although it's personal and emotional (and will be graphic at times), I want to share it because I'm not ashamed that it happened this way and I want others to know that someone else out there went through the same (or similar) things to have this precious little baby.

*This is the short version*

Tim and I have always talked about having kids; it was never a matter of if, but when. Even in college, we talked about it. I figured that CF and my health were going to be a major factor, and I wanted to get pregnant when I was the healthiest version of myself. And unfortunately, I was uneducated about my own disease and thought there was no chance of ever regaining the lung function I had lost, so I assumed there was no better time than now (at age 18-19) to start trying to get pregnant before I lost more of my lung function. Thankfully, the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I transferred to the adult CF clinic! Tim and I presented my crazy ideas to my new CF doctor who again thankfully informed me that if I take care of myself much better than what I was doing the first 18 years of my life, then I can actually regain some of my lung function and be an even healthier version of myself. So over the next few years, I worked hard on making myself healthier with the end goal in mind of getting pregnant when we were actually ready. :)

After Tim and I got married, I decided to stop taking my birth control and let nature do it's thing. Well, I soon realized that my body was not doing it's thing. My periods were very irregular which was not allowing me to figure out if/when I was ovulating. *They do not teach you this stuff in health class! And even if I did, I was not taking notes on how to get pregnant at that time!* I had done minimal research on CF and pregnancy because there really wasn't too much out there. I had no idea if this was CF related or what, so I decided to set up an appointment with a local high-risk OB because I knew that when I eventually did get pregnant, I'd be considered high-risk. I went into the appointment basically asking if he knew anything about CF and pregnancy, which he knew very little, and also asking about my irregular periods. He suggested seeing a fertility specialist and that just blew my mind! I was not ready for those words and they crushed me. When I heard infertility, my mind automatically went to shots, IVF, hormones, multiples, etc and that freaked me out....but at the same time, we weren't getting anywhere doing things the natural way, so I knew this was where we had to go.

It was about a year later now, October 2011, (one year after we were married) and I had my first appointment with a fertility specialist about 45 minutes from where we were living/working. I met with him and discussed my CF, trying to get pregnant, my irregular cycles, etc and he automatically asked if we had Tim tested to see if he was a carrier of the CF gene. We had not. His reaction was that we were "playing with dynamite" every time we had sex because we could end up with a baby with CF.
Side note: Tim and I had talked about getting him tested when we first started trying to get pregnant, but it didn't matter to us. We figured that whatever was meant to be, was meant to be. We knew that if we did have a child with CF, we would be positive role models in his/her life, and felt that he/she would have an excellent prospective on life, especially because of all of the new treatments that were available now versus when I was growing up. 
This doctor said that he "would not be doing his job" if he tried to help me get pregnant without knowing if Tim was a carrier or not. This pissed me off! Who was he to tell me that I couldn't have a child with CF? Am I not a productive member of society? Should I never have been born in his eyes? It just rubbed me the wrong way. I left that appointment very discouraged, offended and annoyed. I also left the appointment questioning whether we should have Tim tested. The doctor gave me the contact information of the genetic counselor at the hospital, and Tim and I decided to go talk to him. We didn't have a lot of local options for fertility help and figured that if we wanted to get the help we needed, then we should at least have the discussion with a professional. After several meetings with the amazing genetic counselor (he was SO nice), lots of long discussions between Tim and I, and months of me debating, we finally decided to have Tim tested to see if he was a carrier. One of the things that still sticks with me that the counselor said was, "If you were to get pregnant right now without knowing, would you be worried/concerned/thinking about it the entire pregnancy?" And my answer was yes, and that's what convinced me to have him tested. I was worried about what we would do if the results came back positive because that would mean our child would have CF for sure, and I still wasn't 100% okay with that like Tim was, so it was ultimately up to me. I needed to know. I We needed to know so we could make the best decision for our future family. So Tim ended up giving two cheek swabs (which somehow didn't produce enough DNA), and then a blood test and it was determined that he is NOT a carrier of CF! Which meant that if/when we got pregnant, our child would only be a carrier of CF, not have CF themselves. Phew!!

This brings us to the spring of 2012 when we finally learned Tim wasn't a carrier and decided to continue to seek help from the jerk because we felt it was our only option. They did some blood work on certain days of my cycle and confirmed that I have irregular periods and most likely wasn't ovulating normally...duh! They decided to put me on Clomid - a drug that would help my body produce mature follicles (where the egg grows) and then I'd give myself an injection to ensure that my body ovulated before we 'did the deed'. I started my first round of Clomid in late spring or early summer, but unfortunately my body did not respond as it was supposed to, to the drug. I was supposed to produce one or more "mature" follicles of 18-20mm in about 14 days. After 21 days, my largest follicle was only 8-9mm, so we stopped the cycle. We didn't go any further with the medication or injections because my follicles would not be mature enough that cycle to create an embryo if they were fertilized. It was kind of a bummer and a let down because after a year and a half, I felt like we were finally starting to get somewhere and then it didn't even work....little did I know what was in store for us...this was nothing!

Shortly after this cycle got canceled, I learned that I got my first teaching job three hours south of where we were currently living. Yay! I was super excited to finally have my own classroom after being an assistant for two years, and I was also super excited to move closer to my in-laws (not many people can say that - I'm very lucky!). We decided with the stress of packing, moving, and setting up my first classroom, we would not do any further cycles through the place we were going through. We decided to keep trying on our own and once we got settled, we could look for a place near our new city that could help us out. It was a bit hard knowing that it was super unlikely that I'd get pregnant without help, but I had a new job to focus on which helped take away some of the stress/emotions of trying to get pregnant....but not for long...

18 Weeks

18 weeks

Your rocking chair - restored by your daddy :)

Friday, March 14 (18 weeks)
New symptom...or pain, I guess you could call it, today: Feels like I'm pulling my uterus muscles every time I am coughing during my treatments today. I know that my muscles are stretching to accommodate Baby Girl, but ouch! It's just happening right now as I sit hooked up to my Vest, so I'm hoping it'll go away later. Apparently this pain is called "round ligament pain" because of my stretching & growing uterus - totally normal & common in pregnancy. Just another thing to add to the list...totally worth it! :)

Saturday, March 15 (18w, 1d)
Daddy & I started your registry today and it was so much fun!! We went to Target to get a couple things for the house and ended up staying for a couple hours and registering for everything under the sun! We tried out the strollers in the aisle (collapsing them, pushing them, lifting them, etc), looked at pretty much every item in every aisle and registered for over 100 things. There are still a few things that we need to add to the list, but we made a pretty good dent today. It's amazing how much "equipment" you're going to need. All of this is starting to make your arrival seem much more real. The registry, knowing you're a girl & your name, a definite baby bump...the only thing I'm still anxiously awaiting is feeling your little movements! Hopefully soon. :-)
Your ultrasound is this week on Thursday, and I'm excited to see how much you've changed in four weeks. Then after this one, a few weeks later, we have the "big" ultrasound where they will examine every little inch of you to make sure you're developing properly. Yay!

Tuesday, March 18 (18w, 4d)
Two more big things this week: hunger and headaches! I've been so hungry this week! I'm trying to balance eating lots of calories without spiking my blood sugars with lots of carbs...very difficult, but I hope I'm gaining weight! I've also had some crazy headaches the past couple days. It doesn't seem to be related to the hunger though, because they're very random. I can't relieve them by drinking or eating, and they don't seem to be related to high or low blood sugars either. Guess its just another small thing to deal with. Two more days til I see you next! :)

Thursday, March 20 (18w, 6d)
Just got home from my appointment and sadly it wasn't an ultrasound, just an appointment with the doctor. I was still able to hear your heartbeat, though, which was a strong 164bpm today. I asked the doctor (who's super pregnant and due any day now--she's one of the three) about not feeling you yet and she said it's completely normal and still too early. She said I probably won't feel much until closer to 22 weeks, so I guess I'll have to be patient. I'm also now 120.8lbs winch means I've gained almost 4 pounds since last visit - awesome!! They were a bit concerned about me still having some high sugars (mostly after dinner), so I really need to watch my diet and control my sugars better in the evenings. It's been difficult trying to eat enough to satisfy my hunger and make sure I'm not having too many carbs, but I'm really going to try to control them as best as I can because I do not want to have to go on insulin. Otherwise I've been feeling very well. I've been on Tobi for two weeks now and Kalydeco for three weeks and they're definitely helping my lings get back to normal. Our next appointment is in a few more weeks which will be a good one - I'm really looking forward to it. :-)

17 Weeks

March 10 - 17w3d

YOU'RE A GIRL & SO IS YOUR COUSIN!!!! We told all of the family at Danner's 100th birthday yesterday and everyone cheered and applauded when we both said "girl" at the same time! Danner's excited too because she'll be having her first great, great-granddaughters. Overall, it was a great day with family. :) Lots of people commented on how much I've popped since they've seen me last and how they're so excited to finally do some baby girl shopping. You and your cousin are going to be pretty spoiled, but we also think you're going to have to be pretty tough to hang with all of your older boy cousins.

Daddy and I have had your first name picked out for a couple years and it very special to us. Aunt Katrina and Uncle Joel are still deciding on your cousins name.

Pregnancy and health-wise I've been feeling much better! I've been on Tobi for four or five days now and I'm barely coughing at night and my sinus issues are almost all the way cleared up. I'm curious to see at my next appointment if I'm gaining weight. Its hard to tell because my belly's getting bigger, but I'm not sure if I'm gaining weight, or that's just you growing.

Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night with a cramp in my left big toe! I've always had them in my calf, but never just a toe. I rubbed it for a few minutes, then made myself get up to go to the bathroom so I'd walk on it. It seemed to go away when I went back to bed, but it was strange. Guess I better make sure I'm drinking enough water throughout the day.

March 13 - 17w6d
I had another leg cramp two nights ago - the night after the "toe incident". Daddy told me I need to really make sure I'm not dehydrated. It weird because I drink at least two bottles of water during the day at work, but I guess that's not enough. I'll have to increase my water intake in the evenings, too. Lung-wise I'm still feeling good. Been on Tobi for a week now and I'm feeling much better than I did a couple weeks ago at my appointment. I'm definitely not back to 100%, but I'm getting there. I think by the end of this cycle of Tobi, my lungs will feel fantastic....just don't start squishing them yet!

Weeks 4 & 5

Just found this in my "drafts" folder, didn't realize I started this early. :)

On Tuesday, December 2nd, I had my first positive pregnancy test. Since I couldn't wait, I actually tested two days earlier than I was supposed to, oops! To be on the safe side, I tested Wednesday morning, Wednesday evening and again on Thursday before going in for confirming blood work Thursday morning.

First test, Tuesday

Wednesday morning

Wednesday evening

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday tests

My hcg level came back at 189--a nice, strong number. My progesterone (which helps the baby stay in there) was also a nice strong number of 19.3 (they want it as close to 20 as we can). It was official, I was four weeks pregnant!!! It was so hard not to scream it to the whole world, but I knew that we had to wait a while to make sure the pregnancy "stuck" before telling anyone.

On Saturday, we went to Isaac's second birthday party where I learned that my sister-in-law was pregnant with her second baby! She's about two-three weeks ahead of me; how cool to have cousins so close in age! I wanted SO bad to tell her, but it was way too early and we still needed to get our second round of blood work back.

On Monday (4 weeks, 4 days), I went back to the doctor to get another blood test done to make sure my hormones were increasing as they should and the pregnancy was progressing appropriately. I have never wanted a weekend to go by so fast in my life! When the office didn't call me by the end of my work day, I grew impatient (and a little worried), so I called them. Hcg levels typically double every two days, so we were expecting my level to be between 700-800. My hcg was 1,015!!! My progesterone, on the other hand, was down just a bit to 15.9, so they decided to put me on supplemental progesterone for the first trimester, just to be on the safe side. The nurse told me to come back in two weeks for our first ultrasound where we'd be listening for a heartbeat and possibly seeing the embryo sack. My first ultrasound is scheduled for Monday, December 23rd at 10am and I cannot wait!!! I'll be six weeks and four days then. :-)

On Thursday, December 12th, five weeks, I took another pregnancy test (that's #5 if you're keeping count) just to make sure I was still pregnant. Of course, the line was nice and dark. :)

I haven't had a ton of "typical pregnancy symptoms", at least not yet. My boobs have been sore since the day I took the first pregnancy test. One random day during week four I had a very heightened sense of smell. I could actually smell my mascara as I put it on. Thankfully that hasn't come back yet. I haven't been super hungry and have been eating less than I usually do, so Tim's really making sure I'm getting those calories.

This past weekend, on Saturday the fatigue started setting in and I stayed on the couch and either slept or read the entire day. On Sunday (5 weeks, 3 days), I woke up feeling awful! I had a terrible sinus headache and a fever. I contacted my CF doctor (who already knew I was pregnant, I told her right away!), to see what I could take that would be safe for baby. She told me to take Tylenol for the fever and Claritin for the sinuses. A couple hours after taking one extra strength Tylenol, I was already feeling a little better. I decided to take Monday off work to make sure that my fever was under control and to get some rest. I'm very thankful I did that, its exactly what I needed. Of course, poor Tim came home Monday evening with exactly the same thing I had and has been home from work for two days. We're both now on the upswing and are very excited for the first ultrasound on Monday!!!

Positive Thoughts Thursday

It's been way  too long since I have done one of these!!

• I finally received my Tobi in the mail today (for anyone keeping track, its been almost a month now... gotta love insurance)!!! I'll be starting my 28 day cycle this evening and am really looking forward to how I'm going to feel when it's done. I think the sinus rinses, Kalydeco and Tobi are just what I need to clear up whatever the heck I've got going on right now. Although I have to add, I'm feeling slightly less sinus-y than I did a week ago. :)
• I also received a phone call today setting up my first round of Cayston. This is another inhaled neb which I will alternate with Tobi to help keep my lungs clear. According to my doctor, typically insurance doesn't like when CFers are on both (even though they're alternating months and never on both at the same time), but it doesn't sound like my insurance is putting up a fight...thank goodness!  I know many CFers who prefer Cayston over Tobi, so I'm curious to see how it works for me.
• I logged into Facebook this evening while doing my treatments and saw that my blog has been ranked 17th in the Top 35 Cystic Fibrosis blogs (check out my new award on the right)!! How cool is that?! I know that I've been slacking lately, but I really appreciate the constant support & comments from my readers. I hope to be spreading awareness and information about what it's like to live with CF - especially that it's not the end of the world!! I can still Live, Laugh, Love, Breathe & Be Happy! :)
• This Sunday, we'll be celebrating Tim's great-grandma's 100th birthday!! Her official birthday is tomorrow, and we usually celebrate her birthday the first weekend in March, but this year she pushed
  
  it back a week because she didn't want to celebrate her 100th without being 100 - didn't want to jinx herself! :) The picture on the right was from when we went camping (yes, she goes every year) this past September. She is one of the funniest and sweetest ladies I have ever met and I am privileged to be a part of her 100th birthday celebration on Sunday!

16 Weeks

Wednesday, March 5 - 16w5d
Four months pregnant! This week several people have commented on how much you're starting to "pop" and show, and its so much fun to be obviously pregnant now instead of that awkward stage. This past weekend, I thought I felt a little flicker in my belly, but when I stopped moving to concentrate, it went away and I haven't felt anything since. Daddy says its all in my head! I know I've been saying this for a while, but I can't wait til I can feel you in there! It should be happening anytime soon. Go ahead, little one, your mommy wants to know you're in there so kick away!

Health-wise I feel like I'm on a very slow incline. I can feel things loosening up, but there's still a lot to get out. My sinuses are still pretty junky, but again, slowly getting back on track. Then, poor Daddy started coming down with something Sunday, but of course things never hit him as hard as they do me. But you know its a rough winter when this is the second time he hasn't felt very well.

Despite feeling crumby, your Daddy's been working super hard on all of his projects for you. He had to disassemble your crib so he could get it out of your room so he can redo the floors in there. He also got a very old rocking chair from someone in Papa's family and has restored it for your room. Of course when he got it I thought he was crazy because it looked like it would crumble to pieces, but now that its all fixed (and has lots of squishy padding), we both take turns sitting in it in the living room! I'll put up a picture next week because the fabric will give away your gender. Speaking of.... people are dying to know what you are!! We're telling the rest of Daddy's family on Sunday at Great-grandma Danner's 100th birthday party, and then we'll tell everyone else. Yesterday I found out what Aunt Katrina is having, and I am super excited! It's going to be so fun watching you grow up with your cousins!

Developmentally, this week you're the size of an avocado and you'll be going through a growth spurt over the next couple weeks. You'll grow a couple inches and double your weight.... no wonder it looks like I'm showing much more. Your eyes and ears are close to their final position, the patterning on your scalp has begun -we can't see hair yet, but your hair, eyelashes and eyebrows are growing, and you've started growing toenails. Your heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day and the amount will continue to rise. And you can hear my voice! Better start reading to you! :-)

Thursday (3/6/14)-- I finally got my Tobi in the mail today! I'll be starting it this evening and cannot wait to finally start feeling like myself again!

**Voting on Baby's gender will close on Saturday evening! Get in your guess by then before we spill the beans!!**

100% Compliance!

TODAY MARKS ONE YEAR OF 100% COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF MY TREATMENTS!!!!

I am so proud of myself for finally achieving this goal, especially after getting so close last year! It has not been easy, but completely worth it. I plan on continuing this streak for as long as possible! I'm even more excited to be able to post this while I'm pregnant because that was my entire motivation for this goal! I want to be as healthy as possible so I can be around for many, many years with our child. Thank you to all of those who have encouraged me (and made me), and sat with me while doing my treatments when we were hanging out this year, even if I didn't want to. An hour a day for treatments is adding weeks, months and years to my health, which is more time I can spend with all of our family & friends! This next year might be a bit more challenging, especially come August, but I will do my absolute best to keep up with my treatments for another year!!