August 5th: 9 Week Ultrasound

Today we get to see our little ones again, this time we had to be up even earlier than we are used to. I got up at 6 am and started to get ready for the day. I woke your dad up a little after 6:30 since we had to be in Idaho Falls by 8 am. We ate breakfast and headed out the door. We got to the clinic 8 minutes before our scheduled appointment. The clinic had moved by the ER in there new facility so it took us a little bit to find it. When we got there I was pleased to see Dr. Conway was there, I hadn't seen her since our transfer day. But sadly she was busy with other patients and we didn't get to see her.

Stephanie brought us back at 8 and as usually I used the restroom before we began the ultra sound. Stephanie didn't waste time checking the measurements of our babies. She started with Baby A and told me the baby was measuring right at 9 weeks and then showed me how the baby was moving. We could see your little arms and legs wiggle and your heart fluttered. Then she moved over to Baby B and spent some time trying to get measurements. I sensed that something was wrong because she didn't turn the screen towards me as quickly as she had with the first baby. Then the worst words I could've heard came out. "Melissa, I can't find this babies heart beat." All I could think to say was "really?" She then flipped the screen and showed me the difference between both babies. Baby B was in fact measuring smaller and wasn't wiggling.

She told me that Baby B was measuring at 8 weeks and 1 day which means the baby stopped growing then. She wasn't able to get a heart beat, but informed me we would need to get a second opinion. I started to cry! I asked Justin for a tissue and she informed me it was okay to cry a loss is a loss she said. She let me get dressed while she made some calls to schedule us another ultrasound. When she came back in she told us we'd have to go to the imaging center to get another ultrasound. My appointment was at 9 am and that I needed to drink at least 32 oz. of water for a full bladder.

I cried the whole way to the lab Justin kept trying to consul me and told me it would be okay, that we would see our baby again someday. I knew he was right but all I could say was "I just want my baby back!" When we got there the receptionist informed me our appointment was actually at 10:15 not 9. I tried to keep calm and asked her what we should do, she told me to come back at 9:45 and we could check in. We got back in the car and I started bawling again. I was so frustrated, didn't they understand I just lost my baby and wanted it confirmed? We both sat in the car and cried, at this point I knew we needed to let our jobs know what was going on. Unfortunately I had left my phone at work so luckily Justin had my co worker Eric's number and I was able to text my boss Russ to let him know, Justin let Kim know and everyone gave their condolences.

By 9:45 we went in to check in, unfortunately the older gentleman that was before us was handicapped and had had an accident in the room with the ultrasound. That delayed us more than we thought it would. I started to cry while waiting and the receptionist sweetly asked me if I thought I would be okay enough to answer a few questions for insurance. I did my best to hold it together and she was great at distracting me with small talk. By the time we got in to see the tech it was already after 11 am. The tech wasn't allowed to give us any information which Stephanie warned me would happen. She did an intrauterine and over the belly ultrasound. Even though she couldn't tell me anything I didn't need to be a doctor to tell that my second baby did not have a heart beat. She had me get dressed and told me that she would talk to the radiologist to see if he was going to speak with us or if Dr. Conway was going to call. When she came back she informed me that she couldn't reach Dr. Conway so we left a message with her to call Justin's cell phone.

The drive home seemed longer than normal, I cried the majority of the drive home. I knew that we had lost our sweet miracle baby B and that was too much for me to handle at the time. When we got home my sister in laws had texted to check in and Ashley too. I informed them that it didn't go as well as we'd hoped and that we had more than likely lost the second baby. Everyone was so supportive, I ate a yogurt, some cheese and crackers and tried to nap while waiting for the call.

At 3 pm. we still hadn't heard anything so we decided to just pack and head down to Utah earlier than we had planned, our nephew Dillon was getting baptized tomorrow 8/6 and we were going to leave after work but decided to get there earlier. While we were driving we got a call at 5:30 from the clinic saying they still hadn't received results, she informed me that with them switching offices the fax machine may not have been working, but that she would call me as soon as they knew more. She told me again how sorry she was but to hang in there and that we had one miracle baby growing strong. That was good enough for me, I was starting to come to terms with the loss and concentrated on helping our baby grow. We are so grateful for our the love and support that we've received from those who knew about our twins. We will always remember that sweet angel baby and know that one day we will see him or her again. Until then please continue to keep growing our miracle baby.

We love you,

Mom and Dad

Aunt Ashley bought mommy these beautiful flowers after losing baby B.We sure love her! 

8 Weeks pregnant with Twins!

OK so I think its getting harder and harder for me to fathom that we are having not one but two babies next year! I know we always knew there was that chance and both of us thought it could happen but to hear it is a whole other thing. I couldn't be more excited. Well kids you are making me one tired mamma, I knew that pregnancy made you tired but I guess I didn't realize how tired I would actually be.

I have been really liking salty foods which everyone says means boy. Haha so we'll have to see if those old wives tales are true. Ashley thinks that you are both girls and dad and I hope you are one of each. But we will be happy regardless as long as you are both happy healthy babies we are good! Mainly I've been wanting pickles and radishes and mommy's boss even bought her a tub of Jimmy John's pickles which are so yummy! This week you are the size of kidney beans and you are starting to get webbed fingers and toes! I haven't had much morning sickness thankfully you cuties haven't made mommy too sick. But the other morning while I was packing some snacks for work I ate tiny and I mean tiny bit of cauliflower and bam I threw it up! Needless to say you're definitely your dads kids. :)

Keep growing little ones we love you both so much!

Love Mommy and Daddy!

July 22: 7 Week Ultrasound

Oh man I still can't believe that we are having a baby! It feels like a dream, we've been wanting this for so long its hard to believe its finally happening. Today we get to go to the Fertility clinic for our first ultrasound that wont just be to check my ovaries haha. We will find out today if we have one miracle or multiples. Before I left work yesterday I asked my team to take a poll, I wanted to see how many people thought I was having. Twins seemed to be the winner for sure.

Well just like the day I took my blood test I was able to sleep the night before but was so nervous and anxious all morning. We got up and got ready and then drove up to Idaho Falls for the appointment. When we got there luckily we were only 5 minutes early so it wasn't much of a long wait. Stephanie was ready for us and we were able to go right in. She asked me if I was ready and I said yes but also very nervous and she just laughed and told me it would be exciting. I used the restroom real quick and we headed in to start the ultrasound.

At first when she entered intrauterine I didn't see anything that looked like a baby, she assured me she was just checking my endometrioma and then we would get to the baby.  As soon as she scrolled to the right I saw it there was a sack and a little tiny bean was in it. We had a baby growing in there, and then she kept scrolling and I saw another sack with a tiny bean. I laughed and then she said she needed to check to see if there were any more. There wasn't and she confirmed that we were having twins! The minute I heard baby A's heart beat I started to cry, I couldn't believe it, that was the best thing my ears have ever heard. She told me the baby was measuring right at 7 weeks and that the heart beat was 133 very good. She then measured the other baby and told me that Baby B was a little squished so it was harder to measure the baby. She did her best and told me it was measuring a little small but still where they wanted to see me. When I heard that second heart beat I could tell it was slower but she assured me that was normal. Baby B's heart beat was 122, but all I could focus on after hearing that was the fact that I wasn't have just one baby we were having TWINS!

first pictures of our sweet miracle babies! 

She had me get dressed and then went and got me some paperwork, when she came back we scheduled my 9 week ultrasound which would be my last one with the clinic in Idaho Falls. After that I would go to my OB Dr. Jones. We were all scheduled for 8 am on August 5th, we left the clinic and began to call our family. My mom didn't waste anytime asking me what the news was, I made her tell me who was home with her and she informed me that it was just her and my sister Emily. I had her wake Emily up and on the way she forced me to tell her. She was so excited especially when it wasn't more than 2 haha. Emily wasn't happy that I woke her up but when she heard the news that quickly changed. I then called my dad and instantly I started to cry when I told him. We both got emotional and cried before he had to get back to work. Justin then called his mom and dad and more tears were shed. While he drove us back to Pocatello I called his sisters and our sister in law to share the news. Everyone was so happy!


When I got to work everyone was anxious to hear, I wanted to wait for everyone to be there but no one was patient haha. So I told them it was Twins and we all cheered! It has been so neat having so much love and support from friends and family. The Almond family will be growing by 4 feet March 10, 2017. (more than likely February since we're having Twins!)

July 1st: Pregnancy Blood Test

Well today is the day that we find out if the transfer was successful, I was pretty surprised that I was even able to sleep last night. When I work up I was a nervous wreck, it was all I could do to keep myself composed. I started off the morning by saying a prayer for peace and then I thought I should read my patriarcle blessing again for peace. I pulled it out of the envelope and instantly began to cry, there were some words of encouragement that before this trial I didn't quite understand. I felt so blessed that I had been given that blessing. Afterwards I put the envelope back and decided I better start getting ready in order to be first to the Express Labs so I wouldn't have to wait long.

I left the house at 7:45 am and headed up to Express Labs by the Hospital, when I pulled in and parked I started to get sweaty palms and my heart was racing. I remember telling myself "It's going to be okay, just breathe." When I got inside there was someone before me and the computers weren't quite up and running, my favorite phlebotomist was working again and after checking both of us in she took me back. I told her how nervous I was since this was the test to tell us if we were pregnant. She was so sweet and supportive and even volunteered to take the picture of me holding the vile of blood for my blog.

I left a little after 8:15 am and headed off to work, before I left I asked if there was any way she could send me the report and she told me she would email it to me within the hour. So now all I had to do was get through the next hour and I would know more. That was painful, I remember getting to work and explaining to my co workers how nervous I was. Michelle one of my co workers told me if I wanted her to she would be happy to read the email, and I agreed because I knew I would be a wreck.

Well the report finally came in at 10:15 am, I went and grabbed Michelle and everyone huddled around me for support, she opened the report and told me that my levels were 260 and that according to this paper I was anywhere from 3-5 weeks pregnant. Of course I was in shock and without my Fertility clinic being the one to tell me I told them I wouldn't believe it until I asked Amberlie. I promptly picked up my phone and called her number, when she answered I told her that the lab sent me an email that said my levels were 260 and I asked if that meant I was pregnant. She told me Yes and congratulations! She asked me to email her the results and that she would call me back with more instructions.

I was so happy I started crying and told everyone that is was confirmed and I was pregnant, there were lots of tears and hugs from my wonderful work family. My co worker Sara convinced me to go home and take a pregnancy test for proof, so I went home and did that. When I saw the positive I couldn't stop laughing it was probably shock but it was so amazing to finally see a positive pregnancy test, something I have been wanting for 5 years! I went back to work and my co worker Tori videoed me calling Justin to tell him the good news. I tried really hard to not sound too excited but to also not sound like i was upset. When he got on the phone he asked me what was going on and I told him that we were pregnant. All he could say was "really?" and then asked if Amberlie had called me. I explained how I asked the lab to send me the email and that when I got the results I confirmed with Amberlie. He then started to cry and of course so did I. What a wonderful day, we are finally going to be parents! Baby Almond is due to arrive in March of 2017 and we couldn't be happier.

Finally a positive test! 

This is how I was going to announce it but we were too excited so we just called/texted family and really close friends. 

Embryo updates, Transfer Day and Princess Days

So as everyone read we were able to collect 15 eggs during our egg retrieval, and they told us that they would start fertilizing them and then would call us on Day 1 and Day 3 to let us know how we were progressing.

6/18: Day 1 Embryo Assessment yesterday (6/17) we collected 15 eggs, they noticed 11 were mature eggs (which is what we want) and after fertilizing them we have 9 eggs going strong. We will hear more on Monday and transfer day will be Wednesday June 22nd.

6/20: Day 3 Embryo Assessment was today, on Saturday we had 11 mature eggs 9 of those fertilized. Today when they called they told me anything that is 6 cells or higher would most likely make it to day 5 which is the day we implant. So out of the 9 mature eggs today we have 8! On Wednesday we will decide how many to implant. Yay!

**Side note if you read my Facebook you already saw those posts but I wanted to share for those who hadn't read them. 

I found this on Google and got a laugh.

6/21: Day before Transfer day- Well to start off we got a phone call from Amberlie, she told me that I would need to arrive at the clinic at 12:30 pm (tomorrow) to take my Valium and that the procedure would be at 1 pm. I asked a few questions and then went on with the day. I got some great news today my best friend Ashley had her sweet baby girl, they named her Aria Noel. I was able to see pictures of her but didn't want to bother Ashley too much so she could recover. My mom, Emily, Justin and I went and saw the Jungle Book and went to The Blaze pizza for dinner.  After that my cousin Kristen invited us over to watch the USA Men's soccer game. The game was a let down. :(

I had trouble sleeping that night, mostly anxious and some nerves kept me tossing and turning. I think I finally fell asleep by 2:30 and woke up around 8 when Emily left to the temple with some friends. I got up and washed my face the normal wake up routine, but I was so tired I laid back down to try and get some more sleep. I wasn't successful, instead I went downstairs to eat breakfast and then got ready for the day. After that I was able to FaceTime Ashley and see baby Aria it was good to see them both. 

12:20 pm.- We arrived at the clinic and checked in, the nurse told me to go ahead and take the Valium if I hadn't already. Boy did it work, any nerves or anxiety I felt was soon gone. I just laid on Justin's shoulder and watched Tv until Lindsay called us back. Side note she is one of my favorite nurses! She told me the normal routine undress from the waist down and that Dr. Conway would be in to talk about our Embroys in a few minutes. While I sat on the table waiting I remember looking up at the screen of the ultrasound machine and bursting into laughter, confused by this Justin asked what was so funny? I told him I didn't know but that for some reason I couldn't stop laughing. He just laughed at me and Dr. Conway came in a couple minutes later.

My lucky socks the clinic gave me, super cute! 

She let us know that out of the 8 embryos we had two grade 2 embryos which is strong, no one really ever gets a grade 1. She said they wanted to "Blast" (not sure what the exactly meant) the remaining 5 embryos tonight and that they would call me to let me know how many we would be able to freeze once they knew. After that she said "so you want to transfer both today?" And we both agreed that was what we would like to do. Dr. Conway stepped out to put on her hair net and mask and gloves and then came back in prepared for transfer. The embryologist came in shortly after and we were able to watch Dr. Conway transfer our 2 embryos.

Waiting for the Dr.

our strongest embryos

its hard to see but the bright air bubble is where the embryos are (towards the left)

After we were done I had to lay on the bed for 15-20 minutes, once that was over we drove back to my parents house and I went straight upstairs to begin my bed rest "princess days."  The first half day wasn't too terrible as most the day was gone anyway but I am not someone who can sit still for very long especially not in the same place. But lucky me I had my amazing husband, mom and sister to keep me busy.

Princess Day 1: My morning started off with my sweet husband making me breakfast, followed by Emily and I catching up on 2 of our favorite tv shows the Bachelorette and Pretty Little Liars. After that my sweet family entertained me with playing a couple board games with me in bed. We played "Sorry" and "Disney Trivia" (of course if you know me I love Disney). After that I took a little nap and then we watched a movie as a family.

Emily french braided my hair

Zupas for dinner so spoiled! 

Princess Day 2: I was really wanting waffles and Justin promptly went downstairs found a recipe and made them for me. He's a sweetheart! After that Justin and I watched Elementary and had lunch. His sister was moving into her new house that night so he went to help her move and my mom and I watched Downton Abbey. So all in all my 2 days of bed rest weren't as bad as I thought.

My yummy waffles

So what's next you ask? Well we will be taking a blood pregnancy test on Friday July 1st. I know that I have been pretty open during this whole process and haven't left much out. But since this is pretty big to Justin and I we have decided regardless the outcome we will wait until we are ready to let everyone know either a yes or a no. We will tell our family most likely that day, but you will probably not see anything on Facebook or this blog for awhile. I hope you call all understand and appreciate our reasons for waiting. I want to take this time to let you all know how grateful Justin and I are for your continued love and support. The outpouring of love and prayers on our behalf have touched us! We are truly grateful and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends. Please continue to pray for us, we are excited, anxious and a little nervous but mostly EXCITED! Again thank you so, so much for everything we love you all!

The Almonds

IVF Update: Trigger Shot and Egg Retrieval Day

I really have been awful at keeping up to date on my blog, so I guess now that I am on bed rest this is the perfect time to sit down and catch everyone up. Okay so let's begin. In my last post I let everyone know that we had began a 3rd shot and we were waiting to hear about egg retrieval day.

Appointment 6/14- We went in like normal had an intrauterine ultrasound and they drew my blood, then I went back to my mom's house to wait for our call with the update. We got a phone call from Amberlie around 4 saying that we were really close and that Dr. Conway would like us to come back in tomorrow 6/15 for another ultrasound and blood draw.

Wednesday 6/15- We did the shots a little early as my appointment was double booked and we had to be there by 8 am (which is when I would do the injections). Same routine as the day before ultrasound then the blood draw and back to my parents to wait. In the meantime Justin and I went to the Temple with my mom, it was so great to go back to the temple we were married in.  We got a call from Amberlie again around 4 saying we ready to start the trigger shot and that we would be doing our egg retrieval on Friday 6/17. Yay! We were given very specific instructions to follow in order to have the retrieval done so I took note as instructed. I was told to give myself the trigger shot at 9 pm sharp on tonight and that that would be my last shot unless instructed otherwise. Double yay!!! She told me to refill my Zpack and that I would start that after the retrieval. We were to check in on Friday at 8:30 and that my procedure would be at 9 am. So we were on our way finally!

Love this man of mine! 

After that me, my mom, Emily and Carla went to get pedicures while the boys hung out. Afterwards we got pizza and played some games. Justin mixed the shot that night at 8:50 as I didn't want to be late injecting it and Carla (my sister in law) was so intrigued she asked if she could watch, so of course I let her. :) 

Our cute summer toes! 

I forgot to get a picture of the actual shot so here is the box. ;)

Thursday 6/16- Was a relaxing stress free day, first off I got to sleep in (which for me meant I got up at 8 am instead of 7:30). But I'll take it as sleeping in because I didn't have to do any shots!! :) Justin took some medication he was instructed to begin this morning and we went about our day doing whatever we wanted. Around 11 am the anesthesiologist called to go over my medical history with me and reminded me that I could not have anything to eat or drink after Midnight. I was so anxious for it to be Friday already and to be honest I can't really remember what we did Thursday.

Friday 6/17- Its Egg Retrieval Day! I woke up around 7:30 and went in and brushed my teeth, I was told I could brush my teeth but that I couldn't have swallow any water, after that I changed into some comfortable leggings and a T-shirt. I didn't have to do much to get ready as I was not allowed to wear makeup, lotion, perfume etc. I woke Justin up after 8 and we headed to the clinic to check in at 8:20. Okay can I just tell you that we waited for what seemed like forever! I was so anxious and also nervous as I had only been under anesthesia once but I was a baby so I didn't remember anything about the experience. Justin was called back before I was to get his sample and then I was taken back to our room, I was instructed to undress and put on a gown and that the anesthesiologist would be in to put the IV in. Now I forgot to mention Amberlie told me that Justin would be allowed in the room with me until the procedure started but he never came in. :( So I was even more nervous but Russel (the anesthesiologist was really nice and I didn't really feel the IV go in. All I remember was he told me okay Dr. Conway will be in in a minute, she'll have a conversation with you, you won't remember it and then you'll wake up and we'll be all done. Yep that's just what happened, I heard Dr. Conway say how do you feel? I said tired and the next thing I know I am being told that we're all done and to get up and they escorted me down the hall to recovery.

Justin took a video but apparently its not that funny so we'll just do the picture instead. 

Okay so you remember how I said I don't know how I am on anesthesia? Well I guess I am a cryer even on drugs haha! I kept crying and asking for Justin, when he came in I said "where were you!?" He informed me he was in the waiting room and that everything went well. Then I said "is this still in me?" (the IV) He told me yes but they would come remove it soon. The nurse came in and saw me crying and asked what was wrong haha Justin just told her it must be my reaction to the drugs and she chuckled. :) She let us know that Dr. Conway would be in soon and that we would know more on how many eggs we retrieved. She came in maybe 2 minutes after that and informed us we got 15 eggs and that they would start fertilizing them. She told me we would get a phone call on Saturday and Monday to let us know how they were doing. After that the nurse came back in and gave us some instructions and told us we could head home whenever we felt ready. I was tired off and on for the rest of the day but I only napped once. 

That night we celebrated Father's Day early for my dad since he was going to a scout camp with my brother Brady all next week. We had a homemade stir fry and angel food cake dessert it was yummy!

Sorry that was a very long update, its what I get for waiting so long to post, but stay tuned I have more to write. :)

IVF Updates!

Appointment Saturday 6/11/16-

Okay so I haven't been very good about writing like I said I would, so I will try and do my best as we are getting closer to the procedure days. This last week I went in to see Stephanie at the Idaho Falls Office, while I was there she informed me that she would be gone this weekend and that I would have to go to the Pleasant Grove Office for monitoring. After talking with Justin we decided that we would just take the next 2 weeks off of work since we were getting closer to the procedure dates.

Seriously guys I don't think I have ever packed so much in my life, even when we went to Disney World and our Cruise I think that this trip was the most I had to pack for ever! I had 2 duffle bags, one for our clothes the other had all the bathroom things. You know like shampoo, hairspray that kind of stuff. In hind sight I should've left that all at home as I have my mom and sister I am staying with, too late! Then of course we had to bring the entire pharmacy along with us. So that was another cooler and a bag just of the meds, needles, and sharps containers. Oh and of course I couldn't leave without my sweet friends IVF survival kits they made me. You remember the post about my best friends sweet gift, well my sweet visiting teacher brought over a bag of "goodies" too,

Well before we left we got to have dinner with Justin's mom and dad and sister Melissa, lucky for us she brought sweet baby Claire too so I got to snuggle her before we headed to Utah. We got on the road last night (Friday) at 8:45 and arrived a little after 11 pm. I was so exhausted! It took me, my brother, my sister, Justin and my dad to unload our car, yeah I told you I had to bring everything with me. So glad my family is so sweet!

We had our first appointment with the Utah Fertility Clinic this morning (Saturday)  at 9:30 am, I thought we were meeting with Dr. Conway but we met with her nurse practitioner instead. She was so sweet! We did the usual check up to measure my follicles to see how I was doing, she informed me that we were measuring at 13 MM and were on track. She then had me go and get some blood work done. Once that was over she informed us that someone would call with the results.


Around 11 am Saturday  we got a call saying that Dr. Conway was pleased with our results and that we didn't need to come see her as scheduled on Sunday 6/12 so we got to take that day off! Yay! She also told us that we will begin our Ganirelix shot Sunday so now we have 3 shots. Scary!  We will go back on Monday 6/13 to see where we are from there.

Here are the 3 shots we did Sunday morning, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. 

Appointment 6/13/16-

As scheduled we headed to the Fertility clinic at 8:40 for our 8:45 appointment, we are so lucky that my parents live 2 minutes from the clinic instead of the 45 minutes it takes in Idaho to get up to Idaho Falls. We got there right on time and waited for about 5 minutes before going into our usual room #2. I joked today that that was our lucky number only because in the two times I've visited this office we always get that room.  But I think she took me serious and said it must be a sign LOL. Well we had a new nurse check us today her name was Chelsea and she was also really friendly. I have been really impressed with how nice and caring everyone at this clinic is.

Well it was the same routine just the ultrasound and blood work, we talked about how the endometrioma is blocking so much of my left ovary that it's really hard to tell how big the follicles are measuring, Stephanie already had warned me that we may not get as many eggs on my left side but its still good to check how they are measuring. Chelsea didn't say where I was measuring at today as of Saturday the follicles were at 13 MM so hopefully we're getting closer to the 18 MM mark.

Brittney called from the office at around 4:30 pm and told us that we are still on track and that Dr. Conway wants us to continue on the medications and to come back tomorrow 6/14 for more blood work and another ultrasound. My fingers are crossed that we'll know more on egg retrieval day by tomorrow! But we're still in good spirits, my family and Justin's have been so supportive with calls and fun times together to keep my mind on other things instead of worrying. Well I will keep you all posted when I know more tomorrow, Until then! - The Almonds