Our Little Tiebreaker...

2 MRI's. Several visits with an endocrinologist, a neuro-ophthalmologist, and a neurosurgeon. 1 healed tumor {praise God!} Another mock transfer. Another hysteroscopy. 1 colonoscopy. The continued gift of embryo adoption. Repeated blood work. 2 FET's. Still 0 insurance coverage. Another little one born into heaven. 89 additional PIO shots. Some more waiting. More tears. Several more prayers. STILL an amazingly faithful God.

We are so excited to announce that our family is growing AGAIN! Our little tiebreaker is set to arrive in August 2018!

Just like Eli and Maddie, this sweet baby BOY is both a rainbow and a snowflake baby. We will forever be grateful for the beautiful gift of Embryo Adoption! We are amazed at all the Lord has done, and how He continually shows His grace over and provision for our family.

Eli and Maddie's onesies each say "Baby Bear"...I had this whole grand plan of my baby bears announcing our new "Lil Cub" but they were more interested in taking the letters off the felt letter board than announcing their baby brother. Haha. Getting 2 toddlers to sit still, show their shirts, look at the camera, AND smile is pretty much impossible. Oh well :)  

{iPhone Rewind} :: February

I mean...I just can't...I LOVE HIM.

Crazy hair, don't care :)

Just hanging out

Static hair!

Grandma came into town, and she makes everything more fun {including breakfast}!

Oh man. This cutie...

They had just had a big spat after bothering each other nonstop...but they seemed to work it out #siblings

Good morning!

Her bang curl game is strong :)

Watching the rain :)

Eli thinks the vacuum is the coolest thing EVER.

These little ones LOVE reading books. They will bring me book after book, and we read a lot of the same ones over and over...but I don't mind :)

Eli & Maddie's Thaw/Transferversary

Two years ago, our sweet babies were thawed and transferred after being frozen for almost 7 years. There was so much anxiety, anticipation, and hope on that day. And to be able to look back and see our sweet Eli and Maddie as tiny embryos, knowing that we are now chasing them around as toddlers is just such an overwhelmingly amazing gift. 

One of my absolute favorite parts of walking through embryo adoption and the frozen embryo transfer is that we have a photo of our babies at their tiniest. And with twins, we got to see them on ultrasound ALL the time, so we literally got to watch them grow throughout my pregnancy!

5-day blastocyst

6 weeks + 3 days pregnant

8 weeks + 3 days pregnant

11 weeks + 1 day pregnant

12 weeks + 4 days pregnant

18 weeks + 2 days pregnant

23 weeks + 2 days pregnant

1 day old

1 year old

1 year + 3 months old

What a sweet blessing to be able to call these baby loves ours!

13 Weeks

How far along? 13 weeks

Days since transfer: 72 days

Total weight gain: +2.0

Maternity clothes? Not yet. We have basically lived at home all week because of the rain, so I have lived in sweatpants and sweatshirts. 

Sleep: I have been sleeping a little better this week. I think I am starting to come out of the 1st trimester tiredness, so hopefully some more energy will kick in soon!

Best moment of the week: Taking my LAST Estrace pill and my LAST PIO injection EVER. I am so thankful for fertility medications...but I am also so thankful to be done with them!

Cravings: Sour patch kids. Slightly gross? Maybe. But I want them all the time.

Symptoms: I haven't had any nausea this week, so that's a big win! Hopefully it's done, and I don't have to worry about it anymore. My belly is definitely out there now, though I wouldn't say that I have "popped." It's definitely still a squishy middle, and just my expanded uterus to be an official baby bump, but we won't have to hide it much longer anyway!

Looking forward to: My next OB appointment so we can hear that beautiful heartbeat! I have really struggled with anxiety this pregnancy. I was so used to constant monitoring with Eli and Maddie, so to have so few appointments with this baby has been difficult for me. 

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Size of baby? About the size of a a Cadbury Creme Egg, a scoop of ice cream, or an espresso cup

Development: Baby's skin is now covered with lanugo {fine, soft hair}. Tiny bones are beginning to form in the arms and legs, a baby might even be sucking a thumb! Intestines are moving to their permanent place, and vocal cords or developing. The placenta is also growing.

Heartbeat: Can't wait to hear it again next week!

Movement: Baby is moving a ton, but I can't feel it quite yet. I'm hoping that I can identify movements sooner this time, since I know what it feels like! But I will be interested to know the difference between 2 and 1 :)

Gender Predictions? We're having another boy! :)

13 weeks- twin pregnancy

**This post was written at 13 Weeks, but was not published until after we made our official announcement. I back-dated to the actual day so we could have all of this for our own records and memories.**

12 Weeks

How far along? 12 weeks

Days since transfer: 65 days

Meds: Day 90 of Estrace, day 72 of PIO {LAST DAY...WAHOO!!}

Total weight gain: +2.5

Maternity clothes? Not yet, though I did pull out my maternity clothes box to remind myself what I had available...because it won't be long! Still mostly feeling fat, and wondering if this baby is going to have a gigantic home to swim around in, since the twins stretched out my uterus so much :)

Sleep: I have actually slept better this week! I am still feeling super tired, and really could take a nap every day, but I am hoping that as I get closer to the 2nd trimester, I will start to get some energy back...at least that's what I am holding out for!

Best moment of the week: Hearing that our genetic testing came back normal and finding out the gender of our sweet baby! We had fun telling our families, and we are just so excited to meet this little one :)

Cravings: I had a crazy amount of cravings within the last couple of weeks...and because it was around my birthday, I got to indulge most of them! Haha. The dreams of food have stopped, so hopefully that means I won't have any more cravings??

Symptoms: I have had a lot of headaches this week. I think that may be due to weaning off my meds, so hopefully my hormones will balance out and those headaches will go away soon. And still tired :)  I had one morning that I battled some nausea, but other than that, I haven't had any.

Looking forward to: Making our public announcement! We're starting to figure out how we want to make it internet official, and it just makes me excited for the world to know!

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Size of baby? About the size of a wine cork, a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, or a chicken nugget

Development: Baby weighs a full half-ounce! Most of the systems are fully formed, though they have a lot of maturing to do. Bone marrow is also busy making white blood cells.

Heartbeat: Can't wait to hear it again in a couple of weeks!

Movement: Baby is moving a ton, but I can't feel it yet.

Gender Predictions? We got the call last week from our genetic testing and found out the gender of this sweet little one! 

12 weeks- twin pregnancy

**This post was written at 12 Weeks, but was not published until after we made our official announcement. I back-dated to the actual day so we could have all of this for our own records and memories.**

Happy Valentines Day!

2018

What a difference a year makes!

2017

Happy Valentines Day from the McCullough Twins :)

Celebrating 33

So I turned 33 this week! I am now well into my 30s, which seems strange to say, because I don't feel like I am that old haha. But I'm also not sure how being in your 30s is "supposed" to feel...so I guess it just is what it is. Either way, I think it feels pretty good :)

I have always loved birthdays and all the fun festivities. This week was no exception, and I am just so thankful for all of the family, friends, and birthday love. I praise God for another year and for all of the sweet blessings I get to enjoy. 

On Wednesday {my actual birthday}, I woke up to a sweet birthday card from my hubby. We {me and babies} spent the morning at home, and I got a fun cookie delivery from Tiff's Treats!

I got to have lunch with Laura and Cooper, which was really fun! I feel like we had a crazy amount of old people come up to our table and make various comments, ranging from "I remember those days" to "your table makes me tired" haha. So that was interesting, but I love that we get to hang out and have lunch with our babies on a regular basis. What a sweet blessing! Laura gave me a couple of books I have been wanting, so I am so excited to start reading those! 

My mom came into town for the week/weekend, so we have been enjoyed a fun week with her! Eli and Maddie have been in HEAVEN with grandma here, and I have enjoyed having the extra hands around during the day :)

And today, Mike and I got to have a fun birthday date out. We enjoyed lunch at Salata {one of my favorites}, then grabbed a cupcake at Sprinkles. It was a great way to round out my birthday week celebrations!

Thank you, Lord for another sweet year!

11 Weeks

How far along? 11 weeks

Days since transfer: 58 days

Meds: Day 83 of Estrace, day 65 of PIO {though I'm starting to reduce my doses!}

Total weight gain: +0.5

Maternity clothes? Not yet. Still using my belly band with my regular jeans, or just sticking with the stretchy pants...and long shirts, nothing form fitting, because no one wants to see that.  I don't really feel pregnant yet...I just feel fat haha. So that "bump" in the photo isn't necessarily baby yet, but just my crazy uterus already expanded. And a little squishy middle extra leftover from twins :)

Sleep: I have actually slept a little better this week, I am just still SO tired. And I'm definitely over it...I desperately need some energy back!

Best moment of the week: Celebrating my 33rd birthday with my loves! Also getting to reduce my dosing for Estrace and PIO...a little closer to finally weaning off the meds!

Cravings: Nothing specific. Just SUPER hungry all day long. I sometimes find myself needing a snack every hour, and the other day, I woke up at 4am to pee and had to eat something because my stomach was growling so loud! 

Symptoms: I haven't had any nausea this week...so maybe it's done?? If that's the case, then I was incredibly blessed to have minimal nausea this pregnancy. A grace from Jesus for sure.

Looking forward to: Making our announcement! We are waiting to hear the results of our genetic/gender testing, so may announce after that. But I don't have my next OB appointment until 14 weeks, so I am having some intense anxiety about announcing before we can check on baby again. That may sound a little silly, and it shouldn't be that big of a deal either way, but I just wish that back-of-the-mind fear would just go away. 

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Size of baby? About the size of a donut hole, a Lego minifigure, or a golf/ping pong ball

Development: Bones are starting to harden, hair follicles are forming on the crown, and those hands and toes have individual fingers and toes {no more webbing!} Fingernail and toenail beds are also starting to develop this week.

Heartbeat: Strong 160s at 10 weeks :)

Movement: Baby is moving a ton, but I can't feel anything yet.

Gender Predictions? We're just hoping for another healthy baby! But just for fun...my lack of nausea and my dry skin suggests boy. Plus my heart is telling me boy...so we'll see!

11 weeks- twin pregnancy

**This post was written at 11 Weeks, but was not published until after we made our official announcement. I back-dated to the actual day so we could have all of this for our own records and memories.**

A Brand New Perspective

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Eli needed glasses. We had started noticing that his right eye seemed to cross at times. It didn't happen all the time at first, but it didn't seem to be correcting itself either, so we decided to take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist. 

When she first examined him, she said that it was definitely noticeable. His eye wasn't turning all the time, but it was turning a majority of the time. She said it could either be a muscle issue {which would require surgery when he was 2 or 3 years old}, or he could have a really high prescription, which would require glasses. They dilated his little eyes, held up varying lenses to his eyes, shined lights in his eyes...basically performed a number of tests to determine what the issue was. And my little guy did SO well! He wasn't fussy or squirmy, and he was super patient with her examination. At the end of it, we had the verdict: he would need glasses.

It turns out he has high hyperopia {aka far-sightedness}. Basically, his eyeballs are shorter than they should be, so when he is looking at an object far away, the image comes into focus behind the retina. There's even a possibility that he has had difficulty seeing both distance and near. But either way, his cross eye has resulted because he has been trying to compensate for what he could not see. Poor little buddy! Other than his crossed eye, he really hasn't seemed to have any other issues. Many children with hyperopia avoid books and hate reading...but Eli LOVES sitting and flipping through books. He seems to run around and play with no problem, able to make baskets in his little basketball goal and stack blocks without any problem. So his vision issues are not seeming to slow him down in any way. Of course, hyperopia can cause increased muscle strain/fatigue and headaches, so he could have been experiencing some of those symptoms without us knowing. 

The hope is that wearing glasses full time will help correct his cross eye. There is still a chance he could need surgery later, but we will have to see how the glasses do. There is also a chance that as his eye grows and develops, his vision could get better. But we won't know that until he is 9 or 10, so he'll just always know glasses {and in the future, contacts, if he wants}. 

When he first put them on, it took him a second to realize he could actually SEE, and he immediately started looking around at everything. He was taking it all in, and couldn't stop smiling. When he saw himself in the mirror, he drew in an excited breathe, like he was surprised to see such a handsome fellow! :)

So now we figure out life with glasses! Our biggest challenge right now is making sure he keeps them on...and that his sister leaves them alone :)  I started wearing my glasses a little bit more before we got Eli's pair, in an effort to get them both used to them, practicing with them to leave them alone. We're still working on that, though he is doing better than I expected. And we'll figure it out!

10 Weeks

How far along? 10 weeks

Days since transfer: 51 days

Meds: Day 76 of Estrace, day 58 of PIO

Total weight gain: +0 {I'm at least back where I started!}

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I did have to start wearing my belly band with my regular jeans. They were feeling pretty uncomfortable, so unbuttoning them makes all the difference :)

Sleep: Still pretty tired. I have struggled a lot with insomnia this pregnancy. So I try not to take a nap, in the hopes that it will help me sleep better at night, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. 

Best moment of the week: Hearing that beautiful heartbeat at my OB appointment yesterday! It was a risk trying to find it this early, but I wasn't going to have an ultrasound, so I had to at least try. Still one of the best sounds!

Cravings: ALL THE FOOD. Haha. Nothing specific, but I just want to eat everything. My appetite seemed to pick up a lot more this week.

Symptoms: I have actually felt pretty good this week. No nausea, just a couple of headaches. And tired. And still really weird dreams...

Looking forward to: Continuing to wean off my meds!

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Size of baby? About the size of a chocolate Kiss, a poker chip, a cotton ball, or a mini cocktail sausage

Development: Baby is now a fetus, with bones and cartilage forming into knees and ankles. Baby's arms {complete with elbows} can flex already. Teeth are forming under the gums. Baby's stomach is producing digestive juices, and the kidneys are producing urine.

Heartbeat: Strong 160s at 10 weeks!

Movement: Baby is moving a ton, but I can't feel anything yet.

Gender Predictions? We're just hoping for another healthy baby! But just for fun...Chinese gender chart {boy}, Mayan calendar odd/even {girl}, craving sweets/ice {girl}, cold feet {boy}.

10 weeks- twin pregnancy

**This post was written at 10 Weeks, but was not published until after we made our official announcement. I back-dated to the actual day so we could have all of this for our own records and memories.**