It's a...

BOY!!!!! We weren't going to find out, but there was no denying what we saw. So Kysen Allin Richards will be making his debut in March, hopefully as close to March 25th as possible.

I didn't gain any weight but I didn't lose any weight, so we are going to just keep trucking on. Kysen is growing and is healthy, which is our main prayer. My belly is growing which is so much fun now that people can tell that I am pregnant and not just fat. It is amazing to feel him kick and turn. It truly is a God thing to feel a baby inside of you. Every little kick, move, etc. I am reminded of what God has blessed us with.

Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks, I am now 23 weeks:

OOPPPSSSS

I forgot to put one more thing in the last post... I wanted to tell yall our names we have picked.

Boy name- Kysen Allin (Allin is my dad's middle name) Nickname- Ky
Girl name- Brynlee Ann (Ann is Shaylor's mom's middle name) Nickname- Bryn

Time Flies

I can't believe we are almost half down with our pregnancy. I am 19 1/2 weeks, and it is going by so fast. We are registering at the hospital this week, we are so excited!

We are going to the doctor on Nov 10th, our anniversary, that would be when we found out what the gender is, but we don't want to. Some days I want to know really really bad, and other days I think about the incredible experience we will have when we meet our bundle of joy. Those of you that know me, know that I hate surprises, but this is one that I am really looking forward to. The nice part about not finding out is the planning began a long time ago. The nursery is already painted grey. Shaylor's step dad is making our crib, and my mom is making the bedding. Our bundle of joy is already spoiled rotten. Our colors are black, grey, white, yellow and a little turquoise. It is all so pretty together. I can't wait to post pictures and show you.

We do have a prayer request... I have been very sick this whole pregnancy. I have lost a lot of weight. The doctor is finally very concerned. I have until the 10th to gain weight or we are going to have to go another way. I didn't ask too many questions because I don't want to know what is going to happen. Our baby is growing, but taking all of my nutrients. I am on a prescription which helps some, and I eat, just can't eat a lot! So, please pray that I gain weight. I don't want to know what road we are going to have to go down if I don't gain anything.

I am still and forever will be grateful at the continued love and support my blog family shows me. I am overwhelmed but what God has shown me through many of you. Thanks again!

Milestone

I am so excited to finally get to announce to our blog family that I am 12 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am due March 25th. We are so excited and thrilled.

We want to thank all of you for your continued prayers, love, and support. We definitely felt them. We know that God has blessed us with a miracle. Please continue to pray that everything goes smooth. We are so excited to share in this next chapter of our lives with yall.

Nothing big

I know it has been awhile since I have updated. Pleae continue to pray for Shaylor and I, and that God's will be done!

Hannah's Hope

This book is incredible. If you know someone that is dealing with infertility, miscarriage, or even adoption loss please go buy this book for them. Before you give it to that person, read the end of ever chapter, this is the part for family and friends. A lot of times, I know it is hard to talk to a person dealing with any of the 3 areas above, you don't want to say the wrong thing. So it has some really good pointers for you. You can even read the book to have a better understanding of what that person is feeling. It has hit everything on the head about my thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. This book was recommended to us by a couple that has been dealing with infertility for 6 years and they are finally expecting through many trials. Their testimony is incredible.

Once again here is the info- Hannah's Hope written by Jennifer Saake

Just in case you are wondering, it didn't happen for us last month, so we have started all over again. We will be doing the IUI around July 1-3, so please say an extra prayer for us! Thanks!

Calling for lots of Prayers, Please!

I went to the doctor to this morning to get my follicles measured. I had one, but remember that's all it takes. It measured at a 26, which is the largest I have ever had! It was on my left ovary, and they are never on my left. So please pray that this is our month!

Update Time!

I guess it is time for an update. I know you were all sitting at the edge of your seat to hear one.

No, I am not pregnant. We were hoping, then all the cousins would have a birthday in January, and how much fun would that have been?

My levels did go up, Praise God! I still have to take clomid though because we all know without it, they wouldn't be where they need to be.

Once again, it was another heartache, another pity party for the Richards! I just wish I knew why we were chosen to go down this path.

The hardest thing I think for me is we have now started month 3. Our window of opportunity is 3-6 months. I am freaking out that we are halfway there. I don't know what will happen if we reach the 6th month and we are still not pregnant. My doctor told me that after 6 months we were pretty much a lost cause unless we want to do In Vitro (IVF) which is about $15,000. So we don't see that in our future unless we win the lottery. So, I just hope and pray that God will bless us before it gets to that point.

My husband has been amazing! I know it is so hard on him to watch me suffer month after month after month. As hard as I try to not cry or get upset, it always happens when he holds me and just says "It's OK, I love you!" It's crazy how just those few small words are the biggest support you could ask for. I try to be there for him too, I know this can't be easy for him either. I am just thankful to have a husband that loves me, cares for me, and makes me feel better. At least I can say God blessed me with the most amazing man!!!!!!!

Blood work Sat

I go in Saturday morning to have blood work. The doctor will be checking my levels and see if they have gone up, which they should since I took Clomid. The next 2 weeks are the hardest weeks. The first part of the cycle month goes so fast, taking meds, going to the doctor, OPK, there seems to always be something we are having to do. The last 2 weeks, we just sit and wait and go get blood work at 8 DPO. Then we wait another week for either AF or a BFP! I am hoping for a BFP! I will update you once we get our results front the blood work!

Doctor Visit this morning

We made it through the clomid and now we start the monitoring. We went to the doctor first thing this morning to measure my follicles.

She checked my lining and it was really good. It had 3 lines, which I never have and that is what you want. Then we checked my follicles. I have 3 on my right ovary that are growing big and strong but not ready to be released. Nothing on my left ovary. So we hope that one of them on the right ovary will be our miracle. I usually have one, at most two, so the fact we have 3 is very positive!

Will update when I know more!

Infertility Awareness Week

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week (April 24-May 1, 2010), a movement to raise awareness about the disease of infertility.There's a 1 in 8 chance you know someone with the disease of infertility. They may not look sick on the outside, but they are probably suffering on the inside. Infertility effects nearly 7.3 million Americans of reproductive age.

Infertility Awareness Week

I did not know that National Infertility Week would ever mean so much to me. It is something that Shaylor and I struggle with on a daily basis. There is nothing we can do to change it.

Maybe this week you can say an extra prayer for all the couples out there that are experiencing or have experienced infertility. God hears all prayers, and they go a long way!

Count Your Blessings One by One

If you read my last post, you know that I was having a pretty hard time with everything. I cried Friday felt sorry for myself and Shaylor. I was angry that God is putting us through this, and I didn't understand why. I just felt defeated, that's the only way to describe it. No words of encouragement could have changed me. People who have not gone through this will never truly understand what it feels like.

Saturday was a new day. Shaylor ended up working over night on Friday, and when he got home Saturday, he woke me up and wanted to go to breakfast. I really didn't want to, I just wanted to lay in bed, but I got up and we headed off. We talked some about what was going on in our lives, etc. It was a nice escape from the heartache I had been feeling. I took Shaylor back home and headed to the doctor. She really is awesome that she gives up her Saturday mornings to help the patients with infertility. We talked for awhile, she did the sonogram everything looks good. She even said my body tried really hard to get pregnant. That was like music to my ears. I left the doctor's and had a new sense of hope. My body has changed and hopefully it will be our time. Shaylor finally got up and we spent the rest of the day together and looking towards a new direction for us.

Sunday came around and Shaylor was actually off so we decided to go to church. We had been going to this one church since we both moved down here. We really liked it, but for some reason, which I learned later we went to a different church. It was such an amazing experience. The sermon was on being discontent and about how we desire so many things in life instead of being thankful for what we had. I cried the whole church service just thinking about how all I have wanted is a baby and have forgotten about everything else. The preacher referred to a hymn that is now what I say to myself everyday to remind me of the blessings in my life.

Count your blessings
Name them one by one;
Count your many blessings
See what God hath done

So the Cycle Begins

Here is our little story of the last couple of days. We were on a roller coaster ride, that's for sure. My period was a couple of days late, and I am not going to lie Shaylor and I were a little excited and hopeful. So, after going back and forth all day yesterday, I decided to stop and get a test on my way home. Shaylor wasn't going to be home until 5 so I thought perfect, if it comes out positive I have some time I can do something exciting to tell him we are pregnant. So, I get home and pee on the stick, nothing happens. No lines show up, NOTHING. I had a faulty test. I was so frustrated that of course that would happen to me. Shaylor gets home from work and says, "Lets go buy a test." I told him I already did and showed it to him, he just laughed. I just knew that was a sign that I shouldn't have done it. So, this morning lo and behold Aunt Flo showed up. To the doctor I go tomorrow.

I was pretty down last night. I just feel that I am failing my husband. I can't give him the one thing that he deserves more than anything in the world. It has been a hard battle internally for me. He reassures me that he doesn't feel that way, and that he is just blessed to have me as his wife.

We are going to give it the 6 months that the doctor said to give it, and just hope and pray that something will happen. It is in God's hands, and He will bless us with a child one way or another. I just pray for strength to make it through these next few months.

The Results Are In...

And they were not what we were hoping for. My levels are lower now then when we started this journey. So, back to clomid and being monitored all month long. The good news is we know it works for me, so why not give it another chance. Hopefully with knowing now what our not 1 but 2 problems are we can get pregnant.

Please keep the prayers coming.

The Waiting Game…AGAIN!!!!

So we sit and we wait again! Seems like when it comes to getting pregnant that’s what you have to do. I went on Tuesday to get Day 21 blood drawn. (Day 21 is to check ovulation and progesterone.) When we first started this battle, my progesterone was low and I had to go on Clomid. My body responded very well to it, but I did NOT like the side effects and neither did Shaylor. I have not taken it since August and it’s been a nice break. We took the blood on Tuesday to see if my levels went up so hopefully we don’t have to take it any more. When your levels are low you risk a high chance of a miscarriage. After all this, the last thing we want is to deal with that.

So, here we are waiting for the results and wondering what is in store for us in the coming weeks.

ANSWERS!!!!!!!!

I am all recovered and ready to share the news we received!!!!! We got answers and that is all we hoped and prayed for. Here was our experience on Wednesday, March 17th...

We, my dad, Shaylor, and I, got to the surgical center Wednesday morning. We got all checked in and I was feeling at peace, which is a shock for those that know me. I am a very anxious person. The OR we were going to had some complications and the surgery before ours took a lot longer than expected. I went in 2 hours later than planned. The doctor told Shaylor and I it would be a 45 min to an hour procedure, and they wheeled me off and Shay went back to the waiting room with my dad. The surgery ended up taking an hour and half. Our doctor told us on our follow up appointment she was just about finished and decided to check one more place, under the uterus. She picked up the uterus and it was covered in Endometriosis. She scraped it all out and got rid of it. All of the other reproductive organs look great. She said the best time for us to conceive is in the next 3-6 months. We are excited and hopeful again. It is a GREAT feeling!!!!!! The only down part about endometriosis is it slowly comes back, so in about 2 years we will have to do this again. I will take that.

I can't even began to tell you what a huge relief it is knowing that there was something stopping us from getting pregnant and we would not have been able to conceive until it was cleaned out. I told Shaylor all the people that said just relax and then it will happen, I want to go to each and every one of them and say NO it wouldn't have, we have a medical issue.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. We could not have made it this far without the power of prayer and love and support from yall. I hope soon I can give you an updated report with good news.

Wednesday

For those that read and want updates about our struggle with infertility... here is the latest. We have taken quite a long time off, since Sept. We are on the bandwagon again. On Wednesday, at 7:00 am we are having a diagnostic laparoscopy to see if there is an underlying issue that has not shown up on any of the other test or sonograms that we have done. I will be out of commission for about 5 days, it just depends on the severity of the problem, if any. My parents are coming to be here with us during this time. Really, my poor dad has to take care of me. My mom will be at a training in Dallas so we will see her at night, and Shaylor has to work, Wed. night, Thurs, and Friday. Then it will be his turn on Sat. and Sun. I am hoping, and praying that this gives us some answers. Over 2 years of dealing with infertility has taken a toll on us. We are so ready to be parents and know that our time is coming soon. Please as Wednesday approaches if you think about it, we would appreciate any prayers.