PREGNANCY UPDATE: MY FIRST TRIMESTER

It’s a little surreal to be writing this post right now. I can’t believe I’ve already made it past my first trimester! In case you missed it, here was our pregnancy announcement last month:

I found out pretty early on that I was pregnant (8 days post transfer), but last time I had a devastating chemical miscarriage so I didn’t want to be overly excited. But I had this feeling that this was it – this was finally our baby and despite being a lower grade embryo than our last one, our baby was so strong. As soon as our doctor confirmed it, I couldn’t wait to share the news!!! I waited so long to say the words “I’M PREGNANT”!!!!

We are truly overwhelmed by all the love and support by everyone! Whenever I’m at Morning Lavender Cafe, I have customers come up and congratulate me and it feels great to have so much support and have people that we don’t know tell us they have been praying for us. This baby is already so loved! I’ve been enjoying every moment of pregnancy (except maybe for the bloating and gassing in the first few weeks). I’ve waited so long to feel what it’s like to carry a child that I don’t want to miss a beat! I’ve been fortunate though to not have any nausea or morning sickness. The days are actually going by so fast and we kind of freaked out when our app told us the baby will be here in 25 weeks! We can’t wait to be parents but there’s still so much to do before April 2019!

I’ve received a lot of questions about why my transfer was successful this time versus last time. I actually did quite a few things different this time than last so I can’t really pinpoint one thing that might have been the contributing factor. Everyone has a different experience with IVF and our body works in incredible ways so here is just my experience and some of the things I did that may or may have contributed to the success of my 2nd transfer:

1. My amazing fertility doctor, Dr. Mark Kan actually put me on a different protocol than my first transfer. As I mentioned previously, I was diagnosed with endometriosis which was a possible reason for my infertility. After my 1st transfer was unsuccessful, we suggested that I go on medication called depo-lupron which would drastically lower my estrogen levels (estrogen actually increases endometriosis) and “clean out my system” so to speak. It was a injection that lasted one month and he suggested in May that I go on the medication for 2 months. At this point, I wanted to try again so badly and really didn’t want to wait any longer for our baby, but Dr. Kan convinced me that 2 more months could mean a greater chance of success and if I waited this long, what’s another 2 months? So I did the shots in May and June and scheduled my transfer for the end of July. Medically, this was the only thing I did differently from the 1st transfer.

2. Another thing I tried was acupuncture. Acupuncture is suppose to increase the blood flow to your reproductive organs. I started seeing Dr. Zhao in June (only 6 weeks prior to the transfer) and she had me come in 3x a week in preparation of the transfer. I HATE needles but I braved through each session and eventually feLl asleep and felt so much more relaxed in those weeks I saw her. She highly recommended that I come in to see her right BEFORE and right AFTER the transfer. Dr. Kan said it couldn’t hurt and as long as the driving back and forth didn’t stress me out. So 9am – I had an acupuncture session, 11am was the transfer and at 1pm, I had another acupuncture session. Dr. Kan prescribed 2 days of bedrest to follow but I actually ended up doing 3 days (I binged watched Jane the Virgin on Netflix – so good!). As recommended by Dr. Zhao, I continued my acupuncture until the end of the first trimester. I actually kind of miss it now!

3. After 3 days of bed rest, I took it super easy at home and at work. I didn’t lift anything heavy, I was hardly on my feet at the cafe and my darling husband Jason, took over so many of my work responsibilities. He has been AMAZING through all of this and made sure that I wasn’t feeling stressed or overwhelmed. He continued to give me my daily progesterone shots every morning until Dr. Kan said I could stop at my 12 week mark. I couldn’t wait to finish those shots! I am still bruised from the months of injections but so far, it’s been totally worth it.

4. I’ve read so many forums and blogs about fertility diets that it actually stressed me out more than it helped. As noted in this IVF transfer blog post, I cut out cold drinks, sugary drinks, alcohol, fast food and reduced my carb and caffeine intake leading up to my trasnfer. It’s funny because as soon as I got pregnant, I wanted ALL OF THOSE THINGS (except alcohol of course). Another thing I tried 6 weeks leading up to the transfer was something my mother-in-law introduced me to. Using this contraption, you double boil chicken to extract all the goodness of chicken into an easily-digested drink, with all fats and cholesterol removed, resulting in a protein drink that is derived from all-natural source. Every morning, I would drink 2 tablespoons of it. It actually tasted delicious so I didn’t mind. Again I don’t know if this is why I’m pregnant, but here I am and at some point I was willing to try anything as long as it was safe!

So there you have it – a few things I did differently this time around. It could all just be timing and God had His plan all along. I honestly think my baby was telling me to slow down and not stress so much. It’s been a struggle being an entrepreneur to not want to do more and keep pushing and growing the business, but I’ve spent 2018 growing and investing our team and I’m truly confident that our Company will continue to grow even if I’m not doing every little thing. I want to take a real maternity leave so I will be spending the next 6 months getting our team ready! And I want Jason to take a paternity leave! Poor guy has done so much for me and the business this year that he deserves a daddy break as well. I know a baby will bring on different kinds of stress and struggles but we can’t wait to join the parenting club!

Anyway now that my energy is back at 15 weeks and I finally have a bump to share, I want to get back to posting my regularly with more fashion and style inspiration. My jeans no longer fit so I’ve been living in dresses! I will be sharing more fashion related content soon!

Thank you for reading another lengthy blog post! And thank you so much for all the incredible love and support for our family!!!