Fertility update

Mike and I met with our reproductive endocrinologist last week to discuss less expensive options than increasing the shot dosage, which we discussed last time. Considering we have been able to get pregnant twice with no medication assistance, and twice with Clomid, we were extremely disappointed that the extreme (and expensive) measures we took in March and April did not result in a pregnancy. We thought we'd at least get pregnant then have to worry about keeping it, as we did before. He informed us that there is a drug we can use called Femara, which is similar to Clomid but does not negatively effect the uterine lining and gets out of your system faster than Clomid. That prescription will just cost a couple hundred dollars, so it gives us something to try that's more reasonably priced. We will try this one or more times this year, then we can do the shots again in January if need be, once we get more flex-spending dollars. In addition to the Femara I will take a baby aspirin and my pre-natal vitamins each day, then wear estrogen patches and use progesterone supplements once I ovulate. Please keep saying those prayers for us!

Growing girl

These past few weeks have been crazy. I have had two events at work that have consumed my time and energy. Derby has come and gone. And we have welcomed a new baby girl to our family. Miss Ramsey was born! I was so afraid I would be unable to get up to see her due to the chaos at work, but it turns out she was extremely accommodating and selected to arrive on a day that worked out just perfectly with my work schedule. Miss Mia cannot wait to see Baby Ramsey and asks about her almost every day. Of course she already did the same thing with Cara, so it comes as no surprise.

In addition to all the other exciting happenings, Miss Mia began to express interest in going on the potty. So, what the heck, we added potty training to the mix last week! We started on Monday, taking numerous outfits and pairs of panties to daycare in case of accidents (Mom got her tons of Dora, Tinkerbell, Hello Kitty, etc. panties that she was super excited to wear). She did very well all week with her peeing. She never had an accident, and was very proud to receive a Skittle each time she successfully went pee-pee. But she was very reluctant to poop on the potty and had accidents every day up until Friday. We put on diapers at night and continued the training all weekend. So far, she has had no accidents at all this weekend, including poops. We are so proud of her! It's funny how she's trying to work the system now though. She spreads out her pees so she can get more Skittles. She claims to have to go every 15 minutes or so and then wants a Skittle. She's one smart cookie!

I don't know if she's teething or just has a virus or what, but we've been giving her Motrin almost daily for weeks. If we don't, she gets really fussy and clingy. At one point she told Mike her mouth hurt, but I don't see where there would be any more room for more teeth to come in. Maybe they are just shifting around in her mouth or something. I hate to medicate her like that, but I also don't want her to hurt. I know she's also growing, so maybe that's it too. I've decided not to even buy 3T outfits for her. Her waist is so small I can do 2T shorts and I'll just get 4 T clothes when I need something new!

She has definitely had some funny moments lately. I got a pedicure for Mother's Day and while she was sitting on the potty she noticed my new polish. She pointed down at my feet and said, "Oh Mommy, I really like your toes!" Another night I put new froggy pajamas on her just before bed. I was telling her they were new and she grabbed the shorts from me, held them up and exclaimed, "Oh! They are so cute!" She is so girly!!! She loves to walk around the house in my platform heels, holding her baby in one arm, her purse slung over the other arm, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head.

She can also be sensitive though. She's like her Mommy and Daddy in that regard. She does not like to be scolded. She tries to distract us if we scold her, by kissing and hugging us and by saying she's sorry very quickly to try and move us on. If it's something more serious and we use a louder tone or punish her, it hurts her feelings and embarrasses her. We have to be sure to reinforce how much we love her after we tell her why she can't do whatever it was that got her scolded in the first place.

She is doing amazing in her swim lessons. She is pretty fearless and is jumping in like a pro, turning around under water and swimming back to the side of the pool. Now we just play around a lot, with me throwing her up in the air, letting her go under and pulling her up as she makes her way back up to the top. Last week she even swam all the way across the pool by herself with just the cube on her back. She's getting there! I want to feel confident that if she fell in, she could at least get herself enough air to hold her until we could get to her.

Birthday Part Deux

This morning Mia announced to her Mamaw that it was her birthday. At Walmart she told everyone it was her birthday, she had Mamaw get cupcakes to celebrate, and when they got home, we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her. When we got into bed tonight she was softly singing happy birthday to herself. I asked her if she had a wonderful birthday and she said she did. She makes me smile.

She gets funnier by the day. Last week she went up to her Nana and said, "You need to change my diaper." Then she goes and grabs a diaper, climbs up on the bed and lays down waiting for Sue!

On another day, Mike was playing with Mia's hair. She said, "Don't touch-a my hair. It's so pretty." She pops off stuff like this all the time!

She's expressing a little more interest in going on the potty. She told us three times today she needed to go, and actually went two of the three.

She's all about her boo-boos these days, and thinks she needs a band-aid for everything. I've started carrying them in my purse because they can be a great distraction for her. Like at the store yesterday, it was way past nap time and she was getting fussy at checkout. I cut off that melt-down really quickly by reminding her of a small scrape she had gotten on her belly earlier and asking if she needed a caterpillar band-aid for it. Instant smile. Score for Mommy.