The fall....

Well, the title kind of explains. Yesterday, I was leaving a site visit for work and slipped and fell in the icy parking lot. I had both hands full and wasn't able to catch myself. I got in the car and immediately started crying, after talking to the doctors office, to let them know what happened, they advised me to go to the hospital to be checked out. My mom and I arrived at the hospital around 5pm and again, they hooked me up to the monitors. Steve thankfully arrived shortly after they hooked me up, which made me feel much better.

Unfortunately, this time things didn't look as good, I was having pain (likely caused by the fall) but I was also having consistent, rhythmic contractions. I was scared to death. The good news was, the babies looked great! Both Sydney and Morgan were moving, hiccuping, kicking, and their heart rates looked fantastic. But there was the issue of the contractions...the doctor first tried having me drink about a liter of water over 20 minutes to see if the contractions would ease up, but they didn't. He came back in and explained that as a precaution, they were going to give me a dose of Betamethasone (steroid) to help develop the babies lungs and I was going to be given a dose of Terbutaline to hopefully stop the contractions. As long as they could get the contractions stopped, I could go home. They also sent me down to ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid levels and ensure the placentas weren't damaged during the fall. Thankfully, the ultrasound looked very good and the Terbutaline stopped the contractions within the first 5 minutes. I must say, modern medicine is AMAZING and God is surely watching over Steve, myself, and the girls. Although we didn't get home until 10pm, I was released!

Steve and I do have to go back to the hospital today for my second dose of Betamethasone. But right now, for the time being, I'm trying to stay inside and off my feet. Bummer news - we were issued a winter weather warning for more snow and freezing rain - looks like I'll be staying inside until the weather clears up (except for the trip to the hospital, but I'm sure I'll get curbside service from my dear husband)! I must say, I'm terrified to walk outside if there is a chance it could be slick, So it looks like I'll be relying on someone to walk with me or I'll get curbside service.

Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

First according to our tickler, we are in the 3rd Trimester. It's crazy to think that at the most, we have 77 days left until we meet the babies, what a crazy thought! Our Christmas was wonderful - I must say my husband spoiled me this Christmas...I got this beautiful diaper bag that I have been eyeing for sometime (pictures to come).

Today was a somewhat long day as Steve and I spent the afternoon at the hospital. NO WORRIES - the girls and I are fine, we at home watching a movie as I type this! Last night I was having some really bad lower back pain and through the night it spread to my pelvis. As the night went on, it was getting hard and harder to get up and walk to the bathroom (the pain would shoot down my legs, making it hard to stand and walk). This morning I decided to call the doctor to see if there was anything else I could do to relieve the pain and he decided that he wanted to see me at the hospital to rule out a bladder infection and make sure I wasn't having contractions. We got to the hospital and I was hooked up to fetal heart monitors and a contraction monitor. Turns out I was having contractions, but they weren't rhythmic, which is good. He ran some tests on my urine, which looked good, no infection. He did another FFN test, which was negative, whoo hoo. Long of the short, after nearly 5 hours, he let us go and said that he wanted to me start taking Ibuprofen to ease the pain and help "settle down my uterus". Now I am just at home, relaxing and watching a movie with Steve, Stella, and Sophie.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas!

Fetal Fibronectin Test

Today Steve and I went to the doctor for our 26 week appointment. Here are the highlights:

Both girls are head down.
I'm not dilated and my cervix has good length.
And the big news....my fetal fibronectin test came back negative. This negative result means that the chances of going into pre-term labor are VERY slim (at least for the next 10-14 days). Here's some info about fetal fibronectin test if you're not familiar: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-fibronectin/MY00128

We go back to the doctor on January 4th. At this next appointment we will have an ultrasound for growth and a more precise cervix length, and I will do the dreaded gestational diabetes test. I picked the orange flavor, not sure that was the best choice, but we shall see!

Merry Christmas, hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!!

The Girls...

Steve and I got to see the girls again on Thursday (via ultrasound that is). Here are the statistics...

I was 23 weeeks 5 days pregnant.
Sydney Camille (baby b) was measuring 1 lb, 4 oz
Morgan Danielle (baby a) was measuring 1 lb, 10 oz

An update through photos....

On November 10th Steve and I took a trip to Portland. We had tickets to the Elton John and Billy Joel concert but turns out Elton got a small case of Salmonella and had to cancel the concert. We decided to make the trip anyways and do a little early Christmas shopping. Oh and did I mention buy some things for the GIRLS!!! Yep, we found that we are expecting TWO GIRLS!

The nursery furniture arrives and Sophie and Stella were not sure what to think about the new furniture. (Just for clarification...that is Stella on Steve's lap and the Zerba's dog, JD)

My husband is quite the crib constructor. He put together 4 cribs in 24 hours - 2 at our house and 2 at mom and dads. Yep, grandma Laurie is ready for babies!


On November 22nd mom, Erica, and I hosted a baby shower for Donnie's wife, Meghan. The shower was lovely and Meghan looks fabulous!! We are very excited to meet baby Sophia Grace, due in January 2010.

Meghan, Erica, and I at the shower...notice anything strange about this picture??

Bobby and Erica displaying some adorable "baby goods."


Now for the real test....do you notice anything strange about this photo?? Did you say only one baby - you are right!! Steve and I are super excited to share the news that we are going to be auntie Lexie and uncle Steve in June 2010 - Bob and Erica are expecting!!!

And here she is at 10 weeks....

The Wedding of JD and Brianna Buschbach

Steve and I just returned from his little brothers wedding in Wenatchee. JD and Brianna got married at the Ohme Garden and the reception was at a local winery. Except for the rain, it was a beautiful wedding and the reception was filled with good food and good wine (so I hear...).

Here are a few pictures from the weekend!!

This picture was taken at the Ohme Garden during the ceremony. Funny how the men were all under cover and they left the women to stand in the rain with umbrellas. That just seems wrong to me...

JD and Brianna with Evelyn (Michael and Heidi's daughter).

Steve and his older brother Michael with their Grandma VanOort and Grandpa Buschbach.

Heidi (my sister-in-law) and I displaying our bellies. Heidi's due date is March 10th. Our twin due date is March 6th. We are a mere 4 days apart.

And for fun...Steve and Dave showing off their bellies!!

16 Weeks

Wow..this is a long awaited update! So much to report.

Last weekend was my birthday and I must say, the greatest part was waking up on Sunday morning and seeing green instead of brown. The day of my birthday we had a team of friends and family laying 9,000 square feet of sod. We were still 500 sqft short. If you ever have to lay sod, they can only fit 9,000 sqft on a semi. I owe my husband a huge thank you - for the past 3 weeks, he has literally worked day and night installing our sprinkler system. He would get up at 7am starting working in the yard and then go to work from 2pm-11pm. I don't know how he did it, but Stella and I are forever greatful. Here is a pseudo-yard photo... Our terrorist puppy Farihah Hayed Shi Thead al Stella has been busy planting SDD's (smelly doggy doodoos) in our yard and pulling up rolls of sod and shredding them. Good puppy! we still love her though.

On Saturday afternoon, after laying sod all day, we headed to Walla Walla to celebrate my

birthday. We started off at Garrison Creek Cellars for wine tasting and a tour - everyone said the wine was AMAZING, I only got to smell, swirl, and spit. (Of note, my mom even enjoyed the wine!) After wine tasting we went to dinner at WhiteHouse Crawford. If you have never been there, I highly recommend it. The steak was, as Bob and I put it, on the top 3 of all times! Here is Steve and I celebrating my birthday at WhiteHouse Crawford...

In baby news - the doctor says they are doing just fine. I'm now on the every other week doctor appointment schedule, which means lots of trips to Richland. At our last appointment, we got the results back of our Down Syndrome screening and the doctor said the results looked great...nothing to worry about. In gender news, I went prepared to my last appointment to beg and plead with the Dr. to tell me what they were. He explained that the ultrasound machine wasn't that great, but after he got done scanning the babies he did offer up his "guess" to which he said "I think pink." Not sure if that means one pink or two pink; but as we all know, I am still holding out hope for one pink and one blue! At any rate, he will take another look with the portable ultrasound on Monday (10/19) and then I have the big gender/anatomy scan on Tuesday, November 3rd! (this must be quite the ultrasound as it is scheduled to last 2 hours...but Steve and I will enjoy every minute of seeing the babies) Just to clarify, the doctor does a portable ultrasound at each appointment because a fetal Doppler monitor is quite difficult with twins. I leave you with my 16 week belly shot (as Steve says, something must be going on in there because my belly is GROWING)....

Ultrasound, ER, and the Doppler

Let me start this post by saying that the second part of our last post (about our new puppy, Stella) was not written by me...that was written by my dear husband. In no way have I ever thought of putting the twins in a crate!



Steve and I had another ultrasound on Monday (8/24) and it was very quick. She confirmed the heart beats and did a crown to rump measurement on both babies. The crown to rump measurement put both babies at 9 weeks, 1 day...so right on track. Boy, were they bigger than our last ultrasound. The ultrasound tech was not very friendly and I had to request pictures...needless to say, they are a little blurry, but they will do. I was just glad to hear that everything looked, "great!"

Well that was Monday....the rest of the week I began a decline to severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. By Friday, I was unable to keep any food or Gatorade down. I told myself if I woke up on Saturday and didn't feel any better, I would call the doctor. On Saturday morning I woke up after being up most of the night in bathroom, I was still very weak and dizzy, but I was starving. I had Steve take me to get breakfast, which I proceeded to eat, but it didn't stay in me for more than about 5 minutes. I broke down and called the doctor and he said to head to the ER. My mom volunteered to go to the ER with me as Steve had worked all night Friday and had not been able to go to sleep yet. The ER staff were wonderful. They did explain that I should never let dehydration get that out of control again. Right before I was discharged, this wonderful nurse asked if I had heard the heartbeats yet (with a Doppler), which I hadn't. She said she used to be an OB RN and said that at 10 weeks you can "sometimes" hear the heart beat with a Doppler and if I wanted, she would try. I of course said "YES" - I was exactly 10 weeks yesterday (Saturday). It took a few minutes but eventually, we heard the galloping of the babies heart beat. It was very difficult to distinguish between Baby A and Baby B, but we definitely heard hearts beating in different part of my uterus...whoo hoo!! Let me tell you...two bags of IV Fluids and IV nausea medicine, I felt like a new woman last night!

Our next appointment is for our Nuchal Translucency Scan (the ultrasound for Down Syndrome and the Trisomies) on September 14th. Steve and I will pass the time until our next appointment, preparing for our trip to San Francisco with Bob, Erica, and my mom and dad - we leave this Friday! We are all quite excited because while we are down there, we have great seats for the Hall and Oates concert on Saturday. Looks like the twins are going to their first concert...they better learn to like Hall and Oates because their grandpa will surely make them Hall and Oates aficionado's.

Announcing.....Buschbach Twins!!

Sorry for the delay in posting....it seems these days I barely have enough energy to get through an entire work day! Steve and I ended up having a few ultrasounds since our last post, but I was hesitant to announce we were pregnant with twins until we made it through a few weeks with no "problems." I am happy to say we have been "problem free" (knock on wood) for the last 2-3 weeks. So, we are officially 8 weeks pregnant with twins and we still are having a hard time wrapping our heads around that...

We also got a new puppy her name is Stella, I figured I needed some practice with something that wakes up early and pees and poops all the time. I think I still need practice. Steve has been working graveyards and I can't handle her in the morning because she has so much energy and I have none, so I leave her in the crate until Steve comes to deal with her. I figured I may have to do this with the twins when they come. I have also noticed that this pregnancy has enhanced my senses and I can smell things from miles away. Puppy's have funny smells... and bad smells.... and their food smells. Long story short, I guess Steve got a new dog as I have yet to claim her due to those smells and her energy. Steve likes her though so I guess we can keep her.

Cautiously Optimistic.......

After much thought about whether or not to announce the outcome of our IVF Cycle, we have decided to share our news - we are PREGNANT!! As the titled says, we are "cautiously optimistic" because Steve and I have already had a few bumps in the road, but we are hoping and praying that everthing will turn out just fine in the end and we are leaving the situation in God's hands.

On Saturday (7/18), I went in for our first blood test and it was positive, my hcg was 306. The next thing they look for is for the number to double over the next 48 hours. On Monday (7/20), we went back in and the blood test came back at 607. As you would expect, I was nervous that the number didn't quite double, but the clinic reassured me that the number was just fine. I must mention that my nervousness and anxiety was compounded by the fact that I have been spotting for the past 4 or 5 days.......ugh! We have scheduled our first early-ultrasound for 8/14, we will be 7 weeks, 6 days pregnant. Our hope and prayer is that we see a baby and a heartbeat!

Steve and I are holding onto hope and our faith in God that this will turn out the way God intends. We appreciate everyone's thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. It truly means so much to us!

The Waiting Game..... by Steve

Its been 4 days since the embryo transfer and we are waiting impatiently until the day when the blood test can be done to see if we are still progressing along as scheduled. We will update after pregnancy is confirmed by ultrasound in about 3 weeks. Lexie is a little anxious but is coping well. Steve has been cleaning the house constantly because the wind storm we have been having blows sand into the house. If anyone wants to bring over some dirt bikes we can go jump the sand dunes on our back patio. The bathrooms needed to be freshened up so he took care of that as well. What a wonderful husband. He is the greatest ever.

Transfer Scheduled

Steve and I received a call from the clinic this afternoon with an update on our embryo's. We still have 7 embies growing in the lab...yeah!! Then the nurse gave me my instructions for the embryo transfer. Here are the highlights:

We are to arrive at the clinic at 10am and I should promptly empty my bladder. I will then need to drink 32 oz of water between 10 and 10:30am (no chugging). For those who are wondering - the water intake is necessary because they do an abdominal ultrasound prior to the transfer and when your bladder is full, they get a better view of your uterus. I also decided to do acupuncture before and after the transfer (offered by the clinic) - not sure how I am supposed to drink my 32 oz of water and get acupuncture at the same time, I guess we will see. After the acupuncture session, we will meet with the Doctor and the Embryologist and they will make their recommendations about which embryo(s) to implant. After we are implanted, I will have another short acupuncture session and then we are sent home to rest and hope it works!!

Tomorrow is Steve's birthday, how exciting that its the day before our transfer! At least I will have something to look forward to and help pass my time tomorrow, as I'm sure I'll be a ball of nerves!!

Fertilization Report

I must say....god bless my husband and family, because I was a MESS today!

Yesterday at our egg retrieval, both the doctor and the nurse told Steve and I that the office would call us the very next morning to give us a fertilization report (ie, how many of the 13 eggs retrieved were mature, and how many they were able to fertilize). Steve reassured me when I woke up at 7am that most likely they wouldn't call until mid-morning (he thought around 10:30), when mid-morning came and passed, I started to get more and more anxious. By 12pm, it was no longer morning, so I called the office myself, my call was put through to the answering service and they assured me that they would get the on-call physician my message and someone would call us back shortly. By 2:30pm, I was in a full on panic, crying, the whole nine yards. When just about all hope was gone, my phone rang at 2:54pm and it was the clinic!

The fertilization report is in.....of the 13 eggs retrieved, 11 were mature, of those 11 mature eggs, 7 were able to be fertilized. So, Steve and I OFFICIALLY have 7 embryo's growing in the lab - please, oh please grow little embies!! Per the doctor who called today, the clinic will be calling us tomorrow morning to let us know if we are going to do a 3 day transfer (Tuesday) or a 5 day transfer (Thursday) - I must mention....Steve's birthday is on Wednesday, what an amazing birthday gift this would be!!

Retrieval Day - The 4th of July 2009

This is going to be a short post, as I am still a little groggy from the anesthesia. Steve and I arrived at the fertility clinic at 7:30am this morning. By 8:00am I was in the operating room and fast asleep. I woke up around 8:45am and Steve was right there next to me in the recovery room. The doctor came in around 9:00am and shared the good news...13 eggs were retrieved!! Today they will fertilize all of the eggs with a procedure called ICSI. Tomorrow morning they will call us to tell us how many fertilized eggs made it to the embryo stage. By Monday morning, we should know if we are going to do a 3-day transfer or a 5-day transfer. Please pray that our embryo's grow and fertilize normally. Thanks to all of you for you love, support, and encouragement. Now, it's time to catch up on some recorded TV!

Retrieval Scheduled!!!

Today at the doctor appointment, we were given great news....our retrieval surgery is scheduled for Saturday, the 4th of July at 8:00am. As my cousin Crystal said....God Bless America!!! Steve and I are very excited, and in fact, he is finally on his way up here! The count down has begun. For those of you that are interested...today's ultrasound showed 22 follicles, 15 of which are mature. On a side note, I had my "butt shot" tonight at 8:00pm on the dot, Steve hadn't quite made it to Cle Elum, so mom gave me the shot and I must say it didn't hurt and she did a wonderful job. Here's to hoping this 4th of July is as exciting as last years!!

Day 10

Today is day 10 of the stimulation injections. This morning mom and I were up bright and early as we headed to my appointment in Bellevue. They did another ultrasound and more bloodwork. During the ultrasound today, they counted 11 follicles on my left ovary and 11 follicles on my right ovary!! Unfortunately, the follicles are not quite mature yet, so they sent me home and instructed me to do another round of injections tonight and come back tomorrow morning and see if I am progressing. If all goes well tomorrow, we will be looking at a 4th of July retrieval. The medications are definitely starting to wear on me. Climbing stairs seems impossible and believe it or not....I had NO desire to go to Bell Square today, walking around the mall seemed entirely too tiring. I parked myself at Barnes and Noble with a magazine while mom shopped. We just got back to the river house and I am looking forward to putting on "comfy clothes" and watching TV....too bad I don't have my DVR with me! More to come tomorrow.....

Bringing you up to speed......

After nearly two months, I have finally decided to update our blog. Here's a quick update, to get you up to speed: Steve and I moved into our new house on May 16th, at the end of May we went to Canada for "Aden Puke Fest 2009," and on June 22nd we started our IVF Cycle.

As you may know, Steve and I have faced some fertility issues and had sought out the advice of a fertility center in Seattle. At our first meeting, they recommended we move forward with IVF when we were ready. Steve and I decided that we would wait to pursue the IVF until after our house was completed. Originally, we were given a tentative start date of June 1st to start our stimulation medications. But of course, we were delayed by 3 weeks due to my persistent cyst and an ever increasing estradiol level. On Friday, June 19th I went in for my 3rd Suppression Check and FINALLY passed! After the suppression check, we received a phone call from the clinic with the news we were hoping for.....Steve and I were instructed to start our stimulation medications on Monday, June 22nd.

On Monday night (6/22), Steve's mom came over for a refresher on medication injections. At about 8pm, I took my first two doses of medications. Since Monday, Steve has faithfully given me my injections each night. There was only one injection for which I tried to fire him, but after the stinging and burning subsided, I agreed to give him his job back.

On Friday (6/26) I went in for an ultrasound and bloodwork to see how I was responding to the medications. I had about 6 follices on my left ovary and 4 follices on my right ovary. (For those people reading that are not well versed in IVF lingo, each follicle has the potential to hold an egg that could be fertilized and transferred back.) We received a phone call from the clinic in Seattle on Friday afternoon (they review the results of the ultrasound and bloodwork and call with further instructions). The lovely coordinator explained that I would remain on the same dose of the medications and I would be seen on Monday (6/29) at the Bellevue office for my next ultrasound and more bloodwork.

Monday morning (6/29) my mom arrived at our house at 5:30am to pick me up for our trip to Seattle. (Steve decided to keep working until he was "needed" - he's planning to head to Seattle on Thursday.) My appointment on Monday was a great experience. We arrived about a half an hour early, but they promptly took me back drew my blood and then moved me to the ultrasound room. During the ultrasound, the nurse practitioner told us that we now have 9 follicles on the left ovary and 6-8 follicle on the right (all of the follicles were measuring between 11-15mm). They instructed me to start a new medication that will prevent me from ovulating on my own and they upped the dosage of one of the medications that I have been taking for the last week. Mom began to panic a little bit because that meant three shots she was going to give me per day - but, as expected she did GREAT!

Tomorrow morning we head back to Bellevue for another ultrasound and more bloodwork to see if I am getting closer to the retrieval. They are looking for multiple follicles that are measuring +18mm. Once they see those, they will schedule the retrieval. As a side note....at our appointment on Monday, we asked the different staff we saw, when they "thought" the retrieval would be....2 of them said Friday (7/3) and one said Saturday (7/4). Tomorrow we will know!!

For the time being, mom and I are relaxing at our AWESOME accomodations....we are staying at my aunt and uncles River House in Cle Elum. What a blessing to have such loving and supportive family. I don't know what we would do without all the support we have. Steve and I are so very blessed.

Until tomorrow, I think this pretty much gets you up to speed....more to come, on a more regular basis, I promise!

About a month and counting....

The word from the builder is that we have about a month to go. Thing are going quite fast now. They installed all of our cabinets in one day! The pictures below were taken in our kitchen and in our master bathroom.

Mom's Wild Side...

I guess building a house brings out the wild side in all of us!

We Have Brick, Appliances, Hardwood Flooring, and Light Fixtures!!

Sorry for the delay in posting, Steve and I have been SUPER busy! Two weekends ago we packed up and went to Oregon to purchase our appliances, hardwood flooring, and light fixtures. Needless to say we were packed to the brim in my uncles trailer! I must say, it was a very overwhelming experience for me. I never realized how many different light fixtures you could chose from. This past weekend we drove by and saw that the brick had been delivered, we're making progress, whoo hoo!!

Wedding Pictures!!!

I know that some of you have been asking for the link to view our wedding photos. Our photographer (Tera) has set up a link to view the wedding photos & the crazy photobooth pictures. The information is listed below on how to access the photos…..

http://www.collages.net/
username: Buschbach
password: 6304

For those of you who are not familiar with our photographer, her name is Tera Pettit and she is AMAZING!! If you get a chance you should also check out her webpage, I highly recommend her! Below is a little sneak peak of her talent in action!

http://www.terapettit.com/

A Look Back...

My dad gave me his camera today and he has been chronicling the progress of our house with frequent pictures. Here's a look back at the progress! Keep in mind that the first dirt work was done the Saturday before our wedding, January 31st. It's crazy how fast the house is going up.

A Look Back...

A Look Back...

A Look Back...

The House....

While Steve and I were on our honeymoon, my cousin Cameron and my uncle Loren broke ground on our new house (Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to both of you!!). By the time we returned the builder (Sullivan Rowell Homes) was already framing. The way things are going, we will be out of my parents house in no time - I'm sure mom and dad are quite excited about that!!

Our new house is located in Hansen Park, a stone's throw away from my cousin Cameron and his wife April, as well as my sister and her husband. Steve and I are very excited to be moving into such a great community. I hope to post pictures regularly so that you can watch our house change with us.

Our Honeymoon

Here are a few snapshots from our honeymoon! Steve and I had a great time, the weather was great, and there were no lines.I learned a little something about Steve while we were at Disney World....he loves log rides!