Over the past couple months I have had several folks ask me “so what have you been working on lately?” I know that they are asking about sewing projects and my quick reply is always “oh I have a few projects on the table. Mostly dresses.” But the truth is, since early June I have made very few sewing projects and instead have been working on making a baby. Yes, I am indeed pregnant and Will and I are expecting our first child this February! After three years of trying on our own to get pregnant, 4 failed IUIs, one chemical pregnancy, and one miscarriage, we decided in June to go ahead and do an IVF. (IVF is when the doctor retrieves and an egg from me, mixes it with Will’s sperm in a petrie dish to see if it will grow into an embryo, and then implant the embryo back inside my uterus.)
It cost us a total of $1,500 in fertility hormones to get us 8 retrieved eggs, 5 that were viable, 4 that fertilized with Will’s sperm, and eventually 2 grew into little embryos ready for implantation. We decided to implant just one and finally had our little baby growing inside of me. Our little, it-had-to-be-you embryo that has grown into a 17 week old long legged fetus.
So in between the fertility treatments, the medical bills, and the extreme exhaustion that comes with the first trimester, there wasn’t much time (or money) for buying fabric and starting new sewing projects. During my first trimester I would come home from work and then literally go straight to bed. Very untypical of my night owl mentality. I luckily have not had morning sickness but no one prepares you for how exhausted you will be! Every afternoon felt like I had just come home from a 2am rave. Tired beyond description. To the point I was too tired to even eat dinner. And you know if I am skipping meals, something must be going down. So that was the summer. Sorry sewing enthusiasts. Not too many sewing projects. We made an embryo instead!
So lucky that I had him by my side despite being dressed like a cast member from the final scene of E.T. This baby was straight chilling on the egg sack like it was a pillow. Lazy like it’s mom. This was our second ultrasound and the fetus was starting to look like a baby. Plus this was the farthest we had ever been with a pregnancy. So feeling good all around.
Ok now its really starting to look like a baby. This is when Baby Brown was nicknamed Baby Long Legs. He or she also has their hand over their eyes in a very diva-like way: “Please no more pictures.”
This photo was taken the day we graduated from the fertility clinic. I was sad to have to say good bye to Dr. Singleton but it was nice to be a “regular” pregnant person for a change. And boy do I love standing next to Will. He makes me feel so small.
It has been quite a journey to get here and we are so thankful for all the wishes on shooting stars, fallen eyelashes, wild dandelions, birthday candles, pennies that you threw in fountains, and all the other wishes that were sent our way. I have learned this year to never underestimate the power of prayers and the wonders that is modern medicine. And now I will finally have to learn how to spell February. Now that I am feeling more like myself, I have big plans for the sewing machine. Ok maybe some of it is baby clothes/baby quilt related. But not all of it will be. And naturally I will need a thousand more pair of stretch leggings. So stay tuned….
xxoo Priscilla
