I'm still bloggin!!!

Whoa, it's almost been a month since my last blog!! SHAME ON ME! I've just been so so busy this past month since I started building my skill in photography. I'm learning alot as far as what works and what doesn't and I'm having a blast doing it!! I get to practice with my very first newborn on tomorrow, and best of all I get to spend time with his new Mommy :D What?? Do I really get some girl time?? LOL!

J is doing great! He is currently 23 lbs and is steady on the 50th percentile of his growth chart, which is great for a kid who never eats! We saw an allergist last week and she ordered blood work to test for ALL SORTS of allergies (foods and air borne). They took 3 vials of blood and my kid was not a happy camper. The Dr told me that the reason J is probably so picky is b/c he knows when something is hurting his stomach. So he may enjoy something one day and I think I've found his favorite food, but he'll reject it the next day b/c it probably upset his tummy. Poor kid :( His results should be back by next week and I mentioned to the Dr that I hope it's just an intolerance instead of a full blown allergy and what she said blew me away! She told me that an allergy would be easier to deal with in the long run b/c he can out grow an allergy, not so much an intolerance. Also, if it's an allergy, they can test him yearly to see if the allergy is going away, and they can do "challenges" in the clinic. That can't be done with intolerance. Then she said, "His reactions (bloody stool, vomiting, crankiness) are not typical allergy symptoms, but more intolerance symptoms. God please don't let my child have Milk and Soy intolerance for the rest of his life! At this point, I'm praying that his test come back positive, so that we can have a clear answer to all of his pain. On a good note, he's completely off of the formula! He's drinking rice milk, which does have calcium (the enriched one) so he won't need an extra calcium supplement. At first I was worried b/c he would not drink the rice milk, but now he loves it! He even asks for it. Last night we left him home with my friend while Daddy and I had a Valentine's Day dinner. I got home at 7:30 which is the time he usually gets some milk, but I had to stop at the store to get him more. Well he was waiting for it b/c when I walked in the house he ran to me and grabbed my hand. I picked him up to kiss him and he pointed to the kitchen! So I put him down and he grabbed my hand and took me to the kitchen and pointed to the microwave. I have to nuke it for him b/c he doesn't like anything straight from the fridge. When I put it in the microwave, he started dancing! He was so happy, and so am I :D

Now for some more good news. Daddy and I are ready to add to our family again. We have been going back and forth with adoption vs. IVF. We knew with our first child, that we didn't want to try IVF b/c we wanted to be parents and were afraid of the risk and gamble with IVF. At this point, we feel that we may be prepared to take the risk with IVF. But then when it came time to call the Dr to get started on my protocol, we chickened out! So we prayed, talked about it, and prayed again. It started weighing heavily on my mind last weekend and something told me to pull out the folder I had from the Dr's office, that I tucked away in my drawer. When we calculated the risks, we compared the costs of both, knowing that no matter what, in order to add to our family we will have to spend at least 10k, but we needed to see it as an investment...investing in family. Another adoption would cost us at least $15,500 (assuming our agency fees haven't gone up) whereas IVF would cost us approx. $9,660, possibly cheaper if I can get the meds donated. However, the $15,500 would gurantee us another child, whereas the $9,660 would be like playing roulette, and we are not gamblers by nature. We know the statistics on IVF, and my success rate is high b/c of my age and the fact that all of my problems exist outside of my uterus. We also know the statistics at my Drs office...many women get pregnant with just one IVF, more than half have success with the second, and a very small percentage have had more than 3 IVFs before succeeding. But Daddy and I knew that at $9,660, we couldn't afford to do more than one...that is until I was moved to open up my info packet again. This time I really read through my paperwork and found something I hadn't read before. Embryo freezing and Frozen embryo Transfer (FET). If I have any leftove embryos in great condition after IVF #1, we can freeze them for up to a yr for $650. Should IVF#1 not work, or I miscarry, we can try a FET for $1,900. So I'm an optimist. Here's how I look at it. We can go through IVF #1 hoping for extra embryos to freeze and if we do have extra, we have a cushion. If we don't have extra, I know that it's God's plan and prayerfully, IVF #1 will be all that we need. Ideally, I'd love to have enough embryos frozen to have at least 2 FETs to fall back on, but that would surely be out of my hands. However, I feel a sense of peace now and I'm going to step out on faith yet again. We will probably start the first IVF cycle in April. It's a long protocol, so if I start in April, I may not conceive until may-june. This is ideal b/c by the time the baby (or babies)will be born, J will be two years old, which is how we wanted to space our kids anyway. So keep us in your prayers and hopefully I'll be posting a blog in the near future in ALL CAPS!!!