We Are...

...PREGNANT!!! We got the phone call this morning that we were definitely pregnant. Brad and I are so excited. It is a CRAZY dream come true. We are officially 4 weeks pregnant so it is so early. Normally, we wouldn't even be telling anyone yet, but I just couldn't keep it from all of you who have been following our journey, praying, and being so supportive! There's a long road ahead of us, but we will do everything to keep me and this baby or babies healthy and growing!! Wow...I'm going to go allow myself to sit on the couch and relax...there's obviously a good reason why I'm so tired!!!

Wonderful Weekends...

Could this weekend have gotten any better? My weekend started Thursday and every moment has been absolutely amazing. I say it started Thursday because this was the first day I was allowed off the couch to finally move around. The alarm clock went off and I jumped out of bed, walking clothes on, and there was no stopping me! The pent up energy from bedrest had to be used (and I had to stop shopping on line). Mom and I took a great "leisurely" walk and I felt like a new woman. It felt so good to be moving again, that's for sure!

So, you might have noticed that I said I had to "stop shopping on line." Wow...did I ever have fun buying shoes this week. Here are just a few of my favorite purchases:

Yes...there were more, but for the sake of embarrasing myself, I'll stop here. I keep reminding myself, I can always return them with free shipping =)

Friday night Brad, Mom, Sara, Chris, Brenda, and I headed down to Fayetteville to see Second City perform. If you haven't seen them before, I highly recommend it. They are an improv troupe from Chicago where hundreds of famous names like The Belushi Brothers, John Candy, Joan Rivers, Tina Fey, and Amy Sedaris got their starts. They were absolutely hysterical. I think my favorite skit was the Blow Up Betty skit. I just about peed my pants. I haven't laughed so hard for so long since I don't know when. It was just what the doctor ordered. Here are just a few pics:

Mom had to leave Saturday morning. Good Byes are always hard. I am super close to my mom and wish we lived closer, but maybe that adage "Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder" holds true there too? Nonetheless, I am already looking forward to the next time I get to see her. Brad and I decided to take full advantage of the rest of the beautiful day and invited some folks over to spend the afternoon out on the lake. It's so sad that summer is coming to an end and there are only a few nice lake weekends left. We are trying to take full advantage of every opportunity we have to be out on the water. I have to say that living on the lake has been much better than I could have ever imagined.

As for all the IVF stuff, there is no news here until Wednesday. I am feeling wonderful. No signs of pregnancy but my mom never had any either so I'm staying optimistic. I'm heading back to work tomorrow and cannot wait to see all my students. I know they will keep me entertained and keep my mind off everything. Please keep praying that our babies are still growing.

Stay tuned for more later this week!

A Great Trip to OKC and Now You Want Me To Do What?

Brad and I had a great day in Oklahoma City yesterday. I spent the morning getting in one last walk before my bedrest would begin. The weather here in Northwest Arkansas has been amazing in the morning. A touch of fall weather has dropped upon us and I just LOVE it. The air has been crisp and fresh first thing in the morning and it's the perfect weather for a run or in my case, a walk. I also have really started to enjoy morning walks because it just seems like the perfect time to take in all the beauty God has created in our world and pray.

We arrived in OKC around lunchtime for our 1pm embryo transfer. We met with the embryologist and she said "I have picked two GREAT embryos for you today." I wanted to ask her if one was a boy and one was a girl but decided against it. Brad got all gussied up in his scrubs and we were off to the procedure room. The whole procedure absolutely amazed me! It lasted all of 10 minutes and took such precision. Dr. Kalenberger did our transfer and he talked and joked the whole time until he said, "I just want to be the first to congratulate you. You are Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise!" So...we are technically pregnant with twins, but we are far from being in the clear. I have been on bedrest for the past 30 hours waiting, hoping, and praying that these two embryos are attaching themselves and getting comfortable to hang out for the next 9 months.

Okay, about the bedrest thing. It is KILLING me! It's not just bedrest, it's laying flat on my back for all day Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday (drumroll please...)I can recline. Ooooooh. Is that exciting or what? In fact, after spending 30 hours flat, I'm ready to recline. It really hasn't been that bad. Cable has been wonderful and BRAVO has some great marathons (I highly recommend The Rachel Zoe Project if you want some brainless yet over-the-top tv). Even better, my mom is in town, friends have been visiting, and Brad has been wonderful. He insists that I do NOTHING which is hard for me but I know it's because he has the end result in mind.

Mom and I will be going to Tulsa Thursday for some bloodwork but we won't know anything until next week. I'm just praying, praying, praying and talking to my embryos. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I'm trying to be convincing enough to make them want to implant.

Stay Positive! I am!

Our Journey Through Infertility...Where We've Come From...Where We're Going

Most of you probably know our story, but for those of you who don't, here's a quick recap. Brad and I "stopped preventing" back in January of 2008. We assumed, like most others, that it would take us awhile to get pregnant, but we never thought it would take this long. After 4 months of not getting a period, my doctor decided to put us on Femara (a fertility drug) that causes multiple follicles (with eggs inside) to be produced. Fast forward 9 months, double and triple doses of the fertility meds of Femara and Clomid, months of tears, and no viable follicles later, our doctor was forced to send us to see a specialist.

Living in Northwest Arkansas, the closest specialist was an hour and a half away in Tulsa. We are now working with Dr. John Clark Bundren, a doctor who delivered the first IVF baby in this country. He is amazing at what he does. He has a 64% success rate and a 59% live birth rate (according to the CDC website). This puts him in the top 5 in the country. We couldn't be more thrilled.

We will be doing our first (and we pray only) cycle of IVF starting in August. The process consists of 10 days of shots (2x/day) which stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, an August 19th Egg Retrieval Date (done in Oklahoma City) and then 5 days later, on August 24th, an Embryo Transfer. We are hoping that at least 2 embryos will be ready. The doctors will only implant 2 embryos (no we will not be the next John and Kate Plus 8) and any others that could produce a viable pregnancy will be frozen for later use.

As silly as it may sound, I am most nervous for how I will handle this process mentally. Beginning August 9th, I will not be allowed to work out AT ALL. I can walk slowly (is that even in my vocabulary??) and lift light hand weights. I cannot even push a vacuum cleaner! The medications I'll be on cause the ovaries to be overly stimulated. Any bouncing could cause an ovary to twist and if it did, all blood flow would be cut off resulting in the ovary itself dying. It would then have to be removed. That is serious enough to me to not take any chances.

So there you have it, August is a big month in The Pope house. In the meantime, we are doing our best to enjoy our summer. Life on the lake has been better than we could have ever imagined and life in The Ozarks of NWA has provided us with the perfect playground for our active lifestyles. I go back to school on August 12th and my students come on August 19th (I'll be in OKC instead). Summer has flown by, but you can count on The Popes making the most of what's left.

Stay tuned for more excitement. We have a few "events" that will be worth of documentation for sure =)