Welcome Maya and Maxwell!!!

They're here!!!

Actually today they are 4 weeks old already! My due date was June 7th, but early in May I had to go to the hospital with pre-eclampsia (or high blood pressure). I was put on strict bedrest.

On the 12th I went in to have my blood pressure checked again and sure enough it was very high. I was immediately admitted to the birth center and by 6 p.m. I had two adorable babies via c-section at 36 weeks and two days.

Both Maya and Maxwell were sent to the NICU because of respiratory problems and were there for two days. We were so happy when they were released to my room!

Life since then hasn't been the easiest...there's been a lot of poop, cries (for them) and very little sleep (for us), but there's nothing like the feeling when I pick one of them up when they are crying and they calm down in a couple seconds and cuddle into my chest. I can't wait to see their first real smiles (although I've caught little previews when they are deep asleep!)

Sorry this is so short, but there hasn't been much time for the computer, as you can imagine! I did design their birth announcements above though.

Grieving...

About 7 and a half years ago, Andy walked through the front door with a shaking mop of black fur and my life was never the same. I was never a dog person and was so nervous about being a dog owner. However, this little bundle of fur, known as Kelvin, grabbed my heart and became my best friend in every sense of the word.

Yesterday, Andy was with our beloved Kelvin as he closed his eyes and slipped out of this world.

The last couple days have been some of the hardest we've ever had to deal with...comparable with our miscarriage last June.

From the beginning, Kelvin was a nervous pup. He was nine months old when Andy brought him home because his cubemate's wife was expecting a baby and they couldn't keep the dog. Rather than seeing him go to the humane society, Andy offered to bring him home. It wasn't long before I fell in love.

Kelvin and I have had a special bond from the beginning. My favorite part of the day was coming home because he was so exciting to see me. His little butt would shake so hard that I thought his tail would fly off. He became my little Wiggle Butt.

Kelvin came into my life when I was extremely depressed. For nearly eight years, Kelvin has been there for some of the most troubling times of my life, including a five year devastating struggle with infertility.

However, Kelvin had struggles of his own. We don't know anything about Kelvin's early life and where he came from. It was apparent from the beginning that he had problems with dominance. We took him to puppy training classes and even met with a behaviorist. But Kelvin was extremely anxious. He barked at anyone walking by, hated when people came over and tried to dominate over Andy and I. Over the years, though, I became the alpha female in Kelvin's life, but that didn't stop him from lashing out at Andy and our lab Dakota. However, I constantly worked with him...trying to adjust his behavior.

Over the past couple years though, our training proved harder and harder, as Kelvin's outbursts became unprovoked. In a second he would turn into a different dog, not the sweet pup that curled up to me and licked my tears when I cried. He would go into a frenzy when anyone came to the door. If Dakota walked past him, he would strike out at her. Then he became extra protective of me, growling at Andy whenever he came near me, even biting him.

Then I finally became pregnant and we weren't expecting only one baby, but two. Many people say that dogs can tell when a woman is pregnant or at least know something is different. Both our dogs knew something was different. Each time we had a baby shower and brought more and more new stuff home, Kelvin became more and more anxious. He clung to me, never leaving my side and even wanting to come to work with me. Unfortunately, this made him even more hostile to Andy. Things came to a head on Easter Sunday when in "protecting" me, Kelvin snapped at Andy, then me for trying to correct him.

With the birth of our twins only a month away, Andy did some research on the Internet and read about Rage Syndrome, which is rare, but prevalent in spaniels. Reading the symptoms was like reading Kelvin's personality. Still, I wanted to speak with a professional. I made an appointment and after a long discussion of genetics vs. behavioral problems, we knew what had to be done...for us, our children and Kelvin himself.

God, I wish there could have been another way. I wish there was another option. For despite his problems, Kelvin, the TRUE Kelvin who struggled within his fears and anxieties, was the sweetest, funniest dog. If we could only rewire his brain! If only we could find a way to release him from the prison that was passed on to him from his parents.

The Kelvin I will treasure for the rest of my life is the puppy who looked up at me with those big brown eyes when he first entered our house and tried to hide under Uncle Steve's legs. I'll never forget his little Wiggle Butt dance when I got home. I'll never forget the time Andy brought him back home from the vet and he could barely walk, didn't want water or food, but when we brought out his ball, sprang into action, forgetting his charade. I'll always remember the time he dug into my knitting bag and found an apple I left in there and carried it around the house like a precious prize until I cut it up for him and Dakota to share.

Kelvin is the dog who turned an entire family into dog lovers. I grew up with an intense fear of dogs so we never had one growing up. But Kelvin was welcomed into my parents home for extended visits, even sleeping in their bed.

Kelvin, my buddy, wherever you are, you will always be my first baby. Daddy and I love you and will always love you and treasure you forever. I will never, ever forget you and everything you taught me. I'm so sorry, buddy. I love you.

Because I knew you...I have been changed for good.

Octomom is a loon!

Well...I tried to give her a chance, but this chick is a few fries short of a Happy Meal (well maybe the entire order of fries and a couple bites of hamburger, as well.)

I watched bits of her interview. First, the only people who support you are your parents and yet you tell the world you had a dysfunctional childhood? Because you were an only child??? Really??? Second, you have 14 children, but think that you can go back to school and get your masters degree? What kind of delusional, fantasy world do you live in???

There are 16 people in this story I feel so sorry for...her children and her parents. She may love her children, I don't doubt that, but if she TRULY loved them...she would not risk their lives like that. Apparently it's still unclear who is going to pay the $1.3 million hospital bill.

The more I hear about this story...the angrier I get.

This upsets me...

Everyone’s been asking me about the woman in California who delivered octuplets this week. Apparently I’m an expert on fertility treatments and multiples.

Usually I don’t pay attention to stories like these. But today I read that she’s also the mother of six other children. No one knows much about the mother (which I give her credit for), but from the article I read on msnbc, it sounds like she lives with her six children at her parents.

Now I hate to pass judgments on people I don’t know, without knowing their story, but I hate how the media romanticizes these extreme multiple births at the same time passing judgment on people who use fertility treatments to get pregnant in the first place.

A couple months ago, ABC News ran a story featuring the Jon and Kate Plus 8 family and the dangers of IVF. The story was the most ill informed story I had ever read. First of all, the couple they were using as an example didn’t even do IVF. They supposedly did a combination of fertility medications and IUI.

In a normal cycle, a woman releases one egg a month. If that egg is fertilized with a sperm, it may or may not implant into the awaiting uterine wall. With IVF, a woman’s ovaries are stimulated and harvested, then combined with the sperm and inserted a day or so later back in the uterus where it may or may not implant. Most doctors I have worked with, or know of, would never insert more than two or three (in the most extreme cases) to prevent the possibility of extreme multiples, a condition that is extremely dangerous to mother and babies.

You tend see more extreme multiple gestations from the combination of fertility meds and IUI. In these cases the ovaries are stimulated to release more than one egg. Sometimes the medications can produce 20 or more eggs (which was my case in many instances). At this point, most doctors will cancel the cycle to prevent extreme multiples or harvest the eggs for later IVF. But some do not.

When I initially heard about the octuplet story, I assumed it occurred from a combination of fertility meds and IUI, but the NBC story alludes that the mother had more than 8 embryos inserted into her uterus, which would actually be IVF. I’m hoping this is another instance of a poorly researched story, because I do not know of any doctor who would do such a thing….especially if the woman already has six children at home!

The story also mentions the fact that the mother rejected the idea of selective reduction, where they abort a number of the fetuses for the sake of the others. This is one of the cruelest realities of fertility problems…you finally are pregnant after so, so long, but have to make this awful decision. It was because of this that we were pretty conservative in our approach, but as someone who struggled for so many years without success, I can see the thought process of “the more you have, the more likely it will work.”

However, the story of the woman in California made me angry. I’m hoping there is more to the story than what has been printed so far, and I appreciate the mother’s decision not to go public. I guess I see fertility treatments as a way to help people, like us and many of our friends, to achieve the families they want. When I hear someone using such extreme measures to get pregnant, when she already has six children, I feel like she’s abusing and giving a bad name to a system that has helped so many.

I am very thankful for my twins. I cannot tell you how much I love them already. Both are pretty active, but shy away when Daddy wants to feel. I’ll be at 22 weeks this Sunday and have another ultrasound next week. My goal is to get everything out of the nursery (all the junk I’ve collected over the past 7 years) and basic furniture in by the time of my first shower the end of February. My birthday last week was fun, as I received mostly clothes for the babies.

Well that’s all for now. A bientot.

Drum Roll Please....

It's a



Girl!!!!!!


It's a




Boy!!!!!!


We're having the perfect combination!!!! I cannot tell you how excited we are!!! Both babies are incredibly active and healthy.

Considering all we've been though, I can't believe how lucky we are!

I am on cloud 9!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.

We are still thrilled in the Ives household, as we await the arrival of our twins in late spring.

Everything is going very well. Our last appointment was during 13 weeks (I’m at 17 now!). However my boy/girl theory has been blown out of the window because both were 6.8 cm and had heartbeats of 138 bpm. So who knows? We are going to find out this week though, as I have an appointment with the perinatalogist on Thursday. I hope they cooperate!

Last time it was such a relief to see them moving around and almost interacting with each other. At first both were lying in the same direction, with their heads toward my left. Twin A kept moving around, then when it was time to measure Twin B, he/she moved breech with his/her butt on the others head. Twin A didn’t appreciate it. They were both stretching and yawning. It was the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen.

I’m just starting to feel them move a round a bit, mostly at night, but sometimes while I’m in the car. In the last couple days my belly has really popped out, even though I’ve been “showing” for awhile. I was worried after my 13 week appointment because I hadn’t gained any weight in between my 8 week and 13 week appointments. However, the babies had grown and the doctors didn’t seem worried about it. I’ve been eating plenty also. I think the pounds are starting to come on now though.

It still seems so surreal though. I went through a really rough period after my first trimester, which I didn’t expect and was honestly a little ashamed about. I was really depressed, which is the reason for the long periods between updates. I’m starting to feel a bit better, but had a really hard time dealing with my feelings because we’d been trying for so long and shouldn’t I be happy? Unfortunately, I think the scars of infertility remain after pregnancy is achieved. It always seems too good to be true and even though this is what we wanted for so long, it’s still a big change. One thing I do know is that I am absolutely in love with both babies, which gives me strength to move on and do what’s best for them and myself…even if it means acknowledging feelings I’d rather not feel. At least I am familiar with depression and knew I wasn’t going (completely) crazy.

Well that’s all for now. I do have more to talk about, but it needs a segment of its own. And it’s a little emotional so I can’t really write it at work.

I finally do have ultrasound photos scanned too, but they are on my iPod and I don’t have wireless access here to get them. (Andy surprised me with an iPod touch for Christmas…I LOVE that thing!!!)

So expect more from me before the week’s out! I appreciate everyone’s comments and good wishes! Thank you so much for reading!

Update...

I don't know if I still have readers out there, as it's been so long since my last post...but hopefully some of you have stuck around or will stop by to hear the good news...

We're pregnant!!!!

With TWINS!!!

As of today, I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so nearly out of the first trimester! And it has been a whirlwind of a couple months!

I found out I was pregnant the last week of September, although I did cheat and take a home test before my blood tests. I actually took three home tests before my blood test and all were positive. So I was feeling pretty good when I went in for my test on 9/29. Sure enough my HCG level was 199! On Oct. 1, I had a little scare when I woke up with some spotting. I still went to my test, but spent the rest of the day at home after talking to my nurses in Michigan. My HCG came back 329, which was less than they wanted (it's supposed to double or rise by at least 80%.) I was so scared...it was too much like last time. On Friday, they had me go in for another test and our fears were put aside when my HCG came back at 638!

Of course, anyone who has been through infertility treatments knows that there are several little milestones you have to go through until you can feel comfortable with your pregnancy. Our next milestone was the six week ultrasound on 10/15. Andy and I went to the afternoon appointment hoping that our baby would be ok...so imagine our surprise when we saw and heard two heartbeats!!! However, there were actually three implantations. #3 did not have a heartbeat and appeared to be a couple days behind the others. We made another appointment on Halloween to find out.

I was scared about the Halloween appointment. It was very much out of our hands if there were two or three babies. I tried not to think about it, knowing we'd be blessed either way, even though it would be sad if #3 didn't make it. As soon as the ultrasound was applied, we saw our twins...healthy as ever. #3 had continued to grow a bit, but never had a heartbeat. We were sad, but it was amazing to see the other two thriving. Baby A measured 1.85 cm and had a heartbeat of 158 bpm. Baby B measured 1.72 cm and had a heartbeat of 172 bpm.

Now it's too early to find out the sex of the babies, but I think Baby A might be a boy and Baby B a girl. I had a dream shortly after our first ultrasound that we had boy and girl twins. Of course, some say that the heartbeats look like two girls. We'll find out in January!

My due date is June 7, however the doctor expects that these will be May babies, as twins typically come earlier. I am showing a little bit already, as my uterus is already the size of someone 6 to 8 weeks ahead. I love maternity pants! Most of my regular pants are just a little too tight around the belly. Thank goodness for the maternity section at Target!!!

And whoever called it "morning" sickness, has never experienced it! I've spent much of these first months very sick. It hasn't been easy, but I never expected it to be and I'd rather throw up everyday than not at all.

Well that's the biggest news in the Ives house! I wanted to put up ultrasound pictures, but my printer/scanner is buried in what is going to be the nursery. We've got a lot of work a head of us!