The "Motherload"

We had a wonderful surprise on Friday night.  Lisa's mom surprised us with a shopping spree for baby items!  It was an overwhelming thought at first, but we quickly wrapped our brains around the idea.  We all loaded up in the car (Tuna, Lisa, Frankie, and Bonna) and headed to Target for all of the fun!

Admittedly, the task was daunting and Tuna kept picking out clothes that were toddler size, but we got the hang of it.  It was also tough to ignore all of the adorable boy and girl outfits.  But we vowed to stay strong and stick with neutral items.  We also bought blankets, towels, sheets, and a variety of bath products.  We were so surprised at how small the newborn diapers were!  Holy moly!

We have already put the items in the drawers and below are a few pictures:

 (check out the giraffe footies...SO stinkin' cute!)

We had a great time shopping and can't thank "Grummies" enough for the wonderful surprise! 

We also got a package in the mail from Lisa's college roommate, Lisa.  See the picture below:

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!  We (well, Lisa actually) can't wait until the baby is big enough to wear it!

With all of these fun things it seems like all we need is the baby, right?  ;)

Upcoming...we have a level 2 ultrasound tomorrow and it will be so great to see more detailed pictures of our chickpea!

Until our next update thanks for reading and keeping up with us and our journey into parenthood!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

Appointments and Ultrasound Pictures!

Just to catch everyone up to speed here are the appointments we have had and ultrasounds we have had done.

For starters Lisa's OB/GYN no longer practiced the OB part of that title, so she had to find a new doctor (which was very sad).  We decided to find someone in Katy and simply went to the BCBS approved doctor list.  To be totally honest, Lisa chose the doctor because she was in an all female practice, and well, the doctor had graduated from KU Medical School (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!).  So off to a new practice we went...

Our first appointment was on October 3rd.  Lisa was still really, really sick and felt like roadkill.  But nonetheless we were both excited!  Lisa did the usual, height weight, blood pressure, etc. and we finally met the doctor.   Needless to say she was "all business" and not overly friendly.  But, we both have complete faith in her ability - so we are going to stick it out with her.  After Lisa had the most uncomfortable pap of her entire life we were rewarded with an ultrasound of our 9 week old "Chickpea".  As the ultrasound first started Tuna asked the doctor if the speck in the "pouch" was the baby.  So cute!  So now, the Chickpea lives in the "pouch".  When the ultrasound first started it looked Chickpea was doing the funky chicken!  We measured right on track, the heartbeat was strong, and everything looked really good (see pic below).

At this first appointment there were a lot of questions being asked of us; one of which was whether or not we wanted to pursue genetic testing.  We decided to do an ultrascreen to check for the presence of any genetic disorders.  The doctor emphasized the importance of the test due to Lisa's "advanced maternal age".  We decided to have the testing done and if any concerning results came back we would cross that bridge at that time.  But we definitely wanted to know.

Our second appointment was on October 26th.  Tuna had a big job going (YEAH TUNA!), so Lisa went to this appointment by herself.  This appointment was a check-up and the screening.  The exam was just the basics and a chat with the nurse practitioner.  Lisa loves the nurse practitioner and she has made it worth staying at the practice.  Then the ultrascreen began - it involved a finger prick and an ultrasound.  The tech who handled the appointment was looking for the baby's neck to measure as this is a part of the NT screening.  One of the main things this measurement would indicate is the possibility of Spina Bifida.  Chickpea's heart rate was 154 and  everything looked good.  Funny enough, the baby was moving around at first, but then performed a "rollover"and was in an awkward position.  This made the tech's job tough in that she was having a hard time getting the neck measurement.  She was pressing really hard on Lisa's abdomen and asked Lisa to shimmy around on the table to try and wake the baby, but Chickpea was having none of that!  When Tuna heard this he said for sure the Chickpea took after Lisa in that she does the exact same thing if he has to wake her up!   When Tuna saw the ultrasound he couldn't believe how much more room Chickpea had taken up in the "pouch"! The ultrasound below shows Chickpea's uncooperative, curled up, slumber pose!

  Fast forward to this Wednesday and we found out that the genetic testing was negative and everything looked really great!  We are so happy and so relieved!

Our next appointment is November 17th and it is a Level 2 ultrasound.  It will be really great to see nice, defined pictures of our Chickpea.  We are so excited and will resist the temptation to possibly find out what the sex is!  We have our next doctor's appointment on the 28th of November.

We can't believe how fast time is flying!  Wow!

Much love to you all!
xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa!

"It's About Time..."

First of all, we would like to thank everyone for your kind messages, texts, calls, and comments.  It means the world to us!

Now back to the story...

Many people have wondered why it is we "waited" to start a family.  We'd like to say that it was an intentional decision, but the truth is - life had other plans for us.  Here is our story...and sorry if it gets a little TMI and a little long...but it is our story!

We were never really a couple that knew that 2.5 years after we got married we have a little boy and then 3.5 years later have a little girl.  We did know that we really wanted to spend time together building our relationship before we ventured on that path.  Soon after the 9/11 attacks we - as many people did - began examining our own lives and what was important to us.  We decided at that time that we would forgo any sort of birth control and just "see what happens".  Well, nothing happened (like we had to tell you that!).  In 2005, it was decided that Lisa would chart cycles and see if everything was normal - and after 4 cycles all appeared to be OK.

After more trying (since everything was normal according to the charting - as confirmed by Lisa's OB/GYN) in 2007 it was decided that surgery might help things along - and hopefully get rid of an extremely painful "Aunt Flo".  So, in August of 2007 Lisa had a D&C, HSG, and hysteroscopy - with the intention of getting a look inside and cleaning things up a bit.  As it turns out, her uterus was not only titled backwards, but was also completely folded in half!  Additionally, stage 3 hemorrhagic endometriosis was discovered and removed.  These two conditions made conception virtually impossible (we think about all the wasted money on birth control pills!).  So Dr.Wilson "cinched up" Lisa's uterus so it was in a correct position and we were told that if we were not pregnant in 3 months that we would need to come back and we would discuss other options, such as an IUI.

We had a long talk about that and we both were in agreement that we did not want to pursue that route.  We both agreed that we were perfectly OK with "us" and if I child was meant to be a part of our life then it would happen for us when the time was right.  And if it never happened then we were OK with that too.  We absolutely enjoyed each others company and if was just us (and our puppies, too) we were just as happy.  As fate would have it, in October of 2007 Lisa decided to go to work for her dad at the end of the school year.  We both decided that it was not fair to him for her to go in there and immediately take time off, so things were put on hold. 

Over the last year, we decided to throw caution to the wind and start trying again...and on Monday, August 29th, we got the news that would change our lives forever - we were going to be parents!  The timing was a little funny in that Tuna has just recently started his own landscaping company and Lisa has her internship in the Spring and is graduating with her masters in May.  Plus we have a super-busy "BBQ/Rodeo Season"  between now and the due date.  But the month of April gives us a little breathing time before baby arrives!  Ultimately, we feel like this pregnancy has been such a blessing in multiple ways!

UPDATE - We are 14 weeks along today and Lisa is feeling really, really good (hopefully we didn't just jinx it!).  Early last week was a little touch and go - but we feel like we are over the "yucks".  We know, without a doubt, that it is due in great part to everyone's thoughts and prayers and we cannot thank you enough for that!  Love to you all!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa