8 Weeks (Again)

Hello Friends & Family,


Week 8 can be described in one word... Gas! This pregnancy is causing Sara to have so much of it that I'm contemplating moving into one of our guest rooms. I just hope the baby can't smell what I'm smelling. This week has also brought increased morning sickness, a rash on both of her hips, and heartburn. She hasn't had any cravings but instead is having trouble finding anything that sounds good to eat. I've become her personal short-order cook, custodian, and errand boy, but I love doing what I can to be involved!


Here's what's going on with the Tiddlywink in week 8: He/she is about the size of a kidney bean or raspberry (depending in whether legumes or fruit are your thing). Webbed fingers and toes are poking out of his/her hands and feet, eyelids practically cover his/her eyes, breathing tubes extend from the throat to the branches of the developing lungs, and his/her tail is just about gone (damn)!


That pretty much sums up our week. I'm off to get Sara some Tums! We will leave you with our weekly pictures...

Love you all!

8 Weeks = 7 Weeks?

Hello Friends & Family,


We have had an exciting week. First we were able to bring Mom home from the hospital on Sunday for some much needed r&r after her first round of chemo. We also had our first official doctor's appointment yesterday. Sara and I weren't exactly sure what to expect when we went, and we were so excited/nervous when we entered the exam room and saw the ultrasound machine. My anxiety went through the roof. Was the baby still growing? Was there more than one baby in there? Was the baby mine?


Well, we were able to get two out of those three questions answered. As Sara got violated by Dr. Ertel, my eyes were glued to the screen. My heart raced as I waited to see my unborn child for the first time. Then, right before our eyes, Baby Wiencken appeared! That's right, there was just one Baby Wiencken (whew!). From the size of the baby, Dr. Ertel informed us that we were officially 7 weeks and a couple of days along (we thought we were 8+). This immediately made me nervous, because I thought the baby might have stopped growing a week ago. What happened next eliminated those fears as she turned on the audio and let us hear the heartbeat for the first time. As that little heart was beating loud and strong, I felt like mine had stopped. It was maybe the coolest moment of my life thus far, and I have had some cool moments (I don't think I need to remind anyone of my 14 points against Honey Creek to win the 7th grade County Championship game).


Sara and I just felt so blessed to have the confirmation that Baby Wiencken was still growing! Our new due date is September 1st. This would be the same birthday as our other son (4 year old boxer Sampson). We tried to inform him of the (bad) news, but I don't think it was sinking in. Here are the pictures that we received from our ultrasound:

The Tiddlywink!

Extreme close-up

Here's the heartbeat - 168 beats per minute = strong!!!

Tiddlywink measuring 1.19 cm

Tiddlywink measuring 1.12 cm

Our next monthly appointment is on Valentine's Day morning.  That date seems fitting!


Here are the weekly pictures of the proud mother-to-be and her baby bump progress (ignore the 8 weeks sign, it's 7 weeks!)

Talk to you soon!


Love,


Josh, Sara & Tiddlywink

7 Weeks

Hello Friends & Family,


As of yesterday, we are officially in our 7th week of pregnancy. Sara is still feeling great. She had to take a business trip out of town earlier this week, and she thought it was comforting to feel like she wasn't "alone" for the 12 hours of drive time she spent on the road.


We also went to visit Momma Wiencken and the rest of my family this weekend. She's officially done with her first round of chemo. Now, the doctors are just working on flushing all of the chemicals from her body so that she can head home and rest up before the next round begins. Sara, Lindsay, and Whitney gave her a shorter new hair-do to try to head off some of the hair loss that has started. All we could think about while we were visiting with her is what a tough Nanna this new little one is going to have! She still manages to smile and act like a hostess through all of this nausea and other cancer crap.


We are getting excited for the first of our two upcoming doctor's appointments. On Wednesday, we will meet with a nurse educator for an hour on what to expect during the pregnancy. She'll also be giving us the book 'What to Expect While You're Expecting.' I'm sure Sara will have the entire thing read by the time we get home from the appointment. Then, she'll nag me to death on the importance of reading it myself.


We are getting weekly emails on the Tiddlywink's development. Right now, the baby is about the size of a blueberry. Hands and feet are emerging from his or her developing arms and legs (although, they look more like paddles than actual hands or feet). Its also got a tail, which we hope it can keep! He or she has eyelid folds covering its peepers, which already have some color. The tip of his or her nose is visible as well as tiny veins beneath the skin. Both hemispheres of its brain are growing, and the liver is pumping out red blood cells. An appendix and pancreas have already formed. Lastly, a loop in the baby's intestines is bulging into his or her umbilical cord, which now has distinct vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from its tiny body.


We will leave you with our weekly pictures, and will post again in about a week. We love you all!

Love, Josh, Sara & Tiddlywink

Our Story

Dear Family and Friends,


Welcome to our blog!!! We started this site as a way to keep everyone (who wants to be) informed about the progress on Baby Wiencken, who we have affectionately been referring to as Tiddlywink.


As many of you may already know, we were married over 3 years ago, on November 1, 2008.  We decided a year ago to start trying for our first baby.  This decision brought difficult news about the reality of our situation. 


After 5 months of not conceiving, we sought help from our OB/GYN, Dr. Ertel.  Sara went to the doctor for an ultrasound in mid-May 2011 to make sure she wasn't dealing with any issues internally.  The ultrasound revealed that she had a large polyp growing in her uterus that would make implantation of an embryo nearly impossible.  We also discovered that she had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and a cyst on one of her ovaries.  The good news was that the doctor assured us she could get us pregnant!


She started a medication called Metformin immediately to help her with the PCOS.  In July, Sara underwent an outpatient surgery to remove the polyp from her uterus.  It was her first surgery, so she was a little nervous, but the nurse told her sister and me that she was a very pleasant patient.  Sara recovered very quickly, and even surprised me by mowing the whole yard not even 24 hours later. 


The instructions following surgery were to continue trying.  After a follow-up visit to Dr. Ertel in September, we decided to start on Clomid later that fall if we were still unsuccessful in conceiving in the next two months.  Well, by mid-November, there was still no Baby Wiencken on the way, so we started our first round of fertility medications.  As instructed, Sara took the Clomid for five days.  We then started testing for ovulation on the days specified by Dr. Ertel.  Unfortunately, after testing for several days beyond the ovulation window, we still never had a positive ovulation test. 


We called Dr. Ertel, and she decided to double Sara’s Clomid dosage for the following round, which was to start in mid-December.  Her next cycle started around when it was expected in December, so she started her second round of Clomid on day 5 of her cycle.  However, her cycle abruptly stopped the day following the first Clomid dose.  She thought this was unusual, but she continued taking the Clomid.  Two days later on December 20, still feeling strange, she decided to take a pregnancy test.  To her surprise, it showed a very faint positive line.  In fact, the line was so faint, that she wasn't even sure it was actually positive. 


Sara called Dr. Ertel right when she got to work, and asked her what to do.  Was she actually pregnant?  Should she stop taking the fertility medications?  Could they harm the baby if she was really pregnant?  Luckily, Dr. Ertel had some answers and advice.  She sent Sara for a blood test that would confirm whether or not she was really pregnant.  She waited on pins and needles for over 24 hours for the doctor's office to call and give her the results.  Her Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) was 46 and her Progesterone was 26.  She was very early in her pregnancy, but she was actually pregnant!  The next step would be to take a follow-up test on Thursday to confirm the levels were increasing like they should.  She also had to figure out how she was going to tell me.


Sara came home from work that day and wrapped up a last minute Christmas gift for me. 

We had actually already had our Christmas together the night before, and it took everything in her not to blurt it out that night.  However, she said she resisted for two reasons: she wanted to be "sure" she was actually pregnant, and she knew she would only have the chance to tell me once.  She wanted it to be special.  We were heading out the door to her company Christmas party that evening, so we didn't have a lot of time after work.  After we both got ready for the party, I opened the gift she had for me.  In the box was a poem Sara had written to me telling me I was going to be a Daddy. 

Here it is:


                                                                                                                December 21, 2011


Husb,


You are the love of my life,
And you know that much is true
But soon it will no longer be
Just me and you...


We prayed and we hoped
For nearly a year
And we cried our fair share
Of "wishing" tears


But a Christmas miracle
Has been granted today
I'm so excited to tell you
We have a little one on the way


You'll be a wonderful Daddy
So caring and fun
Your love for this baby
Will be second to none


I hope this news makes you smile
As much as it does me
Just think, in a few months
The Wienckens will be three


                                                   I will love you always,


                                                   Wife


She also wrapped up a 3-6 month baby onesie that said "My First Christmas."  I was beside myself, and Sara caught the entire moment on tape. 

Here's a picure we took on the night Sara told me the big news!

The next day, Thursday, she went back for her second round of blood tests.  Again, she had to wait 24 hours for Dr. Ertel to call, and she confirmed that Sara’s hormone levels had doubled, just like they should.  I think that's when everything became "real."  We scheduled our first doctor's appointments for mid-January, and are eagerly waiting for January 17 to come around. 


The night before we received the second round of good news, we had gone to the store and bought a baby book for the members of our immediate family.  We wrote a special message in each one from Baby Wiencken, and we gave them to our families at Christmas.  Drew and Whitney were on their honeymoon in New York City, but we were able to video message with them to give them the news.  There were tears, laughter, hugs, and kisses.  Everyone was thrilled.   After sharing the news with everyone in our immediate family, we jumped on the phone and let all of our extended family know on Christmas Day.


This news especially brought some joy in light of my mom's diagnosis that we had received on Monday of the same week we found out we were expecting.  It was quite a week, but we are happy to report that we have had good news all around in the weeks since.


On Saturday, December 31, Sara began her 6th week of pregnancy. 

So far, the pregnancy has been really easy for her.  Her only symptom so far is extreme exhaustion.  She hasn't had any morning sickness to speak of, and we're keeping our fingers crossed that things stay this easy.  She's been very conscious of everything she's putting in her body, and I've never seen her so determined to eat healthier.  She's also been taking some classes at the gym, and she's determined to Zumba herself into tip-top pregnancy shape.  I only ate a pound of cheese today instead of the typical two pounds, so I am doing pretty well. too.


Stay tuned!

Love,

Josh, Sara & Tiddlywink