36 Weeks

34 Weeks

I've been meaning to write this post for some time now. Although I'm 35 + 4 now, hitting 34 weeks was a huge milestone for me. 34 weeks is the most pregnant I've ever been. On Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013 I delivered my twins girls at exactly 34 weeks. 

As this milestone approached I felt myself getting more and more anxious. The crib still wasn't painted or assembled, the dresser was still in the garage, and all of the wall art was sitting in the "baby's room" on the floor. On top of that, I was planning and crafting for the girls' birthday party. I tried to explain to W how nervous this was all making me, and eventually he got the idea. By my 34 week date we had a crib assembled with bedding, a dresser in the room, and most of the wall art up. I was feeling so much better about things. 

Even though I know most babies don't come that early, I was still super anxious about hitting (and crossing) the 34 week mark. 

Tomorrow I will see my OB to get instructions on my switch from Lovenox to Heparin at 36 weeks. I never made it to that point last pregnancy, and it's a huge step towards (hopefully) having my VBAC. The lovenox was the reason I had to be under general anesthesia for the birth of the girls. I started weekly appointment and will have another ultrasound next week. 

To me, 34 weeks was a huge milestone that needed to be celebrated (despite all of the anxiety it came with). I'm so grateful every day to still be pregnant, even though it's not always the most glamorous thing. It's funny I was worried about having a preemie for so long and now that I'm almost past that point I'm hoping I don't have to worry about going a lot past my due date. It's amazing how your perspective can change so quickly. 

Stretch Marks

When I was pregnant with the girls I somehow managed to avoid strech marks for most of my pregnancy. I remember waking up one morning to discover them and feeling so disappointed and upset. I have no idea where I got the idea I'd make it through a twin pregnancy without them, but it was upsetting to me when they did appear. 

As if it wasn't bad enough that I had a bruised up belly from Lovenox shots, now it had strech marks all over it too. It didn't look beautiful to me. 

I noticed the other day that I have a single new stretch mark. It extends from my other ones but is fresh, redder, and higher than all the others. 

The truth is? I love it! I love that this baby girl will leave her own impressions and marks on my body as a reminder that I also carried her. It's a reminder of growing my baby girl big and strong, and I embrace these lasting marks she will leave on me. 

I now know that these marks fade. They don't stay red forever and they really aren't very noticeable. 

I'm so proud of my body for providing for another life, and all the changes that accompany that. 

Doppler Ultrasound

One of the things Dr. B recommends in the first trimester is weekly ultrasounds. This includes looking at doppler blood flow of the uterine artery. When I saw Dr. B at 7 weeks he did my ultrasound including the doppler measurements. I asked about his findings and he said he noted reduced blood flow to my uterus, but great blood flow between my uterus and the baby. He looked at my chart and said he wasn't going to change my current dosage of Lovenox since I'm already taking it twice a day. Last time I remember having to increase my Lovenox dosage and also using Viagra vaginally to help increase blood flow. 

Getting this done at Dr. B's office is fine and easy but getting it done outside has been a bit of a headache. At 8 weeks I went to my old fertility clinic for my ultrasound. The nurse practitioner came in and noted it on the ultrasound. She said, "We don't normally do that." When I asked why she said something about increased risk and exposure to the baby. She said she could get my old RE and see if he was able to do it, but I told her to just do the ultrasound. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. When she was finished she said, "The hospital may be better able to accommodate you."  

At 8 1/2 weeks I had my first ob appointment that included an ultrasound. I asked the ultrasound technician if she could do the doppler. She also said it wasn't something that's normally done this early in a pregnancy. 

When I met with one of the Drs in my ob practice I told him Dr. B was requesting this information in addition to a weekly ultrasound. He was great about working with Dr. B and his suggestions and said he was willing to follow any of them. He asked his nurse about the ultrasound, she asked the ultrasound technician, and they all agreed I'd have to go to the hospital to get it done. With my pregnancy with my twins I had a few ultrasounds at the hospital so it didn't seem like a big deal. The nurse told me I would hear from her and I left. 

The following day she called and told me she needed to call Dr. B's office to get clarification for what she was requesting. The day after that she called to tell me I had an appointment scheduled for the next week at the hospital. 

Yesterday I had that appointment. Going to the hospital made it so much more complicated. I had to register (which included a ridiculous amount of paperwork) and my elevator confusion, sitting in some weird room without any kind of receptionist for at least 10 minutes, and then going to a room with two technicians. They were both somewhat confused by the script. They also commented that it was very early on to do doppler readings. I tried to explain to them to the best of my knowledge what Dr. B measured and why. Then they started. It felt like it took them forever. They did first check the baby so at least I saw that quick before they took their twenty plus minutes to do the doppler readings. All I could think was about those comments about it being done so early and the extra exposure. The technicians were so fascinated by the doppler as it is so early in my pregnancy and kept commenting on how "pretty" it was.  I think I made their days as it was definitely something out of the ordinary for them. 

From there I was sent to my doctors office. I called and asked the nurses if it was totally necessary and she made me feel like it was. The wait times are super long at my office and I really didn't feel like sitting there to find nothing out. I knew it was pretty much pointless. Another hour later I left the office. The dr basically agreed it was pointless since he didn't really know what the doppler measurements meant but did say everything was looking great and the baby was measuring right on target. 

Next week I'm supposed to go back to Dr. B's office to have an ultrasound. The week after that I'm supposed to return to the hospital. I'm honestly debating canceling it because of what a pain it was. I guess I'll just wait and see how I feel when the time comes but maybe asking Dr. B about all of the "it's so early for doppler" comments to help ease my mind may help too. It's quite apparent that the way Dr. B thinks and operates is very different from most doctors. 

Ultrasound at 7 Weeks

Yesterday morning was our second ultrasound. I woke up feeling nervous and found out that morning sickness nausea paired with fertility clinic anxiety is not a good combination. 

I got stuck with my least favorite NP. She didn't say much, and there was definitely no congratulations. When she started the scan she saw 2 and was annoyed I didn't tell her there were 2. It did make me smirk a little that she was doing the ultrasound since she was the one who warned me that Dr. Br.averman was just going to take my money. She's never been very friendly or nice, so I didn't care much. I just wanted to see our little ones again. 

As soon as she started I saw the 2 little sacs again. She pointed out both heartbeats and W squeezed my hand. She was pretty quick with everything. Both babies measured 6w5d and I was 7w1d. I'm really not concerned they are measuring a few days behind since I know there is a margin for error and that there can be a little difference with no problem. Baby A's heartbeat was 127 and baby B's was 129. She didn't let us listen to the heartbeats for long, just quickly played them in order to measure. It felt more scientific than anything else. I was a little disappointed we didn't get to hear them a little longer, but oh well. They are just so rushed at that clinic, so they don't take much time to do anything. 

I was so relived to see them both and hear their little heartbeats. It's amazing to think that I have 2 little babies growing away inside me. 

I went yesterday to get my blood drawn again to test my Anti Herparin XA. I made it just on time to be 4 hours after my Lovenox shot. The phlebotomist drew my blood and I left. A little while later I had a voicemail on my phone. It was the lab saying something was wrong and that they wanted me to come back and get it done again. I know that what was wrong is that the phlebotomist used the wrong tube. I thought about mentioning it when I was there, but didn't.  I had a done the same blood work a week prior and the phlebotomist was sure to go ask someone before drawing my blood. She was surprised as to which tube was needed.

I was pretty annoyed they screwed it up and that I had to go back today and do it again. I'm no stranger to needles and blood draws, but I'd like to avoid unnecessary ones if possible. 

Annoyance aside, I'm so happy and excited about our little twins. We are just feeling so lucky and blessed. 

What's Going On

The weekend always goes by too fast. How did we get to Sunday night already?

Last week went by fairly quickly. I worked a lot more than I have been working for the past few weeks and was exhausted by Friday night. I felt like such a bum Friday night when I napped while W did two loads of laundry, bathed the dogs, did all the dishes, and started dinner. Whoops!

Last Tuesday night I got together with my friend after yoga and we went out for Thai food. Of course we talked a bunch and had fun so I ended up getting home pretty late. 

Staying out late on Tuesday night made my Wednesday 6:45 appointment feel extra early. My lining measured at 7.78 and my estradiol levels were 746. We scheduled my transfer for the 26th at 10:15. We haven't made a final decision about how many embryos to transfer, but I think it will be two. I emailed Dr. Br.averman to get his opinion and it seemed to be two. He said he rarely recommends three unless the embryos quality is poor, the woman is over forty, or there have been repeated failures. We only fit into one of those categories and I'm not ready to fly through our best embryos. He also told me about the blood work he plans to repeat at my beta. Unfortunately, they were mostly tests that were only done at the out of network lab and are they were super pricey the first time around. I am going to email him to find out more about this. I don't understand the purpose of repeating these tests if my levels were within normal limits the first time. I guess to see how I responded to the new meds?

On Thursday W and I went to a vinyasa yoga class with my mom and then we went out for Indian food after. The class went much better than the previous Sunday. I felt strong and got a great workout. That one instructor is amazing. 

I had a nice friend-filled weekend. I saw my friend T on Saturday and we got lunch, walked around the mall, shopped a little bit, and got pedicures. I'm pretty excited about my new pajama pants and the festive dog collars I bough. T is due with her little boy in eight weeks! I can't wait to meet him. Her baby shower is coming up on December 8th so I really need to finish the binding on the quilt I made and then get it machine quilted by someone. The binding is intimidating me a bit which is why I haven't done it yet. I watched a little video on You Tube this weekend but still am not sure about it. I better get sure about it soon. 

Today we went to yoga and then hung out with our friends C, J, and their little girl E after. The yoga class had a sub instructor and I didn't love it. It wasn't very dynamic or fast moving. Little E wasn't feeling well and was being super sweet and snuggly. It made me want a little one that much more. We made plans with them to go cut down Christmas trees the first weekend in December like we did two years ago. 

I've feeling really hopeful and positive about our transfer. I am excited for it to be here and know the next week should fly by with Thanksgiving. I'm still bruising quite a bit. On Friday I ended up with a dark purple bruise that is bigger than a quarter. It's super attractive, trust me. I also bled for a long time when they took my blood. The Lovenox is definitely working. 

I'm really looking forward to the short work week and seeing all my family on Thursday. Then we have our transfer in eight days! It feels like it's taken a long time to get this close. Let's hope this is it!

It's the Little Things in Life

I've feeling much better than I did Friday night. I slept for almost 12 hours on Friday night and took a nap Saturday during the day. That definitely helped. 

On Sunday W came with me to yoga. It was a hot vinyasa class and it kicked my butt! At first I was directly under the heat vent and was sweating so much I couldn't hold any pose long for fear of slipping off my mat. I eventually moved a little further away and that helped, but I just didn't feel strong during the class. I think fighting off the cold and having my period took it's toll on my body. Last week I felt really great during the same class but this week it was super challenging for me. 

I still enjoyed going and especially enjoyed the hot tub, sauna, and steam shower after. 

I recently found out all yoga classes are free there for us because we are patients at the fertility center. They buildings are connected and there also have massage and acupuncture available there. They offer one free acupuncture session with a transfer, so I usually take them up on that offer. I haven't been going to acupuncture regularly because it didn't seem to make a huge difference for me. Sure, I enjoyed it, but it didn't seem worth all the money. 

The headaches are getting a bit better but I am bruising so badly with my shots. I started Lovenox and baby aspirin last week and I don't think that is helping the cause. Any tips to reduce bruising? At this rate my entire stomach will be covered. I've been avoiding the right side of my stomach completely because I can't seem to find a single spot that doesn't bruise. It's not the best look. 

My next appointment is Wednesday morning. Our tentative transfer day is exactly two weeks from today! 

I bought something this week I'm super excited about it. It's really shows how it's the little things in life that make me happy.

 Last year we hosted Thanksgiving and our local supermarket had turkey butter sculptures for sale (it would fit in your hand if you wanted to hold a buttery little turkey). I missed my chance to get one as they sold out quickly. Well, this past week I saw them and snatched one up. I was so excited I even had to tell the cashier. 

Isn't he cute?

The New York State Fair is nearby and one of the main attractions is the giant butter sculpture. Maybe it's an upstate NY thing, but it's something we always have to check out when we go.

The sculpture from 2 years ago at the fair.

While you're in the dairy building, you better get some 25 cent chocolate milk.  Can't you tell I'm excited about it?

 I can't wait for that little buttery turkey to grace the Thanksgiving table with its presence. That is, until someone chops off his little head for their mashed potatoes. 

Throwing in the Kitchen Sink

Today has been extra long. Maybe it's because we woke up early and accomplished a lot by noon, and maybe it's the extra hour. I'm not thrilled about how early in got dark out, but hey, that comes with this time of year. 

Multiple times this weekend I looked outside to see snow flurries/sleet. Nothing stuck to the ground but a few rooftops and cars were covered with a dusting of snow this morning. It's starting to feel less like fall and more like winter. There are a few trees that still have pretty leaves on them, but most trees are now barren. 

Yesterday we hung out mostly.  I did some quilting, and W worked on some random stuff around the house with my FIL.  We then went to the movies to see Flight and it was really good. From there we hit up the in-law's for some free and delicious dinner. 

This morning we woke up early to go to yoga. I finally convinced W to join me for a class. The class was challenging but also amazing and I felt so great after. The place we went also has a hot tub, sauna, and steam shower that we both used after. It was a pretty fabulous way to spend a Sunday morning. 

I hate to admit it, but it was the kind of weekend that made me glad we don't have any kids yet. We did exactly what we wanted and that's something I don't take for granted. 

Tomorrow I have an appointment to do an endometrial biopsy. I've had one done before so know what to expect, but I also don't expect it to be enjoyable. I'm willing to throw the kitchen sink in on this cycle, so whatever helps I'm willing to try. 

I started Lupron on Thursday and have been having slight headaches. It's nothing terrible, but just pesky and present. My first shot last week I started bleeding a bunch and have a bruise to show for it. I guess I was a little rusty. I take my last birth control pill tomorrow and have another appointment this Thursday. After that we will start Lovenox, Neupogen, and Estrogen. I found out the Estrogen will be an IM shot but it's only every few days. I also called to get a price on the Neupogen and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected.  

I'm really looking forward to Thankgiving with my family. We are going to my sister's house and I will get to see her pregnant belly for the first time in months. I can't wait to rub it (making her uncomfortable doing so) for good luck!

New and Confusing Information

Yesterday was my follow-up with Dr. Br.averman. Of course the office was running behind so we waited for over an hour past our appointment before they called. 

At first Dr. B said everything was essentially normal. But I could hear him flipping through pages and pages of paperwork. Then he got to the HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) matching portion of the testing.

Here is information I found on HLA matching from Dr. B's website in order to explain it and be more clear:

"A fundamental part of HLA function is the presence of MHC molecules on all cells in the body. While there must be great similarity between these HLA genes with the donor and recipient during a transplant, this does not hold true when considering an embryo. There are reasons an embryo must have significant differences than the mother in order for a pregnancy to be successful and not result in miscarriage. Evolution has resulted in significant variation in the shape and sizes of MHC molecules (It is the MHC molecules that pick up virus and bacteria and present it to the immune system for eradication). The variation of the MCH molecules prevents a virus or bacteria from mutating and then evading the immune system in every person they infect, preventing an entire population form getting wiped out during an outbreak. Nature has a reason therefore to try and reject an embryo in couples with similar HLA genes as this would eliminate the ability to diversify.

Other HLA molecules on the embryo's surface, however, play an important role in beginning the process of immune tolerance. One theory is that a difference between the HLA genes of the mother and the embryo is important as it draws the immune system to the site of implantation due to the detection of something foreign. From here, the embryo begins to interact with the maternal immune system to turn off its attacking aspects and use it to its own advantage. Advantages include mild inflammation that can assist with implantation as well as the production of antibodies to protect the fetus."

 So, apparently W and I have a lot of matches. He said anything over 5 was considered significant. We have 6 that we know of for now. The test wasn't complete and the DQ Alpha portion of it was missing. This means there are another possible 2 matches that we will find out about once we complete the testing.

The HLA system is located on chromosome 6. As Dr. B said, this is the chromosome that "polices the immune system". If things are too similar, then the immune system attacks the embryo. He thought this was a possible reason for the way things have turned out in the past.

He also said that I had a PAI 1 4G gene mutation which is consistent with PCOS. I also have 1 copy of Factor V and 1 copy of MTHFR. All of these create a cumulative effect relating to blood clotting. He said this can be easily remedied with the use of Lovenox.

As far as the HLA matching goes, I guess his plan of action is to use Neupogen. This is a drug that is administered as a shot like anything else in a IVF cycle. The way that it works is it puts the immune system to rest in order to shield the embryo from the immune system. It's a drug commonly used during chemotherapy and is experimental for use in IVF cycles. Dr. B said he's had a lot of success using it for this type of problem. 

He said we don't need IVF and that IUI's would be an option. For now we will do IVF since we already have a cycle paid for. In the future, we could have him manage the immune portion and do IUI's. They are covered by my insurance so it's definitely something to consider if need be. It's that whole missing a tube thing that deters me. 

We talked about this upcoming IVF cycle. At first I could tell he didn't want to manage it due to the logistics. He was trying to back out of it but I put more pressure on him and he said he would keep to his word. I know its complicated and difficult, but I can't keep doing the same exact thing that my clinic has me doing. It's not working!

We talked about a the protocol again and meds. We will start on Gonal-F at a higher dose and then step it down shortly after. The reason to do this is that the higher dose recruits more eggs to begin with and then once they start growing they don't need as high of a dose. We may or may not add LH depending on my levels and his preference was Menopur over Luveris. After a few days we will add in Ganirelix and will trigger with Lupron. The plan for now is to freeze all embryos. It is likely my estrogen will get super high again and it's not a favorable environment for embryos. Also, the hormone management is extremely difficult with a Lupron trigger and I guess it would be easier to wait. I'm not thrilled about this option, but it's OK. I'm happy to try something different. 

So the plan for now is I need to get doctor's orders to my current office to get a sono before coming off birth control pills. I'm waiting for them to send this over so I can schedule my appointment. Then I will get a scan. As long as everything looks good I will stop bcp's and we will start this cycle. I should get a protocol written out from Dr. B and get assigned to a nurse soon.

So the biggest question is, how am I feeling about all of this information? I'm SO HAPPY I trusted my gut and pursued another opinion. I'm glad I found Dr. B and that we went through with all of the immune testing. I definitely had my doubts about whether it would all be worth it. I now 100% believe it was! Just doing what CNY told me "keep trying, it's a numbers game" was not going to work for me. There is something bigger going on. 

I'm kinda sad to find out to the hubs and I are apparently just too compatible. At least we know that if we ever need an organ transplant we don't need to go far. I'm hopeful for changes and armed with a whole bunch of new knowledge, ready to move forward and get this show on the road! 

Follow-Up Chat/WTF Appointment

My appointment didn't go exactly as I had hoped, but it was pretty good overall. My plan was to let my RE (Dr. Greene) tell me what he thought before asking any questions. Well, he came into the room, introduced himself (even though I've met him 3 times already), and immediately asked me what questions I had. 

So first I asked why he thought I was having chemical pregnancies. He said that he thought it was likely genetic. He explained that at the point that we transfer the embryos they have only made simple determinations as to what type of cells they are going to be (placenta, fetus, etc.) but it's not very complicated. The cells are multiplying and dividing, but not getting too detailed. He made an analogy to a book. It is as if the embryo copied all of the chapter titles of the book, but didn't yet get any words. He said that as things progress the embryo needs to make more complicated divisions and the cells determine exactly what everything will be (liver, brain, blood vessels, etc.) This is where there appears to be a problem. 

He didn't recommend donor eggs, donor sperm, or PGD at this time. He recommended we just keep trying. This I found somewhat frustrating. It's not that I want to do any of these things, but I wish we had more concrete answers. 

His recommendation was to do the FET before moving on to another fresh cycle. He said the quality isn't great for the ones we have, but it is best to focus on this as our next step. When the embryos were frozen both were graded 4CC. 

He then said grading is just a beauty contest. It's not that he doesn't give the embryologists credit for the amazing job they do, but he and the other doctors at the practice don't care as much about the grade. He said it probably means more to me than it does to him. Dr. G told me a story about a woman who had only 1 embryo to transfer that the embryologists graded as so poor they didn't even recommend transferring. This woman got pregnant and her son now speaks 3 languages and plays 2 instruments. He said even though our embryos didn't get a great grade on their report card there's no reason to believe they can't turn out to be perfect babies. The grading plays no part on what the child ends up as, it's just a simple way of judging them when they are at such an early stage. Once they implant there is no reason to believe they will be inferior or imperfect. 

He also said he did a study which compared embryos with PGD. He said often the best looking ones were the ones that were the most abnormal. His theory was that the ones that don't look as great could have had a simple problem during division and they already corrected themselves, giving them a less than perfect appearance. 

Dr .G didn't seem to think the coasting had much of an effect on my eggs. He said the HCG trigger is what is responsible for the final maturation and not the other meds. He did say that one option is to do a staggered cycle. This is when you don't coast at all but you freeze all embryos and transfer them in a subsequent cycle. 

He didn't see any problems with egg quality, sperm quality, or embryo quality. This is pretty good because I was worried about my eggs and embryos. My last clinic told me that all of our embryos were slow to develop. He said this wasn't the case with my past 2 cycles. He compared it to puberty. Just because people go through it at slightly different times doesn't mean either are better or worse off. 

I asked about my thyroid since my levels vary a bit. Since they are always (more or less) within the normal range he didn't think any further testing was necessary. He said TSH levels can affect a person's ability to get pregnant, but don't typically unless they are grossly abnormal. 

I asked about doing a panel for RPL but he said it wasn't going to change anything we are doing. It is just more testing and more money, but it won't change our current protocol. He was skeptical about Lovenox, but said the other doctor in the clinic highly believed in it. He said there weren't any specific studies to prove it is effective. He seemed to be on board with intralipids and Metformin to help reduce miscarriage rates. 

I really wanted a plan for our next IVF, but he was more focused on the upcoming FET. He said he could sit down and look specifically at my past cycles and make a new plan, but he didn't feel like we should focus on that yet. He said I could email him any time and I plan to (if necessary) about this rather than booking another appointment if our FET doesn't work.

The dialogue part of the appointment was pretty short and a nurse popped her head into a room at one point and I heard something about someone being ready for an HSG. He pretty much wrapped things up and said to stay positive and focus on our next FET rather than trying to plan for our next IVF. 

I then asked if I was going to get an ultrasound. He said I could if I wanted one. I explained that I was wondering if this cycle was ovulatory or not and wanted to get a prescription for progesterone if it wasn't. 

They brought me into another room and I waited a bit. I'm guessing he did the HSG in that time. Then he came in and did the ultrasound. First was my lining. It was a bit thin for me at 7.5. He then went to my right ovary (the one with a tube) and there was a great looking follicle which measured about 17 mm. On my left ovary (the one without a tube) there was another one which was larger and a little bigger than 20. I asked about a natural FET and he asked when my HCG came back negative. I think how recent that was paired with my thin lining made him say it wouldn't be a good cycle to do it. He said I should pick up ovulation tests and start using them. He then said we should definitely try on our own this month.

To find out I was actually ovulating was pretty great. There are some perks to going to a fertility clinic, such as getting a peak inside even when you are not actively cycling. In total, W and I only tried on our own 3 months. One was the first month before we saw a RE, and 2 cycles were post D&C so I don't even know if they were ovulatory. Sometimes I wonder if we could do this on our own, but it's hard to have faith in my body at this point. Dr. Greene did say that often women get pregnant in the cycles immediately following an IVF cycle. This is because the eggs are exposed to a more favorable environment preceding final maturation and ovulation. I would certainly take a natural pregnancy at this point!

I know this post is thorough and I may have bored the crap out of you, but I wanted to document and remember as much from the appointment as possible. I'm a seeker of information and always try to understand as much of this process as I can. 

I've been peeing on OPK's for a few days now. Since I have so many and they are cheap, there is no concern with using more than 1 per day. This afternoon the line was darker than it has been and there has been an abundance of EWCM. I'm hoping I get a positive soon and I will keep you posted. 

Will it Make a Difference?

I got my newest batch of meds in the mail today. More Lovenox and the intralipids. My next appointment is Wednesday to check my lining and to administer the intralipids. I did Lovenox with my last cycle but it was for OHSS. I guess with the risk of OHSS being so high, the risk of blood clots was also high. It was preventative, but I stayed on it until I got the bad news. The intralipids are new to me. It was something that was recommended to me by my clinic and I figured it might help. Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom regarding intralipids?

I'm not sure how I feel about this cycle. I don't want to get my hopes up too high and then be disappointed. I've been there before. I also know that frozen transfers are less successful. 

I'm having a hard time remembering to take my second estrogen pill of the day. I finally asked Siri to remind me to take it so that I am a little more consistent. Let's hope it helps. 

The weather has been beautiful and unseasonably warm. I know 60 degrees may not sound too warm to you, but it sure as heck is around here. On Sunday we spent quite a few hours outside gardening. We have daffodils, irises, hyacinth, and some unknown bulbs (maybe Crocus) littered around the yard. We decided to dig them all up in order to put them in one place. 

Trip #1:Hyacinth and Daffodils

Trip #2: Irises and mystery bulbs

I also had purchased some tulips from the local drugstore when I went to pick up some prescription. They were super cheap ($1.50 for each box), and I figured I didn't have much to lose. We also planted these in the same area. 

All I know is that my legs and back are incredibly sore today from all of the digging and squatting. You should have seen me plop down on the floor for the first time today, it was pretty amusing.