Pre-baby photos

Amanda and I sat for some pre-baby pictures with Chanel at www.yourreflectionmystyle.com. She took our wedding photos and did a super job! We should have some images to share very shortly . . .

Baseline CA125 test?

My friend's wife had a recent bout with ovarian cancer. He thought that the fertility treatments his wife received throughout her late 30s and early 40s might have contributed to the cancer.

For those who have been reading this blog, as a result from the egg retrieval, Amanda had fairly severe hyperstimulation. She's also undergone laparoscopies for endometriosis and has taken the pill briefly as well as prescriptions for clomid and glucophage as part of her fertility treatments.

My friend's advice to me was that we should consider having a baseline CA125 test done to measure the protein levels in Amanda's blood. That way, if this is a concern in the future, we would have something to measure against.

We asked our doctor about it, but didn't get a clear answer. It might be best to table the question until after the baby's birth.

Staying alive! (dog park)

What would you do if you bought $27k worth of fence for a planned dog park whose plans were nixed?

Well, the local paper reports that the [redacted] has plans to expand the existing dog park at [redacted] Park. Not bad news . . .

They also said a plan for a second dog park is still in the works but it will be moved to the yet-to-be-built [redacted] Park, which will be located east of [redacted] Road and south of [redacted] Road.

Curdled Milk in Potato Soup

Our potato soup has little white specks in it, and after doing a little bit of searching online, it was because the milk has curdled.

According to Google, milk curdles when it is heated. Curdled milk is not bad milk. If it were bad, it would taste and smell sour. The process of curdling binds the proteins together to form clumps. The same process occurs when yogurt is made. In yogurt production, milk is heated in order for the proteins to bind.

To avoid this process and the associated lack of visual appeal, we have a couple of options:
(1) Don't add the milk until we're ready to eat the soup. If we do this, the milk has to be heated slowly before it is added to the soup. Cold milk added to hot soup will curdle the milk on contact. (2) Add a pinch of baking soda. This base neutralizes the lactic acid in the milk. It also negates the acidic effect that any salt required by the recipe would cause. One side effect is that it may change the taste of the soup. (Does baking soda taste?)
(3) Don't leave the soup unattended. Keep the temperature on low and stir the soup to avoid heat build-up.

Now the question is, how does a person reheat the soup without causing it to curdle? We'll soon find out . . .

Good deals on running gear

If you're a runner, when it comes to running shoes, you're either one of two types. You either buy the same shoe over and over again and hope and pray that the manufacturer doesn't discontinue your shoe or (2) you generally don't care, but try to get a good shoe at a decent price.


I fall into the latter category. Over the years, I've learned that I tend to get less injuries if I replace my shoes every 300 miles or so. How do you count that out? Well, about a year and a half ago I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305 from TigerDirect.com. It's done a good job of helping me log miles for my shoes and, as a fringe benefit, for my dog. She's run over 300 miles to date!

When I first started logging my runs, I tried using Garmin's GPS software. It really isn't that good. If you're looking for something better and free, I'd encourage you to try SportTracks software.

OK, back to running shoes. My feet tend to do better with Nike Structure Triax and New Balance 718/719/720 shoes. There might be other brands that work for me, but these 2 have done the trick so far. New Balance has a website they sell close-outs on, New Balance Web Express, and Altrec.com usually has pretty good prices on Nike Close-outs.

I've tried phoning some of the Nike Factory Stores with limited success. If they have the shoe you want in stock, they'll ship them to you. It turns out to be a pretty fair deal.

I had a bad bout with some Nike Air Max Triax about 5 years ago and ended up with plantar fasciitis. My left shoe would make this woosh sound because of what turned out to be a hole in the air pocket. (The shoes were purchased at the outlet store.) I didn't know they were defective until a hundred or so miles afterwards, and a month or so after I replaced the shoes the injury fully appeared.

That's a problem that I wouldn't wish on anyone . . .no fun. Basically, the ligaments that run underneath your foot become torn. Your body tries to heal itself, but because you're constantly on your feet, it never has a chance to catch up. At night, it will begin to heal, but starting with your first step out of bed in the morning, you re-tear those ligaments that have healed overnight. Ouch!

So the moral of the story is, "Kids, listen to your shoes -- and to your body!"

I felt the baby move!

I felt the baby move for the first time this weekend. That was an awesome feeling, especially b/c I normally don’t feel pregnant.

Ultrasound photos

Here's a slideshow of the ultrasound pictures we've had taken from week 8 to present:

Dog Days event cancelled

The local paper reported yesterday that the Health Dept threatened to take away the pool's license if they held the event. As much fun as the dogs have, it's probably not a bad idea.

Last year, the pool area was crowded by dogs and their owners by 9 am, and there was still a line waiting outside to get in at 11 am when we left. We took Pacey and our neighbor's dog Molly to the pool. Pacey was a little fraidy cat and wouldn't hardly step in the water. I guess she's more of an introvert. Molly, on the other hand, was her lab-like self and had the time of her life. She would fetch every disc we threw her way -- and a few we didn't!

A few days after last year's event, Molly had to go to the vet. It turns out that she had caught kennel cough. Her veterinarian said that the week after the event is her busiest week of the year. Because so many dogs are in close contact, they all share germs and end up getting sick.

It's unfortunate for the Humane Society that the fund raiser event had to be canceled, but it's probably better for the health of the dogs involved.

Yes, we are finally pregnant!

From Amanda:

We saw the heartbeat last Thursday. We are only at 7 weeks, but very hopeful. I never imagined the InVitro would work after so many other disapointments. The baby is due at the end of February.

Invitro fertilization (update 2)

Amanda met with our doctor today, the first time he's been in town since last Wednesday. Since Sunday, we've had quite a few stressful conversations with his nurses. His reputation is very good and he has a great bedside manner, but over the past few days he's really begun to take his "kid gloves" off. He and his nurses have had some frank discussions with Amanda and me. They're intent upon having her released from the hospital ASAP.

Our concern has been with knowing how to manage her water weight gain, pain, and the side effects associated with taking narcotic pain medication (nausea, among others). Before she was admitted to the hospital, she was stuck in a downward spiral where she couldn't keep food down and couldn't take the pain medication on an empty stomach without losing it.

Due to cost considerations and knowing that her condition will persist for potentially 4 more weeks, the doctor is moving towards releasing her, but with the understanding that she leave armed with tools that will help us avoid the problems that have brought us to this point. We're hoping they will find some pain medication that won't cause the nausea or the other aforementioned symptoms.

So thanks for your prayers, and stay tuned. Amanda might be home by Thursday or Friday.

Invitro fertilization (update 1)

Well, it looks like Amanda will be staying at the hospital for the next few days. They drained another 3 liters of fluid from her adbomen on Friday and formally admitted her to the hospital. Her "vital signs" (for lack of a better term) are beginning to look better, but they want to keep her under observation because of the continued pain she's experiencing.

I'll be staying here at the hospital with her through Monday morning, but will need to return to work tomorrow. If you're in the neighborhood, I'm sure she would love the company!

Please continue to pray for her.

Invitro fertilization

We had the IVF embryo transfer done on Monday, June 4th. Amanda's been feeling quite a bit of pain because of her condition. She was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries before the IVF. The medication she was on to help her ovulate on command has caused her to have hyper-stimulated ovaries.

Over the past 2 weeks, we've been to the hospital 45 minutes east of town 5 or 6 times for scheduled checks-ups and to have fluid drained from her abdomen. This procedure is called paracenthesis. The fluid has been a byproduct of her hyper-stimulated condition. This Monday, they drained 4 liters (approx 1 gallon) and another 2.5 liters on Wednesday. Her ovaries are supposed to be about 2 cubic cm but have been 7-8 cubic cm. You can imagine the pain she's been in!

The good news in all of this is that, the longer this condition persists, the more likely it is that we're pregnant. If we are, Amanda will continue to suffer through this until the end of the first trimester, when the placenta takes over the pregnancy from her ovaries. Her mom and sister have been up to visit and care for her, but starting next week, we're on our own for a while.

Everything looks good so far

It is amazing how doctors can manipulate our bodies to do what they want with medicine. The shots are going good. I start the second ones tomorrow. So far I have gained a couple of lbs of water weight (I hope that is all it is) and I have been really tired. But it is worth it in the end.

As of right now, it looks like the egg extraction will take place on Memorial Day and then the embryo transfer will take place a couple of days later. I should know by June 14th if everything worked. I am praying that God is control of my heart during the whole thing.

I love chili!

After visiting Chad's uncle in Salt Lake City and trying a bowl or two of his super secret chili recipe, I was inspired to try something different with my "off the box" chili recipe. Here are a couple of recipes I gathered from different places on the internet.

They all tend to have a few common ingredients, including beef, beans, onion, garlic and bacon. To spice them up, they use various ingredients such as cayenne pepper and habanero peppers. Try them out, or make your own using these recipes as a guide!

Arcadian Eight Bean Chili
Texas Style Beef Chili
Chili the Geezer Way

How to know your dog is in heat

I debated putting up this post. Pacey is spade now, and Bob Barker would be smiling from his easy chair. I really don't need to keep this information for my own future use -- unless we get another dog, or a friend is maybe going through the same thing we went through with Pacey. Maybe it's my inner pack rat -- I can't beat the urge to delete this file I created on my desktop named inheat.txt without saving the information for future generations.

For whatever reason, I'm going to fight my common sense and share with the world the knowledge I've collected on signs that my dog was in heat. I hope you all enjoy this revelation as much as I did! And finally, my desktop is one file cleaner.

Without further delay, here they are. The signs that your dog is in heat, and what step in the process she's in:

"Proestrus" (duration, 4-15 days)

• begins to lick her self a lot
• swelling of vulva
• increased restlessness
• frequent urination
• fatigue
• blood color will also change from dark red to salmon color
• will not accept male
• male dogs begin to hang around/notice female

"Estrus" (duration, 4-8 days)

• dog can get pregnant
• will accept male/willingness to stand for the male
• she will hold her tail off to the side called "flagging"
• she will often back her butt up to your leg as well
• sometimes spayed during this time
• shouldn't breed until 3rd heat
• fertile 12 days after the bleeding starts

From PetBitsForYou.com:

You can avoid blood spots in the house by putting little boy's jockey type underwear with a fly on her. Or purchase commercial pad holder, available at most larger Pet Stores. Initially place a Light Days pad into the shorts (or pad holder) and then put the pants on backwards, so that the tail comes out the fly. Most 30 lb. dog can use a size 6 or 6x jockey underwear. This method can also be used to avoid unwanted pregnancy, for obvious physical reasons. Disposable children’s pull-up diapers can also be used, but they are expensive, than commercial dog pad holders. Change the mini-pad regularly as needed through the day, and give the female dog time to clean herself periodically when she comes back into the house from doing her natural duties before you put the pants or pad holder back on her. Remember to remove the pants or diaper when you let her outside to relieve her self!

If the dog becomes pregnant the gestation time is 58-63 days.

"Diestrus" (duration, 6-10 weeks)

• dogs may moan/howl
• teats get bigger, may produce milk

"Anestrus" (duration, 15 weeks)

• no hormonal activity

Pacey's first birthday!

Pacey turned one on March 31. To celebrate the occasion, we invited all of her friends from the neighborhood over yesterday. First we went to a nearby park and ran around and played with the dogs. Pacey's neighbor Keslie down the street, a 5-year old Vizsla made it to the party, as did Molly, the chocolate lab that lives across the street and Wilson, her 3-month old mentee.

When we finished at the park, we invited the dog parents back for a barbeque and some cake. Thanks to Tom and Sue across the street for making the best homemade chocolate cake (with homemade frosting!) I've ever tasted!

What fun!

West of Boonsville

My brother-in-law Chad, his friend Chad and I just returned from a ski trip in Utah. What a great time! I've been skiing in Summit County (west of Denver) and to Whistler (north of Vancouver), but skiing in the Salt Lake area has to be my all-time favorite. We went to Alta and Solitude.

We flew back into St. Louis and, instead of heading back home, I drove west to Kansas City. I had a 3-day meeting in KC where I would have the opportunity to meet a group of State Farm Agent interns and their leadership. Over the past 5 years, I have been pursuing an opportunity to become a State Farm Agent. Meeting these people would definitely help me in the future as they have responsibility for hiring new agents in the St. Louis area as well.

For some, the process to become an agent can be as quick as six months. It hasn't been that easy for me. I'm in the final step now, interviewing for specific openings. Each step along the way, I've been asking myself if it's the right move. After so many setbacks, it's hard not to question . . .

Driving along on my way from St. Louis to Kansas City, the thought came to my mind, "What if I don't ever become a State Farm Agent?" That was a profound thought, considering how much adversity I had fought through to get to the point I'm at.

At that moment, I felt a great sigh of relief come over me. I thought about how I could be a great father to my yet-to-be-born children, how I'd have more time to give to my wife and how I'd be able to continue to enjoy hobbies that I enjoy today. Owning and running a business means that you're probably working 50-60 hours a week, and when you're not at work, you're thinking about work. There's a lot of sacrifice that goes into it.

While these thoughts were going through my head, I looked up and saw a cloud that was shaped like what I thought reminded me of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, I seem to have a difficult time knowing when God is speaking to me. Maybe it's because I keep myself so busy?!

As I was driving west into the sun down Interstate 70, the best I could do to capture what I saw was to snap a few pictures with my cell phone camera. What do you make of these images?

All I can say is that I felt like God was using this opportunity to reassure me that living a life without having the opportunity to become a State Farm Agent could be great. And so I continue my search to see what opportunities await where God will fully use the gifts he has given me . . .

Polycystic ovaries

After seeing our OBGYN for close to 3 years for infertility issues, we were referred to the Jarrett Fertility Group and started to learn about the cause of Amanda's condition.

In just a short conversation and a look at her charts, Dr. Jarrett explained to us that she had what he called thin-woman polycystic ovaries (PCOS). Essentially, she had some level of insulin resistance that was causing her body to produce too much male hormone relative to her body's production of female hormones. This was causing her ovaries to produce poor quality eggs that weren't released from the follicles and were turning into cysts. This really made sense. That's why she had to undergo 2 laporoscopies!

Once he shared this with us, I scoured the Internet to better understand her condition and symptoms she had been experiencing that we missed. One site talked about having difficulty losing weight (she trained for and ran a marathon but didn't lose a pound!), irregular menstruation cycles, sugar cravings, naps and headaches. I was almost giddy to know that there was finally an explanation!

Another site talked about how glucophage (or glumetza), a drug normally given to diabetics, could help to reverse this viscous cycle.

Our visit with Dr. Jarrett

Dr. Jarrett was great. Very compassionate and understanding. He pinpointed the problem after a quick ultrasound. He thinks the problem is my polycystic ovaries (pcos). I knew I had them, but my other doctor's explained they were more a symptom than the problem. He said that I produce too much of a male hormone and so I am unable to fully produce the eggs needed for a pregnancy.

He gave me 2 options:

1. Go straight into the InVitro process.
   
2. Take a medication that will help me produce less of the wrong hormone and more of the right one. The first option is the one that I wanted to go with right away...lets get this show on the road! But after he explained the repercussions of not fixing the polycystic ovary (pcos) problem, which could result in a long hospital stay and possibly destroy my ovaries, I had peace about option #2.

He said that after 3 months on the medication, we could do invitro. But we may not need to because there is still a chance of conceiving naturally. Hope!

There are two downsides of taking this medication. The first is that I cannot eat any carbohydrates for 3 months. This will be difficult, but well worth it in the end. I may lose weight, which will be short lived once I get pregnant. The second is that any athletic ability I had, which is very little, may diminish. I guess Dave will have to get used to having an even "slower" running partner.

Anyway, Dave and I truly felt the presence of God yesterday. Everything went really well and we had a true joy in us. We know that the enemy who wants to destroy any hope we had was defeated thanks to your powerful prayers. Thanks also for your continued prayers, I truly covet them and need them. Our first born will know that her/his parents have a great group of friends and family that lifted them up in a very trying time and that she/he is a product of those prayers.

I'm a runner

Just so we're clear on this, I'm the guy you've driven past, merrily running around town when it's like 20 below zero out. I don't know why God wired me that way, but I'm a runner through and through.

I'll grant you this: it does get hard to motivate myself to run when it's bone chilling cold outside. I almost always find a way to get myself out to do it.

The times I most dread going for a run are (1) approx. 2 days after it snows and (2) right after a hard rain. Here's why. With the snow, I normally run on the Constitution Trail (or here or here), and it's way too easy to get sprained ankles from running on hard, crusty, icy and uneven ground.

After a hard rain, I just don't like to run on all of the worms that have crawled onto the pavement to avoid drowning. Yep, it's true.