Full Disclosure Baby Names

I have another appointment tomorrow morning and tomorrow evening I start taking my birth control in prep for our IVF!  Sheesh!  I keep telling people that we've got a good nearly 8 weeks before we start, but I am WAY off in that!  Our official "start date" is August 9th.  That's the date I start taking my ovarian stimulation shots.  That's 5 weeks from tomorrow!!  So we really are right at the starting gate folks.  In light of how crazy fast this is happening, I thought I would take a minute to put a post out there that's a little lighter and really makes me smile...

So call me crazy, but I LOVE telling people the baby names we've picked out.  I know this opens us up for a lot of criticism or cynicism or whatever, but I LOVE the names we have picked out and why they're special.  We've talked about baby names for years and have only been able to come up with one boy name that we both agree on.  But we've got 3 solid girls names.    Wonder if that's a sign??

So I'm sharing here because...well why not?  You know you wanna know anyway... ;)  But don't be "that person" that steals one of them.  I mean, I guess you could...but I'll still name mine the same thing...then we can be twinkie pies!  Or something... :)  Boo...  Likewise if you hate them...just smile and nod...

Boy Name - Greysen Neil -- Jonathan actually picked out Greysen and the spelling is his idea too.  It's original but not too out there.  And we both love the name Grey, but Grey Womack doesn't have a nice ring to it.  So Greysen Neil Womack it is!  Neil is Jonathan's middle name and it was his great grandfather's middle name too.

Girl Name #1 - Maggie Soutine - Maggie because it has always been my favorite girl's name.  And to top it off, my wedding dress was designed by Maggie Sottero.  So that made the name even more special.  Soutine (pronounced like soo-teen) is the name of the roses that were ALL over our wedding.  Here's what they look like:

Hot pink and white variegated.  Gorgeous right??  And I just love the name.  Kind of has a little "French" ring to it...

Girl Name #2 - Avie Etta - This one is also pretty darn special.  When my grandparents moved to Clanton Alabama, they started going to a church down there where they met and became friends with a couple named Miss Avie and Mr. Jack.  Avie was such a precious little old lady.  Always happy and joyful and seriously cute as a button.  I had never heard the name before, but when I was in high school and early college I filed it away in my "that would be a cute name for a baby girl" archive.  Etta is my grandmother's middle name and it was her mother's first name.  

Girl Name #3 - Lillie Mae - Lillie Mae is Jonathan's paternal grandmother's name.  Right down to the unique spelling.  Lillie has always kind of been our radar because we liked the name, but when it dawned on us that Maggie and Avie both end in "ie" and we remembered his grandmother spelled her Lillie with that "ie", it was a done deal.  And we already know it flows nicely with Womack!  My maternal great grandmother's first name was Lillian too, so the name kind of honors both Jonathan's side of the family and my side of the family.

So there you have it.  We do have a name or two that we *like* kind of hanging out in limbo.   I've always heard, and I've also seen this to be true most of the time, that if you have a hard time coming up with a boy name, you're probably in store for a girl and vice versa.  So with this list, Jonathan might be doomed to a house overflowing with estrogen!  Who knows!!

We have been trying to nail down a second boy name on the off chance that we end up with twin boys, but nothing has really stuck.  We're open to suggestions, so bring em' on!

IVF Hype Soundtrack

So I've heard these called "Infertility Soundtracks" and/or "IVF Soundtracks", but I'm going to deem this one my "IVF Hype Soundtrack" per the encouraging words of my friend and fellow IVF-er Wiselady.  I listen to this soundtrack when I'm pinning baby stuff, when I'm getting anxious about this summer's events, when I'm thinking about our beautiful baby Womacks, etc.  Listening to these songs gets me literally HYPED for what's to come.  Enjoy and add a few of them to your list too!

1) The Zombies-This Will Be Our Year - This one is sometimes on repeat for me.  It's like an anthem for me and Jonathan.  I can't wait to blast this bad boy once we take that positive pregnancy test!!

2) Christina Perri-A Thousand Years - I like to listen to this one and think of our babies.  "Heart beats fast" makes me think of that little heartbeat on our sonogram.  "I have loved you for a thousand years...I'll love you for a thousand more..."...haven't I??

3) Dave Matthews Band-You and Me - I have a funny feeling you might be hearing this one again in a special way in the near future! ;)  For now, I just LOVE the lyrics.  "You and me together...we can do anything...".  Me and Jonathan?  Yep...

4) Michael Buble-I Just Haven't Met You Yet - "And I promise you kid that I'll give so much more than I get...I just haven't met you yet!".  So true.  Hopefully God is preparing those future Womack babies to get some serious love when they get here.  "Baby your love is gonna change me!"

5) Gungor-Beautiful Things - A reminder that God still makes beautiful things with our epic messes.  And I have full faith that He will make some beautiful things (ie-babies) from me and Jonathan!

6) Christy Nockels-Waiting Here For You - "You are everything you've promised.  Your faithfulness is true.  We're desperate for Your presence..."  Need I say more?  I sang this song our last Sunday at UBC.  That particular line rang so true in my ears and was so heartfelt out of my mouth.  At that point He had answered our prayers for an acceptance to medical school.  And we were waiting for Him to keep keeping His promises.  And so we wait for Him now with just as great expectations for answered prayer...

7) Kari Jobe-You Are For Me - "I know that you are for me.  I know that you will never forsake me in my weaknesses...".  Oh this one.   My anthem!  There have been times that I have sung this over and over just trying to make myself believe it.  Now I sing it with newfound hope and confidence that I truly do know that He is FOR ME!

8) Jack Johnson-Better Together - This one makes me smile.  Listen to it...I'd put money on it putting a smile on your face too!  I love the words to this one...cuz it's ALWAYS better when me and Jonathan are together.  So looking forward to 12 weeks of Jonathan starting June 16th...

9) Mandy Mapes-Love Story - "Such incredible chances make for marvelous love..."
"This love is a reflection of more than just me and you..." I could really quote this whole stinkin' song.  But what a beautiful story of love ours has been.  And how much more beautiful is it about to become??

10) Mandisa-Overcomer - One of my best friends Angela told me once that this song made her think of me, my sister in law, and my mother in law.  Consequently it's one that I run to when I need a little inspiration to brush myself off and put myself back in the ring...

11) Bob Marley-Three Little Birds - This one is so uplifting.  "Don't worry about a thing because every little thing is gonna be alright...".  How could you feel down after listening to this one??

12) Christy Nockels-Already All I Need - "Asking where you are Lord, wondering where you've been, is like standing in a hurricane trying to find the wind..."  A good reminder that God is already everything I need, but that He is good and has a purpose for everything that He does...

13) The Lumineers-Ho Hey - "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart!"  This is a heart happy kind of song that makes me excited about my babies.  This is one I will sing to them!

14) Ellie Gould-Anything Could Happen - A good upbeat song that makes me want to dance.  Anything *could* happen right??

15) Jack Johnson-Banana Pancakes - This is another one of those that you can't possibly be anxious or sad after listening to.  It also makes me think of me and Jonathan and our lazy Saturday mornings sometimes.  Gives me warm fuzzies...

16) Mumford and Sons-I Will Wait - No soundtrack of mine is complete without a little Mumford action.  We're waiting!

17) Beach Boys-Wouldn't It Be Nice - Love this one from the Beach Boys.  It's a happy heart song too...

*addition* 18) Rod Stewart-Maggie May - Welp, y'all.  I added this one because it's one that will be sung to one little special Womack baby one day.  A silly little song I can imagine singing to my own little Maggie Womack in her pretty little girl bedroom someday...

*additon* 19) Hillsong-Oceans - A PERFECT suggestion from a sweet friend who played this on loop during her pregnancy and delivery of her precious baby.  So beautiful, calming, and reassuring...



So there you have it.  I will probably add to this list as we go along.  Do you have any good suggestions??  I am planning to put these on an iPod shuffle with a headphone splitter for me and Jonathan to listen to when we are in the many times of waiting throughout this IVF process.  Would love your input too!

Prepping My Egg Factory

Ok y'all...so I've never really been one for "holistic remedies" and what not.  I'm definitely not what you would consider a "health nut".  I do take care of my body though.  I exercise, I eat right, I get plenty of rest.  All that good stuff.  But in the months leading up to our IVF treatment, Jonathan and I have decided to do a few things to help "prime" my eggs and his sperm for the best results possible.  It's what we can do right now and not a whole let else other than wait and pray.  So March 16th is the 3 month mark.  That's exactly 3 months from our first appointment at OU.  On some of the forms it asks questions like "Do you drink?", "Do you smoke?", etc. and one of the answer options is "Not in the last 3 months".  Now we are NOT big drinkers and we definitely DON'T smoke, but since it seems like 3 months is kind of the "magic number" when it comes to the health of your body (maybe more specifically your reproductive system..."3 months" is usually the advised amount of time to wait after miscarriage to start trying again or after stopping birth control, etc.) we are going to start doing a few things starting March 16th to get ready for our "great adventure"...

Stop All Alcohol
Cold turkey...even red wine is out. 

Water Consumption
We will both be consuming the real recommended amount of water daily.  They sell these huge bottles of water here in Dominica that are 1.5 liters.  The plan is for both of us to down one and half of those every day.

Diet
I've read a lot about "fertility friendly foods" over the years.  I think there's *some* truth to a lot of it.  For instance, it certainly can't *hurt* to add more folic acid to your daily intake.  Also a boost in B12, C, D, and Protein can't hurt either.  But the other piece of that puzzle is the sugar intake/glycemic index.  I personally have put myself on the Sugar Busters diet before and saw amazing weight loss results.  I'm not really looking for weight loss per se (though that would be an awesome fringe benefit), but carbs and sugars interfere with hormone production and balance in everyone.  And if you've read my post about how my body responds to hormones you know that my body doesn't do all that well with imbalances.  I have a low tolerance for hormonal chaos you might say...  So our diet will be a low carb/no carb diet.  We'll be looking to add more whole grains and dark green veggies to the mix too.  We are lucky that living here in Dominica makes it pretty easy to go low carb since fruits and veggies are like the most abundant type of food here.  

Multi Vitamin Regime
I have taken prenatal vitamins for years.  1) So that I wouldn't miss a single second of giving my baby what he/she needed if I miraculously conceived, and 2) Because the vitamins in those supplements help your body to develop good healthy eggs.  I recently quit taking them for 2 reasons 1) Because they make me feel queasy, and 2) Because I saw this coming and wanted to conserve what I had left to start this "3 month push" since they're not that easy to come by here in Dominica (at least not with a reasonable price tag)  So I've got enough prenatal vitamins to last me from March 16th until we get back to the states on May 28th.  I'll begin taking those daily again.  Jonathan will be taking a men's health multi vitamin daily (which he already takes but not "religiously") and a Ginseng supplement.  

Relaxation and Stress Relief
This kind of makes me laugh a little since the next 90 days are going to be kind of ridiculous in this vein.  Jonathan will be taking his final exam for Semester 4, his comprehensive final covering all the material for the last 4 semesters, and his USMLE Step 1 exam (only the most important test he will take in his life...).  I will be selling, donating, and shipping home all of our household items, finishing up a school year with my kindergarteners, and getting us both ready to move back to the USA.  Whew!  So yeah... we are going to have to be pretty purposeful in trying our best to reduce the stress and anxiety that is inevitable in this situation.  I have a sweet friend who just got her certification in Thai Yoga Massage.  I will be going for a few sessions with her starting March 18th through about May 20th.  REALLY looking forward to that.  Jonathan will be going for some sessions with our other friend who is a masseuse for just some relaxation massage leading up to his tests.  Once we get back to the states, I'm hoping to jump on board at a Massage Envy or something of the like.  Not only will stress relief and relaxation be important leading up to our first appointment, but I will need some serious relief from it as we start this process.  I will hopefully be able to continue getting some treatments throughout the process of our IVF too...

Acupuncture
So this is one of those holistic things that I think "Meh...could be a farce could be real...who knows?".  But a friend of mine who has been going through IVF and fertility treatments has recommended it to me for stress and anxiety relief through the process.  I won't be starting this until we get back to the states, but I figure it certainly can't hurt...

Running
I haven't done much running in Dominica.  I don't enjoy it here.  The hills and the heat make a run more like work and I hate it.  And I don't do treadmills.  I take a hike up and down our mini mountain 2-3 times a day which definitely gets my heart rate up.  That's been enough to keep my weight maintained.  But I'm chomping at the bit to get back to the states and start getting back into a routine of running.  Running helps my level of stress and it certainly doesn't hurt that it boosts the health of my body too!  My friend Rachel and I are planning to help each other get into a routine and hopefully we can squeeze a race or 2 in before my ovaries are too huge from stimming that I start walking funny...

So there ya have it.  We are trying to be very purposeful in this.  If you're wondering why we haven't been doing all these things before since we've been trying to conceive, I'll tell you it's because it's literally HARD work.  And maybe yeah, we should have been doing this all along.  We've been doing parts of this regime on and off throughout this process of TTC (trying to conceive) and I'm sure the benefits to my eggs and his sperm have been the same.  Unfortunately there are unseen roadblocks to conception for us that seemingly require more intervention.  We are just trying to be very purposeful in prepping for this process since we actually CAN be.  Not to mention, if this round of IVF *isn't* successful (...thinking positive, thinking positive...) we don't want it to be because we didn't do everything in our power to make it successful.

I'm excited about hitting this "3 month mark".  It's beginning to feel more and more real as we get closer and closer to June 16th.  I am anxious and excited to get started.  There are days that I'm scared to death, yes, but most days I am just SO ready.  I finally feel, for the first time in a long time, like we are actually able to DO something.  We are both so ready to start moving forward!  A sweet friend of mine here in Dominica is helping Jonathan and I work on a pretty sweet project in conjunction with this "Great Adventure" we are about to embark on (not just IVF but the moving back to the states and wrapping up of med school, etc.)  I can't wait to be able to share that with you guys too!

How Many Eggs in Your Basket?

So one of the biggest questions Jonathan and I have had to discuss and make a decision about involves how many embryos to transfer into my uterus after they are fertilized.  Any good RE (reproductive endocrinologist or fertility specialist) won't transfer more than 2 at a time unless you are well past 35 and have many more contributing factors to your infertility.  Even then, I'm not sure I would trust a clinic that was willing to transfer more than maybe 3 embryos at a time.  THAT, my friends, is how you get an "Octomom" situation.  In the womb, any egg has the potential to split into two babies.  So if you're transferring 4-5 eggs, you have the potential to get as many as 10 babies out of that deal.  While it's unlikely that all 5 of them would split into 2 babies, you can never be certain (hello Jon and Kate +8...).  Any multiple pregnancy comes with risks.  The vast majority of twin births don't make it to a full 40 weeks.  And with 3 or more babies, you'd be lucky to make it to 30 weeks.  Now we are talking more risk factors for the babies AND the mommy.  Not to mention the costly price of a stay at the NICU...multiplied by 3 or more!

The doctors who will be handling our IVF will not transfer more than 2 eggs at a time no matter what.  So 1 embryo or 2, Rachel?  Well, after spending lots of time poring over this question, we have decided to go with 2.  For several reasons.  Not the least of which is the fact that this is our one and only shot for a long time.  If it doesn't take, it will be 2-4 years before we are able to try again.  We are in med school, after all, and starting September 15th most of our funds will be going toward traveling to Jonathan's clinical rotation locations and saving for the very costly process of applying to residencies.  And don't forget there are quite a few costs involved with traveling to and from those interviews!  

So we are putting all of our eggs (all 2 of them) into one basket and praying for a miracle here.  I'm actually giving my little eggs a pep talk right now...