I’M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE HUBBY AND I ARE EXPECTING A BABYCAKES THIS WINTER!
EXPECTING A BABY!
Three generations now become four. Just like my family recipes, the legacy of raising daughters is being passed down too! I’m so grateful for the strong women that surround me and will surround my baby girl coming soon!
THANK GOD FOR THIS PREGNANCY
BEING READY TO BE A PARENT
For the longest time, part of the problem was me. I will be real. Mentally, I just didn’t feel ready. I kept feeling like there was more I needed to do. I needed to be more stable as an entrepreneur. I needed to feel more accomplished. I knew that when I stopped to have a baby, I didn’t want to regret a thing. 
When I turned 35 last year, something magical happened. I’m not sure if it was a hormonal change or the clock finally started ticking but I wanted a baby. The craving was real, and I couldn’t deny it.
FERTILITY ISSUES
We tried and tried month after month. I bought the ovulation kits and all that jazz but I started to feel nervous because I have a history with endometriosis, which started when I was a teenager. I had the most severe cramps and menstrual cycles that sometimes required me to be hospitalized. After a laparoscopy surgery in my mid-20s to remove ovarian cysts and continuous birth control pills since that time, I wondered if my eggs were any good. In fact, I had a doctor test them when I turned 32. The results at the time stated that my egg quantity and quality were that of a woman in her 40s. Talk about a downer. But I refused to believe that. I knew I was going to be a mom one day.
FERTILITY DOCTOR: LET THE TESTING BEGIN
When we didn’t get pregnant by the end of last year, I started looking up fertility doctors since being pregnant was a major goal for me in early 2017. That’s how I work. I figure out what I want and then I go get it, even my BabyCakes. We found a clinic in downtown Chicago with a doctor that had amazing credentials. My doctor, Dr. Cohen, sat with Frederick and I for a consultation back in January and explained the pros and cons of everything. I felt so comfortable as soon as I met him and knew we were in good hands. The first thing we would do is start a ton of testing, and I mean a ton. He was initially alarmed by the test scores I presented him from the previous doctor so testing started with me three days after I received my cycle.
FERTILITY TEST RESULTS
Welp turns out doctors and tests can be wrong y’all. God is the only one that has the answer. It turned out that I had a plethora of eggs in there. They did a few tests such as an amh which for my age group they wanted to be over a 1.00. Mine turned out to be over a 3.16. Then they did an ultrasound to count the number of resting follicles I had. The resting follicles helped them determine how many eggs they could possibly stimulate during IUI or IVF. Well I had a bunch of eggs on each of my ovaries. Seriously they counted something like 30 total. It was such a magical moment to experience knowing that the previous assessment was all the way wrong.
MALE FERTILITY ISSUES
Next it was time for Frederick to test and that was where we ran into a few issues. As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, my husband had a kidney transplant several years ago that didn’t help with his testing if ya know what I mean. His daily medications had a cumulative effect which made the doctor say we need to skip IUI altogether and go straight to IVF.
IVF requires a great deal of patience, testing, blood draws, hormone shots and emotions over the course of several months. It’s definitely no joke so I plan to share the nitty gritty of it all in the next post! Stay tuned!
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WOW!!! Congratulations – What An Amazing Story To Share.
Thank you so much Marie!
Afternoon…i would like to extend a big heartfelt congratulations to you and family on the upcoming arrival of your baby girl!!!! Your journey touched my heart in many ways,7yrs ago I was pregnant with my first baby but at 23 weeks water broke,had to deliver a stillborn. It was an awful experience that made me shut out having children all together. After seeing your post I think I am going to go the ivf route or adoption. Whichever comes my way,thank you for sharing your story! Many blessings for the baby cakes soon to come!!
Awww Tanisha I can’t imagine the pain that you suffered after losing your baby. I hope I can help by sharing my story and hope you don’t give up faith and hope in your dream. Please keep me posted on what you decide to do. Sending love your way.
I am so happy to see you discuss your journey, because it’s so inspiring! As a woman who has experienced pregnancy loss, I am interested in what you did, read, listened to to keep you encouraged while trying and waiting
Absolutely Veronica! I am so so happy to share my story as I hope it helps anyone that may have had anything similar. Praying for you.
Congratulations and hugs you you and Frederick and your whole family! What a joy and a gift.
Thank you so so so much! I appreciate your love and joy for us.
Congratulations!!! I stumbled upon you from Facebook. Haven’t checked out the blog yet. But I love getting your emails. God will always give you the desires of your heart as long as they line up with His will. And your desire to have a child that He knows will be raised in the love and fear of the Lord is a great thing!!
Congratulations again!! I’m so happy for you and can’t wait to see your little blessing in your arms.
Thank you so so much Renee! These kind and blessed words have truly moved me. I’m so grateful for this comment.
Congratulations! I am such a big fan of yours! I pray for your continued blessings! I have been following your awesome journey for the past year and I love all of the recipes, and shared experiences! I can’t wait to read more. May God continue to Bless you and the entire family.
Thank you so so much Jenness! It means so much to me! Thank you for your blessing.
CONGRATULATIONS!! May God richly bless you, your hubby and “Babycakes”. 🙂
Thank you so so much for the blessing Lisa!
Congratulations! becoming a mother is the greatest reward and most important job you’ll ever have. Enjoy the journey!
Thank you so much Marsha! I’m am feeling so grateful that I have this blessing in my life.
Congratulations Jocelyn, you will find it all worthwhile 😉 I’m so excited for you!
Thank you so so much Lane!!!! I appreciate it so much!
Congratulations!! So happy for you ♥
Thank you so so much!