ie Mom's

A friend invited me to her church for a bible study in New Braunfels a couple months ago and while I was extremely hesitant to go, I'm glad I did. (If anyone knows me, they know that I have a VERY very difficult time walking into new situations or meeting new people and honestly, I don't do a good job of hiding that fact. I tend to be stand off-ish and quiet, probably making myself look stuck up and rude. I am so sorry if I've ever come across that way to anyone. I've been working on it...I wish I knew why I was like that.) Anyway, The study was on the Psalms of Accent done by Beth Moore. We finished the 7 week study last Monday and a couple of us decided we would transfer over to another bible study called ie Mom's. Being my typical Angie self, I was nervous about meeting new mothers and coming in to the group 7 weeks late. I was put at a table with six other women who were a wide spread of ages-though, I was definitely the youngest. Of course, today they decide to have a raffle type drawing for mentors and since I was "young" I got a ticket. The first numbers were called out and the winner got a coffee date with an older women to "swap stories". I was seriously praying (yes, PRAYING to GOD) that my numbers wouldn't be called. While I liked the idea of being mentored, I want to do it on my own terms and when I am ready. Thank goodness I wasn't chosen! What I didn't realize was that there were TWO mentors being auctioned off. The lady reading the numbers said it would be "L" who was the mentor and the women were all excited and oohing and ahhing. (I had no idea who it was nor did I really care.) The second set of numbers were called out and no one came forward. They redrew the numbers and while I was looking down and trying not to pay attention, 990 was called. Guess who had that lucky ticket? YEAH, ME. OF COURSE, the lady reading the numbers said, "Oh that is Angie! She's new!" right up in front of everyone and all eyes were on me. I wanted to curl up in a ball under the table or pass out, one or the other. Come to find out, "L" is the one leading the bible study. How lovely. I DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS. After the study was over, I ducked out pretty quickly, though I do want to mention that I did look around for "L" to exchange phone numbers but I didn't see her though I didn't really try that hard. *SIGH* "L" called me today to set up a time to talk. I didn't want to sound like the horrible rotten person that I am so I agreed to meet with her next week. I now have to find a babysitter for a lunch date that I am dreading. While in the end, I'm sure it will be fine (albeit awkward), I think I'd rather pass a kidney stone then go through with it. Ok, wait, no, not a kidney stone but maybe a severe beating.

Here we go again...

I've decided that I'm going to blog in a lot of detail about our next TTC (for those who have forgotten-TTC=trying to conceive) journey of frozen embryo transfers (FET). My goal is to educate you on what I'm going through and what your friend may be going through. It is slightly different for a military dependant but I still think you all can get something out of this.


I started the referral process today to find a local reproductive endocrinologist (RE). Now, because we live in the Air Force mecca of medical care, I get to deal with a potential challenge called Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC). In the past, Wilford Hall actually had infertility treatments available for close to nothing out of pocket. The catch is that you had to be referred by your primary care doc and then you were put on a waiting list, which according to someone I know who went there to do IVF, was a year's wait. That year long wait to do IVF is after infertility testing and three cycles of mandatory IUI's before proceeding. Then if everything goes according to plan, you can begin the IVF process during one of three offered times during the year. Because (right now) I don't need to do IVF (and frankly I never want to again) only FET's, I'm not sure what happens. From what I've heard, they don't deal with frozen embryos. Perhaps it's a storage issue. My primary doc put in the referral to them and I'm currently waiting to hear if I've been accepted into the program. For the record, I don't want to be and I shouldn't be! I was told that I should be able to get all meds for my FET for free by using the BAMC pharmacy. I will sing the praises of Tricare on that one. While all of my follicle stimulating meds were paid out of pocket, (uh, try $50/vial and 30-35 vials a cycle) all the other meds for IVF were covered under Tricare (and trust me, there were TONS of other meds). The thing with FET's is that my ovaries don't have to be stimulated...though they do have to be controlled. All of those meds are covered under Tricare. I am MORE than happy to go civilian on this and pay my co-pays. An IVF cycle in AZ ran about $6000/cycle plus meds. A FET is about $2000/cycle plus meds.


BAMC's CDC stats are great for fresh IVF, the highest I've ever seen actually. There are no stats for frozen transfers though, which is what I thought. The clinic that I want to go to has a 50% live birth rate for frozen transfers. Just so you know, that's amazing.


I still have some very, very mixed emotions about how many frozen embryos we still have. But, I am so so thankful that I don't have to do IVF again (right now) and that we have potentially 6 "tries" with the remaining babies. Our first step of this journey is underway and oddly enough, I'm excited.

Car Seat Safety...a No Brainer!

(I know the chest clip is not high enough in this picture!)

I don't know...maybe I'm opinionated. I really didn't think I was all that judgemental about mommy things. All I'm blogging about is what we are doing with Skittle, not trying to push any agenda or lifestyle on anyone. Cloth vs. disposable diapers? Do what works and what is easiest! Formula feed? Breast feed? Do what you feel is right for YOU and your kid...who cares? Yeah, I know breast feeding is best but shoot sometimes you just can't do it. (I'm a PRIME example!) Vaccinate your kids-or don't, it's UP TO YOU. Making all your baby food from scratch? Good on you! All I ask is that you do your own research and make your decisions based on that. BUT, one thing that I do care about is a rear facing carseat! It is the safest way for a kid to ride! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends your child be at least two years old now to ride forward facing. Yes, I know that the LAW is still one year old AND at least 20 lbs but my skittle has not hit the 20 lb requirement and even if she did, I've seen too much research (all you have to do is Google rear-facing carseats...you'll see what I mean!) that says rear facing is by far the safest place for my child. Why wouldn't you want your kid to be safe??!?!? I'd rather have my child break her legs (rear-facing) then her neck (forward-facing) in a severe crash. Obviously, the reason I'm writing this is because someone challenged that idea and it irritated me enough to write a short blog on my feelings.

Some of my research:
-Rear-facing car seats spread frontal crash forces over the whole area of a child's back, head and neck; they also prevent the head from snapping relative to the body in a frontal crash.

-Rear-facing is safest for both adults and children, but especially for babies, who would face a greater risk of spinal cord injury in a front-facing carseat during a frontal crash.

-Rear-facing carseats may not be quite as effective in a rear end crash, but severe frontal and frontal offset crashes are far more frequent and far more severe than severe rear end crashes.


Rear-facing carseats are NOT a safety risk just because a child's legs are bent at the knees or because they can touch/kick the vehicle seat.

Rear-facing as long as possible is the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatricians, and can reduce injuries and deaths. Motor vehicle crashes are the #1overall cause of death for children 14 and under.

There are a ton of videos out there showing a crash impact difference of a child who is rear facing vs one who is forward facing. That evidence alone made up my mind. She won't know the difference between the two until I turn her around! Do your research before you start spouting "we turned her forward because she just didn't look comfortable" or "my doctor said it was OK." Why would your doc say it was OK now that the recommendations have changed? Mine specifically said not to turn her until she was two years old! Humm...gets my blood boiling!