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Baby

Hi there! My name is Gabby and my husband Donny and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary later this month!

About 14 years ago, after having an “irregular” cycle my whole life, I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure…which basically means that for unknown reasons, I went through menopause early. After looking at my blood work, I believe my doctor’s exact words were, “you’re absolutely never getting pregnant.” As a 17 year old, it was heavy information to process. But looking back now, I’m thankful that I had so much time to come to terms with my infertility. The finality of it was a “death” of sorts, that I could grieve and process, and then heal from. When I was dating my future husband, we were able to talk about what this would mean for our family and processed the realization we wouldn’t be bringing biological children into the world together. We agreed that we wanted children, and knew that adoption would be in our future. 

A few years into marriage we got “the baby bug” and started researching adoption more seriously. There’s so much information out there! International, domestic, domestic private, foster-to-adopt and more! We were overwhelmed by the many pros and cons of each method…as well as the staggering costs associated with many routes. We eventually discovered the organization, Nightlight Christian Adoptions…and their extension, “Snowflake Embryo Adoptions.” 

When someone goes through in vitro fertilization (IVF) to grow their family, it often (hopefully) results in several viable embryos. Usually a doctor will transfer a fresh embryo or two to a woman’s uterus, and freeze the rest for potential future use. After a few years, when someone is done growing their family, they sometimes have frozen embryos remaining that they don’t intend to transfer. (this is often for a variety of reasons – dangerous pregnancies, several successful pregnancies so adding more children isn’t practical, cost, etc.). What to do with these frozen embryos is a huge dilemma many families face. Snowflakes matches families who have remaining embryos that would like to place them for adoption with families hoping to adopt. 

Because my infertility stems from my ovaries, my uterus could (theoretically) still carry a pregnancy. The idea is similar to surrogacy where a woman carries a baby for someone else…but in this case, I’d be carrying my adopted-non-biological child! Embryo adoption was appealing to me and my husband for a variety of reasons… the costs associated are typically much lower than domestic or international adoption, there are hundreds, if not, thousands, of frozen embryos currently awaiting adoption, and being able to experience pregnancy and childbirth was a joy I’d never even imagined I could have!

We embarked on our Snowflakes Embryo Adoption journey in 2014. It started with many applications, forms, background checks, and meetings – all the usual steps required in a traditional adoption.  Early in 2015 we received our first match! We adopted 8 embryos and started prepping my body for our first embryo transfer! It involved pills, shots, and many, MANY doctors visits. Then in April, in an overnight shipping container, our precious embryos made the journey from Florida to our clinic in Pasadena. Our doctor thawed 3 embryos and 2 were viable for transfer. It was heartbreaking to hear we’d already lost one precious life, but we were hopeful we’d get the news we were pregnant with twins! 

It takes about 2 weeks after a frozen embryo transfer to get a successful positive pregnancy test – so we did our best to wait patiently. The day I got the call from my doctor’s office that I was not pregnant, was one of the hardest moments of my life. I felt like my body had failed and that I’d let these children and my husband down. Statistically…only 1 in 3 transfers are successful, so we knew there was a good chance it wouldn’t work on our first try,  but it was still a deep loss we had to grieve.

We let my body heal for a few months, and tried again with our 4 remaining embryos. Once again, one of them did not survive thawing, and my doctor felt it was wise to transfer the remaining 3. “Triplets!” We imagined to ourselves, “What an adventure!”

Two weeks later, once again, the nurse’s sad voice over the phone, and again we had to process a huge loss.  We had started the process so hopeful! “8 healthy embryos! What luck!” we thought. The idea that we had ushered 8 souls into heaven was both beautiful and heart wrenching. It was time to step back and evaluate everything.

I couldn’t imagine putting my body through the meds, the lead up, the transfer and the loss AGAIN . . so we needed time to regroup.

We would also have to match with a new family and start that entire process again. But we decided, the “odds were in our favor” if 1 in 3 is truly successful, so we felt comfortable giving it one more final go. Snowflakes came back with a unique matching offer – 2 separate families that each had 1 embryo to transfer. They asked if we would be interested in taking both. So once again, embryos were shipped to our home clinic, one from D.C. and one from Chicago. 

We imagined the great stories of a twin pregnancy where the twins weren’t biologically related to us, nor each other… and this time when the phone rang, the nurse’s voice was joyful – we were pregnant! Words I’d never heard before! We still had a long journey ahead, since it was very early in a high risk pregnancy, but at that moment, I was pregnant!

At our first ultrasound there was one steady heartbeat – it was bittersweet. A healthy growing baby, and one more loss. All in total…we’d adopted 10 embryos and 1 made it to pregnancy. But what immense joy in the 1! By the end of my first trimester, my body had fully “kicked in” and took over the pregnancy. No more meds! No more trips to the fertility clinic! The day of my last visit to my clinic they sent me off with a baby blanket and a graduation certificate. I’d officially been transferred to a regular OBGYN for a regular pregnancy! It was wonderful and surreal! Since Embryo Adoption is not a technical “adoption” in the legal sense of the word, the embryos were our personal possessions up until transfer, which means there was no finalizing the adoption, and it would be my husband’s and my name on the birth certificate.

I was just a regular (albeit hugely swollen) pregnant woman! And at my 37 week doctor visit, my blood pressure had skyrocketed, so my doctor swiftly scheduled a c-section for later that week. 

On December 22, 2017 at 37.5 weeks pregnant, my son Deacon was born at a whopping 9 pounds, 12 ounces! 

So far we’ve had very little contact with his biological family. We know they live in Washington D.C. and he has a big sister from the same batch of embryos he came from. I know that deciding to place their final remaining embryo with our family was a gut wrenching decision for his biological parents, and I don’t take their gift lightly. We often talk to Deacon about his wonderful family in D.C. who loved him so much they let me be his mama! As he gets older, we want him to understand his history, and allow him as much or as little relationship with them as he wants.

Today, it’s hard to remember life without Deacon! His head of crazy blonde curls, his precocious personality and his love of all things green have brought Donny and me more joy than I could have ever imagined! We grieved those early losses so deeply, but know that it was preparing us to parent this incredible child, and I wouldn’t change things for the world! 

  1. satin lined lovie 2. organic moses basket 3. organic sleeping pad and crib sheet 4. classic crib 5. car seat 6. onesies 7. organic cotton pajamas 8. llamà 9. little jumper (Levi loves this!)

There’s nothing more daunting than registering for a baby registry. It can be beyond overwhelming walking into a baby store with 10-20 options for everything from blankies to binkies. I’m stressed just thinking about it. Enter Walmart.com with their awesome baby registry and Next Day Shipping options on most item marked. (5 orders in, I’m a believer!) Have you checked it out? I included some of my favorites below that I’ve used and loved for Levi. Walmart makes it easy. Because when you’re planning for a baby, you need all the help you can get.

Happy weekend!

Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this post!

3 Reasons Why I’m Giving My Baby a Probiotic

1 THE FIRST 6 MOS OF BABY’S LIFE ARE MOST CRITICAL. So much critical growth happens during this time from autoimmune to metabolic development.

2 9/10 BABIES ARE MISSING B. INFANTIS

(THE KEY GOOD BACTERIA) THAT DIGESTS NUTRIENTS IN BREASTMILK AND PROTECTS BABY’S GUT

3 NOT ALL PROBIOTICS ARE THE SAME.

STRAIN DOES MATTER. EVIVO IS THE ONLY PROBIOTIC CLINICALLY PROVEN TO RESTORE THE GOOD BACTERIA (B. INFANTIS), REDUCING BAD BACTERIA IN BABY’S GUT BY 80%.

I’ll preface this blog post by saying, I forgot SO much after I had my 4th child 6 years ago. So, when Levi arrived last October, I found myself trying to jog my memory about what to give a baby suffering from colic, how to cure mastitis, and what to do to keep up my nursing supply. I asked a couple friends, read up on some of the topics and educated myself as these issues have risen. Levi is newly 7 months. I’m taking one day at a time. A couple weeks into Levi’s 6 month birthday, we began seeing bad diaper rash, eczema, and gas. Poor guy. I called my best friend, like I usually do and she urged me to give him a probiotic. And since I’m nursing, I should take one as well. We later found out, his ailments were signs of bad gut health. We started giving Levi Evivo and just waited. I put one sachet into a bowl mixed with 3-5ml breast milk. To my surprise, he started waving his arms, which meant he loved it! Well, that made everything easier. Within a week, the redness behind his ear from eczema lessened.

With increased usage of antibiotics during delivery, c-sections (while both good in their own right), have interrupted the transfer of good bacteria from mom to baby. The good bacteria, the fancy name for it is “B.infantis” is missing from baby. What do we do? Scientists developed this probiotic for babies as the solution to this problem. I want Levi to thrive in all areas including developing a strong gut to help him live a happy and healthy life.

What does it take? Without B. infantis, bad bacteria can thrive threatening him with diabetes, allergies, colic and what we already experienced with eczema. I had no idea probiotics were SO IMPORTANT. My only regret so not having this with all of my kids! Thank you Evivo for making this product that is so instrumental to a baby’s health. Levi will thank me one day!

What are some of the benefits? Better sleep, improved digestion, happier baby. If you’re a mother, you already know this. A fussy baby is such a challenge. I will have long days with a cranky baby at my hip and I feel like crying along with him. It is incredibly difficult to see your baby unhappy and not know how to help him. For that reason alone, give Evivo a try. Nothing is worse than a fussy baby suffering from one of the above ailments who cannot communicate with you what is wrong. All he or she can do is cry. If you’re not a mom, a great gift idea is a gift card for Evivo. Believe me, a new or seasoned mom (like myself) would thank you many times over for such a gift to myself and baby. If you’re pregnant, give yourself some brownie points, plan ahead and purchase a month starter kit which is less than $3 a day. Less than a latte. As for me, I plan to continue to give Levi Evivo. My sister-in-law is hoping to get pregnant soon with their second. Since their first had colic, I plan to introduce her to Evivo for baby #2. She will thank me later!

Frequently asked questions – FAQ

Is EVIVO gluten free?

Yes.

Does Evivo have any artificial flavors, preservatives, colors or dyes?

No.

Does Evivo contain any additives?

No.

Can I purchase a gift card for a friend?

Absolutely! More and more mom’s are giving and receiving gifts beyond the swadles and onesies. Evivo deserves a place on the baby registry if you ask me! Click HERE for more gift card information.

To receive $10 off use coupon code: “BLOG36328” 
To receive $20 off use coupon code
“BLOGSV55P”

Learn more about EVIVO here.

Thank you EVIVO for sponsoring this post!

I partnered with Walmart to share some baby registry favorites! Fifth time around, I’m anything but ready and prepared. That may seem odd but it is true. While I have forgotten a lot of the essentials, I have found some great baby registry essentials at Walmart!

So, what are some of my essentials? Silk lovie, Burp Clothes, organic crib sheet, organic clothes, cell phone toy (because he always reaches for mine!), toy keys (you can freeze), and terry cloth bath robe are just some of my favorites I’ve found at Walmart.

Thousands of items online are “Next Day eligible,” and that is awesome because I’m a busy mom who needs things FAST.

In the end, Levi has the important things covered: loving parents and adoring siblings, for everything else, we have Walmart 2-day and Next Day shipping on most items to keep us prepared and well stocked. Because it doesn’t look like I’ll have my act together anytime soon. In the meantime, get all your baby registry essentials at Walmart, from diapers to rockers, to cribs!

Start your baby registry today HERE on Walmart.com.

Whether you’re creating a baby registry, or not sure what to get a friend who just had a baby, below are some of my top picks! How cute is this modern rocker?

  1. kid’s rocker 2. onesie 3. baby joggers 4. baby teether keys 5. elephant robe 6. BPA free bottles 7. crib 8. rocking swan

Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this post!

Camisole (only $29!) // Pencil skirt from STORQ and a non-maternity version // Suede Jacket (finally back in stock!) // Cap Toe Heels // Lotus Earrings // Sunglasses

Naming #5 was NOT easy. I repeat. It was a STRETCH to think of a two-syllable name that would sound good with his four siblings. Not to mention all the four critics.
1. KEEP IT A SECRET this is number 1 for a reason. If you don’t want 3 relatives and 2 cousins twice removed opinions, keep the name to yourself.

2. Put all the cards on the table – family names, names you like, religious affiliation, etc. We happened to be reading the Old Testament in devotions and came across LOTS of names we considered for this baby. Its good to see all the names in the open and discuss them.

3.   Have a TOP 10 I know its tempting to have 20 faves, but try and start with 10 and go from there. Our 4th child has three names, so keep 3 if you want!

4. Consider the syllables AND meaning. This child will have to live with this name, maybe forever, so make it easy to say with a positive meaning.

ANNND since we are still waiting on baby #5, I cannot divulge the name, I can however tell you I followed the above steps and you will have to stay tuned!

Speaking of waiting for baby . . . I’m loving this collagen powder that I swear is helping my nails and hair. Also, this ice roller (only $12!) is helping me fake a full night of sleep, this overnight reset oil-in serum, is warding off the wrinkles, and when bored, make PUMPKIN BREAD!

 

xx

Shalice