It's A......

I think this picture says it all :)

Yes folks... another Harrison boy!  It's a no wonder the Harrison family is so large.. they have very, very few girls lol!

Here are a few other fun pictures.  I think he's grinning in this picture :) 

Here he is waving at us.  Hi Mom!

I think this one makes me laugh the most.  He's crossing his legs so we couldn't see his wee wee!

And here is my little acrobat.  Hello..... his feet are over his head!

Now for the fun stuff... decorating the nursery and buying clothes!  I've already started the sewing.  I will be making everything.. from the curtains.. to the boppy cover.. all the way to the crib sheets!

Baby Harrison's First Gift

Not too long ago I bought the first gift specifically for this baby.  It's a book for children that explains the egg donation process.  When it came in the mail I opened the box and couldn't wait to read it.  I decided to do a trial run and read it to our dog, George W.  As soon as it got to the part where it talks about the mama bunny not having any seeds I began to cry.  I thought, if I can't read this to my dog.. how will I ever be able to read it to our child without losing it?!  Maybe I will have Jeremy read it to him/her :)  Either way, I think it's so very important for our child to know the story of his/her creation.  You know how they say you should never start a relationship based on a lie?  I would never want to create a child or start our family based on lying by omission.  Our child will know how much we hoped and prayed and wished for it.. no matter how it came into our lives.. or whose genes it has!

It's Negative!!

A few weeks ago I visited the perinatologist where they performed an ultrasound and the Harmony test. The ultrasound was to measure neck of the baby to check for Down Syndrome.  The Harmony test is a blood test that that looks for the existence of Trisomy 13 (Patau Syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) and Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome).  It can also determine the gender of the baby, but I opted out of that part.  I just didn't think a phone call saying "It's a ____" was the way I wanted to find out the gender of our child.  The ultrasound took over an hour because our baby decided it was nap time :)  First they asked me to cough, then they had me drink cold water.  On two occasions the ultrasound tech left the room so that I could jump or run around in hopes that it would wake the baby up and it would flip over.  I remember thinking, I can't wait to tell this story when our baby gets older.  Here it is snoozing.. and I'm literally jumping, shaking and running around this room in hopes that it wakes up!  Once again, this is definitely my husband's child.. waking up from naps is not easy!  Finally, after a visit to the bathroom it decided to flip over.  Success.. we got a neck measurement!  The doctor is able to immediately inform us that based on the measurement, it looked like it didn't have Down Syndrome.  We had to wait two weeks for the result of the blood test though.  Today they called with the wonderful news... all the Trisomy test results were negative!  In less than two weeks we find out the gender and I can't wait!!

Don't Take The Doctor's Word for It

I remember a few weeks ago I was watching either The Doctors or Dr. Oz.  The topic of discussion was infertility and women waiting later in life to have children.  They interviewed "experts" that were reassuring women that it is "safe" for them to wait later in life now than what previous studies showed.  They claimed that previous studies showed a decrease in fertility at the age of 35 or higher.  However, more recent studies have shown that women can wait as late as age 40.  One particular woman they used as an example was in her 30's and was overly cautious about her inability to have children if she waited much longer to try.  These "experts" dismissed her concerns and simply stated that she had nothing to worry about.

Needless to say I was absolutely appalled!  I think it's irrisponsible of the show to put a blanket statement out there reassuring women that it's "safe" to wait until the age of 40 to start trying to have children!  There are women out there watching the show that will accept whatever these doctors tell them as the gospel.  And then what happens when these women turn 40 and realize they are infertile??  Let's take my condition, premature ovarian failure, into consideration.  This is a condition that refers to the loss of normal function of your ovaries before the age of 40.  Even at the age of 35 I had little to no eggs remaining.  So how can you say that it's okay for me to wait until I'm 40?  If I had started trying to have children in my 20's, I probably would have been able to have my own.  Now, had I known then what I know now, I still would have waited until the "right time" to have children.  I don't regret waiting.. waiting for the right man and the right time for us.  However, had I known in my 20's that I suffered from POV, I would have frozen my own eggs and saved them in hopes that my right timing would one day come.  So my recommendation to all women who decide to wait until later in life to have children is BE EDUCATED!  We know our bodies better than anyone else.  Ask your ob questions.. demand fertility tests.. know what fertility tests need to be taken.. get second opinions.. but above all... listen to your body and your gut feeling!  There is nothing wrong or silly about how you feel or the decisions you choose.  Whatever you do, don't just accept what some doctor on a television show tells you!!