Meet Jake Anthony: A Day At The Zoo...

Friday, March 26, 2010

A Day At The Zoo...

Well, maybe not a whole day at the Zoo...anyone who knows us, knows we don't get out early on the weekend and this was no exception. We had hoped to go with Jordan and GG, but we were having a pancake breakfast with Pops, so we couldn't go late morning and then Jordan's afternoon nap got in the way (we're basically on opposite time lines...Jordan gets up hours before we do and just when we're ready to rock and roll, her battery needs recharging). We certainly missed them, but tried to make the best of our time at the zoo.

Jake was totally into the zoo map this time and wanted to be sure he was giving direction as we made our way through to see each and EVERY animal on the map. Sort of like a "turbo zoo" trip and we did everything but check off every animal we saw (if I had a pen, I'm sure we would have ended up there). I have a feeling that I have a backseat driver in my immediate future...LOL

Later that evening, we met up with the Posse for a pre-race dinner for No-No to help her load in some carbs before her half-marathon the next morning. Jakey was surrounded by both his girls...Jordan and Christiana and of course, all of his Posse aunts whom he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES. Can't be sure how many carbs No-No got, but I can assure you that Jakey got his AND her share as he ate 3/4 of a plate of pasta and countless slices of Italian bread. Lucky for him, Jordan doesn't mind his version of "sharing"!!

Here are some pics from the dinner event, as you can easily see...lots of love and fun going on here!

And we HAD to document Aunt Bear eating short RIBS!!!!! What's next, seafood?? LOL

Was an awesome day all the way around!!!!

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About Jake Anthony

Jake was born on Aug 19, 2005, he weighed a hefty 9lbs 10oz, was 22 inches long (before you say "ouch" it was by C-section) and was welcomed into this world by his mommy, nanny, pops, uncle JJ, LaLa, Aunt Bear, Aunt No-No, Aunt Amy, Aunt CC, Aunt Razz, Aunt Titi, Aunt GG and Aunt Tracey (soon to be Aunt Dana too). To say he was a "dream come true" would be the understatement of the century!!

I had always dreamed of being a mommy and for some reason, had always wanted a boy. (So much so, that I enrolled in the MicroSort clinical trial for gender selection and had the sperm sorted to increase the odds to 85%.) Jake was conceived using IVF and donor #1876 from Fairfax. The donor selection was a VERY serious process including a thorough analysis of every detail imaginable. In the end, the pool was narrowed down to four possible choices, and each of the Posse (his group of Aunts) had an opportunity to evaluate the bio and stats and vote for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice. The votes were tallied and actually, there was a tie between the one we called "Giraffe" and the one we called "James" (because he looked a lot like my brother). For the initial attempt, I went with Giraffe, but after no luck with 2 AI cycles, I switched to "James" (1876) and transitioned to IVF.

The first IVF attempt resulted in 8 eggs, 6 of which survived the fertilization process and 5 of which made it to day 5. PGD testing revealed that there was only 1 healthy normal embryo in the mix and luck would have it, it was a boy! The pregnancy, however, lasted only 8 weeks before I was told it was a non-progressing pregnancy. After that VERY big disappointment and weeks of waiting (and a DNC...uggh), I had the opportunity to try again.

This time, I was rushed in at day 3 and told that the 3 remaining fertilized eggs would not make it to day 5. The absolutely FUNNIEST part of this whole story involved my mom. I had not planned to go to have the procedure on Day 3, so my mom and I had to scramble to get there. (I received the message so late that they actually had to stay open late for me and I had to drive up from South Jersey 3 hours to get there....talk about driving at the speed of light.)

So, my mom meets me and we drive up together and on the way up I tell her "mom, no matter what they say, I only want to put 1 egg back in. I'm having this baby on my own and we already have a strong history of twins in the family and I don't want to risk ending up with 3! Mom, I really need you to be with me on this because they always push you to put more in to increase the odds of success." To which she replied, yes, no problem, I understand."

So, we meet with the doctor and he says, you have 3 remaining embryos, we couldn't do the PGD so we have no idea if any are normal (let alone the sex), so I'm recommending you put all 3 back in. My eyes open wide and I say "ALL 3????" I turn to my mom and she says "I agree with the doctor"...LOL!! And before I knew what hit me, off I went into the surgical suite...

And the result, is the most lovable, adorable, smart little boy in the whole world...hope you enjoy reading about him even half as much as I enjoy raising him...