Moving Forward

I started a new cycle today, but we will be on a break due to the holidays. Dr. A's office is closed the 24th and 25th, right about when we would be triggering, so this cycle is out. The good news is that my body will get a break from the meds again and we can enjoy the holidays without stressing about getting pregnant. Our plan for now is to try a 4th and final IUI in January. I am going to do acupuncture along with that cycle as well. I did it on the cycle I got pregnant with G and I really enjoyed it. 

I had two awful migraines these past several days. That is really my biggest fear with a failed cycle. The pain can be so overwhelming that I have some of my worst and darkest thoughts. While I am waiting for my neurologist appointment, I am going to get a good cardio routine down. It seems the more exercise I do, the less I have these migraines. It's more of a challenge to fit that time in for myself with Grayson, but Nick is willing to help me so we are going to work on it during this break. 

One thing I am sure of... being a Mom is my favorite and most proud title. I will fight just as hard for a second child as I did for our first. 

xoxo,

Megan 

Failed Again

I am down in the dumps, big time. I can't believe this is happening. I have lost all hope of having another child. What is going on?! Why is my body failing us over and over again? I hate this so much. And on top of all this, I have to suffer through migraines for the next week or two. I do have a neurologist appointment for January, but since he is a well-liked doctor, I can't get in any sooner.

I don't know what we will do next as far as cycling goes. We have some Follistim leftover so we could do a 4th IUI. We have discussed IVF too. I'll talk to Dr. A when my next cycle starts.

As usual, here's the recap of this IUI. I didn't keep close track of my follicles this time. I was trying to just let whatever happens happen. No scrutinizing, comparing, stressing, etc. All I know was that I had three to four mature follicles at trigger time on CD9.

IUI #3
November/December 2013
CD3 - CD8: 125 IU Follistim

CD1 11/22/13
CD3 baseline u/s
CD6 u/s and b/w
CD8 u/s and b/w = E2 was 268
CD9 u/s and Novarel injection = {lining 9.9mm}
CD10 u/s and IUI 3.1 = (R: 27mm and 20mm / L: 19mm and 17mm}  Post wash sperm count: 29.5 million
CD11 u/s and IUI 3.2 =  Post wash sperm count: 25 million
7dpo Progesterone b/w = 26

The Holidays

Nick and I are totally kids at heart! We just love this time of year and all that goes along with it.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents and sister. It was our usual early dinner with turkey, oyster stuffing, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, asparagus, and tomato and blue cheese salad. My Mom mixed it up for dessert and made key lime pie with homemade whipped cream!!! It was amazing. I may have had two pieces... then off on a nice walk to the park where G thoroughly enjoyed the slide :)

Thanksgiving

G playing with Blu

Family pic, with the boys being silly.

Uncle Roger came to visit too! 

We found our tree that weekend too.

Cruising around the tree lot.

Lights and ornaments done

Front of our house

We also took family photos for our Christmas card. A few of my favorites...

Florida and Missouri

I can't believe it's December already! I am way behind on my posts.

We had a very busy few weeks back in October and early November. It was go, go, go for a while. Nick's best friend, his wife and three kids live in West Palm Beach, Florida. They had not met Grayson yet and we had not met their new baby girl, so we planned a trip for October to visit them and all go to Disney World. We are huge Disney fans and have had annual passes to Disneyland for years, so we were very excited about this trip. We had a great time and can't wait for the next visit!

Two must haves on a flight with a toddler: remotes and their own seat!

A little snack before we go in to the Magic Kingdom

Troy and Grayson

Turkey leg!

We also went to the Lion Country Safari by our friend's house. It was fun seeing the animals.

Adorable video of G feeding the giraffe's, and then clapping for himself:

Ready for the Lion Country Safari

Rhinos!

And then we were off to St. Louis, Missouri two weeks later. We went to visit family for Nick's Grandparents' 75th wedding anniversary. Grandpa Pep is 96 and Grandma Viv is 94. They are pretty amazing, still living on their own and very sharp.

Cannoli's for dinner, with Grayson's Great Grandparents

St. Louis Zoo

You know, just in case

I tested this morning, just to make sure I wasn't pregnant on our treatment break cycle. I feel stupid testing at all, but I just have to do it so I can mentally prepare for the next cycle. It makes my type A personality happy to have a concrete answer. It is still crushing to look at a negative test, even though I had so little hope to begin with.

I called Dr. A earlier this week and talked to him about what to do next. I voiced my concerns about my response last time. I wasn't happy with the one, maybe two, mature follicles we ended up with. The ideal amount seems to vary because some people only need one follicle to get pregnant and then there's people like me who needed seven. I know seven is a lot and it's a huge risk to take, so it would be great to get three or four. Dr. A said he would start me on a higher dose of Follistim this time, likely 125 IU. I am happy that he is going to do something different. I am also hoping that taking this last cycle off will help. So yeah, that's the plan once I start my next cycle.

Those same horrible feelings are coming back from two years ago. I am terrified that nothing is going to work, not even what worked last time. What are we going to do? How far do we go for a second child? I can't imagine not having more than one, but I don't want to be selfish either. At least I have one. Oy. It's such a roller coaster of emotions. Stupid, stupid Infertility. I hate what it has done to this experience for us and for so many others I know through my message boards and blogs, and everyone fighting the battle that I don't know.

xoxo,
Megan

Halloween!

Yeah, I know. It's November 7th already and I'm just now posting a Halloween post. We left the day after Halloween to visit family in St. Louis, and unfortunately were in terminal 3 when the LAX shooting happened, so our trip was delayed. Thankfully we are all safe.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Nana bought G's owl costume and surprised me. It was perfect! I just loved watching him flap the wings when he walked. We went trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood and then handed out candy. It was so much fun and I'm looking forward to next year already.

Our pumpkins - squat snatch for Nick, Grayson's hands and then my free hand scary face :)

My little owl.

Trick-or-treating video:

xoxo,

Megan

15 Months

My baby is growing up into a little man. This has been the most fun age ever! From 12 months to 15 months, he has been on a learning spree :) It feels like every day he is learning something new. 

Milestones...

• The biggest milestone in my opinion is his understanding of what we are saying to him or asking him to do. I am constantly amazed by his abilities. He will bring me his socks and shoes and sit down when he wants to go outside, he will lay down on his changing pad when we are out to have his diaper changed, he will help me put his toys away and then clap when he does it. He is his own biggest fan and claps for himself often. He can also point to his {and our} nose, ears, eyes, mouth, hair, and belly button. He gives us kisses and his doggie kisses. 

• He not only walks everywhere, but he does a toddler run too. His balance and coordination get better and better each day. He does not want to be carried or sit in the stroller. He is Mr. Independent. He just moved to the next size shoe - toddler size 5 wide. He has feet like his Daddy :)
• We flew to Florida a few weeks ago and he did really well. He did have a little crying meltdown, but it only lasted 5 minutes on one flight during takeoff. One thing I learned: at this age, buy your toddler their own seat! It made all the difference for us. We got lucky on both flights and were able to take three seats across to ourselves. 
• His favorite toys are not toys at all. He wants to do what Mom and Dad do. We bought him a broom set so he can sweep like me and Nick made him a small wood "barbell" and he lifts it up over his head and squats, just like Daddy. I about die from the cuteness. He watches and mimics everything we do. He loves being outside and he loves figuring out how things work.

• He says: mama, dada, bye bye, hi, duck, more. He knows all the sounds of his toys, like the car, the boat and the helicopter, and a bunch of animal sounds {bear, bird, duck, horse, frog, cat, dog, sheep, fish, cow} He uses his sign language very well. I am so thrilled that his daycare teacher started teaching him because it is so helpful for communication and we love it! He knows "more", "all done", "food", "milk", "tired", "thank you", "please". He also spins around for Ring Around the Rosie and he does Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with his fingers.
• He loves to get into his little chairs and sit in them by himself, he is very good about backing off of the couch or a tall step, he will hold our hands when walking and reaches for our hand if he knows he needs help, he rides his toys everywhere, he kicks his ball around, he can throw the ball back and forth to us, he goes down the slide by himself, he loves the swings, he still loves bathtime and swimming, and he loves to dance. He still loves his dog and kitties. He and Apollo will play outside all day if I let them. Norman, our Bengal mix kitty, is my shadow so he ends up hanging out with Grayson a lot and they are becoming best buddies. G is great with petting any animal gently.

• He drinks whole cow's milk and water. He uses a spoon and fork to eat, and actually stabs the food with the fork. His favorite foods - eggs, sausage, rice pasta, tuna, chicken, beef, buffalo, hot dogs, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, applesauce, Greek yogurt, string cheese, Gouda cheese, toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, mini pancakes, waffles, Mexican food.
• He has eight teeth and four molars coming in, two on top and two on bottom. Poor guy. We brush them every morning and evening with the silicone finger brush and I bought him a regular mini size toothbrush so he can practice on his own.
• He absolutely loves daycare and his teacher. He is learning so much. I really, really love it and I'm so happy with everything about his school. We went to the back-to-school night and had a visit with the 18 month - 30 month classroom, where he will be moving in January. We love that teacher too and he knows her already because she helps during the before and after school hours.

His stats:

• He is wearing 18-24 month and 24 month clothes.
• He is wearing size 4 diapers.
• He weighed in at 26.2 lbs and measured 30 3/4 inches long.

Both Nick and I talk about our little man every night before bed and every morning when we wake up. He is our whole world. We love him so much and enjoy every single moment together. I don't know if the Infertility puts life into a different perspective for me, but I don't take a single second for granted. It's all amazing. 

xoxo,

Megan

Negative Again

Blah. I only ended up with one mature follicle this time so my hopes were crushed early on. And my intuition was right. I was on 100 IU of Follistim for all seven days of stims! More than any other cycle and I get just one! My body sucks and appears to be getting worse. Sigh.

I am not sure what to do now. We will be taking a break next cycle as Nick is out of town for work in November. Do we try another IUI, maybe on a higher dose of meds? Do we move onto IVF? My plan is to talk to Dr. A about our options and what he thinks and go from there.

I never imagined it would be just as difficult this time around. Never ever.


IUI #2 
October 2013
CD3 - CD9: 100 IU Follistim

CD1 9/28/13
CD3 baseline u/s
CD6 u/s and b/w = {R: 14, 13, 12 / L: 10 / lining 5.9mm}
CD8 u/s and b/w = {R: 20, 14 / lining 8mm}
CD10 u/s and Novarel injection = {R: 25, 16 / lining 10.6mm}
CD11 u/s and IUI 2.1 = {R: 26, 18} Post wash sperm count = 30 million
CD12 u/s and IUI 2.2 = I ovulated the biggie! 17mm on the right was still visible on u/s. Post wash sperm count = 29.5 million
8dpo Progesterone b/w = 18
12dpo = BFN

Baby Number Two - IUI #1 Recap

We didn't waste any time. We started our first treatment cycle for baby Number Two on the first cycle after our consult with Dr. A in August. I called in on CD 1 and they ordered my Follistim, Novarel and Progesterone. We had no infertility coverage last time, so we paid for all of our testing and treatments out of pocket. This time around we have some Infertility coverage. What a difference. My meds last time cost me $1,009. This time, just a $65 co-pay!!!

I felt awful the entire cycle, but the cycle seemed to go well. I started at a lower dose of Follistim and then he had to increase the dosage for the last four days. We had two, maybe three, mature follicles when I triggered and I am assuming I ovulated later on CD12 because the ultrasound that morning still showed follicles. Much less craziness than Grayson's IUI cycle when I had six or seven mature follicles and was almost canceled. It does appear that I am not responding as well as I did with that cycle either. I am not sure why, but it bummed me out. Anyways, just wanted to give you all a rundown of that IUI cycle. I also like having a reference to look back at.

IUI #1
September 2013
CD3 - CD5: 75 IU Follistim
CD6 - CD7: 100 IU Follistim
CD8 - CD9: 100 IU Follistim

CD1 9/2/13
CD3 baseline u/s
CD6 u/s and b/w = ? {R: 11, 12 / L: 11, 12}
CD8 u/s and b/w = 99 {R: 13, 13, 15 / L: 13, 13 / lining 6.3mm}
CD10 u/s = {R: 20, 19 / L: 17 / lining 8.3mm} Trigger day - Novarel injection.
CD11 u/s and IUI 1.1 {R: 24, 23 / L: 17} 18.5 million motile sperm
CD12 u/s and IUI 1.2 {R: 20 / L: 18} 20 million motile sperm
Progesterone suppositories twice a day
7dpo Progesterone b/w = 17
12dpo = BFN
14dpo = BFN

Migraine Hell

I didn't blog about our first IUI, except that it failed, but it was a miserable cycle for me. I had two migraines early on and I threw up all night with the first one. It was so bad. Then I had another one a few days before my period started, and most recently had one from Sunday afternoon up until yesterday. Phew. Thank goodness that I am okay today, just a mild "hangover headache", as the migraine peeps refer to it. I have an amazing appreciation for every moment without a migraine. Perspective can do so much for your outlook on life, on a day-to-day basis.

It's frustrating to be in so much pain, with no relief but time and sleep. And sometimes even those don't help and I push through another miserable day. Those days are my lowest days. They are absolutely the worst moments of my life. They are debilitating - I can't think, I can't talk, I can't enjoy my family, I can't cook or eat... I cannot function. There are even moments where I just want to die, it's so bad. I know that is an extreme statement and I do not want to die, but those thoughts can cross your mind in moments of desperation.

I have always suspected my hormones are what drive these headaches, and it's more and more obvious that they are the cause. I have been tracking them and they always fall on days where my cycle is changing and I am sure different hormones are surging or dropping off. I wish I knew exactly which hormones so I can try to do something about it. Perhaps after I am done having babies, I can do more testing and see if there are any hormone related treatments. For now, it sucks. I can't do anything to prevent them, except get pregnant again. I didn't have a single migraine when I was pregnant with Grayson. I wonder if they are also affecting my fertility. All of my blood work comes back fine, but maybe there is something else that is being missed. Let's just say I am really, really looking forward to being pregnant again for more than one reason :)

xoxo,
Megan

On second thought...

I told myself and all of you that I wanted to keep Number Two's journey to ourselves. But I guess I was lying to myself. As soon as I saw that stark white negative test staring back at me while I willed a line to appear, I realized I need this place to share.

We want Number Two just as much as we wanted our first baby. Having one child doesn't diminish the desire for more or the pain of Infertility. I knew it was possible that this wouldn't work, but I must have convinced myself it would and there would be nothing to worry about because it worked before. I even said that I felt confident we could have another baby with help, and now I don't feel that way. Mostly because we had been trying on our own for a while and no pregnancy, so going back to Dr. A gave me some hope. And now I've lost that little bit of hope I had. Everything went right, but it just didn't happen.

I'm picking my sorry ass self off the ground and carrying on, because that is all there is to do. I don't know when we will cycle again because we are going on vacation in October.

xo, M

A Picture Update

Ahhhhh. My blog. I haven't posted in a few weeks. I need this place. It's therapeutic for me. 

Life has been good. Time continues to fly by and Grayson continues to make our lives amazing. We spend our evenings cracking up at his silliness. He is walking everywhere, repeating words, he knows the cow goes "moooo" and the cars go "vrooooom", he knows where his nose is and he is growing like a weed, even reaching door handles and opening them! It's crazy. I didn't think it was possible to love him any more than I do, but it just multiples as the days go by.

Cruising around the backyard. His favorite place to be is outside.

We went to Disneyland with Nick's family in August.

Goofy boy

We celebrated Apollo's 7th birthday.

The new pool fence. We all love it. G can run around and play without us worrying he will fall in the pool.

He put himself in the x-pen.

And even went to work with Mom :)

My parents adopted the sweetest English Pointer named Blu. We love him!

My handsome baby is all grown up. Tear.

xoxo,
Megan

A Plan for Number Two

We had a nice visit with Dr. A on August 22nd. There was no one in the office, it was the end of their day and it was just us, Dr. A and a nurse.We sat and chatted with him about the end of my pregnancy with Grayson, about breastfeeding, about my cycles and how they have been regular {and how they returned around 3 months post-partum. Lucky me, ha!} and that we hadn't had a pregnancy even though we had stopped preventing five months ago.

Dr. A told us that whenever we are ready, we will go straight to what worked last time: Follistim + IUI. I breathed a sigh of relief at that moment. I had been so anxious all day because I didn't know what the plan would be. Once I knew, I was fine. I guess that's my control freak showing her ugly face. He did make a note to start with a lower dose of the Follistim since I responded so well last time, a little too well.

The only testing that we need to repeat is the infectious diseases. They are required every year. And also my TSH and prolactin levels. After that, the next step is to call Dr. A's office on cycle day one when we are ready for a treatment cycle. When that will be is something I have decided to keep between Nick and I this time around. We haven't had many surprises in this journey, so I would like to try and keep a few :)

xoxo,
Megan

The Truth

I won't lie. I have been hoping and wishing, with all of my might, that we would be one of those couples that are surprised with pregnancy number two. You hear about it all of the time. Those who go through hell and back to get pregnant the first time and then, surprise! They are pregnant with no medical intervention, maybe not even planned, and for some reason it happens and it's wonderful. And of course, no doubt, I am thrilled for them! Honestly. This isn't about me being upset for those that this happens to. Not at all. I am just mourning the fact that this hasn't happened for us. 

My cycle returned around three months post-partum and we haven't been preventing for a while. Sure, we could wait longer and maybe it would happen on it's own at some point in time. But who am I kidding, we aren't getting any younger and because we have some unexplained reason for it not happening the first time, it scares us to wait too long. Plus we are excited for another baby. Very excited. 

We never did get the answer why it was so hard for us the first time. What's crazy is that it took seven, yes SEVEN, mature follicles for us to have one viable baby. I wonder all the time if that means anything. I have no clue, but I wonder.

We are heading back to the RE, Dr. A, on August 22nd. I am looking forward to seeing them again and talking to him about a plan for baby number two. I do feel a certain confidence that we can achieve another pregnancy with Dr. A's help. I hope we can. But it sure would be awesome if my body would work the way it's supposed to for once.

xoxo,

Megan

Babies and Dogs (and cats, tortoises, etc)

I haven't blogged about it, probably ever, but I am extremely passionate about dog behavior. It all began with the Mastiff forum I was a part of when we first brought Apollo home. He will be seven this year! There was a fantastic dog behaviorist who gave great advice on our forum and I began to read everything she wrote, and then did my own research as well. I realized how misunderstood dogs are. They speak their own language and we as humans are trying our best to communicate with them in our language. My dream {and goal?} is to make dog training my career. I love it and I love to teach and I love to help people, which is really more of what a dog trainer/behaviorist should be doing.

I wanted to talk a little about kids and dogs. It definitely takes effort and it's not always easy, but a child's relationship with their dog can be so amazing and worth it. The most important thing to remember: It's the parent's responsibility to keep the child and the dog safe! 

Here are a few things I feel are very important to maintaining a happy home for both the children and the dogs {and cats, tortoises, etc. It applies to all pets}

• Dogs and kids should never, ever be left alone together. EVER. No matter how sweet your dog may be, you just never know.
• From day one, children should be closely supervised and assisted when petting their pets. We use the word "gentle." Please do not allow tail grabbing, ear grabbing, fur ripping, hitting, climbing on them. That hurts! Start early and teach them to respect animals. Grayson already understands gentle because we have been reinforcing it from day one. We always praise G when he does gentle petting. Encourage your children to pet the dog under the chin or on their shoulder/back. Discourage hugging or reaching over the dog's head. It may seem sweet, but dogs do not like to be hugged. It's a threatening position. And while you are teaching your children how to treat their own dog, this carries over to meeting new dogs too. 
• Create a safe place for your dog. Apollo has his own area in the house with his water bowl and bed, separated from the rest of the house by a baby fence. Don't wait until your dog is growling, or worse, biting, before putting him in his safe place. Apollo stays in his safe place unless we go outside together, on a walk or we are supervising a visit with him and G.
• Stress signals. Dogs give calming signals well before they start growling or biting, we just need to learn what they are so that it does not escalate. These are warning signals that we should take seriously before the dog feels he must use a different warning with more severe consequences. Living with Kids & Dogs is one of my favorite resources, and she further explains the stress signals here.

I love to talk dog behavior, so if you have a question, I'd love to help!

Good resources for positive reinforcement training:
http://www.dogstardaily.com
http://positively.com
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com

xoxo,
Megan

Twelve Months

Milestones and Firsts...

• He is walking! Not all of the time and not without wobbles, but he's doing it. It began the week of July 22nd... he just kept going and we realized that he was really doing it. Here is some video:

• He understands how utensils work. He has a little trouble stabbing the food with the fork, but he knows how to feed himself with it and is very persistent in doing it himself. 
• We have been weaning him off of formula {ugh, I hate that stuff} and onto whole cow's milk this past month. He has done really well with the transition and continues to eat his solids well. He will take his water in a sippy cup, no problem. He thinks milk is for playing with when it's in anything other than a bottle. I am going to try a straw sippy cup to see if he will use that. At his check up today, his pedi tested his hemoglobin and it was great, measuring 13. She gave us the go ahead to stop formula and give him only milk. Yay!
• The two lateral incisors - I had to look that up, ha! - are coming in beside his top front teeth, so he has six teeth total now.

• He started at his new daycare on July 8th. He is doing really well, but he is still adjusting to his new teachers. He cries when I hand him off, but quickly stops once his teacher distracts him with something. It absolutely breaks my heart into a million pieces, but I know he is fine once I am gone. I love his teachers and his new classroom and curriculum. They have so much for him to do and they take the kids outside for walks. It's one full time teacher because there are just four kids in his class right now. There are a couple teachers that break her and cover her if she has to leave for any reason. Grayson does well with both of them too. I walked in the other day to pick him up and he was sitting in a circle with the other kids, listening to the teacher read a story. So cute, I almost burst. 
• We finished our Parent and Me beginner swim lessons. Grayson absolutely loves it and it shows. He splashes and laughs and kicks the entire time! We are going to continue swim lessons at our local YMCA.
• He went on a bike ride in the Burley D'Lite trailer for the first time! He knocked out. I about died pulling him {haven't been on my mountain bike much lately}, but it was fun and a great workout.

• He is very independent these days. He wants to walk or crawl instead of being carried. He wants to push the shopping cart rather than ride in it. He will sit in the living room {toy room 1} or the family room {toy room 2} by himself and play with his toys for quite a while. 
• He loves his Dada and when I ask "where is Dada?" he looks around for him and repeats Dada over and over until we find him. He is definitely a Momma's boy still and I am just fine if he stays that way forever! His kitties still taunt him and pass him by, just out of reach. He loves them and squeals in delight every time he sees them. He and Apollo are best buddies. They usually hang out together in the backyard, G's favorite place, in the evenings. He also adores other babies and kids. Another kid guarantees a huge smile and squeal from him.
• He is doing well developmentally; pointing, clapping, saying a few words, walking, figuring out his toys that require him to open things, put blocks or balls in them, cause and affect, he knows what "no" means, but I also explain everything to him and I never just say "no" - I always explain why we don't do that, etc. I know that he will understand these things before he can talk, so Nick and I want to make it a habit now. He gives us hugs and shows us affection. His favorite toys are instruments; drums, bongos, the harmonica, any toys that rattle when you shake them... he loves to make noise, and of course, kitchen utensils, specifically wooden spoons and spatulas. He really enjoys being outside and he gets very upset and angry when it's time to come inside or if he sees one of us go outside without him. I am so happy that he loves the outdoors because we love them too. He loves to drop things into boxes or baskets or trash cans, but I think he likes to throw everything out even more :)

Video of his throwing skills:

Other tidbits about being 12 months old...

• He is sleeping very well, just like his Momma :) 12 hours at night and typically one nap mid-day, 2 to 3 hours long. 
• He is wearing 12-18 month clothes.
• He is wearing size 3 diapers.
• He weighed in at 22 lbs 9 oz and measured 29 inches long.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Well, this is his last formal monthly update. Cue tears. I figure I will post updates still, to track his development and milestones much like a baby book, but nothing formal. I still can't believe he is a year old. It seems the years fly by faster and faster the older I get. It's a great reminder to cherish and savor each and every moment.

xoxo,
Megan

The Party

Grayson's birthday party was so much fun. It was a pirate pool party and the weather turned out perfect for swimming. It was so great to see all of our family and friends. Grayson had a blast - he smashed his smash cake, opened gifts and played in the pool. It was a great day.

We had a taco guy serve lunch and my Mom made banana and lemon cupcakes for dessert. Yum.

Grandpa dressed up as a pirate :)

He smashed his cake so well, but he would not eat a single bite. 

Video of G smashing his cake:

Video of his birthday song at brunch the next day: