Where do I begin when writing about such an amazing experience? I have no idea which is why it has taken me a few days to even get started. I guess we should go back to the 38 and 39 week update. If you had asked me at 38 and 39 weeks I would have sworn that surrobaby would come early but despite red raspberry leaf tea (which my doctor told me to drink), massages, acupuncture, pedicures, walking, etc, she just did not want to come early. At 38 weeks I was still only about 2cm dilated and at almost 39 weeks I was a good 3cm with bulging bag (at least at that visit), but still no signs of real labor. Well anyways, at the 38 week appointment I discussed being induced with the doctor because honestly I was slightly afraid of pushing out a 9lb baby. She said that she was on board with it and that she thought it would go smoothly since my cervix was already set to go so really that kind of decided it for me. I of course brought it up with the intended parents and after discussing it we were all on board with an induction on 3/16/18. I was a little nervous about Pitocin since I wanted an unmedicated delivery so at my 39 week appointment I asked my doctor if she could start the induction by breaking my water on Friday. After checking me she said that would be easy since the bag of water was right there when she checked. That made me feel a little better since I felt like I had a little more control over what was going to happen, or so I thought. I know a lot of people would be nervous about being induced but for some reason everything just felt right on game day. My favorite doctor was on call, not only that day but the two days after as well, and my favorite nurse and one of my really good friends, Jessie Mollet, happened to be working that day (she only works about two days a month). Additionally, the parents could be there for sure and my husband and the doula. Yep felt like a full house at times but it worked out perfectly! Since I knew what day delivery would be I decided to take the day before off of work to relax and prep my body for delivery day... after working fulltime and parenting 3 kids my body was exhausted by the end of the week and I didn't want to go into this experience already exhausted. The week of the induction some of the amazing nurses from my group at work got together and got me a spa gift card as well as a sweet gift basket so I got to enjoy a good foot massage on Wednesday. I then decided to do acupuncture on Thursday for the second time, and went for a pedicure and manicure as well, I was hoping something would put me into labor. It turned out that none of it put me in labor but I did enjoy the day to myself. That night I made sure my bags were all packed and I explained to the kid's that I wouldn't be there in the morning and wouldn't see them for a few days. For the most part, they were all ok with it, but Zoe was upset about me being gone for two nights. She surprises me because sometimes she's not emotional at all and other times she is by far my most sensitive child. I think she just worries about me which is super sweet. Next, I messaged the Dad's to make sure they were prepared and to let them know that I would contact them in the morning with a plan as soon as I got to the hospital. When I say it was the perfect day for the induction I completely meant it. Jeremy was able to be home to get the kid's to school while I caught a ride with Jessie into work. It was a huge stress reliever to chat with her the entire way there and to talk about what was going to happen.... she is amazing and I knew that with her and Dr Helmbrecht taking care of me that the baby and I would be completely safe. I think one of my biggest fears going into being a surrogate was that I'd get a doctor that would try to push a C-section for no reason and make it sound like if I didn't do it that the babies life would be at risk and then I'd be pushed into it. However, with two people that I trust there, I knew that if they suggested a C-section then I would agree because I trusted that it would be completely necessary.... I am glad it did not come to that though. Induction day started when I got checked into my room around 7:30... my IV was started and because I was Group B positive I started antibiotics. Jessie and I of course got a selfie before hand! The dad's planned to be there around 9 since I wasn't sure how fast everything would go and Jeremy got there a little before them after getting the kid's off to school. The doula arrived shortly after as well. At this point I hope I'm remembering it all correctly but if not this is the way I remember most of it. The doctor came in at some point and said she didn't want to break my water until the antibiotics had been in for a few hours so she let me relax. I was on the monitors and it was really cool to see that I was already having contractions every 2 minutes, they just weren't being productive. I had been feeling contractions nightly for the past two weeks but I knew they weren't painful enough to mean labor and when I fell asleep they'd go away. I think around 11:30 Dr Helmbrecht came in to break my water, of course when she went to do it the bag was not bulging as much and after two attempts the bag was so thick she could not break it. She offered to wait and try a little later or said I could start the lowest dose of Pitocin possible to see if that helped. I agreed to the Pitocin, as did the parents, as long as we could keep it at a low dose since I did want to try for an unmedicated delivery. I sat around on that for awhile and I started to feel contractions a little more but they really weren't that painful. I tried walking around the room some and bouncing on the ball some and a little after 1 Dr Helmbrecht was finally able to break my water. When my water broke it wasn't a huge gush but at one point I was sitting on the ball and I knew that when I stood up there would be a huge amount of fluid. which was exciting because I felt like that would move labor along! My doula was great about helping me move around the room but during the entire process I felt bad because I wasn't really needy and for the most part I did not want to be touched or messed with when I was in pain. Jeremy was there until about 4:30 so he went to get some lunch with the dad's and they went to rent a breast pump for after delivery, I think it was a good distraction for them. Jeremy was a little disappointed when he had to leave but our kid's needed cared for and I could not make the baby come any faster. I think around 5 I was having more pain so I asked to be checked and I was about 5cm. I knew after 5cm that things would go pretty fast so I told the dad's that if they wanted dinner now was the time to get it. They decided to walk across the street and eat and bring me back food for later, which at that time I didn't need because I really snacked the entire time during labor... I know it's not allowed but I was hungry and did not want to push without an epidural and with an empty stomach. At some point while they were gone it was just me and Ellie (the doula) in the room. It was really nice to just have that quiet time to focus on relaxing my body during the contractions so that it could do what it needed to do. I think what got me through the painful ones was knowing the pain was only bad for a few seconds and that I had a break between. It was very similar to the labor I had with Cody so I knew it wouldn't be long from there. As I said, I feel bad that Ellie was trying to help and trying to rub my back and telling me to try different positions but I was in a zone and if I was touched, or moved off of the ball, it just felt too painful to tolerate. It's funny to go back and read my text messages at this time. I didn't want to bother Jessie since she had other patients but I did message her about how painful it was getting and about how I think I needed to get checked soon. Also, around 5:30 I told Ellie that she needed to message the dad's and say the baby would be there soon and that they needed to hurry up. I kept switching between saying that they should eat and hurry up and that they needed to come NOW... I think they ate their salad and bread and then told the restaurant they were having a baby and needed the rest of the food packed up! I can only imagine the excitement they had during this time to know that they were so close to meeting their baby girl!!!! While waiting for them to come back Jessie came back in and I told her I needed checked. I had to wait until I was between contractions to climb into bed and at this point I was 8.5cm. The second I laid down I could not let my death grip go from the bed and I felt like my body was starting to push. Jessie rushed out to get Dr Helmbrecht and the pressure of my body pushing got me to 10cm pretty quickly.... it's a really odd feeling when your body is pushing something out and you really have no control over it. My doctor and Jessie were amazing and let my body do what it needed to do and let me push and lay as I needed to. At some point during all of this I saw the dad's quietly move in and stand behind me, and at some point I looked back and saw them holding each other with excitement... that is not a moment I will ever forget and honestly I am sitting here tearing up thinking about it. I was about to watch a family instantly grow and honestly I sort of felt like I was invading their personal moment even though I was pushing their baby out. As I was pushing I know I asked the doctor and Jessie a few times how many more pushes, knowing darn well they did not have an answer but the pain was so intense I needed to know how much longer I would have to feel it. I know with Cody, I got an epidural which didn't fully kick in for pushing and I thought I felt it all, however, looking back it was no where as intense as this was. I could feel everything about her head going down the birth canal and all of the pain after. As I said I felt like I was holding my legs and pushing for a long time but realistically it was only about 20 minutes until baby Emily was born.... 6:27pm 8lb 5oz and 21 inches. What's funny is even as I was pushing the doctor did not at all believe she would be that big but the high risk OB was sure she'd be about 8 and a half lbs by 39 weeks. I'm still not sure where I carried her and all of the fluid. So as soon as Emily was born she was put on my belly and one of the dad's came to cut her cord. It was such an odd feeling to have a baby put on you that is not yours and looks nothing like you. Honestly no part of me wanted to reach out and touch her, partly because I did not want to be the first to embrace her and partly because omg it hurts after you push a baby out with no medication. I think that's when the epidural really helped with Cody because after pushing Emily out I could not move my legs and could not let anyone touch me. In fact, even after pushing the placenta out I still could not move. Of course after the cord was cut Emily went to her parents and I stayed in the exact same position for about a half hour before I could put my legs down. Luckily I didn't tear or need stitches, even though as I was pushing her head out I could swear that would not be the case, haha! Dr Helmbrecht did an amazing job of helping me ease her into the world slowly which was best for my body, especially with her size. I truly cannot imagine what it was like for Emily's dad's to meet her for the first time but I do know how amazing it was, and is, to see them with her. They are truly in love with her and she will be one spoiled with love little girl. As you can see from the picture she is beautiful and seriously has some of the best cheeks that I have ever seen on a baby! They offered for me to hold her after delivery but I did not want to steal any of their first moments and I was in so much pain that I did not want to move at all. I'm really surprised at myself for not crying from the pain which I had expected to do. At the time I said if I'm a surrogate again (which the doctor already said I could do again) there's no way I would do it unmedicated again, but now after forgetting a little bit of the pain I think I would try it unmedicated again. Funny how you instantly forget the bad parts and only think of the good parts. After I had a chance to think again I gave Dr Helmbrecht a gift card and water bottle I made her which she seemed to really appreciate as well as a card to say how much her thoughtful care has meant to me not only for this pregnancy and delivery but throughout all of my pregnancies and for the past 10 years. She truly goes above and beyond in giving excellent and safe care and puts her heart into her work. I am a little mad that I had a card and gift card for Jessie but it went missing after delivery. Don't worry, I got her another because I needed her to know how much her friendship and nursing care has meant to me throughout the pregnancy and especially the delivery. I could not have done it without the two of them at my side. Ok back to the parents since really the story is about them and their new family. Jessie stayed late of course, she wouldn't leave me until I was settled, and moved me over to post partum. Once there we realized that everyone apparently delivered that day and the dad's may not get their own room. I had said that rather than leave their baby I would let them stay with me but it worked out and thanks to amazing charge nurses they got a room in L&D and they could privately bond with their baby. Trust me, as much as I love spending time with them I wanted them to have their alone time with their baby girl. After a night of sleeping and pumping and crying because I was uncomfortable I finally felt half way like a person again. After showering I had the chance to visit baby Emily and hold her for the first time. As I said before it feels so odd that she was ever in my belly because when I see her or hold her it's truly like holding a friend's baby and not like I actually carried her at all. The parents ended up going home with her that night and I ended up staying an extra night which was awesome because I was still in pain, especially when pumping, and the post baby hormones were making me cry for no reason. I seriously sat in bed and cried numerous times, actually up until yesterday, and if you asked me why I was crying I couldn't even give a reason. I was so afraid for anyone to see me cry because I was afraid they'd think it was for the baby but it completely was not. If anything it was just from pain and my body just didn't know what to do so I broke down when I was alone. I'm not sure if the crying is why my eyes swelled so much but even today my eyes look so puffy from swelling and fluid retention. I'm glad to say that now 3 days out I only cried once today and that was from happiness because I found out the dad's used my middle name for the baby, Ann, although with an E. They said that name has significance in their life for many reasons, but either way I feel honored and it makes me so happy! While the dad's were getting settled into their new life as a family of 3 I had numerous friends message me and check on me which I am grateful for as well as another surrogate friend, Jenn that lives close to the hospital that visited me twice while there. the first night she brought me the most delicious milk shake ever and even rubbed my feet and helped me get myself situated. It was really nice to have someone there that understood my feelings and what I was going through. I can't say recovery has been pain free because this morning it felt like I either got hit by a car or ran a marathon, and when I pump I still cramp really bad but otherwise the only bad part of recovery has been the crazy hormones which have finally gotten better today. I need to keep reminding myself to take it easy and not even walk around too much, which is hard to do when you don't have a baby to take care, but once I start moving around too much I have pain again and remember that I need to take it easy. I am an active person so sitting on the couch doing nothing is easier said than done. I guess pumping has actually helped me rest since every 2-4 hours all day I have to sit for a good half hour just to pump milk. Speaking of which, it was so disappointing when I barely had milk the first two days. I am used to breastfeeding where you get more and don't see it, but now day 3 it has really picked up and I'm making an awesome amount! I'm hoping to drop some off tomorrow for the Dad's to feed her before the snowstorm hits. Of course we will get the big snow when I'm off work anyways haha. I have had the chance to talk to Emily's parents a few times today and it sounds like they are settling right into fatherhood and being awake at night etc.... as I said before it was so amazing to see their love for their baby girl from the moment they met her, even the nurse's commented about how in love and devoted to her they already were. I am happy and sad at the same time that the main part of our journey is over. It has truly been amazing and I am so honored that they chose me to carry their baby girl for them. It makes me so happy that they want to continue a relationship now and be family friends and see each other a few times a year, probably more for right now because of milk but I know that even our kid's want to have a relationship with them so it means a lot to me that they are open to it as well. This is something we discussed prior to the contracts as well since it is something we all wanted. Surprisingly the kid's have loved seeing pictures of Emily but have not asked too many times to see her, I think they understood that they couldn't go to the hospital and are ok with waiting a week or two before meeting her. The Dad's are also planning a get together in a few weeks for me to meet their family which I am really excited about... they really are two amazing men that are now two amazing fathers. I feel like this birth story went on for forever and I am sure that I missed a few things but if you have any questions as always I am an open book and willing to answer almost anything! I will add a few pictures in the bottom with explanations... as I said it was such an amazing experience that truly could not have been more perfect! One of my last work out's with surrobaby.... let's hope I don't lose all of my muscle mass while recovering haha! Cody helping me crawl the baby out.... let's just say that did not work at all. A sweet gift basket a few of my nurse coworkers made me. I did not realize how awesome the cooling face mask would be until I saw how swollen my eyes were after delivery. Pink for a baby girl... I could really get used to being pampered and having my nails done, not sure my bank account could. My amazing friend and awesome nurse Jessie.... I love this girl <3 she is one of the most supportive and kind people that I know! All set up to monitor the baby! I am so glad I bought my own hospital gown from Amazon, I felt so much more comfortable in this than the one the hospital has. So I insisted on trying a new monitor that you could walk around with... let's just say it was not a good idea. None of us realized that you literally had to sand skin off with sand paper to get it attached. Jessie and Dr Helmbrecht both felt horrible with the marks it left after, but leave it to me to want to try something new haha! Keeping it real... Ellie got a picture during a painful contraction. I have to say facebook and messaging as well as music kept me somewhat distracted when I was in pain, although at certain points when a contraction started I would throw my phone across the bed where I couldn't reach it and then wonder why I did that. On another note I was so glad I packed my heating pad for after delivery, I for some reason get contractions in my thighs and at Ellie's suggestion I used it on my leg during labor and it really really helped, thanks Ellie! In the original picture the dad's are next to Ellie holding Emily, but I wanted to maintain their privacy so I cropped it. Honestly this picture means so much to me because this is the amazing team that helped bring a beautiful baby girl into the world and into her dad's arms. I just can't get over how perfectly the birth went! First of all look at those amazing cheeks! Such an honor to help bring this beautiful baby girl into the world <3 Unfortunately the one person missing from the amazing delivery was Jeremy but don't worry Jeremy I had chapstick and honestly I felt more supported having him home with the kid's and making sure they were well taken care of... Thank you Jeremy for being so supportive during the entire process... it wasn't really just me carrying a baby for another family it was a sacrifice from my entire family which I truly do appreciate! My sweet friend Jenn that brought me a delicious milkshake after delivery and delivered her surrobaby exactly a month before!!! On the right is beautiful flowers that the dad's gave me during labor and on the left is gifts from the kid's to make me smile while in the hospital <3 Liquid gold... need I say more! I am so happy that Emily's parents want me to pump and provide milk for their baby girl... it makes me feel like I can still do something to help them out in the first few weeks of her life! 39 weeks and 36 hours after birth! So weird not to have Emily in my belly anymore! Cody is super excited to have my lap back! Emily was not leaving any room for Cody to cuddle during storytime.
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It’s so hard to believe that we are 37 weeks pregnant! Technically baby is full term and could come anytime now.... although she seems to be quite comfy. We had an ultrasound last Monday at 36 weeks 3 days and the dad’s got to be there which was awesome. According to the high risk OB she was measuring 7lb 1oz (Cody’s birth weight at full term) and was even practicing breathing on the ultrasound. He said she can come anytime now and believes if she waits until 40 weeks she will be 9lb. I know the ultrasound can be off but I would be lying if I said that didn’t make me nervous. They used a brand new machine and went by limb measurements as well as abdominal measurements etc so I am inclined to trust what they said for this baby. All we can do now is hope for a smooth and safe delivery for surrobaby and I! Everyone seems to be asking how I’m feeling so I will be honest. This pregnancy at the end has been more difficult than it was with my three kids. I really think it has to do purely with her sizd since my kids were 7lb or under at birth. I’ve had quite a bit of backpain in the evenings, contractions that go away when I sleep, and just have not been comfortable. I am also exhausted but working full time, being pregnant with a big baby and having 3 kids will easily do that to a person. I am managing to struggle through work but I can’t say that at the end of the day that I am not just completely done, especially since when I get home there are still 3 kids to care for and get stuff ready for the next day. All complaining aside I am sure I will easily forget about the pain and exhaustion and want to do this again in two years. I haven’t even delivered the baby yet and already am just so excited that I have the opportunity to help a family grow, I can’t imagine not doing it again if I can physically do so. Plus I know her dad’s will be awesome parents and I can’t wait to see them with their baby girl! 3 or less weeks, I don’t think we want to go over the due date because of her size, plus I’m already, as of last Wednesday, 1.5cm and 50% effaced which means induction should go smoothly if we decide to do that. Either way soon I will be able to sleep and move well again and this baby will be where she belongs! So I think I’ve had these burp cloths made from cloth diapers pinned on Pinterest to make since before Cody was born but finally decided to make them! I love how they turned out and what’s great is they are super absorbent since they are made from diapers. I now wish I had made the effort to make them with my own kids! I may not have any real cravings but who could resist these cinnamon rolls from food lion that remind me of childhood.... plus I can easily enjoy them and notfeel guilty while pregnant! Jeremy and I managed a date night to see Annihilation and had the opportunity to go to ipic which was perfect since they have reclining chairs and I could easily relax with the back pain. Although I will say it seemed to hurt more sitting in the chairs than I thought it would. We joked that the escalator being out and me having to walk up the large flight of stairs would induce labor since I was full term but no such luck. I think surrobaby’s dads are like jeremy and would be ok with another few weeks of waiting! Jeremy said he wasn’t prepared until the 3rd baby and still doesn’t quite feel prepared hahaha! My running may have taken a downward spiral this pregnancy but I’m happy I can still work out some and have been able to focus more on arms.... maybe I will scare Jeremy. As for running I am trying to manage 1 mile a day but that mile is sometimes with like 4 or 5 breaks and other times smooth and I can run the entire thing, really just depends on the day! Working out gives me energy so I’m happy I can still do something although I will say each day is getting harder to either grt out of bed to work out in the AM or to go in the evening
Well that’s all for now! I will do a 38 week update after my appointment on Friday, unless the baby comes before then. Well that's fun... I just wrote an entire post and it deleted... let me try this again!!! I cannot believe that we are at the 36 week mark tomorrow! I feel like time went so slow at the beginning and now it is going so so fast. I am ready to have my body and energy back but I feel like I will miss the belly some, yes I know that's strange. 36 weeks means that although the baby would be considered preterm if she was born right now there is a chance she may not even need the nicu. I am hoping she stays put until 38 weeks since at that point she is considered full term, but we will see what happens. I had my 36 week appointment on Tuesday with Dr Martin, he delivered Cody, and I think I had forgotten about what a sweet doctor he is. He always makes a point to ask about my family and could not believe that it's been 4 years since he delivered my sweet boy, I honestly can't believe it either since it feels like just yesterday. Last week I requested blood to be drawn for a CBC (complete blood count) since I've been feeling so tired, craving ice and my legs have felt weak, luckily I am not anemic but my values did drop to slightly below normal. They also were lower than previously which may account for some of my feelings, but the rest is probably just the baby's position. Dr Martin said that this baby seems to carry close to me and higher up as opposed to carrying out so she squishes my organs more. I really just wanted the blood work done to make sure everything was good for delivery since anemia can cause issues for the baby and can be riskier for me at delivery and after. On another note because of the heart burn I have only gained 15 lbs total and that was really all in the first 28 weeks. Neither of the doctors have seemed concerned since the baby is still growing but I am guessing that is why I feel more weak as well. I have really tried to start eating more earlier in the day when I feel better and I am thinking by the next visit I will have gained a few more lbs, I think with Cody I gained 20 or so lbs and a lot of it was towards the last few weeks. Since I am getting towards the end of this pregnancy I finally packed my hospital bag last weekend, or maybe I should say over packed. You would think since I won't have a baby I wouldn't need as much but somehow I think I managed to pack just as much as I would have anyways, but the good news is I probably won't have to ask Jeremy to bring me anything! I will have to post a pic of my bags in the next blog post. I am trying to think of anything that I missed since the last blog post. I think for the most part I have been feeling better after being on/off sick for a few weeks with different things (now of course two of my kid's have strep and I'm hoping I don't get it), but atleast nothing else has been going on! ,We did have a snow day somewhere since the last blog post and that meant I spent a few hours playing with my cricut! I made my favorite L&D nurse/early morning gym partner, and hopefully my nurse for delivery, the OB nurse shirt, and of course Dr Helmbrecht the baby catcher shirt! I was then selfish and made a few shirts for myself... I think my current favorite shirt is the one that says I Feel Like I'm Already Tired Tomorrow, since yes that's honestly how I feel most days. Perhaps while I'm home after this baby I should make my coworkers some shirts or water bottles to make up for the fact that I feel so guilty that so many people have to cover for me while I am out. I know most of them are excited about everything and always ask questions but I still feel bad that they will have to do extra work to make up for me not being there. When I delivered my own kid's I never even thought of bringing gifts for the nurse's but this time I wanted to do something since it's for a surrogacy delivery and it's almost like having extra patients. I made these water bottles for all of the nurse's that care for us and included my favorite pen, chapstick and my favorite mints, I hope they enjoy them! I always enjoy running with my girls so a few weeks ago I decided it was a good idea to sign up for a virtual run with them. This means that we could pick when and where to run and got these cute medals and hats for signing up. We picked on Valentine's Day and I assumed it'd be an easy 2.14 mile run. I was SO wrong... it was so difficult for me and I had to take so many breaks, I swear my body saw inclines in the road that weren't even there and had to stop after each one. Needless to say I will not have any more runs outside until after this baby is born. It's so hard to believe that I was able to run 5 miles a few times a week outside up until 37 weeks pregnant with Cody, must be something about this baby girl that is making it so hard for me. Let's hope getting back to running after her isn't hard since I have a half planned 5 weeks after and another one 6 weeks after (the 6 week one is more important sine it's part of the King Crab Challenge). Crazy what a difference 20 weeks an make!!!!! I'd say my belly as grown slightly. I have to end my blog post with a sweet picture of my baby boy after a haircut!
It's so hard to believe that at 33 weeks baby is the size of a pineapple. That sounds so huge... then again I'm used to tiny babies and apparently this one is probably going to be a large one compared to mine. Zoe was only 6lb 7oz, Ellie 6lb 3oz and Cody was big for me at 7lb 1oz. Luckily I know that I have successfully birthed 3 babies so I am hoping that this will go just as smoothly and honestly it's all in the head and shoulder size, and Cody did have a large head. Right at 32 weeks we went for what I thought was our last ultrasound (turns out we get another one at 36 weeks). As you can see baby is already looking adorable, I think her parents were excited to see how much she looked like a baby in these pictures as opposed to a non 3d ultrasound. There were two main things that I was curious about for the ultrasound, one being if the baby is head down and two being her size, at 32 weeks usually babies are around 3.75 lbs. Well...... luckily she is already head down and in position but she is quite a bit larger than I thought at 4lb 9oz. Now I know ultrasounds can be way off but they measured her limbs and used that to say she was measuring a week ahead. As I said I am confident delivery will go smoothly either way, I'm just hoping shes long and lean with an average head and shoulders and not a bigger head than Cody had. We will see what she measures at the 36 week ultrasound. Although the ultrasound was exciting I have to say I was not feeling well at all the day of the appointment. I had some heartburn and nausea at my OB appointment before the ultrasound but once I had to lay down for the ultrasound it honestly became unbearable. The dad's were ready to hand me a trashcan but luckily the ultrasound tech had me lay on my side which made me feel so much better. I am really not used to the heartburn since I didn't really have it with my kid's but I need to learn to take my Zantac as the doctor prescribed and to watch my diet. I really can't eat too much in the evening due to feeling so full and the heartburn so I am trying to pack more food into the daytime to make up for lost calories later in the day. If I do make the mistake of eating too much or the wrong foods I end up throwing up and regretting it so I really try to avoid that, then again not eating much in the evenings causes me to wake up starving which isn't fun either. I really shouldn't complain too much, although these symptoms aren't fun I really am enjoying the overall experience of this pregnancy and can't say that I'm not considering doing this again in a few years for another family. As I said before I saw my OB the same day as my ultrasound and honestly who doesn't love a doctor that let's you take a selfie with her!!! She is awesome and I really hope that she is there to delivery this baby when it decides to come. As for the food pictures, even though I wasn't feeling well I still had to make a stop for my favorite apple fritter and saw this cookie that I could not resist. Royal Bakery in Germantown is awesome and really does have the most delicious food! After the ultrasound Jeremy met us for lunch and I gave these onsies to the dad's that I had made! I love the top middle one and wish I had it for my own kids but I don't think I had fully discovered the cricut and it's potential when they were born, haha! I am really trying to still keep up 10 miles a week and exercises classes because honestly I feel so much better on the days I work out! I did manage two weekend runs outside recently, one with Zoe, though I do think she was a bit aggravated at all of my breaks.... she probably got an entire extra mile in because she kept running everytime I stopped. I love this mother/daughter time, and hopefully next time I can convince Ellie to go! I always like these comparison shots with a sports bra because I feel like it's easier to see the difference. This is 27 and 32 weeks, so believe it or not a 5 week difference. I swear it feels like I've grown so much more than the picture shows. Here is another fun comparison pic... I think it's about 20 weeks in the first and 32 in the second... 12 week difference! What's funny is I felt like I looked so pregnant in the first picture but now in comparison I feel like I barely looked pregnant at all! Not pregnancy related but I had to show off my two cute basketball stars! Unfortunately Cody hates going to the games so I had a mother/son date with him at Target and Costco! I think Cody is ready to have my lap back... surrobaby really seems to get in the way during our nightly story time! This seems to be my nightly routine lately... bounce on a birthing ball to keep the baby in a good position and eat ice, I don't think I'm anemic but I love good soft ice! I also enjoy an almost nightly treat of ice cream and lately this baby has been craving Ben and Jerry's... .it's all for her of course, not me at all!!!! So lately this baby has been making me shop on amazon way too much.... again it's all her not me! Well I couldn't resist this cute non maternity dress because it looks great with the belly and will look great after pregnancy too!!!! I had to share these adorable pics from the father daughter dance this past weekend. I am one lucky woman <3 On another note how do my girls look so old all of the sudden? I had to share this because I am honestly still not sure how I fit in this car with Cody? Although apparently not well since he told me I was too big when we couldn't make it up the hill until I got out, haha! I will end my post with these beautiful flowers that surrobaby's parents had delivered to me! It's so sweet that they were thinking of me and wanted to make my day brighter when they know I'm not always feeling the greatest <3
I wanted to share from my fb post.
I have a mom brag moment! The health room called today because Zoe bumped her head and while the nurse or Tech, not sure which, was on the phone she mentioned that Zoe told her that I’m a surrogate for two dad’s and explained everything. She said she was almost in tears about how awesome it is, and I said yes Zoe doesn’t realize that not everyone knows what being a surrogate means so she sometimes just assumes people know. She said that she thinks it’s so awesome that it’s for two dad’s and that she wishes everyone could be as accepting as Zoe is. I guess I take for granted that all of my kids have known for a few years what surrogacy is and have known their entire lives that they can love whomever they want and that families can have two Dads, two moms, a mom and a Dad, or just a mom or a Dad. Cody and I have even had this conversation so really my kids don’t even know or understand that certain people are raised to believe that families have to be a certain way or that two men or two women can’t be married and have a family. This makes me see once again that hate is learned and that we need to raise our kids to know love and be accepting of others. I love that my kids realize that two dads can have a baby and that they themselves will always be accepted by their dad and i no matter whom they love. I also really love that they are always willing to educate people on me being a surrogate and that it’s for two dad’s... I feel like the more people are aware of things like this the more they are able to understand and accept.♥️ Kids are accepting of things different from themselves unless taught otherwise. We are officially in the third trimester at this point! Really in the picture above I am 29 weeks and 1 day but I was home sick on the day I turned 29 weeks and I am sure you did not want to see a picture of me in my pj's on the couch. At this point normally kick counts are important to do throughout the day but honestly this baby is so active every time I sit and relax that I don't really need to count anything. Shes a little more quiet in the mornings but evenings she is all over the place... I have a feeling her dad's better be prepared to keep her moving during those evening hours. As I said before I was sick during this time with a fever and all. Normally I would just rest and drink fluids but since this wasn't my baby I stayed home to rest and saw the doctor, but was very happy to hear it was just a virus. By the weekend I was starting to feel much better, which was great because on Saturday we were having lunch with the dad's and our amazing doula Ellie. As I've said before the Intended father's do not want their pictures posted on online but I did get a picture with them and the doula (they are on the ends)... I was very happy that they all seemed to get along and that I think delivery day will go smoothly! Thank you Ellie for being with us on this journey! I also made a fun shirt to wear and of course after taking pictures and wearing it to see the dad's I noticed that I forgot one letter in the word "working", I was glad that no one else noticed because I still plan on wearing it again but I'm sure it will continue to bother me, haha! We had a super yummy lunch at Vintage, and I even ate a cookie after so that the intended father's could feel their baby move but of course she was being stubborn and would barely move for them... hopefully next time. We also finally had the chance to give them their christmas gift which was an instapot. I think they liked it and we are hoping it helps them with quick dinners after their baby is here. While I was busy making the above shirt I also made the two on the left for the girls and the one on the right for me to wear after the baby is born. I really think one of the hardest things about being a surrogate will be the fact that I will still look pregnant and bigger after delivery but won't have a baby to carry around to show for it. Really it's a minor thing in the entire process and would definitely not be a reason to say no to being a surrogate. Normally when you deliver a baby you only have your husband and maybe family in the room but this time I will have two other men so I have decided to get a pretty hospital gown to wear during the delivery. It has snaps up the back and it opens in the front bottom so it will work perfectly... thank you amazon! It also has snaps on the sleeve to help with pumping after delivery. Honestly I feel like it looks more like a dress than a delivery gown! It wouldn't be a blog post from me if I didn't have a picture of food so here are two of my recent favorite foods. I seem to have a fruit obsession, mainly grapes and apples... a yummy sour apple really hits the spot, even over candy which is good for me, hopefully I keep this craving after the baby. I also love Oh's.. if you've never had these you really need to try them. They don't sell them everywhere but I know target has them... I pretty much eat a bowl every day before going to the gym, so crunchy and delicious. While I'm talking about food I wanted to talk about how surrogacy is just like any other pregnancy, and there are negatives. My current negative is that surrobaby is up so high so she not only makes it hard to breathe but my heart burn is getting really bad. Most evenings my stomach is so squished that I can barely eat so really I don't eat much dinner and when I do I have really bad heart burn whenever I lay down. Normally I can take medicine to make it tolerable but the other night it was horrible, or so I thought. I ended up being up all night sick and throwing up and dry heaving, turns out I think it was a stomach bug but I really think the heart burn made it worse. I will say while it was going on I wasn't sure what was causing me to feel so sick, but I'm glad to figure out that it was not just the heart burn. I try to really eat a lot early in the day and if anything some saltine goldfish before bed so that I'm still getting all of the nutrients and calories that I need for the day. I find it so crazy to believe that we are already at 30 weeks pregnant, most likely 10 or less weeks to go! According to babycenter she is about 3lbs but I am assuming we will get an estimate at our 32 week ultrasound as well. I'm hoping to only be pushing out a 7lb baby but we will see... my kids ranged from 6lb 3oz to 7lb 1oz but obviously since this one isn't genetically mine who knows what size it will be! Right at the 30 week mark we went to OCMD to celebrate Zoe's 9th birthday... how is my oldest baby already 9! Time goes way too fast. I am actually really happy that she picked a family fun weekend over a party, the only problem was it was hard to find a good winter location when I can't leave the state of Maryland. If I were to deliver outside of Maryland there would be legal complications with whose on the birth certificate and I do not want to be on it and have to adopt the baby out, plus the parents obviously want to be on it so we stayed in Maryland. We actually found a pretty fun hotel in OC that had a nice indoor pool with a slide so really all of the kids had a ton of fun!! Plus surrobaby got to hang out at the pool... I always enjoy wearing a bikini when I'm pregnant because honestly any other time I feel self-conscious. So after being sick Monday night, working Tuesday, and resting this morning I finally got in a 5 mile run on the treadmill! I have not run 5 miles in so long so it felt great. They may have been slower than I'm used to and I may have taken frequent breaks but honestly 5 miles is 5 miles and I will take what I can get right now! Hopefully I'm over all of the sicknesses I will get this pregnancy because honestly the heartburn is enough to deal with without having to add anything else in. I wanted to end with a picture Cody drew of surrobaby and I.... pretty good for a 4 year old. I sent it to surrobaby's parents and they said they hope the proportions are off or we may have a difficult delivery, haha, not to mention baby is hopefully not feet down!
2 days until 31 weeks!!! I also forgot to mention that we met with the birth advisor at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital on Monday and she was awesome! She answered all of the guys questions and made us all feel assured that everyone there has dealt with surrogacy and will know what to do on delivery day!!! about 9 weeks and counting! We have reached 28 weeks this week which means we will be entering the third and final trimester within the next week! Surrobaby is measuring about 2 and 1/4 lbs and is about 14.8 inches, which seems huge considering how much she has grown in the past 28 weeks. I have felt so hungry certain days so maybe baby girl is telling me she needs more food to grow. My weight gain in the past few weeks has been about a lb per week, maybe slightly more sometimes, which is right on track. I have been making an effort to mostly make healthy choices but I can't say that's always possible. I have been feeling great for the most part and have still been able to make it to the gym, however my workouts have switched most days from running to a class, or cardio and weights. Certain days I feel great to run and other days it's just not working out so I have really had to learn to listen to my body and to go with the flow. Luckily it's been so cold out that I have resorted to the treadmill (which I hate) so I really don't mind switching it up when I need to. I had an OB appointment on the day that I reached 28 weeks and was told that I passed my glucose test which is awesome, bring on the doughnuts! I also met another newer doctor in the practice who seemed really nice and supportive, which is great since you really never know who will be on call to delivery this baby. The only real concern I had to bring up with him is the varicose veins, which I thought was genetic and from running but he says he thinks primarily genetic, so again thanks Mom! I was able to get a prescription at my last OB visit for support stockings so I picked those up and although I feel like I can't breathe in them they are really supportive for my legs. Exciting news for this week has been that the Dad's have made their first (of many) big baby purchases! This carseat looks awesome and I can't wait to see pictures of this baby girl in it and on her way home. I have absolutely loved being pregnant and carrying this baby for two such wonderful people, whom already love her so much! I think they are more than ready to bring her home and to experience all of the sleepless nights, midnight feedings, and of course all of the sweet newborn snuggles that every new parent enjoys. This baby seems to be extremely active (even kept me awake the other night) so if she's anything like the other super active baby I carried, Cody, then she will be a great sleeper with a very calm personality. Then again I do think it's just easier to feel kicking after multiple pregnancies so maybe Zoe and Ellie were just as active and I just didn't feel it as much. Unfortunately we were not able to meet up with the Dad's over Christmas break but Jeremy and I are excited to be meeting them this coming weekend for lunch and for them to meet our sweet Doula. Of course after lunch they will visit with the kid's at well, since I know my kid's are very excited to tell them about how the baby has been kicking and how they have been able to feel it! I am really hoping that she is super active on Saturday so that they can feel the kick's for themselves.. I may need a coffee and doughnut before the visit. As we enter the third trimester everything really seems to be coming into place including our PBO being finalized. For those of you that do not remember from my previous post a PBO is a prebirth order that the hospital is given to show that once this baby is born it is legally their baby and not mine. This is important for the birth certificate (since I do not want to have to adopt a baby that is not mine to her parents), and for insurance. The PBO is also why it is important that I now remain in state if at all possible since some of the surrounding states are not as surrogacy friendly and may not recognize our PBO. Along with the PBO our agency has helped to create a birth plan, not a traditional birth plan that discusses labor, but rather one that tells the hospital staff what will happen with the baby after delivery etc. I will not be doing a traditional birth plan since I never have before and honestly prefer to go with the flow and take things as they come. I think you can "want" a lot of things for delivery but really until your in the actual scenario you can't really say what will happen so I prefer to wait and see. I have ideas of what I may want or need but we will see what happens! Wouldn't be a visit with my sister if we didn't match multiple times, haha! Surrobaby looks likes she's hiding in some of the pictures but I really think it just depends what I'm wearing as to how big my belly looks and some days I just feel way larger than other days. These were a few pictures I took on Christmas morning to send to the parents! I wanted to share a few pictures of celebrating Christmas with my family as well as my nephews! We had our annual gingerbread house decorating and of course I got some snuggles from their dog Bruce. He really seemed to love snuggling surrobaby and did remain right next to her all of Christmas Eve night. Six kid's were exhausting to have in the house for a few days straight, especially since we couldn't be outside in the cold too much, but honestly that's the best way to spend a holiday! Christmas pictures with my family... my kid's are looking so much older than last year! While home on Christmas break my sister (who has been a surrogate before) and I had the opportunity to meet another awesome surrogate for lunch. She is a surrogate for a friend of hers that she knew previously, so it's slightly different circumstances, but it was great to meet up with someone local that is going through a very similar thing and has a due date very close to mine. Honestly I wish I knew more local surrogates to connect with, I love answering questions and being a resource and love having someone to connect with if I have any of my own questions. We had a great time and set up another date next weekend to have lunch again which I am really excited about! I am hoping as we head towards the end of these pregnancies that we can be a great resource to each other and support for after delivery... plus we can do pedicures before delivery so that we have pretty toes! You know I can’t have a blog post without delicious doughnuts. I’d have to say my favorite is the apple fritter from Royal Bakery in Germantown... they have awesome bagels too and I do not get there enough! The other awesome doughnuts are from Harris Teeter and of course Glory Doughnuts which I had to get on their first day back open after remodeling... yes to me it was worth the 40 minute wait in the cold for, Jeremy does not agree! I swear I always love donuts anyways but the addiction has gotten crazier with this pregnancy! Since I had 3 unhealthy pictures I had to include a picture of these awesome sweet potato fries I made from scratch in my new air fryer! On the same day I hade chance to go to Royal Bakery I also had time to bring my sweet friend coffee at work. If you remember from my previous post Jessie is a labor and delivery nurse at Shady Grove Adventist which is where I will be delivering... I am hoping and praying that she can and will be there when I deliver! She’s also my gym buddy these days since my runs outside m have not happened. While visiting her I thought I’d try out a delivery bed! Amazingly I had two babies there and I still don’t really remember the unit... then again atleast for Zoe’s delivery it was all a painful and fast blur. It was really a tough decision as to which hospital to deliver at since I loved FMH and used to work there in post partum but picked SGAH since it’s closer to the parents and my favorite doctor is more likely to be on call! Jeremy and I on a much needed date night! On weekends I really try to prepack lunches for the week but lately have been slacking so after winter break it was the perfect time to start again. I seem to be getting more and more tired as this pregnancy progresses so any time I can save on a week night I will take! I can’t believe we are in 2018 and this surrobaby will officially be born this year! I feel like my Good Vibes shirt was perfect for the New Year in hopes of good vibes only for the remainder of the pregnancy.
I also made lentil soup since it’s a family tradition for goodluck with money in the New Year! It was so warm and delicious and perfect for this cold weather. I hope everyone is having a great start to their new year! We are at the 24 week mark... I can't believe that this little girl is 24 weeks along which means viability. Although we do not want her born yet it is reassuring to know that she is viable and with lots of help has potential to survive at this point. It's the perfect time to compare her to a venti coffee at starbucks since delicious holiday drinks are out now... my personal favorite is the toasted white chocolate mocha! I feel like this is the point in pregnancy when everyone notices my belly and likes to ask questions. I just want to note that I love any and all questions and am very open to answering anything about the surrogacy that I can so please feel free to ask away! I've had a few comments from strangers about having another baby and for some reason I feel the need to always add in that it's not mine and that I'm a surrogate. I do know that some surrogates just say thanks and move on but I like to shed a positive light on surrogacy and to share as much as I can whenever I have the opportunity. Honestly I've only had positive responses from anyone that I've told which is awesome! Surrogacy is such a beautiful thing and I am so grateful for the opportunity to carry this baby girl for her parents and to watch her family grow when she enters the world in March. For those of you that know me... I NEVER stay up past 8:30 and rarely have energy to go out but I did make it out to Vintage one night with friends from the neighborhood and then again for a favorite things party with friends from Urbana. If you have never been to a favorite things party they are so so fun... you bring 4 of the same things (your favorite things) and you draw 4 names from a hat for who to give it to and then in return you end up with 4 of other peoples favorite things. It's so fun to see what other people like and to get to try it for yourself! I would blame being tired on this baby and on pregnancy but honestly it's not rare for me to go to bed at 8:30 when not pregnant simply because I like to wake up early to run in the morning and have it over with for the day. On a side note my awesome friend Jessie, in the first pic on the right is a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital I will be delivering at and I am praying she is my nurse... or can atleast be there as my friend! She has been so supportive this pregnancy and has done most of my slow (or stopping in the middle) runs with me and is always super concerned about the baby and how I'm feeling! I am lucky to have such great and supportive friends. We found time one weekend to go to Hersheypark at Christmas time... which if you've never been is so fun! It was cold but not extremely cold so it was a good day to go, plus I found this cute maternity sweater at Motherhood that is comfy and fits perfectly! The kid's always enjoy the rides and lights and we ended the trip with a night at Eden Resort in Lancaster and of course the best brunch ever with Santa! Surrobaby had to visit with Santa as well! So after my first half marathon earlier in pregnancy I was super excited to sign up for another half but of course a few weeks later realized that running was just getting harder and harder so I switched that race to a 10k. Let's just say that I am SO glad I switched to the 10k because that morning even that was a struggle. No cramping or issues with the baby but my legs felt so weak... must be the varicose veins that I am so lucky to have, thanks Mom, and the extra weight from the baby. I had another 10k a week later and it wasn't much better, I had to walk some for both of them which is fine with me, I was just so glad that I could finish. My goal this pregnancy is to just keep moving.. with Cody I ran up to 5 miles certain days until 37 weeks but for this pregnancy I am just not sure that will happen. We will see! 25 weeks and baby is the size of an acorn squash. I feel like each week is such a big milestone and each week the parents seem to get more and more excited! So is this pregnancy is progressing I feel like this baby is up so much higher than my kid's were which is causing wonderful heartburn. Luckily I found these delicious tums that look and sorta taste like mentos! If I'm going to need tums I'm glad these are not chalky and are much more tolerable to me... I highly recommend them if you are ever in need! As for the breathe right strips... let's just say I had a not so fun sinus infection and these helped tremendously at night! Unfortunately I still needed an antibiotic and a day off of work but in the end I am feeling much better for the most part! 26 weeks and baby is the size of a head of lettuce! A fun fact for 26 weeks is that the baby starts to open her eyes at this point... feels kind of weird that she could be looking at the inside of my belly, haha! Other than the heartburn I still have from her being so high... and the varicose veins I continue to have I can't really complain too much about this pregnancy. For those of you that have never had varicose veins, they suck! Running and the weight of pregnancy make them worse and in turn it makes my legs tired during running... but I was happy to find out that my insurance pays for 6 free pairs of support stockings! I still haven't had a chance to get them from the store yet but hopefully soon! I did buy one pair off amazon but they don't quite look right under most of my clothes so we will see how the others look. I had them with Cody as well but I'm sure with each pregnancy they are something that just gets worse and worse. Some yummy treats I have recently made... luckily the one in the middle one is atleast delicious and healthy. Honestly you can't go wrong with a caramel rice cake, peanut butter and banana... so so good! The other two are xmas treats because how can I deny santa a few yummy things, especially these cake batter balls! Luckily at almost 27 weeks I am still able to make it to some gym classes... though I do need to modify some activities... and I finally got in a good 5 mile run with no stops. Runs seem to be hit or miss for me, it may have helped that this was flat and not on the treadmill! Either way it felt good to know that at 26 weeks I can still run! At 26.5 weeks it was time for the gestational diabetes glucose tolerance test. This test sucks for quite a few reasons... number one my lab says to fast so I had to not eat anything before going, number two this drink would be gross on a normal day but is even worse on a day you have to fast. I am happy to say that I did not vomit, but I won't say I wasn't close. I haven't gotten the results yet but as I told the dad's no news is good news and I will probably find out next Friday if it's negative. I am not too worried since I do try to include protein and carbs in every meal, so that it's not just carbs constantly, and I exercise on a consistent basis. Either way I know you can still have gestational diabetes even with a good diet and exercise so I will just stay hopeful that I do not, it would but a major killer to my donut addiction! 27 weeks and we are nearing the third trimester... time really flies towards the end of pregnancy! Baby has been super active for the past few weeks which is fun for my kid's to see and feel and always exciting for me since it means baby is doing well! I have plans to see the dad's on January 6th so I can't wait for them to have the chance to hopefully feel their baby move that day. I may have to have a donut and/or starbucks just to help them out with that! Next blog update will be after Christmas so I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday season!!!! Don't forget to also check out the frequently asked questions page which I updated... and feel free to ask any additional questions that you would like me to answer on there.
Well let me start by saying I wrote an entire blog post and the website deleted it before I posted it so let's hope I can remember all of what I wrote! 22 weeks and baby is the size of a corn on the cob... hard to believe we only have 18 weeks left until she is in her parents arms. I love being pregnant but I also cannot wait to see her two dad's become parents for the first time! I think it is becoming more real for them but I'm sure when your not the one with a growing belly it doesn't feel real as fast as it does when you have a daily visual reminder that kicks you from the inside. The day we hit 22 weeks we took the girls to a nationals cross country meet in Ohio. It's so awesome to watch your kid's do something that they love, that they are good at and that you can do with them sometimes, although right now they'd probably both be faster than me! It was a muddy race as you can see in the picture but they did an awesome job and Ellie even placed 11th for 7 year olds, which made her happy since she got to go on stage to get her award. They both beat their fastest times by a significant chunk of time which I think is awesome since really you can only truly compete with yourself to see if your improving. Very proud Mama here!!! While in Ohio and our next stop Pittsburgh, we made sure to get tons of yummy food to feed surrobaby! Of course doughnuts had to be included more than once since the baby seems to crave them. I am also craving salads so maybe they even each other out?!?!? I also included a picture from one of my early am treadmill runs at the hotel. For some reason I’ve been waking up super early and since everyone else was still asleep when I wake up early on vacation I figured it’d be an awesome time to get in a good run at the hotel gym! While in Pittsburgh we visited different museums that the kids really enjoyed and what we enjoyed was that we could get into some of them free with our Baltimore Science Center Pass. Seriously belonging to your local science center is a really worthwhile investment since you can visit many different museums in many other states for free! We usually try to find atleast one in each place we go to entertain the kid's and I have to say the Science Center in Pittsburgh is one of the most awesome ones that we have been too! Of course at one of the places we visited a dinosaur skull had to "eat" the baby because it wouldn't be as fun if we couldn't include her in something. While away we also had a visit with Santa and his friends for the first time this season! I forgot to ask for what I wanted for Christmas but maybe next visit? After a quick stop over at home to do laundry and pack again we were off to NC to visit my sister and her family for Thanksgiving. We of course had a visit at one of their museums and the kid's just loved playing with their cousins! In fact on Thanksgiving they were so busy I only got a picture with the littlest Turkey... I love his shirt, it says "Eat Pizza", haha. I don't think he appreciated it as much as me though, which is usually how it goes. Of course on top of yummy Thanksgiving food we also had to buy this $5 cinnamon roll from Sam's Club and yes I ate that entire section myself in one evening... nevermind I will blame it on the baby and say she ate it!!! Luckily we did manage to get some workouts in while I was gone to make up for all of the treats! I feel like at this point in my pregnancy my body is just getting more tired, especially my legs during runs so I decided to switch my Baltimore half marathon on 12/2 to a 10k. I was a little sad at first but honestly the baby comes first and if I'm feeling fatigued it is best not to push it and to just enjoy the run in general. I am lucky that I haven't had any cramping or pain, other than when I had pants on without belly support, because at that point I would have to stop all together. Hard to believe that now at 23 weeks I have a grapefruit in my belly. The belly has really popped out at this point and I think that people that had no idea I was pregnant before, have no question about it now! I love having a pregnant belly and not just feeling like I'm in the "fat" stage where people aren't sure what's going on. The only problem with popping out is that I feel like I'm carrying her so high and if I eat too much I feel full really quickly and sick plus it makes it hard to breathe at times. I can't remember if it's how I carried the girls but I do know that I carried Cody much lower and never felt like I couldn't breathe when I was too full. Since I did say I was craving salads I wanted to post this delicious salad I made the other day... yummmmyyyyy!!!!! Excuse my HS staff bathroom pic but I love having the baby belly!!! Even though this one wasn't on my original blog post I wanted to share a picture of Zoe and Ellie feeling the baby kick. They loved it and even said "she's alive"!
I feel like this is such a great learning opportunity for all of my kid's in regards to pregnancy and the entire process. The girls are older so they love to hear about how the baby is developing where as Cody doesn't care as much about that but loves to talk about whose baby it is and say he loves her! Not only do the kid's get to learn about pregnancy but Cody and I had a nice talk yesterday about the fact that families can all be made differently. He was very interested to learn that some families have a mom and a dad, some have two dad's, some have two mom's, and some have just a mom or a dad. The awesome thing about a 4 year old is that since he is so young this is now his normal and he will always know that he can love and have a family with whom ever he wants. <3 Finally time to update my blog! I realize haven’t updated in awhile so here is what’s been going on in the last two weeks. I guess we will start with the day after my last post which was a double date night with this babies Dad’s. I cannot post a picture of all of us but I do have one of me and the cute maternity dress I wore! We went to dinner at Isabellas’s and then went for dessert at Cakes to Die For, so delicious. We had fun talking about plans for the birth, nursery plans they have for the babies room and other things for the future of the pregnancy. It was an awesome night and I hope we can manage to do it again this pregnancy! I also attacheded a picture of the gifts I got for the dad’s and surrobaby. The week after that we had Halloween and of course my 20 week appointment and the big ultrasound with the anatomy scan. The 20 week appointment was uneventful, I literally saw the doctor for less than 2 minutes after waiting 30 but honestly that’s okay it means he baby is healthy. The big ultrasound happened on Friday and luckily both Dad’s could make it, it was so wonderful to see their happiness when they saw their baby on the screen. During the ultrasound the Tech kept going back to look at images of the heart even though she said she was trying to see the entire right arm but since I’ve been through this before I kind of figured she was looking at different views of the heart over and over again for a reason. I didn’t want to alarm the dad’s in case I was wrong but when Dr Kramer came in he did say they could not easily find what way the aorta was pointing. I love Dr Kramer and completely trust him so when he said he thinks it’s just a “variation of normal” I completely believe him, and none of us are really too worried at this point. He said his son has an aorta that looks similar and that he honestly didn’t think he’d see it again in his career but that it’s not that rare just not always detected during a persons life time. The good news is that it would not impact the baby at all if this is in fact what is going on. He said that he recommends fetal echocardiograms with all IVF pregnancies so we have one scheduled for 11/13 which he said will give us a definitive answer but I really do believe him when he says he’s not worried at all. Overall everything else looked wonderful and it appears I am carrying an active healthy baby! I say active because now I constantly feel her move and even Jeremy could feel it one evening. I can’t wait until the dad’s can feel her move too! Other than that it brings me to 21 weeks today! I think I am finally popping out and people that don’t know I’m pregnant are asking now when I am due. Every time someone asks I always love to share that it’s not my baby and it’s a great time to educate people about surrogacy. I really love having people ask questions and being able to share the details. There aren’t many surrogates in this area so usually I am the first one that most people have met! So far I am loving this pregnancy and really enjoying the experience of being a surrogate! oh and on another note this baby is still allowing me to run so we have another half marathon planned for December 2nd in Baltimore! I do manage some gym classes but outside is best so as you can see I had my first cold run outside, although I ended up being a bit over dressed haha! On another note I may not really have any cravings but I am loving these goldfish crackers when I’m hungry before bed! I didn’t even know the “original” flavor existed before pregnancy. I am really just loving food in general, I have not been too picky. I of course had to share this picture of my 3 Halloween cuties! |
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