38 Weeks - Countdown Is On!

In exactly 1 week, the parents will finally get to hold their sweet baby girl!! I can't believe this journey has almost come to an end! It went by so fast!

I finished up my last day at work last week and I'm looking forward to a huge chunk of Summer with time off to spend with my family! I really could not have planned this better, timing-wise. After recovering for a couple of weeks and trying to pump as much milk for them as I can, we are taking a 2-week family road trip (are we crazy?!) to Disneyland, Palm Springs & Utah. Seeing lots of extended family in PS & Utah will be a blast!

Speaking of pumping, the parents bought me a super fancy Hands-free Double Breast Pump. I opened it today to wash & sterilize everything - it kinda felt like Christmas!

The last few doctors appointments have been smooth & normal. We have just one more to go before the tentative induction date (still next Wednesday - 7/10). At the last one 2 days ago, I was only 1 cm dilated and not much effaced. I am still feeling really good and not terribly uncomfortable. Braxton Hicks contractions are getting a little more intense, but still very sporadic. Sometimes they come once an hour for a while, but then I won't feel one for several hours. My feet are very swollen, which I am used to happening with my other pregnancies in the last month. It's not easy to keep them elevated when I have my own kids, laundry, etc. to attend to. They aren't even recognizable as feet. I said to my loving husband "Look at my feet!" and his response was "Is that what you call those?". :)

I got to see a lot of the parents the last few weeks I was at work - they actually checked in to my hotel for almost 2 weeks! Their "make room for baby" re-organizing project turned into a bigger construction project than they had anticipated (as those things tend to go). It was fun to see so much of them and I'm sure they really enjoyed seeing the belly every day too.

Leaving you with a belly shot - many people tell me I look like I'm carrying on the small side. I feel about the same as I did with my own two, and they were 7.5 lbs & 7.3 lbs.

38 Weeks

I'll be writing again within the week, I'm sure!

~Valentine

34 Weeks!

40 - 34 = 6!! Goodness, it's getting down to the wire!! Especially since the plan is to induce 6 days early, it's actually only 5 more weeks, not 6! I can't even believe it! It doesn't feel like this journey should be coming to an end so soon. I really feel like we were just starting this process.

I have had 2 appointments since I last posted (I'm going every 2 weeks now) - the last one was earlier this week. After the next appointment, I will then go every week. Everything is progressing normally! I wish this were more exciting, but there is really nothing to report since things are "right on track".

The parents are getting everything in order at their place - apparently there is some light construction of closet organization & making a room into a nursery. How exciting!! I am hoping that I still get a nesting instinct kicking in - I have lots of things that need organizing at my house - I could use the extra boost!

They are still in the middle of the big name debate. I am greatful that I don't have that responsibility this time! I remember feeling a lot of pressure when naming my own - it's a huge responsibility and the child will have to live with it for the rest of their lives! Scot & I definitely had some differences of opinion on a few names, but thankfully we did like at least 2 of the same ones. :)

I get this question a lot - "Would you do this again?" and my response is always "Yes, I would. This has been such an amazing, positive experience so far, I would happily do it again.". If my current parents wanted a sibling, I would do it for them again in a heartbeat. If not, I am not sure how long I would wait to start the process again - I imagine I would want a "break" after, but I have heard from other ladies in my Surrogate's support group that they start the paperwork almost immediately after. I found this interesting and thought that the reason must be because it is such an exciting process that gets built up so much and then it's just suddenly over for the surrogate. I asked my case worker at the agency about that and she agreed - saying that it's much like planning your wedding... there is so much planning, build-up & excitement, then it's just over - leaving you feeling like "Now what?". I definitely felt that after my wedding! I was so sad that it was over! I would do it all over again if we could afford it. :) I suppose I will know when the time is right or when the right couple comes along.

Thanks for reading! Here are some belly shots!

Valentine

Article - 'Understanding The Costs of Surrogacy"

Just thought I would share this informative article - the Director of my agency as well as my Case Worker were both interviewed.

http://mom.me/parenting/7302-understanding-costs-surrogacy/?p=1

30 Weeks!!

Today is the 30 week mark!! I can't believe how fast this is actually moving!

At our last check-up, I had the 1-hour glucose test that determines if I have Gestational Diabetes. For those not familiar: you go to a lab, they give you this super sweet orange drink that you have to down within 5 minutes (yuck!), then you have to sit there for 1 hour. They then draw your blood to check the amount of glucose in your blood. I have had GD before (very slightly) with my 1st pregnancy. With my other pregnancies, I did the 1-hour glucose test first thing in the morning after fasting for 8-12 hours. For this time around, they told me to do the glucose test at my normal check-up, which was at 2:00 in the afternoon. They said I did not need to fast. I thought that was strange, but I went with it. I had a light lunch about 2 hours before my appointment. Sure enough, when they got the results back, my glucose level was too high so they wanted me to go back to a lab and do a 3-hour glucose test. 3 HOURS!

This time I fasted for 12 hours. I made an appointment for 8:15am at a lab near my eldest girl's school - which is the farthest from our home, about 10-15 minutes away; this gave me enough time to drop all the kids off at school, yet it was early enough so that I could eat something when the test was done before noon and still pick-up my son from preschool. I prepared. I packed snacks for after the test. I packed books to read and journals to write in. I got the kids up early and dropped them off at school 15 minutes earlier than normal to ensure I was not late for my appointment. I walked-in right on time.... and then I realized I forgot my lab slip at home. DOH! By the time I sped (and by sped, I mean drive very carefully within the legal limits and obey all traffic laws) home, got my slip, sped back to the lab & checked-in, it had been 45 minutes. It was now 9:00am and they had other patients in front of me. Surely patients who were on time for their appointments. Before they gave me the gross sugar drink they had to take my fasting blood draw. By the time they did that and then I finished the drink, it was 9:15am. This was the official start-time of the test. This determined that they would draw my blood every hour for 3 hours at exactly 15 minutes past the top of the hour. This also meant that I lost a whole entire hour because I forgot the lab slip at home. One hour does not sound like a big deal, but when you are pregnant and have already been fasting for 12 hours, this matters! This also meant that I wouldn't be done until 12:15 and preschool ended at 12:00. Luckily, the preschool was okay with me being late. I was mad at myself, but there was nothing I could do about it. I waited, I read, I wrote, I Facebooked, I Pinterest-ed. I was forced to listen to an elderly woman and her son talk about her stool samples... in detail. Finally, after both of my arms were nice & bruised, I was released. After 16 hours of not eating, my granola bar tasted like heaven.... wait, I lie. I think I inhaled it too fast to even taste it.

So a week later, I had not heard from the doctor's office. I called for my results and was told that technically, I passed the test. PHEW! They said that one of my four blood draws was on the high side, but that in order to be diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, two needed to be high. So, I don't have GD but I should still be careful about what I eat. I just need to watch my refined & natural sugar intake and up my protein & fiber.

I saw that acupuncturist I mentioned in my last post (I was "gifted" 5 sessions) this morning! I can already tell a difference in my allergies and she said the problem in my back is so compressed and been there for so long (pregnancy didn't cause it, just makes it more noticeable) that it can be fixed, but will take a bit longer. She said I need to up my water intake & she also said I need more protien... red meat in particular - so I had a burger for lunch!

In other news, the parents came over a few weeks ago for dinner to meet our kids! The kids had really been looking forward to this - who were these mysterious people that were keeping their baby in Mommy's tummy?! Although our 3 kids (all different ages & comprehension levels) understood this process for the most part, I think it just helped them to put faces to who the baby belongs to. We had such a great visit and wonderful conversation. The kids really felt at ease and they were trying to show off their best tricks & toys. :) After the parents left, the kids said how nice they thought the parents were. I even asked our 4yo boy "Do you think they will be a good Mommy & Daddy to their baby in my tummy?" - he replied "Yes, they will be nice!". I feel blessed that the parents understand how important it is for my kids to feel involved.

Here are some belly shots from this morning...

I also wanted to leave you with a few recent news articles about surrogacy... I get alerted about surrogacy in the news from my agency and other resources that I have "liked" on Facebook. Just some interesting reads, if you are so inclined... :)

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x1198347530/Surrogacy-trending-up-over-last-decade

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/04/30/surrogacy-kara-dioguardi-brca2-diagnosis-exclusive/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2320253/Im-going-birth-grandchild-Grandmother-49-offers-surrogate-27-year-old-cancer-survivor-daughter.html?ico=health%5Eheadlines

Thanks for reading!

Valentine :)

25 weeks!

Wow! I can't believe it's already 6+ months! Time is going way fast!

Things are going really well - I actually have no real updates! The last doc appointment was quick and easy, all was looking healthy & normal. The next check-up will be in a week or two and that is when I will also do the glucose test. I did have very slight gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy, but corrected only with diet change. I was free & clear with my second, so I hope this one will be the same!

I continue to be blessed when least expected. I have been feeling this knot in the middle of my back that must be pinching a nerve or something. For some reason, it creates this numb spot directly opposite it on the top of my belly. I had it with my last pregnancy too. It is mostly painful when I'm sitting at work or in the car. I had just been complaining yesterday to my darling hubby (thanks for listening honey!) that it was bugging me. Today at work, I saw these wonderful repeat guests that I have known for a long while. They come to the city for this Acupuncturist that they swear by - the wife has been seeing her for years, but most recently before & after her chemo treatments (which they fly to Chicago for). This couple has sought out only the best in both Eastern & Western medicine. Out of the blue, they decided to "gift" me 5 sessions with their Acupuncturist! They didn't even know about my weird knot pain! So very sweet of them - I am excited!

I will leave you with some belly shots... :)

Easter Morning 3-31-13

Before Work Party 4-1-13

Pink or Blue??

We are officially at 21 weeks! Over half-way there! I must take this opportunity to point out: why have people been lying to women for years?? 9 months "my behind"! A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks. Math was never my best subject, but something doesn't quite add-up.... :)

We had our "BIG" 20 week ultrasound about a week and a half ago! This was a huge milestone for a few different reasons. It was the last big screening test for several abnormalities and neurological disorders. It was the big test that the parents were anxiously waiting for until they could finally relax a bit and enjoy the pregnancy! They have been so nervous for every appointment up to this point. I wanted so badly for them to be able to breathe easy and enjoy it a long time ago, but I can not imagine the heartache and disappointment they have faced in their past with multiple failures. I am sure that they learned the hard way to not get their hopes up too early. Thankfully, everything came out clear! Got a few great shots during the measurements:

Look at those teeny toes!!

This was also the appointment that they could find out the sex! Since I was wrong with both of my own, I was not about to guess the sex of the baby in my womb that I had no blood relations to. My first was a surprise... I was convinced that I was having a boy. I had boy dreams. I even bought boy clothes. You guessed it, she was a girl. I thought my husband was playing a cruel joke on me after she came out. :) We found out with our second only because we were in the process of moving. Even before the ultrasound technician revealed our boy, I had no idea either way.

We all held our breath and waited for the baby to open it's legs enough to get an absolute confirmation. It was being a little shy at first. :) Finally, a good shot!

A Girl!! 

This shot is looking from the bottom-up. Her legs 

are on the right, her bum is on the left.

Going into the appointment, the parents were saying that they didn't care either way and only wished for a healthy baby, naturally... but every parent knows that sometimes, you are really secretly hoping for one or the other. After the girl was revealed, the mom started crying and said she really did want a girl! Even the dad said he had kind of hoped for a girl from the beginning although he was also thinking a boy would be really fun, too. I am so happy that this is turning into a dream-come-true for them!

As for me, I am feeling great. Now that I am definitely showing, I am getting a lot more people saying "congrats" or asking questions. I work in a hotel and interact with guests on a daily basis. If the guest "congratulating" me is in passing or unfamiliar to me, I just say "thank you". It don't need to go into the whole story for someone I am never going to see again. A lot of the guests I see are repeats, though, so it's really fun to tell them the story. I know I will see them again and again, and they are excited to follow me on this journey. I have been showered with praise, hugged and kissed. I have brought some to tears. It is such an amazing feeling to touch people in such a unique way.

Thanks for reading! :)
Valentine

15 Weeks & Counting...

My apologies for not updating sooner, however Blogger was apparently having some technical difficulty and I was not able to upload the below photos. I felt they were very important to this update so I waited until it was resolved!

2 weeks ago we had the Integrated Screening that is done at the end of the first trimester. This is an ultrasound examination to measure the amount of fluid accumulation behind the baby’s neck (nuchal translucency) in conjunction with blood work from me. This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help the doctors assess the baby's risk of having Down Syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.

We got the results a week later and they all came back clear! The Ultrasound Technician also had said that all of the measurements looked perfectly normal! The baby was moving around quite a bit (I can't quite feel it yet) and we got some great shots!

3D! It's hands/arms are covering the face. See the little feet?!

About a week after those results came back, we had a routine check-up at the OB's office. This time, the mother was able to come!! She had not been to an appointment since the transfer due to her work schedule, so this was very exciting!! She got emotional and started crying when she saw how much my belly was showing! So sweet. Appointment went well... everything on-track.

I am officially in Maternity clothes - even at work. I really need to start updating the blog with belly shots! Here's one from this morning that I sent to the parents:

Signing off... have a great day!

Valentine