Things I don't have to worry about

One of the perks of surrogacy is not having to worry about a lot of things. I loved expecting each of my children. I loved planning and dreaming and wondering what they would look like, smell like, feel like. I made plans for them in my head and space for them in my heart. With my youngest and our last, I knew it would be the last time I dreamed and planned for a child to take home. My husband and I agreed to have another child because we felt like we wanted just one more baby to complete our family and we were right. She perfectly complements our other two children and we adore them all.

So what is it like this time? Pregnancy and motherhood are filled with many good things. Here are some of those things I don't have to worry or think about this time. I am not knocking parenthood by any means, but the reason I look so carefree and rested is because I do not have the added stress of the following things this time:

Midnight feedings-Guess what!? After I have this baby, I will not have to get up every 3 hours to make sure she has eaten. I will not wonder how many ounces is right and I will not have to stalk the nurses to be sure they don't stick a pacifier in her mouth. :) All of that will be her mommy and daddy's experience to go through. I will sleep through the night, not have the baby monitor on and I will heal more quickly because of it.

Car seat arrangement-Fitting 2 booster seats and car seat in the middle of my mini-van is a tight squeeze, but we fit. However, I am thankful that no one is expected to have to sit in the third row. Can you imagine me trying to pull out the booster and moving the seat everytime, just to get a kid back there? No, thank you! I do not have to research car seats or pick out prints or decide which infant carrier to bring her home in. (I would love to see the car seat my IPs have picked out though!)

The nursery-My husband and I have always agreed on themes so it was quite easy for us to pick this out for our kids. However, the actual painting of the rooms, switching out of cribs for toddler beds and hanging of wall border was tedious. We enjoyed it but it is nice to not have to prepare our home and move it all around to bring another baby home. Adding a guest room to our house so we are ready for when they come visit sounds like fun though! :)

Daycare-Have you looked at the costs of daycare lately? I'm glad I only have 2 in daycare at a time. Our babysitter is AMAZING and she probably doesn't make any money off our kids because she's constantly buying them things. She's just like family, we couldn't be more blessed.

Parenting Decisions-buy babyfood or make it? Cloth or disposable diapers? Breast milk or formula? Dr. Brown's bottles or Avent? Bow or no bow? (The answer is always going to be, "Bow!") Crib or bassinet? Pears or Green Beans? Teething or Ear Infection?

The reason for my post today is not to complain about those parts of pregnancy/expecting. They are fun and exciting and they are the ways we pass 9 mths of anticipation while we wait for our little ones. I simply mean that I have had my turn and am able to pass the torch to another set of parents while I enjoy 9 months of growing a healthy baby. My friends and family keep asking how I'm feeling and I almost always answer with, "Great!" I am thankful for an easy pregnancy, a healthy baby and great IPs.

We had our OB appt. last Thursday and I was able to see my IM for the first time since transfer. It was a wonderful appointment and she and my OB got to visit and get to know one another. IM is going to suit up at delivery and bring baby Lera into the world all by herself. She will literally be able to say, "I brought you into this world, child!" Her heartbeat was nice and strong and she's an active little one. She was moving all over the place! We go back on June 7th for another ultrasound and peek at this little one.