Sugar, Oh Honey, Honey

Hey everyone, it's me again! Back so soon? It's just that kind of a week. I haven't gotten results back from my glucose test but usually, no news is good news. I did have an OB check-up on Tuesday and everything's going well. I'm measuring right at 29 weeks like I should be so that's great. We did, finally, go over the results of the ultrasound I had back in June after the wreck. At that ultrasound, my placenta was low-lying. I've talked to a bunch of women that have had this and it almost always corrects itself as the uterus grows and the placenta moves away from the cervix. (Feel like you're in Biology class again?) If it doesn't, then we'll need to do a c-section as the placenta can cause a lot of bleeding if it's torn. No bueno. So, we are doing another ultrasound to check its position and be sure it's moved. The bonus is, E and maybe J, will get to come in for that ultrasound!! YAY! They have not been able to be at any of them and that bummed me out a little. I videoed some of them and put them on speaker with the others, but it's not the same as being live! I'm thrilled that they'll get this opportunity and optimistic about the placenta issue so no worries there.

So, that's my update for the week! I'll post a belly shot as soon as I get some make-up on and my hair tamed. This heat has been brutal and I feel like I'm always sweating. Ick!

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.

I Enjoy Being a Girl

Well, we had our 6th ultrasound of the pregnancy and saw one sweet little healthy baby girl in there yesterday. She was measuring perfectly at 13 weeks, 6 days and had a heart rate of 147.

Naturally, my IPs were so excited to hear that their baby looked great and even more thrilled that we are 90% sure it's a girl. (Because there are always those surprise babies!) My OB had indicated that she thought it was a girl a few weeks ago in her office. It's always so neat to find out the gender. A huge package waiting to be unwrapped on Christmas morning! I found out with two of my three babies. The last baby was a surprise as we had one of each already. She was a girl. ;) Apparently girls like it in there as I am 3 for 4! I'm going to start calling it my loverly, frilly uterus. :)

Tell Me Something Good

There is nothing quite like sitting in the Emergency Room, puffy-eyed with tears and worry decorating your face and waiting for the doctor that will tell you if your dreams will continue or if something terrible has happened.

Thursday night, we had a bit of a scare. Don't worry, things are okay, but it was a long night. I had just taken a shower and laid down to read when I felt a gush of fluid. I reached down and my pajamas were soaked in blood. I immediately start to cry, grab a pad and call anyone and everyone I could think of that would help me figure out what to do. Logically, I knew that if I was miscarrying, there was nothing I could do, but trying explaining that to a heart. A million thoughts rushed through my head with the worst being, "How will I tell E&J?" I decided not to call them until I had some sort of news. I didn't know how the night would end and I had nothing but worry to share at that moment, and I thought that I could at least protect them from that. My kids were in bed and I knew I didn't want to expose them to everything up at the ER. I wasn't even sure if they would do anything and I hated for my whole family to have a long night, so I drove myself. I texted a couple of friends and asked for prayers. If you'll recall, I met a local surrogate, Jennifer, for coffee one night where she offered to stab me in the hiney with a large needle even before meeting me face-to-face. Well, on our second meeting, she literally walked into the dismal ER waiting room and gave me a hug that I so badly needed and figuratively held my hand through the next hour or so while I waited to be seen.

I will say that the hospital down here is not known for its swift action. That night, however, a nurse must've taken pity on me because not only did she make the ultrasound tech stick around, she also took such good care of me and got me back quickly, even though it was the end of what was probably a very long shift. I am so thankful for that. The ultrasound tech took me back and started the ultrasound. I was 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant with twins. Yes, you read that right, we are pregnant with twins!! She checked for any signs of miscarriage and found none. What she did find was a heartbeat on baby A, a gestational sac measuring 6 weeks, 3 days and a fetus measuring 6 weeks with a heartbeat of 117 (perfect). As for the other sac, she measured it to be 5 weeks, 5 days and while she couldn't grab the heartbeat on that one (it is still extremely early to see heartbeats at all and this one is a few days behind the other, developmentally, but this is common), she did see a yolk sac and part of the baby, but it was up against the wall of the uterus and the machine was ancient and grainy. We feel confident we'll see the heartbeats on Wednesday.

Thankfully, our bleeding stopped that night and the cramping subsided the next day after I took some time off and rested. I still feel nauseated and tired so my hope is that this was a tiny bump in the road and the rest of the journey will be smooth-sailing.

It was a bittersweet call to make to IM as I knew she would be worried/relieved/excited all in the same breath. I started the phone call with, "Everything's fine but..." and relayed the details. She was thankful that we were all okay and then it hit us all that they're having twins!!!! It is still all surreal. I've been on the net all weekend looking up the differences between singleton and multiples. Information has always been my friend.

So, if you find yourself with a few minutes, please send us a prayer or good thought that these babies, who are so very loved and wanted already, grow big (enough to be healthy!! and then they can stop! haha) and healthy and that we all stay safe.

Hurt So Good

Estrace is one of the IVF drugs used and I started this nifty little drug on day 3 of my cycle. 2mg in the morning and 2mg in the evening. I have a reminder on my phone that goes off at 8AM and 8PM to help me keep on track. I have a feeling as we start to add to the meds schedule, it'll help me remember what to do when. So far, the only side effect I have had is a little nausea. I have read that it can cause increased libido, headaches, dizziness, sleepiness, hyperness and myriad other symptoms. I'm hoping to only get the good ones. :) The past 2 days, I've started feeling sick about 3PM. Nothing terrible, but I did notice it was better when I nibbled on something. Maybe that's where the weight comes from during cycling! :) I had my ultrasound on Thursday and that seemed to go well. The NC is back in the office today so I chatted with her a bit and we're on schedule for an August transfer.

In other news, we're getting the last of the details worked out in our contracts. I'm waiting for IPs' lawyer's "Final Copy" to forward to my lawyer and hopefully, that will be the end of it and we can sign!