Today we had our big mid-pregnancy ultrasound. Everything looked absolutely perfect! The baby was in breech position (which is ok for now) and was very cooperative. The little peanut was estimated to be about 1 pound 1 ounce, which is right on track.
Of course you're probably wondering...did they find out the sex? Well...yes, but I'm not at liberty to share yet! :) Soon enough, though. Once they tell their families then I'll be sure to post it.
The only issue we saw on the ultrasound was that I have a low-lying placenta right now, but the top of it stretches up to the top of my uterus, so Dr. Bishop is not really concerned about it. Placentas only move up as the pregnancy progresses and the uterus grows. We're going to check another ultrasound in 4 weeks just to make sure, but it shouldn't be a problem.
I'm so excited that everything is going so well. Time is just flying by, too. I'm feeling more and more movement. John (my 5 year old) has been asking me when he'll be able to feel Sarah and Brian's baby move. And Grace points to my belly button and says, "Baby button!" Not sure where she got that from.
And I can finally say I feel GREAT when people ask me how I'm doing. The fatigue is gone and I've got way more energy. It's wonderful!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Odd Questions I Get
I never mind talking about my surrogacy journey, ever. I love sharing my experience with people and in general most have many questions...sometimes some very odd ones. Here are a few of the ones I can remember most.
"Do you know them?" - When I've had people ask me this they didn't mean was I good friends with them. They meant am I completely doing this blindly for strangers I know nothing about. Seriously. Of course, I have had people ask if it's for someone I'm friends with already, but on more than one occasion I've been asked if I know WHO THE PARENTS ARE. This just baffles me. I mean, I know people give babies up for adoption without knowing who their baby is going to, but this situation is a little different...actually more than a little. We weren't just randomly put together to create a person. Sorry if I'm sounding a little harsh, but I'm always taken aback when I'm asked this.
And then there are the people who do seem a little surprised at how little time I have actually known Sarah and Brian. Which I can totally understand. We met in October and by January I was carrying their baby. It really is kinda crazy when I think about it, but that is where my faith comes in. I knew I wanted to be a surrogate for 4 years before I acted on it. I knew the type of couple I wanted to carry for. I knew what my intentions and motivations were. I had the support of my husband and family the whole time. And, of course, I prayed about it. And now that I'm carrying their baby, I pray over him too. (I'll say "him" to simplify things) I pray that this child will have a wonderful, happy childhood and grow into a strong, responsible, successful adult. I pray for God's protection to be over him as he grows and develops, both before and after birth. That even though there will be trials and difficulties in life, that he will be able to learn from these experiences and become a better person because of them. I pray these things over Sarah and Brian's child just as I do for my own children.
Ok, so I went off on a little tangent there, but a good one. Back to the weird people, I mean questions. ;)
"What if you don't want to give the baby up?" - Uuuummmm...it's not my baby to give up. And I really don't want to have my pants sued off. And I really don't want another baby in my house because it would have to live in the garage. I already have 3 kids sharing one bedroom! No, really I do expect to have some sad feelings when I leave the hospital with empty arms, but when I think about the excitement that Sarah and Brian will be experiencing it makes it all worth it. And believe me, my arms won't be empty for long. My 3 monkeys at home will have them filled back up in no time. Wait, now that I think about it maybe I should see just how long I can extend my stay at the hotel...I mean hospital. ;) Kidding.
"Do you know them?" - When I've had people ask me this they didn't mean was I good friends with them. They meant am I completely doing this blindly for strangers I know nothing about. Seriously. Of course, I have had people ask if it's for someone I'm friends with already, but on more than one occasion I've been asked if I know WHO THE PARENTS ARE. This just baffles me. I mean, I know people give babies up for adoption without knowing who their baby is going to, but this situation is a little different...actually more than a little. We weren't just randomly put together to create a person. Sorry if I'm sounding a little harsh, but I'm always taken aback when I'm asked this.
And then there are the people who do seem a little surprised at how little time I have actually known Sarah and Brian. Which I can totally understand. We met in October and by January I was carrying their baby. It really is kinda crazy when I think about it, but that is where my faith comes in. I knew I wanted to be a surrogate for 4 years before I acted on it. I knew the type of couple I wanted to carry for. I knew what my intentions and motivations were. I had the support of my husband and family the whole time. And, of course, I prayed about it. And now that I'm carrying their baby, I pray over him too. (I'll say "him" to simplify things) I pray that this child will have a wonderful, happy childhood and grow into a strong, responsible, successful adult. I pray for God's protection to be over him as he grows and develops, both before and after birth. That even though there will be trials and difficulties in life, that he will be able to learn from these experiences and become a better person because of them. I pray these things over Sarah and Brian's child just as I do for my own children.
Ok, so I went off on a little tangent there, but a good one. Back to the weird people, I mean questions. ;)
"What if you don't want to give the baby up?" - Uuuummmm...it's not my baby to give up. And I really don't want to have my pants sued off. And I really don't want another baby in my house because it would have to live in the garage. I already have 3 kids sharing one bedroom! No, really I do expect to have some sad feelings when I leave the hospital with empty arms, but when I think about the excitement that Sarah and Brian will be experiencing it makes it all worth it. And believe me, my arms won't be empty for long. My 3 monkeys at home will have them filled back up in no time. Wait, now that I think about it maybe I should see just how long I can extend my stay at the hotel...I mean hospital. ;) Kidding.
And finally, drum roll please.
"Was it planned?" - WHAT?!?!?! (This question wasn't actually posed to me, but to one of Sarah's family members.) I don't think I would've been able to respond.
I'm sure as the belly gets bigger and more people ask me about the baby, I'll get a few more good ones to share.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
17+ Weeks...
I had my regular check-up with Dr. Bishop on Friday. Everything went great and I was in and out within half an hour. The baby's heart rate was in the 140's and sounded good. My blood pressure was fine and my weight stayed the same as last appointment, which is fine too. I've never gained much weight with my pregnancies, which I'm thankful for because I gain weight easily non-pregnant. With my boys I gained about 20 pounds and with Grace I only gained 10. With each of them I lost about 5 pounds in the first trimester, which is true for this pregnancy too. So, I have yet to even gain back the 5 that I lost, but my doctor is ok with that and it's actually pretty common.
One new pregnancy "symptom" I started experiencing this week...Movement! I was really surprised to be feeling the little peanut already, I'm not sure why, but I was. This was about the time I started to feel movement with my boys, but with Grace it wasn't until about 22 weeks because I had an anterior placenta, meaning the placenta was at the front of my uterus and cushioned any little kicks I would have felt earlier. I was excited to share this news with Sarah and Brian because it's such a reassurance. I'm sure it's got to be such a good feeling for them.
So, the next appointment will be our mid-pregnancy ultrasound. It's scheduled for May 26th, so I'll be 21 weeks and 1 day pregnant. It's going so fast, especially thinking that we transferred this baby as a tiny little 3 day embryo back in January. And now it's May. Wow. It's gonna seem like I've been pregnant for.ev.er. LOL
By the way, if you haven't noticed, I added a little poll to the right side of my blog for you to guess what the sex of this baby is. Please feel free to take a guess, I'm curious what you all think!
One new pregnancy "symptom" I started experiencing this week...Movement! I was really surprised to be feeling the little peanut already, I'm not sure why, but I was. This was about the time I started to feel movement with my boys, but with Grace it wasn't until about 22 weeks because I had an anterior placenta, meaning the placenta was at the front of my uterus and cushioned any little kicks I would have felt earlier. I was excited to share this news with Sarah and Brian because it's such a reassurance. I'm sure it's got to be such a good feeling for them.
So, the next appointment will be our mid-pregnancy ultrasound. It's scheduled for May 26th, so I'll be 21 weeks and 1 day pregnant. It's going so fast, especially thinking that we transferred this baby as a tiny little 3 day embryo back in January. And now it's May. Wow. It's gonna seem like I've been pregnant for.ev.er. LOL
By the way, if you haven't noticed, I added a little poll to the right side of my blog for you to guess what the sex of this baby is. Please feel free to take a guess, I'm curious what you all think!
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