This is my most recent belly picture. 29 weeks, 2 days! Hubby and I were getting ready to go out for our anniversary dinner.
Lots has happened. Let's see if I can remember to add everything...probably not. Thanks pregnancy brain. haha
Ok, well for the most part, nothing major has happened. The pregnancy has continued to be smooth sailing.
In July, I took a trip for a class to Jamaica to teach underprivileged youth. We were there in a local town, getting a local experience for one week. It was quite the experience I have to say. I had to be very careful because of the heat. We were there, living in local homes, with no air conditioning or hot water. We lived in Jamaica for a week without any air conditioning at all, and outside most of the time. Which was actually better than being inside with all the homes and buildings being made of steel and concrete. I kept a cool rag on my neck ALL THE TIME, and never went without ice water. I managed though, with the help of my midwife (via phone) and the family I stayed with, and the community we were in. They were so great at making sure I had what I needed, and that I was taken care of. :)
This is me at 23 weeks in Jamaica! It was a little awkward at first to have my belly being bared for all to see, but the Jamaicans loved it! haha. They definitely made a very pregnant white girl feel comfortable. :)
The worst thing that has happened, is I ended up having an extremely bad urinary tract infection. Something I am not new to, but was new to this level of infection; it was by far the worst I have ever had. So much so, it had us all thinking something else was going on. After a very overly, unnecessary, dramatic trip to the ER (driven by worried mother, speeding, pulled over, cop overreacting to situation, ambulance was called, treatment as I was in preterm labor)we found that it was in fact, just a UTI, nothing more. It was just at a higher level of infection in my body than I have experienced before. I was taken care of very well and the infection was treated and everything went right back to normal. :)
I will tell you though! That was one ER trip I will never forget! haha. At least the cop was very concerned and understood the importance of the situation, had it been to the extreme he treated it as it was.
While at the hospital, I had an ultrasound done of baby boy, just to make sure he was ok in there. The technician was able to get a great picture of his face! So cute, you can see those little chubby cheeks already!
That's about all the excitement we have had so far. :)
Still so incredibly fortunate that nothing has actually been SERIOUS. All still minor little bumps that just happen in life. I continue feeling blessed to have such a great journey. I'm pretty sure there is a surrogacy angel in control somewhere. :)
The third trimester has been pretty typical. So much movement!!! This is little guy is STRONG! My placenta is anterior...
To help those that do know the significance of that, it can make it difficult to hear the
baby's heart beat early in pregnancy (which is was), and baby movements are not near as
easily felt. Typically. This baby boy is the exception to that.
I have had absolutely NO problems feeling him at all! lol. No decrease in the ability to feel him move. He kicks and punches, and jabs, and lets himself be known in there for sure! Strong baby boy. :)
I have to say, the third trimester is my favorite. So much activity, and you can "play" with the baby. Lol.
My hubby is so sweet, and rubs my belly for me. It feels soooooooo good, not really sure why, but it does. One night while he was doing this, baby boy started kicking his hands. So my hubby began to "play" by putting his hand on my belly, and baby would kick. Hubby moved his hand to another location...kick. Move it again....kick. No matter where he moved his hand, baby boy would kick it. It was funny!
I felt sad that Doug and Charles couldn't be there to experience that, but I shared the fun story with them! They were tickled by it. :) When they finally get to come down, they get to experience some of this fun part....I can't wait to see them interact with their baby inutero.
I love watching my belly. When he is active, it is incredibly entertaining! I have taken a few videos for Doug and Charles to see it, (having trouble sending it to them, technology is not always my friend). I can't wait to hear their reactions!
The last week or so, movement has slowed down. I am now at 31 weeks, 3 days, and baby boy is head down, and running out of room.
Our long-term followers may remember us finding out that I have a unicornate uterus. For those that do not, that means I am missing a lobe of my uterus. The upper left lobe that connects with the fallopian tube to be exact. So baby boy doesn't have quite as much room as he really should have, so it gets a little tighter in there a little quicker than normal. We are both fine, I just get uncomfortable quicker. haha.
I also have a condition with my pelvis. I had it with my youngest child, and so of course, it is present now as well. It is quite common actually, symphysis pubis dysfunction. Not fun. With my last pregnancy, I was so incredibly miserable, I could barely move, it killed me to walk....it was just horrible. Mainly because I was never told there were ways to manage the condition and the pain. This time, I have a great provider and more knowledge myself. I have been seeing a chiropractor the entire pregnancy, and it has helped SO MUCH!!
With classes being back in session, I am walking all over campus so it can get kind of painful sometimes. But that chiro really helps and wrapping my hips really helps too. So it's not nearly as inconvenient as my last pregnancy.
When you know better, you do better. :) (love that phrase)
Seriously ladies, if you get pregnant in the future, or are now, and aren't doing so already, SEE A CHIROPRACTOR DURING PREGNANCY!!! You will NOT regret it! It makes late pregnancy so much more comfortable and tolerable. Seriously.
So other than the stiff rib kicks, bladder jabs, and the day or two before I see the chiropractor, I'm not THAT uncomfortable. Definitely a plus I would say! :)
The downfall if you will, with surrogacy, is all the legal stuff. No one likes the legal stuff. It gives ya a headache. Right now, it seems like we are rushing the labor clock. Because of the difference in laws in Missouri and Illinois, concerning both surrogacy, and same-sex parenting, we all have to sign court documents stating every little detail about the surrogacy, how the baby came to be alive and everyone's involvement, in addition to the fact of me signing over my "parental rights" once baby is born, so that Charles can be on the birth certificate, and then Doug can adopt baby boy when they return home.
Understandable right? Right. The problem has been...the attorneys. *sigh* This all started in June. We were under the impression we would have this court date done and everything ready for birth by August at the latest. Well here we are, nearing the middle of September, still with no court date. grrrrr......this MUST be done before baby boy arrives. Which is only 9 weeks away by EDD, but in my case, may very well be only 6 weeks away, and in the legal world, 6 weeks is not very long at all!!! If this is not done before he arrives, it can still be done of course, but it will make the process more difficult, and take much longer, which could potentially keep the guys from taking their precious baby home. I don't want to see that happen. These attorney's better hurry up!! haha
It is what it is, it's out of our hands. All we can do is wait. And so we wait...
On a better note, the guys will be coming down soon, and we should be doing a maternity photo shoot. Just because they are using a surrogate, doesn't mean they don't deserve to have those shots too. So we are going to get creative and have some fun getting some photos of us together and this big 'ol belly that homes their unborn son. :)
As we draw nearer to baby boy's day of arrival, we have finalized the birth plans and making sure we are prepared with all the tools necessary.
Baby boy will be born at my home. Ideally in water (unless I decide in labor I don't like the water). I'm very excited for their baby to be born in that kind of calming, quiet, soothing atmosphere, vs the high energy, bright light, anxiety filled atmosphere of a hospital.
The birth kit has arrived and I have everything ready at home for the big day (minus the birth pool which will be coming soon). Doug and Charles were so sweet to make sure I have everything I feel I will need for my post partum healing, and I now have all of that as well. They take such good care of me. :)
They are going to be GREAT parents.
Right now at this very moment, I'm battling allergies (hate you ragweed) but enjoying these last few weeks of pregnancy. I keep getting questions about if I'm ready for it to be over.
No.
It's bittersweet actually. At times I am ready to be done with pregnancy. But most of the time, I'm not. Because I know I will never get to experience this again. And again, depending on the day, depends on how Ok with that I am. The miracle of pregnancy never fails to amaze me, and I never get tired of it.
But at the same time, I am so anxious to see Doug and Charles holding their baby finally!!!! Sometimes I try to imagine what their reactions are going to be to him finally coming earth side. Oh it's going to be so amazing to watch that.
I'm so glad we are going to have a photographer there to capture that moment for them. It is definitely going to be priceless. :)
I will be updating more often. Making sure to document as much during these last few weeks, since things will be changing somewhat rapidly from here on out.
P.S. I have created a FB page specially for our surrogacy journey. I never, ever, thought we would gain such a volume of readers and followers. That was never my intention in starting this blog and sharing my journey. I just wanted to document the pregnancy for the guys and myself, and maybe help some others understand what we are doing. But our story really soared into the public. I was becoming too overwhelmed with trying to keep everyone updated with everything. I had to post to several different places, and the guys had to post, and it was just chaotic. Lol. So I thought having ONE central location for info and updates would make it easier for us all, and be able to allow people to interact with us if they chose. (so many questions to be asked) :)
This blog will not end at baby boy's arrival. My journey will continue as I exclusively pump for him and that alone comes with it's own challenges. I will be giving updates on his well being and his (I know will be) wonderful life with his daddies.
So if you haven't already, and would like to follow us on our new Facebook page and so you don't miss baby boy's arrival: here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Surrogacy-Journey/329999400470102
"like" the page, so you get the updates in your news feed.
Thank you to everyone that follows our journey. Friends. Family. Strangers. Whether you know it or not, you all have provided so much support for us (especially me) and I can't tell you thank you enough or how much I know we all appreciate it.
Much love.
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