Countdown to Launch

It's here! The last month of pregnancy! My longest pregnancy reached 39 weeks + 5 days and the others were 37, 38 and 39 weeks, so I anticipate delivering sometime before my due date this time around too. That's a good thing. This lady is tired and feeling huge and very much looking forward to handing Baby M off to his daddies in the next few weeks.

With my last pregnancy, the baby arrived a full week earlier than even I expected and so I missed my opportunity for maternity photos. I learned my lesson and set them up a week earlier this time around.

In a few days, I'll begin seeing the doctor every week until Baby M arrives. So far, everything has gone along just perfectly. Measurements are on track and he's in the right position. Hoping everything stays just the same!

Seven Months Done...running out of room?

Today, I have reached the 7 month mark in this surrogate pregnancy. I feel huge, though I don't think I look it (yet) and my doctor says it's only because this is baby #5, not because he's the size of a toddler.

With less than 2 weeks until my older kids return to school and about 3 weeks until my three-year-old starts preschool, the summer is quickly winding down. On one hand, I'm thrilled because we've been SO busy all summer, I feel like I've run several marathons in the last few months. On the other hand, that means all the fun summer activities, like camps and amusement parks will be done. But that's okay - this lady needs a break. I feel very strongly that I need to tone down the physical activity to make sure Baby M doesn't arrive before his Dads get here so a laid-back couple of weeks is definitely in order!

Baby M is a very active little guy. He likes to roll and kick just about every time I hold still long enough to feel it. He's up to around 4 pounds now and still has lots more growing to do. At some point, I'm going to make an official "prediction" on weight and length. Not yet - maybe around 8 months. At this moment though, I'm thinking that despite only having gained about 16 pounds so far, this baby is going to be about 8 pounds - maybe a few ounces more.... I guess it really depends on how long he bakes in there.

I'm also looking forward to getting to see Baby M's dads again. It's been a long time since the transfer.... hoping they arrive early enough to visit a little before he makes his appearance!

Third Trimester has Arrived!

This past weekend, the third trimester rolled around and we are all very excited. Once again, I am amazed at how quickly time goes by during a pregnancy. At first, it feels like the due date is years away and then next thing you know, you're packing bags for the hospital. Okay, I'm not there just yet, but soon... very soon!

I had an opportunity to get a little dressed up so here's my "six months done" photo. Only 13 weeks (or less) to go!

27 weeks!

It's Possible that the SIXTH month is the longest....

Two weeks ago, I posted that I was about 5 1/2 months pregnant. It seems I'm STILL 5 1/2 months pregnant...

from:  http://www.baby2see.com/pregnancylength.html

But while this month seems to be lasting forever, I'm guessing month number eight will probably be worse since baby will be a whole lot closer to arrival AND it also is another month with five weeks in it instead of just four. I'd say the same about month nine, but since I've not yet carried a baby to 40 weeks, I doubt I'll have to wait through that whole month. My guess is somewhere between 38 and 39 1/2 weeks is when surrobabe will arrive! We will see in just a few short months....

In the meantime, I think he's about doubled in size in the last few weeks. Here's my 25 week photo.

A First Father's Day

Today, I got to wish my intended fathers a "Happy Father's Day" for the very first time! I know their little one isn't here yet, but yet, he "is" so there is definitely cause for celebration! Time for a photo - I'm 23 weeks. (almost 5 1/2 months pregnant).

I've complained in the past about worrying about weight gain. I won't go on and on about it, but I'm very proud to report that so far, I've only gained about 13 1/2 pounds. I have about 17 (probably a little less) weeks to go and my goal is to keep the gain to about 10-12 more pounds. I'm right on target! Go, me....

Next week, I get to see the doctor again and "enjoy" their nasty orange concoction known as Glucola. For those not familiar with it, it tastes like an over-sugared, flat, orange soda. I get to avoid food for a couple of hours, drink this nastiness and then get my blood drawn an hour later to check for gestational diabetes. As long as I pass this test, it's a one-time deal, so I won't complain too much. Failing the test means repeating a similar version and then possibly having to alter the diet and track blood sugar values for the rest of the pregnancy, so as always, keeping my fingers crossed for good results!

Halfway There!

This past weekend, I reached the end of the 20th week of pregnancy. Surro-baby is halfway baked. It is an exciting milestone, commonly marked with the excitement of an anatomy scan. Today, I got to spend a good hour peering a baby's heart, head, limbs and belly. To be honest, baby kidneys and bladders aren't the most thrilling thing ever, but the rest of it was just fabulous!

My intended parents have a seriously active little baby in there. Sprout wouldn't hold still for long - the ultrasound technician had to go chasing after baby to get all the pictures she needed. I was thankful to see that Sprout's growth was right on track - about 50th percentile for all the measurements. Glad to see I don't need to worry about having to give birth to a baby much larger than the ones I've already grown. Ha-Ha!

Of course, the BONUS information that comes along with the anatomy scan is the ability to decipher the sex of the baby, assuming that baby cooperates and shows off a little. The ultrasound technician was easily able to determine whether Sprout was a boy or a girl and marked it on a paper for us. I then took the paper to the store and had a color-corresponding balloon placed inside a box so that the intended parents and I could learn the sex of the baby together. They are the parents - they should be the first to know!

So, after of couple of rocky starts to a Skype video call, we managed to get all updated on what's going on and then it was time to get down to the exciting business at hand.....

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE.......................

IT'S









A

BOY!!!















HOORAY!!! Congratulations to my IP's on their SON-to-be!   

3 months and gaining

I reached 14 weeks into this pregnancy this past weekend and so by everyone's standards, the first trimester is over! That means that pretty much all of Sprout's systems are "created" and now need to focus on final details and growth, growth, growth! 

Speaking of growing, I've been doing my fair share. Ideally, I would have made it this far with only having gained maybe 2-3 pounds. However, when my first trimester is particularly full of nausea and indigestion, I tend to gain more and so unfortunately, 10 pounds was my actual tally this time around. Eeek! Thankfully the second trimester tends to be kinder to me and hopefully I'll have some spare energy to spend on getting more exercise and the overall weight gain will slow down for a little while. 

I was fortunate enough to be discharged from the reproductive endocrinologist's office at 11 weeks. While they were great people and very caring, I was thankful to have a break from weekly visits to the office and all the injections. Since then, I've seen my OB/GYN for my regular appointment at 12 weeks and am looking forward to returning at 16 weeks. 

My IP's are crazy-excited about discovering the sex of the baby. My OB typically schedules the anatomy scan around 20 weeks gestation, but once I did have it done around 19 weeks, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that the IP's get to find out sooner rather than later!

Finally, I'm just waiting around impatiently to start feeling Sprout wiggling around in there. Every ultrasound I've had has shown him/her shadowboxing and dancing so (s)he seems like a very active baby. I did, however, find out that I have an anterior (towards the front) placenta, which means that it acts like pillow between Sprout and I - cushioning any kicks or rolls I might otherwise feel early on. 

I did have anterior placentas with my first two children. I didn't starting feeling any movement from them until around 18-20 weeks. And it wasn't very consistent for another couple of weeks after that.  That was a great difference from my third and fourth babies, who both had posterior (in the back) placentas. I felt their movements as early as 13-14 weeks. Thankfully, I have enough experience to know not to panic because I don't feel baby in there yet. It will be hard to wait another month or so to feel him or her, but it never hurts to learn another lesson in patience!

And since I feel I'm the least photogenic person ever, I will post this photo of my 12 week belly shot, but only begrudgingly and while mostly covering my eyes and barely peeking through my fingers... 

P.S. The bloated tummy is RIDICULOUS!