12/13 weeks

Last Wednesday marked us at 12 weeks. (Side note:When I was pregnant with my own children I would say "we/us" too. My husband was just as much part of the milestones during pregnancy as I was. I also feel this way about the IPs. So I say "we/us". I know some people roll their eyes to that... boo to you.)

Thursday we had a nuchal translucency screening. This screening helps detect birth defects. It involves an ultrasound where the tech measures fluid on the back of the fetuses necks. I was determined to have the guys on Facetime to witness this ultrasound. Up until now I've only had transvaginal ultrasounds (don't be jealous) and since they were monitoring appointments through a satellite location the guys weren't allowed to watch via Facetime/Skype. Annoying, I know. But the wait was ABSOLUTELY worth it.

At the last monitoring ultrasound (at 10 weeks), I could see the babies moving. That in itself is such a fun and amazing thing to watch. I knew the guys would be happy to hear this but bummed they couldn't witness it. So back to Thursday's u/s, the tech allowed us to do Facetime and was so terrific about pointing things out on the screen. Right away we could see the babies moving. It was a perfect ultrasound. As I held the phone up to the machine I watched the guys watch their babies in live-mode for the first time. Their reactions, smiles and excitement was more than I could have imagined. It's one of the moments during a surrogate's pregnancy that words really can't describe. The joy, the love, the I-can't-believe-I'm-privileged-enough-to-do-this and so many other emotions.

As for me physically, I am feeling much better. The nausea and exhaustion were crazy for awhile. I stopped all medication almost two weeks. What a relief. I'm so happy we have this medication in order to allow surrogacy as an option but after many weeks, months of shots every day... it's good to be done. My cravings are different weekly. Pizza, soup, pretty much anything Italian, blue raspberry Icees, gravy and mashed potatoes (babies are prepping for Thansgiving), now I'm back to chicken noodle soup and Italian. My cravings have never been this all over the board and strong. The Icees were a problem for a few days. There are only a few places in Rochester that have an Icee machine. Imagine driving to one of those places and having a red blinking light on the machine... broken. Not cool.

My belly is noticeably a bump now. Thank goodness! It's tough going through those few weeks of "is she pregnant or did she eat too much at lunch" phase.

Here I am at 9 weeks

13 weeks (actually 12 weeks 6 days) two different views

9 Weeks

I'm taking a break from the morning sickness train to give a update.

I had some spotting a few weeks ago which freaked me out because I never had any bleeding whatsoever in my past 5 pregnancies. The bleeding was very light and I had no cramping so I wasn't too concerned but it lasted most of the day and that warranted some "what-ifs". Dr. S instructed me to take an extra shot of progesterone and rest. I was happy to oblige. Jeremy already had plans to take the boys to his parents so I had a whole day of peace and quiet. With 3 crazy boys, life is rarely quiet when they are around. The following day I had my 2nd ultrasound and the tech found two babies and two strong heartbeats right away. I'm happy to say I've had no bleeding since then.

Today I had my 3rd ultrasound. Another great report. Two babies, two strong heartbeats. The babies were noticeably bigger this week. Crazy what a week and 2 days will do.

As for how I'm feeling... it really depends on the day, but mostly I'm way tired (more tired than I remember being with Ella and Ely). I have days I should hire a personal motivational speaker to get me off the couch or to get me moving so I can get lunch ready for my boys. I'm so lucky to work out of my home. Not sure how I would function working outside the home. Morning sickness... imagine having a nagging hangover for days and weeks and months. That pretty much sums it up. Every morning I wake up feeling like the previous night was spent filling up on wine and managing to get only 3 hours of sleep. Every day, all day long... that's how I feel. I'm not complaining, just explaining.

I'm not really showing yet. I'm puffing out but I blame that on the medication and bloating. Speaking of medications, can we be done already?!? I only have about 2 weeks left. That's not so bad. I will be happy to drop them though.