Yesterday I had my OB appointment. It was pretty uneventful. My doctor had an emergency so I had to see a physician's assistant instead. She was nice, asked a few questions about the surrogacy, but didn't get too nosy. I gained a few pounds, nothing major. My blood pressure was perfect. Baby's heart rate was perfect. Really a good appointment.
I made Paul go with me because he has never been to the hospital where I am delivering. I figured since I was now in the third trimester, I would feel much better if he knew how to get me to the hospital - lol!
Last night I met with my doula. She's a friend of mine so I know I am comfortable with her. We signed the contracts, I paid her, and we talked about birthing options. I think I've come to the realization that I want to try and do this without an epidural. Oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm even thinking that. But with VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), the riskiest thing is if you can't feel your uterus if it's rupturing. Obviously, with an epidural you wouldn't feel anything. So I'm thinking about trying to go natural but I will keep an open mind for IV drugs. They take the edge off without making you completely numb. I'm hoping my doula will be able to help me with pain management and remind me throughout labor that this is what's best. We'll see how open I am to hearing that when I'm in the throws of labor - haha!!
I have a surprise planned for M&M this weekend and I can't wait!! I'm so excited because I know they are going to love what I have planned. And of course I'm thrilled that I am going to be able to spend time with them. <3
So, that's my update for now. Everyone have a great day and enjoy your trick or treating! Happy Halloween!!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
26 weeks +
It's hard to believe that I am due in less than 14 weeks! This pregnancy is going so fast! I'm sure M&M would disagree with me on that one though - lol!
Here's my latest belly pictures:
Things have been fairly uneventful here. My mom is home and recovering. Thank you all for your well wishes. <3 I don't have many updates on the pregnancy front - my doctor appointment isn't until next week, my surprise for M&M isn't until next week, etc. The only thing going on pregnancy wise is Baby M kicking my insides constantly - haha! Yesterday I put my hand on my belly and she kicked it off. I figured it was a coincidence so I put my hand back on it again and she kicked it again. She did that a few times throughout the day. Unfortunately, she wouldn't play her little game with Paul last night. Oh well, soon enough I'm sure!
Here's my latest belly pictures:
Things have been fairly uneventful here. My mom is home and recovering. Thank you all for your well wishes. <3 I don't have many updates on the pregnancy front - my doctor appointment isn't until next week, my surprise for M&M isn't until next week, etc. The only thing going on pregnancy wise is Baby M kicking my insides constantly - haha! Yesterday I put my hand on my belly and she kicked it off. I figured it was a coincidence so I put my hand back on it again and she kicked it again. She did that a few times throughout the day. Unfortunately, she wouldn't play her little game with Paul last night. Oh well, soon enough I'm sure!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Sorry!
Sorry it has taken me so long to update on our weekend – it’s just been a long couple of days!
Saturday morning we got up and got ready to go. We left the house around 8:40 to go catch the Riverline – the shuttle train that takes you to the Trenton train station. Shayla was pretty good on the shuttle train – she just wanted to be switched back and forth from mommy and daddy the whole time. We got to the Trenton station and stood on the huge line to wait to get our tickets. By the time we got them, we knew our train was already boarding so we ran to the platform….but we were too late. As we were running down the platform the train started pulling away! Luckily, the Trenton train runs every ½ hour so we didn’t have long to wait.
The train ride was…interesting. Shayla was extremely bored so she was getting kinda cranky. We finally gave her a pen and newspaper and let her go to town with her coloring – lol. We got to the city and took the subway to M&M’s house. We got there and Shayla immediately ran to a chair that had some stuffed animals on it for the baby. It was so cute. After some playing we sat down to eat the delicious vegetable quiche MA had whipped up for us. Oh it was so yummy! Unfortunately, Shayla is going through a stage where she doesn’t like to try new things so she wouldn’t even try it. So she ate French bread and bacon for lunch – haha! After that I laid around trying to get the baby to kick for M&M but she wanted nothing to do with it! So I gulped down some OJ hoping it would help. A few minutes later she was kicking away so MA put his hand on my belly and she gave him one or two good kicks. Then MB took out his stethoscope to listen to her kicking. After that M&M were showing me all the clothes they’ve bought for the baby. Watching them get all excited over their great finds melted my heart. I just stood back watching them and how happy they were and it all made sense. Not that I’ve ever questioned why I was on this journey…but it just hit me like a ton of bricks exactly why I was doing this. They were just so happy. :-)
After hanging out at the apartment for awhile we walked over to the playground. We put Shayla on the swings and MB stood in front of her tickling her feet whenever she came toward him – she was laughing and laughing. It was sweet. Then Shayla became a big girl and started climbing all over the playground equipment and going down the slides. The only problem was the other kids on the playground weren’t quite sure how to share the slides with other children. They were climbing up while Shayla was trying to go down, they were cutting in line, they were trampling the little ones, etc. And the moms would just sit on the bench and go “don’t do that honey” “please stop doing that” “let that little girl go”. Do you think the kids listened? Of course not! They probably knew their mother would never get off that bench so it didn’t matter what she was saying! I found it quite rude…but it showed me the type of parent I want to be. Now I’ll be sure to teach Shayla some manners and show her how to share playground equipment. And when she’s older, I’ll make sure she uses those manners! Anyway – we then walked over to another playground which was much more tame. There were still plenty of kids but they were more Shayla’s age. And even the older ones had parents that stood nearby to make sure they were being polite and sharing. Our biggest problem of the day was getting Shayla off the playgrounds! She wanted absolutely nothing to do with leaving. Unfortunately, we had no choice. We still had to grab some dinner, take the train to Trenton (about an hour and a half), and then take the shuttle train back to our car (another half hour). So we got to Penn Station and started heading towards TGI Fridays to grab some dinner. I looked down and noticed Shayla was passed out in her stroller. <3 She really wore herself out with all that running around! So Paul and I had a nice quiet dinner (well, as quiet as you can have in Penn Station – lol) and then headed for the train. This time we were prepared – we had bought coloring books, crayons, and stickers while we were at the station so that Shayla would have something to do on the train. We got our train at the very last minute – it was just about to pull away when we got there! Unfortunately that meant a very crowded train and no seats. I had a very nice man get up and give Shayla and I his seat and he stood in the back with Paul. Of course Shayla wasn’t very happy about having to sit on mommy’s lap and kept trying to get up. After a couple of stops, a 3 seater opened up so we all got to sit together. Then we pulled out the goodies we had bought at the station - that kept Shayla occupied for quite awhile. When she was done coloring she kept saying nap so I moved over and let her lay down on the seat. She didn’t fall asleep but I think it helped her just to lay down for a little while. The shuttle ride was the funniest part of the whole day. I guess that laying down on the train helped because Shayla was wide awake and singing at the top of her lungs the whole time. The other people on the shuttle train were trying to sleep and kept looking over at here but there was nothing we could do. We kept trying to get her to shush, give her snacks to keep her mouth full, etc. Nothing worked. She just sat there singing as loud as she could. The guy across from us opened his eyes and started laughing at one point. I was happy to see that…I mean, what are you going to do? Get mad at a 2 year old for singing? Nah…much better to laugh at her.
So that was our Saturday. Sunday was not bad – we watched football most of the day. But then I got a call from my dad that my mom was in the hospital. She woke up with severe pain in her abdomen that morning while they were on vacation. They packed up and drove home and immediately went to the ER. She was admitted with gallstones. They wanted to keep her overnight because she was in so much constant pain. Apparently with gallstones you are only supposed to be in pain after eating, when your gallbladder tries to contract – not all the time. So I took off of work Monday to go be with her. In the morning we found out they were not releasing her like we thought so I hurried out there to see if there was anything I could do. They did a few more tests and found that she had pancreatitis. They think a gallstone escaped and got caught in a duct below her pancreas, causing her pancreas to become inflamed. The really bad news – they can’t remove the gallbladder until the pancreatitis clears up. The really horrible news – the only thing they can do for pancreatitis is let her lay in a hospital bed with nothing to eat and nothing to drink for a few days. My poor mommy!!!
Last night I talked to her and she was feeling a lot better. They even let her have some chicken broth and Jello for dinner! Yay! And it looks like they are going to schedule her for surgery on Thursday! Yippee!!
Of course, this does kill our weekend plans. We were going to a family luncheon on Saturday, Shayla was getting her pictures taken Saturday night, and we were doing a Breast Cancer walk on Sunday. There is no way my mom is going to make it to the luncheon, and I highly doubt she’s going to walk 3 miles on Sunday. I still have to get Shayla’s pictures taken – I’m hoping my mom can at least come with us!
The other big thing this week was Aria’s birthday. You all remember my friend who passed away during childbirth in July? She was supposed to turn 25 on Monday. :-( I had been planning on going to the cemetery Monday after work but I had such a long day with my mom in the hospital that I didn’t get there. I was sad but I know Aria would understand.
Saturday morning we got up and got ready to go. We left the house around 8:40 to go catch the Riverline – the shuttle train that takes you to the Trenton train station. Shayla was pretty good on the shuttle train – she just wanted to be switched back and forth from mommy and daddy the whole time. We got to the Trenton station and stood on the huge line to wait to get our tickets. By the time we got them, we knew our train was already boarding so we ran to the platform….but we were too late. As we were running down the platform the train started pulling away! Luckily, the Trenton train runs every ½ hour so we didn’t have long to wait.
The train ride was…interesting. Shayla was extremely bored so she was getting kinda cranky. We finally gave her a pen and newspaper and let her go to town with her coloring – lol. We got to the city and took the subway to M&M’s house. We got there and Shayla immediately ran to a chair that had some stuffed animals on it for the baby. It was so cute. After some playing we sat down to eat the delicious vegetable quiche MA had whipped up for us. Oh it was so yummy! Unfortunately, Shayla is going through a stage where she doesn’t like to try new things so she wouldn’t even try it. So she ate French bread and bacon for lunch – haha! After that I laid around trying to get the baby to kick for M&M but she wanted nothing to do with it! So I gulped down some OJ hoping it would help. A few minutes later she was kicking away so MA put his hand on my belly and she gave him one or two good kicks. Then MB took out his stethoscope to listen to her kicking. After that M&M were showing me all the clothes they’ve bought for the baby. Watching them get all excited over their great finds melted my heart. I just stood back watching them and how happy they were and it all made sense. Not that I’ve ever questioned why I was on this journey…but it just hit me like a ton of bricks exactly why I was doing this. They were just so happy. :-)
After hanging out at the apartment for awhile we walked over to the playground. We put Shayla on the swings and MB stood in front of her tickling her feet whenever she came toward him – she was laughing and laughing. It was sweet. Then Shayla became a big girl and started climbing all over the playground equipment and going down the slides. The only problem was the other kids on the playground weren’t quite sure how to share the slides with other children. They were climbing up while Shayla was trying to go down, they were cutting in line, they were trampling the little ones, etc. And the moms would just sit on the bench and go “don’t do that honey” “please stop doing that” “let that little girl go”. Do you think the kids listened? Of course not! They probably knew their mother would never get off that bench so it didn’t matter what she was saying! I found it quite rude…but it showed me the type of parent I want to be. Now I’ll be sure to teach Shayla some manners and show her how to share playground equipment. And when she’s older, I’ll make sure she uses those manners! Anyway – we then walked over to another playground which was much more tame. There were still plenty of kids but they were more Shayla’s age. And even the older ones had parents that stood nearby to make sure they were being polite and sharing. Our biggest problem of the day was getting Shayla off the playgrounds! She wanted absolutely nothing to do with leaving. Unfortunately, we had no choice. We still had to grab some dinner, take the train to Trenton (about an hour and a half), and then take the shuttle train back to our car (another half hour). So we got to Penn Station and started heading towards TGI Fridays to grab some dinner. I looked down and noticed Shayla was passed out in her stroller. <3 She really wore herself out with all that running around! So Paul and I had a nice quiet dinner (well, as quiet as you can have in Penn Station – lol) and then headed for the train. This time we were prepared – we had bought coloring books, crayons, and stickers while we were at the station so that Shayla would have something to do on the train. We got our train at the very last minute – it was just about to pull away when we got there! Unfortunately that meant a very crowded train and no seats. I had a very nice man get up and give Shayla and I his seat and he stood in the back with Paul. Of course Shayla wasn’t very happy about having to sit on mommy’s lap and kept trying to get up. After a couple of stops, a 3 seater opened up so we all got to sit together. Then we pulled out the goodies we had bought at the station - that kept Shayla occupied for quite awhile. When she was done coloring she kept saying nap so I moved over and let her lay down on the seat. She didn’t fall asleep but I think it helped her just to lay down for a little while. The shuttle ride was the funniest part of the whole day. I guess that laying down on the train helped because Shayla was wide awake and singing at the top of her lungs the whole time. The other people on the shuttle train were trying to sleep and kept looking over at here but there was nothing we could do. We kept trying to get her to shush, give her snacks to keep her mouth full, etc. Nothing worked. She just sat there singing as loud as she could. The guy across from us opened his eyes and started laughing at one point. I was happy to see that…I mean, what are you going to do? Get mad at a 2 year old for singing? Nah…much better to laugh at her.
So that was our Saturday. Sunday was not bad – we watched football most of the day. But then I got a call from my dad that my mom was in the hospital. She woke up with severe pain in her abdomen that morning while they were on vacation. They packed up and drove home and immediately went to the ER. She was admitted with gallstones. They wanted to keep her overnight because she was in so much constant pain. Apparently with gallstones you are only supposed to be in pain after eating, when your gallbladder tries to contract – not all the time. So I took off of work Monday to go be with her. In the morning we found out they were not releasing her like we thought so I hurried out there to see if there was anything I could do. They did a few more tests and found that she had pancreatitis. They think a gallstone escaped and got caught in a duct below her pancreas, causing her pancreas to become inflamed. The really bad news – they can’t remove the gallbladder until the pancreatitis clears up. The really horrible news – the only thing they can do for pancreatitis is let her lay in a hospital bed with nothing to eat and nothing to drink for a few days. My poor mommy!!!
Last night I talked to her and she was feeling a lot better. They even let her have some chicken broth and Jello for dinner! Yay! And it looks like they are going to schedule her for surgery on Thursday! Yippee!!
Of course, this does kill our weekend plans. We were going to a family luncheon on Saturday, Shayla was getting her pictures taken Saturday night, and we were doing a Breast Cancer walk on Sunday. There is no way my mom is going to make it to the luncheon, and I highly doubt she’s going to walk 3 miles on Sunday. I still have to get Shayla’s pictures taken – I’m hoping my mom can at least come with us!
The other big thing this week was Aria’s birthday. You all remember my friend who passed away during childbirth in July? She was supposed to turn 25 on Monday. :-( I had been planning on going to the cemetery Monday after work but I had such a long day with my mom in the hospital that I didn’t get there. I was sad but I know Aria would understand.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Camping Update and more
Well, the weekend went pretty well. Unfortunately, it seems that the terrible twos have hit us. Shayla knew exactly what she wanted to do all weekend and we weren’t allowed to disagree with her. Boy was that interesting! Sleeping wasn’t too bad. Friday night I had to go to bed with her (in my bed, of course) and then get up after she had gone to sleep. When Paul and I wanted to go to bed, he had to move her to her own bed. Saturday for nap and Saturday night we could not get her to go to bed so Paul had to buckle her in the car seat and drive around the campgrounds until she fell asleep. All in all it was a good time…I just wish she wouldn’t have decided to become a two year old while we were away on vacation!
Here’s a few pictures from our weekend:
Our plans have changed a little for getting together with M&M. MB has to work on the 20th, so we will be getting together on the 13th instead. I’m so excited! I’ve been having lots of talks with baby M about kicking nice and hard this Saturday so that her daddies can feel it. Last night she was listening and kicking me REALLY hard. Paul could feel it with no problem and I swear I could see my whole belly jump just a little bit. Yay! I hope she does that on Saturday for them!
Switching dates to go to the city worked out well for me. A few ladies in my family are having a little lunch get together on the 20th so now I get to go! It’s going to be fun having everyone together like that.
Then on the 20th in the evening, we are getting Shayla’s 2 year pictures done. We bought her a cute little pink and gray dress to wear. I hope she cooperates and we get some good pictures!
On the 21st I am doing the Breast Cancer walk. I should probably start some walking before that to get myself into shape! Just walking around the amusement park last weekend was killer – granted it’s a lot of hills but I still should have been able to handle it a little better. Besides, they say walking and exercising is great to get your body ready for labor ;-)
I guess that’s all for now. I’ll update after my day with M&M!!
Here’s a few pictures from our weekend:
Our plans have changed a little for getting together with M&M. MB has to work on the 20th, so we will be getting together on the 13th instead. I’m so excited! I’ve been having lots of talks with baby M about kicking nice and hard this Saturday so that her daddies can feel it. Last night she was listening and kicking me REALLY hard. Paul could feel it with no problem and I swear I could see my whole belly jump just a little bit. Yay! I hope she does that on Saturday for them!
Switching dates to go to the city worked out well for me. A few ladies in my family are having a little lunch get together on the 20th so now I get to go! It’s going to be fun having everyone together like that.
Then on the 20th in the evening, we are getting Shayla’s 2 year pictures done. We bought her a cute little pink and gray dress to wear. I hope she cooperates and we get some good pictures!
On the 21st I am doing the Breast Cancer walk. I should probably start some walking before that to get myself into shape! Just walking around the amusement park last weekend was killer – granted it’s a lot of hills but I still should have been able to handle it a little better. Besides, they say walking and exercising is great to get your body ready for labor ;-)
I guess that’s all for now. I’ll update after my day with M&M!!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Happy October!
Last weekend was a good time! I got together on Saturday with a few wonderful ladies from my surrogacy message board. We had a great time – it was nice talking with other people who understood exactly what I was going through, how I feel, etc. We had some really good laughs…especially at the room we were seated in. The restaurant put us in a large round room with a big round table in the middle. Sounds nice, right? Well, it was with the exception of the theme – it was Pope! The whole room was covered in pictures of the Pope and cherubs. There was even a Pope bust in the middle of the table. Ha – I don’t think he would approve of the conversations we were having in that room! Anyway, it was a great time and I really hope we can do it again sometime!
This week has been fairly boring. Mostly just trying to get everything ready for this weekend. Our big camping trip is tomorrow! Woooohooo! I’m very excited! Of course I’m worried too – I don’t know how Shayla is going to handle the whole sleeping outside thing. I hope she does ok. As long as that goes well, I expect to have a great weekend. We haven’t gone camping in a few years and I miss it. We’ll see how my pregnant butt feels when we get back though – lol!
I talked to M&M last night and we’ve made plans to get together twice in the next month – yay!! Paul, Shayla, and I are going to head into the city on the 20th and have some lunch and spend the day. Then on 11/3 I have a surprise planned for them so they are coming down to my house. Yippee! :-)
I can’t believe Shayla’s birthday is coming up so quickly. Paul and I were going over the next few weekends to figure out what we were going to get done around the house before her birthday party and we only have one weekend free to get everything done before then! Holy cow! My little girl is growing up so fast! :-(
This week has been fairly boring. Mostly just trying to get everything ready for this weekend. Our big camping trip is tomorrow! Woooohooo! I’m very excited! Of course I’m worried too – I don’t know how Shayla is going to handle the whole sleeping outside thing. I hope she does ok. As long as that goes well, I expect to have a great weekend. We haven’t gone camping in a few years and I miss it. We’ll see how my pregnant butt feels when we get back though – lol!
I talked to M&M last night and we’ve made plans to get together twice in the next month – yay!! Paul, Shayla, and I are going to head into the city on the 20th and have some lunch and spend the day. Then on 11/3 I have a surprise planned for them so they are coming down to my house. Yippee! :-)
I can’t believe Shayla’s birthday is coming up so quickly. Paul and I were going over the next few weekends to figure out what we were going to get done around the house before her birthday party and we only have one weekend free to get everything done before then! Holy cow! My little girl is growing up so fast! :-(
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