Congratulations E & A!!!!

It feels like forever since my last post and finding time to sit and write gets more and more difficult it seems. I have sooooo much to tell everyone and I'm not sure where to begin. I suppose I will tell you right in order how things have happened for us to give you the same suspense ;)

It was almost a week ago when Ben and I were going through our normal injection routine. We both got out of work around the same time and I was starving so I decided to make something to eat. I had the bright idea to sit on the ice pack while I ate my food to save a little time and get the shot over right after I was done eating. I ate and put my dish to the side when I was done and continued to watch the show Ben had on. I remember telling Ben I'm ready when he was and he didn't say anything and kept watching, as did I. About 5 minutes later I told Ben again that I'm ready for him to get the shot ready. (He was completely oblivious that I asked him the first time ----> a man for ya hehehe) He jumped up and quickly got things around and I took the ice pack off. 1...2...3   I felt nothing. Hmmmm? And he was done. Uh Oh, that's not good! There was a huge white spot on my butt where I had the ice pack (Never had this happen before...Also never left an ice pack on for 15 minutes) Oh Jeez!  That white spot turned into a huge red spot the next day and yep I literally frost bit my butt! ?WHO DOES THAT!!! Needless to say I learned my lesson and the spot is slowly going away, yet still there. Not only did I have 1 sore cheek but 3 days later I had to get another shot in the other one so both cheeks were sore for a couple days. Glad the soreness is gone in both now and that my butt didn't turn black and fall off! Boy Ben would have been mad! hahaha!

I received a phone call on Halloween from my great aunt who was very interested in how things were going for us with our surrogacy journey. Her initial question jokingly got the conversation going with, "Now did you get pregnant in a medical room OR?" ha! She makes me laugh so hard sometimes. We both started laughing and I replied, "Well, I'm still married so yes I got pregnant in a medical room, hehehe" Too Funny!

She asked a question that I didn't know the answer to so of course I had to do more research. She was confused on how the baby could absolutely not have any of my DNA or be related to me. I explained the egg and sperm concept but she went a little further as to  say, "Don't you supply the baby with your blood and technically transferring your DNA to the baby?" What a great question! To answer: Whether it is a traditional pregnancy or a surrogacy the mother does not supply the fetus with her blood. The fetus makes its own blood supply from it's genetics which is how a baby can have it's fathers or mothers blood type and sometimes a mix. Maternal blood and fetal blood never mix because of a structure called a placental barrier. It was so interesting for me to look this up because I had no idea the mothers blood never came in contact with the fetus so to be honest I was a little nervous when my great aunt asked this and I had never thought about it. The best way to describe a placental barrier is like a window screen. The screen has holes in it big enough to get the air through (in baby terms - the nutrients) but small enough to keep the bugs out (in baby terms - large molecules like blood). Cool Huh!

 

Now for the big news! I had my first ultrasound yesterday and I was super excited! I invited my mother to join me because Ben ended up having to work and I needed someone to witness with me. Of course I got there a half hour early and downed an entire bottle of water in a minute. The ultrasound tech had someone cancel their appointment so she called me back earlier than expected. By this point I was just ready to see 1 and 7 (the embryo numbers chosen) so I could let E know any news possible! I knew she was going crazy at work and she wasn't able to make it so I wanted to do something special and I had my mom video the appointment for her to see. It was such a relief to see a little sac inside there and as of right now there is only 1 heartbeat (111) so it looks to be a singleton. There is an off chance though that the other embryo could be clinging and hiding without a developed heartbeat yet so I'm sure they will be keeping a look out in case that happens. I read so many articles online where they didn't notice a twin until 8-14 weeks! That's crazy! I immediately told E the news and as excited as we both were to see one heartbeat, we were expecting two. It is not that we weren't happy with one healthy baby but I knew how much E & A wanted twins and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint them. E felt bad that either 1 or 7 didn't make it but she also said it is out of our control so what is meant to be will be. I'm not sure what to call this little embie now because we don't know if it is 1 or 7.

Look at their little edition!!! Yayy!!!

We were exactly 6 weeks along yesterday and they put our due date at July 2nd, 2013! This is very exciting because in other news my sister just found out she is pregnant and also 6 weeks along! What are the odds!? She is due June 28th so we aren't too far apart in dates. I'm excited to have someone that will be pregnant at the same time and will understand all my crazy hormones. It will be nice to vent to one another, ha!

I will have weekly ultrasounds done for 2 more weeks to monitor baby and decide on my new medication calendar. If our ultrasound goes great next Tuesday then I will be stopping the Progesterone Injections!!! Yayyyy!!!! I am down to 2 patches every other day instead of 4 but I am continuing the prenatals, aspirin, and endometrin daily for now. If all goes as planned I have 2 shots left which is great because I thought I had over 10 to go.

On last little tid bit that turned my extremely awful night last night into a better one was an e-mail I got from E that I have to share!

"Not only are you our surrogate, but you are such a support system. I love your emails and prompt texts when I am frantic! I want you to know we appreciate you sooooo much. I was bummed today that two weren't there, but I didn't mean to belittle the fact that we have a baby on board! I know you have been amazing and I guess the fact that two didn't take is out of our control. So we can move forward knowing we have one baby on the way! I wonder of it is a girl since you feel the same as you did with Ava! I want a girl:) The fertility nurse told me today that she has seen times where there are 2 after the second ultrasound, but it is rare. I am not getting too hopeful . . . but very interesting. These weeks are killing me! We all need to get a drink after this is all said and done!! xoxoxox E"

This just makes me feel great! I love our IP's and our relationship about teamwork and being supportive. I also like that things aren't so uptight and we can laugh and joke with one another. Now for next week, I don't feel nervous or anxious which is weird but I think I'm over those feelings and on to being content. The pregnancy is happening and now we just take things one day at a time. When I talk to others about being pregnant I have keep saying things like, "when I'm pregnant I will have to buy some stretchier black pants for work" ha! I am pregnant silly me, it still has not fully soaked in that I am pregnant or even 6 weeks along. Everything is just so darn surreal and I never thought it would happen so easily but here we are. It will only get more real as time goes on.

How am I feeling? Fant-freakin-tastic! No sickness what so ever. I feel a little uneasy in the morning if I don't eat but it was the same way with Ava so I have learned to always eat. I have been sleeping amazing but going to bed earlier than usual. I feel very tired at night so it is normal for me to be in bed before 10 or falling asleep on the couch while Ben watches a show.

Random Finds - I ventured out and took a long 3 hour grocery trip a few days ago and found the ultimate find for our journey! E and I have been on a pineapple kick and guess who found Pineapple Sherbert!! ------------------> This Girl! (:

I will let you know how next Tuesday goes!! Fingers Crossed! <3

Love,