Surro Files - 7 Weeks ~ We Have A Bean! ... One Perfect Little Bean.

The Bun

The baby is now the size of a blueberry (.51") and less than .04 oz.  This week the baby's brain is becoming more complex and is developing cavities and passages vital for circulating spinal fluid.  The baby's face is also becoming more defined with the lenses of the eyes and middle party of the ear forming.  Tiny arms, legs, hands and feet are also just beginning to bud.  Wow!!!!

The Embryo Is Now The Size Of A Blueberry

The Oven

With my first pregnancy you could barely tell I was pregnant for quite awhile.  I started off with a flat stomach and tight, firm muscles.  I wish I could say the same this time now on my 5th pregnancy.  My belly never regained the muscle tone it had before and I never really went back to a totally flat stomach.  In fact, as soon as I got pregnant each time after that first round, my belly just seemed to give out.  It just says "Poof!  You're pregnant!"  All the muscles let go, and I go from a fairly flat to 3 months pregnant overnight.

Other than my tummy bump... I'm still tired most of the time, still a bit queasy on and off, and eating us out of house and home.

The Oven 6w6d At The California State Capitol in Sacramento

The Happenings In the Kitchen

The biggest news this week ... We had our first U/S!!!!!!!  Actually we had two!  Knowing the busy schedule of my OB office, I decided to get our appointments set up a bit early.  With that came our first introductory appointment with my nurse, Pam (LOVE her!!!!).  I didn't expect much at the appointment but wanted Belle to be ready just in case we could talk Pam into an early ultrasound.  As soon as I got to the appointment, I texted Belle up to date information.  Weighed in at 111 pounds.  Pee'ed in a cup to confirm pregnancy.  Blood pressure 114/70.  Met with Pam to go over the pregnancy.  "By the way... this baby isn't mine."  Haha!  It took us awhile to go over all the logistics, timeline, and who all was involved, but I think we got a pretty good idea by the end of it.  On top of it all, I let her know that we really didn't know how many babies we were dealing with.  "Well, do you want to know?" was her response.  I didn't have to think twice.  I knew what Belle and Adam's answer would be.  "YES!!!!!"  I let Belle know the awesome news.  We are heading to the ultrasound room!  I practically jumped on the table, got my phone ready to record, and we got started.  At least I remembered to take my underwear off this time around.  I didn't see anything at first, but then a sac appeared, and then an embryo, and then a heartbeat!!!!!  One healthy baby growing and measuring right on track (6w3d to be exact with a 113 heartbeat).  Yay!  I tried to send the video to Belle ASAP, but it was too big of a file, so I sent a picture instead.  She was over the moon excited and spread the news to Adam who was equally excited.  This is really going to happen!!!!

Our First Look At The Bun

Thursday we had another ultrasound.  This was our official viability ultrasound and I felt bad telling them that we already had a peek at the baby... so I didn't.  Still one baby, measuring right on track (6w4d), with a healthy heartbeat.  I forgot to mention that we did see another sac of some sort while looking at the ultrasound, but nothing was in it.  It's hard to say if it was the beginning of the other embryo or a pocket of blood, but either way it's not a big concern and we know that there is just one baby.

On the non-surrogacy front, we had a last minute trip up to Sacramento for Brian's work.  It was quite a drive with my tired self, but we made it there about 4 hours later.  I took the kids to see the state Capital, to Climbaroo (a kids climbing place), and to Old Town Sacramento which has a lot of fun shops, a train museum, and train rides.  Unfortunately the train rides weren't open, but we did get some yummy treats and found a really old Geocache while there.  We also met up with one of my best friends, which was really fun too.  A great end, to a great week!

The Chefs

Obviously Belle and Adam are getting totally excited now that the whole idea is becoming more and more real with each week that we pass and each ultrasound that we have.  I had to crack up with Adam's excitement over which fruit he should start taking pictures of next (I think we're a raspberry next week???).  I was also super excited to hear how Belle was going to tell her Grandmother about the pregnancy this weekend.  She vowed that her Grandmother would be the only person she would tell on her 2 week trip back home and I admit that I really didn't think she would be able to keep the secret, but the trip is pretty much up and Grammy is the only one who knows.  From what I hear, she was soooooo excited.  She's already started knitting a whole wardrobe for the baby and is conspiring with Belle on how they will tell the rest of the family for Christmas.  She's let me know a few of the ideas that they have on how to let the cat out of the bag, but nothing is set in stone yet.  I can't wait to find out!!!!!

We're also planning Belle's first trip out to the glorious Fresno!  Haha!  That's where I live and it's not that amazing, but I will say that there is an amazing little bean living here right now that is totally worth the long flight.  She'll be heading out this way early in January, but we haven't set any dates yet.  I'm already trying to think of... what should we do?  Where should we go eat?  Will she be able to stand one minute in my house with the cat????  Lots and lots to think about it.  As of now, we have an OB appointment set for that time and hopefully the NT scan to see the baby.  Exciting!!!!

Coming Soon !!!

Our next ultrasound is next Monday (December 2nd).  We will be 8 weeks into the pregnancy at this point.  Maybe it'll look like a gummy bear!
Our first OB appt with Dr. B is January 10th  We will be almost 14 weeks into the pregnancy at this point.  Super excited that Belle will be flying out for this one!!!!

Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed

*Some of the names in this post have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*

Surro Files - 6 Weeks ~ with a RAD new colorful look!

The Bun(s)

The baby(ies) are now the size of a small pea (.25") and less than .04 oz.  They are rapidly growing and will triple in size this week.  Basic facial features such as eyes and ears are becoming more developed (what????) and the neural groove will have closed by this time.  The tiny heart is starting to pump blood.  Along the mid-line, 40 tiny blocks of tissue are developing which will eventually become the backbone, ribs, and muscles of the baby's back and sides.

Embryo(s) Are Now The Size Of A Small Pea

The Oven

With all my previous pregnancies with my own children I've dodged the big bullet.  I've escaped the torture of morning sickness.  I've considered myself very lucky and it was actually one of the reasons I was so willing to do this again for someone else.  It looks like my luck may have run out though.  Boooooo!  I've been feeling queasy most of the week off and on.  Not so queasy that I can't go about my day, and not so queasy that I'm barfing in the grocery store parking lot, but my tummy is a bit off and not feeling well.  Let's hope these feelings are not permanent.  Maybe just a fluctuation in hormones that needs to even out.  Today we're putting that all behind us... I hope.

I've also been feeling sooooooooooo tired.  Not sure if that's going to go away anytime soon, but all I can say is, I'm super glad that I stay at home with Linc so that I can take naps with the little man.  Oh how I love naps right now!  Which is totally not me because I'm way too much of a go go go person to take naps normally.

Belly @ 6 Weeks

The Happenings In the Kitchen

It's been a busy week in the kitchen!!!  Thursday was a VERY big day!!!!  It was BETA #2 day!!!  It's really hard to tell much from a beta number this far after our first one, but as long as it's rising we will let out a huge sigh of relief that things must be going well in there.  If you don't remember, our last beta was done 11 days after our transfer and it was 392 (level of pregnancy hormones).  Thursday I guessed it would be 9000.  Belle guessed it would be 7000.  So what was it?  It was 15,256!!!!!!  A VERY good number!!!!!!!  We were over the moon with that number and now questioning our guess that it might bee a single.  Twins maybe?  I guess we will soon see.  We'll be happy either way.

The girls and I got invited last minute to the Color Me RAD 5k run.  My best friend had an extra ticket.  I was pretty excited!  I've always wanted to do a fun run and this sounded like a blast!  Plus, they were planning on walking which was perfect for this recently preggo and not so athletic little oven.  The girls and I dressed head to toe in white, then added little pink tutus on top.  A perfect canvas for lots of paint and color!  Riley (my oldest) was a bit nervous and almost backed out at the last minute in tears that she was going to get color in her eyes and not be able to breathe, but I convinced her to give it one go and after that first color blast, she was a wild woman ready for more!  After the run we still had a birthday party to go to and hit it up all decked out with paint covering our bodies.  Haha!  We were quite the odd bunch.  I will say that day pushed my energy level max though.  I was about to crash at the birthday party and pretty much did by the time we got home.  I need my naps!!!!!!

Color Me RAD 5k Run in Fresno, CA

The Chefs

Belle was crazy excited with our beta number this week!  I'm sure it made her trip out to visit family this week that much better knowing that everything was still going well with the bean(s).  I had a bet with her that she was going to let the beans spill before she planned to, but it looks like she's holding strong and keeping the excitement in.  You're way stronger than me Belle!!!!!

Belle's also been working on her weekly pregnancy photo journal.  She's been taking pictures of fruits that correspond to the size of the baby, taking pictures of what she's doing in preparation, plus adding a few pictures of what our belly bump looks like and what we're up to.  I can't wait to see the finished product!!!!!!  She takes hundreds of photos trying to get the perfect one, and I had to laugh when Adam decided he wanted to get in on the fun and said he could get a better picture of blueberries.  LOL!  Let's see who's blueberry picture wins out next week.

I also received a fun package from Belle this week!  She sent me two yogo videos and a yoga during pregnancy book.  I can't wait to try them out!!!!!!!  I'm just waiting till after the ultrasound till I get back into working out.  Only a few more days!!!

Coming Soon !!!

Our first OB appointment is tomorrow (Tuesday the 19th).  It's just an intro appointment to fill out paperwork and say, "Hey, we're pregnant and It's not Brian's... or mine."  Haha!
Our first ultrasound is next Thursday the 21st!!!!  We should be able to hear a heartbeat... or two.

Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed

*Some of the names in this post have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*

"The Baby Chase" by Leslie Morgan Steiner - Review and Giveaway

Last month I was honored to receive a preview copy of The Baby Chase by Leslie Morgan Steiner.  For the most part I'm no longer accepting items to review, but this book came at just the perfect time right before our embryo transfer.  What better book to read while you sit hoping that two little beans (or at least one) will stick, than a book about the history of surrogacy and a couple's journey to fulfill their dream of building a family?  I'll admit that I did bring a back up book with me just in case the story didn't grab me enough to finish it and it's actually a good thing that I did.  Not because The Baby Chase was a bad book, but because it was so good that I couldn't put it down and I finished it in a day! 

When I first opened this book I didn't really know what to expect.  I figured the obvious based on the cover and the title. This would be a story based on a couple that turned to surrogacy to build their family.  That in itself was interesting for me.  I'd heard bits and pieces of how other couples journeys in surrogacy began and ended (including the intended parents for whom I'm now helping grow their own family), but I'd never heard a story from beginning to end in so much detail.  What I didn't expect from this book was all the education and history that it weaved in while telling this amazing story.  While reading I was able to learn how IVF and surrogacy got started and how it has grown around the world.  I've learned the advances and the setbacks as well as the positives and the negatives.

  I'll admit that the story started out with a bit of descriptive fluff that distracted me.  I think I'm just the impatient type that just wants to jump right in.  It also took me awhile to get used to the constant switch in topic from the story of Rhonda and Gerry Wile, to the history and statistics of IVF and surrogacy.  But once I got used to the flow of the writing, I couldn't put it down!  I was eager to learn more about how this amazing technology came to be, where it is now, and where it might be headed in the future.  I was also on pins and needles to find out if Rhonda and Gerry would ever get the family that they desired and intrigued about their route of going through an agency in India.  The story brought tears to my eyes and hope for my own journey with Belle and Adam and their dream to one day have a child, as well as the many other couples and singles that are also working on their own dream of a family.  We will do this!  Together we can all make this happen!  

In the end, I would say that, The Baby Chase is a captivating story of not only a couple's struggle to create a family with one vasectomy and two vaginas, but also a very interesting look at the history of IVF and surrogacy around the world.  It's a story that I feel any intended parent, surrogate, donor, IVF health care professional, or anyone else involved in the world of surrogacy should read.  It shows you what we are fighting for,  who we are fighting for, and why.  After reading this story, I immediately headed over to Rhonda and Gerry's blog to congratulate them on their beautiful family and for sharing their story with the world.  Thank you Rhonda and Gerry!  And thank you Leslie for writing it so beautifully.  Thanks!

If you would like more information about The Baby Chase, about it's author Leslie Morgan Steiner, or where you can purchase this book please visit the Macmillan Publishers - The Baby Chase website.

You can also read more about Rhonda and Gerry's journey on their blog, Our Journey To Surrogacy In India.

~ THE GIVEAWAY ~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed

*Some of the names in this post have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*

Surro Files - 5 Weeks ~ Betas and Disneyland

5 Weeks!!!!!  Can you believe it!  I still can't believe Belle and Adam's little one will be here in about 35 weeks!  It really is very exciting!  OK, and now I think I used one too many exclamation points.  Haha!  This week I'm going to start a new format... unless it starts getting too boring then of course I'll have to change it up again.  So here we go...

The Bun(s)

Right now the baby (or babies... we will find out soon) is about the size of an apple seed (.13") and less than .04oz.  At this stage the embryo is dividing into three layers of cells.  The top layer will eventually become the central nervous system: the brain, spinal cord, spinal nerves, and backbone.  The middle layer will develop into the circulatory system, and the bottom layer is where the lungs, intestines, thyroid, and other major internal organs will develop.

Embryo(s) Are Now The Size Of An Apple Seed

The Oven

I'm actually feeling pretty normal right now.  At times I will feel a bit crampy from the growing, but other than that, I just feel like me.  I feel like this is a blessing and a curse at the same time.  I LOVE going through pregnancy without morning sickness and sore boobs, but at the same time I wish I felt something to let me know that everything is ok.  But I shouldn't wish for those things.  I'm sure I'll regret it very soon if my wish comes true.  So let's scratch that wish.  I'll just have faith that everything is growing just as it should.  So in the meantime I'll just continue taking my vitamin each morning, taking my progesterone suppositories 3x a day, and eating and sleeping to help grow the bean(s) the best that I can.  Sometimes I get nervous.  Sometimes I worry.  But overall I'm very calm this time around and know that in July, Belle and Adam will have their little one(s) in their arms.

The Oven At 5 Weeks

The Happenings In the Kitchen

This past week was beta week!!!!  Last Tuesday I went in for bloodwork to check my hormones and most importantly, by HCG levels.  HCG is the hormone your body produces when it's pregnant and they call that test a beta test.  I went in at 7am (all 3 kids in tow) so that we would get the results ASAP.  It usually takes about 4 hours to get beta results.  I sat by my phone all day long waiting for that important call... and what happens???  I miss it!!!!!  My kids turned down the ringer and I missed it.  Thankfully Belle e-mailed me the results right away with her excitement.  391!  The clinic was hoping for a number over 300 so we were right where they wanted us to be plus some!

Right after the beta test on Tuesday, we picked up the girls from school and headed out to Disneyland!  We're a Disney freak of a family and what better place to celebrate this excitement, than the happiest place on Earth!  We stayed from Tuesday to Friday riding lots of rides and eating lots of food.  Gah!  Now I look like I'm 5 months pregnant instead of 5 weeks.  Darn good food that is not so good for me!  I'll have to get back on track now that I'm home.  It was exciting documenting the beans first trip to Disneyland ... kind of.  We got rejected on a few rides like Autopia and Splash Mountain, but for the most part we got to ride all the rides we usually do.  The favorites this trip were Pirates of the Caribbean and It's A Small World.  After Disney we went to visit my family for the weekend and headed home.  It's so nice to be home!!!! 

The Family @ Disneyland

The Chefs

I can only speculate on how the parents are feeling, but from our e-mails (yes we e-mail about a million times a day, haha!) and Belle's blog posts, I get a pretty good idea.  As of right now... and I'm sure the whole entire pregnancy, they are feeling excited, disbelief, and worry.  All the feelings you would expect of parents to be.  I love reading all of Belle's updates.  She's working on her pregnancy photo journal and organizing baby clothes that she's bought in the past.  I love hearing about their excitement and all the things they're doing to get ready.  I thought it was adorable that Adam was researching inducing lactation for Belle.  I'm sure that my husband would not do that.  Haha!  Of course it isn't all excitement though.  I know they are stressed and worried and waiting for each new appointment to come up.  Aren't we all?  Pregnancy is one of those beyond your control miracles that never ceases to amaze me.  You can read more about what's going on with Belle and Adam on her most recent blog post here - "Worry Wort".

Coming Soon !!!

Next Beta is this Thursday.  If I'm calculating correctly, I'm hoping for a number at least in the 9000 range giving us a doubling time of every 48 hours.

Our first ultrasound is next Thursday the 21st!!!!  We should be able to hear a heartbeat... or two.

Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed

*Some of the names in this post have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*

Lincoln's Toy Story 2 Birthday Party... & free printable

My Little Man Is 2!!!!!!

Another year and another party.  How could my little boy be two years old already?????  Where did the time go?  Since he is my last baby I tend to savor the moments just a little more, and I find that with that comes going a bit overboard when it comes to birthdays.  This year was no exception!  I picked the theme Toy Story after we picked out Linc's Halloween costume.  This year he was Buzz Lightyear!  What better way to double the use of a costume that will only fit for a short period of time, than to center his whole birthday around this costume too!  

The Decorations:

My Little Man and I

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do as far as decorations go.  Nothing too extravagant.

 Just a few key elements that would really set the mood.  Some of the items I was able to buy ready made such as the table cloths, the birthday banner, the cups, plates, napkins, and hanging decorations.  Other than that I couldn't find much so it was up to me to improvise.  Most of the big decorations you see here I actually made myself.  Some of them were created with the help of Pinterest.  Others were created from images in my mind.  Then there were a few that I really wanted to do that didn't come to be.  One of those was parachuting army men.  I wanted army colored balloons with army men attached as if they were parachuting.  Couldn't figure it out in the time I had though.  Boo!  Someone post a link if you ever create one!!!!

The Food:

This was an easy one!  What else do you serve at a Toy Story Party, but pizza from Pizza Planet?!?!  Can't pass up an opportunity to have a meal as easy as pizza!  For snacks we had Rex's Fruit and Veggie Tray and Mr. Potato Head's Potato Chips.  For drinks we had juice boxes, soda, water, and Hamm's Pink Party Punch (Yummmmm!!!!).  Then there was dessert.  Oh how I LOVE to plan dessert!  Just like Linc's 1st birthday, I planned a buffet of desserts to choose from with the help of Pinterest.  We had Alien Cupcakes, Buzz's Spaceship Crispy Treats, Army Men Battlefield Brownies, Jessie's Cowgirl Hat Cookies, and Woody's Sheriff Badge Cookies.  They were all so good, I couldn't possibly pick a favorite!!!!

The Dessert Bar

Alien Cupcakes

Battleground Brownies

Jessie's Cowgirl Hat Cookies
Woody's Sheriff Badge Cookies

Hamm's Pink Party Punch

I designed & Made the Pizza Planet Signs Myself From Foam Core

The Games:

I don't usually have games at our parties.  It just seems too hard to coordinate them and the kids really have a great time just playing with toys with their friends.  This time I thought I'd try games though.  We had a few self play games that were just there for fun, but didn't win prizes and weren't coordinated as to when to play.  Those were a huge felt Tic Tac Toe board, a huge Mr. Potato Head Felt board, a regular Mr. Potato head play station, a Toy Story coloring table, and an Etch A Sketch Photo Booth.  We had one semi coordinated game that guests could play at their leisure and a winner was selected at the end of the party.  This was Guess The Number Of Army Men In The Bowl.  Parents guessed for the younger kids, and the older kids got to guess on their own.  My one coordinated game was Hot Potato.  The kids LOVED this game!!!!  They actually wanted to play it twice.

Potato Head Table

Coloring Table

Reagan, My Middle Little

All My Littles

My Oldest Little With Her Friends

Our Whole Toy Story Gang

Even The Big Kids Had Fun At The Etch A Sketch Photo Booth

Can't Get Much Cuter With A Big Nose & Mustache

Hot Potato!

The Party Favors:

As soon as I saw these little bags on Pinterest I just knew that I had to have them!!!!!  The little alien bags are soooooooooo cute!!!!!!!  Plus they are so easy to make!  I filled them with your regular party favor treats, but the bags were the real fun.

I made both the claw and bags

I had a great time planning this party and an even funner time celebrating a big year with all our friends!  For more great ideas on how to plan your own Toy Story Birthday please visit my Pinterest Board for Linc's Birthday.  You'll also find out how to make a lot of the things you see here on my page.  While you're at it, you can check out Linc's 1st Birthday Party.  Oh how I love to reminisce and see where we were a year ago.

FREE PRINTABLE !!!!

You can print out your very own Toy Story Food Labels!!!!  Just click on the following links to print.  I print mine out on cardstock so they would be nice and ridged.  You can also open these documents in a photo editing program or something as simple as Microsoft Paint to erase the food names and create your own.  Enjoy!!!  Toy Story Food Labels Page 1  and Toy Story Food Labels Page 2.

Surro Files - 4 Weeks

What?!?!?!  Did I really just say 4 weeks?!?!?  Yep!  I'm the type that likes to leave you all hanging, wondering, and begging to know the answer.  Did it work????  Yes it did!!!!!!!

Ok, but now I'm just getting ahead of myself.  So how did the whole last week play out?  Last I wrote you it was Monday.  Testing time had just begun and we were 3 days past transfer.  I didn't really expect anything to show up on a test that early but I tested anyways.  BFN (big fat negative)!  I won't lie.  I was a bit bummed and scared how the rest of the week would play out after that point.  I didn't even tell Belle that I tested that time.  It was out of weakness that I tested and I know I shouldn't have.  I wasn't feeling any cramping which is my only sign that I might be pregnant and I think that's what was getting me down the most.  I'd already started planning for the next transfer.  When would it be?  How would I tell Belle and Adam that I had failed again?  Would it ever work?  So many questions.

Testing Testing 123.  I See Lines, Can You See?

Then everything changed that night.  Brian and I were watching "The Walking Dead" TV series and I started to feel some cramping.  Hmmmm... could this be it???  No, I'm sure I'm just thinking too much into it.  It's probably nothing.  It's probably me tensing up.  But.... it might be.  I went to bed as usual and woke up early the next morning on Tuesday.  I didn't rush to get out of bed though.  I still was pretty sure this cycle was a bust.  I laid there and relaxed as Linc and I usually do in the morning.  Finally I dragged my butt out of bed to go waste another test on another negative.  Bla!  I opened the package, pee'ed on the stick, and set it down to wait.  Staring at the test I saw nothing... again.  But then I started to see something...  No, it was my eye playing tricks.  It was like my eyes were blurry and trying to see a line that I knew exactly where it should be.  So I walked away... then came back awhile later.  Hmmmm... I think I see something.  I think I REALLY see something!!!!!!!!!  I ran to get my camera to take pictures in every room.  What lighting would show this super faint squinter of a line the best.  Belle really needs to see this!!!!!  I e-mailed the pictures off and got an instant response.  "AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh FREAKING OUT!!!!!" replied Belle.  Followed by e-mail after e-mail after that.  There is finally hope!  At 3.75 days past transfer we have hope!

Our Week 3 Picture (at my son's birthday party)

Wednesday I tested again and it was darker!!!!!  It was a definite line!!!!!  Once again I e-mailed pictures to Belle and we jumped up and down over e-mails about how exciting this was.  Adam was out of town at the time so she planned out a memorable way to tell him the great news.  She planned to give him a mug that said "Daddy" on Halloween.  Halloween marks the first day that Adam told Belle that he loved her and they were officially dating.  You can't get a more perfect day that that!  It's where it all began, and so what better day to begin another chapter in their book?  I'm sure holding out that long was pretty tough for Belle, but it was worth it in the end.  Thursday morning (Halloween), I woke up and took a digital test.  It seemed like hours before anything showed up, but that glorious word showed up.  "Pregnant!!!"  I sent it over just in time for Belle to make the big announcement.  I'm sure she could tell that story better than I could, but I will say that my eyes teared up when she sent me photos of them after she told him.  You could read it all in their smiles.  They are going to be a mommy and daddy!!!!!!!

So what's next?  Well we're 4 Weeks Pregnant now and DUE July 13th 2014.  Tomorrow is our first beta and then the guessing game begins... Is there one or is there two???

... which reminds me ... I forgot to tell you all my dream that I had the day after the transfer.  I had just watched "Gravity" while relaxing after the transfer and I dreamed that the two embryos were just floating in the space that is my uterus.  There was a limited time and they were struggling to get to a safe location which was my lining.  Time was almost up and the older and stronger male embryo knew that they couldn't both make it to safety so he pushed the girl embryo towards the lining so she could burrow in and sacrificed himself.  Hmmmm... will my dream be true?  Is it one?  Is it a girl?

... which brings me to another crazy thought (haha I have all these crazy theories) ... I think that the bean or beans burrowed in while we were watching "The Walking Dead" (see above on Monday) because they were so scared of the zombies and went running to hide in my lining.  Haha!  Guess they will be like their mommy, Belle, who also doesn't like scary stuff.  Haha!

UPDATE:  I just noticed that Belle also posted about her past week today!!!!!!!!  You can read it here - Belle's Blog Post

Don't forget to check out my "Surrogacy" tab at the top of this page to catch up on any posts you might have missed

*Some of the names in this post have been changed to protect the identities of those involved in this journey*