Surro Files - 24 Weeks & We Have Viability!!!!

The Bun
Baby is now about the size of a cantaloupe (12.5 in) and 1.25 pounds.  With all the rapidly developing senses in the baby, they should probably be able to sense what is upside down or right side up.  Baby's respiratory system is also rapidly growing.  Lungs are developing in preparation for breathing and getting practice by moving amniotic fluid in and out of the lungs since for now baby still gets oxygen through the placenta. - The Bump  

In other news... we have reached VIABILITY!!!!  So what does viability mean?  No, it doesn't mean that baby will definitely survive if born at this point, but the odds are slowly going up with each day that baby stays in the womb.  What it does mean, (at least here in the US) is that most hospitals and doctors will at this point try to use any means necessary to deliver and keep a baby alive that is born after 24 weeks.  This is because at this point a baby has enough of a chance of survival (about 50%) and the ability to live outside the womb.

Baby is now the size of a cantaloupe @ 24wks.  - photo by Belle & Adam

The Oven

I know I talked about it before, but this week was an especially hard week for me in regards to my body image.  This is a whole new territory for me.  I've always adored my growing belly and find it amazing and cute and I just plain love it!  So it's really taken me by surprise that certain comments made and personal matters that I don't wish to elaborate on in this blog post, have caused me to see the growth differently.  I cried a lot this week because of this new outlook.  Luckily I had a long talk with one of my main contributing factors to this change in outlook and I feel much better now.  I also talked with Belle quite a bit about it and she helped to remind me why we are doing this and that with this growth comes an amazing gift of life.  She reminded me that we know that this is a beautiful experience and it just doesn't matter what anyone else says.  I might just be rambling and not making sense at this point, but I just want to say that I'm back to my positive thinking self and cherishing every moment of this surrogacy!  I even came across an old favorite song of mine that helped to put things into perspective... "I am beautiful" by Christina Aguilera.

In honor of hitting the viability mark I've created a partial belly progression video.  It's still a work in progress, but hope you like it!!!!

The Belly @ 24 Weeks at Casa de Fruta

The Happenings In the Kitchen

This has been a busy weekend for us.  Friday, Linc and I drove to Monterey to meet up with a Fertility Friend due date mommy friend and her family.  Her daughter was born the same month as my son, and although she lives in Canada and I live in California, we've still kept in contact over these years and met up twice so far.  And if you don't remember, Fertility Friend is also the site I first met Belle on while trying to conceive Linc.  Such a small world!!!!

Linc and I meeting up with friends in Monterey

On the way home from Monterey, Linc and I also stopped by Casa de Fruta.  Love this place!  Not only do they have lots of great fresh fruit, but they also have lots of other produce, dried fruit, chocolate treats (oh so yummy looking!!!!!), wine, a deli, an RV park, and a kids fun park.  The kids fun park is where we hung out the most.  Linc and I rode the train twice, the carousel once, and played at the park forever.  Wore Linc out for the second half of the trip home.  Yay!

Linc and I hanging out at Casa de Fruta

This weekend my daughters also ran in the Kidz Mud Factor 5k Run!  They had a blast!... most of the time.  Haha!  I'll admit that a few times the mud kind of freaked them out and a few of the obstacles were a bit high and pretty darn scary even for me, but I was really proud of them for completing the race and going through almost all the obstacles.  You go girls!!!!!  You make your mommy so proud.  Next year I hope I'll be able to do the run with them... or at least the adult version after their run.  At least I got a little taste of the fun when Reagan got stuck in a big mud puddle and I had to go rescue her leaving me muddy all the way up to my thighs.  Cold, sticky, dirty, and fun!

The girls getting down and dirty at the Kidz Mud Factor 5k Run

The Chefs

Another busy week for Belle out of town so I'll be writing her section this week.  Don't worry, she'll be back home next week to give you all the low down on what she and Adam have been up to.  I will say that she has been having a blast though!  Her grandma is still visiting and they had a great time in London, and are currently in Paris!  So jealous!!!  That sounds like so much fun!!!!  Sight seeing, great food, and lots of baby clothes shopping were the themes of the day I'm sure.  So glad she's out having fun in these last months before baby gets here.  So hard to find the time after that.  

Coming Soon !!!

April 3rd - 25 Week OB Appt - Meeting with the certified nurse midwife.
April 30th-7th - Belle Visits - Yay!!!!  Baby Shower, Disneyland, Fun Ultrasound.  Fun Fun Fun!!!

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*