Monday, November 25, 2013

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*

1 comment:

Thanks so much for taking the time to show your support with a comment! I LOVE reading all of them and will try and answer any questions that you might have. :)