Surro Files - 8 Weeks & Thankful For So Much!

The Bun

The baby is now the size of a raspberry (.63") and about .04oz.  The baby's head is proportionally larger than the rest of the body and the ears and eyelids are developing.  Fingers and toes are developing from the arm and leg buds which now have distinguished wrists and elbows that can even flex!!  At this stage the average baby heart rate is around 150 beats per minute.

The Fetus Is Now The Size Of A Raspberry

The Oven

This week was a slightly stressful week for me and I'll admit that I didn't share my concerns with Belle like I normally would.  I wasn't feeling pregnant at all this week.  I didn't feel the growing pains that I was feeling before in my lower abdomen and I felt that I was actually getting skinnier.  I also wasn't feeling as queasy as I was before.  It just seemed like all my symptoms had went away.  Instant freak out!  Then something else happened this week.  I found my journal from my pregnancy with Lincoln and noticed that right around this time in my pregnancy I had the exact same fears.  Loss of all symptoms.  Is everything ok?  That made me start to relax.  These are just typical pregnancy fears and everything will be ok.  I'm glad I didn't share my freak out with Belle.  Can't have her having a heart attack on me before the baby gets here.  That wouldn't be good.  I'm sure she's stressed enough without my stress on top of it.  With that said, I'm feeling great now.  I've gained about 3lbs since I started weighing myself, and I've gained 1" around my waist.  So we're now at 109lbs and 30" around the waist.

Baby Oven At 8 Weeks

The Happenings In the Kitchen

This week was happy Turkey week.  Thanksgiving!!!!  Ok, now normally I would cook a nice meal with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, pie and more... or invade someone else's house that had a feast, but that didn't happen this year.  This year we played lazy and went out to eat.  At least we picked what we thought would be a nice meal (or at least nice pie), Marie Calendars!  Alas, it wasn't great.  It was ok at best.  Even their pie wasn't great.  Boo!!!!!!  I guess we won't make that mistake again.  I'll be cooking for Christmas and for each Thanksgiving after this.  Boo to an epic fail of a Thanksgiving.

Despite the not so great food, I am still thankful for a lot this year.  So Thankful for my kids.  They are a lively bunch (to say the least), healthy, and full of love.  Thankful for my husband that provides for us well.  Thankful for my inlaws that help us out so much with the kids.  Thankful for my family and the time we get to spend with them.  Thankful for our friends who we share so many great moments with.  Lastly, but certainly not least, I am so thankful for Belle, Adam, and their little bun who grows stronger by the day.  They are a new extension of our family that we will never forget and look forward to spending many more great moments with in the near future.  Thanks!

The Bun At 8 Weeks

Yesterday we had our 8 week ultrasound.  I was nervous, but confident at the same time as I'm sure you could tell by my ramblings above.  I hoped that the little bun was still doing ok and I could tell that the parents were just as nervous, if not more nervous than I was.  I was so excited that we were able to Skype Belle in on the ultrasound.  It was the first time I've ever gotten that thing to work on my phone!!!  The lights dimmed, the tech zoomed in on the fetus, and we saw it... a perfect little baby bun!!!  Heartbeat was 174 bpm, and baby was measuring right on track at 8w1d.  Yay!!!!!!  That was the best news!!!!!  Skype messed up a bit, but once we got it working again we were able to redo the parts of the u/s that Belle missed and I video taped as well.  Our next appointment is December 12th, and then I think we'll be released to my regular OB.  Exciting!  

The Chefs

I have a feeling Belle and Adam have been a basket case this week, but I doubt they would ever tell me.  Haha!  Don't want to stress me out just like I don't want to stress them out.  At the same time though I've seen their excitement rise and rise each day.  They're working on names, working on the pregnancy announcement (I can't wait to see it!!!!!), researching breastfeeding, reading books, and more!  Such an exciting time with so many things to do!!!!

Oh!  I got a Christmas gift box from Belle and Adam this week!  They are so sweet!  Inside was two surrogacy pregnancy shirts for me, a surrogacy pregnancy shirt for each of my girls, and a surrogacy coffee mug for me.  I love them!!!!  She also sent lots of little gifts for the kids who can't wait to open them on Christmas.  I'll have to show you a picture when they open them, but for now, here's a picture of the shirts and mug.

Gifts from Belle and Adam

I also sent Belle and Adam their own little holiday gift box... ok, I didn't send it yet because I'm totally a slacker, but it is in a box on my counter.  I even got all the way to the post office today, but turned around when I noticed that everyone else in Fresno was also shipping gifts at that moment and I was way too hungry to wait.  I guess tomorrow is the day.  I hope they like all their goodies!!!!

Coming Soon !!!

Our next ultrasound is December 12th.  We will be 9-1/2 weeks into the pregnancy at this point.
Our NT Scan is January 9th This is the ultrasound where they will look for abnormalities.  Hoping we don't see anything out of the ordinary.  It really is an amazingly detailed scan.  Belle will be flying out for this one!!!!
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 too!!!!

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*