The Watched Pot

Baby A has now been baking for 38 weeks plus 5 days, and as I'm growing increasingly uncomfortable (and larger), I'm feeling like the watched pot! Our estimated due date is only 9 days away but a "due date" is just that - an estimation - and my body really likes baking babies, so I suspect that date will come and go with Baby A still nestled snuggly in his comfy spot.  But this fast approaching date often presents the question "will you be induced?" - luckily, my favorite midwife wrote a blog post on this very topic so rather than hash it all out again, I will let her say it more perfectly than I ever could - please check out her blog post on Induction of Labor.

While some days leave me feeling more miserable than others (directly related to how much sleep I managed to get the night before!), I'm fine with that, really, because it's a bittersweet thing to see this journey coming to a close.  I have loved every minute, even the hard ones, of bringing this miracle to life for M & C - and while the journey is coming to a close for me, a new, more fabulous journey is just beginning for them! So the birth supplies are gathered, the birth pool is filled, Baby A and I have been soaking in the warm water as I find the time, and we will continue to wait until he decides on the perfect time to join his daddies earthside!

3rd trimester, 3D ultrasound & a wedding!

It's been a long time since I've updated but things have been moving along smoothly so there hasn't been much to say! We are now in the 3rd trimester, I'm 31 weeks pregnant with just 9 weeks (give or take) to go and, of course, the aches and pains that come along with it. M & C have been busily planning and preparing for baby A, they are an adorable combination of excited and anxious. We went for a 3D ultrasound at 28 weeks and wow, technology has come a long way, it's so amazing what they can see with ultrasound these days! At the time, baby A weighed approx. 3.2lbs (he's likely close to 4.5lbs now) and he has been consistently measuring about a week ahead, I'm not expecting him to be a tiny little guy!

Baby A in 3D

In other news, M & C traveled to southern California this week to exchange wedding vows - congratulations you two! So very excited for your growing family!

I'm Not Going to be Octomom - and Other Surrogacy Myths Busted

1) We will be transferring one embryo.  I'm not going to be Octomom.  In fact, the chance of me finding myself pregnant with twins or higher order multiples is exactly the same as it would be with any other pregnancy (really small).

2) It's not going to be hard for me to "give up" the baby...because it's not my baby! This baby will not be genetically related to me in any way, shape or form.  M & C have selected an egg donor from their clinic's frozen egg donor program.  The egg will be fertilized with "genetic material" from M or C.  The resulting embryo will be transferred into my uterus.  I will then, put simply, "baby-sit" for approx 9 months, until their precious bundle is ready to take on the world! Then M & C get daddy duty and I get to sleep for 8 hours a night, sounds good to me.

3) We will be planning a homebirth, just like we had with my youngest child.  Pregnancy and labor/delivery is not scary or dangerous.  In fact, it's a normal, healthy process, best left alone to proceed as naturally as possible.  I'm not putting myself or my family at risk, steps have been taken to ensure everyone's welfare should the pregnancy not go as perfectly as my other pregnancies have.

4) My husband and I have taken the time to explain gestational surrogacy to our children - even warning them what others may think (see #2) and they completely understand and think it's great, they adore M & C and are so excited for them! My children will not be confused. 

5) Many kids are raised in non-traditional families and they turn out just fine and some kids are raised in traditional families and turn out not-so-fine.  The point is - whether a child is raised by a mom and a dad, two moms, two dads, a grandma, a uncle, a parent and step-parent, etc has little to do with anything. This baby will not be "damaged" by being raised by two dads.  The most important things that a child needs are love and family - this lucky little one will have plenty of both!

Calendar!

Wow! This clinic is really on top of things...we met with them for the first time on Tuesday morning and by Thursday evening we had our calendar for our IVF cycle and A PLAN! I love having a plan!

So here it is: I start daily Lupron injections in 11 days (July 31st)! Then I add in Estrogen patches starting on August 7th.  M & C have selected an egg donor from our clinic's frozen egg donor program - those frozen eggs will be thawed and fertilized on August 25th, which is when I'll stop the Lupron injections and begin daily Progesterone injections (both the Estrogen and the Progesterone support will continue through the 12th week of pregnancy, if we are successful).  The embryos will be grown to the blastocyst stage, they will use assisted hatching to help encourage implantation after the transfer.  The transfer is scheduled for August 30th!

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On another fun note...I told my 5 year old yesterday about M & C, and me trying to help them have a baby.  I told her the baby would have two dads and she said "Wow! That baby is so lucky! Dad's are FUN!"