First Ob Appointment

   Finally at 15 weeks 3 days I had my first "normal" Ob appointment. The poor nurse that had to take my weight!! I think she was a little scared that I may get completely naked in the hall way. Hey, after putting on some weight while taking all of those meds there is NO WAY I am letting a number be written down that includes a jacket, boots and TWO shirts! Yep, that's right I totally stood there in leggings and a tank top! As expected all was well with me and the baby. I even got to hear the baby's heart beat for the first time! This was bitter sweet for me. I was thrilled to get the reassurance that the baby is well, but I really wish that I was able to share that with the baby's parents! Unfortunately due to my doctor's malpractice insurance limitations there is no recording allowed. So of course, this is not ok with me. I cannot imagine the parents having to wait until the ultrasound in February (when I will be 5 1/2 months pregnant) to hear their baby's heart beat for the first time! That little sound is so beautiful that every parent should hear it as soon as possible. After my appointment I spent some time looking for a at home Doppler that is sensitive enough to hear the heart at the beginning of the second trimester. Boy was I shocked! Those things can cost THOUSANDS! Needless to say, I did not get one of those! I found one at a much more reasonable price that will be here between 12/21 and 12/26.
   I also think that being able to hear the baby at home will be fun for my kids. The girls have each got to go to one of the ultrasound appointments and see the heart beating, but they have not heard it. Noah may like it too (briefly). He has suddenly realized that there is a baby in my tummy. We haven't said too much to him about it because I didn't think he would understand or care much. The other day he told me "there is a baby in your tummy". I guess it is time to bring out the Kangaroo Pouch! That is a book I bought that explains surrogacy to young children using kangaroos. Basically the little Kangaroo's mom explains that she is carrying a baby kangaroo in her pouch for a family that cannot do it on their own. I also think it will be more real to him once he actually meets the parents and really sees who the baby will go home with. Right now they are some cool people that he occasionally talks to on the computer. It is very interesting going through this process with such a wide range of ages with my own children. They each understand it in a different way.
   I am also starting to show enough that people are starting to notice. I have had a few clients ask and a few more people that are questioning if I have either put on weight or if I am pregnant. I am loving this stage of pregnancy. I feel so good. I am having some clothing struggles though. If I wear something not maternity it just squishes everything around so I just look fat. I also think that my stomach is shaped weird. Have you seen those girls that have the tiny little balls just below their bely buttons? Yep, that is NOT me! It is like the bottom bump has pulled out the top of my stomach with it. There is no sucking in and  having a flat stomach. It is amazing what age and weight fluctuation do to your body! With Kimberly I had just a tiny little bump at 5 months, with Kaylee I had a bump like this one. I showed early with her too. Here is a picture from a Christmas party. I was 14 weeks 5 days.

It is crazy how some women don't look pregnant until much later! Thank God for the Surrogate groups I have connected with! I am able to see there that while there are quite a few that have the tiny bumps there are also a lot of others who get the big bumps from the beginning! My only reassurance that I am not just getting super fat is that I can still put on all of my pre-pregnancy clothes. So far it is all in my boobs and belly. I bought some great pregnancy workout videos, but it seems that I never have time to do them!! I am so excited that January is my last on site class. Maybe then I can do something! My days are seriously packed! I leave my house at 7 am and two days  a week I am not home until almost 11 pm. Then we have added an additional class for supervision so I am gone until after 8pm a third day! And of course with it being the holidays it seems as though the kids have something going every other day! When I do get a day off I am usually so tired that I just want to do NOTHING or it is filled with homework and case notes. Now, I am not complaining. I like to be busy. I am just missing the time I had to work out when I just went to school. I miss running on the river trail with my dog. I would so love to even be able to walk her on the trail a few days a week. It is pretty hard to find time to do that when I leave and return in the dark! But there is light at the end of the tunnel! While I will still have some on line classes I think that I will at least be able to fit in an evening walk. Not on my beloved river trail, but a chance to do something active again!

Next appointment is January 21st, hopefully there is more good news!

End of the first trimester

I believe that I am just 2 days away from the beginning of the second trimester! It is reassuring that the risk of miscarriage is much less and exciting that I will soon start to feel the baby move, that is my favorite part of pregnancy! I am feeling really good these days. Aside from a sensitive gag reflex, I am not sick at all and the extreme exhaustion is gone. Don't get me wrong, I still get tired, but not like I did! I think my body has remembered how to stretch out for a pregnancy though, I had a client ask if I was pregnant the other day. It seems between 11 and 12 weeks my uterus got big enough that the top of my stomach could no longer stay flat resulting in the beginning of a bump appearing. It is a bitter sweet moment. I am struggling with what to wear on a daily basis. I tried rubber banding my pants together when they got uncomfortable to button but the zipper still rubbed and drove me nuts. I have resorted to some maternity pants, leggings and workout pants. I was reluctant to get anything maternity, I'm not sure why, I just was not ready to move into "those" clothes BUT Thanksgiving made the idea of a stretchy waist very appealing! I do have to admit that they are much more comfy and cute than they were 10 years ago. If I wasn't working though I would totally just live in workout pants.
  It is always fun when people ask about my pregnancy if they do not know the story. The first question is usually " wow, don't you and your husband already have a bunch of kids?" To which I get the opportunity to explain that this one is not ours. Ok, I have to admit that I have had some fun with my daughters friends by telling them that its not my husbands and waiting a minute to tell them it's not mine either!! I really have not had any negative reactions to being a surrogate at this point. I am a little surprised at that, I really thought that someone would have something negative to say. My guess is that those that do not support our decision to help grow a family are choosing not to say anything!
   My next ob appointment is on 12/19 which will hopefully be the first time I get to actually hear the baby's heart beat. I am hoping that I can convince my doctor to let me record it so the parents can hear it too. I was originally told that because of malpractice issues I could not record anything, but I'm still going to ask! Really, how much harm could a 15 second recording of the heart beat cause?
  Speaking of growing families, and totally not surrogacy related, George and I are FINALLY Noah's legal parents! November 20th our adoption was finalized! It was a great day. The actual court hearing was really short but we had a nice dinner and we had a good sized group of family there to support us. We also had a photographer there to capture the moment. She got some wonderful pictures!
   Today I will leave you with a picture of my growing belly! I am still in the awkward "is she pregnant or gaining weight" stage but it is starting to look more like a pregnant belly!