Showing Some Love - Liebster Award

I have been nominated to receive the Liebster Award!! I am so very late to this affair it's embarrassing! I was given the Liebster, an award recognizing bloggers with less than 200 followers, by Jessie (An International Surrogacy Story) back in January. Just a few days later we transferred and the rollercoaster of pee sticks, betas and ultrasounds began. That of course was followed by the excitement of expecting TWINS and then the lovely fatigue and queasiness of the first trimester. Well here I am - 15 weeks pregnant - and feeling like myself (kinda) and ready to show my appreciation and announce my nominees for the Liebster.

 Some back history, Liebster is a German word that means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’, but can also mean ‘favorite’. The Award comes with a few rules. You’re supposed to:

• Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them
• Reveal your top 5 picks for the award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog
• Post the award on your blog
• Bask in the love from the most supportive people in the blogosphere – other bloggers
• Hope your recipients pass the award to their 5 favorite blogs to keep the love flowing

I proudly pass the Liebster Blog Award to:

 Cara (Baby Carrier) - She's completed one journey and is on her way to a second - preheating the oven and getting ready for late Spring transfer.

 Meg (No Oven for the Bun) - She and husband Tristan were anxiously getting all their ducks in a row to move forward with surrogacy only to have their journey stopped abruptly when their surro suffered a devastating miscarriage. They are picking themselves up and building up the courage for another try ....

 Bridget (Birdie's Family Journey) - There is a long back story filled with devastation and disappointment to go along with this blog but perseverance has always kept this blogger motivated and ready for the next step.  After a recent successful IUI cycle they are ready for another go at parenthood.  

Jennifer (A Surrogate's Dairy) - This blogger friend and I met in the cyber world and discovered we delivered our first surrobabes just days apart from one another.  From there we both went on to match for second journey's and transferred again just days apart (last April). She became pregnant, I did not. She was a huge cheerleader for me along the way and kept me focused and postive after not only that failed transfer but the chemical as well. Although her blog isn't currently very active, it's a great read. :)

 Elizabeth (Betty Tuesdays) - Elizabeth is a witty writer who's struggles with infertility touched many. After a successful IUI cycle she's the proud mommy to twin boys and loves to candidly share her tales of motherhood and more.

Congrats ladies!!

Week 14 - A Surrogates Point of View

We've reached Week 14 and are trucking along in the 2nd trimester now - I just can't believe it! It's flying by and I can't help but already start to think how very close we are getting to the half way point, seeing as this is twins and we'll likely deliver earlier than 40 weeks. We've received word that everything from the NT scan, bloodwork included, looks great. The biggest news of the week - I can feel flutters!! They are slight and ever so small but I can feel the "butterflies" now and then when I'm very still. I can't wait for the movements to get stronger and eventually share them with K&S. We have another OB appointment this upcoming week and I'll start my belly progression photos now that we've reached this milestone as well so stay tuned.

Since there isn't much to report right now I'll leave you with some thoughts from another surro-sisters blog.

I have had several great surrogacy blogs come to my attention over the last couple years. Many of them are written by the ladies I've met via message boards and others are ladies (and gentlemen) that find me here, comment on my blog and then I return the favor and follow their journeys. One of those fellow surrogates is Jeni and I'd like to share a recent post from her blog regarding "A Surrogates Point of View". She's taken the time to put into words the thoughts and feelings of the surro and answer many of the questions that come to the minds of inquisitive friends and family on both sides of the experience.

A Surrogates Point of View

~ Jeni Denhof ~

I've also updated my Blogs of Interest list (bottom right margin) to include some newer (to me) surrogacy journeys that you might also find fun to follow. The list includes journeys of all types and at all stages. Enjoy!

Week 12 - Perfect Plums

Yesterday K&S joined me at the hospital's Maternal Fetal Medicine Dept. (MFM) to get another look at the babies. We were there to have the first trimester Nuchal Translucency scan (NT scan). This is a test to assess the risk of either baby having Down syndrome, some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems. It's a non invasive test done by u/s and since there are very specific things they are looking for it's a pretty lengthy u/s. Both babies were very cooperative and the tech was able to get images of their NT spaces (fluid in the back of the neck) quite easily - both measured less than 2mm which is perfect (3mm or less is desirable) - Yay!!

She went on to look for the presence of a nasal bone, check heart rates, CRL (crown rump length) and umbilical insertion. Again all was great. Both heart rates were in the upper 160's and they were very active; kicking, stretching and jumping through the entire appointment.

The tech also explained to us how A&B are labeled. The baby who is lowest, closest to the "exit", is always labeled A. So in our case, Baby A is on my left and tucked down low in my pelvis and Baby B on my right slightly higher in the uterus. As the babies become bigger the uterus will expand and they will fill more of the space, and although baby's positions may change (transverse, breech, vertex) their locations will remain the same throughout the pregnancy.

After all the necessary measurements were taken we got to play around and got some 3D images. Very cool!! No gender guesses were made, it's still a little too early for that but K&S are anxious to find out so I'm sure it won't be long before we know.

We are nearing the end of the first trimester and I am doing great. I've been pleasantly surprised that the pregnancy symptoms have only been typical and not magnified by this being a twin pregnancy. I'm rarely ever queasy anymore and the other symptoms are all manageable. I will owe you all belly pic soon - the bump is undeniably there!! K&S have been cautious and slow to share the news but most of their close friends and family know now. The three of us hung out for an hour or so after the appointment and I just love listening to them as they begin to get excited and make plans for their new family.

Baby A

Baby B

2D both babies (12w3d)

3D image of both babies.
B on the left of pic and A tucked behind

They say seeing is believing ...

... but hearing makes it pretty real too!



For the fun of it, I purchased a doppler to use at home this pregnancy. I've tried a couple of times over the last week and nothing but ... today I found one of the buggers! I think this would be the fetal heart tones of Baby A (on my left).

Surro Snuggles and 1st OB Visit

It's been a busy week in my lil surro-world. :)

On Monday we went into Chicago for a little family field trip. Jason the girls and I spent the day exploring the Museum of Natural History and enjoying the lakefront - the weather was beautiful! Afterwards we had the very special treat of meeting up with A&T and Giovanni for dinner.

It had been several months since we had seen one another so we had plenty to chat about and catch up on. Baby G is no longer a "baby" and is quite the busy toddler. Mom and dad said keeping him occupied while dinning out is sometimes a challenge but I thought, for a not quite two year-old, his behavior was pretty typical. Within a span of five minute he had put a crayon in mom's drink followed by her necklace which she had taken off to entertain him. Jason and I couldn't help but get a chuckle from that. Giovanni was really into our girls. He kept flirting with Lauren (7) reaching out to hold her hand or to stroke her hair.

They headed off to Italy this week, this is Giovanni's second visit to Europe. A&T wanted to squeeze in one more trip oversees while the lil guy still gets to fly free. When they return it will be time to start planning for the big birthday party - I can not believe he will be TWO at the end of next month. We are looking forward to joining them in the celebration.

In other news, K&S and I had our first OB appointment this week. Two beautiful lil babes doing jumping jacks measuring right on track (10w5d) with heart rates of 173 (A) and 170 (B). What a relief for us all to know that everything was perfectly as it should be. After the u/s we met with the OB and she went over all the "what to expect when expecting twins" stuff. K sat their quietly taking notes, S had plenty of questions and I pretty much just kept nodding, agreeing with the doctor. I can only imagine how overwhelming that first meeting would be for new parents going through this for the first time. It was even a lot for me, a veteran, to take in at times as she discussed the difference this being a twin pregnancy makes. We'll have a bunch of extra monitoring; bi-weekly cervical length checks staring soon, additional appointments we Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM), and weekly non-stress tests (NST) towards the end all due to this being multiples - then on top of that all the other typical appointments too. The plus is we will get to see these two lil ones on a very regular basis. :)

We are headed towards the end of the first trimester and I've been feeling really good - can't complain. Some queasiness still now and then and I'm having to eat smaller meals already thanks to slowed digestion but considering this is twins I feel great. I even have the beginnings of a bump and the maternity clothes are slowly replacing my regular wardrobe.

Oh and, I did my last injection as of yesterday!! 153 needles later (total from all three cycles) and we are pregnant x 2!! Each and every poke was so very worth it.


Pictures have been added to the photo album - give me a shout if you don't have the password. :)

Week 8 - Raspberries

We are 8 weeks now and excited that both babies, who are the size of a raspberry, are thriving and looking great. We won't get another peek at them till later this month and I'm already getting anxious about seeing the dramatic difference in their appearance. In the meantime we wait and pray all continues to go well.

I've been feeling rather good so far. As I said earlier this week I haven't had any real m/s, just some occasional queasiness. The fatigue has started to hit but right now a brief 10 minutes on the couch will give me a much needed second wind. (Thank goodness for nap time here at the daycare!) This week I've reluctantly had to start eating smaller meals because my digestion has slowed WAY down ... if I eat a full size meal it sits like a rock in my stomach - not fun! This is something you anticipate having to deal with later on as the baby/babies get bigger but not THIS early. However, I do remember experiencing the same in other pregnancies during these early months. Overall I'm doing really well though and looking forward to this new experience.

Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. The babies are — about the size of a raspberry — and are constantly moving and shifting.