35 weeks along

35 weeks along

34 weeks and 3 days along 

Starting to get some swelling in the feet.  Compression socks seem to help some.

34 weeks along

33 weeks along 

The start of the awesome swelling in my legs.

33 weeks and 1 day along

32 weeks along

31 weeks and 2 days along

I can't believe we are in the final countdown now.  I have 5 more weeks before my official due date but honestly he could come in 2-3 weeks easily.  That is so crazy to me and seems like it is going to be here before I know it.  I am honestly not even ready, bag still isn't packed yet for the hospital

I have my last 2 week appointment on the 28th and then I go every single week til he is born!  I can say now that I will be having this little boy next month and that I won't be pregnant sometime next month.  Mind blown!

Mrs. California has sent me pictures just recently of the cute decorations in his room and sent a picture of the baby car seat that came in the mail!!  I love getting those updates and seeing the excitement of them preparing.  With them not living close it is all that I get and I love it.  I can tell how excited they are for his arrival!

This past month has been a whirlwind of chaos to say the least.  I just recently started having swelling in my feet and mostly in just one foot.  We had been monitoring for pre-eclampsia (toxemia) since I had a tiny bit of protein in my urine at my last appointment.  I looked up signs for pre-e and one of them was one foot swelling up bigger then the other.  I called the office and talked to the nurse and they said since my blood pressure looked awesome that they weren't concerned about that.  Although they did want me to go in for a blood clot; it is another indicator with the shrek swelling in my one foot.  I literally started freaking out.  I had an Uncle pass away from a blood clot that went from his foot to his lungs causing a pulmonary embolism.  Even though I have been checked for that marker and it came back negative and everything looked good when I was younger, I immediately was panicking.  I was able to take the afternoon off from work and go straight to the hospital to get an ultrasound done on my leg.  In the end there was NOT a blood clot, thank goodness!  This baby's head is sitting in a way that he is cutting off some circulation in my one leg.  I have been wearing compression socks at night and that seems to be helping some of the issue but by the end of the day my feet and more so on the one side are nice and swollen again.

Another bump in the road that happened this past month was a little labor & delivery visit.  I had been having consistent contractions/back pain/braxton hicks to the point that I was getting a bit nervous.  I went in to get monitored and they were only able to see maybe 2 actual contractions on the monitor in the couple hours that we were there, which was good.  They said that I had a possible kidney stone that was irritating my uterus and causing the pain and contractions.  I seriously was wishing for contractions at that point, at least they can give me something to stop them and order bed rest.  Kidney stones are painful and awful!  I had an appointment set up for the next day to double check and see if there was a kidney stone floating around.  I didn't realize how painful my kidney's would hurt from her pushing on them and checking for an ultrasound but they sure did and it definitely had a tiny little "baby" stone in there.  It is funny because when I initially went to the L&D I had a thought that it was going to be a kidney stone for some reason and sure enough it was.  They gave me a strainer to catch my little "baby" but I opted out of it since they weren't going to be analyzing it at all.  I am pretty sure that I have passed it since I haven't had any issues for a week or so with that.  It was a tiny one and they said that I probably wouldn't even feel it when it did pass anyways.

Some really freaking good news is that he is finally HEAD DOWN!!!  He has been consistently breech from 12 weeks and on and just this last appointment he has finally turned.  We did an ultrasound check to make sure and he was!  That was the best news all month since we were getting concerned about what to do.  Now that doesn't need to be a worry anymore.

This pregnancy has been like night and day compared to my pregnancy with my daughter and I definitely wasn't expecting that at all.  There have been a lot of bumps in the road and a lot of scares along the way but we area finally in the last stretch!  Just 2 more weeks and I will be considered full term!!  I can't wait for some maternity leave and a much needed rest/break.

Weight Gain: 45 lbs.  I'm sure by the time I deliver I will have gained as much as I did with my daughter.  Let's just hope it comes off as easily as it did with her.

Cravings:  I am pretty sure I have Pica, yes I think it is absolutely bizarre and soo weird.  I crave the smell of downy softner and tide laundry detergent and pine sol, the original and lemon scents!  I could have that smell around me ALL. THE. TIME.  Simply amazing!  There really aren't any other things that I must have but those smells are definitely must have.  It helps that I'm smack dab in the middle of nesting, which means LOTS of cleaning!

Symptoms: Braxton hicks, some contractions, leaky boobs every so often, pressure down there, baby not wiggling as much since room is limited in there, feet in my ribs, tossing and turning at night, waking up in the middle of the night for numerous potty breaks, feeling huge, uncomfortable, waddling, can't breath since he is so high up still, and finally my boobs are starting to get bigger!

Their baby's the size of a coconut!

He's about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. From here on out, he won't get much longer, but he's plumping up. He's now about 4.2 to 5.8 pounds, and he'll put on a pound or more of baby fat before birth.

Their baby at 35 weeks!

• Now, his hearing is fully developed, and he responds best to high-pitched noises.
• If it's a boy, his testes have probably fully descended.

30 weeks along

30 weeks and 1 day along

My biggest helper and fan

29 weeks along

He favors one side over the other for sure

My daughter likes to stick her tummy out and says she has a belly in her belly too

28 weeks along and I forgot to take one for week 27

I have been having the nesting bug lately which is good for my house.  The only bad part about that is I am usually at work or it is bed time and I feel this need to scrub everything down.  I was up scrubbing the bathroom last night.  Usually at this point in the pregnancy you are preparing the nursery and washing baby clothes and although I'm grateful to not be doing that I have this desire to scrub everything.  I am not the type of person to want to scrub baseboards but that is on the list of things to do and I'm actually excited!

I've noticed that he starts moving around tons when we have music playing which is really neat!  It is cool to see what noises get him moving around like crazy and what don't.  Hope his parents are ready for a music lover if he keeps it up.

He is still breech and I honestly was feeling stressed about it and a little bit of pressure put on me over it all.  I am just not going to stress the uncontrollable anymore.  My OB is on board for trying a breech vaginal delivery.  I am slowly coming to terms with a c-section but it honestly scares the hell out of me.  It is not what I wanted for my experience going into this at all, this is my journey too ya know.  Overall I just want this baby healthy and if it means I get an extra scar then so be it; but that is the LAST option.

My daughter and I went a couple weeks ago to get pedicures and it was amazing!!  I think the last trimester it is mandatory since there is no chance in me doing a decent job by myself.  Plus it is a bonus of having extra girl time with my daughter.

I have hit a wall at work with this exhaustion too.  He wakes me on the clock at 1 am and 3 am and I toss and turn to fall back to sleep.  I am good in the morning at work but by 2 pm literally everyday I could use a nap badly.  I'm really hoping to be able to work full time until delivery but if this keeps up I don't know how that is going to work.

My BP (blood pressure) has leveled out too!  It was at a normal level when I went into my OB appointment instead of the unusually low levels it had been at.  Thank goodness!  I would take low bp over high bp any day though!  I think there are less issues with low bp.

I also had my VERY LAST monthly OB appt.  Now I go in every two weeks and then once a week until delivery.  This is when it gets real and the countdown begins!  Holy smokes!!

Also, I will be in the SINGLE digits this coming week!!  Mind is blown that we are there already.  I had a bit of mixed emotions over how quickly this journey is coming to an end last week but am doing okay now.  This is something I've dreamed of doing and helping someone in this way for a very long time and it took, what seemed like forever to get to this point.  Now it is coming to a close and this Spirit is going to come Earth side and be with its family.  On one hand I can't wait to be done and have delivered.  To have my body back, to sleep all night, to hold my daughter and her not make fun of how huge my belly is and it being in her face.  On the flip side I have enjoyed every bad and miserable thing that comes with pregnancy symptoms because I know I am going to miss this journey.  I have learned so much from it and grown so much from it.  It is sad that it will soon be over but I am so excited for the family to have this baby in their arms.  They have waited such a long time to have him be apart of the family.  It is just a lot of mixed emotions with the end coming!

Weight Gain: 33 lbs, I always seem to pack on the pounds towards the end and I am definitely feeling it.  I am within healthy weight gain though so I won't stress about it.

Cravings: I have been having weird cravings lately, as in I want to have the constant smells of certain things.  They use a certain cleaner at work and I could sniff that smell all day and every single day.  The smell of laundry anything (soap and softener) I could smell all day.  Food cravings are just the usual I guess.  I have been loving bananas lately which help the charlie horses I've been having.  Bowls of cereal sound great anytime too!  Coconut water or anything with coconut flavor!  YUM!

Symptoms: Definitely waddling at this point in time, braxton hicks, pelvic pressure, constantly having to pee like an insane amount and not feeling like it is all out, exhaustion and wishing I could take a nap every single day, some ligament pain, him constantly moving around which I don't mind at all, some swelling in my feet, heart burn if I don't take the prilosec every single day (sometimes the prilosec doesn't even work too), Major back pain and sciatic nerve pain going down my leg, and charlie horses.  I think some extra stretch marks are slowly starting to show there ugly face too.

What I miss: 

  

Their baby's the size of a cucumber!

Their 15.2- to 16.7-inch, 3- to 3.8-pound baby continues to grow!!

Their baby at 30 weeks!

• His skin is getting smoother.
• But his brain is getting wrinklier -- to make way for all that essential brain tissue.
• He's now strong enough to grasp a finger!

26 weeks along

23 weeks 

Surro sisters-we are (starting with me and moving to the right) 22, 21, 20 weeks along

My Christmas present from one of my best friends!  Love it!!

24 weeks

Still breech and lays on the right side and won't budge at all...

25 weeks

26 weeks

Baby P on 1/17/2014

This has been quite the past month with some ups and some downs.  I can't imagine not going through this experience but it is just SO different from my last pregnancy with my own child that it throws me for a loop.

I went to my surro brunch and had so much fun chatting with the girls from my Utah Surro Group, they are honestly some of my best friends!  I really enjoy seeing them and hearing how everything is going with them and with their journeys!

I had mentioned a while ago, probably before we even transferred that I wanted a shirt that something like "Stay Calm, It's Not Mine."  Well my friend is awesome and found a company that made one for me!  I was so excited about this and couldn't wait to wear it out.

I had my monthly OB appointment and baby boy is still very much in the breech position but at least doesn't have his bum in my pelvis.  We still have about 10 weeks before we will start trying to move him ourselves though.  For now, I will start doing some downward dog and possibly prenatal yoga to see if that helps him flip.  He has plenty of fluid in there to turn and move around but he is nice and cozy sitting on my bladder and laying in my rib cage.  I also got to drink the glucose drink today but won't find out the results to that for a few days.  Here is to hoping that turns out great and I won't need the 3 hour glucose test too.

The family has picked a name out for baby boy and I think it is super cute!  For all of you I will now start to refer to him as Baby P though.

After my OB appointment I had a perinatal appointment to check on the baby.  Due to their other son they just wanted to check and make sure everything looked good.  I was completely okay with that since it meant an extensive ultrasound of seeing the little pea moving around.  We were lucky and were able to get a 3D shot of his face and I have to say he looks pretty stinking cute!  The results were that he is perfect and as far as the perinatal doctor could see everything looks wonderful!  Sigh of relief for the family of this little guy.  With the extra ultrasound we had we were able to get measurements of everything and I am a little nervous for the delivery.  He is measuring about 2lbs, 2 oz.  His head is measuring a little large at about 28 weeks and 4-5 days along when I am only 25 weeks and 6 days.  The rest of his body is measuring on target at least but with him being breech it makes me nervous that a vaginal birth might not happen if he doesn't get turned around and is head down.  From what I've read with breech deliveries they want the stomach and head about the same diameter around or at least the stomach a bit bigger than the head.  Here is to hoping he flips soon!

Weight Gain: 29 lbs.  I apparently know how to pack on the weight when I get pregnant, but thankfully it has mostly gone to my belly and maybe to my behind.

Cravings: Water that is somewhat warm (I know kind of weird), salad, turkey, avocado, sweets (doesn't help with all the holiday treats we had going around)

Symptoms: Starting to waddle, braxton hicks, pelvic pressure, constantly having to pee, exhaustion again, some ligament pain, him constantly moving around which I don't mind at all, some swelling in my feet, heart burn if I don't take the prilosec every single day

What I miss: Not feeling so immobile, I want so badly to just lay on my stomach, Shaving without trying to be an acrobat, not feeling like my insides are going to fall out or my belly to fall over

Their baby's the size of a head of lettuce!

He's still growing in the 13.6- to 14.8-inch and 1.5- to 2.5-pound range, and developing his senses, features and talents!

Their baby at 26 weeks

• His eyes are forming, and his eyes will soon start to open.
• And his eyelashes are now grown, too.
• He's getting his immune system ready for life on the outside by soaking up your antibodies.
• He's taking breaths, too. They're of amniotic fluid, not air, but it's still good practice.

IT'S A....

I went to work the morning of the ultrasound and as always picked up my daughter so we could all see the baby.  I truly feel that the more involved I let her be the more she will adjust and be okay with the end result, us not bringing a baby home.

Mrs. California flew in the morning of the ultrasound and thankfully the weather permitted and she made it alive and safely.  The day prior to her flying in they had literally shut down the airport for ice and snow on the runways.  It was beautiful the day she came in though!

We went straight down to the ultrasound and we were able to see this little pea.  He was moving like crazy and was making it difficult for the tech to get good readings on everything but she managed to get everything we needed.  When we first got to the ultrasound they were thinking it was just the gender reveal when it was actually the BIG anatomy scan.  Thankfully the tech just did the anatomy scan as well which also meant that Mrs. C was able to get a CD of the entire scan!

The tech took her time looking at everything and made sure to get lots of pictures of everything for the family and one or two for me!

So the big reveal of this little pea is that it is most DEFINITELY...

A BOY!!!!!

I wasn't sure if Mrs. California would find out what he was since she was going back and forth of whether they would find out or not.  I am so glad that she decided to find out because I was so worried that I would slip on what it was.

As soon as the tech put the wand on my belly you could instantly see his parts.  This baby is not shy at all and made it very clear and without a doubt that he was in fact a he!  They would have been fine with whatever God intended this baby to be but I could tell they were very excited that it was a boy!!

18 weeks or 122 days left

20 weeks along!!  Halfway baby!

21 weeks and 1 day

With Jen and we are a week and a half apart.  12/10/2013

12/12/2013

22 weeks along

Christmas Eve, 22 weeks and a few days

I'm big enough that things can officially rest on the belly.

On our way to the big ultrasound appointment with Mrs. California!!

I am probably only going to be updating every month or so from now on.  Life has been so crazy and hectic with the holidays that I was wanting to update but just didn't have time or didn't make the time.  I will be 23 weeks this Saturday and am doing really great besides the usual aches and pains that come with pregnancy.  We had our BIG ultrasound on the 20th and Mrs. California flew out to see her cute little pea!  I have started to take Prilosec OTC and that has seriously helped with the acid reflux/heart burn that I was having.  I can't believe I even waited as long as I did because it has helped so much.  This little pea moves around like crazy and like I was thinking is breech right now which makes more sense to why I'm getting kicks in the crotch a ton.

As much as this pregnancy as been so different then what I experienced with my daughter the fact that it is getting closer to the end makes me sad just the same.  I have really enjoyed helping this sweet family and know how loved this little pea is already.  He is one special and very loved little one!

Weight Gain: I have gained a whopping 22 pounds so far.  I gained so much with my daughter and I see that happening this time around too.

Cravings: Mexican food and anything with a kick or spice to it.  So not like me at all to like spicy foods.  ha  I had a to die for smothered burrito that was just amazing and just what this little pea was wanting!!

Symptoms: Some heart burn episodes, LOTS of pelvic pressure, back pain, sciatic episodes which are mostly when it is too cold, baby is kicking and moving like crazy and on a somewhat schedule too (It is always around the same time that it is having a dance party), braxton hicks all day long

What I miss: Sleeping comfortably, being able to paint my toes and shaving normally, my pants not ripping up the seam....

Their baby's the size of a papaya!

During month five, the average fetus measures about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.

Their baby at 22 weeks!

• Now that he's got more developed eyes and lips, he's looking even more like a newborn.
• He's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day.

16 weeks 6 days

I just have to say I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is going by.  I swear we just barely transferred the little miracle pea and I was anxiously waiting for a positive pregnancy test.  With how busy the holidays always are it is going to be down to crunch time before I know it.  I am honestly just really trying to treasure these moments because it will be over before I know it.

Weight Gain: 10 lbs from transfer.  Not bad if I say so myself.

Cravings: Meat, Ice water, Sprite with vanilla extract, Rice, salads, Mexican food; any kind of it, Cheese

Symptoms: Heartburn has kicked and is staying for good.  Will be getting a script for that since tums aren't even touching it.  Hip pain already.  I have my trusty whale pillow that helps with the tossing and turning at night, Still pretty tired.  Constantly hungry, like I will eat and an hour later it is like I haven't eaten in days.  Braxton hicks already.  Little kicks and movements.  Those are literally the best part of this.  I can already feel it kicking my ribs, the exact spot my daughter would kick me.  Extremely itchy belly and boobs.  Have to pee all the time.

Weeks	1 - 4	5 - 8	9 - 13	14 - 17	18 - 21	22 - 26	27 - 30	31 - 35	36 - 40
Which Monthare you in?	You are in your 1st month	You are in your 2nd month	You are in your 3rd month	You are in your 4th month	You are in your 5th month	You are in your 6th month	You are in your 7th month	You are in your 8th month	You are in your 9th month
This is Month	one	two	three	four	five	six	seven	eight	nine
Trimester	first			second			third

It looks like next week will mark 5 months into this pregnancy too.  I told you it is zooming by!

Their baby's the size of an onion! 

Baby continues to beef up. Now he's/she's about 5.1 inches long and weighs about 5.9 ounces. 

 

 Their baby at 17 weeks 

• His/Her rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone.
• And he's/she's growing some meat on those bones -- putting on some fat.
• He's/She's growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord, too.

9 weeks!

Weight Gain: 4 lbs.  It is crazy to me how much you can gain and then not gain with pregnancy. 

Cravings: Eggs, French toast with cream and yummy syrup, orange juice, cheese burgers with bacon, oh and bacon and more bacon!  Anything that has meat in it really.  I eat whatever sounds good at the time since I might not like it later.

Aversions: Too much milk, plain water is really gross right now (choking it down though), certain smells make me sick almost instantly too.

Symptoms: Nausea 24/7 although some days are decent and not too bad, tossing and turning at night, Awesome acid reflux which makes me sleep sitting up right every so often. 

What I miss: Not wanting to throw up every single day and night, not having heart burn, sleeping without having to sit upright.

The past few weeks have seemed to zip on by with nothing to crazy going on.  I have had a few bouts of heart burn really bad.  So bad that I literally had to sleep sitting up right to help me fall asleep.  That was unexpected this soon in the pregnancy but it just means it is a healthy pregnancy I suppose.

I do have bouts of really good days or moments during the day where the nausea is gone, completely.  Those are great and makes me look forward to when it is gone completely.  I couldn't go in the kitchen for a while but the one day I was feeling awesome I cleaned it top to bottom really good!

I have been really tired but not so bad.  I do literally come home after work and eat, bath my daughter and get us both ready for bed.  I am getting probably 10-12 hours of sleep at night.  If I don't get enough sleep at night I am dying at work and falling asleep so sleep right now is my friend!

4 weeks...36 to go

I'm going to document this entire process like I did with my little one and it has proved to be different already.

So we transferred August 10 with a 5 day embryo and so I was officially 4 weeks along on August 19!  I have been having nausea and morning sickness, more like all day sickness since the 11th.  At first I thought I was crazy for thinking I could be feeling sick this soon in the game but it is possible people.  It has been interesting because I definitely don't remember getting nausea or sick til I was almost 6-8 weeks along with my baby.

I have been pretty tired!  I mean to the point I'm in bed by the time the little one goes to bed at 8:30pm.  I definitely remember that happening much later.

I have had some aversions to fruit, or maybe it is just the after taste of the fruit.  Whatever it is it didn't settle well and made me pretty miserable!

I am still taking progesterone and estrogen shots and my behind is pretty sore.  I have knots and bruises so badly and I cry and cringe every time I have to stick myself.

I have been asked by a very few people how I have been feeling emotionally about all of this since it isn't my baby.  I have to say that because I have always known it is going to be their biological baby and that it has none of my biology it has been so different.  It is more of a feeling of I am excited for my best friend to have a baby.  When I got pregnant with my baby girl I was excited for me and for the planning and everything that went with it.  This time I know it is for someone else and I am so excited for them.  It was like okay I have a positive pee stick and was excited for them to find out the news.  I will be excited for each part of the pregnancy but in a different way.  It will be excitement for my best friend kind of way!