Still, that’s for the doctors to sort out… for now we are just delighted that baby is looking gorgeous and healthy.
What a buzz to see those tiny arms and legs waving about! Super huge mushy moments that’s for sure!
I didn’t envy Olivia at all with the pressure on her full bladder during the scan. I promised that I wouldn’t utter a word about waterfalls, rivers, dripping taps, torrential flooding or any other such water related topics till after the scan…. Doing my wee (pardon the pun) bit to be supportive lol.
Now that we are past that 12 weeks mark, my anxiety level has eased somewhat. There is still that ‘hold my breath’ moment with each scan while I search for a heartbeat on the screen. And despite my anxiety… there it is each time, fluttering away saying “Hello Mummy, I’m here. I’m fine, now stop worrying!”
For a bit of fun near the end of the scan, we got to have a quick wee peek between Baby’s legs. The lovely lady who did the scan was putting her 20c on a boy… so now we count down for the next 7 weeks to see if she was right.
When I came home and told Mark and showed him the pictures it really clicked for him that this baby is definitely on its way. Boy or girl, it really doesn’t matter…. It just made it that little bit more real for us to have someone say… there is a ‘something’ in there lol.
During our wait for the second go at the scan Olivia and I did a bit of looking around for maternity clothes. That was really fun to do that together. She really is doing such an amazing job in caring for our little one, and we always have such a great time when we get to hang out together, so looking at preggy clothes is the icing on the cake… and having a bit of a giggle about things not quite fitting at this in between stage – own clothes too tight, maternity clothes too big.
I have been in the process of collecting baby stuff these past months. I had to admit to Olivia that I may have potentially overdone it on the mint green! “Hello, my name is Bernice, I am addicted to the trade-me baby section”
The deal is NO MORE MINT GREEN. It has become our inside joke now. And I admit, that I am actually totally over white, cream and mint green baby stuff. Going to wait now until we know the flavour for sure….. maybe.
The great name debate continues in our house. I have been banned from the baby name book for a while. I am working through my different phases though. So far the Greek philosophers, ancient gods and goddesses, and a good portion of European aristocracy have been worked through. Artists and inventors are next…. Lol
I keep joking with Olivia that by the time Baby arrives and I have worked my way through my name-phases… it will end up with Jane or Bob.
Even though the baby isn’t here in the house with us physically, it is such a huge part of our daily lives. Daily contact with Olivia, catching up on her latest food fetish, and the daily bits and pieces that go with pregnancy mean such a lot. Saying goodnight to our little miracle each night on the computer and knowing that Olivia sends all of our love to our baby…. That is just magic.
…. and from Olivia….
This pregnancy is definitely different to when I had my daughter. Things seem to be happening a lot sooner. One of the down sides has been the carpal tunnel syndrome. I didn’t have to deal with this until much later last time, but this time I am feeling it already. I know people did mention that everything happens quicker the second time around…. But now I guess I have a much clearer understanding of that lol.
I am slowly getting used to having to pee so often and the broken nights that come with that. I am not entirely sure, but I think I may be having early flutters. It seemed too early for that, but I guess with how everything else is going this time round, it could be possible. I messaged Bernice to tell her that either I was losing my mind, or I was having movement…. It was an exciting time… but the jury is still out as to whether I am actually losing my mind, or they are actually flutters!. Her reply was it’s either gas or flutters…. Will let you know.
Things are moving along though. The last scan – 13 weeks – was amazing. It was so cool to see the little arms and legs moving about. At one point the baby was sitting up or so it looked on the screen. I think the lady who did the scan was a little bit confused at first, as Bernice was the one making all the oo-ing and ah-ing noises, and I was the quiet one just lying on the bed getting my bladder compressed. In the end we explained that Bernice is the Mummy – thus all the Mummy noises – and I was the surrogate lol.
It feels like a great relief to be in the 2nd trimester now. It’s a great milestone and we are all enjoying it. I haven’t experienced a miscarriage before, but I know Bernice and Mark have, and I know that reaching that magic 12 week mark was really important to them. Some of that nervousness rubbed off on me, so when we saw the baby in all ‘his’ glory, it was a big relief.
As each week passes my relationship with Bernice and Mark continues to grow which is really lovely. We get to share many special moments together… and that’s what it’s all about.
My tummy is definitely getting bigger now. I am at that awkward phase of not quite fitting in my clothes and not quite fitting maternity clothes. The hunt for perfect pregnancy pants continues!
When I had Tatum I had this really cool t-shirt that I wore and it said “Due in …..” because I got so fed up with people asking me when I was due…. Although it was printed in French so that got a few longer stares. I was talking with Bernice about it, so the ‘great t-shirt hunt’ began. We ended up getting a couple of maternity t-shirts printed up saying “surrogate baby on board – due in August”. That should answer most people’s questions lol
I admit that I am having a really fun time at the moment telling people that I am a surrogate. It does come with a bit of a ‘shock’ factor. They seem to be really surprised and say how brave I am. So far everyone I have shared it with has said that it isn’t something they could do, but generally the response has been positive and supportive of my decision to do this. It is nice to be reminded that surrogacy really is something special.
I had my first midwife appointment the other week and it went great. This time around I have a different midwife who I was really hoping to have. She had been away on maternity leave herself, so the timing worked out perfectly. She is very excited about my surrogacy journey. We had a huge chat about my medical history and previous pregnancy and also discussed what our plans are with this surrogacy pregnancy. Obviously with an elective c-section planned, a good deal of things will be out of our hands… like a due date! But having a really understanding midwife will make all the difference. She will have her hands full with me to look after and the baby and IP’s, but she is up to the task.
The logistics of giving birth etc are more complicated when having a baby for someone else, so it was just great to have a midwife that felt she could handle all of that.
Our next big milestone is the 20 weeks scan. I can’t wait to find out if the 13 weeks prediction of a boy was right. Not to much longer to go.
This pregnancy has been a very different experience for me in many ways. With my daughter, it was unplanned so I spent the first trimester in shock! I was living overseas in Switzerland at the time so the maternity care was very different also. This pregnancy was planned…. Very planned!.... and I am definitely in a different place emotionally because I know that this baby isn’t for me, this baby is for Bernice and Mark. This baby will go home with its parents, and not come home with me. That is a very different place to grow a baby from.
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