Well
it's been a few weeks and we have happy news to report.... say hello to my new
womb-mate!
We had our 6-week checkup today
and baby's heartbeat was perfect at 125 and measured perfect length for 6 weeks
and 4 days. But I feel like I'm jumping ahead, let me fill you in on the last
few weeks.
So, we got the confirmation
through blood work that I was pregnant on Sun. May 26. Even though my HCG
levels DID double, I was still on the lower side of numbers. As much as they
tell you it's the numbers doubling that's the most important, I couldn't help
but still feel cautiously optimistic because I was slightly low.
Once we knew baby had implanted
successfully, Chad and Stephanie decided they would like to know the gender.
For surrogacy, all embryos are required to go through testing before
implantation. During these tests, they can determine the gender as well. Chad
and Stephanie asked not to be told and for the doctors to not pick based on
gender but solely on the health and strength of the embie with the highest
chance of surviving implantation. After we knew embie had implanted they wanted
to know. They asked Daniel and I if we had any guesses. I told Daniel from
about week 2 that I thought it was a girl. Which was weird for me cause with
ALL my other pregnancies I sensed it was boys every time, so to feel it was a
girl was a different sensation for me. Daniel also said he thought it was a
girl as well! Well our instincts were RIGHT! Baby girl Embie is well on her way!
On June 5, we had our first
ultrasound. Did any other women feel like the 10 seconds the doctor takes to
orient themselves on the ultrasound screen feels like a LIFETIME when you are looking for
ANY wrinkle on their foreheads indicating concerns they may have? Maybe it's just me. Stephanie
(our IP) was with me and we both waited with baited breath until the doctor
pointed to the screen and said, "yep there's the gestational and yoke sac,
just what we were looking for". Enter a big sigh of relief. Then the
doctor mentioned that the sac was measuring a little behind at 7cm and they
were expecting to see 8cm.
COME ON! Can I never just measure
where I'm supposed to be? Is that too much to ask body dearest?!
Luckily Stephanie and our doctor
have known each other for years and are good friends. Stephanie asked the
doctor "are you seriously concerned about that measurement, you'd tell me,
right? If it was bad?" The doctor chuckled a little and said, "yes
Stephanie, I would tell you honestly if I was concerned and I'm not."
I was so grateful Stephanie asked because
I was thinking the same thing; don't sugar coat it for us!
Stephanie and I walked down to the
parking garage together laughing about how we both thought the same thing
"can't the numbers just be on time?" We said our goodbyes but not for
too long because we had planned to have our families spend the day together on
Saturday at their home in Malibu!
Saturday came and we got the boys
in the car and headed out to Chad and Stephanie's home about an hour away. We
got there very easily and the 5 boys (our 3 and their 2) started bonding over
toys and balloons.
We had such an AMAZING day of
French toast brunch, pool time, naps for 3 of the 5 kids, hot dogs and Texas
style jalapeno poppers for an early dinner and then more pool time! By the time
we looked down it was almost 6:30 pm and we had spent 10 hrs. together
talking and laughing and sharing and playing! By the next morning our boys were
already asking when we could go back!
So that brings us up to date to
this morning’s appointment. There was an accident on one of the 5 freeways it
takes me to get to UCLA which made me 15 min late even though I left almost 2 hrs.
early. I had Daniel get a hold of Stephanie to let her know but I also knew she had a surgery she needed to get to and wouldn't have much extra time
if I didn't get there asap!
Luckily, I arrived just when
google said I would. I jogged upstairs and they were able to get me seen right
away! And then the dreaded 10 second wait where 3 women are staring at the
screen that is turned away from me at this point. Then the smiles! They located
baby girl and then the doctor said, "and I think I saw a heartbeat"
(as a side note, some baby’s heartbeats don't register till 7 weeks and since I
had been measuring a few days behind I was trying to prepare myself that it was
possible we may not see baby's heartbeat this week).
The doctor turned up the volume on
the machine and one of the best sounds in the world started filling the room.
Thump thump, thump thump! Baby Girl had a perfect heartbeat at 125!
So here we are, officially 6 weeks and 4 days which gives me
a due date of Feb. 1, 2018. Baby Girl is
finally right on track and I only have 2-3 more weeks seeing our fertility
doctor before I’ll be released to my own OB closer to Orange County! So far, I’ve only had slight nausea, more
like a REALLY full stomach feeling, and a tiny bit of heartburn (which I had
with all 3 of my boys). I had heard that
the old wives’ tale is that girls can give you more nausea but so far, I feel
better than I did with the boy’s pregnancy.
I’m getting to the stage I was at when I first discovered I was pregnant
with the boys so we’ll see how my body responds now that I’m farther along but
as of right now I’m just trying to enjoy every non-sick moment!
Every step we are getting closer and closer to meeting this
precious life and I must admit it has been one of the most unique roller coasters
I’ve ever been on but I’ve loved every minute of it!
