Ha-ha! So, my title for this post comes from another AWESOME
Saturday we spent with Chad and Stephanie and their family this last week. We had hoped to spend time together in July
but my nausea kept getting in the way so it had been awhile since we saw each
other. The day before we were going over
to their house, Stephanie messaged that her mom had surprised her by flying in
for a quick trip for her Birthday and we would get to meet her on
Saturday. I jokingly wrote back:
“Ahhhh, we’re “meeting the parents”. What if she doesn’t like me and I’m already
carrying her grandchild!?”
We all kind of chuckled through text messages but as the
night worn on I told daniel, “I actually AM kind of nervous to meet her.” This is ‘the mom’, maybe Chad and Stephanie
like us but they have rose colored glasses on cause their ‘stuck with us’ now
that I’m carrying their child. Maybe
Stephanie’s mom will see my flaws more clearly?
Daniel just rolled his eyes and said, ‘Honey it will be FINE!’
So, we got to their home on Saturday morning but Stephanie’s
mom had gone out to run some errands. We
quickly fell into easy conversation and catch up as the morning went on. As we were sitting down to breakfast, Nana
arrived back. I took a deep breath and
walked around the table to give her a hug.
She reached out, wrapped her arms arounds me and squeezed me tighter
than I anticipated but still loved. In
that moment, I knew Daniel was right (shhhhh don’t tell him that), it was all
going to be fine!
We spent a glorious day around the pool chatting. Most of the time Daniel, Chad and the 5 boys,
age 6 and under, swam in the pool while Stephanie, Nana and I sat around under
the umbrella chatting about our families and our newest experiences with the
Surrogacy journey. At one point,
Stephanie’s mom mentioned how much she enjoyed reading this blog and how she
always checks for the next installment.
Then a few hours later, one of Stephanie’s best friends called via
Facetime to wish her a happy birthday and we got to say hi and she also
mentioned how much she enjoys keeping up with what is happening on this journey
through the blog posts. Hence my title “Give
the people what they want” because I’ve been wanting to sit down for a few days
and type up an update but kept putting it off.
This one’s for you Angela!
Just like last time when we got together, the day FLEW by
and our boys began to enter what we call “self-destruct” mode and Daniel and I knew
we needed to start heading home. We said
our goodbyes and gave lots of hugs until our next meeting and I found I was SO
grateful for an opportunity to meet more of Chad and Stephanie’s family and
grow even closer to our new friends!
On Friday, I took a belly shot cause even though I am only 15
weeks now, I feel like I look 6 months pregnant in some tops. Again, most likely just left-over belly ‘love’
from bringing my boys into this world but I gotta admit, having a ‘bump’ again
feels so surreal.
Back on Aug 2nd I had my first appointment with
our new OB. It took me awhile to find
the right building since its attached to the hospital and there were many
buildings to choose from. I found the
right office and was SO happy to walk into a VERY nice, clean, modern and new
medical building. I got to the desk and
filled out all my paperwork. They
mentioned there would be a co-pay (which I usually don’t have with OB
appointments) and I asked if that would be every time. I was SO delighted to be called back quite
quickly and after taking all my vitals (curse you scale!) I was shown back to
an examine room. The nurse sat down at
the computer and opened my file and said, “ok so you are here today for a woman’s
wellness check-up?” Uhhhh no, I’m 13
weeks pregnant and a surrogate and I’m here for my first OB appointment.
I could see the slight shock on her face but she did very
well and quickly and professionally looked into it. Apparently, the call center had booked me for
a wellness appointment not an OB even though I had called them twice to make
sure my OB took new pregnancy patients.
They quickly got it all figured out and since Daniel was at home with
the boys I didn’t push them to rush and tried to stay as relaxed as
possible. I MUST admit though that when
she left the room to figure it all out I rolled my eyes and wondered “Can I NOT
just have a normal OB appointment where everything just goes according to plan?”
Even the receptionist who took my co-pay came in and
apologized and mentioned she had taken the co-pay thinking I was here for a
different reason and if needed she would refund it for me. Turns out the amount I paid was the exact
amount for an initial patient consultation so it worked out fine.
Anyway, after a few moments, my new OB came in and I instantly
liked him. He reminds me very much of my
OB from South Africa, very calm, a little quiet and he took hand written notes
on a notepad which for some reason just made me feel at home. He didn’t ask me 10,000 questions like the other
OB office and he simply covered the bases and then did an exam. Baby girl’s heartbeat was great and the rest
of my body was fine. Since it was my
first time with him, he did suggest we do the pregnancy blood workup just to
have our bases covered. He asked if I had
any questions or concerns and I mentioned to him that at my last check-up with
my previous OB I had seen that the cyst that had been around since my first
ultrasound at 5 weeks was continuing to grow bigger and the size was slightly
concerning to me. The Nurse practitioner
had insisted that cysts were normal and nothing to worry about but something
about the size didn’t sit well with me.
He suggested I come back in the next few days for an ultrasound just to
make sure everything is ok and to put my mind at ease. We also talked about my previous C-sections
and how we will be doing another C-section with this baby. Repeat C-sections are usually scheduled
during week 39 which means I will have an exact date of delivery which I have
never had with a baby before but will be easier all around as we plan for all
the families to be there to welcome this little girl into the world! We will
schedule the exact date a little farther along in this pregnancy journey.
So, after my appointment I had my blood drawn for the work
up and then headed home. One thing I noticed
about this hospital that I’m REALLY liking is that even though it is a full and
professional hospital it is on the smaller side. And because of that, the doctor was readily
available during my whole appointment.
When they said he would be “right in”, he was there within a few
minutes. When I went to make my next appointments,
they had tons of openings and I was able to get an ultrasound 2 days
later. It was just so relaxing and calm
and I felt so at peace.
So 2 days later I went back for an ultrasound during which I
figured the tech would simply take a few pics of the cyst to make sure
everything was ok. Nope! I had a full 20-30-minute
scan, the kind you normally get around 19-21 weeks where they can tell you the
gender. I asked her if I could have some
pictures to send to the parents and I was able to send them so many. She and I talked about surrogacy and she
mentioned I was the 3rd or 4th surrogate patient she had
scanned in the last few months which just put my heart at ease even more to
know that Surrogacy was not new to this hospital.
So that’s it I think! Baby girl is growing just fine. In fact, she measured a few days ahead of our
projected due date so that was encouraging to hear since it felt like in the
beginning we were always a day or two behind or right on the line. It’s also funny how hearing someone say that
my due date of Feb 2 looks more like Jan 31 INSTANTLY made me feel like it was
a WHOLE month closer! Ha-ha! Mental tricks!
God continues to be the center of this entire journey and I can’t
express enough how grateful I am to be walking this road with Chad and
Stephanie and our connection through Jesus Christ. We’ve all said from the beginning that we are
taking steps towards a healthy baby but we are also trusting and leaving all of
it in God’s hands and we know it’s His will that will come to pass no matter
what!
