Appointment overload

We are now on weekly appointments because of everything. One ultrasound at maternal fetal medicine (high risk dr) followed by an appt at the OB. The weekly ultrasound is basically just to check my cervix, make sure it isn't opening. Then the OB is to check blood pressure, weight (ugh) - nothing like a weekly reminder of that, and heartbeat check. Up until Wednesday which was our 8 month check, everything has been going smooth. I've been allowed to drive to my appointments as well as drive to drop off or pick up kids from school. It made me feel a bit normal. But since out little stint in the hospital the babies have managed to stay cool and calm in my baker for another month. We are all happy about that!!

Wednesday we went in for our 8 month check followed by and NST (non stress test). The babies are growing beautifully..baby A (boy) is weighing in at a whopping 4.5lbs and baby girl is 4.6. Idah finally got some pretty good 3D pics. She works third shift and missed the ultrasound appt so i was happy to give her some nice photos.

She made it in time for the NST. As soon as we hooked up the machine, it was showing that I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes. Oye! I wasn't feeling even one of them. I then saw a flash of what the rest of the day would be like for us. After being hooked up for 20 minutes, the contractions didn't stop. We were sent over to my OB who checked my cervix, it was still closed. She then got called to a delivery and had to go. We got sent to triage for more contraction monitoring.
Contractions were still happening and i then actually started to feel some. Maybe like 2 every half hour. They admitted us for overnight obs. Around 830 that night i stopped feeling them even though they were still happening. Poor Idah had come right from working a 10 hour shift, so once we got our room she laid on the couch and i didnt hear from her til the next morning. Tim and the kids came in to visit for a bit that evening, but for the most part i just watched tv and relaxed. The next morning they checked my cervix again and it was still closed, so they discharged us. That night the almighty swelling started. My feet were huge, i now have kankles and my calves are just out of control. Now its not just bed rest - its feet elevated as well. What. A. Mess!!!
I'm weighing in a 193.5 - never weighed this much in life. My husband and I actually weigh the exact same thing right now. He finds it funny...me, not so much.
The kids have been gone all day today and tonight - i miss them terribly but I have enjoyed this day of no worries. I took a few naps, watched a few movies, Tim and i went for a junk food run (which was so weird without the kids)  and now doing some computer catch up, while Tim snores on the couch beside me. Next appointment is Wednesday which is another NST. Another hospital stay?? We shall see.

8 months

 WHOA!!!!

Lions and Tigers and....Contractions??? Oh No!!!

So one would think that since I am on bedrest this blog would be well up to date. Errrrr, wrong.
I have been so sleepy that any time I think about sitting down to replay events, i grab my blanket and go to the couch. Everyday that goes by though is another day I am missing out on noting so I gotta make this happen. And I am actually feeling quite energized tonight, so here we go. This is going to be a long one.

Last post I left off stating that I was heading to my 7 month ultrasound the next day. Little did we know, I would not be heading right to work after that appt as expected. The date was Wednesday, Sept 19th and mom met me there. Everything went well with the appt. The babies were doing great, measuring great. Heartbeats were both 142 and baby A (boy) weighed in at 2lbs 11oz and baby B (girl) weighed in at 2lbs 9oz. Then the DR came in to review everything and told us that he wanted to do an internal exam to check my cervix because it was measuring short. He did his thing and sure enough it was short, not opened which was a very good thing, just short. He had a concern that I may have been having contractions and not feeling them. The Dr says, "I'm going to call your OB and have them set you up to start getting steroid shots". At that point I assumed we would just leave and I would have an appt to go get the shots. He asked us to go wait in the waiting room until he called them. Ok, so we did. Next thing we know a nurse comes out with a wheelchair, has me get in and says that we are going to triage. Say what??? What for??? She said to get the steroid shot. Oh ok, no problem. We get to triage and wait about 20 minutes to be seen, which at this point I am not late for work. We finally get called back to a room and then wait yet another 45, yes 45 minutes to be seen by a nurse. The whole time assuming I was getting the steroid shot and we were outie. When the nurse finally came in, I asked her what was going on here. She said that the orders show that I am there for 24-48 hour monitoring of contractions. So we now have another "Say what??" moment. Why on earth wouldn't they have told us this from the beginning. The whole time we are sitting there and had no idea that we were getting admitted. Well, ok - it is what it is and whatever we need to do to make sure the babies don't come early - i'm in! We eventually got all hooked up to the contraction and heartbeat monitors, which showed great heartbeats but that I really was having contractions every 7-10 minutes. I didn't feel one of them. Pretty scary but also pretty freaking awesome, right??

They moved me into my room and started me on Magnesium to stop the contractions. I also had one steroid shot then to. I didn't call Tim until i knew he was awake. He works 3rd shift and with me being in the hospital now for at least the next day, it menas a heavier load for him. So i knew better than to wake him up...lol. Him and the kids came in to visit me that evening. He said the kids were super excited to visit mommy in the hospital. They may have been a little more excited for the Olive Garden take out that Tim got them though. IM (intended mom) was there all day, until she had to leave for work. Since the babies weren't coming, I told her to go so she had more time off for the real deal. My mom also came in the day to visit and then she went to sleep at my house to watch the kids while Tim worked that night. Quite a production going on there. Oh, how did i forget this - I didn't eat a real breakfast that morning because after every appt, mom and I go to the hospital cafe and have breakfast. I ate a few pb crackers and milk. Bad move on my part because once i got admitted, I was on a clear liquid diet, that last until late morning the next day. UGH!

That next day came. I had hopes to be going home that day but the contractions had not completely stopped. They upped the dose on my magnesium, gave me the 2nd steroid shot and told me I'll be staying another night. ( i was kindve enjoying the break, shhh)
That morning my friend Landy came to visit, the babies mom came in, and so did my mom. We had a good time just chatting and watching daytime tv, while I sat baking babies. Oh and while i enjoyed a super yummy brunch of french toast to!

Good Morning Friday!! Good Morning IM, My mom, and Landy also! All 3 back to see me again. I truly felt loved between the phone calls, the visitors, my neighbor and friend Tobie sent me flowers, and Landy even went to the baby store and bought me a cover for my body pillow. I'll try to post the video of Landy, my mom, and IM trying to put that on later :)

The DR came in and said that they would lower the mag and start me on a pill to relax my uterus and we will see how the day goes. Well, contractions stopped and the mag was eventually turned off. Still no contractions. Woot Woot! Home we go. But, with changes. I will be on a modified bed rest. No working, no lifting, no continous walking up and down steps. Just basically laying or sitting all day. What a change this is for me. I am so always on the go, but I knew what we had to do. We were only 28 weeks and didn't want the babies to come just yet.

I am so very very lucky to have an awesome husband and awesome children that understood and helped make it as easy as possible for me. It does make it a bit easier that Mon-Fri the kids are in school so i get to lay around all day. I save my movements for the evenings when I want to help Riley with her homework and help them get to bed. Thankfully summer is over and the whole neighborhood isn't outside playing while I'm inside laying down. And it's getting darker earlier. That helps to not be in a funk about the whole thing. I have enjoyed the relaxing time and i LOVE LOVE naps!! It will probably suck going back to work at some point.

Here are some pics of our hospital stay.

Mom getting my oh so lovely gown tied up in triage

All hooked up and situated

One of my awesome nurses!

 Flowers from Tobie

My little man <3

A gift bag from Tobie

 

Video of the body pillow cover show ;)

7th Inning Stretch

Ok, well 7th month stretch is more like it. Tomorrow morning we have our 7th month ultrasound. I so hope we get some good 3D pics of these little ones. However, as much as they move around I'm gonna take a guess that it's not gonna happen.

I am excited for mom to hopefully feel her first kicks tomorrow!

2 weeks ago we did have our 6 month OB appt. I only gained 4 pounds (179) since my last appt, a pound a week. I figured it wouldn't be much because I still do not have much of an appetite. But don't worry, i do eat. I just don't have all of those crazy cravings (i'm quite sad about this) or crazy need to eat all the time. She said I am measuring just fine and the babies are perfect size. So, no worries.

I am enjoying this pregnancy so much! Maybe it's because I am stress/plan free, maybe it's the fact that this could be the last time I am ever pregnant again. I'm not sure. I loved my own pregnancies but this of course is just different. I love watching Riley and Ayden sit there and just stare waiting for any type of movement to happen. I love how they kiss my belly a few times a day. I love how they tell everyone we come in contact with who asks them "are you guys having a baby brother or baby sister?", our story. I love feeling 2 babies moving around in there 95% of my day.

I say this now because i am sure in the next month - i'll be at "that point" that it's just time to be over. And these thoughts will be far and few and in between : )

Alot of my surro sisters have told me to be prepared to want to do it again. Is it wrong that I feel that way already?? I'd have alot of thinking to do, but I don't think I will shut the door on it just yet. I just can't get it out of my mind, the day that these babies are born and being able to see the new mother and father holding them. That is going to be one.great.day!

Most of my surro sisters and myself will tell you - there is so much more reasoning behind being a surrogate than the almighty question that we get asked constantly "Do you get paid to do this?"
If one day my sister needs me to have a baby for her, i will no doubt do it at no cost. When you come into it the way I did, not personally knowing someone who needed a surrogate, there is compensation involved for pain, suffering, and all of the emotion al roller coaster that comes along with it.
So Tim and I got to sit down and think about what we would do with this "compensation" and we chose to take the kids on a nice trip to Disney. We aren't gonna hold anything back because it's not only the kids first time, but Tim's first time there as well. We are booking it this week and I am so thankful to have not only had the opportunity to make someone elses dreams come true - in return, the morning that we are leaving for Disney is the morning we will tell the kids we are going, that day when i see my childrens faces - I will feel the best mom and luckiest person ever!!
I better get to bed..ultrasound is early tomorrow. I leave you with some 6 month pics!

 My little man and I

 A pic I sent to mom this week

 

Look at that baby belly!!!!

 

PS...Not a sign of stretch marks yet!!! TRIPLE BONUS!

Zooooooooom.

Whew!!! Where has time gone??  This pregnancy has gone just too quick. I'm pretty sure I say this in every post, but I really just cannot believe it.

We have a C-Section date! November 27th. A few days after Thanksgiving. You know why this is great???  Because I will have one last excuse to eat as much as I want : )

We had our 6 month ultrasound last week. Even though everyone is going on about how small I look, the babies are growing right on target. We had the full heart anatomies done and everything looks great. Baby A is about 1.9lbs (the boy) and baby B is about 1.8 (the girl). They were so active that we didnt get any good 3D's like we had hoped. Maybe next time.

When i say active, I mean ACTIVE!! There isn't much time throughout the day that I am not being kicked, punched, head butted, or whatever else possible they can do to me. It really is one of lifes best experiences. I have been feeling great, like almost what I think is too great!! Although on one not so great experience, my back has still been an issue. It has simmered down a bit as far as how often, but every evening as I sit down to work on the computer, is when it hurts the most. This is the reason why this blog is not getting the updates that I want it to.

I realized as i was getting ready to snap some 6 month photos, that honestly this week I just didnt have much time to get all prettied up and do, realized that I was wearing the same shirt from a few photo shoots ago. In case you notice ;)

5 month OB

Mama came to this appt in hopes we were picking our C-Section date, buuut that didn't happen :(

She was pretty bummed and i was to, just not as bummed as i would've been had i been in her shoes.

I gained 5 pounds, so now up to 175. After i gain the next 5 pounds, which is clearly going to happen - i will be at the highest weight in my 32 years. Its crazy though because even though with past pregnancys, I have weighed this much and even though that was at the very end - i still don't look as heavy now, as I did then. I seem to be carrying just belly. I am very thankful. I already have enough work to do after these guys come, let's contain it where we can THANK YOU!
However, we do have 15 weeks to go, so still plenty of time for that to happen.

Blood pressure was great, we discussed physical therapy for the back discomfort I've been having but oddly enough, I haven't had any since that appt. That was the worst and it can stay away, far away.

Riley and Ayden have been totally involved with the growing bump. Kissing, reading stories, and talking to the babies. They can't wait to see their new "cousins"!

Kicks and giggles

Pretty much sums up my day. Even though I was at work.... Today was the first day that I was constantly feeling something going on in there. Kicks up top, head bumps on the bottom, All while I'm on the phone with my customers. I try not to focus on it, but when i do it just makes me laugh. Even though I've been pregnant before, its always a great thing to feel. These two little babies growing inside ya and feeling their movements throughout the day, just amazing. I feel so bad knowing that mom is missing out on this. I feel a bit of guilt talking to her about the kicks and movement, knowing that it has to make her feel some sort of a way. She always says "Please forgive them"  lol    Of course i do...this is all apart of being your surrogate!!

5 months and counting!

I am officially more than half way through. I know that time flies WAY. TOO. FAST, but that normally doesn't count when your pregnant, in the summer. I can honestly say though that this is going fast. I often wonder if it's because I don't have the added stress of baby preparations or maybe it's because the anxiousness of awaiting my new baby isn't there. Of course I am anxious to see these precious little ones, but it's just not the same as if it were my own. No matter which, I just can't believe that in 17 weeks, this surrogate journey will be at the end.

Mom and I went to my 5 month ultrasound this week. Since everyone has been telling me that I am measuring small, I was kind of curious to see what the doctor would say about the sizes of the babies.
Thankfully they are doing great, measuring right on target and I just will embrace my small bump because i'm sure it probably isn't going to last.

Little mans heartbeat was 148 and little ladies was 142. They were busy moving around the whole time putting on quite a show for their mama.

I have been feeling really great for the most part. No sickness, no soreness, just starting to get tired earlier and feeling a bit stretched out at times. Comes with the territory. Never been pregnant with twins before, I'm actually a little shocked at how great I am doing so far. It's very hard for me to sit and relax. I always have to be doing something. Tonight I was out pulling weeds, digging holes for flowers and just finally making the outside of our house look nice. One of our neighbors came by and said "You have got to be the most active pregnant woman I know", made me chuckle. Kind of hard to just sit anyhow when every other minute one of my two are yelling Mom, Mom, MOOOOOM!!!!!!
I know the time is coming that i will have to relax for both me and the babies, but for now - i'm enjoying having the energy.