Week 24

SIX months down, less than four to go! This week I was able to capture a small video of baby A kicking and send it to Sam and Ben :) It was super exciting! This upcoming month I will be entering my third trimester (I know, already?!) and finally starting my prenatal appointments with my doula! Our monthly Dr appointments will soon be every other week, and then before we know it, every week.

Week 23

We made it! We made it to the week of viability :) Woohoo!! Only 17 weeks or so left to go! I've been under the weather these past few days, so I'm excited to be feeling better to write this week's post. I've been craving EVERYTHING pumpkin, so thank goodness it is Fall, and pumpkin everything is available in stores!

I'm excited for this week's post. After S read my blog last week, she sent me an email giving me permission to start using their REAL names in my blog! I didn't even ask her, I think just like me, she wants to read her name in this blog too. I'm excited because now I won't have a slight heart attack worrying about slipping their names in a post. This little bean's parents names are -- Sam and Ben <3 Those are actually their nicknames, but it's what I call them, so it will do. She also said she cannot wait to take pictures together for us to post. At the beginning of the journey, we have all been careful to keep their identities private and keep their faces off this blog, and now we may have a family picture to post at the end :) Truly inspirational. Sam and I (hehe, love it!) are counting down the weeks for her to come stay with us. I'm very excited for her to spend time with us at the end of the pregnancy, but I'm also nervous for her to see me at the end of a pregnancy. If you've ever experienced the end of a pregnancy, you know what I'm talking about. You're miserable, you feel like a whale, you're swollen... it's just not cute at times. It will be fun. I'm ready for this little girl to be reunited with her parents.

Week 22

Only 18(ish) weeks to go! This little girl is going stir crazy, I can tell. She is CONSTANTLY moving. She's too funny. She's currently breech, so she should just shimmy her way to being head down if she has all this time to play. We have our monthly Dr. appointment tomorrow, so hopefully S & B will be able to skype during it. I have been nesting like mad these past few days. Nothing in this house has not been touched, organized, or cleaned. It has been over 100 degrees outside the past few days, so I have plenty of time to be in the house getting things done. S & B said they are busy putting together Baby A's room too, so hopefully I will get some pictures soon! If I get their approval, I will share. S has great taste in design and style so I know it will be adorable! Next week is the week of viability, which is very very exciting! This means if she was born anytime after next week, she would have a great chance of survival outside the womb with extensive medical help. Of course I don't want her to come until she is full term, but if something were to happen, it would be medically possible for her to survive.

Week 21

We are officially on the downhill side of the pregnancy :) This week we had the full anatomy scan for baby A. She was such a ham. The ultrasound technician said that she was the most stubborn baby she has ever scanned. She is perfectly healthy, measuring exactly where she should, and has a feisty personality already! The tech was so sweet and put all the images on a disc, along with a handful of clips, so that S & B can keep them forever. We got video of her waving, playing with her feet, and yawning. Amazing clips that I don't even have of my own children. Next week we have our monthly doctor appointment. These weeks are flying by! Before I know it S will be here, after Thanksgiving, to stay with us until baby A makes her arrival! Due to work schedules, B will not be able to make it until closer to the due date, so I hope he doesn't miss it!



I also want to take this time to thank all of my readers for following my journey :) Your messages and words of encouragement have been so sweet. Today we celebrate 10,000 views to my blog! So amazing! Thanks again!

Week 20 - Halfway Point!!

We did it! We made it to the halfway point!
I've been doing a lot of reflection this week. Although I have only been pregnant with this sweet little doll for only 5 months now, mine and my family's life has revolved around this process since January. Like I said last week, I thought I would start feeling her externally soon. Sure enough, just a few days after, I felt her kick from the outside. Like all of my pregnancies, as soon as you feel the first flutters, things start to feel real. Not with this pregnancy. It's been absolutely surreal and please bear with me if I get all over the place.

Taking my injections never made this feel real.
Going to my transfer never made this feel real.
Getting a positive pregnancy tsest never made this feel real.
Ultrasounds never made it feel real.
Hearing the heartbeat never made it feel real.
Feeling flutters never made it feel real.
Feeling her kick my hand on my belly - she is real, and she is coming soon!

I keep staring at this keyboard trying to think of the words that I'm feeling, but it's unlike anything I've felt before. They're not bad feelings, and they're not feelings of sadness... but they're different. As a family, we are not celebrating the upcoming arrival of "our" baby like we normally would. We are excited she's coming, and everyone acknowledges her, but it's different. I'm not preparing our home for a new baby. I'm not shopping for a new baby. I'm not diving into my books or browsing names for a new baby. I am keeping my distance, emotionally, from this one. Not that I would EVER want to keep her, I just don't want to be emotionally crushed when she goes home with her mom and dad. That's as easy as I can put it.