Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Viability

Holy spit has it really been 3 weeks since I posted?  Bad blogger.  Not much going on here.  This baby sleeps all day as I scurry about the lab and then dances all night while I am typing or trying to sleep.  I'm sure the dads will so appreciate my turning their baby into a night owl.  One of the dads is an ER/ICU physician so at least he is used to the night shift. 

I took a picture at 24 weeks.  The belly looks less round because the baby has stretched out. 

 
 
 
So far the pregnancy is pretty uneventful.  I am tired but that's to be expected.
 
Boy#2 is in hell week of basketball practice.  He comes home dripping with sweat every day and exhausted.  He made the JV team to start and will play some Varsity which is about as good as you can expect as a freshman. 
 
Both kids got straight A's on their report cards for the first six weeks so yay for that.  The three older kids are all good.  The grandbaby is adorable (cue adorable grandbaby picture)
 



 
 
 
Also, I bought this.  As opposed to my 12mpg that I was getting in the truck, I am getting an average of 45 mpg in this puppy.  The gas savings almost pays the car payment.  Woo hoo.
 
And that's about it for us.  We work, we take care of kids, we eat and sleep.  Life is fully and busy and good.  And that's it.  Hopefully my OB will be back from maternity leave in December so I can see her, not that I'm dying to drive 60 miles each way for a ten second appointment.  

Saturday, October 13, 2012

21w5d

We'll start with the obligatory unflattering picture and go from there.



First I will point out how much the Canadian has grown.  So much for that grand theory of growing a mid-sized baby so that the old uterus does not rupture.  This kid is going to be huge. 

Second i will point out the horrendous wallpaper under the mirror.  Think that is bad?  Two of the walls in the same bathroom have blue paisley wallpaper.  Apparently the previous owners thought matching the colors was more important than matching the styles.  And it's wallpaper.  Ugh.  Project number 3503 to be tackled when we have time.

Third i will point out the awesome new iphone I clutch in my pudgy fingers.  The hubster bought it for me.  I've never had a data phone...heck I've never had a phone that takes good pictures.  Love it.  He's a tech geek so buying me an iphone is pretty much his way of saying I love you.  He also gets me flowers every single week.  I'm spoiled. 

What else is going on?  We have stepped up to seriously car shopping.  What I want (cute, zippy, manual transmission) and what we need (four doors, enough back seat space for two growing teen boys) are vastly different.  Let's see what we end up with.  We have also started car "looking" for the boys.  We need two cars for them that are different and yet neither can be cooler than the other.  I found two Dodge Neon's but they seem less than amused by them.  I'm not sure what we'll end up with.  I know, I know...we could make them share a car but we probably won't.  They have different friends and different activities and we don't feel it's right that if one of them wrecks a car the other would not be able to drive if they were sharing.  And yes, we know that cars are not necessities for teens but these are both good kids.  They do what they are supposed to, both have straight A's, they are polite and well behaved and we would like to get them cars.  Speaking of which....have you looked at car insurance for a teen boy?  Egads...now imagine that times two.  I put it in the budget (my budget is long term and goes through 2017...I'm anal like that) and it makes a serious dent. 

The guys have returned home from their visit.  We will see them again in 18 weeks or so when the Canadian makes his appearance.  He is VERY active in the evenings when I finally lay down for the night and the hubster and I enjoy watching him squirm.  I'm really soaking up this final pregnancy and making peace with this being the last time i get to enjoy this.  I love pregnancy and will really miss it. 

We got corn for work so no imminent layoff.  I'm so happy for all the guys who would have really been hurt by a layoff.  Our workload has doubled in the last few weeks as we do additional studies and try to figure out how to incorporate milo into our system.  I'm the chemistry person at work so I've spent a lot of time lately doing molarity calculations and mixing chemicals but it's all good.  Life is full and busy at work and at home.

My co-worker and I were talking about our bucket lists the other day and I decided that after this baby I'm going to start tackling a few things on my list.  First up...learning to scuba dive.  Not sure where or how but there you have it. 

Basketball practice starts at the end of the month and games start in late November.  They have 9th grade, JV, and Varsity here and the boy made the JV/Varsity team.  He will play mostly Varsity but some JV too.  He will not be starting Varsity but he's only a freshman and so he didn't expect to start.  There are a lot of seniors that have earned those starting slots.  He has been playing all summer and fall with the high school team on a traveling squad and really enjoying it.  Me...not so much.  It is very physical and I'm always scared they will break him.  He came home a few weeks ago and his hand was swollen to twice its normal size.  Egads.  I think we will definitely have to change health insurance to a better plan in January as we currently have an 8,000 dollar deductible and I see many sports injuries in our future.  I think I can switch to a 2500 dollar deductible.  Kids both have eye appointments on Monday...glasses for one and contacts for the other. 

Speaking of the boys...one of them has discovered girls and now has a girlfriend.  A junior girlfriend.  A 17 year old junior girlfriend.  She's an athlete and a nice girl but it's just weird.  He's 14 and a freshman.  He's mature for his age and 6 feet tall and has red hair and everyone tells me he looks like Prince Harry so maybe that's it?  I don't know.  I just know they are growing up way too fast and before we know it our house will be empty of kids and it will just be the hubster and I looking at each other with blank stares saying "What now?" 

And that's about it.  I really have no pregnancy complaints.  I occasionally have a touch of heartburn but not much.  The Canadian thinks it is funny to sit on my sciatic nerve and put my leg to sleep but that always passes.  Fingers crossed for another few months that are complication free. 

Until next time. 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Big baby


I was 20w4d yesterday and the baby was measuring over 21 and sometimes 22 weeks.  Fat belly and long legs (the baby not me).  He is healthy and has all the required parts.  And yes it is a HE.  The guys are thrilled.  More to follow.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Thank heavens

My friend has stabilized and has begun to recover.  Thank heavens.

We find out in less than 24 hours what I am carrying.  I still think boy but everyone else thinks girl.


And under the not so thank heavens heading we have:

We will probably get laid off from work in the next month.  We will be fine financially but I really feel for some of the people who are the breadwinners with stay at home wives.  This will really hurt them.  Hopefully a miracle will happen and things will turn around. 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The downside

So what is the downside of surrogacy?  It's not that some people don't understand your motivation.  It's not that sometimes there are complications. 

The downside is that sometimes, moments after giving your IPs an happy, healthy baby, all hell breaks looks.  A surro friend of mine is in trouble.  She's the one who sent me all those wonderful hpt tests this cycle.  She has had some complications this pregnancy and now this.  After her c-section today (for placenta previa) she began to bleed.  They did a total hysterectomy and gave her 16 units of blood.  She is in the ICU and not at all stable.  She is intubated and has fluid around her heart and lungs.  She is a wife and mother and today created a family.  Please pray for her. 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Good heavens

I am such a bad blogger.  Life is just so busy but in a good way so I am in no way complaining.  I will make this short and sweet:

Surrogacy:  Holy bacon we are 20 weeks.  We find out this week if it is a boy or a girl.  The guys are flying in for the appointment and then we are going to hang out.  Should be fun.  I still have to work after the ultrasound but it should be a lot of fun and they will get to scope out the hospital and the town where I deliver.  The baby is very active now and I am really enjoying that.  My only pregnancy complaint is heartburn but in the grand scheme of things, that's a very minor complaint. 

Jobs:  Still working both.  Probably will forever.  Like them both too much to quit either on. 

File this under what was I thinking:  I sold my car to pay off a debt.  On a positive note we are now debt free except for our mortgage.  On a negative note I'm driving the 1978 Ford pickup back and forth to work. Oy vey.  Am busily saving money to purchase a car for cash.  It will have to be older but it can't get any worse gas mileage than the truck. 

Kids:  both had parent teacher conferences.  Both currently have straight A's.  Both are still great kids.  The three older ones are doing well.  The grandbaby turns one in 4 days.  Boy #2 dunked for the first time in a basketball game.  All is well. 

Husband:  still gainfully employed.  Still liking his job.  I may kill him if he doesn't stop spending half his paycheck on his POS Ford Mustang but if that's my biggest complaint in marriage then I have it pretty good. 

I need to take another belly picture now that I actually have a belly.  A few people at work have asked if I'm pregnant and I tell them yes.  So far no negative comments at all so yay for that. 

I will be back in a few days to tell you gender.  I am guessing boy but am always wrong so it's probably a girl.