Aren't you due soon?

That seemed to be the popular question of the weekend, "Are you due soon?"  I assume it has to do with the size of my belly!  Last week POPCORN was already predicted to be about 5lbs 12oz, so that puts him/her over 6lbs now. Possibly close to or over 9 at birth if we make it to 40 weeks!!  Let's hope this little one decides to come closer to 38 or 39 weeks. We have decided to start acupuncture in a few weeks to encourage him/her not to make it all of the way to 40 weeks. It worked with my youngest, so hopefully it works with this one too. 

As we are nearing the end I'm getting a little more uncomfortable, but not too awful. My biggest complaint is the congestion and sore throat I've had, and that isn't even related to pregnancy, except it's harder to get sleep and get well. I've also started swelling in one leg/foot so shoes I'm able to wear have become quite limited. I wore a pair of boots to a Super Bowl party last night and they wouldn't fit over my one foot by the end. 

The highlight of the last few weeks was the "Pampering Popcorn" get together my friends threw for me!  We went to pedicures, then Melting Pot. It was so much fun relaxing and spending time with them, and eating some yummy food. I am lucky to have such awesome friends!

This past weekend was my last local surrogate dinner where my friend and I are both pregnant. She is 38 weeks, so shouldn't be long for her now!!

I am now 35 weeks, hoping for 3-5 more weeks, closer to 3!!!

Thanks to my wonderful IFs who cent this yummy popcorn for POPCORN and I to enjoy!!

Feeling very pregnant!!

I have felt so good all of pregnancy, but all of the sudden I've gotten so much more uncomfortable. I made it about 33 weeks feeling great, so I'll take it. I'm hoping continuing to go to the gym will help some, at least for as long as I can continue to do so. I've started getting some swelling in one leg, so not sure how long I can continue that. It's the same leg that I have gotten really nasty varicose veins on as well, so I assume the two are related. 

Okay, enough complaining. I came into this by choice and I knew there would be some discomfort. I am thankful POPCORN and I are healthy and looking so forward to seeing the daddies with him/her at birth!!

I think I left off at 31 weeks before...

That week I also went to my monthly surrogate dinner. It was a lot of fun, as always!!

The day before we turned 32 weeks the daddies came for a hospital tour!  It was so much fun watching them be all excited about the arrival of their little one and ask all of the first time parent questions. That visit made me more excited than ever for the birth!!

I've been saying all along that I wanted to sew something for POPCORN. I finally got around to it. I made a blanket and a little taggies blankie!!

That week we also had a doctors appointment. POPCORN's heartbeat was perfect, but the doctor thought I was measuring a little big. I think his measurement was off, but that means we get another ultrasound next week, so I'm not complaining!!  Can't wait to get a little peak!!

That brings us to last weekend, when we got to 33 weeks!!

I can't wait to post again soon with an ultrasound picture or two.

Hopefully less complaints too...but that may be wishful thinking!

28-30 weeks

We are now 30 weeks!  POPCORN is very active, which is perfect because it means I don't have to worry about movement!  He/she is head down as of today....in this position. 

  

With any luck he/she will stay head down and move farther down into my pelvis in the coming weeks!  

My boys love feeling POPCORN kick, but while at the OB today my 5 year old said he wants the doctor to take the baby out so I can carry him again. He better not get his hopes up too much because he is too old to be carried around anyways!!

We had an awesome Christmas and New Year's and the whole time I kept thinking about how nice it will be to see pictures of POPCORN during the holidays next year.  On Christmas I wanted to try to create a special picture for POPCORN's daddies. 

I have been feeling great, no major complaints (knock on wood).  I find that I feel kinda crummy on days that I skip the gym though, so I try to go as much as possible. Here is POPCORN and I at the gym today!

I started work officially this week, but actually started doing some work last week. I am loving being a surrogate case manager!!! It is awesome to be able to work from home and get more involved in surrogacy!

Here are some belly pics from the last two weeks. 

13ish more weeks to go!!

I can't believe only about 13 more weeks to go!  I'm hoping more towards 11 or 12, but we shall see!

Last week we met POPCORN's daddies in Charlotte to go to court for the PBO pre birth order).  Because we were afraid of being late and dealing with traffic in the morning we stayed in a hotel the night before. Always fun with 3 crazy boys! 

These lucky little boys got an early Christmas present from us, their Kindles. We figured they would need something to keep them entertained and they did the trick!  We also spent some time at the hotel pool to tire the boys out. POPCORN's daddies stopped in to say hello and they got to feel little kicks for the first time. This was so exciting and I'm SO happy they got to feel the kicks. I can only imagine how amazing it was for them. 

 This was probably the kids favorite part of the little trip. 

The next morning, bright and early in our room, we got ready to go to court. 

That's what 7am looks like in a hotel room with our kids!!

And always need a belly pic since it's all for POPCORN...

The kids surprisingly did pretty well while we were in court. They waited outside with the paralegal and it was a nice smooth process. Everything was signed and now we have something to bring to the hospital saying both dads will be on the birth certificate and they are completely in charge of all decisions for POPCORN!!

The next day we turned 27 weeks!!

I am all dressed up because it was the night of my husband's work Holiday party. 

It was slightly awkward since he didn't tell anyone I was pregnant!!  Still a really fun time. I love an excuse to get dressed up and I was so excited to find a dress that worked for the bump. I got more compliments on this dress than any dress I've ever worn, I suspect people just liked the belly!!

That following Monday was my doctors appointment and glucose test!!  Just got the results and I passed!! Heart rate and size all are on target and baby seems to be head down already, hopefully staying that way!  Only gained 3.5 lbs in the last 7 weeks, quite a change from the 1-2 lbs each of the previous weeks. Hopefully I keep up this trend!  Next appointment is just after the new year!

In other good news, I got a job!  I'm now a case manager for a surrogacy agency. I'm so excited to start this venture and even more excited that I got to stay involved in surrogacy even after POPCORN is born. Hopefully I have an easy time learning the process. So so excited to be working again, it's been quite awhile!

Happy Holidays!

23-25 weeks!!

I am 25 weeks pregnant with little POPCORN!  I can't believe we only have about 15 weeks left. I have a feeling it will go super fast, just as these 25 weeks have done. 

More and more people have started asking about the pregnancy, mostly due to my ever growing bump. I always love the responses I get!  I love sharing surrogacy with the public because it still isn't something most people are familiar with. 

So let me back track to where I left off before...

Everyone said I popped after I posted that picture!  Not only is POPCORN obviously growing, but he/she has become super active and strong. I love feeling all of the movement and try to send videos to the daddies so they can share in the excitement. I wish I could get videos more often, but this baby isn't very cooperative. 

We had our monthly local surrogate dinner.  I love having these ladies to share the excitement with!!

I got all dressed up for this picture because POPCORN's daddies generously offered to pay for a date night!  We had yummy hibachi and got to relax some without the kids, perfect!

At 25 weeks I really notice how much my belly has grown!  This was an exciting day because while we were up in Maryland celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, POPCORN got to visit with his/her daddies too. 

They loved feeling the belly and we enjoyed breakfast with them before heading home. Sadly, this marked the end of out of state travel for me until this journey is over. My family will have to come see me!

Next week is a big week for us!  Our court date for the PBO (pre birth order) is the 11th and we will be traveling to Charlotte for that. This means that their names will appear on the birth certificate!!  So exciting!!!

I'll end with some holiday pictures!  This is my favorite time of the year!

20-22 weeks!

I haven't posted much recently because there hasn't been too much going on, which is wonderful!  We are over half way there!!!  In about 4 months this baby will be in his/her daddies arms...and I cannot wait to witness that moment!!!

Once I hit 20 weeks, I started to feel a whole lot more pregnant!  Nothing major, just more uncomfortable by the end of the day and working out has become more difficult.  Not to mention the exhaustion! I'm gaining weight quite quickly, even with working out, so I can't give up on the working out no matter how tired I am. Part of it is having trouble sleeping, but that's pretty typical.  Also, I miss running so so much, so I need to stay in shape enough to be able to not start from scratch after the baby's birth. 

POPCORN has become much more active. My husband has even felt the movement and I was able to get a video of the baby kicking my phone laying on my belly, the daddies loved that!  I love feeling all of the movement, so reassuring!

My belly is definitely growing, I've gotten a lot more comments from people I don't know that well.  I've gotten only one or two odd responses when I say I'm a surrogate. One asking if I was just giving my baby away after birth. Umm no, it's not my baby and I'm not giving anything away. I think she was genuinely curious but it was awkward!

Halloween and being pregnant doesn't mix...I ate way too much candy!!!  Or maybe I was glad it gave me an excuse to eat candy this year?

That's my boys all dressed up and ready to go trick or treating!!

The daddies were so awesome and bought my hubby and a friend tickets to some comedy show. I'm so not into comedy, so I have no idea who it even was. My hubby has been doing a lot to help with the kids during my days of exhaustion so I'm glad he was able to have fun!  

And I'll end with a fun picture from Costco!  I told the daddies, POPCORN needs that bear!

Next appointment is at 26 weeks when I will have do do the glucose test. Never fun but as long as I pass I don't mind!  Also, going to court for PBO (pre birth order) is coming up. This will assure that both dads will be on the birth certificate, and I won't be!  Having that will help everything run smoothly right after birth.