Our New Journey: Surrogacy Part 5- 3rd Trimester update

Surrogacy is going beautifully and faster than I could have imagined...

 I may be a little sad when it is all over :( 

Pregnancy itself is well... pregnancy lol 

Other than the general discomforts from putting on 20lbs over 32 weeks, and easily fixed heartburn things are going super smoothly! It is definitely different to be pregnant when you have a 1 year old to chase, but otherwise things are pretty similar to my pregnancy with James.

I have been taking pictures in the same dress, so my IP's can see how baby girl and I are growing. I started posting some of the pictures on my last Surro update: Our New Journey: Surrogacy Part 4

23 Weeks

26 Weeks 

I Lost my toes at 27 Weeks :(

29 weeks

My intended mother came and protected me from Mike's shenanigans on April Fools ;)

It was so fun to spend the day with her just talking about our kids! The very best part was getting to see her sweet little girl! I truly can not wait for my IPs to get to meet their baby!

32 weeks 

Now we are planning for delivery! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! 

 Seeing baby is due during the summer my intended parents are going to give me and the kids a vacation to stay near them for a few weeks. This will make it more relaxing for me and my IP's to not have to worry about them missing the delivery, and make for a fun end to this pregnancy for my family :)

This upcoming trip is also giving me something exciting to take my nesting out on...my husband is appreciating any distraction from me continuing to nest on our house lol 

Please continue to pray for my family and my IPs family as we all prepare for June :)

Our New Journey: Surrogacy Part 4- 20 week update

At 9 weeks I had my last ultrasound with Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, and was transferred to my regular OBGYN. Because we had made it through the risky part of IVF pregnancy.

The next week I was able to ween off all my lovely shots!!! 

At 11 weeks I started showing enough to start tracking my bump growth

At 14 weeks I had my 1st appointment with my OB, and got to show my Intended Parents lots of pictures of their little miracle! 

That was also the week I started feeling movement which earned baby the nickname butterfly :)

 At 17 weeks my need for naps went away (which was like a Christmas Miracle)

I started craving Asian, so I think we went to PF Chang's like 4 times in a matter of weeks ;)

20 week bump!

At my 20 week appointment Mike and I were able to Facetime my IPs during the ultrasound, so they could find out they are getting a Princess!

Things are going very smoothly! 

I am now craving lots of fruit and my only real pregnancy symptom the last few weeks in very curable heartburn! I have had super energy lately so I am taking it out on my house! There is not a room that is not deep cleaned down to the floor boards, not a drop of laundry would need done if my family could just go a day without wearing more ;)

I feel less connection with baby butterfly than I did with my kids. I feel like that is a blessing, because even my heart knows I am not her mama! However I am just in love with my intended mother, and she is on my heart daily so I make sure her little girl is well taken care of!

Just Me and My Bump Pictures

I wanted some pictures captured of just me and my bump.

 As much as there are days that I just feel huge and uncomfortable this pregnancy is one of the most amazing times of my life, it is such a beautiful gift! 

I am so very glad that I asked Becky Barry to take my pictures she never fails to make a girl feel beautiful! 

A picture to represent how big I feel ;)
The rest are of how gorgeous my bump really is!

Family Maternity Pictures - 2

A few weeks ago we had summer family pictures done

 Most of them were done for the babies nursery, and some just to capture our family in this amazing time

 We had them done by Rebecca Anne Photography, Becky did a great job! 

Here are some of my favorites :)

Thing 1

Thing 2

Picture for Big Brother Frame for the Nursery

Our almost family of 5

Baby Reece's amazing siblings
Look how much they have grown from the year they became sister and brother 

we have a similar picture Becky took when the kids were 3!
This is going in the Nursery :)

Baby Reece's 1st pair of shoes!
This is going in the Nursery :)

Picture for Big Sister Frame in the Nursery 

Just me and my boy

Me reading "You are all my favorites" to my all 3 of my babies!
This is going in the Nursery 

My very sexy baby daddy 

This was the pose from our wedding invitation
This is how it all started :)

Our song is "God Blessed the Broken Road"
The day of our wedding Becky captured this same moment 

Daddy and his baby boy! 

There is so much to the biblical truth!
Baby Reece is the answer to so many prayers!!
This is going in his Nursery

Me, the man I love, and our baby boy!
One of those life doesn't get better than this pictures for me :)

Peacefully in love with a boy I have never met 

Here is the link to the pictures of Just Me and My Bump

Bump Update 7- 22 Weeks

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: At my midwife appointment at 20 weeks I had gained 7lbs, but after being sick for a week at my appointment last week I had lost 3lbs. I have an appointment again this week, and I am honestly hoping that I am back up to my weight from 20 weeks. 

Maternity clothes? Of course! My favorites are some comfy cotton tops that Sara bought me, and Maxi skirts! 

Stretch marks? Nothing new

Sleep: I have slept more the last 2 weeks than I have in my whole adult life! I am definitely loving my snoogle pillow! It wraps around me and baby, and makes my new "shape" a lot easier to make comfortable ;) 

Best moment this week: I got to talk to Mike a bunch this week which always makes everything so much better!

This last weekend was so amazing! I started Saturday going to Kade's soccer game with Sara and my sister in law Mandi. Kade is doing great, and seems to really enjoy playing :)

 Then we took the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt at my family church! The kids had so much fun, and got enough candy to feed an Army! That night Sara, her sister in law Leanne, Mandi, I went to Red Robin and to see Captain America (I am in love with Black Widow). It was so nice to have a kid free girls night :)

Sunday Sara and I took the kids to church and then gardened all afternoon. It was so relaxing to be in the sun and use some of this 2nd trimester energy for good :)

Miss Anything? Still miss my Airman so much! We are almost down to 30 days left!!!! I missed food a lot last week, but I am eating just fine now! 

Movement: SO MUCH!! When I was in the hospital Baby kept kicking the monitor... so my kid :) Anytime I lay down I can feel my little gymnast and if I watch I can actually see baby move! 

Well big sister has decided she wants baby to know her, so she will lay in bed with me and talk to Thing 3 till she gets kicked :) It so sweet to watch how excited she is to meet her baby! 

Food cravings: ummm everything! I love food! No more food aversions just food excitement! I still like meat way more than I did pre pregnancy especially Red Robin's Royal Burger!  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not since being sick last week. I am seriously feeling amazing now! 

Labor Signs: Nope. They put me on an IV last week to make sure that I didn't get dehydrated. Apparently it can put you into preterm labor, but me and baby made it out just fine :)

Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On and it fits now

Happy or Moody most of the time: Life is good! My baby is growing, my daughter is at such a fun age, I get to see my son once a week even though Mike is gone, and even with our marriage exists via facetime my darling and I are doing so great! I had a lot of time to reflect not working last week and all I could think about is how blessed I am... it makes for a pretty happy outlook! 

Looking forward to: Jammie and I are planning my gender reveal party which happens after Mike comes home, so mostly looking forward to May! But for now I am looking forward to getting back to work this week, and for spoiling Jenna on Easter (Mike bought her a sweet gift and it should be here soon)!!