26 Weeks and 1 Day

I decided to post about 26 weeks a day late because we had an appointment today.  This included lab work, ultrasound, glucose test, and meeting with the doctor.  Long appointment, but all good news to report.  Won't know about the glucose test for a few days though.  

Little One:  Nerves are developing in baby's ears so he or she can hear us talking.   Baby probably measures about 14 inches and weighs 1 2/3 pounds.  They didn't check growth at the ultrasound today so this is just a guess from the baby books.  Little One did not enjoy the pictures today and was covering his/her face with hands, but finally showed the lips and nose which is what they needed to see today and everything looked fine.  

Momma:  I am feeling great and still loving every minute of this, I'd do this 10 more times if it weren't so expensive.  I felt a little sad today as this is probably the last time seeing baby until he or she is on the outside.  I should be happy that I am finally just a regular patient, but I got used to the extra testing and looks at the beginning of this process.  

Daddy found out the gender of the baby yesterday, well it's just a prediction from his grandma, but she sounded pretty for sure yesterday when we visited.  She said she can tell by looking at me (keep in mind she can't see very well and the first time I met her years ago she said, "I can see she has a pink shirt on, but I can't see if she's cute").  It was pretty funny how sure she was and she whispered it to Gav because she knows I don't want to find out.  Today after the ultrasound baby was giving me some big kicks, I suppose trying to get comfy again after being pushed on for the pictures.  There in the waiting room on the 6th floor, daddy felt baby for the first time!

26 weeks 1 day

    

Kids Say the Funniest Things

A couple comedians in my classroom today.  My students seem to just be figuring out that I am pregnant.  Tuesday someone said something about "Sarah's baby" and one of my kids touched my belly and said "baby."  So cute.  Today's comments I didn't find as cute, but all I can do is laugh.

We were just starting math today and one of my students said, "Sarah kind of looks like a turkey."  She didn't stop there; she put her hands on her hips, stuck her belly out, and made turkey sounds.  She did say she was just joking.  A couple hours later, an aide in my room (also named Sarah) came back to the room and  said one of the kids asked about me.  She joked with him and said, "no I'm Sarah."  To which he said, "not you, big Sarah."  

We laughed in my classroom a lot today!

Weeks 24 and 25

Sorry for my absence on the blog.  My aunts must be going crazy wondering where I've been and Gavin is sure I lost some readers.  I hope not and thanks for still checking in.  Everything is fine here, just had a busy couple weeks.  Two weekends ago we went on a hockey trip.  There were 11 of us in a van and we traveled 6 hours for a couple games.  This is where baby turned 24 weeks.  We ended up getting stormed in about 2 hours from home on Sunday and had to stay in a hotel another night.   It was a great trip.

Here is the latest for weeks 24 / 25.

Little one:  Moving and kicking and letting mama know that everything is just fine.  Baby is about 13 and a half inches long and weighing 1 and a half pounds.  Now is when baby will be fattening up.  Little one is also growing hair and if we could see it, we would be able to know the hair color.  I'm sure everyone is wondering, is baby a red head?!

Mama:  That 6 hour van ride gave me some swollen ankles and I was worried I'd be needing special socks already.  Once I was back home and on my feet more, they are back to normal.  My books say that I could start to feel a little less graceful about this time in pregnancy.  I think that's about right because things were a little harder at yoga on Sunday afternoon.  The instructor said I did great modifying the poses; that's a nice way to put it.  However on our trip, Gavin said he saw me jumping over some puddles looking really graceful!  Maybe he wasn't being serious though.  I still kind of thought maybe strangers couldn't tell I was pregnant unless I had on tighter clothes, but at the hockey game some guy said congrats to us and I was wearing  2 shirts, a sweatshirt, and 2 coats (all the warm clothes that fit me at a cold game).

Daddy still grabs my stomach and says, "I can't believe there is a baby in there" but isn't patient enough to wait to feel movement.  As soon as he takes his hands away, there is a kick.

Baby gear:  Making a few purchases when we find some sales.  We have a car seat and monitors and we just ordered a crib.  We are very lucky and have several friends giving us other baby gear.  That's the nice part about having kids after everyone else.  Also finding some random little clothes on the sale racks too.  Now we just need a house to put it in.  

Appointments:  We have another ultrasound on Monday.  I will also do the glucose test and we will meet with the doctor that same day.  I will post after that.  Hopefully with 3D pics of a cute little face!

24 weeks - Baby's first outdoor hockey game!

 

We've Got Movement

Saturday morning I was laying in bed reading and I felt our little one, finally!  Felt like a bubble moving or sliding around.  As the day went on, I felt it a few more times.  A little more movement Sunday morning and each day since then.   It's the greatest feeling in the world and I just keep thinking how I wasn't sure if I would ever feel this.  Hubby is a little jealous, but hopefully he can feel  our little one soon.

Do I Think About the Donor?

Thank you "No Good Eggs" for finding and following my blog and for commenting.  On my last post you asked if I think about my donor, so I decided to post about it.  It made me reflect on this part of our journey and I appreciate that.  All my best for your upcoming cycle!

I first started to think about our donor when we got the packet of her information in the mail last July.  We read through it several times, memorized parts of it and decided to go ahead with the match.  We even named her Donna the Donor to make it easier to talk about her.  As the process got going last summer I thought of her often:  Was she taking her meds?  Was her body responding?  How were her check-ups going?  Was she feeling ok?  Is she as cute as me?  I wasn't worried about her taking care of herself like eating right and exercising, because she's a personal trainer so I figured she was doing a better job of that than I would do.  I think Gav just kept thinking "thank goodness she's probably more athletic than my wife as a personal trainer."  When it was the day of her retrieval, we joked about hanging around the clinic parking lot to see if we could see her and tell her to do a good job.    

Then, the day of the transfer came.  The embryologist brought in the embryo information and went over it with us.  I thought of her then as I heard how many eggs they retrieved and how many fertilized.  I cried because I was expecting more.  I wasn't mad at her, but it wasn't how I thought it would go.  Now, it doesn't really matter.  Then, I was in the stirrups and the embryos were in me, it wasn't her anymore, in that very moment.  It was Gavin, me, and our babies.  My body was in charge now.  Honestly from that moment, I haven't thought about the donor.  It's like my mind and body just took over in caring for this baby, it was mine.  Of course we are so grateful for what she put her body through to give us this pregnancy.  Our clinic supports and will help in sending a letter when the baby comes and we will do this.  I can't imagine how I will put into words what she did for us in a thank you note, but we will do our best.  

I have thought that when the baby comes, I will think about the donor again.  I think my mind and my body take over again.  I'm not worried that I will have any regrets.  I think I will think about the donor when people ask who the baby looks like, but I won't feel hurt.  This is our story and I'm not ashamed, I'm proud that we took a chance for our family; that we went all in.  

Gavin has said a few times that he's worried that I will feel different when the baby comes and he's worried it will be hard for me.  I'm not sure if he thinks I'll just be staring at the wall, crying, rocking, and mumbling, or what he thinks.  I try and reassure him that if I was ever worried, I would have never gone ahead with this.

A few weeks ago, a fb friend posted baby pictures of her, her husband, and their baby all at about the same age.  I did think, "wouldn't make sense for us to do this one."  It didn't make me sad, just made me smile.