Baby Shower for Babykins and 30 weeks+ 5 Days

Well, a friend of mine hosted the baby shower and did a wonderful job. Here are some of the pictures.

                                     A beautiful flower arrangement my friend, Judy, made.

                                                                     Me and Ralph

                                                                     Gift Opening

                                                                        Food Table

                                                                 The Unisex Cake

                                                       Me and the Baby Daddy!! LOL!!

                                                The person that guessed closest the number of  M&M's won a prize. We had lots of fun and we appreciate our friends that helped us celebrate.

So Many Things to Do!!

Well, we were 27 weeks yesterday and I realize there is so much left to do. I still need to make the art for the nursery and hang it, wash all of the baby clothes, pack Babykins suitcase, make a baby project that I can't disclose yet and also attempt to start wading through the paper work requirements for India so we can get a head start on putting it together.  I have chatted online with Michael, of the blog "Michael's Surrogacy Journey in India" and he had been a wealth of info. and advice for the exit process/requirements. Thank God for Michael and our SCI family that provides advice and support.

Friends at church are hosting a baby shower for Babykins on Sunday. I am excited. There will be food and games and gifts, so it should be fun. I will post pics.

I have heard that some of the other IP's, specifically those in Canada, have been harassed while attempting to obtain visas. Shame on these workers for subjecting those that have already suffered so much the pain and embarrassment of unnecessary harassment. Is it so difficult to disagree respectfully? What comes around goes around.

Nothing else new, just trying to tie up loose ends. 90 days until our due date!! WoooHoooo!!! TTYS

 

25 Weeks Today!!!

YAY!!!! We are 25 weeks today!!! Sorry I haven't posted sooner, but Summer is the time of year when things get busy for us. Our oldest son is here visiting from Washington D.C. and we have spent the last couple of weeks cleaning house, straightening the garage, getting the guest room ready for him, working, sorting, cleaning, etc. Ralph hasn't been that excited about all of the to-do lists, but we are now finished and enjoying the visit. Jared (Oldest son) has said he is very excited about the baby. I know he will be the best big brother, ever. He is going to record himself and his wife reading story books to Babykins and then he will mail the books to us and this will be a way to develop a relationship long distance. Considering he is an actor, I know it will be better than most kid's shows. Babykins is lucky to have a big brother like him!! We are so grateful, happy, excited, and any other happy emotion you can think of to know that very soon Babykins will be here in our arms!! We will now be transitioning to getting things ready for arrival. Still so much to do, but it is an amazingly happy chore!! The clinic has asked permission to post some of our story/info. on their blog. If they do post any pics, I will be sure and repost here. Here is a pic of Babykins soon to be big brother with us. Have a great day!! Will try to post more often. <3

22 Weeks today!!

Well, today we are 22 weeks pregnant!! Praise the Lord for his blessings!! We are so happy and excited in knowing that every day we are a little closer to bringing Babykins home. I ordered the Baby Brezza Formula Pro to use here at home as I think it will make middle of the night feedings a bit more convenient. I also found out that Costco is having a huge diaper sale and the size 1-2 diapers are 14.99 each (Reg. 19.99 each), limit 2 boxes, so we are going to go a buy 2 boxes each and then go back later and get 2 more each. That should hold us off for a little while. A friend of ours that has gone to India and is using SCI took our surrogate some candy from us, a card and a coloring book and crayons for her children. She looked good, though a bit shy. I couldn't see much of her belly as the tops are very loose and large. I can't wait until we receive the next scan, which should be sometime during week 23 or 24, so not too much longer to wait. We are just so thankful for SCI and all they are doing!!! They are really fantastic.

We sent our next to last payment today. WooooHoooo!!! It will feel great when all remaining expenses are those we incur to get Babykins home. We still have to send payment to the DNA company in September and they will then mail the DNA kit to India. It cannot be sent any earlier than 4 weeks prior to birth as the consulate will not keep them for longer than 4 weeks. Not certain why, but that is what they told me.

This picture is a decoration I bought for the nursery.

Hope you all have a blessed and wonderful day!! Believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ, know his laws and obey them and you will be saved and he will bless you for your love and obedience!! Have a great week. TTYS <3

20 Weeks Yesterday!! :)

Well, we hit the half way mark yesterday, YAY!!!! We are so happy and excited. A quick update: The head Obstetrician conducted a more detailed scan and determined that there is a "tiny" Echogenic Cardiac Focus present, but all remaining parameters are completely normal. Praise the Lord!! God is soooo good!! Babykins and surrogate are doing well!!!! One of our friends that is also using SCI and has just traveled over to start self cycling and she has offered to take a gift for us to Mary. We can't wait to get another photo and see how she looks. I found an interesting chart on google showing weeks til viality outside the womb. We obviously want Babykins to stay as long as possible, but we did find this chart interesting. 3 more weeks until our next scan. We can't wait.

19 Weeks Yesterday!!

Well, we received our 3D scan and Babykins looks amazing. It seems as if there is an echo image on the side of her head. She doesn't really have an eye socket on the side of her head! LOL!! We were told that the ultrasound has detected a small echogenic intracardiac focus. They said this does occur quite often and is no major concern due to the fact that no "soft markers" are present. They are going to perform an additional ultrasound and let us know the result. We have prayed to the Lord for complete health for Babykins and God is in control and given us complete peace and assurance that Babykins is just fine. I love this 3D picture and I wish they were much larger and more plentiful. Mommy and Daddy love you Babykins!!! <3 <3

18 Weeks Today!! YAY!

Well, today we are 18 weeks pregnant!! We are sooooo happy!! We received an email informing us that our surrogate was iron deficient and the high dose oral iron tablets were making her sick, so iron transfusions are required. We feel terrible that she is having to go through this, but apparently iron deficiency causes fatigue and I am sure she is anxious to feel better. She has had no adverse reactions to the treatments, thank the Lord. Sometime between weeks 18 and 22 we are supposed to receive a 3D ultrasound. We are very anxious to receive it. We are praying for Babykins and our surrogate daily.

We haven't worked on the nursery recently as we have been really busy with work. We still need to change the ceiling fan and Ralph is going to put a custom closet in the unit on the closet to make additional space. Hopefully we can get to it in the next few weeks.

We still need to find a pediatrician. We have been given the names of a couple of doctors that our friends use. One doctor is located in the next town over, but his physician's assistant lives here locally. We were told that the PA will make a home visit if the baby gets sick in the off hours. If we like the physician, we will probably use him so we can have the convenience of house calls.

Please keep praying for Babykins and Mary. We will post the 3D scan as soon as we receive it.