Thursday, April 24, 2014

Our fun-filled Monday

This past Monday, April 21st, we had our big ultrasound and photo shoot.  The parents came down on Saturday, spent the weekend with family (we had lunch with them on Sunday), then left Tuesday morning.  So, let me tell you all about our Monday.

Monday morning, at 8:30 a.m., we had the ultrasound.  I scheduled it at the place I had my previous ultrasounds because I really like the technician I've always had there.  She's super sweet and she did the ultrasounds of the twins, too, until I had to start going to the hospital for them because I was having twins.  This pregnancy, she's put a lock on all the previous images so when I get closer to the end of the pregnancy, if I have another ultrasound, she'll put all of them onto a CD for the parents.  :-)  Anywho, we got there right on time and waited to be called back.  She came and got us, excited when she realized the parents were with me.  I had a really full bladder and apparently, it was TOO full, because after she checked my cervix on the screen, she had me go to the bathroom.  I just have to say, thank GOD.  I was much more comfortable the rest of the ultrasound.

We got down to it and she started measuring the baby's various parts.  We got hands, fingers, legs, toes, feet, etc.  And, the baby made sure we knew he was a boy.  That's right.  This kid spread his legs wide open and let it allll hang out.  We all started laughing and the tech caught a picture for the parents.  It turns out, he's measuring right on time, except for his femur, which is measuring about 2 weeks AHEAD of my due date.  He may be a tall kiddo.  I'm cool with that and so are his parents.  They're excited he's right on schedule.

Well, hello, baby!

 The parents and I parted for the rest of the day until we had the photo shoot at 4:30.  Unfortunately, we got stuck in traffic, so we didn't get to the location until about 4:50.  We had it done at Wekiwa Springs State Park here in Central Florida.  We had a fantastic time.  The photographer is a friend of mine and always does an amazing job, but this time, she went above and beyond.  We've all gotten so many compliments on the pictures.  If you'd like to check them out, go here: A Surrogacy Story.  Here are a couple sneak peeks of the pictures.

The light of my life

The photographer made the signs.  She was amazing.  :-D

The mom and I


Oh, and I found out today I've lost 3.2 pounds in the last week.  Apparently, overhauling my eating and getting out there to run/walk more has just turned my system completely around.  I'm going to call my doctor, just to make sure it's okay and see if there's a point where I should be concerned about any weight loss.  I'm optimistic, though.  Oh, and on a completely random note, 2 MORE WEEKS TIL OHIO!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Yahoo!!!!

Today was my monthly check-up at my doctor's office.  Baby is doing very well, with a regular heartbeat and a very active little body.  It took the doctor a couple minutes to find him.  Of course, I knew he was active, since he likes to kick me at midnight every night.  Hopefully he'll kick on Sunday or Monday during the day so the parents can see it or feel it.  The ultrasound is on Monday morning.  It's the first time they'll get to see their kiddo live.  :-D 

I had some really good news at the appointment.  As you may remember, in January, I ran a half marathon.  Well, I walked a lot more than I ran.  However, it caused some issues and I was told then that I was unable to run at all during the rest of my pregnancy.  I would only be allowed to walk 2-3 miles a day.  While it hurt, I understood why.  Last month, my doctor increased it to 4-5 miles, still walking.  Today, I hesitantly broached the subject of being allowed to do intervals again, running 30 seconds, walking for a minute to a minute and a half.  You know what the doc said?  YES!  I'm so thrilled.  Listening to my body will be crucial, obviously, as well as walking more than I'm running.  I'm just so glad I can run again at all.  It will help in my training once I have the little munchkin.

On another note, yesterday was the 1-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.  My friend Kirsten and I went out there and did 4 miles to honor the victims and survivors.  It felt amazing to get out and go, especially since she was nice enough to turn around and come back to me whenever she finished her running intervals.  We ran for those who could no longer run.  We ran for those who are no longer with us.  We ran because we will never forget.



We are #BostonStrong
One day, I would love to run in the Boston Marathon.  I won't be fast enough to qualify until I'm like 80, but I may join a charity one year. As a runner, it would be an honor to run in one of the most elite marathons in the country.  As a human being, I'm fairly certain it would be just an incredible experience to witness the support given by the community and the country.

That's all for now.  If I'm able to, I'll post about the ultrasound on Monday and maybe there will be some pictures in there, too.  :-D


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Are you serious?!

You know how a lot of pregnant women get cravings?  And some of those cravings are for really strange things?  I don't get the strange things cravings, but I do get cravings.  With my son, it was Taco Bell.  With the twins, it was chicken and mashed potatoes.  With this kid?  It's SUGAR.  That's right.  I constantly want sweet food.  It's annoying, really, because if I'm not careful, I could end up getting gestational diabetes.

Oh, and every woman gains weight while pregnant, even if only a few pounds.  That's pretty normal.  With my son, I gained 40.  With the twins, 15-20.  With this kid?  30, and we're not even halfway through the pregnancy.  Honestly, I stepped on the scale the other day, saw that number, and almost cried.  I know it's my fault, because I haven't made the best food choices and I haven't been exercising as much as I did before I got pregnant.  Honestly, I'm always tired.  The baby is still sapping all of my energy from me.  But, that has all changed.  Yesterday, we did our big grocery shopping and at least 90% of it was healthy food.  I'm cutting sweets out and tracking my calories.

A great tool I love for tracking my calories is MyFitnessPal.  I used it when I was trying to lose weight and it really helped to see what I was getting from each food in terms of daily amounts of fiber and protein, etc.  Now, I use it to make sure I'm getting the correct amount of nutrients.  Unfortunately, there's no option to say "I'm pregnant", but I know how many calories I SHOULD be consuming, so I just add that number to the number they've already given me.  I started tracking today and you know what I found out?  I don't even eat all the calories they give me, much less any extra.  I'm going to have to start eating more, as long as it's healthy.  Fruits and veggies are delicious and will become more of a staple in my diet than they already are.

I've also decided to go back to my exercise routine that I followed while trying to lose weight.  I won't be focusing on increasing my speed or anything since I can't run, but walking for 30 or so minutes 3 times a week and then a 5-mile walk on the weekends will do me a world of good.  My biggest problem will be maintaining all of this while I'm up in Ohio for Mother's Day.  However, I'm confident my friends will help.  :-)  A lot of this is a mental thing and I just have to keep at it.  I didn't quit when trying to lose weight and I'm not going to quit now.  This is too important, especially for the parents.  Their baby deserves the best care I can give him and gosh darn it, I'm going to do the best I can for him.  If you have any recipes that can be made up to a week in advance (for meal planning), please pass them along!  I would really appreciate it!