Status Update

Not sure if Baby Mama has been intending to post an update with our great news.

But in the event she doesn't in a while, the good news is we had a son born earlier this month (April '13). He weighed in over 8# and 21" long.

He is a 4th IVF attempt for us, first with donor egg & sperm.

Mom & baby healthy. Of course there's more to the story, but that's the quick recap.

Two answers for you though:
1) was the $70k on IVF worth it?
Absolutely. Nothing smells like a warm, relaxed, sleepy baby.

2) do I think of this baby, that I share no genes with, my own?
Absolutely. I cut his cord. I changed his first diaper. I was there from the minute he took his first breath and first cry.

38 weeks tomorrow

Where has the time gone??? Only a couple weeks to go...if baby waits that long, which I hope he will. I hope he is born on his due date, April 1st. Just seems right. We have been busy this past 2 weeks to get baby's room done and it's just about there. Daddy built the crib and changing table and Mommy put up the monkey decals. Just about all we have left to buy is a comfy, rocker recliner which we can't seem to find.

Finally got our hospital bags packed and an outfit to bring our little monkey home in. We are excited to meet him, but Mommy still not ready for him to leave her tummy. I have had excessive swelling and major hip pain these past couple weeks so leaving work earlier than anticipated. Only 1 more day in the office. Probably a good thing for me to rest up before baby comes. Still so hard to believe I am finally becoming a mommy...especially after all these years and attempts to get pregnant. Feels like all has finally fallen into place. Love my baby daddy and his girls and the home we have together. Everything feels right...just need to come up with a name for our little guy.

36w1d

Had a baby shower for baby on Saturday. It was great, but went by so fast. Going to keep the decorations up for a little while to remember it. Lots of people excited to meet this little one. Baby Daddy and I are now busily focused on getting things ready for baby room. Bought car seat, stroller, pack-n-play, closet organizer and odds and ends this weekend.

Had 36 week appointment today and I am just less than 1cm dialated and 50% effaced. Doc says that is good for this point and still planning for birth right around due date. Next goals are to:
-Go on hospital tour on Friday
-Get maternity pics on Saturday
-Pack hospital bags for all of us soon!

I am excited to meet baby too, but still feel like I want more time with him in my tummy. Despite the discomforts, I like him there. It took so long to get him there that I don't want to let go of this part of the journey just yet. Most recent discomforts are the swollen feet and ankles. No shoes fit and can't stand for more than a few minutes without it being painful. Trying to keep up on water intake, but not my strength.

Hard to believe this pregnancy will be over in just about 4 weeks. It's gone by way too fast. Kinda makes me sad thinking this will likely be my only pregnancy.

29w2d Update

Wow, it's been some time since I've taken the time to write a post. A lot has happened over the past couple months. Baby is growing bigger and bigger and so is Mommy. It's gotten hard to do things like bend over and tie my shoes. My breathing is strained and Daddy says I now snore...he's even recorded me several times to prove it to me. I think he's downloaded a Darth Vadar clip from the Internet, but he swears it's really me.

Just before Christmas, we had a scare when I went to the bathroom and had some blood. Called doctor who wanted to see me to make sure all was ok. Quick trip to ER showed that all was well with baby, but that I had hemorroids! The joys of pregnany, they call it.

Last week I got a positive result on my glucose test which meant I had to do 3-hour test to confirm gestational diabetes. Luckily that result came back negative.

I've gained about 22lbs so far, which doc says is too much. I'm trying to ncrease my fruits and veggies, cut down on carbs and sugar (which is hard with Daddy around) and increase my excercise from non-existent to 20-30 mins every other day or so.

We still haven't decided on a name for baby, but have a list of about 10 names. Our frontrunner had been Cooper for some time until we came across Ryder. We were at an Arts and Crafts fair at the beginning of December and we were looking at personalized pictures when I saw the name Ryger on one of them. We hadn't thought of or considered that name. I immediately liked it, but Daddy was hesitant. The next day I left on a trip to Mexico with Grandma and during the trip two things happened. One: Amy G. sent me a text suggesting the name Ryder. I thought for sure Daddy put her up to it, but they both claim they hadn't spoken. Two: On the plane ride home, I sat next to a woman who I ended up chatting with the whole flight. Turns out her daughter was pregnant and her grandson, who was sitting behind me, was named Ryder. It seemed meant to be. That seems to be our new frontrunner, but still no decisions. Daddy has affectionately been referring to baby as "Buster" which has caught on and now all of us call him that too.

We finally sold the condo this past week and have rented a house that we will move into in February. We are super excited to have more room...room for baby, the girls and all of us and our stuff. I'm doing my "nesting" and driving Daddy crazy by wanting to go shopping all the time to get everything we need to make the house our home.

We've now taken several pregnancy classes including starting our 6-week series on birthing, a car seat class and infant safety and CPR. In the first week of the birth class we watched a video of a mom going through birth naturally and I bawled the whole way through it. Not entirely sure why but I think it's because it all became real and she ended up with a healthy baby, which is what we have wanted for so long.

We started doing kick counts last week and baby is averaging 10 kicks in about 20-45 minutes. Reassuring for me.

I am enjoying being pregnant and really don't want it to end. Even though I am anxious to meet baby, I love having him in my tummy. Especially knowing this is probably the only time I will be pregnant. We have about 10 weeks to go and I feel like it's gone by so fast. Trying to savor every minute.

Feeling baby for first time and feeling thankful

Everyone has been asking me if I've been feeling baby move. I had been having some "weird" feelings off and on, but none that I could distinctly say were baby. And, of course, the more people ask, the more worried I've gotten. Until this weekend...Daddy put his hand on my belly one night and we felt baby move for the first time. Very cool...and reassuring. Something to truly be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend.

20 weeks - a boy's due in April!

Short update: we've been successful with this 4th round using donor egg and sperm. Baby and mom healthy with due date of April 1st.

Loving Her More Each Day

Baby Mamma is getting into this role more each day. She's welcoming (best word I could find, maybe "accepting" is better) the changes to her body and our budget and lifestyle.

This has been a tough journey so far but I know more is to come. I just know she is going to be a great mamma since she has a deep appreciation for the absurdities of life, in a calm moment she accepts the flaws of humanity, and she embraces the lessons of the journey.

This is why I love her endlessly without bounds.

- Baby Daddy