Their Bun, in My Oven. My Surrogacy Journey!: ~31 Weeks~

Okay I have to post on time, this time! :)

This week has been a pretty good week, nice & short as well!! I took Monday off of work because there was just way too much to do in one day! I had a dentist appointment scheduled, Surrogacy Photo Shoot, Walk through with the hospital, and our 2 week Dr's Appt. Wooh.. It was a busy day!
B & C and little K were able to make the drive down! :) I met up with them at our photo shoot at 11 o'clock and it was a beautiful day!! We had an amazing & talented photographer. I cannot wait until we get the pics! I love that C wanted to do pictures of "Our Journey." I am going to cherish these moments for eternity..

After our photo shoot we were able to do a walk through with our hospital. I've had friends ask, "what for? You've had 6 kids, you know what to expect?" But honestly there is so much that is going to be different for us this time around. I want to make sure we have a Birth Plan. The staff needs to be aware of our situation. And I can only pray that they understand where C & I are both coming from. I may be the one in labor but I want them to include her in everything.

We've actually had some doctor appointments where they focus on me and not really acknowledge her. She is his Mommy, she will be loving him and taking care of him for all eternity. It makes me so sad. I wish she could experience everything that I am feeling.. pain, pressure, aches, heartburn and all.. :) (Love you C!) I know she would give anything in her power to be in my shoes. I just want both her & B to have the most amazing and positive experience they both could possibly have! I really felt awful on Monday because this little man was moving and I wanted her to experience that.. but the moment she felt him move it saddened me, it made me think of how lucky I am to experience this and how sad it probably made her. :( So.. this is why I want a birth plan.. so the hospital could include her and B in everything and they could all be aware that this is "their" baby, they have just as much say as if she was the one giving birth to this little miracle.

We were able to talk to the staff and are actually waiting for a call from the Head Nurse. Here are a few of our request I would like to have written in our Birth Plan: (I will post more later, once I've cleared them with B & C)

My number one thing... I do not want the Dr. or nurses to lay this little handsome miracle on my chest when he is born. I want B to be able to cut the cord and I want the staff to hand him to his parents.. But please don't rush him away. I want to lay there and cherish this moment. I want to see the expressions on their face, I want to witness the miracle I helped create.
If I have to have a c-section and they only allow one other person present, I would like it to be C.
I would like B & C to have their own room after delivery. I want them to be able to bond with him and if they have family coming to visit they could do it w/out interruptions. And I also want to be able to recover in my own room.
I would like B & C to both be provided with the wrist bands to identify who they are, Baby S's Parents.
I want all medical decisions for Baby S to be made by his parents.
I want all forms that have to be filled out by his parents to be filled out by B & C.

That's a start to our Birth Plan. There is a lot more that I haven't talked over with B & C yet. I just want everything to go so smoothly. :)

So after our walk through, B & C took me out to lunch (which I devoured) and Nick also met us there. It was so nice for the boys to catch up, and also nice C and I could sit down and have a nice conversation! We also decided to carpool together which was nice because we never seem to have enough time to just sit and visit. C brought up how I felt about induction, and this made me so happy! Not to be induced but just to have a plan. It overwhelms me to think they could miss the birth being so far away. So, we decided to ask the Dr. at our appointment. :)

Well wouldn't you know.. He was all for it! He doesn't like to induce any earlier then a week so that is good! He said Friday the 13th and C and I were like umm.. Maybe the 12th?? LOL Then I told him I'd like him to strip my membranes before having to use Pitocin and he was okay with that too! He said he could even strip them on the 11th to see if I go on my own and if not he will induce the next morning or the 13th. Nothing set in stone but it did take a whole week off from our due date! :) I guess we'll just wait and see how my body progresses these next few weeks!

Weight Gain: 16+2=18 lbs gained! And I'm actually okay with it!! :)

Cravings: Apples, Grapes, Bananas, Apple Juice, Ice, Cottage Cheese, Kneaders sandwiches and salads. Oh, and all kinds of soups!

Symptoms: Enormous amount of potty breaks! Heartburn, Pelvic Pressure, Backache, Swollen Feet, Trouble sleeping and Braxton Hicks.