Here's a 23 week baby bump shot:
This past month was fairly uneventful - which I suppose is a good thing as far as pregnancy is concerned. We had an appointment with my OB on Oct 3rd, and the intended parents (IPs) made the trip out from LA for it. It was great to see them again and for them to meet my doctor. My doctor is very excited about the surrogacy as well, she is young, which I think helps with being open minded to the whole idea. She was thrilled to meet the couple. The baby boy looked great on the ultrasound and his heart beat sounded strong. The IPs and I went out to eat afterwards and it was fun to listen to the parents-to-be discuss how much their life is about to change and how much they still need to prepare for baby. IM seems a little nervous about the baby, so I tried to reassure her that it will all be fine, and that her "mother's intuition" will kick in and she won't even realize it. The IPs are always so kind and grateful for the gift I am giving them. It makes me feel so blessed to have been matched with such a loving and deserving couple. I will always be thankful for that, as I know from my support group meetings that sometimes the matches don't always go well.
I got to meet up with my wonderful IPs again the following week for a follow-up appointment at the fetal monitoring clinic in LA where I had the amniocentesis done. Again, everything looked great, baby is growing on track and his heart looks good as well. Apparently babies conceived via IVF have a higher increase risk of a heart defect, but the doctor spent a lot of time focusing on the heart during the ultrasound and did not see anything abnormal. Sometimes a fetal echo cardiogram is ordered if there is something that doesn't look quite right on the scan.
Here's a 3D look at baby from 21 weeks, 5 days:
Another happy occurrence from the past month - my energy has come back! Or at least as much of it that can while still having two little ones to take after and a full time job to go to. My iron level was a tad low on one of my blood work checks, so I've been trying to eat more iron and I think that helps with my fatigue as well. Green (spinach) smoothies for breakfast! They really aren't as bad as they sound, I promise. ;)
Up next: Another OB appt on November 2nd!
~The Baby Fairy
