No second parent adoption for us! :)

Petition of Assisted Conception Birth Registration, apparently since we live in PA we can do this instead of second parent adoption! Which is much much much cheaper! Basically this is the process: First, they will send affidavits to the Cryobank and our RE, the Cryobank just basically confirming that we used a donor sperm, and the RE confirming that it was my wife's eggs that I am carrying. Then they will send us an affidavit confirming the same thing. Then they will attach the affidavits to a court order stating that we both have a relationship to the child as me being the birth mother and my wife being the biological mother and a judge will sign it approving the whole thing. Then we will have the signed court orders and will need to contact the hospital ahead of time so they get their stuff together (so they won't screw up the birth certificate). All of that being said, it's obviously less painful than a second parent adoption because of the ridiculous things that they require like home studies. It's also a lot cheaper, I think we will pay around $800 (compared to close to $5,000). And we will be parent and parent on Reese's birth certificate. Also, everything will take place before she is even born, I know with second parent adoption you have to wait until after they are born.

I e-mailed the law group in Harrisburg today, I will also call today. I am hoping all goes well with this. Especially because we are delivering at a Catholic hospital. I can see the issue being with the birth certificate. But with the court order I hope they understand they will be in violation of the law if they refuse to assign the birth certificate as "parent and parent."

Here is more information: http://www.pasurrogacy.com/Surrogacy_and_the_Law.html

I RECOMMEND TO ANY OF THOSE DOING RECIPROCAL IVF TO CHECK OUT THE LAW IN THEIR STATE!

25 weeks 4 days

Nothing too new here. I found myself clothes shopping again for the princess though lol. The picture below was from a consignment shop. I also got a ton of cute clearance items from Old Navy that I didn't take pictures of, but it's all adorable :)! Today was the follow up US from the anatomy scan. They got better views today since Reese wasn't as crazy lol. Everything looked great! She was measuring right on track, 1lb 12oz! Judging by the photos we got this little peanut has my wife's nose for sure! Lol which is great because I was hoping she would :)! I tried uploading a video of my belly, Reese was kicking so hard that she moved my belly! But it won't work. Also, I have had a few follow up tests. Pneumonia is completely gone, potassium is still low. So, now I am taking a daily potassium supplement and they will follow my levels.

C's favorite is the Puma outfit lol

Totally C's nose :)!

Waving her hand :)

Creepy face shot

I remember her profile being much smaller!

Another creepy face shot!

Here is a belly shot from the other day at the dog park lol, it works as a good table

Finally 24 weeks!

You can really see the pregnancy mask in this picture (brown patches)

Bare belly (note stretch mark on bottom right, oh and keloid scar from diagnostic laproscopy three years ago!)

On a good note, I am feeling much better! I have been taking the daily  potassium pills to help increase my potassium level (it was low), as well as the daily antibiotic for the pneumonia. I can finally breathe and sleep normally again, woo-hoo! I go to see my cardiologist tomorrow with my wife (she is not happy with the care he has provided thus far... we may be switching soon). Sadly, my family and I said our final goodbyes to my Uncle Mike yesterday... I just hope he has found the peace he couldn't find while living. Otherwise nothing else new... next ultrasound is on August 27th :)!

How far along? 24 weeks

How big is baby? Rutabaga

Total weight gain/loss: Up 13lbs

Maternity Clothes: Same old same old

Have you started to show yet? Oh yes.... started Bio-Oil for small stretch marks starting up

Sleep: C and I have discovered the secret to get me good sleep :)

Best moment this week: Feeling her kicks getting stronger

Miss Anything? Nope

Movement: She is such a little mover!

Food Cravings: Slurpee

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nope

Gender prediction: It is a GIRL

Symptoms: Ankle swelling still in effect, pregnancy mask, stretch marks... oh my!

Major purchases this week?  C bought an area rug for Reese's room

Restless night and eventful morning

So, I didn't much sleep at all last night. I was super short of breath, have been for three days now but it was worse overnight. I thought maybe the chest tightness was from pregnancy/baby growing... so at first I chalked it out to be nothing. But once I started loosing sleep regardless of my position I knew something wasn't right. I decided to give a call to my cardiologist, who told me to go to the ER.

When I got to the ER they took my vitals and did an EKG, which showed an abnormal rhythm but not atrial fibrillation (like I expected). They also drew blood for labs, got a chest x-ray and Cat Scan with dye. They covered up the baby with lead for the radiology and the dye doesn't cross the placenta. They wanted to rule out a clot in my lung. Which it turns out I did not have. However my heart rate was sitting in the 40's (my normal is 60 - 70's). I was having a lot of premature ventrical beats... which turns out to have been from a low potassium level. And the shortness of breath turned out to be Pneumonia in my right lower lung.

My cardiologist wants to see me Friday rather than Monday now. He no long thinks I need the aspirin since I am out of atrial fibrilltion. And even thought my heart rate was so low my blood pressure was normal, so he wants me to stay on the beta blocker doses. So I was discharged from the ER with a potassium supplement script and a script for an antibiotic. Thankfully my wife left work to be with me... poor girl I worried her a bit. But it's all okay now. I am glad to have answers.... now if I could only get rest. I am still amazed that none of this has effected Reese... and very thankful for that.

Well, until next time blogland!

Nesting in full effect

Well nesting has officially sunk in. I'll admit we went a little over board with the amount of clothes we have bought so far lol. But hey a little girl can never get enough clothes can she? Most of the stuff still needs to be washed but I wanted to organize it all first. We also a stock pile of diapers, enough to last her until she is almost potty trained lol. I figure hey might as well go coupon crazy now while we have time! Plus I didn't want to register for diapers. I can't wait until our baby shower which will be sometime this fall :)! I'm craving fall weather, it's my favorite season. I love the hayrides, apple cider, hot coco etc.

Organized drawer by size and then separated bodysuits from separates (shirts/onsies and pants)

Bows, headbands, and hats :)

These outfits will stay in the closet since they're matching sets, and yes we even bought a halloween costume on clearance before we were pregnant! Lol

 

We bought this down the shore, a huge bib, I love it!

Blankets

More blankets :)

Bath stuff :)

 

One of the bed sets, we got it on clearance for $60! (other one is on pottery barn registry)

Medela pump, bottles galore, and diapers/wipes

The diaper/wipe collection lol

And more....

Ugh and finally the 23 week picture, I look like a COW and feel like one too!

How far along? 23 weeks 2 days 

How big is baby? Ear of corn

Total weight gain/loss: Up 13lbs, EEK!

Maternity Clothes: Got a few more tank tops :)

Have you started to show yet? Oh yes.... started Bio-Oil for small stretch marks starting up

Sleep: I have busted out the pregnancy pillow, but once I change positions it's game over lol

Best moment this week: C feeling our baby girl kick :)

Miss Anything? A normal heart rate lol

Movement: Non-stop, she is crazy!

Food Cravings: Ice cream

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nada

Gender prediction: It is a GIRL

Symptoms: Ankle swelling still in effect

Major purchases this week?  Well as you can see from above....

Uneasy & 23 weeks tomorrow

Uneasy is definitely one way to describe my feelings lately.

Today is day four of wearing the cardiac monitor and every single day I have gotten a phone call from my cardiologist. The cardiac monitoring group has capture many events and the most severe so far has been my heart rate at 180 beats per minute on Tuesday. So, my cardiologist has increased my medication to twice a day. I started the new dose Tuesday evening and while I still feel the AFIB, my heart rate seems to be under control. Also, on Tuesday we saw the Perinatalogist, who was awesome and basically said we are doing all the right things and that the baby will most likely be unaffected by the treatment.

Well that was until today..... My cardiologist called me this morning and wants me to start taking a 325mg aspirin daily (since I have been mostly in AFIB). Me, being a NICU nurse knows this is not good for the baby at all. Major risks like low amniotic fluid and premature closure of the hole in the heart (PDA). So, I put a call out to the perinatalogist again and he personally returned my call very promptly (which was great!). He feels as though if I need to be on a blood thinner for risk of clotting while in AFIB, he wants to start with an 81mg dose of aspirin. The lower dose poses less risk to Reese. Another idea is possibly subcutaneous lovenox. So, I am waiting to hear back from my cardiologist and hopefully we can find a happy medium. I think I am even more nervous about all of this because Reese is not even viable yet. Not that I am hoping for a 24 week baby but I would feel much better if she had at least a 50% chance of survival versus a 30% chance (right now). I hope this week flies by, tomorrow with be 23 weeks.

My mid-wife is thankfully still comfortable with seeing us! I need to go back for another US on August 27th since Reese was such a wiggle worm last time. Sounds good to me :). They just need to get better views of her heart and palate (no issues just need clarity). Also, I found my first stretch marks! Very small and pinkish. So, I invested in Bio-Oil. Who knows whether it will help, but I am willing to try!

On another uneasy note... I got a call from my mother today that my uncle hung himself. My poor grandmother found him. I have to say I feel sad... but mostly for my grandmother, my mom and his siblings, as well as his poor children. He has struggled with depression since the age of 17. And on top of that he has had drug and alcohol problems for a long while now. My mom and grandmother have tried so hard to help him in the last few months, between moving him to Philly from Arizona, putting him in rehab etc. Nothing has helped. My mom tried to 302 him the other day and my poor grandmom feel for his tricks again and they let him go with her. And now today she was faced with the seen she will never be able to forget. It's truly terrible what addiction can do. I feel terrible for all of the people he left behind. I also feel for him, it's a shame he could never get ahold of his problems, and even more sad that he felt compelled to take his own life.

22 weeks 3 days

So I will start with telling you how awesome vacation was! I definitely needed the week away from home. We had a pretty amazing week down the shore, only one rainy day. I have to say it was tough not being able to do the rides but worth missing out for Reese. We went to the water park one day and I did not do any of the crazy slides (or so I thought). I was just a nervous wreck the whole time. I did three water slides, and the tube slides were awesome.... but the body slide was a big mistake! It scared the crap out of me. One of the fast turns shifted my uterus over and I swore in my head that it hurt Reese. But I was wrong she is perfectly fine (we checked with the doppler later that day). Other than that we stayed pretty low key.. did bingo one night, and walked the boards on other nights. Our rainy day consisted of indoor glow golf :)! 

With vacation came a new pregnancy symptom.... ankle swelling! I can press my ankle and it will leave a mark for 15 minutes! Yeah pretty bad.... and believe it or not keeping hydrated does not help. The ONLY thing that has helped is elevation.

Today I had my Anatomy Scan, it was so awesome to see how big Reesie Cup got! She is measuring right on track, 1 pound 2 ounces. She is such a little mover.... the poor ultrasound tech could barely get her job done! She is a strong little babe, her kicks are getting harder and harder and I love it! Everything looked great with her today, which was music to my ears.  Tomorrow I see the pernatalogist and my Midwife. The pernatalogist will hopefully be helpful with the management of my AFIB, because this new beta blocker is not working :(! Thankfully I see my midwife after so I can update her... and see how much weight I've gained because I feel like a house!

21 weeks

Me and my wife

22 weeks

Today I had my Anatomy Scan, it was so awesome to see how big Reesie Cup got! She is measuring right on track, 1 pound 2 ounces. She is such a little mover.... the poor ultrasound tech could barely get her job done! She is a strong little babe, her kicks are getting harder and harder and I love it! Everything looked great with her today, which was music to my ears.  Tomorrow I see the pernatalogist and my Midwife. The pernatalogist will hopefully be helpful with the management of my AFIB, because this new beta blocker is not working :(! Thankfully I see my midwife after so I can update her... and see how much weight I've gained because I feel like a house!

22 weeks 3 days, Anatomy Scan

22 weeks 3 days, Anatomy Scan

Today the cardiac monitor came in the mail. I will need to where this for one week, 24/7 except when I shower. It's not very comfortable.... and very temperamental. I can hit a button when I feel symptoms, which is good. Hopefully this will help my cardiologist figure out a better plan for me. I am pretty certain I am not consistently in AFIB.. but this will tell for sure.

The most recent addition to my body for the next week

How far along? 22 weeks 3 days 

How big is baby? Papaya 

Total weight gain/loss: Up 5lbs

Maternity Clothes: Love them!

Have you started to show yet? Oh yes!

Sleep: Ehh this peeing every two hours is for the birds

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby girl today!

Miss Anything? Nope

Movement: Non-stop, she is crazy!

Food Cravings: Chocolate

Anything make you queasy or sick? Nada

Gender prediction: It is a GIRL

Symptoms: Ankle swelling

Major purchases this week?  Nothing too major, just cute little things for Reese from vacation (ornament, hair bows, cute bib etc)

I will update tomorrow when I hear more from the pernatalogist. I have been catching up on the blogs I follow, so awesome to see all of the updates!