Saturday, Sept. 4

There were more contractions today with the pitocin but nothing significant enough to kick real labor into process.  The fact that they were more consistent shows that pitocin receptors are being put in place and now recognizing signals.  It was explained to me that  Enzo basically is in charge of the environment of the uterus and unless he gives signals to the cervix to thin and dilate it won’t, especially since we are at a gestation where the receptors haven’t been fully developed yet.  So, while it feels like a failed induction it really isn’t and at least there was some progress in the contracting patterns today.

Tomorrow there is a plan with different medicine to soften the cervix and a technique to thin it.

A day ago there was hope that the pitocin would just do the job because I have an experienced uterus.  The uterus wasn’t fooled into changing from the state it is actually supposed to be in and while that is frustrating, it is just going to take a little longer.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the day but if it isn’t, it is just another day of priming the cervix and we will be back to the pitocin drip for twelve hours on Monday. This will continue until Enzo comes or gives indication that he is no longer safe and needs to be removed in surgery. 

I think it is easy for some to say just have a c-section and be done with this.  First, I think America has way too lax of an attitude about surgery and the complications that can come with surgery.  Thankfully most OB doctors still view surgery as a last resort in most cases.  I didn’t get to choose whose care I was placed under here at the hospital but it is clear they don’t subscribe to elective c-sections and aren’t going to rush Enzo and I into anything that isn’t medically necessary.  Sure I would like this to be over with, Enzo in his mom and dad’s arms, me back home to my family but I’m not going to increase my risk unless Enzo is at risk, which at this time nothing indicates that he is.  I think we are doing a fine job of walking the line between being proactive and involved without creating unnecessary drama.  Even if this were my own baby I wouldn’t be signing myself up for a c-section and thankfully amidst nonprofessional pressure neither is Lucy urging me to.

Has being in the hospital this past week been hard? Yes.  It has been hard for both Lucy and I to be away from our kids and family. It is hard to keep work responsibilities running smooth when your limited to a certain location. It is hard to not be the one who takes care of the things you normally take care of.  It is hard to make decisions, critically think through things, and quickly educate yourself on your own situation.  It is hard to not have privacy. It is hard to be told when you can eat and not eat.  It isn’t the end of the world but it does emotionally get to me in my weak moments.  This is the time for me to practice what I preach and live out my faith; trust HIM with the details. I smile when I write that because my girlfriends do such a good job of reminding me of that and living it themselves daily.  I can’t wait to do two things with you ladies when Enzo arrives, go for drinks and worship with you.

I’m sleepy and my body tired from contracting today so I am off (ha ha, like I’m changing locations from where I’m at now) to bed.  Antibiotic IV at 2:00 am, monitoring and another antibiotic at 6, first cervix softening medication at 6:30.  Not sure if there will be an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid tomorrow morning or not.  We shall see.

10 PM Friday, Sept. 3

For everything there is a reason and what that reason is…I don’t have a clue.

We didn’t report anything today because there is nothing to report.  A very small primer dose of pitocin was started at 8 am and then the regular beginning dose began at noon.  It was increased up to the maximum dose for the maximum time until it had to be decreased.  Sometimes when they decrease the pitocin the uterus will kick into gear in a weird reflex response, mine quit contracting period.  I did not progress past 1 cm (which is what I was when I arrived here Sunday night) but the cervix did thin out to 60%, but hardly.  I’ve been taken off everything except the antibiotic and we will be starting over again tomorrow.

If you don’t hear from me, that means there is nothing good to report. 

Wish I had more to share!

Here is to a better tomorrow.

La Fuente Rompío – The Fountain Has Broken.

Tomorrow is 34 weeks (full term is 40) and this textbook baby carrying mama is having her first brush with prematurity.  At noon tomorrow Enzo will be encouraged with a pitocin drip to make his way out to greet his family.  

Sunday night I was helping my oldest daughter with her homework when out of the clear blue sky I felt a little gush.  I was shocked because I thought I had just peed in my pants and well, I haven’t done that in awhile.  I quickly resigned myself to the fact that while I’d kept the hemorrhoids and constipation at bay it was now my pregnancy lot to pee in my pants for the next seven weeks.  I changed, sat down, AND DID IT ALL OVER AGAIN!  Then HELLO! I realized I was continuously dripping out amniotic fluid and I felt the beginning of cramping that would soon lead to contracting.  Surro Grandma was called in and The Husband and I headed to the hospital while Lucy and Ricky headed north to meet us.

We picked between the two hospitals close to my house with a level 2 NICU and I was checked in and given a steroid injection for Enzo’s lungs though he was on the cusp of maybe not even needing it.  A little later I had an ultrasound and the fluid level was very good despite the leak.  We chose not to stop the contractions with medication.  I flipped on my side, they stopped on their own.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today I have been on hospital bed rest and Lucy has been pumping a bit earlier than expected to get her milk supply going. I have been receiving constant IV fluids, antibiotics because of the open rupture, and fetal monitoring.  I received the second and last dose of steroids 24 hours after the first dose.  I receive an ultrasound each morning to check the amniotic fluid levels and they have risen above what it was when I was first admitted by a little bit each day.  Enzo is utilizing the IV fluids to keep himself floating nice and safe.  They think Enzo may weigh around five pounds.  

The decision to induce labor has been made amongst many sets of different risks to both Enzo and I, and it is a decision that both Enzo’s family and I feel very good with.  We are excited about tomorrow.   

Bed rest has been nothing close to a spa vacation but here are some pictures of Lucy and I making the most of the days.

If you want to receive the up to the minute details on how things go tomorrow you need to make your way over to the tool bar and subscribe to the blog via your email.  Do this even if you already think you subscribe because I know most of my subscribers are on the old service and I know you don’t receive the new posts right away, sometimes it takes over 24 hours.  I know because I am subscribed through both the old and new service.  If you are already on the new service it will tell you and you have the advantage of seeing the posts the second I hit publish.  We will keep you updated!

Wish us luck, say some prayers, and keep on working those rosary beads Grammy C, “Holdernute, we’re headed for the rhubarb patch!”  

© Pocketbebe, 2010

Baby Shower!

Today is 33 weeks, 33 WEEKS! Where is the time going and how is it going entirely too fast and way slow at the same time?  There was a prenatal appointment on Wednesday and everything is looking great still.  I gained two pounds and am pushing 160 now for a total gain of 25 pounds.  Belly measured 31, Enzo is still head down, and his heartbeat was in the 140’s. 

At the 30 week appointment (3 entire weeks ago now) we did the short version (finger prick) of the glucose testing and everything was great there but it showed up that my iron levels were a tad low.  This happened at the end of my last pregnancy also but here is the cool thing, I didn’t get prescribed some honking nasty iron pill that would make me constipated.  Instead, I get to take a semi-nasty shot of Floradix Iron + Herbs Liquid Extract Formula twice a day.  It isn’t the best tasting thing on earth but it is non-constipating and full of lots of the B vitamins too.  I swear it actually makes me feel good and I’m thankful not to be contorting myself into goofy positions just to be able to take a poo at this point though that however may still be on the horizon.

This past weekend Lucy had her baby shower and Surro Friend and I trekked our pregnant bellies down to Miami to celebrate with Lucy.  It was kind-of a crazy trip down, I was using the Google directions application on my Blackberry and every time a text or email came in it made the instructions go wonky so we constantly had changing directions and needless to say we missed the fast route to Miami Beach and instead took a detour that felt like it lasted an eternity and was composed of nothing but potholes that killed our compressed bladders.  We got to our hotel and were informed that we were moved to the hotel next door because they over booked.  We ended up staying in a way nicer hotel, getting free breakfast buffet and free parking out of the deal which was great but in the meltdown that our afternoon was becoming it sure wasn’t convenient to have to go unload, check in next door, bring the car back for parking, and then walk back across the road again in what felt like 200 degree heat, plus spoiler alert nobody takes pity on two pregnant women in Miami.  People like to stare at you but that is about the extent of it.

We were twenty minutes late to dinner at Brio which had me stressing because I hate to be late in situations like that.  We did end up having a wonderful dinner with Lucy, Ricky, Little Ricky, Lucy’s parents, three aunties, a cousin, and Lucy’s friend A and her son who is the same age as Little Ricky (they were NICU buddies when they were born).  After dinner we headed to an ultrasound at a local birthing center and everyone got to see Enzo. 

There is not a time when Enzo doesn’t move around like crazy after I eat, EXCEPT when I am with his parents!!  Once again he was smashing his adorable little face into his placenta and hardly wanted to be bothered.  I was on my side, on my back, you name it; I could have been standing on my head and he probably wouldn’t have moved.  They got a few good shots though and here they are for you to see.

Surro friend and I were tired by the time we got back to the hotel but we didn’t get to bed for another hour because first we had demagnetized our room keys by placing them next to her phone in her purse and once we got that handled I realized I didn’t even have my phone which meant we needed to walk back next door to the other hotel, ask the valet to get our car, find the phone, and ask for it to be parked again before walking back past the creepy cab drivers hanging out on the corner between the hotels and being able to hit the hay.

Sunday morning, the day of Lucy’s shower, we ate our free breakfast and hit the pool to catch some sun and celebrate Surro Friend’s birthday.  We each had a virgin strawberry daiquiri and took a dip in the ocean before getting ready for the shower.

Lucy’s shower was thrown by her mom and friend A.  It was held at a Greek restaurant called, Thira.  It was really beautiful and they had everything set up so nice and decorated in blue.  Lucy and I both wore pink which I guess is a little odd since Enzo is a boy but the pink really popped against the blue decorations and I think we looked good.  When Lucy arrived everyone started clapping and I got a little teary because it was so awesome that Lucy got to have that moment and a baby shower.  When Little Ricky was born premature she didn’t get to have the traditional shower and I was just so happy that she was having that one.  I won’t lie either, it is pretty amazing to get to be the person who plays a big part in the whole shebang; it is something I will never forget.  She smiled and looked beautiful of course, glowing really.  Lucy has a great support system and everyone was so nice and wonderful, I loved them all.  Enzo is beyond loved as is his older brother.  We played a few games, listened to music, and Lucy opened her gifts and before we knew it we were back in the car and headed north.

It was really a fun 24 + hours even though it was a whirlwind and it took me two days to recover from it.  I promise to write sooner than later, did I mention that I have a child who is in middle school now?  At any rate, I’m just trying to survive her schedule and believe me, I’d rather be writing sometimes instead of trying to keep it all straight.

© Pocketbebe, 2010

Just A Friendly Reminder

Just want to reiterate because for whatever reason it seems to get lost in translation somehow, surrogate baby Enzo is NOT genetically related to me or The Husband.  Their bun, my oven….

I’m also hoping that it doesn’t get any worse than this but the pregnancy stupid that takes the cake this week is when I was getting ready to cut my husband’s hair the other day and we were chatting away about a million different things AND I forgot to put the guard on the clippers for the very first strip…  Thankfully we clip him pretty short but NOT no guard short.  I about died and I faded that patch and the rest of his hair like I’ve never faded a haircut before.  Praises that things like that don’t faze my husband, that his hair grows wicked fast, and that he wears a ballcap everyday for work.

Prenatal appointment on Wednesday!

© Pocketbebe, 2010

Co-Birth

I’ve been awake since 4 am, wide awake.  Nobody talks about this very often and it goes beyond the bladder being flattened out by baby and having to constantly go to the bathroom.  Sometimes I will be fully awake and alert during the middle of the night at the end of a pregnancy and I think it is another way the body prepares a person for needing to be awake during the night after delivery to take care of baby.  I wish there was some sort of factory setting button that I could switch off to let my body know, “Hey body, surrogacy in progress here, no need to prepare me for the lack of sleep because once baby vacates you we will actually get to sleep a lot.  Capish?”

I know I just posted yesterday but I will be leaving this afternoon for a convention and when I return school will start for the kids and then we will have our 30 week prenatal appointment and this post would get put off in lieu of telling you what happened at the appointment, etc., etc., etc.

This post is a follow-up post to Birthing 101 where I detailed what The Husband and I learned in birthing class and I how I turn into a crotchety witch who is very demanding of her husband when in labor.  Now, that is just the first layer, let’s talk about the second layer…the co-birth.

Let me set the stage for a second. If all goes properly planned as we all hope it does, at the birthing center in the birthing room on the day of delivery will be me, The Husband, Lucy, Ricky, our midwife, the birthing assistant, and the photographer who is taking the combined pregnancy, delivery, and newborn photos for Lucy.  I’m not sure if Lucy and Ricky will have any of their other family at the center waiting to meet Enzo or not but I don’t think any of my family will meet him until we have all been released from the birthing center.  My only hope post delivery is that it works out to get my kids down to the Tampa area to visually see Enzo and meet him before the Ricardo’s head back to Miami; kind-of that full circle moment. 

Now, back to the concept of going through labor and delivery of someone else’s child and having a co-birth.  This is something none of us have ever done.  My primary support will be my husband because he is what I know and he has always been the person, beyond my mom, since meeting him in the second grade that has always been around and willing to deal with all my crap. Oh yeah, we’ve also done this together several other times.  Last time when we had our daughter I wouldn’t even let him drop me off while he parked the car out of fear I’d be separated from him for a single second while in pain.  That fear itself is interesting to me as in our typical day to day lives we are both highly independent.   New to the equation will be full on participation by Lucy in whatever way makes her comfortable.  I only say Lucy because even though Ricky will be there too, I don’t see him fully engaged in putting ice chips in my mouth or anything like that.  Crazier things have happened in emotionally charged moments though and if he willingly jumps in during a time of my instability due to pain, more power to him.

Does co-birthing this baby make me uncomfortable, yes and no.  Yes, only in the sense that I am a high control person and I have to be willing to “let go” in front of Lucy and Ricky in order to get their baby here.  Labor and delivery is hard work, it is messy, facial expressions, body parts, and all of that are kind-of distorted and ugly; I’m in survival mode period.  My personality can get (more) ugly, I get cross at my husband the F- word could escape.  I used it so liberally during the delivery of daughter number two that my mom was trying to cover up my mouth in embarrassment while I was in the middle of pushing. I don’t necessarily like the idea of having poor Enzo’s parents witness any of that but they can’t not be there either this is their son’s birth. It is something I can’t let bother me because in the end if I tried to perform or be a certain way during the delivery it just wouldn’t be real or right.  Plus, with everything else going on, I just wouldn’t have the energy.

 If I had my way I’d be one of those women you see on the Discovery Health channel sitting in the birthing pool cool, calm, and collected opening her eyes wide with excitement saying in a soft whisper, “The baby is crowning, please get ready to catch him. I’m going to give one good push and then he will be here.”  It’s a lofty goal but the reality is that it is one I doubt I reach this time around, I know myself better than that.  Let’s just assume the pictures the photographer will capture will be interesting to say the least.

So, we need to talk more with our midwife but as I’ve mentioned before I’d like to experience a water birth if possible.  If that gets to be the case when Enzo arrives we are assuming that instead of putting him on me that Lucy will be right there to put him on her chest. I’m thinking we need to get her some scrubs for the occasion with Easy Bake or Dairy Maid embroidered on them.  I’m not sure how fast they will clamp and cut the cord because Lucy and Ricky are wanting to bank and store the cord blood.  At whatever point he is detached from me I believe that Lucy and Ricky and their birthing assistant will go into the suite next to mine that they have reserved to assess Enzo (I know that the pediatrician in Lucy will have already assessed him from head to toe the minute he arrives), clean him up, and begin nursing and bonding with their new baby.  I imagine I will be in my room finishing up delivering the placenta, getting stitched up if necessary, and getting myself generally put back together.  The Husband will be happy to fully have his wife back very shortly but sad at having to share again with me any designated driver duties. I’ve mentioned the wine right? I wonder if they would let me bring in a margarita maker?  Just kidding.  The onset of feel good hormones will rush in after the delivery (the ones that make you not hate your baby for the pain they just put you through) and those feel good hormones in my case will be directed at the happiness of just completing the climb, seeing the Ricardo family with their new little boy, and the feeling of pride for what I was able to do for someone else. 

I know that it isn’t easy for anyone that hasn’t been a gestational surrogate to truly believe that last sentence and I will do my best to try to explain in a future blog post (probably after delivery because you won’t believe me now anyway) why I won’t turn to a puddle of mush or find myself committed to the psych ward after this is all said and done.  For now, really try to understand that I can really care about someone/something but not want it to belong to me.

Birthing 101

Enzo’s Blog:

Enzo is 29 weeks this week and we are on our way to 30 as of Friday.  On Friday we will only have 10 more weeks until a fully cooked baby, though it is generally safe for him to arrive anytime between 37 and 42 weeks.  Lord, help us that he arrives before or at the latest, only a few days after 40 weeks.

Enzo’s muscles, lungs, and brain are developing rapidly and Enzo is building those brain bridges by taking the majority of my stores of DHA now to make him smart.  Great, right?  More pregnancy stupids than usual for me.  I’m suprised I can even remember my own name at this point.  Calcium is very important at this stage in the pregnancy as about 250 milligrams are being deposited into his hardening skeleton each day.

Enzo is very active and I don’t have to worry too much about doing kick counts for him because he will move around constantly for about 30 minutes each time I start eating a meal or by ten minutes after I finish. 

I am carrying Enzo different than I’ve carried my girls up to this point.  He seems pretty high and I don’t seem as big around yet as I was with them.  I know a lot of the weight has filled up empty pockets on my thighs and butt as it is attractively puckering like an orange peel.  The belly button is half way on its way to being all the way out but otherwise like with the girls I’ve been blessed with a stretch mark free, rounded belly that will look nice for Lucy and Ricky’s pregnancy memory photos.

Last time we were at our appointment the midwife said Enzo was already lounging with his head down and that statistically they will generally stay that way.  Babies get their own ideas and tend to do what they want but it is good news should he continue to stay that way and I am doing my part by avoiding the recliner (which prompts a lot of babies to flip breech) and by cashing in on my helpful habit of always wanting to be on my left side.  Stay Enzo, stay.

My Time:

Just so I can put an end to the complaining about my eye and you can all be happy that I will now shut-up, let me fill you in on the last development.  It only took one day for there to be a cancellation at the dermatologist, either that or the lady knew I wouldn’t let up until they closed their doors after the last appointment on Friday afternoon.  I was able to see an actual doctor this time and he used the method Lucy had told me they should use before I even went the first time.  I didn’t have to pay for the return visit but I did get to pay for pathology again which is annoying in a way because pathology was already being run on the first half of the SAME specimen.   Whatever, I know it is policy but ugh… Anyway, right away I could tell it had at least been removed and unless the hormones get involved, shouldn’t be a problem.  Afterwards it looked like a cigarette was put out in my eyebrow but this time the healing is much better than I expected.  I am now a happy camper and at least one silver lining to this whole headache is that in being self employed we can deduct medical expense.

So, I still wanted to go over the birthing class we had to take and that was put on by June from Happy Birth Way.  Like I mentioned before, I was hoping for a special couple to stick out that I could entertain you with snarky stories about but that was not the case.  We had a really cool group of people attend our class and it was very much enjoyable.  In a way it was a neat do-over for The Husband and I because we hadn’t taken a birthing class since I was 20 and he was 22 and during that class our mentality was like, “Dude, just tell us what we need to know about the drugs, we plan on going that route and you can forget about anything latching onto my/her boob so we don’t need to know about that nonsense either.”  Obviously, we’ve come a long way in eleven years and breastfeeding along with natural labor progressed with two children after that by trial and error and by becoming self aware.  I think The Husband and I make a great labor team but attending the class and having June put words to the things we’d instinctively picked up along the way was very helpful and made me feel even more confident that we are going to rock this labor out with Enzo and get him into Lucy and Ricky’s arms in the most healthy way possible for all of us.

Here in no specific order are some of the notes I made while there:

1.  What do we know about labor pain?

P: It peaks and it is predictable.

A: It is there to get attention and to help as a guide through the labor stages.

I:  Intuitive, which means that a woman tends to tune into her instinctive wisdom that is already there during the pain of labor. 

N: It is normal!

2. Two assets women have in labor is breathing and mobility.

Breathing deeply is the link between the mind and the body.  It tells our pituitary gland to release calming hormones and not adrenaline.  Fight and flight response with the release of adrenaline is not going to get us anywhere good during labor.  Don’t waste energy on tensing.  The quote by some famous midwife that made us laugh was, “A tight tensed face, jaw, and body makes a tight tense cervix.”

Lips parted and making an ahh, ooo sound or even moo at the end of a contraction helps stay relaxed and can even make a laugh when in great pain which releases the feel good hormones.

Mobility is just having the ability to move around and follow the body’s instincts with the use of gravity to help baby progress through the phases it needs to.  Having mobility helps labor progress faster in most cases.

3. Rehydrate: take a sip after every contraction and pee every hour. At the hospital they will put an IV in so this may be a mute point for hospital births but it is necessary to keep fluids moving as the amniotic fluid is still flushing out and replenishing itself in the womb through the end of labor.

4. I learned there is a contraction application for cell phones to time the contractions for you which will come in so handy as I am usually the one who has to keep track of my own contractions while The Husband is driving.  Yeah baby on technology to that one!

We talked about partner and family support and since I’ve been through labor a few times I can generally estimate how I will be though birthing at the birthing center will provide me with many new opportunities this time around.

  1. I don’t like a lot of chatting of the people around me.  Side noise like music or some television shows aren’t distracting but cell phones ringing, vibrating, whatnot tends to bug me.  I get total sensory overload during birth and I’d like the lights to be dimmed even though most of the time I seem to have my face or eyes covered.  I totally believe in the 3 year-old mentality of, “If I can’t see you, you can’t see me”, move.  Remember Office Space and the “O Face” scene? Yeah, there is a version of that for laboring women and I don’t like it.  If my eyes are open I am usually in a dead stare at the Dallas Cowboy’s star that generally graces most my husband’s shirts.  Cowboy’s apparel has been requested at the last two birthing experiences.  I am sure Enzo’s birth won’t be an exception.
  2. The Husband has to have all attention on me and my needs unless I say it is ok that he doesn’t.
  3. Nobody can eat in front of me unless I am also eating the same thing.  Some smells are just too much and throwing up while also having a contraction is somewhat akin to throwing up and having diarrhea at the same time, not awesome..  Also, someone else’s chewing sounds are annoying.
  4. Praise.  By transition phase it is natural for the birthing person to lose a little bit of faith in themselves as labor becomes very intensive, I need a lot of praise at this time to be energized to keep going.
  5. Strength and endurance.  Pure strength from my husband to literally hold me up, provide counter pressure, reminders of what PAIN stands for, options in positions and consistent understanding when the “reasoning” side of my brain shuts down and gives over to the primal. 

 Besides some of the things I listed above I did leave class with two of my own theories that I’ve come to out of my own observations. One, I think men who tend to be a bit overweight but have wives that aren’t, generally show more affection in public (it probably works both ways) than other people naturally do and that you have to be anything BUT savory looking in appearance to be a birthing parent for a training video (if you’re a midwife in a birth training video you need to have, at least, a 3 inch minimum length of armpit hair visible to the viewing audience. Bonus points if it is braided).  I’m just sayin’….

© Pocketbebe, 2010

28 Week Ultrasound Pictures

Eyes Closed

Eyes Open

I accidently published before I was ready!  Those that subscribe to the blog are going to get a funky looking version of this post.  Anyway, here are the pictures from the ultrasound on Monday.  As noted the first picture Enzo has his eyes shut and in the second picture he has his eyes open.  Tomorrow will be 29 weeks.

Third Trimester

Enzo’s Blog:

Before I forget, I wanted to tell you all that everyone at Lucy’s work has given her a cute little nickname.  At first when she texted me, I wasn’t sure if it was funny or not but after she assured me it was all in good fun and that she was ok with it, I had to let her know that I found it quite clever.  She is now known around her hospital friends as, Easy Bake. 

Enzo is currently 28 weeks gestation and he is just hanging out being the good little boy that he is.  Lucy, Ricky, and Little Ricky all flew in yesterday for the day and we had a great time.  First stop was an ultrasound where Little Ricky got to see his baby brother for the first time.  Little Ricky turned three on Sunday and as of Monday Enzo passed his older brother in overall womb time.  That is exciting in the world of parents who have experienced premature babies.  Enzo looked fabulous when he would cooperate as he still loves clinging to his placenta. He actually had his eyes open a lot during the ultrasound and that was as cool to see as well as a tad bit creepy at times.  We laughed when Daddy mentioned that in some of the 3D shots Enzo reminded him of sad clown in Toy Story.  When Enzo did smile in a few of the pictures, it looked so very cute.  He looked happy and content.  I forgot to download the CD from the ultrasound so as soon as Lucy emails me the photos I will post them.

After the ultrasound we made our way to the birth center for our prenatal appointment and everything looked good there as well.  I weighed in right under 155, for a total of a 20 pound gain so far and the belly measured at 30.  Blood pressure was perfect and the heartbeat sounded great even though we had just heard it at the ultrasound.  I will return in two weeks now and I can’t believe we are already to biweekly appointments!  Instead of going to the lab to do the sugar testing for gestational diabetes I am going to do a different test at the birthing center at the next appointment so that will be nice.  It wasn’t until I read a blog update from Bump Fairy that I remembered that we had crossed into the third and final trimester as of this week! Yeah Baby!

After our prenatal appointment we all headed to the beach condo that my parents rented for the month for some lunch and beach time before the Ricardo’s had to fly back to Miami.  We had such an enjoyable afternoon and it was nice for the kids to get to be around each other and for my girls to see who Enzo was created by and belongs to.  After the Ricardo’s left for the day, it was so cute when my oldest daughter mentioned that one day, when she was older and was ready to get married that she might marry a Latin man so her babies could be as cute as little Ricky and Enzo.

Little Ricky opening a present

Easy Bake and I on the beach

Little Ricky and all the girls

My Time:

A little venting…  I think for the past 9 years I have been a pretty good sport about the stork bite I had on my eye from the waxing lady.  I’m licensed in two states to wax facial and body hair so it is something I know a little about and who knows, it is possible that I may have a past client out there sporting a stork bite or a scar because of me.  Sure, I was bummed in May when I could tell the area got traumatized again but it is what it is.  For over a month I sported what looked what looked like a growing hemorrhoid on my eye to make sure I wasn’t jumping the gun and dropping unnecessary money at the dermatologist if I didn’t need to.  I finally get in there to get it removed with full confidence that once that day is over with, I will go on my merry way.  I will take the time now to double back and express that I was a little worried when during the procedure I heard one of the staff say, “Wow, there is a lot of bleeding.”  In my mind I’m thinking, it is a bulging blood vessel and it is surprising to you that it is bleeding A LOT???

Anyway, a week later, the char-grilled scab falls off and half of the freaking thing is STILL there.  I wanted to be optimistic and think it just had a little more healing to do, but let’s just call a spade a spade shall we?!?!  I called the office twenty minutes before it closed yesterday and OF COURSE they don’t answer, it is TWENTY minutes before they close, therefore in Florida mentality, they are closed for the day.  I leave a message that the only day I will be in town between a trip I’m on and a conference I’m going to be at is this Friday and can I please get in ANYTIME on Friday to get this taken care of.  I receive a message this morning saying they have an opening on Friday afternoon please call them back to confirm.  I am ESSTATIC- until I call there and the lady says, “Oh, I just gave that appointment to someone.”   WHAT THE HECK LADY?  I specifically stated on my message to your office because you didn’t answer your phone during office hours that I would only be in town the next two weeks on this Friday and to give me any appointment on that day that you could.  You call me back saying there is availability and when I call to confirm, you’ve just given the appointment to someone else and you’re telling me to continue to call back every day this week including Friday morning to see if anyone cancels with ANY of the doctors and I can get in.  FU, I want to scream but instead I start to cry.  I have no other option and it would not be Florida if you did your job right the first time, didn’t give any effort to make a wrong right, or blame shift responsibility to at least one other person during the course of any business transaction.  I love so many things about Florida, BUT Florida beyond compare, has way lower standards then where I come from.

“You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life…”

© Pocketbebe, 2010

“Eye” Opening Developments

Thanks to Cousin Carrie who “got” the impressiveness of Maya’s photo shoot, probably my sister-in-law too.  If Dooce ever does a contest I am on top of it, I’m certain the prize would be an Apple iPad and I would be thrilled about it, unlike Tosh. He he he (seen that episode)? 

Enzo’s Blog:

So, Enzo is 27 weeks gestation this week.  Babycenter.com says that this week Enzo weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended.  Funny, because at the ultrasound during week 24 the ultrasound tech said from his experiences he thought Enzo weighed two pounds then.  I think he is full of bologna and I think Lucy even said that a two pound weight would be impressive since when Little Ricky arrived four weeks later, at 28 weeks, he weighed in right at two pounds. 

Sidebar: Just FYI, according to The Guide to a Healthy Birth, estimating the size of a baby especially at the end of a pregnancy is an incredibly imprecise science.   Studies have shown that ultrasounds, a medical provider’s estimate, and even the mother’s own estimates are about equivalent in guessing the size of a baby in a healthy mother. It further goes on to state that a baby’s size is never a valid reason to induce a woman’s labor and that any medical provider who suggests it is not practicing according to the standards of their own profession.   

Enzo is supposed to be sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers (or the placenta in Enzo’s case). Brain tissue is developing and Enzo’s brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. I’m supposed to chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements I may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on.  I had to laugh while reading that because it was only a few nights ago that I woke up around 4:30 am to go the bathroom and when I lay back down I felt Enzo have the hiccups for the first time. Lucy is on a work week and I knew she would be awake so I texted her about this new development because it is always exciting to have something new to report to Baby Mama.

At this point in Lucy’s pregnancy with Little Ricky (which is to the day exactly the same as this pregnancy remember because we both had embryo transfers on Jan. 27th) she had already been battling preeclampsia for a week and popping high blood pressure medicine like candy.  I am so thankful that God is allowing Enzo to develop right on schedule and without these complications.  Having a surrogate can be tough for intended parents, especially moms, they give up a lot letting other people carry their babies through gestation and while I can’t fully understand that since I have not been in that position, I know that Lucy is relieved to be living through last week and the next few weeks with a lot less stress this time around. A big thanks to God for giving her this gift because even with surrogates who have awesome track records, anything is possible.

My Time:

In 2001 I had my eyebrows waxed (just days prior to my wedding I might add) and in part of my eyebrow I developed a stork bite, also called nevus simplex that happens from a stretching (dilation) of certain blood vessels.  In the stork bite state it was only noticeable when I wasn’t wearing make-up and even then most people never even noticed it and I went through two pregnancies without it being affected.  This past May, for the first time since the 2001 episode, I let someone else wax my eyebrows and of course since I didn’t give super precise instructions to not alter my shape the gal waxed over the stork bite retraumatizing the small blood vessels. Add in a combination of increased blood volume from being pregnant and all the hormones on the loose my little stork bite changed into a hemangioma with active cell dividing activity. In short, it was no longer flat and hidden with make-up it was a shiny, growing, “red hot” looking zit in my eyebrow that The Husband swears was getting bigger by the day.  He totally enjoyed having something to pick on me for. Well, today all my girls and I went to the dermatologist to have it removed.  After a numbing injection, a slice, and some cauterizing I was patched up and ready to go.  My kids were grossed out and scared by the injection in the eye (umm..try like over 40 injections in the hip daily for IVF) and the smell that comes from the cauterizing.  I made sure to let them know how good of a patient I was and that I should be their example for every future doctor or dentist visit.    So, now as I blog to you my left eye is throbbing a bit and I was told I might develop a black eye before a black scab develops and I get my scar of honor. My grandma always did say that women must suffer to be beautiful (usually said when she was rolling my hair into perm rods as a child).

What I was supposed to blog on this time for you was my adventure in birthing class but that would require me to get out my notes and with the throbbing eye and all, that isn’t possible at the moment.  It will have to wait until the next post.  I will let you know that we did up having a fantastic day despite the letdown in not having my own Vodka/Sex class member to blog about like my Cousin Carrie did.  Our class was pretty awesome along with the hip and fun instructor June Connell.  I highly recommend that if you want to take a Natural Childbirth Class and you live near the Tampa area (or at least in the general region) that you go to one of June’s classes.  Her website is pretty cool also and contains a lot of information along with some unique products you can order if wanted.

I’m off to eat dinner which in turn will kick Enzo into his salsa dancing exercises for the night and then off to bed for some of that much needed beauty sleep that maybe will keep the black eye at bay.

Buenas noches!

© Pocketbebe, 2010

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