I can't believe that tomorrow I'll be 20 weeks and almost halfway through this journey. On one hand, the time is going so much faster than it did when I was pregnant with my son. On the other hand, when I think about the fact that the transfer was in September, that feels like AGES ago. But here we are!
Two weeks ago, the IPs wanted to get a 3D ultrasound done. It was pretty crazy. I'd never seen one first hand. I brought my son, and they brought their son, and the boys were surprisingly into the whole thing. My son was incredibly sad when I told him yesterday that I was going for the 20 week ultrasound without him.
Everything looks good with baby girl, which is quite the relief for me, as I'm so much smaller this pregnancy than last. I was worried she wasn't growing adequately, but all of her measurements yesterday were spot-on. And that was after a wicked 5 day stomach bug that left me begging for mercy!
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| 19 weeks, 5 days |
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| 19.5 weeks with surrobabe on left, my son in 2010 on right |
I am growing more accustomed to my body these days, and I'm able to accept the miracle that is happening without focusing on the widening of my hips and expanding love handles. It also helps that she has been so much more active lately. Feeling her so obviously is a lovely reminder of why all of this is happening. Since the stomach bug, her kicks are now palpable externally too! Her mom was even able to feel her at our ultrasound yesterday. :)
The intended mom started the process of inducing lactation. She is on high progesterone birth control for the next few months, along with a milk-producing drug (domperidone). She is already seeing results. I think she'll have a nice supply. Ironically, my boobs have gotten much fuller which did NOT happen with my son. I have insufficient glandular tissue, so I was unable to nurse (which was devastating). Supposedly, your body is able to make more milk each pregnancy. I think, due to all of the hormones early on, my boobs got the message. I doubt I'd ever have a full supply, but I'm pretty excited about the idea of pumping and donating whatever milk I can produce. It feels incredibly redemptive.
In other news, my cervix looked great on the ultrasound (I had a preterm labor scare at 31 weeks last pregnancy, so they have been keeping an eye on it). At this point, the baby is breech and posterior. They aren't at all worried right now since it's so early. That being said, I've started getting chiropractic care from the best chiropractor in the East Bay (Elizabeth Welch Golove at Sunflower Chiropractics). She already started using the Webster technique on me, and we'll continue to ensure that baby has all the room she needs in my pelvis to flip. I'm not at all worried right now, and I love the excuse to see Elizabeth regularly.
That's all for now!
