Weeks 15 & 16

Here's the 15 week photo:

Had our 16 week appointment Friday the 17th and everything looks great! Both babies are growing on track in their sacs, and by belly is measuring right on track!

The baby on the left was positioned under the baby on the right so we weren't really able to get a good photo of the baby’s body. Here is a picture of her head looking top down.

The baby on the right was easier to see. The picture below shows her in a downward diagonal position, you can see her whole spine and head, she’s looking down!

I’m pretty sure the big movement I felt last weekend was the baby on the left changing positions. I read my IP's blog and grandma’s response.  It brought tears of joy to my eyes! I’m so excited for the whole family, I completely love this feeling! Last night I felt the babies moving as soon as I laid down. Right now it’s more like a tightening in spots which goes away once they move from that position. Not much kicking or fast sharp movements yet, I’ll be sure to let everyone know when that occurs. Now I can occasionally tell where the babies are in my tummy. If the both are towards the right I can feel a tightness from the inside and the outside will be solid hard. I can't believe the lil ones are now the size of avocados!!

The second trimester has been a lot easier.

Food:
 No more egg or broccoli aversions YAY. I made a kale, bok choy, bell pepper, broccoli and ground turkey frittata  as soon as the thought didn't upset my stomach. I have been craving lots of veggie filled soups. I had veggie pho the other day, amazing! I still have to eat smaller portions, and that most likely won’t change. I’m gaining weight right on track, I’ve gained 2.75 lbs J. I was nervous because the looks of my belly I’ve gained 10 lbs!  I’ve been making sure the McM’s are getting plenty of nutrients from healthy food rather than fatty food that will just add love handles. Thank you to the grandparents for aiding in healthy baby growth! The organic veggie delivery is very much appreciated, by Fiesty momma, the twinjas and lil McM’s.

                                                                  Frittata I love you!

Energy:
Woot woot, my energy is back! No more falling asleep at 10 pm and dragging myself out of bed at 9:30. I’ve been able to get a normal 7 hours sleep and feel completely rejuvenated! I do now have to sleep on my side with a pillow under the belly. I’m generally a belly sleeper, those days are out the window for another 5 months. Exercising is feeling good as well.

                                                                     Gym Time!!

Gen & Gia,

My daughters are so cute. They tell me “Mommy your belly is getting bigger” I tell them that’s because they babies are growing and each week I tell them what they are the size of. They keep asking when they’re going to come out and if they can see them.  I tell them not until they get really big. Genevieve will randomly come sit next to me, give my belly a kiss and then walk away. Wednesday night she fell asleep with her hand on my belly, because she was keeping them warm.My mini’sGianna Valentina & Genevieve Marie are my world, and are crazy. Here's what i woke up to the other night (11pm) when I accidentally fell asleep on the couch.

                                                 They're singing "I'm a Rock Star"

                                                         My lil cowgirls love their boots!

Gianna has fair skin and blue eyes, she is more the sensitive and emotional one, and gives at least 20 kisses a day. Sometimes Genevieve gets annoyed at how many times she kisses her a day, but I can never get enough! At the same time she is very sassy. She loves to sing and dance and does well in large crowds but is generally the shyer one.

                                                             First thing in the morning!

Genevieve is my feisty comedian. She wants to do everything by herself and although very loving she’s also very independent. She often tells her sister to go to timeout for no reason and laughs as her sister goes and sits in her room. Not sure why Gianna listens but she does. She is pretty athletic and clumsy. She’s always falling but rarely cries, usually she says “I dusted it off”.

They are my dynamic duo and they are best friends. They were so upset with me the other day when I took them to gymnastics in different outfits. Genevieve almost didn’t want to go in. She said “but mom sissy and I don’t match, that’s not ok” Finally I was able to talk her into going but I know not to make that mistake again!

                                                                  Crazy eyes!

Between kids, work, party planning and football season growing babies is currently the easiest aspect of life. It keeps me very conscious of what I’m putting into my body, but other than that life is pretty much normal. I’m sure the bigger they get the more apparent it will become in everyday life.

Here are photos from my Ladies Fall Bake night last Friday. 

Hosting events is one of my favorite things to do. 

XOXO FiestyMomma

Weeks 12 & 13 (2 in one)

 Afternoon friends,

Emotional times:  I can’t help but cry tears of joy every day. Yesterday while driving the Twinjas to gymnastics Kid Rock’s “All summer Long” came on. Gianna yelled to turn it up as she started clapping and lip singing, as if she knew the words. Next thing you know where were all singing and clapping. I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as I glimpsed at them in the rear view mirror. I immediately thought of momma to be and her having a moment like this with her girls. A simple moment and all it takes to experience is an openness and good attitude. I get so overwhelmed for the joys my IP’s are going to have.

I was so ecstatic to see that both baby girls are growing great! I really admire my IF's confidence and positivity. He never showed any doubt, which is comforting. I’m glad my IM has a shoulder like that to lean on. My IP's smiles were so big when we saw the babies, which actually looked like babies this time. We could see the little facial features. I’m sure if it wasn't real before it became real at that moment! There they are lying feet to feet, each in their own little sac.

Lil McM’s are now the size of tangerines. Key developments this week are the opening and closing of the fingers and mouths. Now that the motor skills are kicking I’ll be sure to update everyone as soon as I feel anything. This week I could feel their heartbeats. Something that many women don't feel, but I have no doubt about it!

With the babies growing so is my belly. Luckily I'm right on track for weight gain and still staying fit. No worries, my doctor has confirmed is safe and healthy. He actually said he wished more pregnant women would exercise! Healthy vessels help grow healthy babies!

                                   
                                          Yes, I often wear a hoodie and a fanny pack to the gym
                                     **random fact, i am obsessed with fanny packs, and own multiple

I was thinking of mommy & daddy’s soon travels and thought about how things will change. When you first have kids you go everywhere with a massive diaper bag loaded with ALL the necessities.  For some that never changes. I've always been a mom on the go, there is rarely a weekend we aren't doing something fun &/or visiting family. Over time necessities have evolved I went from carrying a diaper bad with a change of clothes, shoes, first aid kit, creams, toys, perfume and a purse to throwing my wallet in and ditching the purse. I no longer carry a “diaper bag” because my purse is no longer my purse, it’s now a cute bad to haul around my daughters items. Most days I can get away with diaper wipes, antibacterial soap and an extra pair of chonis (hispanic slang for underwear). However yesterday I dumped out my purse to find my phone which was lost in the abyss of a suitcase I now lug around, and out came a silver pair of girls shoes, my little pony chonis, wipes, one sock, a picture they colored at the restaurant, an apple, a toothbrush, orange nail polish, and more… yup that’s a purse after a weekend with my mini’s, and I love it! So enjoy your clutter free travels while they still exist!

Week 12

Week 13

*My daughters ask that I take it in the Tigger costume that i randomly own. I didn't have a good reason not to, so Tigger it was. Lil Gen helped me make the chalk drawing (she added the smiley face on the left)

The other day I asked my daughters “what do mommy’s do” and both said work on computers. I decided to rephrase my question “What are your favorite things about your mommy” the responses are cute. “ you kiss me, sit with me, color me, rub my tummy when it hurts, and cuddle me.” I love it all, and concluded that the 3 main important things to my daughters is that I provide for them, I am affectionate and spend quality time with them. It was nice to know neither of them brought up materialistic things or candy!

Ne who bring on the exciting second tri-mester!

XOXO Fiesty momma- Surro Jenn

11 weeks

Happy 11 weeks!

Sorry I've been MIA, life has been crazy! Work, family, raising Twinjas and football have been consuming me.  ** Not sure if I mentioned it but I call my girls Twinjas= Twin Ninjas since they were in my belly, nun-chuck and fireball!

This week has been great, I haven’t had any morning sickness nor as many food aversions and best of all no gas! Sorry if that’s TMI… it was all new to me because I didn't have them with my first pregnancy.

Today is a big day! My IPs are coming for our 11 week appointment. I’m so nervous and excited at the same time. I’m nervous because we had complications early on (week 5 bleeding) and this will tell us if both McM’s are still in there and healthy. On the other hand I’m excited to see my IP’s and catch up with them, and I really anticipate good news! I feel bad because we haven’t talked much but there hasn't been much going on baby wise. I see today as a big milestone we've been waiting for and have had a lump in my throat for the past 2 days. I can only imagine how my IP’s feel. Crossing my fingers! I always think of how grateful I am to be going through this journey with such an amazing group of people. I can truly see how happy and loving my IP’s are and it’s so warming. I admire their positive spirits and outlook on life. I also love the fact that this is a journey for a whole family. I hope I get to meet everyone someday. I've heard amazing things about the whole gang! OMG Jane just sent me the awesome pictures of everyone, Thank you Thank you!!

Updates… Baby McM’s are now the size of Figs! Some of the babies’ organs are almost complete! Crazy how some things happen so early, this is why it’s important to consume a healthy diet from the beginning! Thanks to McM’s grandparents I've been eating lots of organic veggies! I am starting to show and am in that weird stage where people can’t tell if you've just gained weight (beer belly) or if you’re prego. I went maternity shopping for the first time, and took my girls with me. Being a bargain shopper I first tried all of my regular cheaper stores: Ross, Target, Marshalls, H&M… no luck. I tried on a pair and asked Genevieve if she liked them she asked me if I pooped in my pants, when I told her no she said then why is your butt saggy! I laughed so hard and finally went to a more expensive store (which I had never been to, but desperate times call for desperate measures) and found a pair of pants right away, lil Gen gave me thumbs up, bought!

That same week my mini’s and I did a football photo shoot! This is our 3^rd annual 49er photo shoot. Technically it is McM’s first photo shoot as well! I hope they grow up to be 49er fans!! I’m a firm believer that Sundays were made for football and have already bought a large shirt to wear for when my belly gets bigger!

We finally had our movie night party! We had a great turn out, about 45 people!!  Below are some pictures, we had: photo booth, candy, popcorn (the girls and I made pink sugar popcorn and blue sugar popcorn, projector set up out back, and of course food and games! Needless to say all my mommy friends love bringing their mini’s to our get events!

      

                                  Genevieve Marie is on the Left, Gianna Valentina is on the right

In case you’re interested here’s a little about me… I’m 29, the oldest of 5 sisters. I have one older biological brother who is pretty awesome (I recently took him to his 1^st UFC fight for his 40^th birthday) and one biological sister (included in the 5). I was taken in at a very young age by an amazing family who lived across the street. At first we would play together every day and then I would stay the night, eventually they moved away and I moved with them. That is my family whom I love with my heart and soul! I am ever so grateful to my mom and dad for taking me under their wing, no questions asked! I have no idea how they did it, raising 5 girls, I now know kids aren’t cheap and my mom at times worked 3 jobs. I will always admire her for her hard work, dedication and endless love. They’ve never treated me any different from their own kids and always made sure we had everything we needed.  In high school I was on the dance team and the swim team! To this day many don’t know that my sisters and I are not all biologically related. I still keep in contact with my real mother, however it is not frequent.  My biological grandpa on the other hand is my hero. He always told me I could do it and that I’d just have to work for it. He taught me that it wouldn’t always be easy but it will all be worth it. I believe that combined with growing up in low income standards has given me the drive to succeed, and goal oriented mind set I have now. I went on to graduate from UC Davis with a BA in communication and a BS in managerial economics, I worked full time (as a sports statistician & waitress) while double majoring to pay my own way. Over the past 6 years I have worked my way up to financial program manager for an environmental consulting firm. Last year I bought my first house, and still love every day in it! My goal for this year is… yup to help bring life to a loving, caring family! I want everyone to know I really put my all into each goal especially this one, which is the most important yet! Now I don’t want you to think I’m all work and no play. One of my biggest beliefs is that you must live life! Some of my favorite past times are; cuddling with my kids and my dog; watching football; country concerts; wine tasting (don’t worry not when prego); dancing;  lifting weights; going to Apple Hill; buying sparkly things, hanging out with my siblings (we are always laughing at each other); and attending sporting events!

                                                               I'm on the far left 

Well I think that’s good for now XOXO Jenn 

Week 8

Hello Hello,

Some cute dialong between my mini's and I this week:

Gen: She kissed my belly and asked "are the babies still in there?"
Me: "Yes, they have to grow big before they can come out" Gianna: "your belly is gonna get bigger?" (as she opened her arms as wide as she could)
Me: "Yup"
Gen: "And then your going to give the babies back to their mommy and daddy so they will be happy"
Me: "Exactly"
Gen: "Good, I don't want them to be sad"

**It might not be politically correct but I found it sweet.

                                                                  Gen (L) Gia (R)

I’m very thankful to have a full time job; otherwise I think the nausea would overrule me. When Mommy and Daddy McM were here they got me these little bands to help with nausea. I have to admit I was very skeptical, but am now a full believer. I forgot to wear them twice this week and wala I got sick twice this week. They’re about $10 and can be found at a pharmacy or your local Walmart.

This week’s organic delivery was awesome! I am excited to make pico de gallo tonight with the onions. 

My kids have spent multiple days playing with/decorating their jewelry boxes from my IP’s. It was a very thoughtful gift, Thank you thank you!

They are now the size of raspberries! Fingers and toes began forming this week

Other than morning sickness and gas this week has been pretty calm baby wise.

Bring on week 9!

Grow babies Grow

                                                         

First off I want to apologize for not posting sooner.  I used to stay up until 2 am and now I’m passed out by 10, oh boy do I love & need that extra sleep!

Thank you Thank you to the grandparents of lil McM’s for the Fully Belly Farm delivery!!  I have now received 2 boxes of yummy local grown organic fruits and veggies. This is an amazing new experience for me, and I have to admit a little scary at first. I had never seen eggplant shaped the way these were shaped, or green beans that color.  I love trying new things and Holy Moly are they  juicy J my kids couldn’t get enough of the cantaloupe!

My IP’s came on Tuesday for the ultrasound and confirmation of fetal heartbeat, which went great. Both heart beats were very strong, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders! I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear and tear up when they took each other’s hand as the doctor turned the monitor toward them. Their faces had this sense of shock at first then I could see the joy as their eyes got bigger. Especially when they heard the heartbeats, both were star struck. I’m very grateful to have witnessed that moment. Times like that are why I never question what & why I’ve chosen this journey.

They joined my daughters and I for dinner. I was very pleased with my attempt to cook a vegan meal. As a matter of fact I had my best friend over the next night for leftovers and he raved about it. I couldn’t tell him what was in it before he ate it because he would have never tried if he knew there was tofu and tofurky in it.

 It was great for my kids to meet the babies “Mommy and Daddy”. My thoughtful IM purchased a children’s book about surrogacy which I reread that morning, to help them understand a little. They are still too young to comprehend everything but they were excited and said they wanted to buy the mommy a Barbie cake and the daddy a Spiderman cake. They also got to meet Skeeter, aka Papa, my 4 legged companion of 6 years. He’s not very good with personal space, and even though he’s 80lbs he thinks he’s a lap dog. I’m very glad they are dog people and weren’t scared or turned off by his awesomeness.

Needless to say Week 7 was a blast! Little McM’s are the size of blueberries. This week we learned that the fetal pole and the yolk sac are 2 different things. The Yolk sac is the first to appear in a pregnancy and will later be absorbed into your body, this is not the baby. Currently the babies are still embryos and have little tadpole tails.

As of this morning I have lost my battle with morning sickness. Good thing was I had just eaten an organic peach from Fully Belly Farm so it wasn’t bad. On top of that it just confirms that lil McM’s are growing… so YAY!

Holy Moly Week 5

SO far this week has been a roller coaster!

Today we had a scare, I woke up and I was bleeding. Panic and devastation hit me immediately. I of course felt like a disappointment, but more so sad for my IP’s. I thought about their time, money, hopes and dreams that went into this and how this is going to make them feel. I never want to make someone feel like that. I envisioned this as a happy journey; it’s been more emotional than anticipated.  I couldn’t bring myself to call them, especially not in the state that I was in. I immediately called the doctors who said it was most likely a miscarriage and they had me come in for an ultrasound. I have since not had any bleeding and hope it stays that way!

The ultrasound was better than anticipated. I did not have a miscarriage; therefore there is a possibility that this can still go on to be a successful pregnancy. The doctor said she had seen it go both ways. I’ve talked to other surro’s who also had bleeding and everything came out fine. ….The doctor did find something surprising…TWINS! They were both in their sacs where they were supposed to be and their sacs were measuring good size. I really hope both of these little ladies make it through!!

Unfortunately at 5 weeks there is not yet a heartbeat therefore we will know more in 2 weeks at our ultrasound. The embryos are now beginning to look more like tadpoles. And are the size of sesame seeds. The brain and heart are beginning to form.  They’ve been getting their nutrients from lots of yummy food including kale, quinoa, lots of fruit and veggies, the recommended serving of whitefish, and one strawberry cupcake… oops.

I asked the doctor if there is anything I can do to assure this pregnancy and she said no. Unfortunately exercise, bed rest and stress are not factors that will cause any change when manipulated.

I’m staying positive that there will be 2 little McM’s here in 8 months. I had a feeling it was twins, the other night I was snuggled into my freshly washed sheets when I sneezed, wrong move.  I peed everywhere, and not a little bit. I changed the sheets while laughing at myself, thinking I’m so blaming that on the pregnancy. I’ve also been super sensitive and cry for no reason. When my daughter asked me why I was sad I told her they were happy tears, because I love her so much. She told me I was weird and ran off to the play room half naked!

Hoping for a smoother week 6, thinking happy thoughts!

Officially 4 weeks!

And the journey for baby McM has begun!!

This week’s blood tests concluded that my IP’s will be parents in 8 months! Our first beta was 1,388. I was told that they like to see numbers over 50, talk about doing something 110%. Those embryos are gladiators! Beta 2 was, and is generally taken 2 days later. Doctors want to see the figures at least double and ours did just that, hcg came back at 2,809. Since our first beta was so high many are questioning if it’s twins, oh boy do I hope so!!

This feeling of being so overwhelmed with joy for someone else is amazing. I catch myself thinking about my IP’s throughout the day and can’t help but feel honored to share in their journey.

Baby McM, although still an embryo, is now 4 weeks old, turning 5 weeks on Saturday!  She’s the size of a poppy seed! Kinda makes me want a muffin...

                                              

 It’s hard to believe because I’m already feeling so tired. Although not yet visible, tiny arms and legs, called buds, are beginning to develop. These first weeks are very crucial and protein, fiber, iron and folic acid are very important. I’m a firm believer that a healthy baby starts with a healthy vessel, which means diet and exercise are very important. Nutrients are being provided through kale & quinoa salad, oatmeal w/ fresh fruit, grapefruit, broccoli, grilled chicken and… tofu. This is a new one to me and I haven’t yet mastered how to prepare it, however the protein in undeniable and therefore worth failed attempts.

Other than needing a couple extra Zzz’s I’m drinking lots of water and in turn using the restroom more than I thought possible. Other than that smooth sailing thus far J

Ultrasound has just been scheduled for the 19^th @ 4pm. At that appointment we’ll be able to hear the heartbeats and find out if it’s twins!