Endocrinologist appt scheduled

It will not happen until March 1st! Details will follow after.

TSH levels are VERY low.

I had blood work that showed my TSH (thyroid) levels are very low! The OB/gyn is going to send a referral to an endocrinologist that will be calling me to set up an appointment. hmmmm....I have not been feeling "off" lately. I have not been overly tired/sluggish. I have had a little stress with some family stuff that wears me out, but mostly feel good. However, I am glad someone will be taking a closer look at it all. I will write updates as I get more information.

6 week follow up

I went today for my 6 week follow up from delivering Grace. My weight is holding steady at 181. I am satisfied at this weight as I am 5'10", but I would like to get down in the low 170's. In order to do that, I will probably have to actually work on it, and well, it is just not high priority.

My blood pressure is good. Everything else looks good. I got my thyroid levels checked before the appointment. After I got home, the lab called to tell me they did not get enough blood to do the test!!!!! WTF?! The guy that did it earlier gave me bruise poking around, did not get very much, but said it should be enough and sent me on my way. I live an hour away! I will make it back soon so they can check those levels. I am guessing that the levels are fine as I am feeling good.

I REALLY like my doctor. I initially was not thrilled about the parents wanting to co-manage the midwives with an OB as I had only worked with the midwives with my children. However, I ended up REALLY liking my physician. He is a tall, skinny, 50-ish year old, gay, black man who is very sweet. He was touchy feely, often holding my hand as he talked or touching me gently on the shoulder. Today, he walked in dabbing tears away and explained he just got done watching a video of his 13 yr old goddaughter giving a speech about MLK, Jr. and he was very proud. :) He hugged me, asked lots of questions of how I was doing, and chatted about other things. If I decide to do a 2nd surrogacy, he is happy to complete paperwork for me. When talking about the possibility of a second surrogacy, he responded that HE wants a child. I smiled and said we should talk. ;) Before he left, he hugged me again, said he admired and respected me for what I have done, and said I love you. Yes, I love you! I laughed and said thank you. Wow, what a nice doctor! :)

So, this should officially wrap up this journey, except for the continued contact I may have with Grace's family.

I am sure I will post more on here with anything surrogacy related. Later this year, I hope to make a decision if I want to experience a second surrogacy journey. I imagine the posts will be few and far between until then. I will check in on other surrogacy related blogs and wish all of you the best in your journeys.

30 pounds lost in 2 weeks!

I went for a 2 week follow up for them to check my c-section incision. Everything looked great. I topped the scale the day before the due date at 212 pounds and on Thursday, I weighed 181 pounds! Damn! awesome! I'm still supposed to take it easy for 4 more weeks. It would be great to lose around 10-12 more pounds AND be in healthy shape. I am feeling good.

Where is that big belly?!

gone, gone, gone! Instantly, so is the tailbone pain and acid reflux! hallelujah! I got out yesterday to visit my mom. Today was a cool, but beautiful day, so we took a walk around our pond and the kids played outside. Felt good to get some fresh air!


Here is a reminder what I looked like 2 weeks ago! :)

I am doing pretty good. The last few days, I have done little housecleaning tasks. My husband, Brian, worked from home all week. I am not supposed to drive for 2 weeks. Brian did go in to the office Friday morning for a quick meeting and things did not fall apart. :) I have weaned myself down from a ton of pain pills to only 2 Ibuprofen every 5-6 hours. The last few days, I have been transitioning (from sitting/standing and getting out of bed) without grimacing in pain. My incision area is still sore, but manageable. My sister had her c-section a month ago and said there are days that she will pick something up and still feels pain in her incision area. I want to take the recovery seriously as I don't want any problems to develop.

I still have a little belly pooch, of course, but I am feeling skinny already! I have yet to try on my jeans since I have been wearing comfortable clothing to not bother the incision area, but feeling good! I am interested in seeing what my mood and physical state is after all the crazy hormones subside. With the addition of thyroid medication, I am excited to see what my energy level will be. (They discovered I had low thyroid early on during the comprehensive medical exam and after getting levels where they wanted, I started on other hormones to get ready for the embryo transfer.)

My hormones have flared on and off the last couple of days. I have been weepy at nothing or minor things. For example, I read an obituary for an old couple that the woman died on Thursday and her husband died the following Saturday. Then, someone posted a clip from the movie The Notebook (one of my favorite movies) and it got be crying. Just stupid, random crap. Oh, oh, oh, and Brian used the words hormonal in a conversation with me and I was offended and started crying. Poor guy! lol I can still laugh at myself and realize that it is crazy hormones taking control, so I am not all worried. I always like to pay attention to my emotions though. I can't go and get all depressed - got too much stuff to get done!

1 week ago

1 week ago, I delivered a beautiful baby girl to a wonderful family.

BEFORE Grace arrived, her mom often times stated it felt surreal. During that time, it felt very real for me as I was carrying her. Now, I think it probably has switched. I feel that surreal feeling. It has only been a week, I am still recovering from the delivery, so it should still be very real for me. However, sometimes it feels like a world away, like a dream ...it is surreal.

I have spent my recovery time relaxing with the kids, watching shows on Netflix, reading some quilt magazines and books, putzing slowly around the house doing minimal tasks, and contacting friends online.

I think surrogacy will be in my blood for awhile. I appreciate my friends that have been there since the very beginning, offering words of encouragement. It is awesome that some people have followed me from the time I expressed interest in it to the the delivery. Truly awesome! Thank you friends for sharing in my experience! I have enjoyed reading other people's blogs and connecting with new people. Just this past week, I have met 2 new people because of this adventure.

I have communicated with Grace's family via e-mail and everyone is doing very well.

My breast milk came in and my breasts were VERY uncomfortable for 2 days, but it has started to fade. I still have some sore areas and need to further dry up, but nothing like I imagined it was going to be. I am feeling a bit more hormonal these last 2 days. Weepy at nothing and silly, minor things. Looking forward to that passing!

Very happy mom and dad!

LOVE this picture!