After not seeing my lovely IPs for 8 weeks, we finally got together for a routine midwife appt today. I was so excited to see them, it seems like double that since we saw one another. We had a good catch up over coffee and a toastie (nom!), I have really missed them.
Midwife appt was all routine but good nonetheless. I had bloods taken for my iron levels, liver function and for blood grouping - all of which are routine for me. The results from my glucose test were as expected and all normal and my bp was fine. There was a small amount of protein in my urine sample and some ketones - the latter is normal for me but the protein not so much, however with my bp normal we aren't worried it's anything worrying like pre-eclampsia but probably more a UTI, which I had suspected I was harbouring for a few weeks now. Anyway, all sent to the lab and we'll hear if it throws anything up.
We heard that the head of midwifery at my delivery hospital had been in contact now we are a bit further along in the pregnancy, to organise the meeting that I had with my last IPs. It's nothing to worry about and all very routine, we hope to have that meeting around the time of my hospital scan and consultant appt next month.
We also arranged for our antenatal class! All very exciting, I love these classes that my lovely midwife runs because it really spells out labour and delivery and all the bits inbetween that for my IPs and is much more concise than I can ever be when trying to explain. That will be the beginning of February.
Also, we will be arranging our birth suite tour between the same dates, which again is very exciting for the guys. I mean not so much for me, it's not my first baby but I enjoy seeing the knowledge that my IPs take from visiting the hospital and it makes it seem that bit more real too.
Lastly, the midwife team from my IPs hospital have been in touch with my midwife and the guys now have a contact point to speak to over these coming few weeks to arrange things their end - such as perhaps a home visit by the team but at the very least a telephone introduction to who will be coming out to visit their son once they make it home with him.
We had a good chat in the car on the way home about birth, labour and beyond and I feel very relaxed about what's to come and I know mistakes from match 1 won't be repeated, which is comforting because they did marr parts post-partum which wasn't nice at the time.
So, very busy times ahead as we enter the third trimester and I'm growing more excited myself. It's nice because I'm much more relaxed this time around because I know what's coming and what to expect but also because I know what the surrogacy part entails whereas last time, I was winging it quite frankly!
I was very very spoilt once again today by my IPs, despite me talking about not buying each other anything for Christmas and a silence about that from one of them, they suprised the heck out of me by presenting me with a huge bag of presents for the entire family. It's never ever been about material rewards, I'm simply not that type of person but it is lovely to feel that someone (or 2!) has gone to such lengths to do something kind for you and that's these two all over. We as a family were blown away, the thought they put into things they give to me and us all just bowls me over. Very lucky surrogate family indeed. I hope they know how much we all appreciate them, not just what they do time and again for me but for us all.
Feeling pretty good in myself, as far as late pregnancy goes and enjoying the company of my tum buddy. I'm off to Scotland next week to spend Christmas with my mum, it's the first one without my grandmother alive so I'm already feeling extra emotional, December is always a rough month for me anyway as I lost my father some years back on the 23rd and so with pregnancy hormones on top, I'm trying to keep busy and keep cheery for my children.
Will be back in 2014 with the next update!
