Surro Sister GTG

L-R (Rebecca, Me, Beth, Krystal, Kristina and Dominique)
Rebecca is new to surrogacy and currently matched.  The rest of us have completed at least one journey already.

I have been so blessed throughout both of my journeys for a fantastic support system, from my family to IP's to my surro sisters.  I'm lucky to live within such close proximity to several other surrogates and that we are able to get together every now and then to visit and catch up with each other.  This was a smaller group than usual, but we all still had a good time visiting with each other.  I was at my oldest son's soccer game before the lunch and then had to get going to our middle son's basketball game after, so it definitely made for a very full day.  I really try not to miss a GTG because sometimes we go a couple of months in between, plus Dominique was here from Houston visiting family, so I definitely wanted to see her again before she headed back.  She is one of the surrogates that met me in Houston after one of my appointments last year.

I was excited that I got to break in my new shirt that C &W gave me for Christmas.  It says "Their Peas......my pod".

19 Weeks and Surro GTG

 

 



C & W's Baby in Week 19 of Pregnancy
Have you ever seen a mango dipped in cheese? Well, that's what the baby looks like this week due to a little growth spurt (she's about a half pound in weight and six inches long) and a substance called vernix caseosa. This greasy white stuff covers the baby's skin, protecting it from the surrounding amniotic fluid. (Without it, she'd look totally wrinkled as she entered the world.) The vernix sheds as delivery approaches, though some babies still sport a bit of the coating at birth.

Your Body in Week 19 of Pregnancy

One minute you're lying peacefully in bed and the next your calf muscle feels like it's about to explode. Leg cramps during pregnancy are pretty common (no one knows exactly what causes them, but muscle fatigue or compressed blood vessels are the likeliest culprits) and tend to strike at night. You might also be wondering about tingling and numbness in your fingers and toes about now. It's a weird sensation but totally normal, probably a result of your body's swelling tissues pressing on nerves.

 

The Preggos - Krystal (12 wks, Singleton), Lisa (20 weeks, Twins), Vanessa (32 weeks, Singleton), and Me (19 weeks, Singleton)

 

Today, I got to get together with some of my wonderful surro-sisters.  We had lunch at Babe's in Carrollton and it was a great visit.  So many wonderful ladies.  It was nice to meet a couple of new ladies just starting out in there journeys and those that I have followed since beginning my first journey.  Surrogacy is such a wonderful thing and I love being a part of such a supportive community as well.  

Surro GTG

L-R (Kayla, Me, Dominique, Krystal, and Beth)

Some of the sweetest ladies I know.  I absolutely love my surro sisters and the community that I am so blessed to be a part of.  They were an amazing support during my last journey and have been even more so during this one.  They are there for the good, bad and ugly.  We make each other laugh and cry.  I'm the only one preggo in this group so far.  We decided to meet at Chick-fil-a in Grand Prairie since most of us had our kiddos.  It was a long drive, but totally worth it.

Surrogate GTG - Just what I needed.

 

Over the last 2+ years, I have gotten to know some wonderful ladies, who I call my surro-sisters.  We all share the love of surrogacy and building families.  I was blessed to be able to get together with so many of these wonderful ladies today for lunch.  Totally made the drive to Plano worth it.  They are such a wonderful support system and we can all talk about ANYTHING with each other.  The good, the bad and even the ugly (sometimes literally).  We always have some good laughs and conversations catching up on every one's journey's.  Our group has definitely grown over time and it's amazing how large our community really is and it amazes me how many families our being built and completed by all of these wonderful women!

The Preggo Group.  10 (maybe 11) babies on the way.  3 of them are carrying twins.  The Surro on the far right MIGHT have twins too, just waiting on her first ultrasound.  ; ) 

Surro-sister Get Together

Back:  Me, Amber, Kayla G., Vanessa, and Allyson (5 wks-Litter-LOL!)
Front:  Meredith (10 wks-Singleton), Beth (37 wks-Singleton), Kayla E. and Kristina

Oh my! This was probably one of the most fun GTG's so far. It was so nice to visit with the ladies I've met before and got to meet a couple of new ladies too. We met at Saltgrass in Grapevine.  I had left in plenty of time, expecting there to be traffic and there wasn't any. Since there wasn't any traffic, I stopped at Nothing Bundt Cakes in Southlake on the way. I LOVE their cakes, so picked up a dozen bundtinis.  They are so yummy and I knew the preggo ladies would especially appreciate them.  Oh, come on, you can splurge a little when your pregnant.  Hehe  They put the box together for me and I headed on my way.  I still made it 20 minutes early, sat in my car for about 10 minutes and then headed in.

I wasn't there long before Beth arrived and shortly after that, our table was ready and we headed back.  We were there for several hours and had a great time.  I actually had a drink at this one (other than water of course) and it was yummy!  I hardly ever drink, but one of the girls said their Pina Coladas were really good, so figured I'd have one.  We had some pretty conversations and it was a really fun get together.  We (mostly Vanessa) teased Allyson that she is having a litter because her BETA numbers have been astronomical.  They actually only did an SET (Single Embryo Transfer), so in reality, it either split and is twins or it is a singleton really producing A LOT of Hcg.  Her ultrasound will be in another week or so, so we are all waiting to see what that shows. 

Surrogate Solutions Get Together

Me, Didi, Lindsey, (?), Gayle, Samantha, Kelly, Kristin, (?), Melissa, (?), Simi and her husband
My DD is in the front.  She's actually listening to music, not talking on the phone.  (My little photo bomber - hehe)

This GTG was at Ninfa's in Waco and put together through my agency, Surrogate Solutions.  Waco is only a couple of hours away and it was nice to see some new faces.  There were several ladies I had never met before.  It was a pretty quick trip, but well worth the drive.  My oldest DS was gracious enough to come along too and took the pictures for us.  We even stopped in West on the way home and picked up some kolaches.  Mmmmmm!

Austin Surro-sister Get Together

Beth (32 Wks-Singleton), Simi, Shannon (8 Wks-Singleton), Kate (?), Christi and Me

Well, due to the incentive trip for work to Mexico, hubby and I both needed passports.  We haven't been out of the country or on a beach vacation since our honeymoon, over 8 years ago.  Apparently, to get a passport these post 9-11 days, you have to have a "long form" birth certificate.  Luckily for me, my Mom had mine.  DH wasn't so lucky.  His parents only had a copy of his, which doesn't work for these purposes.  That meant that I would have to travel to Austin to get his long form directly from the Department of Vital Statistics.  Since we were born prior to 1983, they are not kept at the local level. 

It all worked out, as I was off work today anyway, but the Vital Stats office was open.  Woohoo!  Road trip!  My surro-sister and friend Beth volunteered to be my co-pilot since she wanted a bit of a break for the day too.  It was so nice to have a travel buddy.  (Thanks Beth!)  I had posted in our FB group that we would be in Austin for the day and we were blessed to have a few surrogates in that area that were able to meet us for lunch. 

We went to the Vital Stats office first and then met everyone at Chuy's in Round Rock on our way out.  It is always great to meet other surrogates that are part of such a wonderful community.  We had a good time (although I can't say the same for the service), but we all made the best of it.  Several of them brought their kids too and they were all so well behaved.  After lunch, Beth and I stopped at IKEA since they have some great glasses that DH likes and have unfortunately broken several of them.  It was a quick trip, but really was a great day.  Rain and all.

DFW Surro-sister Get Together

Amber, Me, Beth (32 Wks-Singleton), Kayla (28 Wks-Twins), Kristina (25 wks-Twins), Meredith (5 Wks-Singlton), Mitzi and Vanessa

I'm very lucky to live in an area with so many other surrogates.  It is a great support system and it's good to be able to get together with them to be able to put names with faces.  We are able to coordinate GTG's through some Facebook groups and message boards.  This one was a GTG on my side of town at the Cheesecake Factory in Southlake.  It allows us to celebrate and vent with those that are going through/been through the same things as each other.  We always have a great time seeing each other and usually spend at least a couple of hours visiting. 

The funny thing about this one is that the way the seating at the Cheesecake Factory is, there were people directly on either side of us and we had fun looking at their expressions every now and then to some of the things being discussed in our conversations.  Since we are all surrogates, we have no fear discussing all aspects of pregnancy (how we got pregnant, issues, delivery, etc).