39 days to go!

Only a couple more days until March hits, it will be my very last full month of being pregnant!
At times, especially since the last 1/4 hit it feels like the time is dragging but that's probably because I'm having to drag myself around with this big chubba bubba resting on my bladder all day long and it's definitely feeling like an extreme effort, especially in this heat...ok I know I keep mentioning how much I'm suffering in this heat but it's true, I'm beginning to think that prison's who have repeat escapee convicts should ditch the handcuff's and 4x6 cells and just strap a pregnancy suit on them and stick them under a couple of heat lamps and they'll soon see that they won't be running anywhere, they'll be beaching themselves on the floor begging for their baby to be taken off them and swearing good behaviour for all eternity!

33 weeks along.

One thing I've noticed over the past week is how much more clingy my boy is becoming towards me, he was already a mama's boy to begin with so the extra effort I'm sticking in is sucking my fuel tanks dry...but no-one said motherhood was easy, it's all about self sacrifice and even though I'm heavily pregnant it's still no excuse to be selfish and put my own wants and needs before his, and this won't be lasting forever....less than 6 weeks to go and my body will be all mine again! I will miss being pregnant but I also look forward to handing the reins over with Squirt's upbringing and once I'm fully healed from my c-section I'll be running around searching out polka dotted elephants to kiss in my backyard with Hunter!

Miss Holly is especially looking forward to meeting her baby brother and loves telling everyone all the things she will be doing to help mummy out, she is particularly determined to fold the washing (which I know neat freak mummy will end up refolding anyway lol) and is fascinated with mummy's efforts to bring milk in for breast feeding, I ended up in a very in depth and factual conversation with her last week (all the facts coming from her of course). I was told about the differences between cow's milk and mummy's milk among other things and it was very entertaining listening to a 3 year old's perspective on it all, they really are a lot more observant than what we think, they take in everything!

Miss Holly giving her baby brother a tummy cuddle

So speaking of milk, Sara has now begun pumping, last week in fact, and was doing it 3 hourly even through the night, this week she has been ordered to increase it to every 2 hours, she pumps (using a hospital grade electronic pump) to hopefully bring in her milk supply after all the drugs she's been on to create it and so far it's working, it's tiring time consuming work and at times she get's discouraged but I just keep reminding her that it won't be forever, even though it feels like it will be at 4am while you watch your husband snore away blissfully while you have a mini milking machine tugging on your boobs! It's great practice for a newborn and all this pumping will give her a head start with adjusting to the sleep deprivation, you always have to look on the bright side and this is definitely a bonus to all the effort and time put into it. So if you find yourself talking to Sara make sure you offer her lots of encouragement to keep up the hard work, she needs lots of cheerleaders in her corner at the moment!

So the countdown is on...39 days to go, or less, depending if this little dude decides to make an early appearance! That's not very long at all, soon these belly shots will be replaced with newborn photo's!

A few tid bits here and there...

Only a couple more days until I'm 33 weeks along, 6....did I just say that right!? yes only 6 more weeks until we meet Squirt, there will soon be another baby in the Smith household and in the Dibley household we'll be sweet dreaming away while my sister and brother-in-law grow saddlebags under their eyes hehehe ...speaking of such things; I finally got to check out Squirts nursery yesterday with my own eyes, I must say it looks really awesome, very colourful and my favourite part is the super awesome name plaque on the wall, the name is.....oh wait sorry I can't tell you that part! oh well, only 6 more weeks to wait!

So we've had a few very interesting and entertaining few days, on Saturday we had Sara's mama shower, was a twist on the traditional baby shower but seeing as Sara was fully set up for Squirt and didn't want any more clutter in the house we decided on a mama shower instead which was a girls night only and in lieu of baby gifts people contributed money towards a baby/toddler photo shoot.
I would post photo's of this night but it's not really appropriate to do so as we had a lingerie party with some x-rated themed games, that sure brought out the giggles from all the girls and the next morning I woke up with such a raw throat from laughing so much! There were a few people we would've loved to have shared the night with but a few had weddings to attend and family commitments or they decided to spend the night on facebook instead, but hey you win some, you lose some and it was still a really good night!

I have been utterly spoilt lately! I received a pregnancy massage voucher from Dianne and Natasha (Squirts Nana and Aunty) and a shopping voucher from a family friend who said to treat myself after Squirt is born, I was not expecting any of this and it just really makes me feel loved and cared for so a huge thank you for these wonderful presents! I am so immensely excited about getting my pregnancy massage - pure bliss!!!!
I have also been spoilt in my home life too, there are no words that can really describe how appreciative I am towards my hubby, he has been working some long hours and weekends these past few weeks and still comes home and helps out with all the housework and cooking, he's getting better at hanging out washing without stretching the clothes and is a master towel folder, he even manages to work the oven with an acceptable outcome, he showers Hunter and puts Hunter to bed. Even when I try to get these things done myself he'll grab the vacuum cleaner out of my hand or texts me throughout the day saying "make sure you are resting! I'll do such and such when I get home". I still sneak all my household chores though because I just feel bad that he does so much while I'm being a hormonal monster! Even my 18 month old Hunter senses mama is not so flexible or as fast as she once was and is actually lying down without squirming to get his nappy changed...yes it's the simple things like this that makes my day a lot less stressful!

90% of this pregnancy has obviously centred around myself and Sara tends to get a bit overshadowed like a Dad is during the 9 months but I think it's time she had a bit of spot light put upon her. On March 8th she is shaving her hair off for "Shave for a cure". She is dedicating the shave to her baby Bella as it's made her aware that life is too short and is aiming to raise $750 for the Leukaemia and Blood Cancer sufferers. So far she has reached just over half way to her goal but we need more supporters to reach that target so if you would like to donate then please click on this link:
Sara's shave for a cure event!

A short blog entry this week but that's all that's happened over the past week! So keep well and will check in in another week, get clicking on that link to donate!! It's a huge thing for a woman to shave her hair off, I know I certainly don't have the guts to do it!

Big love with a big baby!

31 weeks 3 days! tick tock tick tock, the time is ticking closer! It's all getting very exciting and all the preparations are being made for the arrival of this little dude!
The nursery is all set up and my attention to detail perfectionist sister has done a brilliant job with all of that! She has opted for a Dr. Seuss theme for Squirts nursery, isn't that just a spot on theme for a baby who has had a slightly different quirky way of just getting into this world!?

Dr. Seuss nursery. His name is still denied to your eyes! lol

The clothes and nappies are washed, the hospital bags are in the process of being packed, the talk of the big day is becoming more frequent, eeeekkk it's all getting so very real now!
Not long now....well it sometimes seems ages to me as I'm sitting on the couch with sausage toes and stripped down to my undies suffering in this intense dry hot kiwi summer (yes, I pray no-one comes to the door while I'm in that state!) but the reality is April is just around the corner, we're already nearly half way through February, wasn't it just Christmas yesterday!? ....yeah that's how fast these days seem to be zooming by!

So I had another obstetrician appointment this morning...hmmm lets just say my "lady bits" have officially gone on strike, have shut up shop, packed it's bags and gone into hiding!! why? because I'm carrying a big Smith baby! I'm crossing my legs extra tight and determined to make it to my c-section date....baby Squirt is measuring just under 3 weeks ahead, and has been estimated at about 4.7lbs at the moment, that puts him in the 95th percentile, slow down Squirt because you've still got 8 weeks of growing to do!!!
I'm definitely feeling the difference between my two successful pregnancies, Hunter was not this difficult to lug around and my poor little petite body is feeling the effects, there's always something on me aching away and at least a few moans a day for my husband to endure...it would probably seem odd to all that I then say I will miss being pregnant though once Squirt comes out lol, it's just such a special limited time in a woman's life and once it's over it's over, I only have one more pregnancy to look forward to before my baby making days are over *sigh* 

me at 31 weeks pregnant!

I've noticed I've done a lot of talking over these past few months only about myself and about the expecting mum and dad but I haven't really taken any time out to talk about all the other people that have been so amazing through this whole journey. It's near impossible to get through such an adventure without the help and guidance of others and I have been overly blessed with having so much support from existing friends and family and I've also met so many new friends over the past few months that have been so accepting and who I've also been lucky enough to also share in their journey's to motherhood or expanding motherhood!
There are two people in particular that I really couldn't have done without, those two people have been there when no-one else knew my pee had made two lines appear on that test and were the first I told; my best friend and kindred spirit Sarah, she may live hours away down south in Christchurch but she is only a text or phone call away when I have needed her, gosh has she listened to an immense amount of hormonal ranting and still keeps coming back for more! She is one of those rare people you meet in life that joins in on your crazy jokes and laughter instead of running a mile thinking you're some weirdo with a slight crazy facial twitch lol
My other rock has been my sister-in-law Sandy, she will always put aside time to listen to any problems I have had even though she juggles three gorgeous kids, whom I love to pieces, work and study! Talk about supermum and supersister! She always expresses how proud she is of me and we all should admit it's nice to have a head boosting moment like that from time to time! When you receive unconditional love like that it's the most special feeling!

There is no way I could possibly mention everyone who has meant so much to me through this journey, the fact of the matter is if you have been there for me at any given point it has not gone unnoticed! The love and support is what powers this baby train! And of course there is a handful of people that I, well...expected more from considering the connection I have to them...... that also hasn't gone unnoticed (lol) and will be stored away in my little memory files!

But all in all this blog entry is about showing my love and how much I appreciate the time, effort and support that has been given to me so a huge thank you to those who deserve it, pat yourself on the back and feel the lurv!! xoxo

3/4 down, 1/4 to go!

So I was naughty and skipped a week in my blog entries *smacks hand*. A lot has been going on in the last couple of weeks and by the time i've arrived back home I have pretty much got on top of the running of the household, husband and toddler and gone to bed; being in your third trimester is like time warping back to the first trimester with the fatigue but the fuel tanks get guzzled up much faster since you've got a lot more baby to carry around!

I have had some very interesting adventures over the past couple of weeks, one of which put me on bed rest for two days but it was accompanied by fits of hysterical laughter so it had it's perks.
What put me on bed rest you may wonder? Well it involved a three year old niece of mine in the midst of a full blown tantrum....let's start at the beginning of that story...
Ok so we were at the beach (we as in myself, my sister, and our two kiddies Hunter and Holly) and I was left with the kiddies while Sara popped across the road back home to change into her togs, all was going fine until little Miss Diva decided to make her own rules about playing too close to the road, she got told off as Hunter was wanting to follow her and the third warning which resulted in me being stern in my voice tipped her over the edge...BAM! the sand bucket went flying out of her hand across the beach and she took off down the street like a rat up a drainpipe! .....now here I was, seven months pregnant needing to split myself in two and needing to make a split second decision, do I yell after her to come back and hope she stops and listens and stay with my 17 month old son so he dosn't go near the road? Or do I put faith in the other mums sitting next to him on the beach hoping they would have sense enough to stop him if he did decide to explore while I went after a tantruming toddler who had already put herself in danger?
Well Hunter was stuck on the beach, he was too short to get over the ledge to the footpath, a quick point to him and an understanding from the other mums to watch him I shot off after the screaming toddler to catch her before she hurt herself....what a sight and show I must've put on for the entire beach because I was also aware during my pursuit at how silent the beach goer's were while they stared on, heck even the goddamn waves had paused midroll to take a good nosey!
Now being 7 months pregnant and sprinting after a toddler is no easy feat but I was lucky enough to have one thing in my favour - Holly was still holding the blow up donut around her waist so it slowed her down considerably, within seconds I had hooked that donut under my arm and she came to a skidding halt, the crying and screams continued while I walked her back to Hunter (who was still standing in the same spot with a bemused look on his face) and I was forced to sit there while Holly sat on the grass verge and screamed her little lungs out and clawed at the grass in rage. a stern telling off and a few deep breaths finally calmed me down and it felt like an eternity before Sara came back and was filled in on the details of the nightmare I had just lived through, lets just say we ended up leaving the beach about 2 minutes later (making Sara's tog change pointless lol) and we set off back home....we entered the car park and Sara then asks "oh no, where's the house key!? It fell out of my pocket! we can't get back into the house!!!"
ummmm....you're kidding right!! surely this day cannot get any worse....
Well the key could not be found, we had no cell phones to call anyone to come rescue us so I knew there was no other choice, "Sara" I said, "You have to break into the house, there is no other way"
So we picked a window relatively close to ground level and the rubbish bin was strategically placed under the window to hoist Sara in, she got the window open and started to pounce in "crack!!!!" goes the bin lid and Sara's feet sunk into the bin, by this time she was swearing every foul word you can think of and I was nearly pissing myself laughing....
Plan B, get the other bin....this time the bin lid held and she hoisted herself inside, only to get herself wedged awkwardly in the window with her leg hanging out and half her body leaning inside, worst.burglar.ever!
Eventually we were back inside, it was one of those days where some hard liquor would have gone down nicely but I had to settle for a strong coffee instead....and continue to laugh about Sara's breaking in attempts.
So the toddler incident resulted in my pubic bone flaring up and walking become unbearable, I had the worst stinging stabbing pain radiating up through my upper half and my OB said I was to be on bed rest for 48 hours to help it settle down....damn I thought I was getting away with a pregnancy where I would skip any bed rest but that bed rest goblin soon came wandering into my life *sigh*.
It's not all bad though as I did manage to capture this photo while Sara babysat Hunter so I could rest...

me 30 weeks along.

So yes, I'm now 30 weeks 1 day along, only 8 weeks 6 days to go!! I'm hoping there will be no more impromptu marathon training and I get to spend my last few weeks of pregnancy in relative calmness...here's hoping!

30 weeks along with Hunter wanting a hug aswell lol

It's not all smiles and fairies frolicking amongst the flowers!

Well here I am finally in my third trimester, 28 weeks 3 days along; just over 10 weeks until we meet Squirt! That dosn't sound very far off and it's not but for some reason I've now flipped the switch from "this pregnancy is zooming by" to "argh the days are dragging slowly by"....that's probably because I feel like I have to drag myself everywhere and I just feel so lazy and heavy now, it dosn't help that my iron levels have come back low too so dozing off on the couch at 7pm (nana-alert!) is becoming a norm! After that it's all over rover and I'm acting like an over-tired, cranky, fidgety, tantrum fuelled toddler that's in desperate need of some time out!

It's about this time when the hard effort of growing an entire human being really begins to feel like an effort! A lot of people think that because this surrogacy journey is a beautiful, selfless and an amazingly generous thing to do for someone it makes me full of happy hormones and a smile that sits on my face 24/7 but trust me people, behind closed doors there is alot of frustration sometimes (just like any other pregnant household) and yes there has been plenty of petty arguments over really stupid stuff. At the end of the day it is an emotionally charged situation and when you have four people expecting one baby between them sometimes head's do butt! Yes 95% of the time it is happy happy joy joy and things run along smoothly but for anyone that ever intends to enter this experience for themselves, they have got to be realistic that it does test all sorts of relationships, in a way it's a good thing but it does get tiring from time to time!
I am feeling an ever increasing need to morph into an octopus sometimes; just to keep everyone happy and content with appointment times, schedules, home-life (juggling a toddler and husband), trying to keep Squirts real mum and dad (Sara and Lance) as involved as possible and then I feel like I also need an extra arm for myself, I forget to focus on myself and yes sometimes I have very selfish moments when I expect everyone to focus on me and I think nothing else should matter but the needs of the pregnant lady (I'm just being honest! lol) but the reality is the world does not revolve around me and  I will just do my relaxing once Squirt is born because that's when I can try and focus more on just myself... after 39 weeks of growing a human for someone else I do deserve some "me time", after all I won't be the one waking up every 2-3 hours from that newborn cry that seems to feel like a jack hammer on the brain at 3am while you shove match sticks between your lids trying to fight off sleep deprivation hehehehe so getting that relaxation should hopefully be easier to accomplish....and then my toddler walks into the room LOL....

Yes it feels like all I've done is moan and groan with this blog post about how exhausted I am but we're all entitled to have a little venting session from time to time and this is mine....just a really public venting session (lol) but that's what I signed up for when I said I would share every aspect of this journey!

On a more happier note Squirt has managed to creep his Uncle Terry out which was a funny thing to witness! You can actually feel the outline of Squirts little feet up around my ribs when he brushes them past and pushes them out and Terry felt the perfect little heel push into the palm of his hand, he jumped back and said he would never ever want to feel a human inside of him and I swear I saw him shudder with creepiness lol

Anyways I'll leave you all with my latest belly pic and will catch up with you all next week, no hormonal moaning I promise!

28 weeks along, hello 3rd trimester!

dizzy in space and bored in the desert.

Over a weeks span I have managed to travel to infinity and beyond and back down to earth to cross the sahara desert, okay you're probably thinking what the hell is she talking about!?
Well I'll start off with my travel to space, this involved doing my GTT (glucose tolerance test), I ended up doing it bang on 27 weeks, I was absolutely dreading it, I did not have a good reaction with my first one done with Hunter's pregnancy so was not wanting to do this at all but I knew it had to be done. So it was an early rising for both me and Hunter which in turn made him a very grumpy boy; a great start to the day! and off we headed to the testing lab to get it over and done with, I chugged back the flat tasting lemonade which wasn't too nice as I don't like fizzy drinks and surprisingly they let me leave for the hour needed for the goodness to kick into my blood stream, I was quite surprised they let me leave as they knew of my poor response to the test but it was better to lie on the couch at home than to sit in a waiting room on a squeaky hard chair....I was lucky enough to have Terry stay with me incase I fainted and sure enough within 20 minutes I was floating off into space, the room started spinning stars and I let out a few harsh words about how much I hated the test...to cut a long story short I ended up being sick and dizzy the rest of the day and it was no easy feat also trying to juggle the needs and entertainment of a 16 month old toddler and endure the heat of our kiwi summer on the brink of my third trimester but I mustered up my strength and got on with it....

My next pit stop in my adventures was to the Sahara Desert, this was 3 days later at 27 weeks 3 days along,   I had my latest obstetrician appointment and was meeting one of the other obstetricians in the practice to get acquainted with him should it arise that my ob wouldn't be available during the birth....well lets just say I have more success of squeezing conversation and a smile out of my pet rock that lives in the backyard. I'm sure he's a remarkable doctor when it comes down to the birth side of babies but I couldn't help coming out of the appointment feeling like I had just dragged myself over a desert, his personality was so dry I instantly felt in desperate need of water and a chap stick! I can't wait to see my beloved Dereck again and crack some terrible jokes and not feel the need to act "normal" lol
But the positive points of the appointment is Squirt is doing well, he's measuring just over 28 weeks ahead, so levelling out to a week ahead in growth and is estimated to be about 2lb 14oz's which puts him in the 75th percentile for size, so far he's living up to the big Smith baby tradition! Yes, it is times like these that make me immensely pleased that this baby is coming out of the sun roof and not the exhaust pipe! He's also turned head down which I had a sneaking suspicion he had done a few days ago as I woke up with that "stretched out" feeling all over my belly and every now and then I have a foot getting cosy in my ribs!

I'm really loving this stage of pregnancy even if I am suffering in this incredible heat and humidity, It's so amazing being able to distinguish arms and legs, the brush of feet and hands across your front and that weird feeling when he rears his bum up and my belly becomes obviously lopsided!
You can be promised of a movement frenzy when you finish meals and this is what I usually have to look forward to after every meal, on this particular day Squirt decided to be a bit more kind with the strength of his kicks and punches but it's still cool looking at the movement!

So this afternoon had a bit of excitement added into it, we had a 4D scan and got some super cute facial shots, I'm absolutely convinced he looks like a mini Murray (Squirt's Grandad) and Sara is convinced Squirt looks like a mini Lance, well all in all he looks like a mini Smith! lol

Taking a glimpse into Squirt's world is always so special and here are some special photo's to share with you all....

1st photo - smiles!
2nd photo - eyes open!
3rd photo - Squirt's foot!
4th photo - cutie pie!

Waddling in the surf, sun and sand!

Is it really January 7th already!? okay that holiday only felt like two days long instead of two weeks! But what a blast it was!
So where did I go? well for the majority of the holiday we went down to Waihi Beach, which is a little beach town about two hours drive from Auckland, it's extremely beautiful ....and extremely hot! I ticked onto 26 weeks pregnant down there and I certainly felt it with each waddle I took in the sun, I went through an entire can of sunblock and was thankful I packed my maternity togs (which I changed into awkwardly in a sun shelter while Terry held a towel up in front, and I still managed to moon a few people much to Terry's amusement lol) but the surf was a nice respite from that heat and on one particular morning I spent a good hour splashing around in the water and waves, Squirt seemed to sense where he was and happily bounced around too, it really wouldn't surprise me if he was a natural water baby as his daddy was a rower for many years and spent countless hours in the water.

25 weeks pregnant, at Waihi Beach

We spent the week down there with my sister Sara, her hubby Lance and little Miss Holly and friends of ours Hayley and Nick and their son Jack who is only a week younger than my Hunter.

The holiday gang building a water pit for the kiddies

We shared a lot of laughs and it was great spending time with everyone and the kids loved it all too, I also will admit I had a few uncontrollable hormonal outbursts and a few grumpy moments so I must say thanks to everyone for enduring the pregnantzilla!!

We all became a bit addicted to the Flip n' Bear pancake den. OH.MY.GOODNESS! That was pure delight on a plate, I swear Squirt probably piled on about 5 pounds of pancake fat; me about 5kg of pancake fat and the rest of the holiday gang each grew a food baby out the front of them lol
My mouth is drooling at the thought of those pancakes, they will be sorely missed and yes I shed a little tear leaving that place!

.....So 26 weeks you say, yup that's right 26 weeks 3 days along now; can you believe there is only 12 and a bit more weeks before we meet this little dude! I'm increasingly becoming paranoid that Squirt may decide to make an earlier appearance, I'm looking forward to my pain-free "birth" after a horrific experience with Hunter's 23 hour labour and the drama's that followed it but knowing my luck I'll go into labour at 38 weeks or the day before my planned c-section, I'll have a good laugh about it, at first, then I'll swear about it once the pain kicks in ....maybe I might strike it lucky and have a couple of cramps and bam! baby pops out suddenly on the toilet ....yeah right; but dreams are free. But really Squirt, Aunty will really appreciate it if you didn't come earlier than planned!

It's been rather interesting comparing photo's of my pregnancy with Hunter and Squirt and how big I was week by week, I was quite smaller with Hunter at this stage, in fact I wasn't this size until I was 30+ weeks along with Hunter, so Squirt really will be a bigger baby as predicted or it's just my pre-used uterus being a big more "relaxed" lol

25w pregnant with Hunter and 30w pregnant with Hunter (the size i am now at 26w with Squirt)

In the next couple of days I have my GTT (glucose tolerance test) to get done, argh the most hated part of all things pregnancy related! As I've said in previous blog posts the last one I had while I was pregnant with Hunter didn't go down too well so I'm absolutely dreading the fainting spell I might have and feeling like I'm floating in space for the the rest of the day, wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it....I'm confident I'll tell a rather entertaining update about that next week!