Our little thumb sucker....

What a week we have had... busy, busy, busy!

We received our ultrasound pictures and report on Thursday and found out we are in fact now one week ahead of schedule. So we missed week 13 altogether and moved right into week 14 starting today! Out of all of the ultrasound pictures we received from this last report, this was the best picture we had. We really liked this one since he/she looks like they have their hand or foot in their mouth, AWWWWWW!!. The nasal bone is visible and the heart rate is at 165 bpm. Our new due date is now, drumroll please............ Sept. 16th, 2009.

Yesterday was Gerry's Birthday. We celebrated it at a Japanese Teppanyaki grill (they cook right in front of you) for supper with Mom and Dad and then since it was his special day afterward he decided what he wanted to do... go to a baby store. So off we went to do more window shopping. My actual birthday gift for him is a weekend bed & breakfast get-away to Coronado Island in the San Diego area. It is scheduled for early next month, and I am so proud that I was able to do all of the planning and booking by myself and best of all undetected. He got lots of phone calls and messages and 2 very special calls from our wonderful Doctors, wishing him a very Happy Birthday. Gerry told them they gave him the most wonderful Birthday gift he could ever ask for...'our baby.'

We are busy getting the nursery ready. We have decided on the Fisher Price Rainforest theme, and we are using bright beautiful colors (pictures to follow once we are completed). It is coming along nicely and we are so excited. The closet and shelves are already getting full of toys, onesies, receiving blankets, books, and such. We bought a cute little onesie the other day...we couldn't resist, it was so cute. There are so many cute clothes that we like, even though it is a bit challenging to find them in gender neutral colors. We had lunch today with my good friend Danielle, her hubby and her son. They were here visiting from Texas and she surprised us with a beautiful and very useful baby gift. They got us an infant travel bed, which will totally come in handy when we are in India. I laughed this week when I got a call from one of the girls who used to work with me but recently moved to another job. She called to say she had it marked on her calender that it is now 'okay' to buy baby gifts! Too funny!

We got our first call last week from the SurrogacyIndia add on Gerry's truck. It was really neat. What a wonderful feeling to be able to help others in need. We also have recently been contacted by another local couple who are interested in surrogacy and have so many questions that I have been able to try and answer for them. Hopefully we will get together with them and the other local couple S & J, before they leave to pick up their baby next month.

Frankie had her teeth cleaned last week and the vet found a broken tooth and so they pulled it. She was back to her usual happy self within 24 hours. Poor baby had to have a week of antibiotics, but the peanut butter chaser seemed to cover up the taste pretty well.

We are now counting the days down until my Mom and Dad return to Niagara Falls. It just seems like yesterday that they got here. They have had a fabulous winter and even made time last week for a quick last minute Vegas get-away. We don't want them to leave, but the nice part is when they return next winter, we will have the new addition to our family to greet them.

Kristin, Gerry's daughter, is having a great time in northern India near Nepal, and doesn't want to leave. She says there is so much to do in the orphanage.

So in closing, we leave you with a 13 week ultrasound (not our baby) that truly says it all!

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Sorry for those who are unable to access. All I can figure out for now is that it is a problem with Internet Explorer. If you have Mozilla Firefox the blog comes up no problem. I am trying to fix it. I will try and get the bug out, but so far have been unsuccessful. Sorry for any inconvenience.

2nd Trimester here we come.....

Whew!! Another milestone reached. We are just waiting on our latest scan which KT had on Thursday the 5th at Hiranandani Hospital. We are both on pins and needles, and I literally check our site every hour to see if its been updated even though Dr. Sudhir said it would take a couple of days before they get the results. We are just so anxious to see how our little one is growing and seeing the ultrasound makes it all seem so real. We heard from KT the other day via personal video and she was again, all smiles, telling us she is good and the baby is well too. She just wants us to hurry up and come to Mumbai to meet her in person. What an amazing feeling that gives us.

Your Baby at 12 weeks:
Baby's face is looking more human as his eyes have moved to the front of his head and his ears are in place. Hooray!

Other amazing fetal highlights this week:

Your baby is able to swallow this week and practices on the amniotic fluid he or she floats in. (And you thought baby food was kind of nasty!) And in case you're wondering how your kid can breathe in all that fluid, here's your answer: Fetuses get oxygen from the blood pumped into their bodies by the placenta and don't breathe with their lungs. Mystery solved!

This is kind of gross, albeit fascinating, so feel free to skip ahead: Your baby's intestines are well under way, but they aren't all where you'd expect them to be. Instead of all being locked away in the body cavity, some are dangling on the outside, in the umbilical cord. Ewwww.

Don't forget to put a baby nail file on your registry—your little nugget's finger- and toenails are forming this week. The chin and nose are also becoming more defined.

Junior has doubled in size over the past two weeks and now weighs almost ½ ounce. He's also now around 2 ½ inches long, about the length of your pinky finger or a Vienna sausage, which, in a few months, will be indistinguishable from one another.

GREAT news from Australia!!!!

HOORAY FOR THE HUMBLEBEE'S!!!!

Our dear India surrogacy buddy, friend and faithful follower got the wonderful news that, she is PREGNANT!!!! We couldn't be more happy for Jojo and her hubby. First attempt with SI and her egg donor and tah dah...their pregnant! CONGRATULATIONS Jojo and Tim it couldn't happen to nicer people.

Kristin, our daughter/step-daughter has arrived in India safe and sound and her 3 month journey is just beginning. We know she will absolutely love India and they will love her too. We can't wait to hear updates.

Just got our copy of our week 9 ultrasound and it brought tears to our eyes... Our little angel actually is starting to look like a baby. Gerry's first response...'It's a BOY!' Okay, so we have no idea of the sex...yet, but if that's what he thinks then I will definitely let him go with it. Boy or Girl they are already so dearly loved and we can't wait to meet them!

As per our itinerary we are schedule for our next scan sometime this week! We are on baited breath to see how much our little one has grown. Thank you Docs for making this feel so real and so close to our hearts.

Gerry's cheating...

Okay, we are at 11 weeks today and counting! Gerry started to prime the nursery to get ready to paint. He is not playing fair! I know he is secretly buying stuff without telling me. The Doctors really want us to come for a visit and Gerry is convinced that this is a good idea too...I think I am out-numbered! So don't be surprised if we make a mid-pregnancy trip to Mumbai in the next few months.

Your Baby at 11 weeks:

All of your baby's vital organs are now formed and functioning, so the risk of defects decreases this week as your baby becomes less susceptible to outside influences. Phew! Other exciting
developments include:

Baby's ears are assuming their proper place this week and the fingernail and toenail beds are beginning to form. Your little "pumpkin head" really lives up to his nickname as his head is nearly as big as the rest of his body.

While testes or ovaries are completely formed now, don't start decorating the nursery. You won't be able to see your baby's gender for a few more weeks yet (not till birth for us).
Your baby is really on the move now. In an ultrasound you might be able to see your little acrobat flailing his or her arms and legs and doing somersaults worthy of Cirque du Soleil. KT still won't be able to feel any movement, so if KT feels something "kick" in there, it's probably gas.

This web site shows an ultrasound of a 10 week ultrasound. Check out 'baby George at 10 weeks'. It is amazing how much our baby is moving...already!

In the next nine weeks, your baby will increase 30 times in weight and almost triple in length. KT might feel like you're increasing 30 times in weight at this point, too, but we can assure she's not—because, honey, she ain't seen nothin' yet!

Your baby now weighs a third of an ounce, about the same as two small, Starbucks-sized packets of sugar, is about 2 inches long, the length of one of those sugar packets. Isn't that sweet?