Pics of our trip...

Playing catch up...

1/2 WAY THERE...I can't believe we are already at 20 weeks! It is just amazing to know that in just 4 short months we will be traveling back to Mumbai for the birth of our sweet angel. We couldn't help but say to everyone while there, 'When we come back we will be three!' Time really has flown by and I a sure that Sept. will be here before we know it. So many questions go through my head...Will we be ready? Will our baby be happy with his/her new home? Will I be a good Mom? So many questions, stress, excitement, and wild wonderful emotions. I had to giggle with glee the other day at the store when the ladies asked about my mehndi and then proceeded to say that I was a 'glowing Mommy.' I look at the nursery everyday and imagine what it will be like when it is officially occupied. I am a Mommy, and it feels so real. WOOO HOOO, come on baby we are waiting for you!!!!

Your Baby at 20 weeks...

This is the week most women get that ever-important gender-revealing ultrasound. If your baby isn't shy, the genitals can be clearly seen at this point. Will the baby pee standing up or sitting down? Well, that depends on how you potty train—but if you're interested, you could leave the appointment knowing if you're carrying a boy or a girl.

Other highlights this week:

Your baby has established sleep patterns akin to a newborn now. Many babies even have a favorite sleep position already. Some snooze with their chins resting on their chests, while others nap with their head flung back. Many babies at this age fall into noticeable cycles of sleep and activity, so you may know before she arrives whether you have a night owl or an early bird.

If your baby is a boy, the testes have begun descending from the pelvis into the scrotum. If it's a girl, her uterus is completely formed and the rest of her "parts" are in development. (Is that TMI?)

From this point forward, your baby will put most of her energy into gaining weight and, not coincidentally, so will you! Right now your baby weighs approximately 10½ ounces and is about 6½ inches long, about the size of a can of Red Bull (which has way too much caffeine for a pregnant woman to be drinking).

Your Baby at 19 weeks...

This week your baby starts bulking up and packing on the grossly named "brown fat" he'll need to keep warm when he gets evicted from his comfortable uterine home.

Other highlights this week:

Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your baby's skin, appears all over your baby's body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid. Think of it as if your baby has been dipped in yogurt, like those delicious but fake-healthy yogurt-covered raisins and pretzels. Ooh, we feel another craving comin' on. ... Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers baby's body. Don't worry, your Mini won't look like Cousin It when he's born. Most of the fuzz will fall off before baby makes his grand entrance.

Good news: Your baby's kidneys are fully functioning and producing urine this week. Bad news: That means there will be lots of diapers in your future. But so far you're safe—at the moment the pee just passes into the amniotic fluid.

He or she now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches, as long as a turkey sub from Subway on warm, delicious Italian Herbs and Cheese bread (or Honey Oat bread, or Oregano bread or ...)

Pics to follow...

Home safe and sound.

Just a quickie to say we made it!!! After 26 hours of airports and flying we are pooped. Minus one bag, once again that will be hand delivered to the house later this evening. Frankie is great, and so happy to see Mommy and Daddy again. That is the hardest part of our trips. Its off for a long shower and some rest.

Happy Birthday to my Mom today! We love you and your scan of your grandbaby is on its way soon.

Saying good-bye once again.

Today is our last day in Mumbai. It is filled with a worldwind of emotions. Sad to leave, but happy to get back to my fur baby Frankie at home. We have had an amazing adventure and it has been worth every single penny we paid. I was a little concerned about coming 1/2 way through our pregnancy, as it is not cheap to come to Mumbai and take time off of work. I have to say that, I will be forever grateful to Gerry and the Docs for being insistant on us taking this trip. It has been more then we could ever have imagined. Anyone who says you can't create a bond with your surrogate, I say poohy on them! We have seen KT and her family so much this week and shared some amazing experiences together. We learned about each others homes, families and lives and shared many laughs and tears. I can't even imagine not having this special time together.

We are off to enjoy our last few hours of Mumbai and will post the rest of our amazing trip when we return to Arizona.

Here is me enjoying one of the best days of my life...our precious angel!

Namaste from Mumbai

We are here !! and like I imagined, with limited internet access. Oh well, we will make the most of the time we have to update you a bit, some from the Docs office, some from the lawyers office...

We arrived, and again hit the road running. We stayed up late visiting and catching up with the Docs at the hotel. It was AMAZING to see them again. It felt just like old times. Sunday, our surrogate KT and her sweet husband J and two boys came to meet us at the hotel. They all were a spitting image of their photos and it was wonderful to finally see them. KT told the Docs that she had been seeing all the other surrogates getting visits from their IP's and she was sad, wondering when we would come. That made Gerry and I both say, 'this is why we needed to come!' It was a full morning full of laughs, smiles and fun. The boys were very shy but immediately got wide-eyed when the camera came out and the toys were given to them. It was very touching when the youngest boy came over to Gerry and gave him the Batman toy to remove from the packaging. Both J and KT were very shy, but it didn't take long for them to open up and talk and tell us how happy they were. KT was dressed in a beautiful pink dress sari that she had bought for an Indian festival. She loves to dress up and she truly looked radiant. We had a light lunch and gave them their gifts and was able to chat via the Docs translation. KT was speechless when she recieved her gifts. If we could only give her the world...we would. Not long after we were there she asked us to come visit her home. We were honored and very grateful, but made her promise not to prepare too much food for us. J told us with a chuckle, that KT was so excited to meet us she couldn't sleep all night. I told them I was the very same the previous day at work, waiting to leave for Mumbai.

We met up with the Mike's and visited with them and their perfect little girls, Rose and Eva. It was so nice to see them and see what a light at the end of the tunnel looks like. They are just as wonderful in person,as they are in their blog. Thanks guys for allowing us to pop in and share in the joy of your beautiful miracles.

We also had a very wonderful and completely unexpected visit from one of the forum members who was here signing contracts for an upcoming frozen embryo transfer. SJB and I have been in contact for many, many months and she is the 'loveliest' (inside joke) girl in the world. Meeting her and sharing in this experience has made our vacation even that more special (if that is even possible). She is absolutely great, and we enjoyed many laughs and tears and fun together. We have yet to meet and create such a bond with another IP as we have with her. We both agreed that our friendship will definitely last a lifetime.

Tuesday,we went for our scan with the awesome Dr. Shaunak. It was like old times seeing him again. KT again looked beautiful in an orange and black sari with the watch we had given to her the previous day. What a wonderful feeling to see her wear it. J again had us laughing with stories of KT and her sisters spending hours applying the make-up and the creams that we had brought for her. What can I possibly say to give you the real, raw emotion of experiencing our scan? UNBELIEVABLE! One of the very best days of our lives. Dr. Shaunak spent time showing us every single detail, the bones of the fingers, each arm and leg, the heart with each of its 4 chambers beating away, and its perfect little spine. I began to get teary-eyed seeing our little angel in all its glory. Then Dr. S put on the sound of the heartbeat and that was it...I lost it! Full on tears and completely choked up. The video I was shooting, I am sure was full of my emotion. Even Dr. S said, 'Oh, sounds like someone is getting emotional.' I wanted both Dr. Yashodara and Dr. Sudhir to be there as it was only fitting, they have been there from the beginning. I also asked J if he wanted to join us and so it was a full room of smiles and tears. This was the most amazing experience and one we will never forget. This was the reason we came to Mumbai and we are SO happy we did. A moment in time that will forever be etched in our hearts.

We got to meet up with KT and J again later that day for their routine check up with Dr. Anita Soni at Hiranandani Hospital. She got a clean bill of health and when we went in to see Dr. Soni again (for the 3rd time now, since starting our journey) we all had a good laugh when she said that KT's fundus was measuring 20+ weeks, 'Oh this is a big baby' and then looked at Gerry as said, 'Well I should have known she was your surrogate.' She was so happy to see us and celebrate in our success this time. She is great, and anyone who meets her immediately feels her warmth, strength and passion for her work. KT couldn't possibly be in better hands.

Well this about wraps up our very emotional, superb first few days, in the city that doesn't sleep.

Stay tuned for more tales and photos of our trip...