12 Weeks To Go!

28 weeks down, 12 weeks (or less) left to go!!!

According to the pregnancy calendar....

Week Twenty-Eight

• Eyebrows and eyelashes are now very noticeable!
• Hair on baby's head is growing longer. Some babies are born with almost none at all, while others appear to be ready for their first haircut!
• Eyes are completely formed now. Quite a view from inside!
• Your baby's body is getting plump and rounded. Most of that increase is muscle tissue and bone. Fat will be added during the third trimester.
• Muscle tone is improving. Preparation for the Olympics feels like it is taking place in your womb!
• Lungs are capable of breathing now (but baby would still struggle and require medical attention if born now)
• Talk to your baby often, reading stories, singing songs and more. He or she can recognize your voice now and will often calm to it later on!
• Your baby weighs in now at 2.2 pounds (1005gm) and is 14.8 inches (37.6cm).

D called yesterday to say that she and G are settled in with family in the north of the state. She is already homesick but she is going to look for a job to help pass the time. The cell phone that they had here is no longer working up there and this is another unexpected thing that they are dealing with and will probably end up getting a new phone. So now I can't call her anytime I want! That's OK, because she ends up calling me when she needs to and we're talking about 2 times a week.

We've come a long way since the very beginning of the match - 11 weeks ago! It has gone pretty quick looking back on this journey so far. This is pretty much the half-way point if there are 11 to 12 weeks left to go. D wasn't sure she was ready to meet us at the beginning, even talking over the phone, and now we are talking pretty regularly. I think she trusts me and knows that I try to understand. I don't tell her what to do, I don't get in her business, I just listen and be supportive.

In some ways, I am jealous when I know people are getting matched and the baby is due fairly soon. We were matched very early and this has given me way too much time to worry about D and G changing their minds. However, we are very lucky to have this time together - to get to know each other better. I worry about her having the baby up there, but we will deal with that if that time comes. We'll just jump in the car and go! All I can tell her is that we think of her and G every day and we only want the best for them. We are so grateful for what they are doing for us.

Today starts the first day of a week of pager days. Ugh - that makes me cranky. Next weekend Bill and Jon are going to Indianapolis for the 500 and to visit Bill's grammy. I am headed off to my parent's house with Biscuit. Looking forward to it!! I have already told Biscuit she has to be on her very very very best behavior or she will never be invited back!

Happy Tears!

D called me yesterday afternoon. She said she wanted to wish me the happiest Mother's Day ever and wished she could give me a great big hug!!

She said she had wanted to call me on Sunday but with all the packing, time got away from her. I told her that I had thought about her all day and wanted to call her, but I second guessed myself and obviously did not. She understood. She also told me that plans had changed a bit and they are staying with family in the north part of the state for 6 weeks. They are going to save as much money as possible so they can buy a place for themselves when they are ready to come back here this summer. D will call me in a few days to let me know they are settled in.

I kept it together until I got off the phone, I was just so happy to hear from her. Then it sank in what had just happened and I melted. I can't believe how thoughtful and strong she is. She truly touched my heart. I called Bill, still crying, and said "D just called me." Ummmm, probably not the best thing to do... he thought something very bad had happened!

I feel like the luckiest woman alive!

Mother's Day Weekend!

My parents sent me the cutest little card because I am a mommy-to-be! It was the sweetest thing ever! Of course we are seeing both our mothers this weekend and have great goodies to give out. Thanks Mom for all you do!!!

Little Roo is 27 weeks today. There is much discussion about when the third trimester actually begins. Some say 27 weeks, some say 28 weeks. I'm voting for 28 weeks, so there's another week to go!

According to the pregnancy calendar...

Week Twenty-Seven

• Your little one's brain continues its rapid growth. Don't forget to share music, conversation, and even books with your baby!
• Response to sound grows more consistent toward the end of the seventh month, when the network of nerves to the ear is complete. Your baby's hearing continues to develop, he or she may start to recognize your voice as well as your partner's.
• Lungs continue to grow and prepare for functioning outside of the womb. Each day in the womb greatly increases survival rates!
• He also continues to take small breaths and although he's only breathing in water and not air, it's still good practice for when he's born.
• Eyelids are now open more. Your baby can distinguish between light and dark. Retinas have formed.
• Your baby will grow over ½ inch this week alone! You may suspect this phenominal growth rate repeats in the preteen years!
• Average size is now 14.4 inches (36.6cm) and 1.9 pounds (875gm).

I touched base with our social worker today and she has been hearing that things are going well through D's social worker. She knew that we had met for lunch and told me again that everyone thinks we have a great match. I had some questions regarding travel, the letters and pictures agreement, and the amount of money that we are planning on for gifts for D and G at the birth. She said Florida law is pretty liberal regarding these gifts.... we can't give them a new car or anything like that but jewelry is not a problem. We're not planning on giving any diamonds here, so we are in the clear.

This is my latest favorite thing to give to D. I think it's a keeper. I had a lot of ideas but I knew that I wouldn't be able to really decide until I saw her in person. This would look so pretty on her and I think it is very sweet. I want one too!!! It can have so many different meanings so I don't think she would be worried about wearing it and getting asked questions about what it means.

Now I need to figure out what to give G. Buying things for guys is always so much harder!!! Our social worker gave me a few ideas to think about.

Mixed Emotions

I should title this "Mixed Emotions, Part 1" because I KNOW that it will be up and down for a long time. Some days I'm up for it, some days I'm not.

We had a rush of unexpected emotions come up after our lunch meeting on Friday. As wonderful it was to meet D and G in person and as much as we prepared ourselves for these possible confusing feelings, it was still a bit of a shock to actually feel them. The birth parents are real, the baby is real, and a lot of that reality just came rushing in at once.

We recognize that we are going to laugh with them and eventually cry with them and watch them grieve for the loss of their daughter. My heart breaks for them because we know how much they love their child and I am reallly trying to put myself in their shoes. It is not a day that I am looking forward to even though it will be the day that she begins her life as our daughter.

I wish that I could skip over all that, but that's not possible. This is part of the process and it is something we must do.

D and G are going through a rough patch with their jobs and living situation. In the last few days they have bounced from one place to another and now they are on their way out of town for a few weeks to stay with some family. Needless to say, this caught me by surprise, but I can understand that they felt like they had no where else to go. It's not like they are going to call us for help. D called and said that they were going out of town for a while and she didn't sound upset at all, so perhaps this is a good thing for them right now. I will continue to keep in touch with her on the phone and just keep it cool like all along. Her social worker asked her questions and D assured her that they were only going for a few weeks and then coming back well before the baby is due. She is still planning on delivering here.

I don't want to worry. All I can say to D and G is that I hope they have a good visit and they know how to find us when they want to talk. I'll continue to do what I've always done by keeping in touch every week or two just to see how they are doing and to let them know we are thinking of them. I can't imagine what it feels like to ask myself "Oh geez, what are we going to do now?" Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Lunch Today!

We're back from lunch!

Here she is....

and that was even taken back on March 20th, so it's a little old!

Lunch was great, exactly what I had hoped for. It didn't feel weird at all really. No strange moments where we all sat around and stared off into space! It was nice to have the social worker there and she told me as we were leaving that she thought everything went very well.

D loved all the little goodies that I had put together for her and my florist did a beautiful arrangement of 6 purple roses in a vase with a big purple ribbon. I should have taken a picture of it - it was very pretty. D said her favorite color is purple so I did good! They took our photo album home with them so they could look at it more and they gave us 4 sonogram pictures.

Little Roo is going to be a beautiful baby - both her parents are very cute with dark hair and brown eyes. They both look a lot like Bill's side of the family! The plan is to get together about once a month until the baby is born.

I am very pleased... we all got along very well. I am not concerned about meeting up with them without the social worker as we have a lot of things in common. They were just so warm and open, I hope that they got the same impression of us!

Double Digits!

I have a ticker on one of my circles groups.... today it says 99 days left until Little Roo is due!! Hooray!!

Tomorrow is the big meeting! I have the photos in an album ready to go and the captions done in case they take it home with them. I found a very pretty bag to put all the goodies in. I'll be picking up some flowers tomorrow and then it is off to lunch! I'm excited, a little nervous. Bill is a lot nervous.

... to Mike and Paula!!!! They purchased a new house today!!!!

Countdown to Lunch!

The big lunch meeting is on Friday! "D" called me this morning to confirm that we are still coming. Of course we are!! She said she is really looking forward to it. I can't wait - I am taking all of Friday off. I can use a day off work for sure!

I am having a bunch of photos printed that I am going to bring with us to share. They have only seen the few that were selected for the family profile and I think they would like to see more of our home and families. I have to go pick up those today along with a little photo book. If she wants to take it with her, that's perfectly fine. Maybe I'll be able to find one that has space for some captions - who knows what the store has. I haven't been shopping for anything like this in a while.

I put together a L'Occitane travel bag with hand cream, foot cream, soap, and a small tin of shea butter. I'll see what else I can find - I really don't want to go overboard. I also plan on getting some flowers on Friday morning so they are nice and fresh!

Only a few more days.... I can't wait!!