Fire Island Fun

In July, we decided to invite Kira and her family out to Fire Island for a visit. We were thrilled when Kira accepted our offer, though I was a bit worried about how Kira would manage to fly across country with two small children (her son Liam is 3 and her daughter Ellie is 18 months). We had hoped that Kira's husband (Jeremiah) would be able to make the trip but his work schedule was too busy so he had to stay home this time. So, Kira's mother (Micaela) volunteered to make the trip with her. Thank goodness! 

We picked Kira, Micaela, Liam and Ellie up from JFK on Wednesday, August 12th around 11 PM after a long flight from Burbank which was delayed about 3 hours! Kira, Micaela and Ellie looked tired but Liam was ready to go! He's such a cute, high-energy little boy! We gathered all their bags and drove up to our house in Rye. We spent the next day in Rye and took the kids to Leapin' Lizards, a cool indoor playground in Port Chester. The kids had a great time (well Liam did but there wasn't that much for Ellie to do other than the ball pit) and we had fun watching them run around! That night, we had "taco night" and our friend Robin came over to meet Kira and the family. 

The next day, Chris took the day off work and we headed out to Fire Island. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was HOT but at least we didn't have any rain. The kids loved the pool and the beach. Each day our schedule was pretty much, morning play in the pool, afternoon cartoons followed by a couple of hours on the beach.

On Saturday, we had a cookout to introduce our friends to Kira and her family. It was a low-key affair by the pool. It was really fun to introduce Kira to all our friends and to just relax and eat!

On Monday, we headed back to Rye to spend a day unwinding and relaxing from our relaxing days at the beach (LOL!). Before we knew it, it was Tuesday and time for Kira and the family to head back to California. I took them to the airport and off they went. 

We had a wonderful visit and are really happy they made the trip!

Yippee, we got through the 1st Trimester!

It's hard to believe but we successfully made it through the 1st trimester! Amazingly, the time just seemed to fly by and now we are starting to think about REALLY having a baby (in less than 6 months - YIKES)!

The 1st trimester, for us, was filled with lots of nerves, anxiety and ultrasounds! One of the benefits of having a baby through surrogacy is that you know you are pregnant very early on. One of the downsides of having a baby through surrogacy is that you know you are pregnant very early on! Also, since we were under the care of our fertility doctor until week 10, we had ultrasounds every 2 weeks, at weeks 6, 8, 10 and 12. This was great because we got to see all the changes in the baby's development and were reassured every couple of weeks that things were going well. It's hard to believe that in a traditional pregnancy, many times the first appointment with the OB doesn't occur until week 12! 

At week 13 we also had our 1st trimester screening test, or nuchal translucency screening. This test is done to test for Down Syndrome, some chromosomal abnormalities and major congenital heart problems. The test included a very in depth ultrasound and blood work. During the ultrasound, I was so nervous as they measured and examined all the different parts of the baby's brain, heart and neck area. We BELIEVED that everything would be fine but you just want that confirmation and sure enough, everything was fine. The baby looked great and the initial screening did not indicate that the baby has Down Syndrome or any other major medical issues at this time. What a relief!

So now, we are looking forward to the 2nd trimester and starting to plan for the future with our baby. Plus, as an added bonus, Kira is FINALLY starting to feel like herself again as the morning sickness wains and her energy level starts to return to normal. Though the 1st trimester flew by for us, it was filled with lots of dry heaving, nausea, sensitivity to smell and fatigue for her! Thanks again Kira for being the best surrogate we could have hoped for!

So, this week, Kira, her two kids (Liam & Ellie) and her mom (Micaela) are coming from Californina to New York to visit us for a week. We are looking forward to the trip and will update you on our time together.

Thanks again for your continued love and support and please keep the baby, Kira and us in your thoughts as prayers as we continue this wonderful journey. We are blessed!