Packing

We have been packing, packing, packing, and then repacking. Hubby was a sweetheart and grabbed some uber-decadent Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We took a break and watched The Hunger Games while eating our cheesecake. I am not exactly sure what that says about us, but I don't think it's good. Anyways -  GREAT movie...I feel like the last person on earth to see it, but on the plus side I don't have to wait that long for the sequel.  

 

What am I going to take....(baby-wise, my knickers are not of interest)

 

1.Diapers

 276 to be exact, all size newborn. If there is one thing I found impossible to track down while I was on a reconnaissance mission for baby goods in India, it was newborn size diapers. I found Size 1 at a store in the M block. But newborn diapers were nowhere...

  

2.Formula 

This is tough - with so many choices, it is hard to nail down what to use. I went with Enfamil Premium Newborn but really only because it was what my pediatrician recommended, and I got loads of free samples.

 

We're taking 1 case of the 2oz nursettes and half a dozen 8oz powder canisters. I think this seems like a lot, but I would rather have too much than too little. If you haven't already registered with the formula companies, you can do it online and I highly recommend it.  I do know that some IPs have purchased and used the formula in India with great success. We just didn't want to have to switch when we got home.

 

3. Bottles

 Playtex drop-ins -  these are fanfabulafrickingtastic <- not in the dictionary don't look it up.

 

If you live in a place that sells these, run (don't walk) and purchase them for India. So you drop in a liner, then insert a nipple, screw on a ring and voila. As a bonus, the liners are disposable. Now for the best part: the bag mechanism of it all keeps air out of baby's tummy.

 

So why are parents of the world not tossing regular bottles, and all bowing to the royal greatness that is Playtex drop-ins. Because, my friends, when our sweet little dears get older they throw things and their ammunition of choice is the bottle. And Playtex drop-ins make a crazy mess when tossed. But for India it's not a problem since newborns don't play toss yet. 

 

We are also bringing a dozen of the disposable Enfamil nipples for the nursettes. They say they are disposable, but you can wash and reuse them a few times. I have not seen these sold in stores, but are available online for roughly $1.00 (USD) a piece.

 

4. Clothing

 

 0-3 mo. sizes  - my baby outgrew newborn sizes at 35 weeks :)

 

10  onesies

8 sleep gowns

8 footed sleepers  

5 pants

12 pair of socks

4 bows (we still don't know if it is a  girl or not and a girl can not be without her bow)

6 gender neutral hats

5 bibs

6 Halo swaddle sleep sacks (this is possibly overboard, but I have been given them as hand-me- downs from friends who swear by them)

 

 

5. Cleaning

Medela sanitizing bags - I used these when I was pumping; they are fantastic and take up no room in the suitcase

Munchkin pacifier wipes

Organic hand sanitizer

Box of zip-lock bags

Trash bags that supposedly block scent - some hotels don't  provide bags in the bins and with diapers need I say more...

I will buy the soaps and what not when in India

 

 

6. Misc.

Grooming kit with aspirator, small tweezers etc.

4 blankets (I plan to purchase a few more while in India)

1 diaper bag

5 burp cloths

2 bath towels

6 baby wash cloths

1 Phil and Ted's cocoon, I got a red one :)

 

And a partridge in a pear tree....

 

 

 

Disclaimer: The disposable items (diapers, liners, and nipples) are not very good for the environment. But given the constraints of a hotel room, one must balance responsibility to the earth with responsibility to sanitation. We definitely plan to limit the use of these uber-convenient items once we return home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36 weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I left my heart in New Delhi

 

This month we leave for India...

This month we may get to meet our baby...

 

The time went so fast. It seems like yesterday I was undergoing egg retrieval, and meeting our surrogate mother. Celebrating the end of the first trimester, viability, and then 32 weeks.

 

This is such an exciting adventure. It will be my husband's first time in India, and more important we get to meet our baby.

 

 

Now we begin Operation Exit.

 

Our exit manual is underway. We printed out  the forms that we could in advance and filled them out, and are simply waiting to fill in names, birth dates, etc. We decided to go sans lawyer and do the paperwork ourselves. Having a binder where (most) of the forms are printed (so no worries about power outages, computers stalling, printing problems, etc.)  has gone a looooong way in helping us relax about the process. As in anything you do in life, starting is the hardest part.

 

Filling it out early gave us time to gather the info and ask the embassy our questions. For the most part, the Department of State forms are pretty straightforward. The U.S. Consular Report of Birth Abroad ("CRBA") asks you to document all time spent in the United States, which was a little difficult for me because I spent a great deal of my youth living out of the U.S., but couldn't find my childhood passports so documenting vacations spent visiting granny in the States was hard to nail down. But once we figured it all out (thanks Mom!), the rest of the paperwork seemed rather straightforward. And it was much less painful than I expected.

 

The manual also includes instructions from FRRO and U.S. embassy, as well as printed blog post from fellow bloggers:

 

First FRRO visit (Thanks Andy from Dancing in the Rain)

Second FRRO visit (Thanks John and Michael from Our Gemini Dragons)

US embassy visit (Thanks Aaron and Eddy from Starting our family)

 

Huge thanks to all the bloggers. Every tip and insight has helped us so much.

 

 

I feel now that I have a game plan for exit.

 

 And a coach to help call the plays

80's costume party? Or just how we roll on Saturday night?

 

 

 

 

Nursery Reveal

Decorating nurseries is so much fun, and I have had a blast creating this little nest:

 

 

My absolute favorite thing in the nursery is the vintage toy highchair. It belonged to my grandmother, and I adore it. We were very close, and I love being able to include something that belonged to her in the room.

 

 

So as far as gender neutral well ...

 

If it is a boy the dress will go, but if it is a girl a layer of pink shall fall on the room like snow in an Alaskan winter. Not to mention a bunny chandelier I have been eyeing on Etsy. My husband vetoed it for a boy, but I have given it the green light if we have a little girl. Somewhere along the 15 years we have been together, I guess we did learn to compromise. Well, at least on chandeliers.

 

 

Cute, right?

 

 

 

 

The art is from an artist by the name of Sue Rupp. She created AMAZING watercolors, and I am a Fan with a capital F. Especially since I tried painting a few bunnies in the room that my friends and hubby declared looked like yellow $%&*.

That's ok. I never claimed to be an artist, but I really do appreciate people who can create such beautiful work.

  I switched out the blanket that came with the bedding for something more appropriate for a little Texan..

 

Now we are just

 

 

My sweet baby

 

 

 

 

32 Weeks

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Sorry, I'm a bit late with the 32 week update. But the report came last week, and almost everything is perfect in the comfortable normal category.

 

 

 

 

Baby's head is almost full term and still measuring large.

 

Should I  dare say "his" head?

A large head circumference with a significantly lower biparietal diameter measurement will present with a lower cephalic index. Ours is 68 which is below normal, but not so low as to be scary.

 

 Early on in this pregnancy, we took up residence in the normal zone, put our feet up, unbuttoned our pants  and got really comfortable. This abnormal territory is unknown. The clinic reassured us that there is nothing to worry about. But as parents,  worry warts is kind of our moniker.

Worrying is our thing

 It is what we do...

 A CI measurement below 70 is known as Dolichocephaly -  a condition where the head is long. It is rarely harmful to brain development, and it can be simply caused by genetics. Which is why as of late, my interactions with my husband all end with him lamenting "Quit staring at my head"

So why do I think we are having a boy?

Dolichocephaly is 3 times more likely to effect boys than girls.

The old wives tale says a heart rate under 140 is a boy

 

Baby is almost 5 pounds at 31+5 gestation

We all know calling things prematurely ALWAYS bodes well.

 

Well, maybe not

 

So I guess it is still too early to call , but you have to admit their is a lot of evidence pointing to Team Blue...

 

For IP's, here is a little handy dandy growth percentile calculator

 

 

 

 

 

 

May The 4th Be With You

 

 

Happy Star Wars Day

Is this celebrated by my nerd kind everywhere or just here in the U.S?

This nerd and former Girl Scout felt a need to be prepared, so we signed up for a "safety" class covering general baby care, infant CPR, and choking. I kind of agree with the other bloggers that the baby care part of the class was a bit of a waste of time. But the infant CPR, and specifically how to handle severe choking, taught me some new skills that would be good additions to any new parent's tool box.
 

I pondered what I was going to say when people asked why we were taking the class, since I thought they should clearly see I am not pregnant.   Do I really need to explain all this to these strangers?

Should I tell them - We like to learn new things, and the cooking class was full?

But then no one asked. So did they seriously think I was pregnant? A small woman I am not, but pregnant?

Well this ego-bruised someone is donating the dress she wore today, and not missing her Pilates class next week.

Also, just curious - is anyone else bombarded with "breast milk is best; don't feed your baby poisonous formula"?

Which my pediatrician did...but even despite this, I adore her so she is sticking around. In a 30 min interview (where she knew this was a surrogacy arrangement), she gave me a 15 minute lecture on how much better breast milk is than formula. I explained to her that our clinic doesn't ask the surrogates to breast feed. She went on and on about how much better it is for both the baby and for the birthing mothers, and recommended that I push the issue.  I asked the clinic if acquiring breast milk at a milk bank was a possibility. Unfortunately, I have been informed that New Delhi doesn't have milk banks.

Now between my pediatrician, the baby class instructor, baby books, mommy blogs, and anyone with  two cents to put in on the subject have me concerned that if I do not find breast milk in New Delhi, my baby will develop harmful intestinal issues. Now intellectually I know this risk is small, but it is hard to hear. My hands are tied - I can not produce breast milk and my clinic will not ask the surrogates to pump.

This Mom Guilt is some serious business.


Fortunately, I put this concern to bed with one single thought. If I pursued pregnancy I could provide breast milk. But I can not carry to term, and it is much healthier for our baby to be full term than to have breast milk. We did the best thing for him/her with the choices we were given.

It is what it is, and the fact that our little one is coming in 9 weeks. IT is beautiful.