Slacker

Yes, that is what I am. A blog slacker. Here I had all the great intentions of updating my blog at regular intervals and already I have failed. It has been a busy two weeks. Brett returned from Colorado, escorted by my Mom. It is great to have Brett back home. I need my little bird in the nest (except now my little bird is taller than me and his voice has deepened). In addition, he has been on his best behavior. I give it another two weeks before that falls apart.

Last week my Mom provided slave labor around the house. It was fabulous. She put up drapes, put together my new glider and crib. We were also able to get in several hours of skip-bo. She and Brett worked hard. I think I am in pretty good shape for Gigi's arrival.

I had my baby shower last Saturday, hosted by Marnie and Lorna. It was wonderful. We had a nice brunch followed by what is now known as the crybaby bead ceremony. Marnie and Lorna found a chakra bead ceremony for the mother-to-be. It began with everyone writing down a wish/prayer for the mom (me) and one for the baby (Gigi). Then they picked a bead. The strand of beads had already been started and each guest added a bead and then said their wishes for both of us. We didn't even get started and most everyone was tearing up. I have all of the wishes written down and will put them in the baby book. And, I now have the strand as my focal point during labor. If anyone wants to send a bead, feel free and I will add it to the strand.

I will get the pictures posted as soon as I collect them from everyone.

Are you sure you are only having one baby?

Is never an appropriate question! Ever! As a curvy woman, I have never had any one ask me, "Are you sure that is only one arm, thigh?" But am constantly amazed at the number of women who do not hesitate to ask me if I am having more than one baby when they know I am only having one. Not to mention that being of advanced maternal age, I have had 8002 ultrasounds. Another good comment is, "that is going to be a big baby." Granted, the baby will probably be 8+ pounds as I am not small, neither is the donor. Brett would have been 10+ pounds had I gone full term. As I love chubby babies, I am okay with this. As for the questions, comments, I have decided to go with the positive side; that I look very pregnant as opposed to just fatter than before. For those of you who have not seen me lately, I will post pictures this week.

On another note. For those of you who are cat owners, I have a warning. It turns out that some cats, my Earl for instance, likes to chew on toothbrushes. I caught him in the act the other night and threw my toothbrush in the dishwasher since I didn't have any spares lying around. My only worry now is how many times did I not see him chewing on my toothbrush?

Finally...

Okay, so my intent was to start this blog in January when I decided that I wanted another baby. The fact that I had not had a date in too many months to actually mention, let alone a willing partner, was no longer a factor. I figured I had two choices, ho myself out at a bar, or be adult about the process and choose a donor. In other words, I could know the name of my partner and little else, or I could know almost everything medically, genetically, but not the name.

I knew I had been at my current job too long, when I narrowed down my donor choices, gathered medical information, essays, cryobank impressions and baby pictures, polled my friends and family for their opinions, put all the data in an excel spreadsheet and assigned various points for different criteria. My highest criteria was to match my ex-husband, and therefore, have this baby be close in physical appearance to my 12 year old son. My friends and family did the deeper dive into the medical history, personality traits and interests. In the end Donor 1915 won. (I was hoping he would).

Being of advanced maternal age, I told myself I would try it six times and whatever happened was in God's hands. I ordered my three vials as I was assured that it would never take the first time and shipping is pretty pricey. After one month of practice reading the ovulation sticks (yes, it is rocket science), I was ready the next month and called the Doc when I was sure the timing was right. I showed up for my first appointment and dove in headfirst. Twelve days later, I couldn't take the suspense anymore. Even though I was supposed to wait two weeks, I bought a pregnancy test that, to my disbelief, has made remarkable progress in 12 years. It was actually going to tell me pregnant or not pregnant. I took the test, held my breath and it was PREGNANT. I was so excited and shocked that it had worked. I don't think my Doc could believe it either. I had two more blood tests to make sure it was accurate and then my first ultrasound at seven weeks. One of my male friends has an interesting theory on why it worked the first time -- amazing things happen when you put young fish in an old pond. My due date is 11/22, Thanksgiving. And, as another male friend pointed out, from turkey baster to turkey baby.

So, here I am a SWF, 41 (in two weeks) and 25 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. It has been very exciting. I also have two vials of sperm left. If anyone has any ideas on what to do with those as they are not returnable, I am open to suggestions.