...with just a smile

I was chatting with a coworker that I am doing another surrogacy and shared with him a photo from our meeting in July.

He sent this to me... and said, "So when I saw your picture with the Mom to be gifted... I thought the poem fit you two as well. Congrats and I'm not sure I can ever put into words the gift you are giving to these people."


Inside of her smile

I remember thinking of a woman I know
There was something about her, a hidden glow
Not as I see her on any given day
But a portrait she showed me, her smile gave away

This smile was real and not one in jest
The sparkling eyes, I was so impressed
Emitting a radiance where truth can take hold
No Woman is absent, no Woman too old

Determined then, in my mind to set free
This wonderful secret I thought I could see
Perhaps this is part of all Women I've known
If sadness is hindered, then innocence is shown

Then suddenly it came to me, it came in a flash
In every face feature and every eye lash
For if you look deeper, you'll see it's worthwhile
There still lives that little girl, inside of her smile

Robert Wood January 26th, 2009

While we wait...

33 weeks from BabyCenter:

How your baby's growing:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as her brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Knock, Knock... who's there?

Oliver giggled as he felt Sanna's hiccups tonight at the basketball game. I think it was probably the sixth time she had them today!

The boys were starting to get inquisitive tonight about baby Sanna's arrival... when is her due date? will we get to meet her? what happens on April 12th then, do we just go to the hospital and she is born?

It was a lot of explaining that Sanna will join us on the outside when she's good and ready... there's no magic date and the 12th can come and go... when I tried to explain contractions to Henry as being a sign that she's ready, he reworded it that "Sanna will knock on the door and say, I wanna come out now!".

I assured them that they wouldn't miss anything but that they would probably not be present at her birth. If they were to come home a day and Grandma & Grandpa were here then it probably means we're all at the hospital and they can join us when she's born.

They were in awe when they met the last baby I carried... can you tell by the looks on their faces? I think they love baby feet just as much as I do.

It was another uneventful OB appointment... the best kind to have, right? Blood pressure was good, no issues to complain about, and Sanna's heartbeat was loud and strong. At one point she kicked the little wand used to find her heartbeat. I go again in two weeks for more uneventful fun!! Giggle.

And out the door Dr. E went, through the fresh snow, to deliver a baby this afternoon! Won't be long now and it's our turn!

...all baby...

From BabyCenter:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

8 weeks to go!
and 12 less days until Hanne & Tommy arrive in Minnesota!

Sending our love...

vday32weeks
Originally uploaded by rarejule

from Minnesota to you!
Nothing new to report this week from my side of the ocean... moving right along toward Spring and getting ready to meet this little lady! She continues to be very active and loves to listen to the music and WAV files sent by her parents in Norway. One of her cousins even got in on the fun! Do you think she will enter the world ready to speak Norwegian and English? One thing is for sure, she is loved by many and will bless us all with her arrival.

So, the conversation goes...

Henry: Do they have a King in Norway?

Mom: Yes

Henry: So, that's like Jesus to them?

Mom: No, that's like President Obama to them.

Henry: So, who's their God?

Mom: The same one we have.

Henry: Oh.

Playing around with the camera the other night and took this shot... pretty scary? pretty funny?! She does look a bit bigger this way, doesn't she? giggle.

The OB appointment went well yesterday. Dr. E walked into the office saying, "how does a pregnant woman lose weight?!" It's all good. I probably walked off those 3 lbs. in the Mexican Riveria. She wasn't concerned in the slightest though. Dr. E said baby wasn't on the big side - all well and good, meaning that she's growing just as she should be right now. Sanna had a very strong heartbeat and is head down. Again, a very quick and non-eventful appointment. The gals at the desk were surprised my appointment was over in less than 15 minutes. Ha! It's such a blessing to have another uneventful pregnancy!!

So, now we go every two weeks!!

Finally getting around to downloading more photos and wanted to share these with you... also from our trip!

Plane tickets... check
Hotel booked... check
Growing baby girl... check
Anticipation.... check!!