Third Trimester!

Well so much good news to report, I don’t even know where to start!
Well… I am beginning the 3rd trimester of the pregnancy (YAY!), and from what I am told by SCI the babies are healthy and doing well. They are growing like crazy and the surromom is doing outstanding. Wow, has time flown by. I felt like it was just the other day that I found out about the positive pregnancy. I’m trying to enjoy every minute of this time because I know when the babies come, this precious time I will not have.

Secondly, Happy Birthday to me! I’m the big ol’ 31! It is what I call my Reggie Miller birthday. His basketball jersey number was 31 and definitely my favorite bball player of all time. In honor of my RM birthday, I am wearing his jersey to work today! This day also marks an important step/milestone. On this day last year, I was on a plane to India to begin this surrogacy process. What an amazing year it has been so far because of this process.

Tomorrow, I am interview Pediatricians and on Saturday I have my First Aid/CPR classes. This weekend is also LGBT pride here in SF, so the city is bound to be insane. I can’t wait! Another reason the city will be extra special this weekend is because DOMA and Prop 8 were basically overturned, giving LGBT persons more rights related to marriage and benefits than ever before. It gives me hope that this world is getting better and better.



I am all smiles today! =)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day


Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. I hope you all had a very relaxing Sunday. It was great to get different cards, phone calls, and text messages even if the babes aren’t here yet. It has been touching and sweet.


Weekend

The weekend was super busy with a ton of events to be attended. On Saturday, I organized a Tennis League Social Event that went really well. After that, I went to a Basketball League ‘end of the season’ party. After that, I hung out with Darin. We had a Mediterranean dinner and then went to a Soccer League house party. Then I went out with friends right after that. Let’s just say I was exhausted on Sunday. I decided to postpone my First Aid/CPR classes. In my head, I just wanted to relax on Father’s Day. =)

Connecting with Other SCI Peeps

Recently, I have been able to connect with other SCI peeps and it really has been amazing to talk about our journeys. I think it is hard for people to understand what we go through in this process so it has been good to bond with people who really understand. Thanks to all of the SCI peeps that have reached out.

The Kids are Alright!

During my ALC ride, I got the following email:
Dear Anwar,

Greetings from SCI Healthcare..!!!
We hope you are doing fine !!
We believe that you enjoyed her last 3D scan.
However, now this is the time to move further.

In regards to the same we have performed L's USG scan as per our schedule.
Kindly find attached report for the same.
Please note that our obstetrician has reviewed the report and noted that everything is fine.
All parameters are within normal limit.
Your Surrogate mother is really doing a good job and babies are also doing well.
We all are very happy to see her progress.
Kindly note that her next scan will be done within one month.
We will keep you updated.
With Regards,
Yogita
SCI Healthcare



I can only imagine how big the my surromom is at this point since the babies have literally doubled in size over the last month. Below you will find the scans which are a little less than impressive. I can’t really see much. Maybe I am completely spoiled from the 3-D scans. Third trimester is upon us because currently the babies are at 25 weeks. I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. It is really incredible. Also, my sister was able to send a ‘save the date’ evite to friends and family and the love has really started to pour in. This has been amazing. I haven’t really expected as much love and support as I have received so I have been pleasantly surprised. Also I have already started receiving some baby gifts! YAY!

The Ride, The Journey

AIDS Lifecycle


Wow, what an amazing week last week!

I finally did the AIDS Lifecycle, which was a bike ride event from SF to LA over 7 days (545 MILES). It was challenging, scary, exhausting, inspiring, uplifting, and fun. It was amazing because as a collective group of 3K riders we raised $14.2 million dollars, which was an all-time record. This event is the highest grossing fundraising event for HIV/AIDS in the world and it was great to be a part of it. I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment because I hadn’t ever really rode a road bike before February of this year and to do this was so awesome. It also felt great to actually accomplish something that I had wanted to accomplish for years now. This ride was dedicated not only for my babies but for a good friend of mine, in the hope that in the future, HIV/AIDS will be a non-factor. I am thankful for all of the support I received from family and friends. Below you will find some pics from the ride.

The rundown:

Sunday: 83 miles – My sister dropped me off around 5am and was there to see me off when we had opening ceremony and the send off at 6:30am. I was nervous and excited and had a mini emotional breakdown as I realized I was achieving a dream. Cyncere was there to support me and pump me up. Coming out SF, my FEDex team led the ride out which was awesome. It was super cloudy leaving SF and I got a flat tire within the first hour but a random stranger helped me and I was off after 15 minutes. We rode down the coast and hit beautiful Santa Cruz where there were tons of people windsurfing. I don’t think the pic does the sight justice though.

Monday: 109 miles – The longest day of the route. It was mostly flat but just a very long day. We rode for 12 hours with many scenic routes across strawberry fields in Monterey to coastal ports where I saw the big group of seals (below). Camp was in King City.

Tuesday: 67 miles – A Shorter day but the big dreaded ‘QUAD Buster’. It is a huge uphill mountain that is about 3 miles going straight up and very steep; but I made it. Camp was in Paso Robles.

Wednesday: 98 miles – The day of the Evil Twins. It is this group of big uphill climbs. This was also the day of the halfway point which was an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. This day we went through Pismo Beach and had cinnabuns. Delicious. This was the day I had to get a massage from one of the many massage therapists at each camp. My body was feeling it! Camp was in Santa Maria.

Thursday: 42 miles – RED Dress Day! Everyone wears a red dress to show support for the red ribbon. My red dress picture to come. It was a shorter day but a hilarious one, nonetheless. We were a scene everywhere we went! These people were crazy. Check out the Orphan Annies below. Camp was in Lompoc.

Friday: 84 miles – This was by far the most beautiful parts of the ride going through Santa Barbara/Goleta/Montecito. Santa Barbara also had a spot where they gave us free ice cream, brownies, and candy. Camp was is Ventura (home sweet home) where I had at least 10 family and friends waiting for me and cheering me on. What support! The pic below is of me and GMA who was surprisingly gitty about the entire event. There was also a Candle Light vigil that night, which again, the picture doesn’t do justice to.

Saturday: 61 miles – Finally made it to LA. The funny thing is that the route went right by my GMAs house and Cyncere and her were out cheering the riders on with signs. Cyncere waved the American Flag and GMA had the cowbell! We rode down the famous PCH highway and had lunch at Pepperdine University.

What I have learned from this experience is the true kindness of strangers. All 2200 riders looked out for another helped each other as we rode down the coast. This experience also restored my faith in the LGBT community. When we want to accomplish something, we CAN come together and make things happen.

If you don't do kids, you don't do me!

Heyyyyy! I hope everyone is doing well. I had a good weekend but am currently tired. Mondays are my early days when I get in the office around 6:30am. No complaints though; I’m feeling great inside! I had a good weekend.

This weekend was productive in terms of the BABY process. I finally finished my baby registry at Target and Amazon.com. I did some spring cleaning and got rid of a lot of stuff in my room to start to make room for the babes. I also found 5 German childrens books at thrift stores, which I’m totally excited about. That ups my count to 7 books. I registered for my First Aid and CPR classes. I’m also going to be registering for swim classes this week. I’m not a great swimmer but want to improve for the sake of my kids just in case anything happens. I guess it is true what they say… your kids make you a better person and stretch you in ways you never thought. It is just funny that it is already happening and they aren’t even here yet. Speaking of the babes’ already present effect, my mom now likes to report to me the twins that she sees as well as any LGBT parents she sees while she is out and about! Gotta love Mom for that!

Soooo, I’ve been dating a guy named Darin for about 2-3 weeks now. He is a high school photography teacher and he is nice guy. We have had good times together . I hadn’t told him about the babies yet and I’m actually glad I didn’t. In our last date on Friday, he made an off-hand comment that he is not the biggest fan of kids. At that point, I knew not much would come of our relationship. I have now vowed to tell people more upfront where I am with the process and having children.

With Love,
A

Happy Mother's Day

On Friday, I finally finished my Baby Registry at Target with my sister Cyncere. We had a ton of fun with that scanner as you can see below.

I actually thought we were going to go crazy with the scanner and scan everything but we were quite disciplined. Thank goodness for lists and sticking to them. In the pictures you will see my Baby Bible Binder, that has all of my baby information, plans, calendars, lists, etc. I never do anything baby-related without it. I have a few twin related items to include in the list and then I will be completely done with that.

After that, I went to the movies and saw The Great Gatsby with Leo DiCaprio. I usually don’t go to the movies because in my opinion it is sooo over-priced but I bit the bullet to see this movie. I guess Leo still has that effect on me. I really enjoyed the movie and the soundtrack. It had so many funny one-liners! If you aren’t into longer (2.5 hour) love stories, I don’t think you should see it, but I’m a big ol’ sucker for a romance!

Saturday I woke up early (6am) drove up to Sacramento to ride with some of my Fedex Aids Lifecycle teammates. We went 70 miles which is a distance I have gone before, but this time, it took a lot out of me. I think it was because it was 90 degrees outside. Needless to say, I got home around 5-6pm and passed out until midnight. I hate waking up at that time and roaming around the house like a zombie, incapable of going back to sleep. I finally got back to bed around 4pm. Although the ride was harder for me this past weekend, I can’t help but feel excited about this ride since it is only 3 weeks away. I’m most excited about completing the journey but also about not having to train and getting my weekends back. =)

Yesterday was Mother’s Day so I just wanted to recognize all the amazing mothers out there, including some of those LGBT parents, who at times must play both mother and father. I was tickled but also touched yesterday as I received many messages wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day. It was unexpected, but I must admit, deep down inside it felt good. It felt good because even though my children aren’t in this world yet, I was already being recognized in the very special VIP club called parenthood.

Where are my (3-D) Glasses?

Last Friday I received the following email:


Dear Anwar,

Greetings from SCI Healthcare..!!!

We hope you are doing well.
We would like to inform you that as per our schedule we have done a level II & 3D scan for L.
Please find attached herewith her scan reports.
We are pleased to let you know that she is doing perfectly fine and babies are growing well.

Our obstetrician team has reviewed the reports and noted that everything is fine with her and her pregnancy.Dr. Jolly has also captured some of 3D images of babies.We are sure that you will like the same. You can see babies' eyes, nose, lips clearly.

Her next scan will be done within one month.
We will keep you updated with her further progress and new status.

With Regards,
Y

Wow… just wow! This stuff is crazy! I can’t believe how big and developed they are! Although the scans are a bit muddled (probably realistic to what is going on in womb), I am so happy that the clinic sent them. The fun part is going through this process with my Mom and seeing and hearing her amazement on how far technology has advanced since she gave birth to her children.

It is truly amazing. She seems to think the top 3-D scan is of a boy and the bottom scan is of a girl just given their facial features and how pronounced they are. I can see it but still not completely sure.

At the beginning of the pregnancy I wanted to know the gender(s) so badly, but at this point, I feel like I can definitely wait until they are born. I guess the more people ask about the genders (which they ask anytime I talk about this process/journey) the more I want to wait. I don’t really subscribe the pink for girls and blue for boys mentality. I’m not trying to be an ultra liberal here, but I just don’t subscribe to the gender bias/conformity/constructs that is pushed in our society. Not knowing the genders, I’m hoping will deter people from buying pink and blue things for the babes! We will see, though! Ok, I’m off my soapbox.

This weekend I was able to read a significant part of the book Juggling Twins, which I love. My favorite ideas I got from the book so far are:

1) Everyone brings diapers to the Baby Showers since they never expire and because you can never have enough, especially with twins. These will be so useful in the first 6 months!

2) The prioritized A list of the very necessary baby furniture and supplies to have in the first 3 months.

3) It was also refreshing to hear that it is ok to receive hand-me-downs on some things except for Baby Bottles and Car Seats. I was struggling with this question but reading the authors thoughts gave me some perspective on it all.

This past week I have also completed my research on potential pediatricians and finalized 3 potential pediatricians. Now I just have to set up appointments and have an interview with each one of them. My older sister has been pushing this since she found out that I was pregnant so she will be happy to hear that I have actually listened to her (it doesn’t happen often). One of the pediatricians is a Spelman graduate (alma mater of my sister Cyncere) so I’m leaning towards her but we will see how the interviews will go.

All of the above things have gotten me so excited about the babes.
I’m kinda a big bundle of joy these days.