Two Appointments in one week

Last week was a very eventful week with two doctor appointments and two ultrasounds. Sunday night, Mikie woke up sick with a stomach virus. He was not able to go the appointment with us on Monday. He hardly ever gets sick but you know he is feeling really bad if he skips a doctors appointment. Makayla (Mikies little sister) stayed the night with us on Sunday. I invited her to go with us to the doctor to hear the heartbeats. Her whole face lit up with a huge smile when I asked her. Her and I pulled into the parking lot at the same time that Jade did. I normally wear yoga pants and a tshirt to the doctor but for some reason I dressed up. Jade lives in yoga pants and workout tanks but she had dressed up as well. It is so funny how much her and I do some of the same things at the same time. We went into the room and got ready for Dr. Kim to come in. Mikie told Makayla to video the entire appointment. I have to cut my video shorts because they won't post if they are too long. Dr. Kim comes in and begins doing the ultrasound and I couldn't believe my eyes. My baby girls had little nubs for arms and legs. They were waving and moving all around. Makayla went into shock because she couldn't believe what she was seeing either. Ha! Dr. Kim teased Jade and asked her if she ate any sugar. She said she ate a bowl of fruity pebbles. All I could think about is how I wished Mikie was seeing all this but then I remembered Makayla was video recording the entire thing. They informed Jade she could stop taking the estrogen pills but needed to continue taking the progesterone inserts...or as Jade calls them "coochie pills" lol. The nurse said that next Monday would be our last appointment. I wanted to cry when she said that. It will be an emotional day for me. I know you go to a specialist with the anxious day of "graduating" to an OB but I've grown way too close to Dr. Kim and his staff. I think it would have been easier to walk away if I would have stayed pregnant the first or second time. The truth is our journey took much longer to get to our ultimate goal. I'm very excited that our pregnancy is moving forward but I don't want to leave them. A part of me wants to fall to the floor and throw a fit until Dr. Kim says, "Ok, I'll deliver your baby." Ha! But unfortunately he won't be able to. It won't be a goodbye but more like, I will see you later. I know they will come see our babies in the hospital, they follow our blog and facebook page, and they plan on coming to our benefit. It is just so hard to let go when I've grown so attached to all of them. Dr. Kim and his staff have treated us like family and have felt every emotion we have felt during the journey. When I showed up at an appointment in tears, you could see the tears forming in their eyes. Dr. Kim successfully helped us make our dreams reality and we will never be able to thank him enough. If you are reading this blog and know that you need to see a specialist but havent....I highly recommend you to call Dr. Kim at Houston Fertility Specialist. He will help your dreams become reality and he will be by your side through it all. I recently had a friend go for her consultation with him. She loved him and I was so glad she did. I brag about him all the time but you won't truly understand how wonderful he is until you meet him.

We got home from the appointment and showed Mikie the video Makayla took of the appointment. He smiled ear to ear as he watched it and couldn't believe how much they had grown.

Tuesday was our first OB appointment. Mikie was still not feeling well and we didn't want to risk the chance of him passing anything to Jade so I went alone. Some of you know that Ryan lost his job at the end of May due to the oil industry. He lost insurance coverage and has been waiting on the packet for cobra insurance. Jade called me Tuesday to inform me that the doctor visit was going to cost 481.00. She asked if I needed to cancel or did I still want to go. I told her that I would pay out of pocket.  I met Jade in a store parking lot and carpooled with her, Ryan, and Hayden. We parked in the parking garage but got a little lost trying to find the doctors office. We arrived just on time to check in. I paid for the visit and we waited to be called back. While in the waiting room, Ryan called to find out about the cobra insurance. They emailed him a form and we have until August to fill it out. To cover Jade only it will cost about 600.00/month....ouch!! One of the stipulations in the surrogate contract is about insurance coverage. Mikie and I are responsible to get her insurance until Ryan gets another job or pay out of pocket for everything. As my head is exploding with thoughts, the nurse calls us back. I push everything to the back of my head and concentrate on the appointment. The doctor comes in to meet us and to do the first ultrasound. During the ultrasound, Baby B was being "stubborn" as she called. I laughed to myself and thought..hmm she will be like her momma. I asked her a million questions and she took her time to answer them all. She wasn't in a rush and was very sweet. I was pleased with Jade's choice in doctor. The doctor will not let Jade go past 38 weeks; therefore, the baby girls will be here Jan 8th or sooner. Dr. Tejml also stated that our appointments will be every 3 weeks and we would get an ultrasound at every appointment. Once Jade reaches a certain spot in her pregnancy then we will switch to every week. For the anatomy scan, we will be sent to a high risk doctor because of them being twins. The doctor believes that will be our only appointment we have with a high risk doctor if every thing else goes smoothly. After meeting with the doctor, we met with the financial lady. We went over options of paying out of pocket versus cobra insurance. She spoke with us for a while and helped us analyze it all. My head wanted to explode and I wanted to burst in tears with stress. At that point, all I wished for was for Mikie to be there. He has a way to make all situations seem okay. I stress alot about money and I mean ALOT. You would think that I grew up really poor or something. I'm so cheap and hate to spend money. I mean don't get me wrong...I'll shop and do some stuff but I'm still cheap. My mom teases me saying that I squeak when I walk and Mikie says I act like we live penny to penny. I can't help it...I've always been this way. Ryan feels horrible because he is the one who lost his job but it wasn't something he could control. We know he will find another job and get insurance but we have to be prepared for the worse. After the appointment, we all went to lunch before heading home.

I told Mikie all about the appointment and we talked about the finances. He could tell I had been crying. He comforted me and told me that everything will work out. He gets stressed about it a little but he has a way to hide his stress from me. He would go work 10 jobs if he had to. I love how hard he works for our family. Prior to getting home, I ended up bawling my eyes out to my mom about everything. I think all the stress got to me and became over whelming. Of course she always has a way to calm me down and constantly reminds me that all of this will be worth it. She tells me all the time that these days won't matter to me when I'm holding my babies. She is correct but I still carry the stress on my shoulders. I'm so blessed to have two babies on the way but none of this is easy. You truly don't understand what couples go through financially when it comes to fertility. Most couples hock their house, cars, and anything else they have. We've been blessed to get the money without doing all that but we still have to pay it back. I don't understand why insurance won't help cover the expenses we've gone through.. its a joke and so frustrating.

 We are looking into an individual insurance plan for Jade. It is alot cheaper than cobra and we should know more about it next week.

 We've been hanging up flyers for the benefit that will be held on August 15th. We've had several friends take flyers to hang up as well. If you want a flyer or a copy of it, let me know. I can drop some off or email you a copy of it to print out. We will have raffle tickets to sell in a few weeks. There will be a live auction, bounce house for kids, and  BBQ plates will be sold. You can contact Joy, Jade, Kristina, or myself if you would like to donate an auction item or meat for the BBQ plates. We've received alot of items and will continue to collect items up until the day of the benefit. Again, Mikie and I will never be able to thank you all for the support. Our little girls are being LOVED already.

Last week was exciting and stressful but I know everything will work out. I'm keeping my eyes on the prizes and everything else will fall into place. I want to thank all of you for continued support and love. We still have the BEST support system ever. All of the support means a ton to us.

I have the BEST surro mom ever. I couldn't imagine any other woman carrying my children. We have great communication with each other on every subject. She is still feeling nauseous but overall is doing well. Mikie and I will never be able to thank her enough for helping make our dreams reality. 

My little sister and I on the way to the doctor on Monday. She is so excited to become an Aunt again. I know our babies will be so spoiled by her. 

For Father's Day, my father and I went on a road trip to Golden Nugget in Louisiana in his corvette. He is like a 16 year old boy in his corvette. We had a great time and it reminded me alot of my younger days in his old corvette. I also kept thinking about our relationship and how excited I am for my girls to have him as a Papa. They will be wrapped around his finger just like me. I also couldn't help but think about my girls having the same bond with Mikie as I do my dad. Mikie will truly understand the meaning "daddy's little girl". :) 

I feel like myself again....I'm BLONDE again. Yay! 

Our two babies!!! :) Look at those little arms and legs. :) 

My best friend and I supporting a hero named Jace who is flying high in heaven with his sister. I know his family misses him so much but he is one handsome guardian angel. 

I get to call this handsome boy my nephew. He is wearing the new onesie I got him. Dont make me call my Aunt. Ha! I love him!