New blog is up!

If you're ready for a new adventure (my new blog), come follow me over at Pepperbird's Nest!

Moving on

Miss me? Well, I’ve missed you! I’ve missed blogging too. Has it really been that long? 😬 The thing is; life got crazy, life got busy, life got crazy busy. It wasn’t all “bad” it was just life. Plus I was kind of in limbo with the whole surrogacy thing. There was also the bullying and harassment b.s. a few years back, but I’m past that. I did quit blogging for awhile and even quieted down on social media to protect my family. But I’m back. Onward & upward. One person even apologized. So there’s that.

Anyway, I’ve kind of outgrown this blog. I want to have a more rounded blog and not just the “Mormon Surrogate” thing, even though I blogged about other things too sometimes. Also, I’m not an active Mormon like I was when I started the blog, and I won’t be a surrogate forever. I’m still happy to help if anyone has questions and I’ll be leaving this blog up as a resource. I hope you’ll join me at my new blog - coming soon. You might even be surprised with how our family has changed.

Thanks to all my followers and my supporters! I look forward to new adventures in blogging. Now I just have to think of a name and get a few other things set up. 🤔

A Memorable Thanksgiving (and a new match)

Long time, no type. Hope you are all doing well. Happy December!

Let's backtrack a little-

What an awesome Thanksgiving. Not only did I get to spend it with a lot of extended family, (breakfast with my dad & step mom's family & lunch/dinner with my husband's extended family) but we also had a special visitor from far away. I have a new independent match with an awesome international couple who found me through my blog. We've been getting to know each other the past 2 months. (We are currently waiting on medical records/medical clearance)
The IF was visiting family in CA and doing some traveling and made a stop in Utah. He spent his first Thanksgiving with us. It was so nice to meet him and introduce him to John's family. It was a very neat experience. He ended up spending the night with us since it would have been too cold to sleep in his RV and would probably have been difficult finding a last minute hotel on Thanksgiving.

We thought his RV was pretty groovy. Lol

We took a little tour of Salt Lake in the evening and froze when we got out to see the Capitol building. We got back in the car pretty quickly. I thought the lights were already up at Temple Square, but they weren't. Oh well.

In the morning John (my husband) made him some Apple Cider which was new to him. He seemed to like it.
We Skyped with IM and while we were talking to her, we heard a weird noise and then felt the house shake twice. We had a 3.2/3.3 earthquake. It was crazy!

IF brought us some awesome German Christmas candies/goodies.
The almonds are delicious! We're saving the rest for Christmas. I can't wait to have the kids put the ornaments on the tree. For now, they're hanging where our stockings go.

I am so excited for this journey. I definitely feel like we found each other for a reason. (Like God had a hand in it)  We have a very comfortable connection.  They are very easy and fun to talk to. Honestly, I feel like they are ideal IPs for me. We are excited to learn more about each other's cultures and this past weekend was a great start to that. Fingers crossed that I will be medically cleared and we can officially move forward soon.

IM and I were talking the other day about nicknames for them. We decided to keep with the Beatles theme like I did with my last journey, so you will know this beautiful couple as Paul and Linda.
😎 Hopefully we will get to meet Linda in person soon. Thanksgiving was our 2nd Skype session.

P.S. I'm still pumping and working on weaning this month, making it 24 months of being a milk mama for other babies.

What Now? (Edited update at bottom)

It's been 16 months since sweet Baby CiCi was born. I'm still pumping for babies in need.

And...

I'm so excited I could scream! 

I have a potential match with an awesome couple.

I kind of feel like we were in the right place at the right time to have found each other.

So far everything is lining up nicely.

We've been talking for over a month. We get along great and talk about pretty much everything. We did a video call a few weeks ago.

They are everything I would want in a couple- kind, loving, respectful.

We agree on all the important stuff. We pretty much have the same vision.

They don't have any children, so this will be their first. 

They have really done their homework and researched a lot of clinics. They recently decided to go with the one we used for Baby CiCi.

10 days ago I got the call from the clinic!

😊

They have me scheduled for a phone consult today with the Dr.

😃

The clinic still has to approve me , but I'm cautiously optimistic that this will work out and be an awesome final journey. I can't really see why they wouldn't approve me when I was approved last time through them and had an awesome, uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery.

I'll have to wean soon and I'm ready. I can't believe I've been pumping this long.

Wish me luck.

*UPDATE, 5/10/16:
The call with the clinic went well, however, the match didn't end up working out. We were both bummed and wished each other well. So, now I'm looking again. I'm in the process of signing up with an agency and have also been in contact with a few couples who are looking independently. It is so hard to find the right match. A connection is so important to me as well as other factors. It's also hard when I've had such amazing experiences with awesome IPs. I don't want to settle now. I feel that my final journey should be pretty damn spectacular. I'm not in a hurry, but I'm not getting any older either and I was looking forward to a break from pumping.

What's up? (After the birth)

So, what have I been up to since the birth? About 1300 oz in breastmilk. (That's how much I've pumped since Catalina was born)

Yep, I've been pumping away. I've been fairly casual about it and I even sleep through the night. But I make sure I pump at least 4-6 times a day. (It feels like I'm always pumping)

I enjoy it though. I mean, it takes a lot of effort and I have to keep at it, but I do what I can to make it enjoyable. If we are running around, I pump in the car. Whatever it takes. I'm a milk mama.

While I was still pregnant, I hoped to be able to pump at least 25 oz/day. I got to that around 6-7 weeks postpartum. I am now up to about 30 oz/day and seem to be increasing still.

I haven't finished pumping yet today, in fact, I'm pumping now.

;-)

So far I have fed 5 babies with my milk and given a taste to a 6th. I have been donating to local families and will soon be donating to a milk bank. 

It's a wonderful feeling, but sometimes I feel bad like, this is Baby CiCi's milk, it belongs to her! It would absolutely go to her if my IPs lived closer or if shipping milk wasn't so expensive and such a pain in the butt. I'm glad she got some in her first 24 hours and I hope to get her more somehow.

And, in case you're wondering, IPs have stayed in touch and sent pictures which makes us all happy.