We have lift off!!! I'm pregnant! We are pregnant. This little person decided to find a place to grow in me. The adventure has officially begun. Lisa and Brooks were overjoyed when I called this morning from a hotel in Seatac to give them the news bright and early. Michelle and I started our vacation last night (a surprise to her) and are in Portland now, leaving for some hot springs tomorrow morning for a few days. I will be staying in the cooler pools, doing yoga, enjoying a long massage, and meditating while we are there. I am so excited to relax with Michelle and connect with this little person inside me in a new way. We also sent Lisa a picture of the positive pregnancy test, since she hasn't seen one in the 5 plus years they've been wanting and trying for this baby. I hope it warmed her heart and she truly feels like a mama to this baby. She certainly facilitated in helping it get in here.
I called my midwife and let her know that I'd be seeing her soon. She was also very excited at the news and helped me figure out our due date. The due month is the middle of June to the middle of July. A perfect sunny time of year for this little one to join us earthside!
I am overjoyed to be making this huge decision to create an extended family with my friends. This baby is so loved.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Insemication
My four days in Colorado have been named the "insemication" by Michelle. Meaning insemination vacation. Pretty clever. I did fly out there for the purpose of trying to get pregnant through the use of Brooks's fresh sperm this time, but the trip was so much more. It was beautiful, healing, funny, sweet, holistic, spiritual, and connected. I am so blessed to be helping these lovely enlightened people create a baby. And by doing so, growing their family as well as mine. A chosen family of beautiful people. I love what we are doing with this life, right now.
I just flew into Seattle last night and got home late. I didn't want to blog on the trip because I was just enjoying and savoring every minute of it. I will try to recap some highlights though.
On Saturday evening I arrived in Denver and was greeted by darkness, cold, and a little sprinkling of rain. Then I saw the glowing faces of some of my favorite people! Lisa, Brooks, and Eva (Lisa's best friend and talented acupuncturist) had come to pick me up. Such a welcomed sight. We went back to Lisa and Brooks's cozy home where their two happy dogs and the smell of crock pot minestrone soup, greeted us. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and a game of Balderdash after Eva gave me some fertility acupuncture in the guest room (the room I stayed in as well as the intended room for this little baby we are trying to make a body for). The company and connection was sweet. Then it was go time. (The following scenario happened every evening that I was there and then again in the afternoon on Tuesday before I left for the airport.) Brooks and Lisa went up to their room and produced sperm in a cup while I waited in my room across the hall. For this particular evening Eva and Lisa were with me to help figure out this self-insemination process. Lisa brought the cup into my room when they were done and the three of us girls worked to get the sperm into the 10cc syringe. Then I laid on the bed with my hips elevated on a pillow with a towel on top while I helped Lisa guide the syringe inside and as close to my cervix as possible and she emptied it. For the following inseminations I put the syringe in myself and emptied it, but Lisa was with me for all them. It felt really special to have both the intended mama and the birth mother working together each time to get those little swimmers where they needed to go. I think it was also really special for Brooks to feel more a part of it too. The following three inseminations went more smoothly than the first and after the sperm was inside me and I was covered, Brooks and Lisa chatted with me on the bed and we talked to the baby and encouraged him to find his body. (Yes, we think the baby will be a boy.) Lisa also guided us in some angel prayers. Something she learned about in psychic school. The prayers were really calming and sweet. I could just sense the baby there with us so clearly.
Sunday morning Lisa and I went to a mother earth healing/drum circle for women. There was such a sweet, grounded, powerful energy there created by all the women. Beating on a drum in circle was so healing to me. Such sweet vibrations as the sun shone bright in the blue sky. I felt so connected to humanity and the generation of women past, present, and future. It set the tone for this trip. I was blissful, at peace, and open to all the new energy flowing through me. We went on a hike with Brooks and the doggies later that day and enjoyed the beauty of the mountains, sky, autumn leaves turning color, and rolling hills.
Monday we visited Eva in her office in Denver where she hooked me up to the Avatar and told me that based on my results, I have the best scores she has ever seen and I am amazingly healthy. Go me! I am fertile and when this baby is ready to start making it's body, my womb is a healthy place to do so. The validation felt really good. After fertility acupuncture we went out for some very tasty Thai food. I love me some spice! Lisa and I also went out that evening to Shine, a restaurant specializing in very healthy gluten free food and herbal concoctions. I had the Luv-Me-Dew potion. Oh my goodness! It was amazingness in a glass! Cocoa, coconut, raspberry deliciousness. And for dinner some GF ravioli filled with wild mushrooms, tomatoes and goat cheese served on a bed of steamed greens with a butter garlic sauce. YUM!
Tuesday was a taking it easy day. We enjoyed another hike with the doggies, a visit to Whole Foods, and made a delicious kale soup together.
The trip was so wonderful. I can't wait to see my lovely friends again who I'm creating family with. I really am holding the hope that the baby will decide that now is the time to find a home in me so that he can grow and become a healthy newborn in about 9 months. We are so excited to welcome him (or her) to this big loving family!
I just flew into Seattle last night and got home late. I didn't want to blog on the trip because I was just enjoying and savoring every minute of it. I will try to recap some highlights though.
On Saturday evening I arrived in Denver and was greeted by darkness, cold, and a little sprinkling of rain. Then I saw the glowing faces of some of my favorite people! Lisa, Brooks, and Eva (Lisa's best friend and talented acupuncturist) had come to pick me up. Such a welcomed sight. We went back to Lisa and Brooks's cozy home where their two happy dogs and the smell of crock pot minestrone soup, greeted us. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and a game of Balderdash after Eva gave me some fertility acupuncture in the guest room (the room I stayed in as well as the intended room for this little baby we are trying to make a body for). The company and connection was sweet. Then it was go time. (The following scenario happened every evening that I was there and then again in the afternoon on Tuesday before I left for the airport.) Brooks and Lisa went up to their room and produced sperm in a cup while I waited in my room across the hall. For this particular evening Eva and Lisa were with me to help figure out this self-insemination process. Lisa brought the cup into my room when they were done and the three of us girls worked to get the sperm into the 10cc syringe. Then I laid on the bed with my hips elevated on a pillow with a towel on top while I helped Lisa guide the syringe inside and as close to my cervix as possible and she emptied it. For the following inseminations I put the syringe in myself and emptied it, but Lisa was with me for all them. It felt really special to have both the intended mama and the birth mother working together each time to get those little swimmers where they needed to go. I think it was also really special for Brooks to feel more a part of it too. The following three inseminations went more smoothly than the first and after the sperm was inside me and I was covered, Brooks and Lisa chatted with me on the bed and we talked to the baby and encouraged him to find his body. (Yes, we think the baby will be a boy.) Lisa also guided us in some angel prayers. Something she learned about in psychic school. The prayers were really calming and sweet. I could just sense the baby there with us so clearly.
Sunday morning Lisa and I went to a mother earth healing/drum circle for women. There was such a sweet, grounded, powerful energy there created by all the women. Beating on a drum in circle was so healing to me. Such sweet vibrations as the sun shone bright in the blue sky. I felt so connected to humanity and the generation of women past, present, and future. It set the tone for this trip. I was blissful, at peace, and open to all the new energy flowing through me. We went on a hike with Brooks and the doggies later that day and enjoyed the beauty of the mountains, sky, autumn leaves turning color, and rolling hills.
Monday we visited Eva in her office in Denver where she hooked me up to the Avatar and told me that based on my results, I have the best scores she has ever seen and I am amazingly healthy. Go me! I am fertile and when this baby is ready to start making it's body, my womb is a healthy place to do so. The validation felt really good. After fertility acupuncture we went out for some very tasty Thai food. I love me some spice! Lisa and I also went out that evening to Shine, a restaurant specializing in very healthy gluten free food and herbal concoctions. I had the Luv-Me-Dew potion. Oh my goodness! It was amazingness in a glass! Cocoa, coconut, raspberry deliciousness. And for dinner some GF ravioli filled with wild mushrooms, tomatoes and goat cheese served on a bed of steamed greens with a butter garlic sauce. YUM!
Tuesday was a taking it easy day. We enjoyed another hike with the doggies, a visit to Whole Foods, and made a delicious kale soup together.
The trip was so wonderful. I can't wait to see my lovely friends again who I'm creating family with. I really am holding the hope that the baby will decide that now is the time to find a home in me so that he can grow and become a healthy newborn in about 9 months. We are so excited to welcome him (or her) to this big loving family!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
How Are Babies Made?
Only a few more days until I'm flying off to Colorado. I'm so excited for the little vacation to a beautiful place to see my lovely friends who feel like family. I think this time spent there will be sweet, fun, and maybe a little interesting as far as the inseminations are concerned.
It'll be kind of fun to inseminate myself. Such an interesting journey toward getting pregnant. Certainly different, but bringing children into the world can happen in so many different ways! I'm really appreciating family right now. My kids spent the night with me last night and I just savored all the time with them, even though Milo was awake for hours in the middle of the night and just wanted me to sit with him and stroke his hair...I loved all of it. No, missing sleep isn't the greatest, but I'm really seeing more and more that time flies. These kids are growing so fast and I just want to remember all of it. Watch their faces when they tell stories, see them smile, smell their hair when I hug them so tight, listen to the sound of their little voices and laughter. I love them so much. They mean the world to me. I wonder what it will be like to grow this baby we're all trying to conceive and then hardly ever see it. It'll be such a different relationship. But still a very loved little person, by all of us. Such a huge idea to ponder for me and I know that it will slowly unfold more as I experience it all first hand.
I've had a few conversations about how to go about this insemination process. The midwife I've been working with had lots of ideas. Many of which I had already contemplated. Most importantly, she had good pointers on how to get the swimmers up there. I just picked up a few 10cc syringes from her this morning, that I can use to inject the semen up near the cervix...although looking at them now I'm wondering how accurate this will be. There will probably be some awkwardness with these different methods and tools. Don't be surprised, Lisa and Brooks, if you hear me talking to myself, cursing, or laughing at the newness/strangeness/funniness of this situation. There is the syringe method as well as the Instead method. The Instead Softcup is another option for collecting menstrual blood, instead of using a Keeper, Diva cup, sponge, or tampon. However, in this situation I pour the semen into the dip of the Instead, fold it up, like origami, and insert it into my vagina (while lying down) and get it up as close to my cervix as I can without spilling a drop. Um...this sounds like acrobatics to me. And I can totally see this being a hilarious skit (take note Lisa). So I'm thinking I'll need to practice this whole insertion thing with the Instead before I put the sperm in there. I would hate to have it slip out of my hand and bounce across the floor. The goal is not to impregnate the floor. The other idea is that maybe I can use the two different tools in combination. Maybe use the syringe to get the swimmers up there and then put in the Instead cup to hold it all in place while I sleep. In any case, it'll be fun to write about. It would also be really wonderful if through all of this, there could be a baby who starts growing in here. Little person, whoever you are, you are the reason we do all this crazy stuff. You must be one lucky little kid. You picked some pretty cool people to do some funny stunts in order to bring you earthside.
It'll be kind of fun to inseminate myself. Such an interesting journey toward getting pregnant. Certainly different, but bringing children into the world can happen in so many different ways! I'm really appreciating family right now. My kids spent the night with me last night and I just savored all the time with them, even though Milo was awake for hours in the middle of the night and just wanted me to sit with him and stroke his hair...I loved all of it. No, missing sleep isn't the greatest, but I'm really seeing more and more that time flies. These kids are growing so fast and I just want to remember all of it. Watch their faces when they tell stories, see them smile, smell their hair when I hug them so tight, listen to the sound of their little voices and laughter. I love them so much. They mean the world to me. I wonder what it will be like to grow this baby we're all trying to conceive and then hardly ever see it. It'll be such a different relationship. But still a very loved little person, by all of us. Such a huge idea to ponder for me and I know that it will slowly unfold more as I experience it all first hand.
I've had a few conversations about how to go about this insemination process. The midwife I've been working with had lots of ideas. Many of which I had already contemplated. Most importantly, she had good pointers on how to get the swimmers up there. I just picked up a few 10cc syringes from her this morning, that I can use to inject the semen up near the cervix...although looking at them now I'm wondering how accurate this will be. There will probably be some awkwardness with these different methods and tools. Don't be surprised, Lisa and Brooks, if you hear me talking to myself, cursing, or laughing at the newness/strangeness/funniness of this situation. There is the syringe method as well as the Instead method. The Instead Softcup is another option for collecting menstrual blood, instead of using a Keeper, Diva cup, sponge, or tampon. However, in this situation I pour the semen into the dip of the Instead, fold it up, like origami, and insert it into my vagina (while lying down) and get it up as close to my cervix as I can without spilling a drop. Um...this sounds like acrobatics to me. And I can totally see this being a hilarious skit (take note Lisa). So I'm thinking I'll need to practice this whole insertion thing with the Instead before I put the sperm in there. I would hate to have it slip out of my hand and bounce across the floor. The goal is not to impregnate the floor. The other idea is that maybe I can use the two different tools in combination. Maybe use the syringe to get the swimmers up there and then put in the Instead cup to hold it all in place while I sleep. In any case, it'll be fun to write about. It would also be really wonderful if through all of this, there could be a baby who starts growing in here. Little person, whoever you are, you are the reason we do all this crazy stuff. You must be one lucky little kid. You picked some pretty cool people to do some funny stunts in order to bring you earthside.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)