By Natalia Pagden

Since I last wrote so much has happened.  It’s amazing how time flies during a pregnancy!

We had our 20 week scan and found out we are expecting a girl. My husband Ash and I are over the moon. Of course, we would be happy with any healthy bubba, but I am rather excited about all the cute girlie bits and bobs waiting for me to seek out (says the self-confessed all-be-it recovered shop-a-holic). This could get dangerous!

We have now just passed the 22 week mark. I hadn’t seen Kerri-Ann for a few weeks due to all of our busy schedules. Although we text multiple times a day and speak often, I was itching to see her for that personal connection and also get sight of her beautiful belly.  Well, boy has it grown! I think we have one big beautiful bubba on our hands!

Our due date is 28^th February 2013, three days after my 31^st birthday and I couldn’t think of a better birthday present. However, when Kerri-Ann and I finally caught up for our first ante-natal appointment at the hospital this week, the lovely mid-wife informed me that we should be prepared for our little girl to arrive as early as Jan 28, due to combined factors of IVF, previous pregnancies and age. I was, and still am, a little bit stunned – that’s only 3 months away, so I better get cracking!

Luckily, I am a big planner and have the first of my nursery furniture arriving. I don’t have oodles of money to spend on the nursery so my wonderful mother-in-law purchased the essential furniture items for us, however, I decided to invest in one special piece: a mint green leather egg rocking chair. It is very, very pale, (almost cream) and absolutely beautiful (although it was about 10 shades lighter than the picture in the catalogue so not what I was expecting, but I still love it). I look forward to many hours of rocking my baby girl to sleep in it.

 

The rest of the nursery furniture arrives on November 10th. I can’t wait to start putting everything together and creating a beautiful environment for my daughter.

Moving forward, let’s refer to her as Pandysas. That’s the in-utero name we have given her. It comes from two girl’s names we liked but that did not make the shortlist:  Pandora and Saskia. We love talking about names, but will be keeping our shortlist a secret – no hints or anything – you will have to stay tuned.  Anyhow, back to Pandysas, the pregnancy, health and wellness.

Kerri-Ann has been wonderful in allowing us to do everything we can to connect with Pandysas. We wrote and recorded some weird and kooky stories about us and our lives and she has been playing the CD to her tummy. The other day after our ante-natal appointment, I also got some good belly rubbing time and spoke to my little daughter. Although Kerri-Ann can feel her kicking like crazy I am yet to feel any kicks. I believe that is a couple more weeks away. It really is so nice to be able to do those things and I feel so lucky to have such a close relationship with my surrogate.

While things are all fantastic on the baby front, my health is not following suit. For some reason I keep getting new symptoms and my body has started reacting badly to some of the treatments that I have been having for years with no problem. We are looking into a more aggressive treatment which I was hoping to have well underway before the birth, however things have been put on hold due to some new information regarding some serious risks. I’m having some tests and talking to specialists to decipher what the best way forward is. For now, it is all about trying to stay rested and relaxed. I’m doing absolutely everything in my power to be as healthy as possible so I can be the best mama that I can be.

Things are going well with the children’s book – I saw some new illustrations this week and one page took my breath away. I am really motivated to get it finished and get it out there.

Since my initial MamaBake story I had a few people come and like the Facebook page which was so lovely and much appreciated – thankyou to those who did.

I think that’s about it for now! Baby shopping with Mum tomorrow, another ante-natal appointment next week, removalists coming and then furniture arriving… I’ll have lots more to write to you soon.

Be well,

Nat x

More about Natalia

Natalia is writing a book for families that are having children via surrogacy. Natalia and her partner believe that it is important for children to understand the truth about their history.

The book is a story book that parents can read to children so that the idea that they were born via surrogacy is part of the fabric of their life. Natalia consulted with an expert psychologist to get the messaging right and it is now being illustrated. She is self-publishing and it will be released in early 2013.

Natalia is currently seeking supporters and sponsors for the production costs. There is a sponsorship proposal that interested parties can look at – personal or commercial -(please email:info@acrosstheverge.com ). People can also follow the book’s progress via the FaceBook page.