18 weeks!

It's hard to believe that we are almost 1/2 way thru this pregnancy! Holly continues to do well and that sweet bump continues to grow! 

Every week continues to get more and more exciting the closer that D-day gets! This week Brystol is the size of a 6 inch mango. Now, finding a mango that is 6 inches long proved to be quite the task. When my Mom went looking for a mango of that size and couldn't find one, we figured making our own 6 inch fruit was the next best thing. So, here you have this lovely chopped up mango that is wrapped in suran wrap..lol. You get the idea! 

A along through this journey I knew I wanted to induce lactation in order to breastfeed Brystol. I've gotten in touch with all the right people, had long conversations with people that have successfully induced lactation, talked with lactation specialist and bought a pump. After we got back from vacation a few weeks ago I started the process and had been at it for a little over a week. Towards the end of that week I had a doc appt and found out that due to the meds I'm on for my heart( I had an infection in the lining of my heart a few years ago and since have a high heartbeat, so I'm on meds to keep the ol' heartbeat down) I can't breastfeed. Going off the meds in order to breastfeed is also not an option. Talk about frustrating! I already can't carry my own baby but now I can't even supply breast milk for her. Always has to be something it seems! It was a frustrating few days and yet again, I felt I was failing. A few days later I decided to post in a Mommy and Baby group I'm in on Facebook. I asked if anyone in the group had ever used a breast milk donation bank. I got quite a few responses, all from women I didn't know saying they'd be willing to pump extra and donate it to me. It's so nice to know there are still some good people in this world and such a thoughtful thing to do for a complete stranger! However, I couldn't bring myself to be completely comfortable receiving donated breast milk from someone I don't know nor have a way to screen it for any drugs, diseases, etc. While I was in the midst of looking around at a few different breast milk banks I received a message from a girl I went to high school with. Her message,

 " Hey Christa! I just wanted to say how happy I am for you guys! I have been following along your journey and I am so amazed by your strength.

I wanted to mention that I have quite a lot of milk in my freezer that I will likely never use. I was going to find something to do with it but I saw your post in the mommies group and it got me thinking.

If you would be interested I would be willing to donate some of my milk. You can think about it- and ask me any questions. I'd love to help if I can.

Let me know what you think. 😊" 

I don't know this little Momma(her name is a secret, for now. :-) ) all that well but I do know she's a healthy girl, has a 4 1/2 month old that breastfeeds and has been one of our cheerleaders through this whole process. As of last week she already had 170oz saved up in her freezer for us and that was without starting to pump both side! Impressive little milk machine! Her generosity brought me to tears the other day while we were talking on the phone and I just can't thank her enough for what she's going to be doing for us. Brystol is one lucky little girl! Little Momma, I know you'll read this and I literally can't say "thank you" enough! 

Next week we have our official gender scan with the doctor and 20 week appt! Brystol's Great Grandma will be joining us for that ultrasound. She was a nurse practitioner for years and I'm sure will just be in awe of how far technology has come in the baby world since she was on that side of the fence. Can't wait to see how much our little lady has grown in the last 5 1/2 weeks!!!!!