As I am sure you can imagine, the levels of excitement here in our little home are steadily building. I say steadily but that feels like I might be downplaying it. Of course, this is nothing unusual. I am pretty sure that this is how the vast majority of parents-to-be will feel. By now, the fact we are now going to become parents has definitely sunk in.
I have spoken previously about how many people will hold off for that 12-week scan checkpoint and how we did not, however, it is undeniable that once you get past that point, it does seem that everything starts ramping up, both the excitement and anticipation but also some of the practical things that you have to get organised.
Over the last few weeks, discussions have continued with my employer to sort out how my leave will work and so on. Naturally, our process is going to be slightly different from the standard (as an aside, pregnancy should NEVER be considered 'standard', it is an incredible thing!) and my employer has been working out all the finer details as it would seem that I might actually be the first person in our building who is a gay man becoming a parent through surrogacy. If that is the case, I am more than happy to be a form of guinea pig because even if I am the first, I most certainly will not be the last.
Work on the nursery has slowed down a little bit, mainly due to waiting for the new floor to be laid but I am actually sat waiting for that job to start as I am writing this. Once the floor is complete I can start building up the furniture, which is also due to be delivered today. In terms of redecorating a room, this one has been a slow process but it has been wonderful because it really has given me an outlet for channelling all of my excitement.
In addition, and possibly even more exciting, is the fact we are now building up to find out whether our little one is a boy or girl. Many people out there still like to hold off until the baby is born to find out but if I am honest, I am terrible with surprises. I don't mind a surprise if I don't know I am getting one. For example, if the hubby brings home a surprise gift I knew nothing about, I can handle that. Christmas on the other hand, where I know that I will be getting a surprise, I struggle to contain my curiosity. I can't imagine waiting for the baby to arrive to find out whether we have a son or daughter. We are at the 16-week point now so we are just shy of halfway there. I genuinely don't think I could hold off for another 20 weeks plus to find out, especially when I know that the nurses can see exactly what gender our little one is. We always planned to find out. We always planned to do some form of a gender reveal video. What I hadn't planned on was just how big a deal the gender reveal was going to become for us.
You may have spotted that last week I shared a video of me and Lisa chatting with Channel Mum about our upcoming gender reveal video. If you didn't you can catch up HERE
This video actually went out live on the Channel Mum Facebook page and since then it has racked up over 10'000 views. I have no real context for whether that number of views is good or bad but it is incredible that I am able to share our news and also the wonderful process that surrogacy can be with so many people. We are in what feels like a very lucky position to be in such an amazing match with Lisa and share that with people and show that surrogacy is not quite like what the masses will have seen on TV or in the media. Lisa is so passionate about showing the world that surrogacy is not controversial or overly dramatic at all and I have been more than happy to play my part in helping to raise that positive profile. Marc is not so keen to appear in front of the cameras but he too has been incredibly supportive and of course, we wouldn't be doing any of it if he didn't agree to it all too.
As I write this, there is a little envelope that contains the information about whether we are having a little boy or girl which even Lisa has not opened. In all honesty, as this is her sixth pregnancy and she is an expert in 'nub theory', I am pretty sure she doesn't actually need the envelope as she already knows what the gender is, but either way, she is still keeping it to herself for now. I have no idea how she is doing it!
Lisa had the scan yesterday and we have to wait until Thursday where our big reveal is going to take place. I am currently in the middle of a 4 day wait for the biggest surprise of my life. I was feeling nervous before but now I am just totally excited. Seriously, how do people wait for the birth to find out? It seems like an incredibly long time to wait and wonder. I simply don't think I could do it. I would love to know how they deal with the excitement and anticipation so if that is you, please please drop me some comments below!
The exhibitionist, social media, show-off side of me is also incredibly excited that I am in a position to share our news LIVE as it happens. It almost feels like being on TV or something. The fact that we also get to share our news with the support of such a wonderful company like Channel Mum is also amazing. In my mind, I like to think that with the number of users they have, we may have been able to change some peoples thoughts about surrogacy but also, potentially give hope to some of those people out there who may not have considered surrogacy. It feels like I am able to help give back a little bit.
Ultimately, because of Lisa and now Channel Mum, we are also able to document so much of our journey, so that one day, as our little one is growing up, we will be able to share all the videos and show them everything about how they came to be ours. My hope is that, through those videos, our little one will see how we are celebrating them, even before their arrival and helping build up memories for all the times that they do not have them for themselves.
Of course, we have planned for the gender reveal to be really special and magical but for now, I have to remain tight-lipped about how and where it is going to take place. So, if you are at all interested in whether we are having a boy or girl, you can tune in live on Thursday 22nd March at 11.30am over on the Channel Mum Facebook Page HERE
In the meantime, I will leave you with Lisa's most recent update. I think it is safe to say she also shares her excitement in this video...
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