Firstly, I have learned more about what happens if a couple is lucky and Operation Baby succeeds. There is a six-week ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. That's when they count gestational sacs and know how many babies. Assuming that goes okay, the insurance companies then get a letter confirming pregnancy from the doctor and send you information about depositing the deductible. That amount depends on how many babies and on the surrogate's age. The surrogate also starts getting funds from the escrow account. That's the responsibility of the escrow agent, so you needn't worry. Your next date to mark is an eight-week ultrasound. They do a heartbeat scan then and if all is well, then you graduate to an obstetrician. If you aren't doing CVS or amniocentesis, the next appointment is at twelve weeks and the pregnancy is treated like a typical singleton or twin pregnancy.
So for the mundane news: Friday I visited the first-grade where my best friend teaches. I spoke about becoming a doctor and about hospitals, and I taught them to use a stethoscope and also to find their pulses. Then we learned what happened if we ran really fast for sixty seconds. Our pulses sure picked up! I was impressed that the kids were able to identify the increase in heart rate. They are a very bright group and good readers, too. They all gave me hugs and it was such a nice feeling. Afterward I did some errands and then came home and made the Best Challah Ever. (Excuse the bragging, but I have two things I do well, and that's challah and matzah-ball soup, so I gotta cling to what I've got. Light, fluffy, and delicious if I do say so myself. I then let my sister cut seventeen inches (fifty centimeters) off my hair and it now falls to just below my chin. It's so short! I don't remember the last time my hair was this short, or if ever. The new 'do is getting rave reviews from everyone but me; I'm just not sure I like my hair this short. But it's light and bouncy, and it grows, to quote my sister, "freakishly fast." It's gotten hot and humid in my hometown, too, so a short cut is fitting.
Yesterday was a Party Day. My first first-cousin had an open house to mark her high-school graduation. It was over-the-top but a lot of fun. From there I went to a friends bridal shower. That, too, was a blast. I saw my two best friends from undergrad, one of whom is twelve weeks pregnant with baby number two -- and baby number one is not even a year old! The bride is a PGY-1 in surgery and her intended is in the Army. She looked radiant in her pink dress and wedding hairdo. She's Romanian, and the Romanian community in her area is like extended family, so it was a wonderful, warm party with everyone speaking different languages and lots of food and fancy desserts made by friends and family but looking as if a chef had done the work. Needless to say, I was VERY well fed. (And yes, I did eat.) Then Husband and I finished off the evening with "Dr. Who" and Ramzor (רמזור), a hilarious Israeli television show that just started it's new season. I think they just keep improving. We couldn't stop laughing for an hour straight.
Today we relax and study. Everything is green and blossoming and it's beautiful outside! Husband and I took a nice long walk and enjoyed the sun. With sunscreen, of course. Then we had a delicious lunch of spaghetti and meatballs and now I am trying to convince myself to read Harrisons. Or at least JGIM. Wish me luck!
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