Polyhydramnios in Pregnancy + Noah's Podcast Debute!

Jacqueline shares her experience with the diagnosis of polyhydramnios while pregnant with her youngest son in 2018. In celebration of his birthday month, you'll also hear the cutest bonus Q&A with an almost 4 year old!

In this episode...

• Jacqueline's pregnancy experience with her son Noah
• What is polyhydramnios?
• How do you know if you have polyhydramnios?
• What problems can polyhydramnios cause?
• What causes polyhydramnios?
• How is polyhydramnios treated?
• Is polyhydramnios common?
• Noah's podcast debut!

--> Grab this *FREE* Month-by-Month Roadmap to Your Fertility Success!

In the New Year, Jacqueline is launching a resource for women who feel stuck in their fertility. Stay tuned for details, but 2024 is sure to bring a confident and calm new you!

•  Leave a review for the podcast
•  Join the Motherhood Intended Community
•  Follow @motherhood_intended on Instagram
•  Reach out to Jacqueline via e-mail: hello@motherhoodintended.com

If you're interested in helping give the absolute greatest gift to deserving parents, learn more about becoming a surrogate (and earn up to $650 just for taking the first few simple steps!): share.conceiveabilities.com/hello12

#FertilityFact source found here.

Transcript

Hey, welcome back to a new episode of Motherhood Intended. Can you guys believe that it's already November? I know, it's, I, I can't even like wrap my head around it. I feel like this fall, I'll say, I'll say fall, even though on Halloween here in Chicagoland, it snowed. Um, I feel like fall is just flying by.

It's crazy. But it is November, which is my youngest son's birthday month. That's right. He's going to be four and a couple of weeks. So it had me thinking about his whole birth story and my pregnancy with him. And so today I kind of wanted to talk about one piece of my story in hopes of educating others,  who might not know what this is.

Or have experienced this and we'll love a little bit more information. So quick background story. If you have not listened to episode two, I'll say, or for that matter, like one, two, and three of this whole entire podcast, maybe go back.  It's my entire fertility story of trying to conceive our losses, our pregnancies, our children.

So feel free to go back, but I'll give you the cliff notes. 

So my youngest son, who's about to be four was conceived. by doing a frozen embryo transfer. So we initially did IVF in 2017, and his transfer was in March of 2019.  Our oldest son had just turned one and we were like, okay, we don't know how long, you know, this IVF is going to take this time. We felt like we just got lucky the first time and that it worked on the first transfer.

And I knew I didn't want to do cycles like right back to back. So we figured, you know what, our oldest son's first birthday, let's just give it a try, schedule a transfer. And you know, if it doesn't work that way, we've we've got some wiggle room. You know, we were hoping for kids a couple of years apart.

Well, not many things go right in my story, but IVF transfers do work well for us. Um, I know that's not the case for everyone, but I'm just proud to say that because literally nothing ever goes to plan. In my fertility journey, but IVF transfers, embryo transfers. Apparently, apparently I'm good at that.

It's everything that follows. That's like a hot mess. So yeah, our transfer worked on the very first try and we became pregnant.

Like most of my pregnancies start, they all start off really great, really fine. Each one doing a little bit better than the next. But with my son, Noah, it was all the way up until like 23 weeks and I really didn't have any issues at all. I felt great.  I was feeling confident because like four months leading up to this transfer, I had had a surgery to place the trans abdominal surclosh, which.

Is placed at like the top of my cervix to keep it closed and it's 99 percent effective. Uh, the only thing is that you do have to have a C section delivery. and it can't be any later than 38 weeks because with this surplus in place, they do not want you. Basically going into labor or contracting. So the risk and the reward and all the things, this was my best shot at carrying a pregnancy to term.

So after our oldest son was born premature at 24 weeks, you know, this was a non negotiable and really the only way I was going to be able to get pregnant again, because. , after losing our twins and then Hunter being premature, we just could not risk that again. So like I said, up until 23 weeks, smooth sailing.

And then I started to have some spotting and honestly it was nothing of concern at the time. Like I, I wasn't super afraid,  I was just like, Oh, I don't know. That's. That's weird. Um, but of course went straight to my doctor. And of course it was on a weekend. So my doctor was actually on call at the hospital.

So I went into the hospital and saw her and just  with my history and everything just to make sure, you know, she hooked me up to the monitor  just to make sure, you know, I I wasn't having any contractions or preterm labor. I was not feeling anything. But yeah, at 23 weeks, I was registering some contractions, so earned myself a nice little stay in the hospital.

After some imaging and some other tests and everything, it was determined that,  the contractions were being caused by polyhydramnios. of course, at the time, I had no idea what this was.  I was feeling like Wow, this, this checks out,  of course there's an issue. There's always an issue.

This time around though, I was pretty scared because I had a lot more knowledge now about a lot of things after having a baby at 24 weeks.  I knew that preterm labor at 23 weeks was not good. I knew that 24 weeks viability was not good enough.  You know, our oldest son beat a lot of odds, they were not good odds like he is truly a miracle.

A 24 weeker is at risk for so many things. Let alone only like a 50 percent chance of even surviving. So  I was worried. It wasn't like when I was pregnant with Hunter and I was like, okay Let's get to viability. Like we just need to get to 24 weeks and everything will be okay. Well, no, I saw firsthand my child developing in the NICU for four months when he should have been in the womb and No, he was not ready to be born.

So preterm labor at 23 weeks was pretty scary. 

They did all of the protocols that I knew from last time, you know, they gave me steroids for the baby's lungs to develop in case of delivery, I was given around, I think, even maybe two rounds of magnesium to help stop the contractions, because,  at this point, it wasn't just contractions and risk of preterm delivery,  It was the fact that I had a transabdominal circlosion and I should not be contracting because if I go into labor or continue contracting, at risk for uterine rupture.

So it was pretty scary the first like week and a half in the hospital,  just not knowing the outcome and just also knowing too much. At the time we had Hunter and my husband was working full time taking care of Hunter. Of course, we had family around to help, but it was just, it was a hot mess.

And,  Hunter was only at that point, he was like barely one and a half. So. It was just a lot, and it was a really hard time, because that hospital stay ended up being a month long. Now, definitely after two weeks, I think I was pretty in the clear, and I wasn't, like, on strict bed rest, I can get up and go to the bathroom.

I can sit in the chair. I didn't have to, I wasn't like hospital bedridden. When Hunter came to visit, I was able to, go in the wheelchair. We were able to go outside, um, things like that. But with my history and honestly, my amazing team of doctors, they just wanted, I think, to monitor me and make sure that everything was going to be okay and get me little bit further along in my pregnancy. After a month, it was at 28 weeks that I was sent home.  On like a modified bed rest. Really just needed to take it easy for the third trimester. I was still able to kind of go about my day and everything, but nothing crazy.  And ultimately, I went on to make it to my scheduled C section date, which was, they moved it up a bit, just, just to be sure that my uterus wasn't going to contract, so it was a little over 37 weeks that I had a scheduled C section, and Noah was born super healthy to me.

He was huge and big after having a 24 weeker. And no complications at all after that, but let me tell you that month  in the hospital and all due to polyhydramniosis thing that I didn't even know what it was, uh, was really scary. So I thought I'd take today's episode and just kind of educate you a little bit on what polyhydramnios is.

So polyhydramnios is. Basically, when you have too much amniotic fluid, so amniotic fluid is the fluid that surrounds your baby while they're in your body before birth, and it's like super important for your baby's development. Now you might be wondering how in the world do you get polyhydramnios? How do you have this?

You know, most women with polyhydramnios don't actually have any symptoms. I really didn't. I mean, maybe I'm, I'm guessing the spotting, the little bit of spotting that I had was due to, you know, the preterm labor and like the contractions and everything. But honestly, when I say it was like nothing to be that alarmed of, I just, I think it was just because I was at 23 weeks and I wasn't in my first trimester or even  a little bit earlier on in my second trimester, I was like, I don't know if they're supposed to be spotting.

And I was just overcautious at this point after my history. Other than that, I, I didn't have any symptoms. But I do know that if you have a lot of extra amniotic fluid, you could have things like belly pain and trouble breathing. This is all because the uterus presses, like, on your organs and lungs.

Um, other signs and symptoms include, like, feeling tightness in your stomach, upset stomach or indigestion, constipation, peeing less frequently. Swelling in your legs, thigh, hip, ankle, or foot.  And all of this information is from March of Dimes, so I will include the link, so you can fact check me. And most of this information  I'm regurgitating from memory, but I definitely looked it up to make sure I'm relaying.

the correct information to all of you guys. But basically,  to see what's going on,  my first sign after going to the hospital, just by chance, my doctor, you know, wanted to make sure there was not contractions and there was. So that was the first clue that like, okay, there's something going on.

So they use an ultrasound to measure the amount of amniotic fluid. So there's two ways to do this. Basically they take an amniotic fluid. Index and a maximum vertical pocket. So these two measurements,  one of them checks like how deep the amniotic fluid is in four areas of your uterus. 

And if your AFI is more than 25 centimeters, then you have polyhydramniose.

And so then the MPV measures the deepest area of your uterus to check the amniotic fluid level. And if your MPV is more than 8 centimeters, then you have polyhydramnios. And then these two amounts are added up.

So with polyhydramnios, it can increase the risk of these problems during pregnancy. So you are at an increased risk for preterm birth, which if you don't know, it's birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. You can have premature rupture of membranes, which is when the amniotic sac breaks after 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Um, But before labor starts,  placental abruption, this is when the placenta will partially or completely kind of like peels away from the wall of the uterus before birth.  Unfortunately this can result in stillbirth,  which is when a baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Some other complications that can be from, having all this. Excess amniotic fluid, could be like a postpartum hemorrhage.  So heavy bleeding after having a baby. Fetal malposition. This is when like the baby is not in a head down position. 

So in that instance, the baby may need to be born via C section. You can have severe breathing problems during pregnancy. The uterus can become stretched out and then it can't contract normally. Bleeding after delivery. prolapsed umbilical cord, which is when like the umbilical cord comes out before the baby.

And then there can also be the risk of birth defects, including problems with the baby's bones and genetic conditions. 

So as you can hear, polyhydramniosis is kind of a scary thing. I, of course, knew nothing about it until I was put in the position of having it. and the thing is, is that in. About half of cases. They don't actually know what causes it. So in other cases, they can identify a cause Some known causes are birth defects So if the baby has like a gastrointestinal or lung disorders brain and nervous system problems And those that affect the baby's swallowing so baby's swallowing is what keeps the fluid at a steady level in the uterus So if they're having issues with this, that could be why that there's more amniotic fluid than there should be  if you have pre existing Diabetes this could cause polyhydramnios Which means you know you're having too much sugar in your blood and then a mismatch between your blood and your baby's blood such as Rh disease

 also problems with the baby's heart rate and Infection in the baby problems with the placenta and then not enough red blood cells in the baby. So these are all possible causes for polyhydramnios, but like I said, in about half of cases, they don't actually figure out what caused it. And that was, of course, my situation.

Of course it was. Of course, I remember them coming in. MFM came in. They and they did multiple ultrasounds, you know, they would take an ultrasound. 

I was given some sort of medication. I can't remember it at the moment, but some sort of medication to help reduce fluid, just to see if that will work. And then they would come back and do the ultrasound measurements again. And, you know, after a while it was going down, it was going down, not drastically, but enough 

and between the fluid going down and being on medications to help keep contractions at bay, I finally got to like a safe level. But ultrasounds, genetic tests, nothing wasn't there was no red flags of anything. I did not have,  pre existing diabetes or,  any kind of birth defects that were picked up at the 20 week scan.

You know, we didn't have any of this. So they're really just, they didn't have an answer from where they didn't have a cause as to why I was experiencing polyhydramnios.

And so I remember, um, Asking probably not at the time because I was obviously so consumed with my current pregnancy. I was definitely not thinking into the future, but after spending a whole month on hospital bed rest, you know the mind wanders and there's only so much tv you could watch and only so much you can do.

I remember I was working part time at that at that time and , I was just on my laptop watching tv accepting any and all visitors and just you know after we passed that like scary point of like the week and a half two weeks for those last like Two weeks, I was just, I was ready to go home, mostly because I knew how much of a toll this whole experience was taking on my husband, trying to do all the things and, basically keep our family afloat and while also not really knowing what's going on.

And I knew it was killing him that he wasn't able to be there for me as much as he wanted to, because  you needed to be there for Hunter and that's really all I cared about. I was like, just focus on Hunter, focus on Hunter. But you know, I, I was able to see them both for maybe a half hour a day for that month.

Because again, he's one, one and a half going into a hospital.  Of course this was pre COVID. So there wasn't any crazy restrictions, which was nice, but there's only so much for a little guy to do in a hospital room.  Except for like crawl all over the floor and. Like, just freak us out about germs, especially because he was a preemie.

But I will say, I have to tell you this 1 story really quick that I was able to experience hunters 1st steps, which at 1st, I was just like, extremely upset that it was happening in the hospital. But honestly,  he spent the 1st,  4 months of his life in the hospital. So it was kind of fitting that he took this milestone at our hospital.

 But yeah,  right in my room, right in my hospital room, walking between Josh and I, Hunter took his first steps. Have it on video. I remember the next day we brought him out to like the beautiful courtyard  like grassy area that our hospital has. And I was in the wheelchair and, you know, he was.

Just testing out his new sea legs going back and forth in the yard. It was so cute and such a great memory, but honestly,  one of the motivators for being like, okay,  I need to get out of this hospital. Like my baby is growing up literally before my eyes. Like I cannot be in this hospital any longer.

And of course I was feeling confident at that point and it was just so nice to go home. And of course, like at the time we still had our dog Stella and I had not seen Stella for a month and she was truly my, like, Support animal, like emotional support. Animal is that what it's called therapy dog, whatever it is, like that was Stella for me.

And so not seeing her for a full month too was like really heartbreaking. I remember I think it was my best friend and my mom both talking about how like, maybe there's somebody we can ask in the hospital to be able to bring her in for emotional support to the hospital. And I was like, yeah, I'm guessing not, especially Stella for anyone who knows, um, A puggle, she was part pug and part beagle and man, she definitely had that beagle bark.

So I, I doubt she would be non disruptive in the hospital environment. But anyway, had to share that quick story.

So luckily for me, polyhydramnios... Did go away on its own there are different ways that it can be treated So when an ultrasound shows that you have too much amniotic fluid your provider will do like a more detailed ultrasound to check for birth defects And also a twin to twin transfusion syndrome, which I'm not gonna talk too much on that Just because I don't know enough about it, but I do know that that is something that can signify You know, excessive amniotic fluid.

They might also do a blood test for diabetes and an amniocentesis. If you're not familiar, an amniocentesis is a test that will take some amniotic fluid from around the baby to check for problems like birth defects and genetic conditions in your baby.  I remember them.

Presenting this option, but it was something that my doctors felt like they did not want to jump to that because there are risks involved with an amniocentesis and  so their plan a was just to, like, use medication and. Monitor and see what they can do to kind of, reduce the fluid, keep contractions away and all of that first and then worst case scenario, they would go ahead on to the amniocentesis and I think part of this too, and I could be wrong, but when this was happening for me, you know, I was 23 weeks along and we had already done, like the anatomy scan and things like that. So, we had a pretty good idea that there wasn't any kind of. Yeah. birth defects going on. We also did genetic testing. You know, prior to IVF, so we had a lot of things going for us. We had, we had a lot of information, I guess, at that point. So they didn't want to do any further testing, like an amniocentesis, unless it really came down to that point.

But like I said, in many cases, slight polyhydramnios actually goes away by itself. So other times it may go away when the problem causing it is fixed. So for example, like if your baby's heart rate is causing the problem, sometimes your provider can give you medicine to fix it. But if you do have polyhedra amniosis, you usually have ultrasounds weekly or more.

Often to kind of check those amniotic fluid levels and you may also have tests done to check your baby's health. Now while I was in the hospital, I think that was another reason why I was in there for a full month  because I would have had to be going back and forth anyway for all of these ultrasounds.

At first they were doing an ultrasound and I think it was like every two days. And then. Once I was home, I was definitely seeing the doctor more frequently throughout my third trimester, just to make sure, everything was staying where it needed to stay. So if you are out there and you're experiencing polyhydramnios, or maybe I'm just seeing some of these symptoms or things that could cause it, don't be afraid to talk to your provider, or if you find yourself in this situation.

Hopefully this will just give you a little bit more information so you know how to navigate it and kind of just be prepared for what options might be to come

because having too much amniotic fluid can definitely make you feel uncomfortable.

And your provider may actually give you a medicine called endomethicin. I think that's how you say it, but basically this medication helps lower the amount of urine that your baby makes. So it lowers the amount of amniotic fluid. This is what they gave me to  help with that and for me, it did work.

And it's also important to keep in mind that, like, if you find yourself in a situation of polyhydramnios,  I was in my 2nd trimester, so I wasn't even my 3rd trimester yet. So there was a lot of measures that needed to be taken to make sure that this kind of like. Reversed itself if possible.

But , you're near the end of your pregnancy and tests show that you and your baby are healthy. You usually don't need any treatment if you or your baby's health is in danger. Of course, your provider may give you medicine to start your labor early. But yeah, if it's, it's different for everybody. And like I said, it's crazy because half of the time they don't even know what causes it, which is so annoying.

But at least,  the more information you have is kind of how I feel about everything. The more, you know, it can only help. so just keep this in mind. And if you're wondering if this is even common, it's not super common, but it does definitely happen. So about two out of. A hundred pregnant people have too much amniotic fluid.

So like 2%, if you guys have been listening to the podcast for awhile, or have at least listened to my story, I hope you're catching on that. Like. Odds,  I'm not so good at them. Anything that has like such a small risk of something happening. Like that's me. That's my body. I always talk though, that  Hunter is like the best odds ever, because he's the opposite of me.

Like everything with my body has failed in pregnancy in one way or the other.  Of course, Noah is a. Beautiful example of my body carrying a pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby, but like you just heard there was a whole month of hiccups and a whole trimester of like caution tape around me, so Just some information for you some knowledge for the 2 percent of you out there who will experience this But you know what if not you Maybe a friend, maybe someone, you know, we'll go through this and you'll be happy to have just a little bit more info.

Or if you're like me, you just like to educate yourself on things.  I am just so fascinated about learning about the body and all the crazy things it does, so. There you go. Polyhydramnios, you guys.

Like I said, I fact checked my information and everything that I remembered from my own experience  On the March of Dimes site, which had a really great article about polyhydramnios. So I will link that in the show notes. 

But to end today's episode, I have a couple of things for you. For one, I wanted to give a quick update on our surrogacy journey. our gestational carrier is currently 16 weeks pregnant with our baby girl. She is feeling really good. I told her that  I can't believe we're at 16 weeks.

This pregnancy is flying by from my perspective. Obviously because I'm not the one carrying the pregnancy, but I asked her, I was like, I'm sure it's not the same for you, but, and she's like, no, it is flying by, I can't believe it's 16 weeks. It's just because this is going so smoothly.

And. I don't think you realize how  comforting it was to hear that because that is just not been my experience for any pregnancy and I have been through four

 pregnancies, basically holding my breath the whole time and dealing with,  laundry list of issues. So it's pretty crazy,

but yeah, we're getting really excited. You know, we've been talking about the baby in our house now that the boys have known for a few weeks.  It's real, it's happening and it's crazy. Her next appointment is on Tuesday. And then in about a month, we are going down to Texas for the 20 week anatomy scan.

And I can't wait. So stay tuned for updates on that.

So before I end this episode, I did want to leave you with the cutest Q and a, that I did with my son, Noah, like I mentioned, November is his birthday month. And I had my oldest son Hunter on the podcast back in March for his birthday. So now it was Noah's turn. And it just makes me laugh because wow. It's so funny how your kids 

can have such different personalities, but man, it was really cute to just to talk to him. It was kind of like pulling teeth at some points, um, but you know, he's going to be four. So take a listen.

So Noah, are you excited to be on the podcast today? Yeah, what's today? Yeah, why are we dressed up like this? Yeah, what are you wearing right now? Leonardo And who am I? Well, his name is Donnie, but his name is Don Tello. You call him Donatello though.

So his nickname is Donnie, but his name is Donatello. What's Leonardo's nickname? Leonardo.

  Is it Leo? No, Yeah, they call him Leo. Well, I'm excited. Halloween is super fun, but can you believe it? It's snowing today.

 It's impossible. It's not impossible. We saw the snow coming down. It's weird that it's coming down. I know. It's too early, right?   How old are you, Noah? .   You're three and a half years old? Yeah. So how old are you turning next? What kind of birthday party are you gonna have? It's gonna be so much fun. I can't believe that you are gonna be four.

That's crazy. So is it okay if I ask you some questions on the podcast today? Okay. So Noah, what is your favorite color? Red. Oh, okay. And what's your favorite show to watch on TV? Ninja Turtles and Sonic. And Sonic? What's your favorite sport? Soccer.

Soccer. That's a lot of fun.

 Do you go to school? No. Yeah, you do go to school? Well, not every single day. Right, not every day. You're in preschool, though, right? Yeah. Yeah.  I'm curious. Would you rather... You're already giggling. Would you rather eat grass or leaves?

What? What? Which one would you pick? If you had to eat grass or leaves, which one would it be? They're nothing because like, we don't eat those things. Oh, okay. Let me, let me ask you something different then. Would you rather have a donut? Or a lollipop? Both! You gotta pick one! Both!

If you had to pick one, what would it be? Both! Sticking with both? Yes! Okay! Alright, if you had to live in one of these places, which one would you rather live in? In a cave or on a mountain? I'd rather live with Stella. You'd rather live with Stella? Yes. Stella in heaven. Our dog in heaven.  Okay.  Let's see. Would you rather be a frog or a dog?

A frog. Why a frog? Because they can hop.

Okay Noah, what is something that you're really good at?

 You're really good at soccer. You are.  How tall do you think daddy is? He's 40 inches tall?

40 feet tall? That's really, that'd be really tall. Daddy is like 5 foot 8.

Would you rather eat a piece of cake or a cookie? Both. You have to pick one. No, I can't. Okay. Would you like to swim like a fish? No way. No way? Well, I can swim on my back though. You can swim on your back? Yeah. Well, this is how I swim on my back.

Oh, you're going to show me? Yeah, I usually like put on my gloves and close my eyes to do that. Oh, do you do anything with your arms? Well, yeah, I paddle with this. You paddle with your arms? That's yeah. Like a squid. That's a good animal. Good fish with a squid. Maybe you look like a little otter swimming like that.

Do you like swimming? Yeah. I wish we could go swimming. I know. Me too. But it's snowing on Halloween. that's weird. It's so weird. We did some swimming in the summertime though, right? Yeah, I wish I could swim. 1, 2, 3, 4. Counting all my post its. 1, 2, 3, 4, . If you could be any kind of animal, what would you be?

A podcaster. A podcaster is not an animal. What kind of animal would you be, if you could be any kind of animal? A monkey. A monkey? Why would you want to be a monkey?

Because I want to swing on branches and I can't even swing so I'm just going to be crushed by a branch. You're going to swing but you can't even swing so you're just going to be crushed by a branch? Yeah. Would you be a monkey that eats bananas? No, I don't even like bananas. I know. What kind of things would you eat if you were a monkey since you don't like bananas?

Oreos, , Oreos. A monkey that eats Oreos and breaks branches. 

What would happen if a cat had fins? He could swim . He could swim really well, right. Yeah. That'd be crazy. Can I go watch a few to see Hunter? Yeah. Cause I wanna see all the costumes. I know, that's gonna be fun. We're gonna go to the school and see all the elementary school kids dressed up in their costumes, right?

I wonder what Hunter's gonna be. You know what Hunter's gonna be. No I don't. I wonder what all the other costumes are gonna be. There's a lot of kids at that school.

I wonder. Maybe. It's pretty popular, right? A lot of people like Ninja Turtles? Yeah. That'll be fun. What do you say when you, on Halloween, when you like ring a doorbell? Trick or treat! Trick or treat. Trick or treat, mom. Trick or treat. Dad said we can practice, and he can give me a good idea. Practice makes perfect.

Well, I don't actually need practice. I know, you're pretty good at saying that, and you're definitely good at eating candy. What's your favorite holiday? Halloween. It is? Out of all of them? Halloween and Christmas. What do you like most about Halloween? Well, cause we get treats. Treats. I like Christmas What

is your favorite thing to do?

Getting new presents. Getting new presents? But you don't get that every day. What's your favorite thing to do? Oh, you're sticking with that? Yeah. Oh my goodness.

What do you love most about Hunter?

Oh, with your cousin, too? That's so nice. 

So, is Hunter your older brother or a younger brother? Older. Older.  Is there a little? A baby sister. A baby sister on the way. Where is she growing?   In a different tummy. Yeah, in a nice mommy's tummy, right?   So are you excited that there's gonna be a baby in our family? Yeah. Yeah. You are. You know that that means that you're not gonna be the baby anymore. You're gonna be the middle. I think being the middle is like the best. Why? Because then you get an older sibling and a younger sibling.

You get to be a little brother and a big brother at the same time. Isn't that cool? Oh, you need a nap. What kind of things do you think you can teach your little sister? Poop. You're going to teach her how to say poop? Yeah. Well, I don't know. What kind of nice things can you teach her? Drink.

How to drink milk? Yeah. Okay.  Last question. What do you think we should name your baby sister? Her name is Chicken .  Hunter Noah and Chicken. You want to name your baby sister Chicken? Yeah, baby. Hunter Noah and Chicken? Yeah. Hunter Noah. What if she, so she's gonna go to school and  everyone's gonna be like, Hi, Chicken!

Seriously? Yeah. Thanks for being on the podcast today, Noah. Why are you always asking me math questions? You're like a math genius. So I think that's all we have time for on the podcast today. What's five plus six? Eleven. What's four plus four? Okay. Well, thanks for being on the podcast today, Noah.

Well, I didn't actually want to, but I trusted you. You didn't actually want to, but you trusted me? Cool. Spin me back. Do you like being on the office chair? Spin me back. In the chair? Yeah. Oh boy. All right, well, hopefully next time! Well, we'll get to hear from you again, okay, Noah? Yeah. Thanks for being on the show! Now can

That's all I have for you today. If you're new to the podcast and love the show, please consider leaving a five star review and we'd love to have you in the Motherhood Intended Community Group on Facebook. Everything I'm about to talk about is linked in the show notes. So before you click out of your podcast app, be sure to check there.

Lots of helpful information, lots of resources. If you want to stay up to date on my own personal surrogacy journey, follow some funny posts and be in the know with everything that's going on in the podcast. You can also follow me on Instagram at motherhood underscore intended.

And most importantly, if you find yourself in the season of trying to conceive, trying to start your family, maybe you're growing your family, or maybe you're just starting to dabble in fertility treatments. Be sure to grab my free resource. It is a month by month roadmap to guide you to your most fertile future.

I'm telling you, this roadmap for fertility success is going to make you feel so calm and confident going into a year of trying to your family. So if you're at the beginning, or if you've been trying for a while, grab this. Guide It provides helpful tips each month. The roadmap starts from January and it goes through the whole year, but My January could be your November. You could start tomorrow if you download it. It doesn't matter. It's really just to kind of outline steps along the way to keep you calm and feeling confident in your trying to conceive journey.

That way you don't have to take a whole month of researching and being like, what do I do next? Where do I go from here? Grab the guide. It's free to download and I really want you to have it. I worked hard on it. So hopefully you all find it helpful. 

And last but not least, there are three episodes left in season two of the motherhood intended podcast. I know, time flies when you're having fun, am I right? The season will end on November 30th, so we'll have the next couple weeks of new episodes, take a break for Thanksgiving, round out November, and then we'll be off for a little over a month, and new episodes in season 3 will return January 11th.

So if you've been listening to the show from the beginning of this year, you are a founding listener. And I just want to say thanks for being here. Like I really appreciate it. And if you haven't been enjoying the show and you've stuck around for a while, or even if you're new and you're two episodes in and you're like, wow, this is really nice.

I like, this is helpful or at least entertaining or you know what? She's crazy, but you know, I'll turn it on in the car. That's fine.  Consider clicking the link in the show notes to support the production of the show. This whole year has been a year of. Learning and working hard people. I am a one woman team here on the Motherhood Intended podcast.

But in the new year, I have some very exciting plans. anything you can donate is helpful and directly goes into the production of this podcast and resources for you. 2024 is going to bring you amazing guests on the show, helpful resources, events, courses, communities. I mean, I am super psyched for all this to come, but I definitely can't do it alone.

So to be completely transparent, all of your donations and any money that goes into the podcast is for programs, equipment. Hiring an editor, hiring an assistant, really streamlining the whole process of this show so I can focus on creating content that you want. I'm super excited to take this whole thing to the next level, but I need your help.

So if you're enjoying the show, consider donating. I mean, give up a Starbucks coffee, put it towards your favorite podcast. I appreciate it.

 Thanks again for listening. I hope you found value in this episode and I will talk to you again next week.