Such a Beautiful Miracle Times 2

Two amazing mens lives were changed forever when they received one phone call on Sunday, November 22nd, 2011 at 4:22pm...
The night before the big day, I had had a lot of pain; moreso than normal. I got up around 5am and waited til my son Austin and boyfriend Scott woke up. It was Sunday which meant football would be on TV. Scott took Austin out to eat for breakfast and to the store. I got a shower and went next door to visit my friend Danielle and her son. We then took the kids to the mall to get their hair cuts and headed home. Austin was quite moody so Scott put him down for a nap. I went back next door and wrapped some gifts with Danielle and she painted my toes for me (since I couldnt reach them lol). After that, I went back home to write out some bills and take a nap myself.
I was just finishing a Happy Birthday card for one of the twins' fathers when I felt a familiar "pop". I just smiled to myself and stayed on the couch for a few minutes. Scotts dad came over and Austin was just waking up from his nap. I decided to get up and head to the bathroom. Sure enough, my water had broke so I told Scott that I was gonna head to the hospital. He went and got Danielle and she handed him her baby to watch and off we went to the York Hospital.
Now my water never popped on its own with my son so I wasnt sure what to expect. I called the fathers as soon as I got in my car. They were in the middle of painting their place so they quickly cleaned up and headed on their way to the hospital as well. They were coming from New York so it would be a 4 hour drive for them.
We arrived at the hospital around 5pm. The labor pains were unbelievable! Hard contractions every 3 to 5 minutes. When the doctor checked me, I was 5cm dialated and contractions were every other minute. It seemed never ending and since I last ate at noon, they wanted to hold off the Csection until 6:30pm... That would be the longest hour of my life. Watching the clock while the contractions seemed to blend into one another. I had a ton of nurses and doctors and the anestesiologist taking over my room, asking tons of questions and all I could do was cry and try to breathe through the pain and answer them.
All the while, I knew the boys wouldnt make it for the birth. I was sad but I wouldve been more sad had they missed a natural birth instead. The Csection was the safest route for the twins. The boy was heads down but the girl was breech and sitting on his head which wouldve complicated a natural birth.
Anyway, I was finally wheeled off to the OR at 6:30pm. If I remember correctly, the baby boy was delivered at 6:54 and the baby girl was delivered st 6:55pm.

Benjamin Tobias

Alexandra Caroline

What perfect little angels! Alexandra came out screaming! She was always such a drama queen! :) And they both weighed over 6 pounds! Such healthy little ones. I went to recovery while the babies headed toward the NICU to await their anxious parents.
I believe they arrived sometime after 9pm. They came to see me around 11:30pm. I was so happy that they fnally got to meet their babies!
The next few days would be ones that I will never forget! The boys graciously welcomed me and my family into their family and included me in feedings and visiting, holding the babies and pictures. They truely are the most beautiful twins Ive ever seen. Benjamin seems to be the calm one.So quiet. While Alexandra is the more vocal one. Her eyes are captivating and she has a look about her that makes her seem worldly for her young age of only a few days. Something tells me these babies are something extra special! :)
I was discharged today (Wednesday). The babies will most likely go home Saturday which is amazing! I woke up this morning and  could tell my hormones were crashing. I had tears off and on. I wasnt crying because I didnt have the twins to take home. They were tears of complete joy for the fathers'. And excitement to see my boys again. I missed home. And soon the babies would get to know their home. What a blessing everyday really is now for the fathers!
I will be visiting the twins and the parents on Friday to say our goodbyes. Facebook will be a wonderful way to stay in touch with pictures and such. Im grateful for whatever they choose. They have touched my life in a way that I wouldve never thought possible. They have helped me become a better person. To fulfill a dream. This journey is one I will never forget. I intend to do another surrogacy but none will be able to compare to this...

The twins!

Scott with the twins. :)

Alexandra and Daddy

Scott & I with the little miracles!

Proud Fathers' <3

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL MIRACLE x2!

Time Flys When Your Baking Twinkies!

Ok, so maybe the last few weeks havent flown by, but seriously, I can remember my day of embryos transfered like it was yesterday...
The twins will be 34wks tomorrow. Its been a very trying pregnancy. Completely different than my pregnancy with my son. I should have expected that, considering two babies are much more difficult than one. But I suppose you never fully understand until you actually experience it. I havent been able to sleep laying down for months now. I stay downstairs at night, propped up in the corner of my sectional. My friend has to do my grocery shopping since walking is literally a pain. And Ive been contracting for weeks now. Multiple trips to the hospital and praying the next one is when the babies are ready to come! :)
The twins were over 4lbs a month ago so Im eager to see what their growth is on Wednesday. I have 2 appointments a week for stress tests but the babies seem to be doing very well! Ive just been put on bedrest but it shouldnt be for much longer.
Anyways, even though its been a roller coaster of ups and downs, pain and excitement, I wouldnt trade this wonderful experience for anything! I couldnt have been blessed with more caring, down to earth parents to do this for. Im so excited for them to meet their babies. To see their faces when they see them for the first time. To get to be a part of making them a family is such an amazing gift!I feel honored that they allowed me to carry their own flesh and blood for nine months. They trusted me with the lives of their babies and knew that I would take good care of them. Aside from having my son, this is one of the greatest things Ive ever done!
I just want to thank everyone that has helped me along this journey. My IP's, of course. They were great to my son and spoiled me throughout the pregnancy. My best friend, Danielle, who took me to almost all my appointments and helped watch my son, gave me breaks when I was exhausted, administered my hormone shots and listened to me whine when I needed to. I couldnt have done this without you! And to Scott who supported me from the beginning with my desire to do this. Not many boyfriends/husbands are ok with their woman carrying other peoples babies. Also, Scotts father, who knew the amount of pain Ive been in and watched my son more times than he needed to. Lastly, my surrogate friends. It was so nice to get to message you with my concerns or questions. And to get to follow your journeys as well.
So heres to an amazing birthing experience coming very soon! What a special day for the twins and their parents. It is one that I wont forget, either!

Baby, Baby!

Wow, its been a while since Ive blogged. Time has been flying by and Ive been so busy lately
Im 22 weeks pregnant now with the twins. I feel HUGE! But I love it! I started feeling the babies move on the Fourth of July. Its amazing to get to feel more than one baby inside me kicking and squirming. They tend to be more active in the evenings but I think thats because its the only time during the day that I get to relax so they take over. My belly is measuring a couple weeks ahead but thats normal for a pregnancy with multiples. The only downside has been that my belly is constantly sore. But I cant expect anthing less since its always growing. :)
I got to see A & J (The parents) the previous week. It was the gender confirmation ultrasound. I was right from the beginning...a girl and a boy! How exciting to get one of each! Raising each one will be such a unique experience.We scheduled the 3D ultrasound for September and will get to see what these beautiful babies will look like.

A Thankful Ass!

Today Im 10 weeks pregnant with the amazing boys' twins! :) Time is flying by. Seems like it was yesterday instead of almost a year ago when I realized it was time to start searching for an agency to be a surrogate. Its funny how the decision was such a big one, but also was one of the easiest decisions of my life. I have a ways to go with this journey, but I cant wait to begin another. I saw that one of the women that works for the agency posted that there are 40+ families waiting to be matched with a surrogate. How heart breaking it must be for those people to wait for months, even years just so they can have the gift of their own children. The gift that tons of people take for granite.
On that note, Ill be the first person to stand up and say Im proud of what Im doing. My friends and family are proud of me as well. Ive had people wrinkle up their noses that I am doing this surrogacy. Those are close-minded, ignorant people that probably never had to dream of having a family. Never had to deal with infertility or the fact that it would be impossible to conceive children. And it also upsets me to no end that there are still women today that are going to abortion clinics just because they might not know the father or cant afford the baby. Thats why there are adoption agencies. Tons of people/couples would love to adopt a newborn. I feel as if when women make that decision, it takes away everything that Im striving to do. Its the exact contradiction of my journey. They decide to end an innocent life and I decide to help bring new ones to very much deserving people. I never knew that I would have so many different emotions when I started all of this.
So, enough of that for now. My pregnancy has been wonderful so far. I havent had too many cravings. Hot wings, pizza with A1 sauce, pickels (thats an all-the-time fav though :) )...Thats about it. Oh, and salads as of lately. Ive been tired a lot of the time and its hard for me to stay up past 9pm. Twins def strectch the stomach out faster than a singleton. My belly is usually sore from the little babies constantly growing and making room. As far as morning sickness, Ive only been getting an upset stomach at night (same as when I was pregnant with my son) and it has been nothing bad that has sent me running to the bathroom. So Ive been very lucky in that area once again! :) Im finally done at my monitoring clinic in Baltimore so I may see my own OB in York. And the really good news?! I get to stop my hormone shots!!!! I have a very thankful ass!! :)

Seeing Double :D

Today was my first ultrasound during this surrogacy journey. It was confirmation of heartbeat/s and to see how many babies there were. The day definitely started out quite frustrating. The clinic that I usually go to said that they had called my fertility clinic weeks ago and made them aware that they didnt do the type of ultrasound I needed done and no one made me or my IF's aware of this. So we all came to find that no appointment was ever remade. Needless to say, hours later we finally got a copy of my ultrasound order and were able to squeeze in an appointment today just shy of noon.
I was very nervous during the ultrasound. The technician wasnt really saying too much and she left the room to grab another technician. I started to worry, wondering if she couldnt find any heartbeats. But finally she told me and my IF's that there was two sacks and that it was twins with strong heartbeats! I about cried, I was so happy for the fathers! I know that they both were hoping for twins and I couldnt feel more blessed then to be able to give them their wish of that! I go back in one week for a followup ultrasound just to make sure the babies are growing like they should be.

Post-Transfer

Its been a week and one day since my transfer out in Oregon. I flew out on Tuesday of last week with my friend Danielle and we came home on Friday. The procedure took place around 1:30pm on Wednesday the 13th. It was painless and very quick. The only discomfort was having to have a full bladder. After it was done, we went back to the hotel to start my bedrest until we left on friday. It was very relaxing but I missed my son and couldnt wait to get home to him!
On Monday I took an at-home pregnancy test. I was actually shocked when the results came up positive so soon! I took another one yesterday and it was positive as well. I shared the news with my IF's and they were very excited! I go for bloodwork tomorrow to officially confirm, but Im already experiencing pregnancy symptoms so Im sure it will be good news tomorrow afternoon. And if it is, that means Im just shy of 6wks pregnant and the due date for the baby/s would be around mid-December...Merry Christmas to my IF's!! :)

Almost to the Beginning...

After more than 7 months since I started this surrogacy journey (and much longer Im sure, for my IF's), we are almost to the "beginning". The pregnancy! :)
I started my Lupron injection yesterday. I was completely calm and cool about doing the self-injections until the morning of. Im not afraid of needles at all but it was a little scary having to stick them in your own skin! lol But after I willed myself to do it, repeatedly coaching myself that I had been through childbirth and that a little needle was a piece of cake, I realized that the needle didnt hurt one bit. The only discomfort was the slight itching afterward, like a bug bite. And a tiny bit of tenderness at the site. But other than that, it was a breeze.
I was so anxious to start the injections because now I know it is a little over a month til the transfer of embryos...pregnancy! :) And the Lupron is doing its job already. I have experienced slight headaches and tenderness is certain areas of my body and a few other possible side effects.
So let the countdown to the beginning begin!

Patches and Needles and Meds, Oh My!

Meds have arrived!! :D
So, I waited all day for my package to come yesterday. Something went wrong with the shipping so it arrived early this morning.
Mind you, I was expecting a bunch of stuff. But nothing prepared me for when I actually got to open the box and see it all at one time! Must say, I was a little overwhelmed for a minute. And the whole order hasnt even been shipped. Im waiting on a ton more boxes of hormone patches yet that are on back order.
All in all, I am more excited then anything! Receiving this package just shows how close my IP's and I are into entering the pregnancy part of our journey. Needles and meds? BRING IT ON!!! :D

Ending the day with great news!

What a wonderful way to end a very long day!
I just received a message from my IF's that the test results came back what we were praying for! So Im hoping that I get a new cycle calendar by Monday at the latest. Possibly looking at a transfer the first week of April at the latest maybe? So exciting! My IF's have to fly out to Oregon tomorrow so that they can give their sample, just to be on the safe side so we dont get this whole journey put on hold again.
Im very anxious to start my hormone shots and be done with the birth control. My body has always hated BC. It gives me nothing but pain and cramps. So a big smile of relief when that can stop. :D

Turkey Baster?!

Really? A turkey baster?!
My boyfriend was watching The Steve Wilkos show yesterday and it just so happened that he was doing a show about a 16 yr old surrogate mother who supposedly "stole" a couples baby. We recorded it on the DVR and watched it last night. It was nothing like I thought it would be...
First off, a 16 yr old surrogate mother? I knew something didnt sound right. It turned out that the young surrogate was homeless with her 2 yr old son. A woman and her husband took her in with the stipulations of her having the couples baby. Now heres where it gets even more disgusting...
Not only did the couple prey on this young girl that was in need. They had her have sex with the husband in order to conceive the child. There was talk of wanting to use a turkey baster (wow...i thought people just joked about that!), but the husband, of course, jumped at the chance to sleep with a young girl. The couple never asked the girl for ID, medical records, or anything. Nor did they take her to one doctors checkup.
In the end, the young girl moved out to live with her very mature boyfriend. She apparently was having sex with him at the same time and when she had the baby, she said it was his and not the couples baby.
It was hard as hell to finish watching the show. It made me sick...the couple reminded me of nothing but 100% pure white trailer trash. And the whole situation, i felt, made surrogacy look so unglorified! Being a surrogate mother should be something to be looked up to and should be one of the most rewarding, unselfish things a woman ever does in her lifetime. Not something that was made so disgusting and dirty...
Ok, enough of that. Just thought id share that. I heard some good news from my IF's yesterday morning. It looks like ill be receiving a tenative schedule for my shots and transfer by the end of next week! So hopefully (fingers crossed!), the transfer will only be put back a few weeks at the most! :) Im so excited and praying for everything to go wonderfully!

Shall we wait?

Patience. Its a good thing I was blessed with some.
I am doing my first surrogacy journey. This has been something Ive wanted to do ever since I was a child. There is no greater gift than to give the gift of life! I hated seeing so many people have children that didnt want them or barely cared for them when there was so many people out there hurting. Hurting because they couldnt have children of their own. So now that I have a wonderful son of my own, I can help people that want nothing more than to have a family.
I started looking into being a surrogate quite some time ago. I found an amazing agency and started working with them in late August of 2010. It was alot of running around, getting medical records and filling out tons of questions. But I managed to get it all done in a weeks time. After that came a brief waiting period. The agency had to find me a person/couple that matched my criteria and such. I was then matched by the beginning of October with two amazing people! They came to my house and met my family before Halloween. It felt as if Ive known them my whole life. Thats when I knew I was destined to do this, especially for this couple.
After our first meeting, we all waited for contracts to be drawn up. It took a couple weeks and my couple took a short vaca. I got to travel with my boyfriend across the country to the clinic where the whole pregnancy transfer will take place. This occurred on January 2nd. Suprisingly, we were stuck back in the "waiting game" once again. The egg donor took a super long vaca and decided to sit on her contract for a couple weeks after. It was very frustrating, but its all apart of the process.
So hear I am, its February 9th, and now we are waiting on a minor set back. I was supposed to start my hormone shots this past Monday. I will be on shots for a little over a month and then the transfer/pregnancy will take place! We all have our fingers crossed for good news tomorrow that we may move forward and start the shots. The anticipation is killing us all!