Abbismom02
11-27-2006, 02:38 PM
I met my IF's through my sister...we met in July and knew right away we were brought in eachothers lives for a reason...
Contracts were done in August, and I got pregnant with home insems the first week of September!! Here is my birth story...
I was having contractions on and off for a week. I went to work on Wednesday morning, to meet the temp who was going to be filling in for me while was out. I went through as much as I could with her?but noticed that the contractions were getting worse. So I gave her the document I made for her with instructions on all the things I needed her to get done and went home to lay down. I picked up Abbi at the normal time, made dinner and called the Dr. She said to come in as soon as I could. Well, at that point I needed to wait for traffic to die down. So, I put Abbi into bed, and waited for Paul to come home so that my best friend Niki and I could walk around the lake for a bit. Once the contractions got to 4 minutes apart, I called my IF?s and said pack the car lets go!
We got there at 1am. At 3am we got the word that the Dr was on the way and we were doing the c-section within 2 hours. They had to give me the tributalene again to stop my contractions. I was told that since we were going ahead and do the c-section within a few hours, there was no point in making me labor for no reason. In addition, each contraction was putting stress on the baby, and my scar as well. Ugggghhhh I HATED THAT PART. Oh yeah then, the dumb nurse gave me my catheter WHILE I was shaking horribly from the meds, AND I could feel the whole thing!!! No spinal yet?no Epi?nothing. I was not a happy person! I was told I was severely anemic, and that I might have to have a transfusion during surgery. I should have been at a 45 and I was at a 20.
4am IF?s and I are wheeled back to PACU room to wait on blood work to come in so we could go to the OR. In the meantime the meds wore off and the contractions started again! No biggie?but I was trying to get a mini nap in so I would have a little more energy after the section. The guys were pretty much bouncing off the walls they were so excited!! Can you blame them though?? I was excited too knowing they were about to meet their son for the first time!!!
5:15ish am. Here we go!!! The guys kissed each cheek and said, ?you?ll be fine!! Be strong we?ll be right behind you!!I get in the OR and they give me my spinal. Not happy about that. I wanted the epidural! They did not even ask me which rather pissed me off. I lay down and not a minute after I feel the meds start to work?I feel like I am going to be sick. I was PRAYING it would pass. Nope. Right as my IF?s walk in they get to see me puking! And the hottest male nurse of all time was holding the little puke catcher thing for me! Once that was over they washed my face for me, and my IF?s came and sat with me and held my hand and * petted * my hair!! It really helped to calm my nerves. All at once you could tell that a sense of urgency was going through the room. I could feel them pushing and pulling, and thought I was going to fall off the bed!!! Then two nurses came to the top of my stomach and were on their TIP TOES pushing for what seemed like an eternity! Not that it hurts but you cant breath!
FINALLY his head is out?lots more pushing and pulling and lots of crying!! He had the most beautiful cry I?ve heard since Abbi?s birth! At 5:44 am (yes in the wee hours of the morning) Little Connor Joel entered our lives! And he wanted the world to know!! He had some lungpower! Which was such a relief to me, being that he was 4 weeks early, I was very concerned about whether or not he would need oxygen or if he would need to go to the NICU.
I looked at the guys and they were bawling! All I could do was smile. I did not cry as I did when I gave birth to my daughter. In fact, I did not cry at all. I was overjoyed that he was healthy and perfect! The NICU nurse looked him over and said he looks wonderful?he can stay with us, there is no need to go to the NICU. Apgar scores were 8 and 9?he weighed in at 6 pounds 1 ounce, and he was 19 ? inches long! That is why his feet were stuck in my ribs!!! I must say I was surprised he was so big for being 4 weeks early!
Connor and the guys stayed with me while they sewed me up. Then the nurse put Connor on my chest and we all went back to the PACU room. We took pictures with the Doctor, and the nurses. Then they decided to move us to a more private room. Since under normal circumstances you can only have one person in the OR and one person in recovery, the staff did not want the other people to see us and throw a fit. (They had special permission for both of them to be there for the duration of the stay)
We go to the other room; by this time, its 8:30 and I can already feel pain. IN ADDITION, I am starting to get sensation back in my legs. I was told I would not feel anything for almost 18 hours. The nurse gives me Toradol. I wanted to smack her. I gave the medicine 20 minutes to work, by this time, the pain was almost unbearable and she tells me to wait another 15 minutes! By that time, I was in TEARS. She finally gives me a shot of morphine. Normally it would have knocked me out. However, at that point I was in so much pain, I just stopped crying and was able to relax. They washed up Connor?lots more pictures and phone calls. And when I say lots of phone calls, I mean LOTS. I do not think more than 10 minutes would go by with out SOMEONES cell phone or the room phone ringing! I felt bad, because I finally got to call Linda and then had to hang up on her!!! I was at least able to give her all the details so she could post for me! (Thank you Momma Linda!) I called my boss that morning and shared the news. It was a shock to him hear that! He was not prepared for me to be gone so soon! He sent me the most BEAUTIFUL flowers! Lilies, roses, and Iris?s! Oh, they were the best! Around lunchtime, we were settled into my room while we waited for the guys room down the hall to be cleaned. They brought me some gifts?A beautiful pair of freshwater pearl earrings, and *Tresor*. At our 35-week Dr. appt and sono, I fell in love with this perfume, but I was scared to buy it?all perfume smells different on different people!! Well they remembered which one it was and bought it for me! They sent me beautiful flowers too with a balloon and precious card that read, ?We are eternally grateful for what you have given us. We will thank you every day we look into Connor?s eyes.?
To he honest the next few days in that hospital were miserable. The nurses and doctors treated my pain as if I was a common druggie off the street! The medicine would wear off after two hours, and they refused to do anything until it was time to take my meds again. Oh, and they were ALWAYS late with my pain meds. I do not know what I would have done without my IF?s! They were actually cleared to take Connor home on Friday afternoon, but they said no?they were going to stay by my side until I was able to leave.
Paul and one of my sisters came on Thursday night and stayed for a little bit. I was too tired and, in way too much pain to deal with Paul. He didn?t see how I could be in so much physical pain?well he saw it on Saturday morning when he came back! He left that night after I fell asleep, as I asked him too. I needed to smell him to fall asleep?which I never realized until then!
Friday, my boss came to visit and meet the little man that made me so moody!! He brought me Starbucks?. and I soooo needed it! He stayed for a few hours with me and kept saying how proud he was of me. He said that he was worried how I would feel afterwards and what not. However, seeing the bond that I share with my IF?s he knew I was taken care of!
Saturday morning Paul came with fresh Krispy Cr?me doughnuts!!!! The Krispy Cr?me bakery is 10 miles from the hospital!! Yummmmmyyyy! He helped me up out of bed and got me in the shower. That is when he realized how bad it really was. He said I am sorry about a million times! He stayed until I fell asleep for my afternoon nap?but it was nice to have him there that morning to just have alone time with him.
Sunday morning I was discharged, they wanted me to stay another day since my blood levels were still not where they should have been. However, I wanted to go home! My sister Faith (the one who stopped talking to me for a few months) came to pick me up and meet the guys and Connor.
She said that in short amount of time she spent with them, she felt like she had known them for years, and that all her fears of never seeing Connor again were quickly washed away.
We all hugged and kissed, took a million pictures and hugged some more! I put Connor in his car seat, gave him a big kiss and said I would see him soon. There were no tears, no sadness; it was not really a ?goodbye?. More of a "see you tomorrow!"
I got home and took the best nap I had honestly taken in MONTHS!! The guys called later that evening to check in and see how I was doing. My sister took excellent care of me while I stayed with her! I wish it were like that in the hospital!
On Wednesday the 10th, the three of us went to sign the adoption papers. I told them that I was honored to sign those papers?Connor couldn?t have asked for more loving parents!
The moments I was able to share with the new family I helped create were amazing. I still tear up thinking about it. Our bond grew so deep in those days (and LONG nights at the hospital) we are now inseparable!
It's strange that I can look at myself in the mirror and see a completly different version of "me". And I have to say that I like the new me! Becoming a surrogate in no doubt changes every woman and their family. For me becoming a surrogate made my family do a 180! I feel as though I have become a better sister, a better daughter, a better aunt...but better yet still...I feel as though I have become a better mother to my daughter.
Without even knowing it, sometimes we take for granted the little things in life. And it took me reading the stories of strugling IP's, who would give their right leg just to hold a baby in their arms, to see that these small little miracles are to be cherished every day.
I remind myself that crayon can be washed off the walls. Grass stains add character to your jeans.
Waking up at 7am on a Saturday morning isnt a curse...its a blessing. (yes it is hard to see sometimes when a three year old is jumping up and down in your bed asking for the slip and slide they just saw on TV)
Now I get to watch my IF's raise Connor. I get to see their eyes light up when he wakes from his nap. Like a little alarm clock reminding them they're daddies! Seeing them gaze at him in awe or just to know the overwhelming, undescribable feeling that is rushing through their hearts when he lies sleeping on their chest. To know that *I* have played a part in giving them that...I get chills.
Seeing the love they hold for him when they look into his eyes is all the thanks I will ever need!
We didn't end our journey when he was born...it has only just begun.
Contracts were done in August, and I got pregnant with home insems the first week of September!! Here is my birth story...
I was having contractions on and off for a week. I went to work on Wednesday morning, to meet the temp who was going to be filling in for me while was out. I went through as much as I could with her?but noticed that the contractions were getting worse. So I gave her the document I made for her with instructions on all the things I needed her to get done and went home to lay down. I picked up Abbi at the normal time, made dinner and called the Dr. She said to come in as soon as I could. Well, at that point I needed to wait for traffic to die down. So, I put Abbi into bed, and waited for Paul to come home so that my best friend Niki and I could walk around the lake for a bit. Once the contractions got to 4 minutes apart, I called my IF?s and said pack the car lets go!
We got there at 1am. At 3am we got the word that the Dr was on the way and we were doing the c-section within 2 hours. They had to give me the tributalene again to stop my contractions. I was told that since we were going ahead and do the c-section within a few hours, there was no point in making me labor for no reason. In addition, each contraction was putting stress on the baby, and my scar as well. Ugggghhhh I HATED THAT PART. Oh yeah then, the dumb nurse gave me my catheter WHILE I was shaking horribly from the meds, AND I could feel the whole thing!!! No spinal yet?no Epi?nothing. I was not a happy person! I was told I was severely anemic, and that I might have to have a transfusion during surgery. I should have been at a 45 and I was at a 20.
4am IF?s and I are wheeled back to PACU room to wait on blood work to come in so we could go to the OR. In the meantime the meds wore off and the contractions started again! No biggie?but I was trying to get a mini nap in so I would have a little more energy after the section. The guys were pretty much bouncing off the walls they were so excited!! Can you blame them though?? I was excited too knowing they were about to meet their son for the first time!!!
5:15ish am. Here we go!!! The guys kissed each cheek and said, ?you?ll be fine!! Be strong we?ll be right behind you!!I get in the OR and they give me my spinal. Not happy about that. I wanted the epidural! They did not even ask me which rather pissed me off. I lay down and not a minute after I feel the meds start to work?I feel like I am going to be sick. I was PRAYING it would pass. Nope. Right as my IF?s walk in they get to see me puking! And the hottest male nurse of all time was holding the little puke catcher thing for me! Once that was over they washed my face for me, and my IF?s came and sat with me and held my hand and * petted * my hair!! It really helped to calm my nerves. All at once you could tell that a sense of urgency was going through the room. I could feel them pushing and pulling, and thought I was going to fall off the bed!!! Then two nurses came to the top of my stomach and were on their TIP TOES pushing for what seemed like an eternity! Not that it hurts but you cant breath!
FINALLY his head is out?lots more pushing and pulling and lots of crying!! He had the most beautiful cry I?ve heard since Abbi?s birth! At 5:44 am (yes in the wee hours of the morning) Little Connor Joel entered our lives! And he wanted the world to know!! He had some lungpower! Which was such a relief to me, being that he was 4 weeks early, I was very concerned about whether or not he would need oxygen or if he would need to go to the NICU.
I looked at the guys and they were bawling! All I could do was smile. I did not cry as I did when I gave birth to my daughter. In fact, I did not cry at all. I was overjoyed that he was healthy and perfect! The NICU nurse looked him over and said he looks wonderful?he can stay with us, there is no need to go to the NICU. Apgar scores were 8 and 9?he weighed in at 6 pounds 1 ounce, and he was 19 ? inches long! That is why his feet were stuck in my ribs!!! I must say I was surprised he was so big for being 4 weeks early!
Connor and the guys stayed with me while they sewed me up. Then the nurse put Connor on my chest and we all went back to the PACU room. We took pictures with the Doctor, and the nurses. Then they decided to move us to a more private room. Since under normal circumstances you can only have one person in the OR and one person in recovery, the staff did not want the other people to see us and throw a fit. (They had special permission for both of them to be there for the duration of the stay)
We go to the other room; by this time, its 8:30 and I can already feel pain. IN ADDITION, I am starting to get sensation back in my legs. I was told I would not feel anything for almost 18 hours. The nurse gives me Toradol. I wanted to smack her. I gave the medicine 20 minutes to work, by this time, the pain was almost unbearable and she tells me to wait another 15 minutes! By that time, I was in TEARS. She finally gives me a shot of morphine. Normally it would have knocked me out. However, at that point I was in so much pain, I just stopped crying and was able to relax. They washed up Connor?lots more pictures and phone calls. And when I say lots of phone calls, I mean LOTS. I do not think more than 10 minutes would go by with out SOMEONES cell phone or the room phone ringing! I felt bad, because I finally got to call Linda and then had to hang up on her!!! I was at least able to give her all the details so she could post for me! (Thank you Momma Linda!) I called my boss that morning and shared the news. It was a shock to him hear that! He was not prepared for me to be gone so soon! He sent me the most BEAUTIFUL flowers! Lilies, roses, and Iris?s! Oh, they were the best! Around lunchtime, we were settled into my room while we waited for the guys room down the hall to be cleaned. They brought me some gifts?A beautiful pair of freshwater pearl earrings, and *Tresor*. At our 35-week Dr. appt and sono, I fell in love with this perfume, but I was scared to buy it?all perfume smells different on different people!! Well they remembered which one it was and bought it for me! They sent me beautiful flowers too with a balloon and precious card that read, ?We are eternally grateful for what you have given us. We will thank you every day we look into Connor?s eyes.?
To he honest the next few days in that hospital were miserable. The nurses and doctors treated my pain as if I was a common druggie off the street! The medicine would wear off after two hours, and they refused to do anything until it was time to take my meds again. Oh, and they were ALWAYS late with my pain meds. I do not know what I would have done without my IF?s! They were actually cleared to take Connor home on Friday afternoon, but they said no?they were going to stay by my side until I was able to leave.
Paul and one of my sisters came on Thursday night and stayed for a little bit. I was too tired and, in way too much pain to deal with Paul. He didn?t see how I could be in so much physical pain?well he saw it on Saturday morning when he came back! He left that night after I fell asleep, as I asked him too. I needed to smell him to fall asleep?which I never realized until then!
Friday, my boss came to visit and meet the little man that made me so moody!! He brought me Starbucks?. and I soooo needed it! He stayed for a few hours with me and kept saying how proud he was of me. He said that he was worried how I would feel afterwards and what not. However, seeing the bond that I share with my IF?s he knew I was taken care of!
Saturday morning Paul came with fresh Krispy Cr?me doughnuts!!!! The Krispy Cr?me bakery is 10 miles from the hospital!! Yummmmmyyyy! He helped me up out of bed and got me in the shower. That is when he realized how bad it really was. He said I am sorry about a million times! He stayed until I fell asleep for my afternoon nap?but it was nice to have him there that morning to just have alone time with him.
Sunday morning I was discharged, they wanted me to stay another day since my blood levels were still not where they should have been. However, I wanted to go home! My sister Faith (the one who stopped talking to me for a few months) came to pick me up and meet the guys and Connor.
She said that in short amount of time she spent with them, she felt like she had known them for years, and that all her fears of never seeing Connor again were quickly washed away.
We all hugged and kissed, took a million pictures and hugged some more! I put Connor in his car seat, gave him a big kiss and said I would see him soon. There were no tears, no sadness; it was not really a ?goodbye?. More of a "see you tomorrow!"
I got home and took the best nap I had honestly taken in MONTHS!! The guys called later that evening to check in and see how I was doing. My sister took excellent care of me while I stayed with her! I wish it were like that in the hospital!
On Wednesday the 10th, the three of us went to sign the adoption papers. I told them that I was honored to sign those papers?Connor couldn?t have asked for more loving parents!
The moments I was able to share with the new family I helped create were amazing. I still tear up thinking about it. Our bond grew so deep in those days (and LONG nights at the hospital) we are now inseparable!
It's strange that I can look at myself in the mirror and see a completly different version of "me". And I have to say that I like the new me! Becoming a surrogate in no doubt changes every woman and their family. For me becoming a surrogate made my family do a 180! I feel as though I have become a better sister, a better daughter, a better aunt...but better yet still...I feel as though I have become a better mother to my daughter.
Without even knowing it, sometimes we take for granted the little things in life. And it took me reading the stories of strugling IP's, who would give their right leg just to hold a baby in their arms, to see that these small little miracles are to be cherished every day.
I remind myself that crayon can be washed off the walls. Grass stains add character to your jeans.
Waking up at 7am on a Saturday morning isnt a curse...its a blessing. (yes it is hard to see sometimes when a three year old is jumping up and down in your bed asking for the slip and slide they just saw on TV)
Now I get to watch my IF's raise Connor. I get to see their eyes light up when he wakes from his nap. Like a little alarm clock reminding them they're daddies! Seeing them gaze at him in awe or just to know the overwhelming, undescribable feeling that is rushing through their hearts when he lies sleeping on their chest. To know that *I* have played a part in giving them that...I get chills.
Seeing the love they hold for him when they look into his eyes is all the thanks I will ever need!
We didn't end our journey when he was born...it has only just begun.