Birth story of baby Jack

Its been a while, but I am finally sitting down to write about the birth of one of the most beautiful little boys, my Surro baby, Jack.

On May 29th I was taken off work until 6 weeks after the birth of Jack due to extreme swelling in my hands and feet. I enjoyed my time at home, with my kids, trying to make the swelling go down. My doctor wasn't worried because my blood pressure wasn't high consistently, but there was no explanation for the extreme swelling. I also had SEVERE SPD (Symphysis pubis dysfunction).

I couldn't not get comfortable and could barely walk, stand, lay down or sit.

Fast forward to July --->

My daughters friends dad lol.. asked me to house sit for him and watch his daughter for 4 days while he was out of the country. So here I am, 38 weeks pregnant, watching 4 kids (12, 11, 7 and 9). Thankfully they were wonderful and we just hung out at the pool and they cooked for me lol. I used this time to get my body loose and prepared for birth by swimming and relaxing in the pool.

I had been having contractions for a few days on and off. They would be consistently a few mins apart for half the day and then all of a sudden stop (gotta love being teased with on coming labor lol). The last day I was there, my contractions wouldn't go away and they were pretty intense. I laid down for a few hours and then decided I better get up and shower and see if they go away or stay consistent. After my shower, the contractions were still present so I decided to go ahead and make my way to the hospital. I left my daughter in charge until my mom could pick them up (a couple hours later) and went on my way to the hospital. I let my IF know that I was in the hospital and him and his mother were en route. They were originally set to arrive on 7/14/2015.

When I arrived at the hospital, they were so full that I had a gurney in the hall. They checked my cervix (again, in the hall, with no curtain or cover) and I was 2cm and 70% effaced. They could see that the contractions were heavy so they told me to walk the hospital for 2 hours and then come back up (it was 830pm on the 9th of July at this time). I went down stairs, got ice, grabbed some snacks out of the vending machine and walked the halls for two hours. The contractions intensified and after two hours I made my way back to the maternity floor. When the nurse checked me, again in the hall, I was now 3.5cm and 80% effaced. I got the news that they were keeping me!!!! I let my IF know and he was sad that he couldn't be there for me through the birth and welcome his son into the world, but had so much confidence that I would be amazing.

I was put into a monitoring room, had my IV started and waited to progress. The progress was touch and go for a while with my contractions fading to almost nothing and with me being at 5cm at that point, they couldn't send me home. I asked to sit my chair/bed up in an upright position since that's what seemed to bring on the contraction and they sat me up and at that point my contractions started to get so intense that they had to give me fluids to slow them down (they were every minute). In the middle of the night (not 100% sure of the times) I was moved to a room finally. My night shift nurse was AMAZING!!!! When I was moved, shortly after they changed shifts and I got the next nurse on duty.

They wouldn't check me again because they didn't want to do much to "help" the labor along since they're not technically supposed to keep you until 39 weeks and I was 38 weeks 2 days. At about noon on the 10th of July, my nurse checked me and said I was still at 5cm and 80% effaced. I waited and waited and waited and my nurse said she would go get the Pitocin to start up and come back.. 3 hours later no sign of her. Another nurse came in to check on me and see how I was doing and I asked what happened to the Pitocin and the other nurse and she said that there was an emergency and she had to go take care of it. I never saw that nurse again until the end of her shift. Late afternoon I decided to get the epidural to finally be able to get some sleep (I hadn't eaten or slept in over 24 hours at this point). The epidural caused my blood pressure to drop, quickly, and I became extremely nauseous and light headed and they rushed to get me fluids and medicine to help the nausea. Throughout the labor my blood pressure was extremely high and I was put on oxygen for the dropping of my oxygen levels. The doctor finally came in to check on me and said that I wasn't even 2cm dilated. I was about to have a complete breakdown.

They called in another doctor to check me and another nurse and the other doctor felt that I was 7cm. Apparently my cervix was tilted and the way they were checking was not correct, I had to have my hips up high in order for them to get the right measurements. I was irritated, annoyed, angry and tired at this point. The doctor saw it in my face and decided she was going to just break my water and let the labor progress.

I sat my bed up straight and continued to labor after my water was broken. I had my mom, daughter, daughters best friend and family coming throughout the day to distract me and be an advocate for the terrible care I was receiving. As night shift came on, I got my FIRST nurse, thank God!! At around 930pm, they checked me again and I was 9cm and 90% effaced but Jack was coming down VERY VERY slowly. My doctor came in and said she was worried that he was too big for my body. I started freaking out (my biggest fear was to tear) and I kept begging for a c section. My doctor advised me it would not be in my best interest and we should proceed with a natural birth. My best friend showed up, she had gone with me to the transfer and saw me through the entire surrogacy.

At about 1230am, I was finally at 10cm and 100% effaced. My doctor wanted me to wait about an hour before I started pushing (although I was pushing a little through each contraction). I started pushing about 45 mins later with just my nurse, my mom, my daughter and my best friend. My mom had my right leg and my friend had my left leg. I started pushing and was doing so well that Jack kept crowning and they had me stop since the doc wasn't there yet. The doctor came in and I pushed about 5 times and one of the most beautiful baby boys arrived on earth at 148am on 7/11/2015.

He was 7lbs, 5oz and 19" long. He was perfect! After about 2 days and 35 hours of labor, it was all worth it. He was so quiet, so content, so handsome. Once I could feel my one leg again (I had some difficulty with the epidural wearing off on one of my legs for about 24 hours), they had to use the restroom and moved us to the other floor to eat, get some rest and get some snuggle time in. At about 2pm the next day, Jacks daddy and grandma arrived. It was honestly, the most amazing feeling in the world to see him meet his son for the first time. It all become so real, so clear as to why I chose to be a surrogate.

 

Jack and his family stayed in CA for a month before going back home. My family and I were blessed to be able to hang out with them and create even more of a bond. I never realized the impact surrogacy would have on my life and the amazing family I would gain from it. Jacks family is great, they're perfect actually. I am forever grateful to them for allowing me to be a part of his life and watch him grow through pictures, videos, facetime and updates!

 

 

Jack is now almost 3 months old. He is a happy, healthy, beautiful little boy that I cannot get enough of. He is loved, by many. He has two families that have come together in love and he is surrounded by more people than I can even count, who wished for him, prayed for him and who love him. This little boy was wanted, so badly.. and he is loved, immensely.

I am grateful! Stay tuned for the next journey, I have already been matched and am awaiting medical. I am excited to get to know my new IF's and their family and help them create a family.

#SurrogacyRocks #IHelpMakeFamilies #WhatsYourSuperPower #Grateful #Blessed #LittleJack

Update: 6 weeks til full term!!!!

A little update :-)

I am now 31 weeks pregnant and still as healthy as can be! I have gained 10lbs all together and the baby is about 4 1/2lbs now. I went and had a 4D ultrasound done for my IF and cant wait to give him a first Father's Day gift!

A little about how I am doing.. I am feeling good still, a little sore in the pelvis and extremely exhausted but all that is to be expected, as this little boy has moved down even further to ready himself for birth! My blood results are all normal and perfect and the doc says now its just time to enjoy the rest of the pregnancy and relax! I have NO appetite whatsoever and have to force myself to eat, but mostly snack throughout the day on healthy foods. I am at the point now where my daughter either has to lift me off the couch or I have to get up some energy and throw myself off lol.. same with getting out of bed! I am getting increasingly nervous about giving birth, but I am SO excited to get all the emotions I read about from my fellow surro moms!!

As for the baby, he's measuring a week big as usual :-) He is SO active and no matter how little room he has, he finds a way to wiggle and kick and push anything out that he can. He favors my right side and is currently head down, butt to the right and legs and feet to my left. He pushes his butt out while stretching his legs and its so crazy to watch through my stomach! Like I said, I got 4D pics done and I maybe biased, but he is the cutest surro baby I've ever seen lol :-)

I have 6 weeks until full term and 9 until the due date.. I am kind of hoping he is born on the anniversary of my grandfathers passing.. to create a birth out of a death!! He also carries my grandfather's first name as his American name :-)

Here are some updated pics:

Another update :-)

Again, I am horrible about keeping up with this.. sorry!

Today I am 27 weeks! I cant believe how fast this journey has gone and im already in my 3rd trimester. WOW!! My doctors appts the last few times have gone great! I did go get monitored for my cervix to make sure its still closed and high and it looked perfect! After my next appt I start going every two weeks, I cant believe it. I am already registered for the hospital and I can honestly say I'm a little nervous for birth after almost 8 years lol. I have continued to stay active so my body can handle the labor. I am trying to go through labor with no epidural this time, so I'm hoping I can make it work.. but after my stomach flu a few weeks ago and the pain from that, I'm not quite sure lol.

My IF has asked me to give the baby boy his American name and I am so incredibly touched and emotional because I gave the name Jack and he liked it and Jack was my grandfathers name, so it means the world to me. My grandfather is gone and resting in Heaven, but having his name live on through a baby boy I helped bring into this world is amazing to me and I will forever be amazed at how special my IF is for that!

As for me, my pelvis is sore and I have a hard time getting up from the couch or my bed and I am down right exhausted all the time. My stomach is growing, but not as big as I would have thought.. but as long as baby is healthy, I'm not concerned. I have only gained 10 pounds and the doc says I'm right on track. The baby is always measuring a week ahead, so I'm thinking he will be a nice big boy!!

As for little Jack, he is growing nicely and getting stronger by the day. He kicks so much and now will show me what part of his body he is using lol. He is head down and has been since 18 weeks, all the way in my pelvis. He loves to start kicking right when I get comfy at night and must hate when I lay on my side because he always kicks the bed on the side I'm laying on lol. He loves loud music and loves when I sing. The kids get to feel him all the time and my daughter is so fascinated in my growing belly (she's 12 1/2) and is always stopping me as I walk by to touch it. I haven't yet felt him hiccup, but this is usually the time they start. He's a little bugger and every time I try to catch his movements on video, he goes into hiding lol. I will get him eventually :-)

My IF is awesome and surprised me with a pillow to help me sleep at night, its been the best thing since sliced bread lol.

Below I attached pics of the last 7 weeks :-)

The pillow my IF got for me :-)

Another update..

I am always so busy I need to make more time to write on here.. sorry :-(

A little update:

My IF and his mother came and visited for a few days and were able to go to the big ultrasound scan with me, which was soooo exciting!!  They also were able to meet my family.  We went to dinner the first night, lunch and the park the second and then his mother, him and I just spent half the day together on his last day here.  To respect their privacy, I edited out their faces in the pics below.

The ultrasound scan showed that the baby boy is as healthy as can be, growing like a little weed (measuring a week ahead), moving like crazy and that he is NOT shy lol.  He is definitely a boy!! 

I have been feeling the little guy move since about 14 weeks or so and now I can feel him move from the outside.  He LOVES when I eat lol, that's when he is most active! 

My family and I went on vacation to the East Coast for 6 days and it was nice to get back home, but the time away was much needed!  The kids were able to play in the snow, relax and have some quality family time.

As for me, I feel amazing.  I am having a more difficult time sleeping though. Ive only gained about 5 pounds and I'm all belly!!  I walk daily and feel that I'm in great shape.  I crave ice every second of the day lol and cant even look at chicken anymore.

Here are some pics from the last month or so: