This was the day I had been picturing in my mind for years. It was the day I would bring a baby into the world for his parents. I couldn\u2019t believe I had been given this honor. What a life-changing experience<\/strong> and an absolute dream come true!<\/p>\n

My journey of becoming a surrogate started five years prior, and now\u00a0we were about to welcome this sweet baby boy into his family! While it didn\u2019t go exactly as I\u2019d imagined (as tends to happen with everything, right?), it was still the most beautiful thing I\u2019ve been a part of in my life.<\/p>\n

Almost time…<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

After 15 scary weeks of holding my breath and praying that I wouldn’t go into labor while on hospital bedrest, we had met our goal and it was time to prepare for baby’s arrival.<\/p>\n

The week leading up to the birth day was \u2026 busy. I had blood drawn every day and my blood pressure was a little low, so that was checked more often than the normal 4-hour check,\u00a0day and night. There was also paperwork and final preparations for the birth that had to be done.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019d envisioned the delivery, I\u2019d assumed it would be a vaginal birth (that was my only experience with my boys) and the couple would be able to witness the baby being born, cut the cord and hold the baby immediately. I, of course, hadn\u2019t anticipated a C-section. But, the baby had moved from head down to sideways in November, and had been content there since. So, as the weeks went by and I had tried everything I could to get him to move (with no luck), we started to accept that he would be born via C-section. We decided if only one person was allowed in the operating room with me, it would be the bio mom. But, when our doctor told us\u00a0the bio parents and Jeff\u00a0could all come in given the unique situation, we were SO happy! I desperately wanted them to have that beautiful “birth moment” when they saw their sweet boy for the first time.<\/p>\n

A doctor from the NICU came down and explained to us what would happen after the baby was born. She even gave the bio parents a tour of the NICU so they knew what to expect. Our last ultrasound had estimated he weighed about 4 pounds, so we were hoping he\u2019d be 5 pounds at birth. The biggest concern was his lung development. They weren\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be able to breathe on his own right away, being born 5+ weeks early as well as having incredibly low fluid for the last 15 weeks.<\/p>\n

The bio parents and I were reading everything we could on C-section recovery, lung development at 34 weeks gestation and PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes) babies. They were also making their arrangements to be in Gainesville for several weeks and trying to prepare for a possible extended NICU stay.<\/p>\n

Even with all the anticipation of the unknown, the day before his birth was actually relaxed and fun! The bio parents hung out in my room and we\u00a0talked about this amazing (and\u00a0pretty surreal)\u00a0journey we\u2019d been on together. We were definitely placed in each other\u2019s lives on purpose. We agreed that God had his hand on our \u201cmatch.\u201d<\/p>\n

My amazing friend, Allison, also came up to the hospital that day and did a photo shoot with us. (All the black and white photos I\u2019ve used in the surrogacy posts are from that shoot.) It was such a happy day\u2013we all were so thankful to have gotten past our goal and couldn\u2019t believe it was actually time to meet little man!<\/p>\n

Trying to go to sleep that night was a lost cause. My mind was in a million places. The anxiousness and excitement was like Christmas Eve! I remember having a long conversation with God as I tried to settle myself down.<\/p>\n

I prayed for calmness and peace so I wouldn\u2019t be scared of the surgery. I prayed for the doctors\u2019 steady hands. I prayed for this baby\u2019s body to be strong and healthy. I prayed for the NICU team to know what to do if anything was wrong. I prayed for his parents to be able to take him home soon. And I prayed for the upcoming day to be full of joy and happiness!<\/p>\n

34 weeks, 5 days<\/h3>\n

The nurse woke me up 30 minutes earlier than expected and said it was time to shower and go to surgery prep. I was so excited! I couldn\u2019t stop smiling. I wasn\u2019t nervous or scared at all. The uneasiness about having a C-section was gone. I was ready, and I couldn\u2019t wait for it to get underway.<\/p>\n

I texted Jeff and the bio parents telling them to come to the hospital and meet me in pre-op. Everyone headed to the hospital while I showered and was taken to Labor\u00a0and Delivery.<\/p>\n

While I was in pre-op, a nurse (obviously new to our situation) told me the bio parents were in the hallway waiting for me, and I told her yes, the doctor was allowing them in the OR. She took that as me not wanting to see them right then, but I didn\u2019t know that\u2019s what she was even asking. I thought she was asking if it was OK that they were in the hallway instead of the waiting room. That was a terrible miscommunication that I wish I could erase. I wanted them to be a part of every minute of the day, but she told them I didn\u2019t want them to come back in the pre-op area and they needed to respect that. Ugh. Thankfully, they knew me well and later told me they thought there had to be some kind of mistake on her part. That could have ruined our beautiful day, but we didn\u2019t let it.<\/p>\n

Jeff and the bio parents went with a nurse to put on their surgical scrubs, and I was wheeled into the OR.<\/p>\n

The operating room was huge and cold, but as it filled with the doctors, NICU team, nurses, anesthesia team and medical students, it didn\u2019t seem so overwhelming, and actually made me want to burst with happiness. I looked around and teared up. All these people were here to bring this sweet boy into the world. It was absolutely incredible.<\/p>\n

My wonderful nurses helped me get situated on the operating table and the anesthesiologist explained what would happen next. I barely felt the epidural needle. I remember thinking the IV in my hand hurt much worse. They asked me several times if I felt nauseous, but I felt fine. Crazy numb, but fine.<\/p>\n

Then, the bio parents were brought in. I wanted to jump up and hug them! We did it! We were here! Their baby was about to be in their arms! I couldn\u2019t move so I just squealed and made a face I\u2019m sure was a mixture of an excited toddler and a\u00a0psychotic clown. I couldn\u2019t contain the giant grin or the faucet of tears.<\/p>\n

They were led over to my far left, near the NICU team. From there, they could see what the doctors were doing, as well as my face, and they would have a great view of baby when he was placed in the neonatal incubator waiting for him.<\/p>\n

When the doctors started the surgery, everyone stopped talking and I could feel some light tugging, but no pain (whew!). I tried to listen to Dr. Gregg\u2019s directives, so I could tell what was going on. I kept asking Jeff to peek over the curtain and fill me in. One of the nurses offered to take a picture for me, and she actually brought it to my room later that day! It was surreal to see my body like that \u2013and I still look at that picture in awe. Wow. How is that even possible?<\/p>\n

During the surgery, I was looking at the bio parents and then up at Jeff next to me, then back to the bio parents. I wanted to see their reaction when they saw the baby for the first time. We grinned at each other several times, and I could tell they were getting more of a view than they\u2019d anticipated. (The bio dad later told me he saw what looked like \u201ca pile of hotdogs\u201d on my stomach. Good stuff.) When I felt several strong pulls on my tummy, I knew they were taking\u00a0the baby\u00a0out. I mouthed, \u201cHe\u2019s coming!\u201d to them and the tears started pouring.<\/p>\n

As the doctor lifted him up,\u00a0baby boy\u00a0let out a strong, beautiful cry … and every person in the room\u00a0gave a loud sigh of relief. He was here, and breathing<\/strong>, and to our surprise\u2013chubby! He was over 6 pounds! His parents watched as the NICU team checked him over, and they kept telling me how perfect he was. We did it!<\/p>\n

Baby is here!<\/h3>\n

The bio parents and I visited and texted throughout the next few days and nights. I\u2019d let them know when I\u2019d sent some breastmilk to the NICU, and they\u2019d check on me to make sure I was resting and recuperating, and give me updates on the baby.<\/p>\n

Jeff wheeled me down several times to see them and Baby M. His blood sugar was a little low, but other than that, he was a perfect, healthy little guy!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I was discharged on December 23, just two days after his birth. I was still sore and very puffy, but so happy! And baby boy was able to go home December 26! He defied all the odds \u2026 such a little miracle!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The next night we attended our church\u2019s Christmas Eve service. I\u2019m always emotional during this service — I\u00a0can\u2019t hear \u201cO, Holy Night\u201d or \u201cSilent Night\u201d without crying. And this time, as I looked down the row at my family during \u201cSilent Night,\u201d I bawled. Full-on ugly-cry bawling. (I\u2019m sure the people around us thought something was wrong.) But, I couldn\u2019t help it. We had done it. We had gotten through a crazy, tough situation. We had helped complete a family. And now, after three months away from them, I was home with mine.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thank you for following along on this beautiful experience! There is so much more to share about the surrogacy process and our journey\u2013that will come. Today we are celebrating life<\/strong>, love, birthdays and miracles!<\/p>\n

Love (and CELEBRATE) more,<\/p>\n

Dana<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was the day I had been picturing in my mind for years. It was the day I would bring a baby into the world for his parents. I couldn\u2019t believe I had been given this honor. What a life-changing experience and an absolute dream come true! My journey of becoming a surrogate started five years prior, and now\u00a0we were about to welcome this sweet baby boy into his family! While it didn\u2019t go exactly as I\u2019d imagined (as tends to happen with everything, right?), it was still the most beautiful thing I\u2019ve been a part of in my life. Almost time… After 15 scary weeks of holding my breath and praying that I wouldn’t go into labor while on hospital bedrest, we had met our goal and it was time to prepare for baby’s arrival. The week leading up to the birth day was \u2026 busy. I had blood drawn every day and my blood pressure was a little low, so that was checked more often than the normal 4-hour check,\u00a0day and night. There was also paperwork and final preparations for the birth that had to be done. When I\u2019d envisioned the delivery, I\u2019d assumed it would be a vaginal birth (that was my only experience with my boys) and the couple would be able to witness the baby being born, cut the cord and hold the baby immediately. I, of course, hadn\u2019t anticipated a C-section. But, the baby had moved from head down to sideways in November, and had been content there since. So, as the weeks went by and I had tried everything I could to get him to move (with no luck), we started to accept that he would be born via C-section. We decided if only one person was allowed in the operating room with me, it would be the bio mom. But, when our doctor told us\u00a0the bio parents and Jeff\u00a0could all come in given the unique situation, we were SO happy! I desperately wanted them to have that beautiful “birth moment” when they saw their sweet boy for the first time. A doctor from the NICU came down and explained to us what would happen after the baby was born. She even gave the bio parents a tour of the NICU so they knew what to expect. Our last ultrasound had estimated he weighed about 4 pounds, so we were hoping he\u2019d be 5 pounds at birth. The biggest concern was his lung development. They weren\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be able to breathe on his own right away, being born 5+ weeks early as well as having incredibly low fluid for the last 15 weeks. The bio parents and I were reading everything we could on C-section recovery, lung development at 34 weeks gestation and PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes) babies. They were also making their arrangements to be in Gainesville for several weeks and trying to prepare for a possible extended NICU stay. Even with all the anticipation of the unknown, the day before his birth was actually relaxed and fun! The bio parents hung out in my room and we\u00a0talked about this amazing (and\u00a0pretty surreal)\u00a0journey we\u2019d been on together. We were definitely placed in each other\u2019s lives on purpose. We agreed that God had his hand on our \u201cmatch.\u201d My amazing friend, Allison, also came up to the hospital that day and did a photo shoot with us. (All the black and white photos I\u2019ve used in the surrogacy posts are from that shoot.) It was such a happy day\u2013we all were so thankful to have gotten past our goal and couldn\u2019t believe it was actually time to meet little man! Trying to go to sleep that night was a lost cause. My mind was in a million places. The anxiousness and excitement was like Christmas Eve! I remember having a long conversation with God as I tried to settle myself down. I prayed for calmness and peace so I wouldn\u2019t be scared of the surgery. I prayed for the doctors\u2019 steady hands. I prayed for this baby\u2019s body to be strong and healthy. I prayed for the NICU team to know what to do if anything was wrong. I prayed for his parents to be able to take him home soon. And I prayed for the upcoming day to be full of joy and happiness! 34 weeks, 5 days The nurse woke me up 30 minutes earlier than expected and said it was time to shower and go to surgery prep. I was so excited! I couldn\u2019t stop smiling. I wasn\u2019t nervous or scared at all. The uneasiness about having a C-section was gone. I was ready, and I couldn\u2019t wait for it to get underway. I texted Jeff and the bio parents telling them to come to the hospital and meet me in pre-op. Everyone headed to the hospital while I showered and was taken to Labor\u00a0and Delivery. While I was in pre-op, a nurse (obviously new to our situation) told me the bio parents were in the hallway waiting for me, and I told her yes, the doctor was allowing them in the OR. She took that as me not wanting to see them right then, but I didn\u2019t know that\u2019s what she was even asking. I thought she was asking if it was OK that they were in the hallway instead of the waiting room. That was a terrible miscommunication that I wish I could erase. I wanted them to be a part of every minute of the day, but she told them I didn\u2019t want them to come back in the pre-op area and they needed to respect that. Ugh. Thankfully, they knew me well and later told me they thought there had to be some kind of mistake on her part. That could have ruined our beautiful day, but we didn\u2019t let it. Jeff and the bio parents went with a nurse to put on their surgical scrubs, and I was wheeled into the OR. The operating room was huge and cold, but as it filled with the doctors, NICU team, nurses, anesthesia team and medical students, it didn\u2019t seem so overwhelming, and actually made me want to burst with happiness. I looked around and teared up. All these people were here to bring this sweet boy into the world. It was absolutely incredible. My wonderful nurses helped me get situated on the operating table and the anesthesiologist explained what would happen next. I barely felt the epidural needle. I remember thinking the IV in my hand hurt much worse. They asked me several times if I felt nauseous, but I felt fine. Crazy numb, but fine. Then, the bio parents were brought in. I wanted to jump up and hug them! We did it! We were here! Their baby was about to be in their arms! I couldn\u2019t move so I just squealed and made a face I\u2019m sure was a mixture of an excited toddler and a\u00a0psychotic clown. I couldn\u2019t contain the giant grin or the faucet of tears. They were led over to my far left, near the NICU team. From there, they could see what the doctors were doing, as well as my face, and they would have a great view of baby when he was placed in the neonatal incubator waiting for him. When the doctors started the surgery, everyone stopped talking and I could feel some light tugging, but no pain (whew!). I tried to listen to Dr. Gregg\u2019s directives, so I could tell what was going on. I kept asking Jeff to peek over the curtain and fill me in. One of the nurses offered to take a picture for me, and she actually brought it to my room later that day! It was surreal to see my body like that \u2013and I still look at that picture in awe. Wow. How is that even possible? During the surgery, I was looking at the bio parents and then up at Jeff next to me, then back to the bio parents. I wanted to see their reaction when they saw the baby for the first time. We grinned at each other several times, and I could tell they were getting more of a view than they\u2019d anticipated. (The bio dad later told me he saw what looked like \u201ca pile of hotdogs\u201d on my stomach. Good stuff.) When I felt several strong pulls on my tummy, I knew they were taking\u00a0the baby\u00a0out. I mouthed, \u201cHe\u2019s coming!\u201d to them and the tears started pouring. As the doctor lifted him up,\u00a0baby boy\u00a0let out a strong, beautiful cry … and every person in the room\u00a0gave a loud sigh of relief. He was here, and breathing, and to our surprise\u2013chubby! He was over 6 pounds! His parents watched as the NICU team checked him over, and they kept telling me how perfect he was. We did it! Baby is here! The bio parents and I visited and texted throughout the next few days and nights. I\u2019d let them know when I\u2019d sent some breastmilk to the NICU, and they\u2019d check on me to make sure I was resting and recuperating, and give me updates on the baby. Jeff wheeled me down several times to see them and Baby M. His blood sugar was a little low, but other than that, he was a perfect, healthy little guy! I was discharged on December 23, just two days after his birth. I was still sore and very puffy, but so happy! And baby boy was able to go home December 26! He defied all the odds \u2026 such a little miracle! The next night we attended our church\u2019s Christmas Eve service. I\u2019m always emotional during this service — I\u00a0can\u2019t hear \u201cO, Holy Night\u201d or \u201cSilent Night\u201d without crying. And this time, as I looked down the row at my family during \u201cSilent Night,\u201d I bawled. Full-on ugly-cry bawling. (I\u2019m sure the people around us thought something was wrong.) But, I couldn\u2019t help it. We had done it. We had gotten through a crazy, tough situation. We had helped complete a family. And now, after three months away from them, I was home with mine. Thank you for following along on this beautiful experience! There is so much more to share about the surrogacy process and our journey\u2013that will come. Today we are celebrating life, love, birthdays and miracles! Love (and CELEBRATE) more, Dana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2],"tags":[15,96,117,102,119,20,14,13,118],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Surrogacy14.jpg?fit=1200%2C462&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7h0AN-20","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1005,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions\/1005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.39ishlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}