A Miraculous Journey Finally Comes Full Circle

Have you ever done something that made you feel so good inside that you can't seem to get it off your mind-it just keeps replaying over and over so that you constantly seem to have a silly grin on your face? Well, I can certainly say that is my case. I have helped two lovely people achieve their goal of becoming parents and it feels really good knowing that I did so. Baby boy was a long-time project for them but now their time has finally come. He is now where he belongs. The past few days have been a whirlwind but I will try to remember the details as best as I can.

First off, it all started at the OB office this past Wednesday (12/26-11am). I had been having contractions before I got there that seemed to be 4-6 min. apart but then they had pretty much stopped when I arrived at the office. My regular OB had just resigned that past Friday so we were a bit nervous to see who the new OB would be. It turned out to be perfect. Our new doctor was fun and outspoken. She supported us wholeheartedly and we enjoyed her demeanor. She checked me and I was between 3-4 cm/70% effaced. We were offered the opportunity to go ahead to the hospital at that point. That thrilled us so we headed on over and got checked in (the hospital is just a 3-4 min. drive away). As I was dealing with someone from the hospital to get my paperwork done, my water decided to break a little bit. I am so glad it waited until I was there! The OB showed up a little later to check me out and then she decided to break the floodgates even more. I began having pretty good contractions after that. I chose to labor through them naturally. They had all kinds of cool things to help me cope with the pain-a jacuzzi tub, a rocking chair and a birthing ball. My nurses were fabulous too!

Later that evening, my cervix began to stall at 6cm. My OB decided to help me along by putting me on pitocin. I believe that was around 5pm. I got into the jacuzzi and breezed through the pain for awhile. Unfortunately, I ended up getting too hot because I stayed in there so long. I got back into bed and felt nauseated. It really didn't help that I was starving by that point, lol. They let me have a smoothie and some crackers. At some point after that, I got checked and the OB was worried about the baby being sunny-side-up (face up instead of face down). That is never a good thing as it makes labor/delivery much more difficult. I ended up asking for an epidural after 10pm that night. It just all became too much pain to take. I must say though that it was wonderful laboring naturally for 12 hours beforehand. I didn't do that with either of my own kids (I got the epi immediately with both of them, lol) so it was cool to feel labor for once. It was definitely a miraculous thing to experience.

Anyhoo, my epidural wasn't exactly the best. I could still feel everything. It just made things a bit duller than before. I began pushing sometime around 11:30pm and it was extremely exhausting. They had my hubby play tug-o-war with me using a blanket so that I would push involuntarily. I hated that! After Clayton trying to pull my hands off, I told them I didn't want to play that game any more. He then moved up to my side so that he could coach me through to the end. Baby boy was born after an hour of pushing. It was really hard for me to deliver because I could actually feel him coming out. That was a new experience for me and let me tell ya, it isn't painless, lol.

On to the good stuff-Baby boy came out looking like a C-Section baby because he was so perfect. His head was perfectly rounded and his skin tone was good. I was so proud and I know that the parents were too! You guys won't believe this but my IM got to deliver her own child. It was so cool. They got her all suited up and she caught baby boy as he was delivered. She then cut the cord and took him down to the nursery for his first bath. Cool, huh? How often does a mother get to watch and then deliver her own biological child? :)

So that is the story in a nutshell. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to do this and I am elated that I helped create a family. I have had a lot of people ask me recently if I was bothered to see baby boy go home. My answer is a definite no. I knew from the beginning that the child was not mine and that he had loving biological parents waiting for him. I have stayed detached and it doesn't make me sad to see him go. Being a gestational carrier was my purpose and it is now completed. I have no regrets at all. If they decide to try for a sibling for baby boy, I am totally onboard with them.