Wow! It's really hard to believe that this "journey" is actually over, although we will be staying in contact so I'm sure I'll keep this updated still! A year and a half of time put into preparation and carrying this baby and now it's done. As much as I was ready to have this baby and be nonpregnant again, I have to say it's still a little sad. But what a journey this has been! God has done so much! Anyway, I am here now to share the final stage of this awesome journey with you, so here goes:


Sunday night, January 17th, 2010, as I was getting our boys ready for bed, I squatted down to turn their radio on and as I stood back up, my water broke! It started off as a slow leak, which kind of made me think maybe I peed on myself, lol, but I had JUST gone to the bathroom. Back to the bathroom I went to look, peed again just in case and as I stood back up, the fluid came gushing out! I had never had my water break on me prior to labor starting. In fact, they broke my water with our first son and with our second, I didn't let them break it and it didn't break until I pushed him out. I have to say that I was really not wanting my water to break prior to labor, because I feared the necessity to be induced. I am a huge advocate of natural labor and I went through induction with my first and never wanted to do it again! I was always under the mindset that once your water broke, you HAD to get to the hospital and start induction, because you supposedly had 24 hours before the baby had to be out! The reason is due to infection setting in. However, what I found out instead was that the risk of infection comes mostly b/c it's introduced and far too often it's introduced while in the hospital b/c they won't keep their hands out of ya! lol Anyway, because I'm using midwives, they do things much more naturally and they felt no hurry to rush me in. I just kept and eye on my temperature and was very careful not to do anything that would introduce infection. So, I went into the clinic on Monday afternoon to be checked out as contractions still had not even begun to start, besides some painless braxton hicks. She checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4cm. My body was obviously close to being ready and she said that a high percentage of women go into labor within 24 hours after broken membranes, however there's no way to know for sure. She recommended I take castor oil that afternoon to try to bring on labor, as my body was so ripe and ready, she was confident that that would do it. So, at this point, I was game for anything to get it going so I didn't risk being induced! 2 ounces of castor oil it was at 4:30pm! Yum! About an hour and a half later, the contractions began! They came every 2 minutes for an hour and intensified as the hour went on. I was at the point where I felt like it was safe to go in to the hospital, but before I made the call, they nearly stopped. GREAT! I was so geared up for them being "the ones" and then they came every so often. But, it did develop a lot of uterine pressure and back pain and I waited a good hour to two hours and finally felt that it would be best to go on in to the hospital anyway. I felt that since we were dealing with others and not just us, it was best to at least get an idea of if my cervix had changed or something, especially since I developed the pressure in my uterus. I could always go back home or would know if I needed to stay. The midwife was ready for me and when we got there at 10:15pm, I was 5 cm. She mentioned the idea of giving me a little pitocin just to get me rolling, as it wouldn't take much and since I was 5 cm already, it wouldn't take long. As I was getting worked up and admitted and talking about our options, the contractions were starting back again and slowly beginning to regulate to some extent. Around 11pm, we decided that we would wait and give it about an hour or so to see what these contractions did first before we started pit. As opposed to using it as I was, we felt that we would be okay with the small amount (thankfully they had a wireless monitoring system that would allow me to do all the things in natural childbirth that I wanted, including the tub!) of pit and that it might be best, especially for the parents' sake. We still waited a little and at 11:30pm, I got on the birthing ball and contractions began coming every 4-6 min decreasing to every 3-5 min by 12:30am. Because this happened, there was no need for pit! Yay!! This was a God-thing! God knew the desires of my heart and He met them! On top of that, God had the perfect plan and why I ever was concerned, I don't know! I knew He wouldn't let me down, but my silly doubtfullness got the best of me at times. I continued to labor for a while and after the contractions really continued to intensify and come closer to 2-3 min apart, I asked my midwife to check my cervix. Midwives are not ones to check your cervix much, if at all, during labor. However, because we needed to tell the IP's when to come, I wanted to know where I was at. I was at 7cm and we felt it best to call them into the hospital. We had an empty room across the hall set aside for them and the baby after his delivery, so that's where they were going to go wait til it was time to push. My labors with my boys were both abot 9 hours long and I expected a little shorter, but considering I had only been in labor for 2 hours, I thought we'd still have a few more hours. After she checked me, I got in the tub. As I was in there, my contractions intensified even more. I wasn't in there long, maybe 20-30 min at most as I got too hot and actually got sick. So out I came. Back to the bed I went and the contractions at this point were much stronger and even closer together. They were so strong and intense that I was praying that it was almost time to push, but at the same time I couldn't imagine that I would already be ready! I mean, it had only been about 40 minutes roughly since she checked me and I was 7cm! In between contractions, I would open my eyes slightly and I could see my midwife getting things "ready." I began thinking, "there's no way I'm almost ready, am I really ready??" With each contraction, the urge to push intensified. With my boys, I used OB's in which there was always a "process." You check the cervix and when you're 10 cm, THEN you get ready to push. You don't push until THEY tell you to do so. My midwife was sitting on the end of the bed and after a contraction where I felt like I could push, I told her that I felt the urge(expecting she would check my cervix). Instead she said, "you do what you feel your body telling you to do" with my response as, "so you WANT me to push?" and she said, "if you feel you need to, then yes." Sorry for the little dialogue there, but I feel all these little details are important! At least they are to me. :) So with the next contraction, I began pushing. With each contraction after that, I could feel him descending. We decided it was time to bring the parents in there as we were getting very close. I had a contraction right before they came in and I could feel him right "there." They walked in, got set in their "positions" (the midwife had me draped and was sitting on the end of the bed and had a stool for the mom right beside the bed as the dad stood behind her). The final contraction came and his head began to crown. At this point, there was no stopping. I continued to push intermittently until he was OUT! Praise the Lord! She handed him directly over to his mother and them moved over to the warmer. I did not see as much of the scene as my husband did, but from what I could see (I could barely open my eyes from the labor I had just been through) it was beautiful and they were thrilled! We hugged and they moved out to their room while they cleaned me up. Shane was able to get a look at him, but I wasn't at this point, but it was fine. After I was cleaned up and the baby was cleaned and in good shape, they came back to our room where I got to hold him. What a precious site it was to see the new parents with their baby!

So, 3 hours and 17 minutes of labor! Wow! I was being impatient for it to start and God blessed me with a short labor even still! It truly went beautifully and I couldn't have asked for a better experience! My midwife was amazing and I will never use an OB again. To see the miracle of childbirth preserved like it was through her was awesome and made our experience that much better! She allowed my body to work and do what God intended it to do! My husband was the best coach a laboring woman could ask for! He never left my side and did everything I needed him to and more. He encouraged me the whole way and was my cheerleader! My nurse was also wonderful. She specifically loves working with natural childbirths and she just added to the wonderment of the experience! I have to give much thanks to a fellow surrogate & doula, who although she lived out of town and I haven't even met her, she was there for me, even in the middle of the night, to cheer me on and give me advice! She was so very helpful.....more than she may ever know! Thanks Ash!

For all those curious as to how I feel now that I've had this baby whom I carried and felt for 9 months, I feel great! I never once felt any attachment to him through the pregnancy and the attachment never came after he was born. To me, he is like a nephew. I love him dearly and look forward to watching him grow, but I am VERY happy to turn him over to his parents and it is a TRUE honor and blessing to see them all together and see this new family that God has so ordained! I could never have imagined the wonderful feelings I would have afterwards. I feel "released" and closer to this family now more than before.

Thank you all for sharing in this wonderful journey with us and for all your prayers and support. God's glory has shown through this. There is so much more that has been involved that I would love to share at some point that would really show God's glory and faithfulness even more! But for now, I'm off and thank you all again!

Wow! What a weekend! The intended parents came into town this weekend and accomplished a handful of things! The big thing was the hospital visit. We took them to the hospital so they'll know where to go, park, etc and we met with the supervisor of Mother/Baby. He gave a tour of the Labor & Delivery and Mother/Baby Unit and we discussed many things to be prepared for the big day! This will be their first experience with a vaginal birth (considering all goes as well as mine have in the past) so it was good for them to see the rooms and discuss details of what they'll experience to some extent. We also met with a social worker and made sure she had everything she needed to help make this whole experience as smooth as possible! The big thing was them having their own room with their new baby, which does not appear to be a problem, as I might very well go home early anyway since I won't have a baby for them to look after. They were very excited after this visit as it made it even more real for them! Saturday night we met back up with them and headed to my parents house. Shane's mom joined us and they were able to meet my parents, Shane's mom (his dad was out of town) and my sisters and their children. We had a wonderful time that night and they really enjoyed getting to know our family. Then, this morning (Sunday morning), we met again and headed to church. Our Sunday School class was so wonderful as they provided breakfast and gifts in honor of their presence. We had a morning of sharing, prayer and a wonderful "lesson", as our teacher did his own short lesson in regards to this family and the surrogacy. We were all so overwhelmed by the great love and support our class showed! Shane and I have been so blessed to share this journey with our class and to finally share them personally with P&K was wonderful! They were so blessed and overwhelmed by the love that our class showed!! I am 37 weeks, a little less than 3 weeks from the due date. However, I would LOVE it if he decided to come a little early! lol I won't complain at all! :) Well, God has the perfect time for his arrival and I know it'll be perfect!

Yea, yea, I know.....I've been HORRIBLE about updating lately! :) I am 35 1/2 weeks now and feeling it! Overall I feel great, but I'm definitely feeling "third trimester" pregnant. My feet are swollen now, back hurts, bathroom visits are increasing, I'm more tired and so forth; all of which to be expected. We are down to the last few weeks and needless to say, I'm ready! I've typed up a birth plan for them to have in the hospital so that everything goes as best as we can make it! I'm getting lots of questions about how I'm feeling about "giving the baby up" and things like that, so I'm gonna tell you about all that:
As a reminder, this baby is not genetically linked to me in any way! Throughout this pregnancy, I've done nothing to create a bond with him; I've not even talked to him or sung to him. In all honesty and I don't mean this in a bad way, but he feels like a foreign being to me, which in all reality is a good thing! I have no issues with "giving him up" when he is delivered. In fact, I'm looking forward to it!! This means I can go home, rest and recover with no crying & hungry baby to wake me!! :) The parents will be there for the delivery, although not during the labor. I do have natural (no drugs) labors and due to that and the need to focus, it's just going to be me and Shane during the labor. Besides, it's boring in there for anyone just watching. So, they will be called in when it's time to deliver and he is to be handed immediately over to the parents or nurse upon delivery. Contact with them and their baby will happen after I'm cleaned up. I want them to have their moment with their new baby and the initial bonding time. They deserve it....I've had my children and know that feeling and I want them to have that as well! I will be able to go home whenever my midwives release me, which could be as early as 6 hours after delivery if all is well. They, of course, will stay at the hospital with the baby until he is released, which is usually at least 24 hours after delivery. We will meet up with them (probably even visit back at the hospital) when they go to leave to see them all before they head home and so that our children can meet little Preston, as children won't be allowed in the hospital due to the swine flu mess. Then they will be on their way! We do intend to stay in contact with them and I'm sure visit from time to time. They have become a part of our lives to an extent now.

I hope that answered most of the questions that many of you have or may come up with. We're all very excited and the parents are just thrilled! It's hard to believe it's almost here!! I can't wait to let you all know when he's here!!!
Love to all and thanks for all the prayers!

Wow! Here I am finally! Life has gotten busy and it's been hard for me to get on here for any decent amount of time these days. With the kids in school and preschool, me working and then all the other things that come about, the computer has been low on the priority list.
So, anyway......I am almost 28 weeks pregnant (come Tuesday) according to my last visit. It's changed just by a few days, so close enough right? I have grown a lot in my opinion, although most people think I'm still rather small, that is compared to my pregnancies with my own two children. I'm pretty much all belly and I am having a harder time eating and breathing. I feel like a tick after each meal, which makes it hard to breathe and/or want to do anything! lol I don't recall such a hard time with my own boys, but I think they spread out more to the side versus up and down like this one. However, it has been over 4 years since my last pregnancy, so my memory could be serving me wrong. :) Who knows..... We had another ultrasound two weeks ago and the baby looks great. They are doing ultrasounds roughly every 6 weeks to check his progress, because the umbilical cord attached to the side of the placenta versus the middle and when that happens there's a very small chance of malnourishment, so they just want to keep watch. No big deal really and he's doing great! I find it really neat that the placenta has attached to the front of my uterus (meaning front portion of my belly) to where it cushions a lot of his kicks. I feel him mostly on the sides, top and bottom. That explained why it took so long for me to be able to really feel him, too. I think it's neat b/c maybe that's God's way of helping me keep from feeling him too much since he's not mine. I don't know. :) The parents are just so ecstatic and God has done so much in their lives. Our own children have been such huge blessings through all of this. When we sit down to eat, we pray. We ask them who they'd like to pray for at each meal and lately they say the baby. The coolest part is when they pray, they thank God for "the baby that momma's carrying for someone else and just protect the baby." It is just adorable! They seem to have no problem whatsoever with grasping the fact that this baby will not be coming home with us! I love it! God has really blessed our household tremendously! We will be going to Atlanta on Thursday for the hearing to make sure the parental rights go to P&K and then next week I get to do the yummy 1 hour glucose test. Eck! I just gag thinking about that drink! lol Time is moving fast. I have only 3 months left! Hard to believe! I'll try to get on here more often to update......no promises, but I'll try. ;)

So sorry it's taken me so long to update!! I am 19 weeks now.....moving right along! I feel great! We had an ultrasound on Tuesday, Sept 1st, and things are looking great and they found out that they're having a boy!!! It was so sweet; P, the mother, was in tears. She brought her mother with her, which was a neat time. Unfortunately K was not able to make it, but he was overjoyed by the news.
Also, a few weeks ago we finally shared the news of this baby with our own children. They are such wonderful and sweet children! Roman, especially, is so sweet and tender with me and my belly. He comes up and gives my belly kisses and such and understands the concept that we aren't keeping the baby.
Well, it's late, but I knew I needed to update! Love to all!

I am now 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant now. It's so hard to believe I'm almost past the first trimester! I can feel it too b/c my energy has been returning and I just feel better overall. Not that I ever felt bad, but the fatigue really got me there for a little while.
This morning we had an ultrasound appointment with a maternal fetal specialist. I did not share this minor detail b/c I did not want to bring any kind of negativity into this whole thing. The first two ultrasounds we had the the fertility office showed the baby looking great, but the amniotic sac growing a little behind the baby. With each u/s, the baby and sac grew, but the sac continued to just measure about a week roughly behind the baby's size. The Dr, although not extremely concerned, still wanted to practice some precaution and wanted us to have a high resolution ultrasound with a maternal-fetal specialist. It, of course, concerned us all a little, but as I've said from the beginning, God has been in control and it's in His hands and I just knew all would be fine. We were fine with getting this better look and a 2nd opinion. So, today was the day. K, the intended father, was able to make it here to Asheville for it and my husband was also able to join us. We got great news that the baby was continuing to look great and measuring right on target and the sac looked good. The sac was still a "little" small, but not below normal, just below average. However, they said there was no cause for any concern and that it all looked good to them. The sac was plenty big enough for the baby and gave him/her room to move and grow and the baby looked great, which was the main thing! They will follow up with us a few more times through the pregnancy, but we are all very relieved and thankful to our Lord & Savior for His continued faithfulness! We are going to have quite a story to tell when this is all over! God is definitely keeping it interesting, but it's all for His glory and that's what's most important!
So, today has been a GREAT day. To top it off, the boys and I stopped to see my dad (they wanted to give their Baba hugs and kisses) and he treated us to Subway, which is exactly what my pregnant body was wanting at the time. Praise the Lord! lol God is good....right down to my cravings. hehe I love it!

First Trimester Fun

So, I am now 9 weeks pregnant. More symptoms are arising as I move along this wonderful journey. So, to add to the frequent bathroom visits, sore breasts and frequent hunger, I can now add a little sickness and food "cravings" and / or dislikes. Along with my hunger, I will get sick if I don't eat fairly quickly or keep food on my stomach. I don't feel as though I have got to puke, but I get a little nauseous, weak and even a little faint sometimes. The key really is just not letting myself get hungry at all if I can help it. I don't mean eat constantly, but I can tell when my body is nearing the hunger stage and if I catch it in time, I won't get hungry to get nauseous, etc. I'm not always successful, though. :( This is so far the easiest I've had it, though, although it wasn't too bad even with my own boys. I won't complain by any means! I am not craving anything in particular persay, but I desire "cold" items. I don't get this horrible craving like I have to have something or die! haha It's just that when I get hungry, cold items are more appealing and desirable and won't make me nauseous to think about. Cold items, meaning fruit, veggies, pb&j, etc. For some reason, not many "hot" items are on my list. We went to see Transformers 2 over the weekend (great movie by the way) and I was with 3 big guys and my 2 little guys. We decided on Firehouse Subs, which wasn't too appealing to me but I was NOT going to be the annoying and picky one out of all of us. If you've never been there, and I had not before this, their sandwiches are warm. They're like a Subway, sort of, with warm meat and cheese and all that. I did all I could to eat the first half of my sandwich without puking and I had to give the other half away. It wasn't bad tasting, just not what my pregnant body wanted. Anyone who's been pregnant knows that if you try to eat something your body does not really want when pregnant, it does not work. I gave the other half away and ate my son's pb&j. He didn't want it. :) I had to eat something! Of course, my hubby got irritated with me over it saying I was being silly, but what does he know. hehe He's never been preggo!
Anyway, long story, but I found it funny and cute and wanted to share. So, all in all I feel great! Sadly, I am already in some maternity clothes b/c this body did not waste ANY time beginning to get bigger! Of course, it didn't help that I had a little extra weight on my in the beginning. Ugh! Oh well. Not much I can do now besides exercise and stay healthy during the pregnancy then work my butt off afterwards to lose it all and some!