Nine months

About a month ago, a woman in my IP group posted the following, "Grateful Monday. He has officially been home longer than he was with anyone else.  9 months old last week! "  Until I read that, it never occurred to me that Jaden's nine month birthday would be a special milestone.  Here we are though. Jaden is nine and a half months old.  I am so grateful that Ellen took care of him his first nine months in utero and even more grateful that Jason and I have been able to take care of him his first nine months outside of the womb. What an incredible nine months it has been!

People often ask me if I ever see Ellen now, or if she ever gets to see Jaden.  That question seems absurd to me, but I suppose there are plenty of surrogates and IPs who don't have a relationship post-birth.  Some just keep in touch via Facebook or text picture updates on birthdays.  Thankfully, that isn't the case for Ellen and I.  Our friendship has only grown deeper since Jaden's birth.   Here are just a few snapshots of the times we have spent together in the past nine months.

Ellen comes to visit. Jaden is four days old.

Ellen acting as kvatterin at Jaden's Bris.  He is eight days old. 

Visit to Ellen's house to help trim the Christmas tree. Jaden is two weeks old.

My birthday- Jaden is three weeks old.

Ellen and Chris come to visit. Jaden is learning to smile at five weeks old.

Ellen and the girls come to visit. Jaden is six weeks.

Jaden's first sleepover at Ellen's. He is two months old.

Girls weekend in Chicago.  Jaden is three and a half months old (but he's at home with daddy).

Family gathering at Ellen's parents. Jaden is four months old.

Second sleepover at Ellen's. Jaden is almost six months old.

Hanging with Ellen's oldest at our house.  He is almost eight months old.

With Ellen's oldest and Chris last weekend. Jaden is nine months old. 

I'm so excited to continue making memories with Ellen and her family! 

Mixed Feelings on Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day.  I am finally a mom.  After nearly five years of failed cycles, lost heartbeats and crushed dreams I finally have the most adorable little son that I can spend Mother's Day with and call my own.  I should be overjoyed, right? Then why aren't I? All week I've had such mixed emotions- happiness for sure, relief, but also a sadness that blankets everything.  I told Jason last night that I think I am sad for all the people I know who are still trying to become moms.  People I "know" from the FB boards that I am part of, and people I know in real life.  I know what today is like for them.  Infertility is something you live with every day but on this day- when the very thing you long for, hurt for, mourn for is being celebrated by EVERYONE- the pictures, sentiments, and thank yous given for something you may never experience-it stings.  After year two, I learned to just avoid FB on this day.  Now that I can finally join in on the celebration- I find myself still wanting to avoid FB.   I certainly don't want to contribute to their pain with my own "look at me and my beautiful family" post but I also don't want to go there because I still hurt.

This morning as I woke to got to the bathroom around 5am,  I saw that my little guy was stirring.  Before I went to retrieve him, I checked FB as is my habit (figuring it was probably to early for the barrage of Mother's Day FB posts so still safe) and I saw a post from Our Misconception  by Candace Wohl that really resonated with me.  She too was experiencing a myriad of emotions on her first Mother's Day.  Here is a snippet of what she wrote that really hit home:

But for some reason, amidst this joy and what should be the end of the story, I hurt. I have an emptiness. Perhaps it is the scars I bare that remind me pregnancy was and will never be part of what has made me a mother.

I am standing in the middle of the road with one foot on one side of the line for what will always be my infertility diagnosis and the other foot on side of the fertile ground of motherhood.
Someone really put my melting pot of thoughts and “feels” into the right words last night. She said I was surviving infertility in a fertile world. Yes, yes I am.

I feel guilty.

I feel blessed.

I feel angry.

I feel overwhelming joy.

I feel sorrow for others.

I still feel infertile.

So yes, while there is a big part of me that is experiencing Survivors Guilt- wrestling with feelings of guilt for having survived/achieved something others have not- Candace's post helped me to see that I'm also struggling with still feeling infertile.  Yes, I have my baby.  But it was not an easy road getting him here.  And if I want another one, as so many have asked and as Jason and I ask ourselves either out loud or in our heads daily, it still won't be easy.  Mother Nature reminded me of what a bitch she can be when she decided to have my period show up a week early last night. Because after all, why not throw in some hormones to make me extra emotional during this confusing time?

After early morning feedings, I can usually put Jaden back down for an hour or two and go back to sleep myself.  I really wanted to do that this morning, because I knew I needed to write about my feelings after reading that post.  I've been struggling all week about what to say and finally got some clarity. I started to write and got maybe three sentences in when I heard the adorable "Ah-gee, ah-gee" cooing that Jaden does.  And my heart melted.  I brought him in our room for a few minutes and then tried putting him back down.    Once again, his cooing made it clear that he wasn't going back to sleep.  Now I think that bitch Mother Nature was winking at me through him.  Reminding me that this is no time to be feeling sad.  Reminding me that even though I didn't get to carry him in my belly, I get to carry him now.  I get to see his little face light up whenever he sees me and I get to be his mother.

On this day moving forward, I won't forget for whom this day is painful.  I won't forget those who long to be mothers, nor those who had to use the help of doctors to become mothers.  I won't forget those who needed the help of generous women either through adoption or surrogacy to become mothers.  I won't forget those in pain because they lost their mothers or those who have a strained relationship with their mothers.  This is a day to honor them all.

Yet I will also remember that I am lucky and blessed to be a mother to Jaden- a boy with a smile that lights up a room and a sweet and gentle spirit that warms my heart every day. 

Full Circle

IiU In the last couple of weeks I've really had some full circle moments.  It started with a trip to our fertility clinic to introduce Jaden to Dr. Toledo. It was pretty surreal going back to RBA- a place we had frequented far too often since December of 2011 (though we had been hanging out in fertility clinic waiting rooms since October of 2010).   There are a series of feelings that you experience in that waiting room- it starts out with hope and excitement and then moves on to confusion,  anxiety, despair, desperation, anger, and sadness.  The more hours you log in the waiting room chair, the less hope and excitement you feel. The more those other feelings take over and start to consume you.  Those feelings were my normal for the better part of the past four years.  Returning to the fertility clinic this time I felt a whole new range of emotions- joy, pride, happiness...and relief.   My new normal. And boy did it feel good.

We scheduled our visit with Dr. Toledo during Ellen's winter break because we really wanted her to be there too.  We also scheduled it during the clinic's lunch hour, so were quite surprised to see the waiting room was full.  We were careful to remain in the hallway just outside the clinic's entryway.  I wasn't about to go flaunting my baby in front of all those longing couples in the waiting room.

It was wonderful seeing Dr. Toledo- someone who had experienced so many ups, and mostly downs with us over the years.  On more than one occasion, I had fallen apart in Dr. Toledo's arms after hearing bad news.  What a full circle moment it was to now see him cradling my baby in those same arms! It was really special that Dr. Toledo wanted to hold him. He told him Jaden how much he was loved and how hard we had worked to get him here.  It warmed my heart.

And here is another full circle moment:

From this...

To this...

Just a few days after that visit I had another full circle moment.  Remember that birthday party for my dear friend's two year old twins that I wrote about here?  Last year I left that party in tears.  This year for their three year old birthday,   I arrived with my three month old! 

Finally, yesterday was a special day too.   Chris and Jason went out of town for the evening for a boy's night so Ellen and her girls and Jaden and I decided to get together.  It was just over a year ago that I met her girls for the first time.  We went to the zoo and back then,  they just knew me as mom's new friend.  I remember being so taken by all the newborns at the zoo, hoping and praying that it was foreshadowing.  I guess it was because this weekend we went back to the zoo- with my own newborn! 

What a Difference a Year Makes

It was exactly a year today, January 12, 2014, that Chris and I first met Kerri & Jason.  I remember being a ball of nerves on the way to meet them.  Looking back, I knew in my gut that they would be the perfect match.  I knew it from the very first conversations that Kerri and I had through Facebook.  Meeting them solidified those feelings.  And here we are today...we went from strangers to friends to family. 

Kerri posted her thoughts on the birth of Jaden, and I thought I would share some of mine as well.  That same ball of nerves I had on the way to meet Kerri & Jason for the first time was even bigger on the way to the hospital.  We were induced, so I think knowing that this was the day intensified those feelings.  As nervous as I was, I couldn’t help but think about Kerri & Jason and how they must have felt.  Everything they had worked for the last 4 years plus was finally coming to fruition. 

Having your own baby is the best thing in the world.  Or so I thought until I was a surrogate.  Having someone else’s baby for them trumps it a million percent.  Being there, in that moment, is almost indescribable.  Kerri had warned me many times that she gets extra chatty when she’s nervous.  I’m the opposite.  I told her and Jason that they would know when it was getting close to baby time because I would stop talking and get in the zone, so to speak.  My other signs of impending baby crowning (aka holy hell, get this thing out of me!) are me asking for drugs (I don’t really mean it) and saying I can’t do it (like I have a choice at that time).  Disclaimer – I am not anti-epidural or anti pain meds.  I am pro women doing whatever works best for them and their baby.  I am also, according to the nurse and most other women I know stupid crazy.  Needless to say, I did ask for meds (which I didn’t really want or get) and I also said I couldn’t do it, but I did.  And like that, it was go time.  Kerri was holding one leg, Chris the other, and Jason was very diplomatically at my head behind Chris until both he and I basically forced Jason down by Dr. Ramani.  Seeing the birth of your child is a miraculous thing, and no way was Jason going to miss out on that on my watch. 

The mood in the room was excited, nervous, and beyond happy.  It was euphoric.  When Jaden was born and Dr. Ramani placed him on my belly, seeing Kerri see her baby for the first time was breath taking.  The years of anticipation, heart ache, loss, worry, and sadness were replaced in that single second.  This child that she and Jason yearned for so desperately was here, and he was perfect. 

Don’t get me wrong, the birth of my three girls are three of the best days and times of my life, but being lucky enough to help create another family and witness the sheer joy and love that having Jaden brought to Kerri & Jason ranks right up there with my own births. 

Anyone involved with surrogacy will mostly likely claim that there is no such thing as a “perfect journey.” I whole heartedly disagree, because from second one, this journey was.  Not that is was 100% easy and worry free, but it was perfect.  This last year I have heard many people say that Kerri and Jason were lucky to have me, but it’s simply not true.  I’m the lucky one.  Lucky to have a husband, children, family, and friends who support me 100%.  Lucky to have Kerri & Jason as not just IPs, but as friends and family.  Lucky to have their extended families and friends welcome me and my family with open arms.  Lucky to witness the pure love, kindness, caring, generosity, faith, and perseverance of Kerri & Jason.  Yep, I’m the lucky one. 

The First 48

Editors note: I really did start writing this post during the first 48 hours after he was born.  However, five weeks later I'm finally getting around to finishing it.  This motherhood thing sure keeps me busy! 

Well, we didn't have to make a decision about whether or not to blow $450 on the four star hotel room hospital room because as it turned out, Labor and Delivery and Mother and Baby floors were both packed beyond capacity.  Thankfully, despite the hospital policy that wouldn't allow us to bunk up with Ellen, no one seemed to mind that Jason and I both slept there.  By slept I mean napped  That's about all you can do the first 24 hours of a newborns life.

Jaden was born at 3:13 PM. Following his birth, after all the visitors left, they took Jaden to the nursery to give him a bath and Jason and I accompanied him.  It was interesting surveying all the other babies in the nursery.  Most of them were a lot bigger than our little guy. And noisier!  One of the babies was crying non-stop.  They told us that would probably start on Day 2.  Thankfully, that non-stop crying hasn't started yet.

After his bath, Jason and I spent some time in a separate room feeding him. It was really surreal and special to have that alone time with him.  The room was dim and it was just us and this sweet baby.  Finally.

After feeding time, we headed back to Ellen's room.  We felt a little bad about crashing with her, but I think she was happy that we joined her.  Come to think of it, I think it was really the best thing for all of us. I know she was exhausted and would have liked to have gotten some sleep, but I bet she was also feeling lonely.  Her husband and kids were at home and I'm sure it would have been hard being alone in that room, not pregnant anymore, and not with the baby she had just carried for nine months.  And it would have been strange for us not to be with the woman who just had just given us this gift.

The night itself went pretty well, except for one minor detail.  You know how they tell you not to bring newborns out in public/around sick people because they have not yet had their vaccinations so are more susceptible to illness? Well, what do you do when that sick person is the baby's mom?!?  That's right folks, I never get sick.  And yet the day my son was born- the son I've been waiting to meet for nearly five years- I started coming down with something.  I knew I wasn't feeling well when they started to induce Ellen so sent my mother-in-law out for some Emergen-C.  By the evening, I was feeling pretty lousy and borrowed one of the thermometers in Jaden's bassinet.  Sure enough, I had a 101.4 fever.  Ugh.     

Jason was very protective of Jaden and didn't want my germ-infested self handling him.  I was so tired that first night that I was okay with Jason taking the late night feedings (every three hours).   What I didn't know until a later date was Jason was so worried/in awe of Jaden that he set his alarm to wake up every hour to check on him! So cute/neurotic!   When day two rolled around I was less pleased with Jason's insistence that I not hold my baby.  We compromised by asking the nurse for some masks.  This is how I spent the next 24 hours with the baby.  Notice my glare.  That's me being really unhappy about the whole mask thing.

The morning after the delivery,  Chris came to pick up Ellen and they headed home while Jason and I waited for the doctor to discharge us.  We had to wait for his blood work to come back to make sure he wasn't jaundiced and were able to leave just shy of 24 hours after his birth.   It was really crazy to think that we would be on our own with this newborn but thankfully, we had hired a post-partum doula, Penny, to come to the house the following day.  A friend of ours recommended her services and we couldn't have been more pleased.  Before we even left the hospital she emailed me a list of instructions including when to feed, nap and do tummy time.  She encouraged us to have him sleep in the crib from night one, claiming we wouldn't sleep if the baby was in our room.  Jason was not on board with that (probably, in part because he has literally slept through our burglar alarm in the past) so we put Jaden in a bassinet next to our bed.  For the first night anyway.

Penny was right- the baby kept me awake.  He would make noises throughout the night and though he was still sleeping, it kept me awake (as suspected Jason slept right through it).   That first sleepless night I used the time wisely.  Penny had also suggested that we watch "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp, MD.  I had the book and had skimmed it a while back, but around 2AM, I decided to download the video on my Ipad.  Watching the video when I actually had a real live baby was really helpful.  Not only did it provide visual demonstrations for important things like how to swaddle (the DUDU method- Down, Up, Down Up) but it was also really comforting. You see,  Dr. Karp has a theory about the first three months of a newborns life, in which they really do little else but eat, sleep and poop.  He calls the first three months of a babies life the 4th trimester.  He basically suggests that, unlike baby horses, who are able to walk and even run minutes after they are born,  newborns are still quite immature and are really much like fetuses.  They would really benefit from a 4th trimester in the womb in order to continuing developing but there simply isn't enough room in there.  So Dr. Karp encourages parents to essentially recreate the womb for the first three months of the baby's life and gives instructions and examples of the ways to do that (namely the five S's - Shushing, Swaddling,  Side/Stomach, Sucking, and Swinging).  THIS WAS HUGE NEWS FOR ME- and really for any intended or even adoptive parent out there.  You see, since I have a crappy uterus, I had to outsource Jaden's womb.  I never got to provide that nourishment and comfort that Ellen gave him for the first nine months of his life.   But now, I get to be his womb!  

So on this very first night that my new baby was home, I had a wonderful light bulb epiphany.  I couldn't wait to get Jaden into his nursery*, where we had the all important white-noise machine (which recreates the loud slosshing and heartbeat sounds that Jaden heard in Ellen's uterus). I couldn't wait to perfect the swaddle, so he could feel that tight comforting snugness that he felt in the womb.  I couldn't wait to give him his pacifier so he could turn on his calming reflex.  It was my turn to be his womb and I couldn't wait! My new mission to provide the same comfort Jaden experienced in the womb was comforting to me as well.

*he  has slept in the nursery the second night he was home and every night since!

Get a room!

I had a lot of anxiety leading up to Jaden's birth,  not just about how how the delivery would go, but about how things would go after the delivery.  Much of it was logistical.  We didn't know up until the day of whether or not Jason and I would have a room following the delivery. 

In typical delivery situations, the baby rooms with the mother.  In typical delivery situations, the mother is the one delivering the baby.  So, since our situation was anything but typical, we weren't sure what that meant for Jason and I.  We were hopeful that the PBO we had in place would help.


At around 20 weeks gestation,with the help of our attorney Jason and I petitioned the court for a PBO or a Pre-Birth Order.  A PBO is a court order signed by a judge establishing parentage of an expected child when the woman giving birth to the child is not genetically related to the child.  The law assumes that a woman who gives birth to a child is the genetic mother of the child; if she is married her husband is presumed to be the father of the child. Invariably, the presumption about the husband being the father of the child has in some cases been wrong (when there's another baby daddy), but until recently, it was never wrong about the mother.   Enter modern science.  With the advent of surrogacy, some states (including Georgia) began the practice of utilizing Pre-Birth Orders to address this issue.   The fee for obtaining a PBO in Atlanta varies anywhere from $2600 to $5000.   While the surrogate can waive her right to an attorney for the contract phase of surrogacy, it is mandatory that she has an attorney for the PBO in order to ensure that she is not being coerced into signing the petition.  The Intended Parents are responsible for the surros attorney's fees as well, usually amounting to around $750.  What happens if you don't live in a surro-friendly state that grants PBO's?  You obtain a post-birth order, or in some cases, adopt your baby.  This makes the hospital situation trickier.   If the PBO is granted (thankfully it typically is), the hospital is ordered to put the names of the genetic parents (Jason and I) on the birth certificate.   Additionally, the court order states that Jason and I are to make all medical decisions for the child once he is born.

In theory, having a PBO in hand should have made the hospital situation pretty seemless.    With Jason and I being recognized as biological parents, we would both be given hospital security bands which allows us all access to our baby.  We also hoped that we would be given a hospital room following his delivery.   When Ellen was around 30 weeks pregnant, I called the hospital to see if this was possible.  I was initially told it would depend on the hospital census, but later told that we wouldn't be able to get a room regardless of the census since hospital rooms are only given to patients.  We asked if we could stay in Ellen's room with her, since she is technically the patient.  They told us only one person was permitted to stay the night in Ellen's room.   The Charge Nurse that headed up the Mother and Baby floor did say that there is a special "Family Room" that she has designated for families of patients who need to stay the night and told us we were welcome to stay there.  She said it isn't technically a hospital room but should be sufficient.  We were still hopeful the PBO would help get us a room, but grateful that there was at least a back up option in place.

The three of us decided it would probably be best to go to the hospital to introduce ourselves and speak to the powers-that-be (in this case, we started with the charge nurses). We also wanted to check out the "Family Room" in case we did end up having to stay there.   Unfortunately, the "Family Room" was less than ideal. The room was quite small and just had a chair and a bench in it.  No bed. No bathroom.  Not even really room for a bed.   After seeing the room and my clear disappointment, Ellen told us not to worry- we could just bunk up with her if we couldn't get our own hospital room.  We asked the Charge Nurse about this and were once again told only one person was permitted to stay the night in Ellen's room. Hospital policy.  We were also informed that once the baby is born he is given four security bands.   Two of the bands would go on each of the baby's ankles, one would go to Ellen, and the final one would go to whichever one of us Ellen chose.  We explained that Jason and I both should be given bands but they insisted since Ellen is giving birth to the baby, the baby goes with her.  No way around it. Hospital policy.  Okay, we said.  Well then can we get additional bands so that Jason and I can both have a band? No dice. They only come in sets of four.   The nurses we spoke to were quite nice, but it was clear that they were not familiar with surrogacy and weren't sure how to bend hospital policy to accommodate our situation.

With PBO in hand, we eventually asked to speak to the Director of Nursing.   We explained that we know our situation is unique but surely there must be a way around hospital policy.  She assured us that she is familiar with surrogacy but still insisted that Ellen gets the security band because she is the "birth mother".   Birth mother? Um....this is not an adoption.  The Director must have seen the look of discontent on my face in reaction to her choice of words so she corrected herself.   "She's not the birth mother. She's the....vessel...giving birth".  Vessel??   She told us that we need not worry though, because even if Jason didn't have an arm band, it would be communicated to the staff that he was the biological father and would be given all access to the baby.  The hospital isn't that big, she told us.  It would be fine.  

This didn't sit well with us so when I got home I immediately contacted our attorney.  We have an incredible relationship with our surrogate but there are some surrogacy journeys that don't go as well as ours.  In fact, I have heard of cases where there is such a breakdown in the relationship that the surrogate and Intended Parents don't speak at all and only receive updates about the pregnancy from their attorney.  If our situation was like that, we certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with our surrogate having armband access to our baby while one of us was denied this access.    After several emails, phone calls and weeks of waiting, our attorney spoke with hospital counsel and got the security band situation straightened out.  Jason and I would both be given armbands.  Ellen would not receive a band.

As for the room? We were told that we still wouldn't be given a room but, if there was a room available, we would be given the opportunity to purchase a room for $450.  This wasn't exorbitant, but was no steal either.  We figured we would just make a game-day decision and see how we felt, and packed an airbed and a sleeping bag just in case. 

Stay tuned for the next blog post to see what we ended up deciding...

How Jaden Came To Be.....

This is the story of how Jaden came to be...

#Jadenwatch2014 or Our Surrogacy Birth Story

Little man has been here just over 72 hours (well now more like 120 hours- its hard to get things done with a newborn!)  so I wanted to get down his birth story while its still fresh in my mind.

#Jadenwatch2014 (hashtag complements of my friend Mary) started about two weeks ago when Ellen was already dilated to 3cm at 37 weeks 4 days.  The OB scheduled the induction initially for Black Friday but then switched it to the Monday after Thanksgiving since staffing would be better following the holiday.  Two different OB's told us they doubted we would make it to the induction so we had our hospital bags packed and were on high alert all week.  My parents came in town Thanksgiving day and joined us on #Jadenwatch2014.  We all thought it would be pretty fitting if he came during the Florida/Florida State game but Jaden had other plans and decided to stay put until the induction.

We arrived at the hospital Monday at 8am.  Since Ellen was positive for Group B Strep she needed to get IV antibiotics in order to prevent passing anything to the baby.  We were hoping she would have time to get two doses in, as at our last OB appointment on Wednesday the doctor told us the baby would have to stay in the hospital 48 hours if she didn't get both doses. Given that this was Ellen's fifth pregnancy, the doctor doubted she would have time for both and predicted the baby would be here by noon.  Thankfully, that didn't turn out to be the case.

My parents and Jason's mother set up camp in the waiting room while Ellen, Chris, Jason and I headed to the Labor and Delivery Room. Ellen's mother joined the other parents soon after.   Our nurse Meg was really amazing.  She had donated her eggs twice before so was very familiar with the process of IVF as well as the struggles so many go through to create a family.  She asked me for my birth plan so she could understand my desires and assured me that she would help make sure my wishes were respected.  She even read the instruction manual for my skin-to-skin shirt and told me she would help me get him situated in it.  It felt really nice to have her support, especially since I felt slightly crazy wearing that shirt.

 Ellen got hooked up to the monitors and the nurse explained that the top lines measured the baby's heartbeat and the bottom measured contractions.  Contractions were minimal when we arrived.   They had to special order Ellen's antibiotics so they didn't start her first dose until around 10:30 AM.  Ellen was hoping the doctor would break her water and allow her to walk the halls in lieu of starting the pitocin (aka "the devil" in Ellen's eyes) but the doctor opted to just start her on a tiny dose of pitocin along with the antibiotics. After about an hour there was very little movement, so Meg said she was going to ask Dr. Ramani to break her water.  We had to wait a while since the doctor was in a C-section (Chris almost took matters into his own hands when he found the "poker") so it was about 12:30 when her water was finally broken. We all gave a sigh of relief when we saw the water was clear (which meant no meconium) .  Meg bumped up the pitocin shortly after in the hopes that this would speed thing up.  She told us she had a woman next door who was also dilated the same amount.  This was good motivation for Ellen, who is as competitive as Jason and I.  "Oh, we are so going to be first,  Ellen said.   About an hour later, she bumped up the pitocin again and around 2:00 the strong contractions started kicking in.  The nurse checked Ellen and she was dilated to about a seven.
 
I probably should mention that Ellen opted not to get an epidural.  She has never had one- apparently for Ellen, the idea of not being able to feel below her legs is worse than the excruciating pain that comes with labor.  By this time, the charge nurse Kenna had joined us since Meg was next door tending to the other delivery (she was still behind us, and she was already on her second epidural) I asked Kenna how many women don't get epidurals and she replied "On purpose? Maybe five percent".  I was pretty surprised by that number and Ellen was too- she didn't realize she was in such a minority.   I'm not sure how Ellen feels about it, but in retrospect, I think that her decision not to get an epidural actually enhanced the birth experience for me.  It was undoubtedly difficult to watch someone I love and care about be in so much pain, but it really made me appreciate her even more (as if that was even possible).  And the fact that she was going through this pain for me, for us, for our baby...

Around 2:30, I could tell by Ellen's face and lack of ability to talk that she was in immense pain so asked if the nurse would check her dilation again.   The nurse said they don't like to check too often as this can promote bacteria but felt like Ellen would know when it was time.   Really?!? You don't want to try something a little more scientific than a feeling?  The nurse was about to leave the room when Ellen said "If I'm still a seven, I'm gonna need that epidural".  Thankfully the nurse checked again because the next thing you know, she asked Chris to hold one of her legs and had me hold the other.  Jason initially stood by Chris near Ellen's head and then kind of floated between Chris and I, still remaining by her head.  Ellen was clearly in a lot of pain and I heard the nurse say, "This is the part where most patients give up and feel like they can't do it but you are really close.  I  know that you can do it". Really close?  My heart was beating a mile a minute.  I mouthed to Jason "Where's the doctor?"

No sooner did I say that then the doctor arrived and instructed Ellen to lift her legs higher and begin pushing.   Still holding her leg, I was standing on my tippy-toes trying to brace myself against the weight of her push.  I told someone I was on my tippy-toes and they brought me a stool, which was a relief.  I remember thinking I didn't have the strength to keep holding her leg and it would have been terribly embarrassing if I gave up before Ellen did.   Ellen pushed just three times and during the last push, at 3:17 PM,  we were instructed to go watch our son being born.  Jason was always a bit reluctant about doing that- I think most men are uncomfortable about that with their own wives, never mind someone else wife.  All that discomfort went out the window when, mid-push, Ellen looked at Jason and said "Get down there!".

I cannot adequately describe what that felt like.  It was truly surreal.  When I first saw the crowning I was in shock.  His head was itty-bitty- like a kewpie doll- and I was like- oh my god, he really is a tiny baby!  As more of his head came out I saw that it wasn't quite as small as I initially thought.  He was small, but he was amazing.  Dr. Ramani pulled him out and placed him on Ellen's stomach and you know what? I didn't even care.   I think it was probably just habit for the doctor to lay the baby on the woman and when he realized what he did, he looked back at me like "Oh crap- I wasn't supposed to do that, was I?" I just said "It's okay, it's okay" with tears streaming down my face, then went to Ellen and said "He deserves to go on you first because of all that". He was just on her for a few seconds- they clamped the cord, Jason cut it,  and then the NICU team whisked him away.

They began examining him while Jason and I looked on.  He was crying, which is a good sign, but I guess his breathing was a bit coarse. They said this was because he came so quick and didn't have time for his lungs to get cleared in the birth canal.   They spent several minutes, which felt like hours, attempting to clear his passageways by sticking a tube up his nose and down his throat and using the bulb in his mouth and nose.  They were all business and it was pretty scary.  I finally asked if he was okay and if he failed his APGAR, and they assured me that he got a 9 and an 8 and was just fine.

Finally, they let us have him and the nurse helped me into my Nuroo shirt.  As soon as he was all nestled up inside of the shirt, skin-to-skin, I no longer felt crazy for wearing it. I just felt like mom. At last.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you are reading this on your phone,  you may want to go to a computer when you can and watch these videos.  After we were home about four days Jason said "Oh yeah, I forgot about these".  Apparently he snuck a few videos during and just after the birth.  They are so amazing.  It was really interesting to watch it back.  There have been a few times in my life when I have just wailed- when I could hear this sound coming from me and wasn't sure where it was coming from.  Up to this point, those times were following a miscarriage.  It was surreal to hear that same sound coming from tears of joy.  And my exclamations, "Oh my G-d, Oh my G-d, Oh my G-d"! That was fitting too.  Our son's name is Jaden Court.   We knew early on that if we had a girl, his middle name would be Ellen.  Since it was a boy, we chose Ellen's maiden name, Court, to honor her and so that he would always know his birth story.   His first name is Hebrew for "G-d has heard".  Indeed he has.

Introducing Jaden Court

Little man arrived yesterday at 3:13 PM.  5lbs15.4oz and 19 inches of perfection.  We couldn't be happier.

  

This is what five years of waiting to be parents looks like...

We are eternally grateful to these two who helped us become a family...and who are now part of our family too!

I will update about the birth story later...

All We Need Now is the Baby!

We've been waiting a long time for this baby, which also means we've had a long time to think about the nursery decor.  We knew we wanted to do something music-themed and I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and Project Nursery trying to find something I liked.  While those gave me some good ideas, I didn't quite see what I wanted. Fortunately, I have an in-house graphic artist so decided we would be doing a lot of the design ourselves.  By we, I really mean Jason, though I am the art director in the family.  I found this cute guitar-playing chick on Pinterest and asked Jason if he could come up with something similar for the nursery.  

I was thinking maybe different animals playing instruments but Jason came up with an even better idea.

 

He went on to represent some of our favorite artists.  How great are these?

We also framed lyrics from some of our favorite songs that deliver a message for Baby O. These include "I got you. I got everything" (Jack Johnson) "Decide what to be and go be it"(The Avett Brothers)  "See the path cut by the moon for you to walk on" (Pearl Jam) and "Don't worry about a thing" (Bob Marley).  We arranged the framed artists and lyrics over the dresser.

We put "Here Comes the Sun"  (The Beatles) over the crib.  I had originally planned to hang the Dave Matthews lyrics "Wake up sleepy head, I think the sun's a little brighter today" on the other wall, but Jason randomly found a lighthouse print while at the thrift shop looking for frames for the artwork. He knew it belonged on the wall instead. Once again, we could feel the presence of Jason's father.

For the final touch, we painted some IKEA spice racks and used them for book shelves (thanks pinterest!)

And thanks to Ellen for gifting us so many amazing books. We can't wait to read them to Baby O- especially the ones with the sweet inscriptions! 

Here's a panoramic-ish shot of the room. In the corner we hung the first guitar Jason ever owned, a gift from his father when he was twenty years old.  Jason was so excited about finally owning a guitar that he would just stare at it from across the room.  Now Baby O can do the same! 

Jason and I also created a "Songs from the Nursery" playlist and gave each of our amazing baby shower hostesses a CD.  The playlist is filled with some of our favorite artists that are represented in the nursery as well as songs that really resonated for us along this journey.  One in particular, the Bob Marley song "Coming In From the Cold" with the lyric "When one door is closed, don't you know, many more is open" really hits home.  Another really meaningful song is "Father, Son".  Jason discovered this song about a year after his father passed away when he decided to make a tribute video for him.  Click here to see that incredible video (but be sure to grab your kleenex).  It's really special that the song will take on new meaning with the birth of Baby O.   Here's our  "Born to Rock"  playlist. If you have Spotify, you can listen now.  Enjoy!

Birth Plan Schmurf Plan

On Friday we went to the OB/GYN for the beta Strep B test and a cervical check as Ellen was 36w2d.  Since ours is a unique birthing situation, I decided to come up with a birth preference plan in order to minimize confusion.  Ellen has never used a birth plan with any of her prior pregnancies knowing that plans don't really mean anything when it comes to actual delivery.  Still, she agreed that it would make sense to have something in writing so that the hospital was aware that Jason and I are to make all medical decisions following his birth.  I scoured the internet trying to find birth plans for surrogates and intended parents and really only found this.   My sister-in-law gave us a copy of her birth preference (she took the word plan out of the name but I think we all know it was still a plan) and I used both of those sources as a guideline to for ours.  Both plans included a lot more information about labor preferences but since Ellen wasn't concerned about that, I omitted that part.  The main things I was concerned about was having delayed cord clamping and doing immediate skin-to-skin contact with the baby. 

I had my birth preference plan in hand when the doctor walked in.  He glanced at it and said in a somewhat snarky manner, "Oh  no, she's got it written down".  I told him that I'm really not  Type-A but wanted to have things in writing since this is such a unique situation.  He then said, "Well you might as well tell me what's in it because I'm going to have to read it anyway".  I told him about my two main preferences and to my dismay, he told me it wasn't possible.  "We can do delayed clamping- no problem.  But you can't do immediate skin-to-skin.  The baby will need to go on her belly (gesturing toward Ellen) because the cord will still be attached".  He went on to say that the NICU team will then need to assess him since he will likely be under 5lbs as he is IUGR.  NICU?!? IUGR?!?  These are terms I hadn't yet heard associated with my baby.  I knew he was measuring small, but I thought he was just SGA.  I told the doctor that and he said "They're the same thing".

So what are all these acronyms anyway? IUGR stands for Inter-uterine Growth Restriction (though I've also seen it referred to as  Growth Retardation) and refers to a baby that is not growing at the normal rate in the womb.  Specifically, it means the baby is below the 10th percentile.   Our baby has been measuring small since we first went to the specialist at 22 weeks.  This is why we have the weekly appointments with the specialist where they measure his growth every other week and do biophysical profiles on alternate weeks.  His biophysical profiles have always been perfect and the specialist has never given us any reason to believe that the baby would need the NICU.  I was quite alarmed to hear otherwise from the OB.  The specialist has always maintained that thought he is behind, he is likely just a small baby.  I'm just five feet and Ellen has never carried a baby over 6lbs 8oz, so its likely that the fact that Ellen grows smaller babies and the fact that his mom is small plays a role in his size.  I was under the impression that IUGR meant there is a problematic reason that the baby is measuring small (problem with blood flow from the cord, problems with the placenta, etc) but SGA (Small for Gestational Age) meant just that- the baby is small for his gestational age but there is no known cause. This doctor was suggesting otherwise and it was certainly concerning. 

Also concerning was the fact that I was told I could not do immediate skin-to-skin contact. Skin-to-skin contact (also known as kangaroo care) entails placing the newborn naked baby on the mother's chest immediately following birth.  Research has shown this helps regulate the baby's body temperature, respiration and glucose stability in addition to enhancing bonding and helping to promote lactation in nursing mothers.  Now, I obviously won't be nursing which is why skin-to-skin felt extra important for me. I really want to have that time to be finally be mom to this baby.  I even registered for a special shirt that I plan to wear during delivery so I can do kangaroo care.  It never occurred to me that I would be unable to do so right away. The doctor told me that I would get the baby once the cord was cut, though suggested that if he was under five pounds the NICU team would get him first.   Upon hearing that, I took the birth preference plan and threw it into the trash.  What was the point of having a preference plan when my preferences weren't going to be realized?  I know that the birth process is not typically what we imagine, but now all I could see was the baby being put on Ellen's stomach and not mine, and this image hurt.

After the appointment I talked to some well-intentioned family and friends, who assured me that I would have plenty of time to do skin-to-skin, that not doing it immediately wouldn't really make a difference, that I have his whole life to bond with him, etc etc.  And while all this is true, it didn't really help in the moment.  In the end, what it comes down to is if I was the one delivering my baby none of this would be an issue. It would be my belly he would be placed  upon.   I, once again, had to grieve the fact that I wouldn't get to deliver my baby.    Just when I thought I was done crying about this....

I shed my tears.  More than once.   Then I pulled myself together and met Jason and some friends for a quick bite before we saw Interstellar.   The next morning, Jason and I headed for a baby prep-filled day-  a Baby Essentials Class from 9-12 followed immediately by Infant CPR from 12-2.  I was a bit nervous about how I would feel being the only woman in the class who wasn't visibly pregnant, but soon realized we were all just clueless first-time parents learning to swaddle.  After the class we went over to our good friends home to pick up car seats and tons of baby toys that they so graciously passed along to us, dropped off an extra car seat at Jason's mom's house, and went to Buy Buy Baby to get some last minute essentials.   It was an educational, exciting, exhausting day but it helped me shift gears a bit beyond the delivery room and into baby's room.  

Ultimately, I decided that I am going to print out a new copy of the birth preference plan.  I think trashing it might have been a little rash.  I do still think its important that the hospital is aware of our situation.  I will likely make some changes on the new copy involving either asking for the skin-to-skin with the baby following the delayed cord clamping, or removing the delayed cord clamping request all together.  At a physician friend's recommendation, I did some more research on delayed cord clamping and it seems while it is beneficial for premature babies, it is not necessarily beneficial and may even prove harmful (causing dangerously high volume of red blood cells or increased risk of jaundice).  I intend to speak to the OB about this at our next meeting, and also want to express the reasons behind my desire for being the first to have skin-to-skin with the baby.  I am hopeful that together we can come up with a solution that is best for the baby but is also sensitive to our situation.

Oh, and about that baby being IUGR and being under 5lbs at birth? We went to the specialist again on Monday. The doctor confirmed what I had thought all along- there is constitutional IUGR (meaning baby is just constitutionally small) and pathological IUGR (meaning something is wrong with the baby or the womb that is preventing proper growth).  As suspected, he believes our baby is just constitutionally small.   And Baby O had a growth spurt!  He is 5lbs5oz and in the 7th percentile!  NICU SCHMICKU!

Since I had a hard time finding a Gestational Surrogate/Intended Parent Birth Plan to use as a guideline, I'm including my original one here.

ELLEN M (GESTATIONAL SURROGATE) AND JASON AND KERRI ORANSKY (BIOLOGICAL/INTENDED PARENTS) BIRTH PREFERENCE

Attendants: Chris M (Ellen’s husband) Jason and Kerri O (Intended Parents)

OB/GYN: Dr. Ramani, Eagles Landing OBGYN

            Pediatrician: Dr Deneta Sells, Intown Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine

We would like to thank the Piedmont Henry staff in advance for helping us achieve our goal of natural childbirth via gestational carrier!  Ellen M, the gestational surrogate, is carrying a baby boy that was conceived via Kerri O’s egg and Jason O’s sperm.  They are the biological parents of this baby and will be making all medical decisions for him upon birth.  We know this is a unique delivery situation and hope that with this plan we can minimize confusion and have a beautiful birth experience for all involved. Ellen has had four previous natural deliveries and would like to attempt a natural delivery for this baby as well. We are aware that childbirth is unpredictable and are willing to be flexible should Ellen or baby be in danger.  The below preferences have been discussed with Dr.Ramani.  We are aware that many of our preferences differ from the staff’s normal routine, so thank you for your support and understanding!

.

Delivery Preferences:

• We ask your support in assisting us to find the most effective and comfortable position for pushing (gravity-positive), and would ask to avoid directed pushing – allowing Ellen to push when the urge is felt.
• Natural tearing is strongly preferred in lieu of an episiotomy.  Please discuss with us if an

episiotomy is deemed medically necessary.

• Ellen would like to take the crowning stage slowly and requests warm compresses/perineal massage to help avoid any unnecessary tearing.

• We prefer the placenta be delivered naturally.
• To allow for bonding with the biological mother, we would like immediate skin-to-skin contact between Kerri  and the baby.  Please delay all tests for as long as possible.
• Delay cord clamping/cutting until pulsing has stopped, before it is cut by Jason.

Newborn Preferences:

• We do not want our baby to receive the HepB vaccine.
• We are planning an out-of-hospital circumcision procedure.
• If the baby needs to be taken to another area for testing, we request that a parent accompany him at all times.

Emergency Procedures:

• In the event of a C-section, we request that Kerri and Jason remain for the entirety of the surgery and for Kerri and Jason to stay with the baby until the family can be united.  If an additional person is allowed, Ellen would like her husband Chris to be present. If only one person is allowed, Kerri will be the designated person.
• We would like immediate skin-to-skin contact between Kerri and baby as soon as possible following delivery.
• If the baby requires NICU care, we request the right to feed and care for him as much as possible, including the opportunity to provide Kangaroo Care.

It's Almost Time to Go and Meet Your Mom

The other day I came across this song on Twitter.  Boy, did it get me.  Grab your kleenex...

And then yesterday, our little man finally showed his face for Daddy on a 3-D ultrasound. Not just any face either- look what he did for us! We are both so excited to meet this guy!