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It's a BOY!!! |
Baby's Name
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Joshua Maxwell
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Date of Birth
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February 27, 2001
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Congratulations to the Proud Parents
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B & P, the 2 most wonderful IF's in the world!!!
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And to their Special Surrogate
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Shannon A.
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Time of Birth
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5:43pm
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Baby's weight
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7 lbs. 2 oz.
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Baby's Length
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19 inches
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Birth Story:
On Monday, Feb. 26th, I called my IF's to chat and give
them an update on how I was feeling. I was miserable, my feet and
ankles were so swollen that I could barely move them, and I also wanted
to see if they had their bags packed and ready to go, just in case.
Well, they didn't, and I lectured them on how babies don't follow a
schedule and Joshua could arrive at anytime, and they should be ready
to hop on a plane at a moment's notice (they were scheduled to fly out
here on the 9th, and my due date was the 13th).
That night I didn't feel very well, and I was up until almost 3am. I
finally went to bed and tossed and turned, feeling kind of queasy,
until 4:15am when I finally dozed off. I had a dream that a nurse told
me to go to the bathroom, and after I did I told her that there had
been a bit of blood so I assumed that I had lost my mucus plug. Right
at that moment I sat straight up in bed and realized that the bed was
soaking wet, my water had broke!!! I called my IF's at 6am and said
"remember that conversation yesterday and the lecture I gave you? Well,
I hope you got your bags packed because my water broke!" I went to the
hospital about 7:30am, and was having mild contractions up until they
gave me the pitocin, which was at 2pm. Within minutes of receiving the
pitocin, they became frequent and painful. I received my epidural (this
was my first, I never had an epidural with my first 2 pregnancies)at
about 3:30pm, I was dilated to almost 5 at that time, and I even told
my anesthesiologist that I was in love with him. Those epidurals are
great!!!! Anyhow, at about 5pm I started getting the shakes really bad,
normally this happens AFTER I deliver, so I was really surprised by
this. The nurses covered me in extra blankets but it didn't help, and
so my Aunt, who is an RN also, told the nurse that she thought this was
my body's way of saying it was "time", and she should check me. Right
before she did, I felt a strange feeling, almost like my catheter had
popped out (it didn't hurt though), and some pressure. They got me in
position, and I started a few pushes at about 5:30pm. My IF's weren't
able to get a flight out in time, they were due to arrive at about
11pm. While on the plane, they decided to call (my friend had her cell
phone with her) as they were flying over Modesto on their way into San
Francisco airport (I was in the hospital in Modesto) to check in and
see how I was doing. This call came in at 5:40pm, and my friend put the
phone over the doctor's shoulder as I pushed Joshua out at 5:43pm. They
got to hear his first cry, and the whole plane started cheering and
congratulating them. Now is that fate or what? I still can't believe
that they called when they did.
Joshua came out really fast (I only pushed about 3 times), and had the
cord wrapped around his neck pretty tightly, so his whole face was
black and blue from bruising. He gave us quite a scare in the
beginning, but the bruising cleared up in about 4 days, and he is
prefectly healthy! He weighed in at 7lbs 2oz, and was 19 inches long.
I kept him in my room with me throughout my stay at the hospital (48
hours), we all left the hospital at the same time, and my IF's stayed
in town with him for a little over 2 weeks after (they rented a place),
so I visited every day and breastfed him, and also pumped my milk for
Joshua, which I continue to do (I send it to them). They went back home
on the 15th, and it was really hard to say goodbye, but they have
called me everyday since they left, so that has helped!!! I hope that
all surrogates can have the same close, loving relationship that I have
with my IF's. I am so thankful every day for having them in my life
(and my family as well), and am looking forward to visiting them in the
near future. I will most likely do this again for them since Joshua
needs a sibling!!
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