This is definitely the post I have been most excited to write: the story of the babies being born! I thought about writing an earlier post with my plans for birth, but honestly I wasn’t sure how things would go and I felt like I might jinx myself. At the end of my pregnancy, things continued to go smoothly for myself and the babies. I felt lucky that everyone remained healthy and the pregnancy remained uncomplicated. I felt like I was “full term” – huge, uncomfortable, and ready to deliver – earlier with these twins than I did with my previous pregnancies, but overall I was surprised how well my body handled everything.
I continued working into my 37th week, and only missed what would have been my last shift prior to delivery. I was really sleepy all the time and napped every chance I got. I had some expected side effects, like swollen feet and sore hips and lower back, but nothing too crazy. I was really relieved and happy once my IPs arrived in town. It was great knowing they were nearby and would almost certainly be there to see their babies born. It also meant baby watch had officially begun! It was a little hard not to feel like the pressure was on. When they were in the air en route to Oregon, I texted them the updates from a routine doctor’s appointment, including that I was 3 cm dilated. I then went about my day and eventually went to bed. While I was asleep they got my message using the in flight WiFi, and immediately wanted to know: was I in labor? What did the 3 cm mean? I wasn’t awake to explain that nothing was happening, so they had to sit through the flight not knowing what was going on! They even booked a rental car from the air in case they needed to meet me at the hospital ASAP. I think the misunderstanding is funny in retrospect, but I still feel bad for inciting a panic. I was happy to know that my doctor had a deadline of 38 weeks. If I hadn’t delivered by then she planned to induce, which is indicated with twins.
We discussed all the options for my birth, including a scheduled C-section or trying for a vaginal birth if both babies were in a good position. Luckily Baby A seemed to be stuck head down; he was always in a great position for delivery, and Baby B moved around a lot but was usually in a good position also. My strong preference was to avoid surgery as long as it was safe to do so. I also wanted to have a natural/ unmedicated birth if I could, but I knew that might not happen. My IPs were great and supportive of whatever type of birth was needed and wanted. It was really fun spending time with them while we waited, but everyone was getting impatient and excited for the babies to come. Eventually my doctor decided to schedule my induction, as I just kept being pregnant despite having some signs that labor might be soon. During my second trimester she would always joke, “Okay see you soon, stay pregnant!” But at my last appointment she said “Oh no, what are you doing still pregnant?!?” It was a busy week at labor and delivery (the result of a cold, snowy winter I think) and we were told we would probably get our induction bumped down until later in the week… but that if we didn’t get a phone call to show up at 7:15 AM and get ready to have babies! Of course no one slept that night waiting on a phone call, which never came… which meant we got to be induced!
Surrogacy is a long and exciting journey, and Nicole has invited us to join her for hers from start to finish. Follow along as Nicole shares important milestones and her thoughts along the way.
Stay tuned to the blog for Part Two of the story!
