Well the big delivery day arrived on Monday, December 14th! I went to sleep on Sunday and kept waking up to check my phone. I kept dreaming that she was calling me to tell me that she was in labor. I received a phone call around 515am, I looked over my phone and didn't know if she was really calling me or if I was dreaming. I answered the phone and Ryan was telling me to head to the hospital that she lost her mucus plug. I jumped up and got into the shower. We rushed around the house to get dressed and head to the hospital. When I got out of the shower I called him back to ask if her water broke. He said no it didn't but they were told from the night doctor to go into the hospital. I made my round of phone calls to let my family know to head to the hospital. Mike and I were 15 min away when Ryan called to say that they were doing an emergency csection. I began to bawl like a baby... one, we were going to miss it all and two the only thing Jade wanted is a vaginal birth. Mike got upset that we were going to miss it and began to drive faster. I had to calm him down and tell him that we have to accept the fact that we missed it. We arrived to the hospital and checked into labor and delivery. The receptionist said she was getting prepped for the csection. Ryan continued to text me while we were waiting. I told him if they hadn't started that we would like to come back there. Next, a nurse from the OR came to get us. She explained that the babies were head down and they were going to try vaginal first. We had to get dressed into a jump suit, mask, hair net, and booties. I walked into the OR and saw Jade shaking on the table. They gave me a chair to sit right next her and I just rubbed her forehead and kept asking her if she was okay. The doctor explained that when she came in that she was 9 cm dilated. Once they got her an epidural and ready for labor, the doctor broke her water and she began to push. I sat right next to her cheering her own to push. I kept telling her how thankful I was for her and how I could never do this. I have to say that I was worried about the health of my babies but I was super concerned with her not having to do a c-section. I kept watching the doctors face and I could see that Jade was getting tired. I kept cheering her on to push and kept telling her she could do this. The next thing I know, Zoey was born at 807am. She was so long and so big for a twin. She was perfect in every way you could imagine. She weighed 5 lbs and 5oz. The OR nurses did such a good job of making us feel so important as parents. I got to cut the cord for Zoey, we got her foot prints on our shirts, and got to take pictures with her. While we had all our attention on Zoey, I could tell that something was going on in the background. Miss Kinsley Avis decided she finally had enough room that she would flip feet first. The doctor had to flip her back head down and when they did it pushed her back up. Jade had to push to get her back in the canal and then push to get her out. It took an 1.5 hours to do this. Jade was getting so tired but knew what she had to do and did it. Next thing we knew, Miss Kinsley Avis came into this world at 931am. She was beautiful and perfect but was having trouble breathing. Mikie got to cut her cord and they immediately gave her oxygen. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I didn't know what to think or what was really going on. She weighed 5.8lbs and 18.75 inches long. I was trying to enjoy my time with Kinsley but kept looking back at Jade. I had to go over to her and give her a big high five. I said, "You did it Jade, you had your vaginal delivery and you carried the girls longer than anyone thought. You proved so many people wrong and I'm so proud of you." She smiled really big and agreed. She wanted to see pictures of Zoey since the nurses took Zoey up to NICU. I showed her pictures and then we were off to NICU with Kinsley. We walked out into the waiting room where our big clan of family and friends were sitting. I think we took over the hospital that morning. They all ran over to Kinsley and took a few pictures. Mikie and I followed the nurses to NICU to their room. We got on the NICU floor and realized that the girls get their own room. I thought it was going to be one big room shared with other babies but not at this hospital. We got there and Zoey was sound asleep. The nurses began to give me all this paper work to fill out. I had to put special people on the list to come back to see the girls when Mikie and I werent there. I had to create a password to give the nurses over the phone to get any information on the girls. And....I had to do all of this times 2. LOL. Once we got the girls situated and all the paper work filled out then we went back to the L&D floor to bring family up three at a time. We were only allowed to have four people in the room at once. All of our family and friends were amazed at how beautiful the girls were and their size. It was a very long day at the hospital being there from about 630am til 1030pm. We didn't want to leave our babies side...it was the hardest thing to walk away from them that night.
The whole way home all Mikie and I could talk about is how we are parents. We couldn't believe that our day finally came. It was the most beautiful day EVER and an experience that I will NEVER forget. It brings tears to my eyes!
My girls spent 3 weeks in NICU. It was the most exhausting 3 weeks of my life. We formed relationship with some of the nurses and will never forget all they did for us and our girls. We got tired of sitting on the couch all day long, eating out was so over rated, and we just wanted our girls home. The girls were doing so well but they were too lazy to take a bottle for every feeding. People have the wrong perception of NICU and what determines a baby coming home. It is not weight or age...its all about maintaining their own temperature, gaining weight, and taking all 8 feedings from bottle. It is a lot of work for babies to get all of those down. They may maintain their own temperature but then they may lose weight from burning so many calories trying to stay warm. The bottle feedings is something that takes babies a little while too. The nurses kept telling us that a light bulb would go off in their brain and they would begin to suck down every bottle. I just didn't believe them because how could a baby just change one day....but boy they were right. Literally the girls went from not taking all their bottles to taking all of their bottles in 24 hours. Each feeding they took in a bottle was a big milestone and would put the biggest smile on our face. The first week they were in NICU, Mikie didn't go to work at all. He was right by our side the whole day. I love watching him be a father and all the nurses commented on how they've never met a Dad like him. I finally talked him into going back to work and letting me handle the mornings alone with them. My mom never missed a day so I was never really alone for long. When I started going up there alone, I began to do more skin to skin and that made a huge difference. Once I started doing that then the girls began to click on the bottles and the body temperature. I made sure to do that every morning that I was there. Each day the girls got better and better. Christmas rolled around and Santa came to visit them. It was so cute to get their picture done with him. He was not allowed to hold them for infection reasons but we still got him standing next to them. We spent Christmas at the hospital and left to do lunch at my sister's house. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO nice to eat home cooked food. We were so tired of eating out. The girls began to grasp everything the last week they were in the NICU. They were gaining weight, maintaining temperature, and began to take all of their bottles. I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The last night they were in the hospital, I was asked by the doctors to stay the night and get up with the girls at each of their feedings. I stayed up there and did it. I was so exhausted the next morning because the couch was NOT comfortable at all. It was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever slept on. LOL. The next morning, Mikie showed up with the car and car seats. We were ready to go HOME!!! The discharge papers were done quickly and we were on our way home by 12:00. We were smiling ear to ear the whole way to the car....we were FINALLY taking the girls home!!!!
I have to say that being home with the girls has been amazing. I enjoy being a stay at home mom! We have visitors daily, take naps, and mommy is able to clean house (WHICH I LOVE TO DO). Grandma and Grandpa live close by and come by often to see the girls. Grandma comes to the rescue when I need help too. Nana comes over once a week and we go to The Woodlands to see her. She has them spoiled rotten already...of course....spoiled like their momma!! :) We've had a few sleep overs at Nana's house too. I'm so thankful for all the help that we have received since we've gotten home. We've had friends cook dinner, bring us breakfast, etc. We are so blessed when it comes to friends! We take the girls out to dinner at least once a week and they are so well behaved. They only get fussy when it's time to eat....but who doesn't get a little cranky when it's time to eat! HA! I've had so much fun dressing them up, putting big bows on their head, and taking pictures. I'm so glad that I had girls because I don't know what I would do with boys. Mikie wanted a boy so bad when we started our journey but now he says that he is sooooooooooooooo glad that he had girls. He doesn't care if he ever has a boy or not. He will truly understand the meaning of Daddy's little girl now. He use to tease me about me being a spoiled daddy's girl and now he has two that will be spoiled daddy's girls! :):) I love it!
Jade is back to her little itty bitty size and now she is about to tip over from her HUGE boobs. LOL! She is pumping away and pumping over 100 ounces a day!!! (Another thing that some doubted her on) We are so thankful that she is pumping to give our girls the best milk ever. She comes out to the house about once a week and I try to make a trip to Rosenberg as well. Our friendship has grown so much and I only see it growing even more. We only knew of each other and saw each other from time to time at Kristina's house. Jade has a unique personality and is NOTHING like me. She is so much like my sister. Throughout the surrogacy, we grew so close to each other. She is more than just my surrogate, more than the girls Auntie, and will be apart of our family forever!!! I'm so thankful for her and all that she has done for us. In the beginning, it was hard to accept the fact that I couldn't carry on my own but after watching the delivery....I'm okay with just having my babies handed over to me! HA! I had no recovery, no need to try to lose baby weight, and I still got my miracle babies!! Fertility issues SUCK....I'm not going to sugar coat it at all. It will be some of your toughest days. You will want to scream, cry, get angry at God, and give up. I beg all of you women out there NOT to give up. If you become a mother through IVF, IUI, adoption, surrogacy, etc....you are just as good of a mother as a woman who gets pregnant naturally....and really your bond with your baby will be even more special than those who get pregnant naturally because you've been through so much to have your baby. If you go through surrogacy, do everything you can to form the best relationship with your surrogate. Don't be afraid that they might get too "close" to your baby. A surrogate knows exactly what they are getting themselves into when they sign up. They also have to go through screening to make sure they aren't emotional like that. I have no worries at all that Jade is getting too close to my girls or too attached. She has a special bond with them because she carried them of course but she knows her boundaries. I think you should keep in contact with your surrogate as well. I know its different because Jade and I knew a little bit about each other prior. If you go through an agency, try staying in contact with your surrogate, send them pictures, etc. No one says they have to see your baby everyday but I think it's important to stay in contact. My girls will be told about our journey and they will know that Auntie Jade carried them. I have no shame that surrogacy was our route. It will just show my girls what extent I went to have them. And who knows.....maybe one day I'll still get pregnant on my own. No one says its impossible but just a little harder. Stay positive to your friends who are facing fertility issues. NEVER try to give them advice like, "keep your feet up for 30 minutes", "take a trip", "relax", etc. Obviously if a person realizes they have some fertility issues, then they have done EVERYTHING to try on their own. It may have worked for you, your friend, your cousin, your sister, etc but doesn't mean that it will work for everyone. AND, fertility issues is NOT God's way of saying you don't need to be a mom....that is a bunch of BS and people just hating. God wouldn't have created scientist, fertility drugs, or fertility doctors to help people become parents if that was the case. Stay positive and keep your head up. Your miracle baby will come and it will be the BEST damn day of your life!
The whole way home all Mikie and I could talk about is how we are parents. We couldn't believe that our day finally came. It was the most beautiful day EVER and an experience that I will NEVER forget. It brings tears to my eyes!
My girls spent 3 weeks in NICU. It was the most exhausting 3 weeks of my life. We formed relationship with some of the nurses and will never forget all they did for us and our girls. We got tired of sitting on the couch all day long, eating out was so over rated, and we just wanted our girls home. The girls were doing so well but they were too lazy to take a bottle for every feeding. People have the wrong perception of NICU and what determines a baby coming home. It is not weight or age...its all about maintaining their own temperature, gaining weight, and taking all 8 feedings from bottle. It is a lot of work for babies to get all of those down. They may maintain their own temperature but then they may lose weight from burning so many calories trying to stay warm. The bottle feedings is something that takes babies a little while too. The nurses kept telling us that a light bulb would go off in their brain and they would begin to suck down every bottle. I just didn't believe them because how could a baby just change one day....but boy they were right. Literally the girls went from not taking all their bottles to taking all of their bottles in 24 hours. Each feeding they took in a bottle was a big milestone and would put the biggest smile on our face. The first week they were in NICU, Mikie didn't go to work at all. He was right by our side the whole day. I love watching him be a father and all the nurses commented on how they've never met a Dad like him. I finally talked him into going back to work and letting me handle the mornings alone with them. My mom never missed a day so I was never really alone for long. When I started going up there alone, I began to do more skin to skin and that made a huge difference. Once I started doing that then the girls began to click on the bottles and the body temperature. I made sure to do that every morning that I was there. Each day the girls got better and better. Christmas rolled around and Santa came to visit them. It was so cute to get their picture done with him. He was not allowed to hold them for infection reasons but we still got him standing next to them. We spent Christmas at the hospital and left to do lunch at my sister's house. It was SOOOOOOOOOOO nice to eat home cooked food. We were so tired of eating out. The girls began to grasp everything the last week they were in the NICU. They were gaining weight, maintaining temperature, and began to take all of their bottles. I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The last night they were in the hospital, I was asked by the doctors to stay the night and get up with the girls at each of their feedings. I stayed up there and did it. I was so exhausted the next morning because the couch was NOT comfortable at all. It was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever slept on. LOL. The next morning, Mikie showed up with the car and car seats. We were ready to go HOME!!! The discharge papers were done quickly and we were on our way home by 12:00. We were smiling ear to ear the whole way to the car....we were FINALLY taking the girls home!!!!
I have to say that being home with the girls has been amazing. I enjoy being a stay at home mom! We have visitors daily, take naps, and mommy is able to clean house (WHICH I LOVE TO DO). Grandma and Grandpa live close by and come by often to see the girls. Grandma comes to the rescue when I need help too. Nana comes over once a week and we go to The Woodlands to see her. She has them spoiled rotten already...of course....spoiled like their momma!! :) We've had a few sleep overs at Nana's house too. I'm so thankful for all the help that we have received since we've gotten home. We've had friends cook dinner, bring us breakfast, etc. We are so blessed when it comes to friends! We take the girls out to dinner at least once a week and they are so well behaved. They only get fussy when it's time to eat....but who doesn't get a little cranky when it's time to eat! HA! I've had so much fun dressing them up, putting big bows on their head, and taking pictures. I'm so glad that I had girls because I don't know what I would do with boys. Mikie wanted a boy so bad when we started our journey but now he says that he is sooooooooooooooo glad that he had girls. He doesn't care if he ever has a boy or not. He will truly understand the meaning of Daddy's little girl now. He use to tease me about me being a spoiled daddy's girl and now he has two that will be spoiled daddy's girls! :):) I love it!
Jade is back to her little itty bitty size and now she is about to tip over from her HUGE boobs. LOL! She is pumping away and pumping over 100 ounces a day!!! (Another thing that some doubted her on) We are so thankful that she is pumping to give our girls the best milk ever. She comes out to the house about once a week and I try to make a trip to Rosenberg as well. Our friendship has grown so much and I only see it growing even more. We only knew of each other and saw each other from time to time at Kristina's house. Jade has a unique personality and is NOTHING like me. She is so much like my sister. Throughout the surrogacy, we grew so close to each other. She is more than just my surrogate, more than the girls Auntie, and will be apart of our family forever!!! I'm so thankful for her and all that she has done for us. In the beginning, it was hard to accept the fact that I couldn't carry on my own but after watching the delivery....I'm okay with just having my babies handed over to me! HA! I had no recovery, no need to try to lose baby weight, and I still got my miracle babies!! Fertility issues SUCK....I'm not going to sugar coat it at all. It will be some of your toughest days. You will want to scream, cry, get angry at God, and give up. I beg all of you women out there NOT to give up. If you become a mother through IVF, IUI, adoption, surrogacy, etc....you are just as good of a mother as a woman who gets pregnant naturally....and really your bond with your baby will be even more special than those who get pregnant naturally because you've been through so much to have your baby. If you go through surrogacy, do everything you can to form the best relationship with your surrogate. Don't be afraid that they might get too "close" to your baby. A surrogate knows exactly what they are getting themselves into when they sign up. They also have to go through screening to make sure they aren't emotional like that. I have no worries at all that Jade is getting too close to my girls or too attached. She has a special bond with them because she carried them of course but she knows her boundaries. I think you should keep in contact with your surrogate as well. I know its different because Jade and I knew a little bit about each other prior. If you go through an agency, try staying in contact with your surrogate, send them pictures, etc. No one says they have to see your baby everyday but I think it's important to stay in contact. My girls will be told about our journey and they will know that Auntie Jade carried them. I have no shame that surrogacy was our route. It will just show my girls what extent I went to have them. And who knows.....maybe one day I'll still get pregnant on my own. No one says its impossible but just a little harder. Stay positive to your friends who are facing fertility issues. NEVER try to give them advice like, "keep your feet up for 30 minutes", "take a trip", "relax", etc. Obviously if a person realizes they have some fertility issues, then they have done EVERYTHING to try on their own. It may have worked for you, your friend, your cousin, your sister, etc but doesn't mean that it will work for everyone. AND, fertility issues is NOT God's way of saying you don't need to be a mom....that is a bunch of BS and people just hating. God wouldn't have created scientist, fertility drugs, or fertility doctors to help people become parents if that was the case. Stay positive and keep your head up. Your miracle baby will come and it will be the BEST damn day of your life!
