The birth of baby girl K!!

Thursday, November 20th, my sweet surrogate baby arrived in the world. Here's a shortened version of what happened. Yes, this is shortened. LOL.. .. ..

I worked my six-hour day on Wednesday, November 19. After work I went to the OB for my final appointment to settle the plans for the induction the next day. I was a little overly swollen, but I figured it was just because I was in the last week of pregnancy. Until I got on the scale.. .. ..and had gained five pounds in 8 days. So not good.. .. .. The nurse ran the urine, which came back fine. Then she took my BP.. .. .. then she took it again. CRAP. We all know what THAT means. LOL. Sure enough, she asked me to lay down for 10 minutes and she'd take it again -- it had come up at 160/92. YIKES.

So my OB comes in and is concerned about the BP. Well, yeah, he should be. He tells me that if the nurse runs it again and it's still high then I'm headed across the street to the hospital immediately. If not, then we'll talk about Thursday. She comes back in and ......... still 160/96. So, he decides to check me before sending me. Okay, nice two, but tight.. .. .. and he continues to dig around. HOLY HELL that whole "stripping of the membranes" and "assisted stretching" is for the birds!! OUCH. So he gets me to a "soft" 2 and sends me across the street to be admitted. I am freaking out! I have no plans for the kids, no bag (it's at home, ugh), and NO SUPPORT PERSON!! AGGGHHH. I call and get the kids settled and organized and call my IP's. They were already on their way up, so instead of stopping at the BIL's on the way they decide to come straight to the hospital. The nurse got me checked in and ran the BP again... now up to 160/104. YIKES. Crazy lady starts talking Mag and emergency c-section!!! Talk about freakin' a girl out!! Luckily the bp finally came down a little (always between 135-150/85-95) but stable enough to just keep me through the night for observation. No drugs were ever needed for the bp, thank goodness. It made for a nice evening, actually. I got to spend some great time with my IP's and my mom came up and spent a few hours with me. (Which we haven't been very close and she's never really supported my surrogacies, so this was a biggg deal).

Anywho, we held tight over night.

FAST FORWARDISH~~ We started the induction on Thursday. They count my labor as starting at 11:30 a.m. as I finally got a normal contraction patern. My IP's were with me the whole time which was great. Nikki (anikkim0915) arrived around 2:00 p.m. I was so happy to see her!! My labor partner was finally there. LOL.

Things were slow going to say the least. After they broke my water I started getting some gooood contractions. My hips and back were KILLING me. She was wedged wrong .. .. ..way wrong.

At 6:50 p.m. my nurse came in to check me. I had been given two doses of Stadol at that point and was hurting BAD still. She checked me and I was a big whopping FIVE. UGH. At that point I conceeded to an epidural. I was hurting too much and too tired to make it to a ten.. .. ..

So my day nurse said she'd start setting it up and have my night nurse finish it up when she came on at 7:00 p.m. At about 7:10 my night nurse came in and I was in the middle of a gooood contraction. My night nurse, Tasha, was amazing. She talked me through it and was ready to check me when it was over. She checked and said, "You aren't a five anymore"... I thought for sure I was a three and going backwards quickly!! NO, I was AN EIGHT. So she asked if I still wanted the epidural - she would fudge to the doctor and get it done. I said no, if we were that close let's just finish it.

So she told me to roll over onto my hands and knees. I hurt so bad I could barely move. She and Nikki helped me and BOY HOWDY a contraction hit and I was pushing!!! I told Tasha after the cx passed that I was pushing and it was time. She checked and sure enough baby girl was on her way out!!! My doctor came running into the room, sits on the cloth with the clamps, sending them across the room, and yells "I still need a clamp... now!". Baby K came out in two pushes and was quickly hollering. Baby K was born at 7:23 p.m., 7 lbs. 3 oz, and 19 in. And a head of pretty black curly hair.. .. ..

Her daddy cut the cord while mommy watched. Then they handed her to her mom and was taken over to the heating bed. It was amazing. Seeing them meet her daughter was the most overwhelming PERFECT moment in time.

The following minutes, hours, and days were amazing with my IPs. They were so wonderful. They shared K with me all I wanted and we were able to spend some great time together.. .. ..

I have to say, it was my hardest labor but best recovery. I had no tearing, no issues, so I am bouncing back well. I have lost 36 pounds and am a size 8, smaller than I've been in YEARS. My bp is still a little high, so I am on meds for the next month, but that should regulate out soon. I feel good, though, and am already back to work part time. It's been a great experience.

M & J (mom and dad) have continued to be amazing. They called the following Monday, on Thanksgiving, this Monday.. .. .. they have shown me and the boys so much love and consider us family. They will ALWAYS be family to us. Always. This has been ana amazing journey and I am so blessed. They say they are, but I think we all have gained so much, so much more than words can express.. .. ..