Leading Up to the Big Day
I had been induced for all 3 of my own children, varying from 41-39.5 weeks. With how big this baby was measuring and my own inclination to keep with my routine, I had a scheduled induction at 39 weeks. However, at 37 weeks I was 3cm dilated and started to feel some more of the early signs of labor progressing, she was sitting so low, I had cramping and even some contractions. Considering I had checked in at .5cm at 39.5 weeks with my last pregnancy, I started to think I might actually go into labor before the scheduled induction. I was nervous and excited to think about things going differently, I had my bag packed and even added a pad under my bed sheet in case my water broke. The dads were so excited to be around at the end of pregnancy, they checked with the Dr at every appointment in the 3rd trimester if they would make it in enough time being 10 days earlier than induction. But alas, 39 weeks came and I checked in for my induction.
Delivery Day
I had already shared parking recommendations to the IPs and coordinated on our plan to meet up in the lobby for check in. They traveled from out of state to be in town 10 days before the scheduled induction. They were well settled and excited for the delivery day to finally arrive. to fill out paperwork and head to the delivery room. We had had one of the warmest summers on record with dozens of days in the triple digits but had a surprising cool streak that week. It was even cloudy most of the day as we looked out the windows.
Support System
I had my husband and both the IP dads at the hospital during induction. Checked in at about 4cm so I was hopeful it would be a quick day. Much to my disappointment, they had to crank up the Pitocin slowly and my body didn’t dive right in so it took several hours for contractions to really kick in. We all chatted together, took some walks around the halls, and relaxed while we waited for the contractions to get working. 
I tried to enjoy the low-key time in the hospital, especially trying to help make sure any last words of wisdom were passed along to the IPs. I wanted to do my best to help them feel like part of the process and make sure they could talk to her and feel her (and contractions) as we went through the long day together. 5 hours in, I asked if we could break the water to try speeding up the process since I was feeling pretty light contractions and seemed like I had to be active to keep them regular. To that point, everything felt about as it had with my last two deliveries, and I wasn’t feeling stressed about anything- just waiting for the meds to really get things going. When they broke my water, I had an excessive amount of fluid and continued to leak as I tried to make a few more laps. It was pointed out the copious amount of fluid was probably one of the reasons contractions had felt so minimal. Within an hour or two, contractions got quite uncomfortable, only slightly alleviated by my sitting on the medicine ball. After an hour of contractions getting steady and painful, I asked for an epidural after being only 5cm at my next check. I was so grateful by the time they got the epidural in, I couldn’t imagine sitting around for hours of those contractions as my body progressed at the rate of 1 cm every 3-4 hours. After about an hour of resting comfortably in bed, I started to feel the immense pressure building. The dr came in about then to see how I was doing, I suggested we check to see if I was getting closer and turns out I was already 10cm and very ready to start pushing. I was happy the same ‘feelings’ seemed to be getting me through the process at record pace for me.
Time to Push!
To that point, everything had gone about how I expected and I was feeling thrilled it took only 90 minutes on an epidural to go from 5-10cm. I started a couple practice pushes while they finished setting up, and I was ready to roll. It took me less than 15 minutes to push, and only that long because contractions spaced out so far- 3 contractions, some very big pushes and we got that baby girl into her daddies’ arms.
My husband held my hand and brushed my hair back took those big breaths of relief. I was glad I had my husband with me throughout the morning since I really didn’t know how the timing would work out. And having him with me meant that the dads could take some walks, get a meal or just take some time preparing amidst the anticipation. The labor process I had planned seemed to work just about right.
The Unplanned
After delivery, I shared my congratulations with the dads while they started skin to skin before cord clamping. Nurses had to help a little with getting baby girl to cry really good and get her perked up a bit while my Dr worked on helping get my placenta delivered. Unfortunately, my placenta was too well attached and after 10 minutes being elbow deep in my uterus, I was still bleeding and they could not seem to get all the remnants out. They did an ultrasound and tried their best to clean me out while the dads and baby girl did their bonding and Apgar test in an adjoining room. Nothing like that had happened to me before but my dr calmly explained some options about doing a D&C right there or going to the operating room. After a few more attempts at grabbing remaining placenta and measuring how much blood I had lost, I started to get woozy and they decided to rush me to the surgery room. As they rolled me out, I nearly lost consciousness and vomited down the hallway, I had severe shaking as they tried to secure me on the operating table. Everyone was very calm and reassuring but I felt pretty awful for a few minutes. Everything in the operating room felt like it was in slow motion as I watched from above. I could not have been more grateful for an amazing epidural so they could quickly do the D&C while also trying to get some blood back in me. They were able to finally slow the bleeding enough to avoid further complications but had me on watch for the next 6 hrs to make sure my bleeding did subside.
Recovery
Once I was stable, I got moved to a recovery room where they finished pumping me full of more than 4 liters of blood, and an IV full of Pitocin. I felt calm considering all that had almost happened but was slowly realizing how serious the situation had been. I was grateful to have my husband by my side, my sister and parents come to visit and news from the dads that all was going well for them. I was anxious to hear how big the baby was (she felt big coming out) and let them know I wouldn’t be able to pump right away. Yet, I had never felt so incapacitated, I couldn’t even hold the straw for a drink of water. My hands had swollen so much from the transfusion, liquids and Pitocin, I couldn’t bend my fingers for hours.
I was so uncomfortable; all I could focus on was being able to move and make sure I didn’t have to go back in for surgery. I was a little grateful though for the situation that made it easy to not have a baby in my arms. I wondered how they were doing, but there was no question that I had to focus on my recovery while they all got to bond together. It felt natural to have my family around me and be able to see that little baby girl so loved by her family. In the following days, I did start to pump as my ‘complete rest’ quickly improved my complexion and capacity. I wanted to finish what I started and make sure I could help supply them with a little liquid gold, especially while they were still going to be in town for a few days. I was grateful for the chance to hold her, enjoy the treat that it is to get to hold any little bundle that small. As the weeks went by, I did the pumping I was planning and a lot more resting as my energy slowly started to return. Life resumed around me and as I finished pumping, it felt like the whole thing was part of another life. I had the gift of being connected to a beautiful family in the making – now I was getting back to mine.
My Amazing Agency
I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the STS family and am especially forever grateful for the IP’s they matched me up with. It was such a special experience to feel like family and give a gift to such a wonderful, caring couple. Stronger Together Surrogacy felt like the right choice for me: From all the little presents along the way, to having a Facebook group constantly on standby for every question, celebration or concern and my coordinator just a call away made the whole experience better.
Dear Future Surrogates…
Have confidence in your body and that all will work in the time it is meant to. I was not expecting the anxiety I felt for so much of the pregnancy. From whether every shot was timed right or in the right spot to
whether I walked around too much after the transfer, the worry was always there. With my own, I was never worried something abnormal was going to happen. But since I was taking care of someone else’s treasure, I couldn’t help but feel worried about everything that might happen. I so badly wanted everything to go well, I got swept up in the ‘what if’ worry realm far too often. All of that worry during the pregnancy and yet the delivery was the only thing that didn’t go as planned & being surrounded by my people and doctors I trusted made all the difference for me.
Birth Stories
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