Thursday, November 4, 2010

Our Story Continued...One last time.

So around November of 2009, we started looking into becomming surrogate parents. Their were many reasons. We got matched with a 40-something woman from china named Julia. She paid to have us come to NYC to meet with her. We did. After that meeting we kind of decided that we would like to have at least two of our own before proceeding with the surrogacy. so we wrote an apology letter and that was that. I bought an ovulation test because we wanted to get pregnant that month. we only bought one. and hoped that my cycle was really 28 days and that i ovulated on the 14th/15th day. December 16th was the first day of my period, and i counted the 14 days, then tested. Positive ovulation test! woo hoo! We were headed somewhere and Blake was in his car seat all bundled up. I came out to the kitchen and said to Tyler... we need to try now... i ovulated! LOL, so yeah that wasnt so romantic, Liz...but o well :)
During the next two weeks, we bought our first house. We were so proud of it! Blake had his own room! and WE OWNED IT!!! There was 3 bedrooms (is, cause we still live here) Two full ones and a nursery sized bedroom off the master bedroom. Its not a huge house, but will work nicely for about 5 yrs.
So we were still techniclly living at the apt when we bought about ten pregnancy tests. I tested at 11 days past ovulation, and i thought i saw something but Tyler didnt so i threw it away. same thing the next day. but then the next day, i tested and there was definitely a second line...extremely faint, but Tyler saw it too. i dug out the other tests and because they were a day or two old, the line showed a little better! WE WERE PREGNANT... AGAIN!
Never did I expect to get pregnant that quickly, because when i was a teenager I was diagnosed with PCOS. but i dont think that is an issue anymore, or isnt, because i was on birth control for so long to treat it. I felt so blessed. and excited!!
It was now 2010, and we were going to have baby number two! this pregnancy was so different, that i was SURE it was going to be a girl. Although i still had morning sickness, but not as long. gosh its crazy how when you are pregnant, you almost get used to throwing up. so then we had Blakes first birthday party...he still wasnt walking, but weighed so much, so it was hard to keep carrying him around. We had our 3d ultrasound (my birthday gift from tyler) and it was to check for the gender. i was 17 weeks pregnant. i went back about 5 times becuase the cord was in the way, or he was turned funny, etc. it was so frustrating. she said boy, but i didnt beleive her. she just didnt seem very knowledgeable. so i was delighted when at my routine 20 weeks ultrasound, it WAS in fact a boy! I was so excited to have two boys so close in age (and yet nervous at the same time).
Finally around 15 months, maybe a little after, blake began walking....i am SO glad he walks lol. i dont think i could have carried around 30 lbs of him any longer. everyone said, just wait, when he starts walking he will get into everything! Well, to all those people... you were wrong. blake was such a good crawler, that he already got into a lot. it was no different than that. and it was easier! i didnt have to be 8 months pregnant carrying him around! and he could finally get to what he wanted with aslmost no help from me. so there! negative nancy's.
Then came 37 weeks. On the day i turned 37 weeks, i went into labor for ten hours. yelling and moaning. and in a lot of pain. then it just....fizzled out. i had this on again off again labor for about a week. then it stopped completely. i couldnt believe i made it to 38 weeks...and then that i could have made it to 39! (my blood pressure had just bagan to rise so if i made it, i would have been induced at 39 weeks.)
Then came saturday...38 weeks, 3 days pregnant. i would have contractions every 15 minutes from morning til evening, then they kept getting closer and closer, until they stayed at about every7 minutes...but were EXTREMELY intense, and all in my back, i couldnt help but yell through them, let alone catch my breath if i could. i was unsure what to do because i was in SO much pain, and knew it was something because it almost hurt worse than my labor with blake.
I called, and they seemed hesitant, but we went in anyhow. I got hooked up and checked, and my cervix hadnt changed at all from my appt. but the contractions were very strong. they were going to send me home when all the sudden the moniters bagan beeping and a bunch of nurses and doctors rushed into my triage room. i had no clue what was happening. they drew blood, put in an iv, etc. the doctor told me that the babys heart rate was dropping dangerously lower with each contraction. she gave me two options.
neither of them included leaving the hospital. i could either have a c section right then. or i could wait it out a little and see if i start dilating at all. and see what his heart does. so i decided to wait it out ... unless of course he was in immediate danger. they wouldnt give me pain relief because his heart rate could be negatively affected by that. they didnt want to make a bad situation worse. so i labored for hours, with no progress, screaming until i could find my breath anymore, and until my voice was almost gone. i couldnt cope any more with the pain. my contractions were off the chart. and yet no progress...i was later told that he was partially sideways, and because his head wasnt pressing down, nothing was progressing my cervix. the doctor told me she would come back at 7am and check me again. my mom arrived to offer support and i was relieved she was there. she had 2 c sections before, and could make me feel okay about the choice to take it. at 7...no doctor...i pressed the nurse button and around 730 the doctor came in. "youre late" i said " sorry i got caught up" she said with an understanding smile. honestly, i think jordan would have made it ok...but who knew how long it would have taken...days? and i was in so much indescribable pain that i decided mostly for selfish reasons that i wanted to just be done. so i turned to tyler and asked him if he would be okay with me having a c section. he said i think we should just have him. you are in so much pain, and since you cant have any meds, and his heart rate is the way it is...and they cant speed up your labor any cz of his heart, i think we should just do it...but its your final choice liz. i will be fine either way.
with that i said to the doctor, when she arrived, can i still have a c section? she said yeah, his heart is still acting up, and you are in a lot of obvious pain. so why dont we. is that what you want? i groaned in pain and said yes! lets do this.
so with the pressing of a button, the doctor summoned all the appropriate personnel in to have me prepped, signing papers, shaved, etc. i decided to go poop then. and i was so thirsty. but i wasnt allowed to drink. the nurse made me walk to the OR. tyler was all scrubbed up, and waiting outside the OR til they said he could come in. so i entered alone. they had me sit on the table, and placed the spinal. but it didnt take, so they had to pull it out and poke me in the back again. this time it worked... which was good because i was worried it wouldnt like my epidural. they quickly rolled me on my back but i was having a contraction and still felt it so i didnt help that process much. then they said they were catheterizing me. which i hate. and i was so scared i would feel it but all i felt was the pee urge so it was fine. one it was placed and taped to my thigh, they set up the drapes and everyhting. then they prepped my belly and cleaned it. tyler was brought in and he stood by my side. i remember i had trouble breathing at first. not sure why now. they told me to tell them whenever i get nauseated. i felt her making the incision, but it was just like feeling someones fingernail scrape across your skin. i told her this and i think they upped the meds a little. then i felt nothing but boughts of pressure.
they tugged around and every 2 minutes i felt extremely nauseated so i would tell them quickly, and they would put more medicine in.she said the head was out..and the body would soon follow. tyler got his camera ready. she said a lot of pressure. felt like my back lifted off the table a giant vaccum sucked my guts out. really. i heard his scream and tyler laughed/cried and said he looks just like blake did! and i laughed and cried a single tear when i saw him. i said i feel empty.. followed by... he does look like blake did! just like him! then i said to tyler as they cleaned him up im so tired. tyler kissed me and said i know. i love you. i love you too.
tyler took a bunch of pics and the nurse let him cut the cord. Jordan Tyler was born at 8:11 am on september 12th 2010. my mom heard his first cries while she waited. i went to recovery, where the nurse brought him to nurse. he was a pro. latched right on. the nurse held him there for me, since i was lying down and numb from the chest down. i cried and said look tyler were doing it!! he said i see, im so proud of you. i said this is perfect. we got to our room where i had a painful next few days...but not even close to how bad labor was.
we are now seven and a hlf weeks post op and doing great! recovery took about 3-4 weeks, breastfeeding went well but got easier around four weeks, and jordan is just now beginning to sleep  6.5 hours at a stretch (well for the past 2 nights anyhow. he is also a better baby now that he is on acid reflux meds. things are going well and i cant wait to begin the next chapter of our story. hope you enjoyed!

1 comment:

  1. I really really enjoyed reading this! Thanks SO much sharing! Oh yeah, and I'm with you on the whole 'walking late' thing. holly was 16m2d when she started walking and everyone was like 'oh, now the fun starts ra ra ra' AndI was like, 'No, I'm HAPPY that she is walking. Happy for HER, as now she can do things she enjoys, much easier, so NER!'

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