In July 2001, I was accepted into Growing Generations. I met my IF in October 2001, and we hit it off right away. I thought it was great that he wanted to become a Daddy!! I never thought that I would work with a single guy, but I’m glad that I did. After the long search for an egg donor, we had our transfer on April 13, 2002. We transferred 2 embryos into me, one 8 celled, and one compacted, and they both stuck! Only one developed into a baby though, and he became Joey. We were given a due date of 12/31/02!!! It was a very exciting time. We couldn’t believe that it worked on the first try!!! My pregnancy was pretty uncomplicated except for headaches and being really sick for the first trimester. I think my body knew. We found out that the baby was a boy at my 20 week u/s, and my IF was thrilled. Exactly what he wanted. The blessings just kept rolling in…

12-04 ~ 36 weeks~ 2cm, 50% effaced, head down

12-09 ~ 37 weeks~ 3cm, 50% effaced, began losing plug

12-16 ~ 38 weeks~ 4cm, 70% effaced, Membranes stripped

12-17 ~ 9:35pm ~ My water broke!!! I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never had that happen to me before! Dave had just gone to bed, and I yelled into him that my water broke. I started making my phone calls and grabbing the last minute things that we needed to take to the hospital with us. About 10 minutes later, Dave was still in bed – LOL !!!! Since my water has never broken, he had no idea what it meant… So he got up and started packing the car. I had called my Mom, and asked her to send her husband here to watch the kids. I had called my doula earlier in the night, so she was expecting my call. Then I called IF’s hotel.. he was supposed to be on his way to the airport to pick up his friend, and the lady at the front desk wouldn’t go get him… UGH!!! I was like “You don’t understand! My water just broke, and his baby is coming!!!” and she kept saying that she couldn’t leave the desk.. blah blah, so I kept trying to call his room & finally got thru. Everyone was meeting us at the hospital. So it’s been about ½ an hour, and my Mom’s husband wasn’t here yet. I started panicking. Within an hour of my water being broken with Evan, he was delivered! I am about 40 mins from the hospital, so I started to get nervous. He finally arrived, and we gave him instructions, and left. I wasn’t contracting at this point. I started to feel a little something in the car, but it was more like nausea than anything. I had just had dinner and showered, so I knew I was going to get sick. I was SO afraid that I was going to have the baby in the car. I was so afraid of VBAC’ing…. By the time we got to the hospital, I was a mess!! I got myself up to L&D while Dave got my stuff out of the car. Everyone else was there waiting on us – lol. The nurses got me checked in, started my IV’s, and got me hooked up to the monitor. I started feeling sicker at this point. Between being nauseous and my nerves, I knew that there was no way that I would be ready to take on a labor starting at 4cms. So I was either getting that epidural, or I was letting them just do a repeat Cesarean. I go REALLY fast in labor. I warned all of the nurses to not leave me once I reach 7cms. I got from 7 to 10 in one contraction with Evan, so I wanted them to know that. I decided that I needed to have an epidural. This would be my very first one, but I needed it!!!! I needed to calm down and relax. With my history of how fast I dialate, we knew that I could have one contraction and after that, I wouldn’t have been able to get one. So my doctor went ahead and ordered it. He knew that it would slow things down for me so I could get some rest, and he wouldn’t have to come in in the middle of the night to deliver me. Worked for us both *wink* I had about 3 contractions per hour all night. The epidural was heaven, and I wonder why I never got one before!!! LOL!!! It was really weird how heavy & dead my legs were though. About 8:30 am my doctor came in and ordered Pitocin for me. I was given a really small dose because of my previous Cesarean. An hour later, there wasn’t any change in dialation, I was still 4, but 90%, so they came and dosed my epidural. I still never felt anything !!!! Then 10 minutes later, I asked my nurse to check me, and I was complete and +2. Thank Heaven my doctor’s office was right down the hall. They got the bed all broken down, Dave had one leg, and my doula had the other leg. Everyone else was standing behind the doctor. I pushed twice, then let my doctor know how easy this was when it didn’t hurt! Then pushed once more & lil Joey came screaming into the world. The first thing I said about the baby was that he looked like a lil peanut. My doctor laughed & said “He’s not so little, Christina”… Joey was born at exactly 38 weeks @ 10:08am weighing 7lbs 15 ozs. He was 21 inches long. Without a doubt, one of the cutest little babies I’ve EVER seen! My doctor said that this was the closest thing to a virtually pain free birth he's ever seen! LOL! Well, yeah, I wasn't even contracting when I had my epidural My husband was crying and he got to cut the cord. This has been a very special time for us. I think that he was as involved in the journey as I was, which has been a great thing for our relationship. After Joey was born, he nursed like a champ. My IF was in awe of his son. We couldn’t believe that he was actually here, and that we really did it!!! Every aspect of our journey came pretty easy for us. The baby roomed-in with me in the hospital, and they spent a night here before they went home, so I got to spend alot of time with the baby. I am very thankful for that. People kept asking me “Isn’t this very hard?” “How can you let him go?” …. Yep, I cried a few times, but it was never because I wanted the baby. I guess that people cannot understand the feelings that we have until they’ve been there themselves. I knew that he was never mine even before I was pregnant, and I got the satisfaction of knowing that I helped create a family. I think that since I got to spend a lot of time with Joey, that helped make the separation easier. Also, knowing that I will always be in his life has been a blessing for me. They’ve asked me to be his Godmother, and I am so honored. Joey’s Grandma gave me a card when she got to the hospital with a gift inside, but her words meant so much to me. She said, “I will forever tell the baby what a great mom you were to him”… and that brought me to tears. Nothing else could’ve been worth more. My IF also gave me a Diamond & Blue Topaz (Joey’s Birthstone) necklace that I adore. I thought that was so special. I’m going there in 2 weeks to see Joey and his family. They’re having a celebration of his life, and I am so happy to be included. I can’t wait to see him again. We’ve already been discussing a sibling in the future when we’re all ready. I still can’t believe that I did it!!! I can’t describe the feelings that I have! It’s just so amazing to watch the miracle unfold right before your eyes – from tiny embryo, to living, breathing blessing of a baby.