My journey ends here, while theirs barely begins.

Yes, you've  read correctly, the Prince has arrived, & he is doing absolutely amazing.
Wednesday February 4th 2015 at about 3am, I was awakened to a very strange "pop" like feeling in my cervical area. Discomfort  immediately followed.  Within minutes I was in the restroom with a pretty significant amount of bleeding. Instead of alerting everyone immediately, I chose to try to relax for a bit and see if this was the "real deal" or not.
A little background history, On Wednesday the 28th of January in the middle of the night, I was awakened by contactions some bloody mucusy show that lasted a few hours then Completely went away. Monday evening (February 2nd) while at my sister's house, the exact same thing. Contractions Fairley close together and again bloody mucusy show. I made baby sitting arrangements, advised my doula and came home to prepare for active labor. BAM! The pains were gone AGAIN and every other symptom disappeared aswell. I stayed at with my mom all day Tuesday (Feb 3rd) just in case anything started up again. Nothing, absolutely  nothing, ALL day. I headed back home Tuesday night thinking I'd discuss these series of events with my Dr at Wednesdays 11:15a appointment and maybe he'd be able to explain what in the world was going on.
Please keep in mind, each and every time I got one of these "false alarms", I'd contact my doula, alert my sister who would be the one driving me to the hospital, make baby sitting arrangements, basically alert everyone. To only then have to let everyone know, "ok, nevermind, it stopped (again)
Now back to my story. Wednesday, February 4th 3am here I was again. Contractions and blood. Only this time no mucus. I waited till about 5:45am before even telling my doula, in fear that this would result in yet another "false alarm". I finally contacted her, explained what I had felt and what I was experiencing. She recommended I call the hospital to describe the amount of blood I had been experiencing to make sure it would be ok to labor at home for a bit. I called and the nurse recommended I come in to be checked. I made all the arrangements and by 6am my dad was driving me to the hospital, the discomfort got worse and the space between each contraction got closer and closer. I made it to the hospital at about 630 am and my doula was already there waiting for me. I immediately tried to relaxed and just allow my body to do what it needed to do and just surrender any feeling of fear and tension. My doula handed me a eye mask and head phones and I listened to relaxing music as she wheelchaired me up to the labor and delivery department. Taking deep breaths in and out and trying my hardest to not tense up during each contraction, we finally made it to our room. I was instructed to undress from the waist down and the nurse was ready to check to see how many centimeters I was dilated to. In my mind thought "I'll be lucky if I'm 3" the look on the nurse's eyes said differently. She was shocked that I had just gotten to the hospital and was already 7 centimeters dilated. My IPs were called and advised of the news and they headed to the hospital. A bit of time passed as my doula and I worked together to get through each intense contraction. Deep breaths in and out, deep pressure to my lower back, calming relaxing music, aroma therapy, foot rubs and anything else my AMAZING doula recomended. I eventually gave in and asked for an epidural to help easy the discomfort I was experiencing. Just as the anesthesiologist was preparing to administer the epidural, a light knock on the door. It was C & S!!!!! They made it. My biggest fear was things progressing to quickly and them missing the birth of their baby. The anesthesia started to slowly take the discomfort away and I was able to just lay and relax. The nurse check me again shortly after. I was now 9cm.  At about 10 am I began to feel a new and constant pressure in my rear area and my doula called for the nurse to check me. I was 10cm and baby was right there ready to come into the world. My legs were closed and I started breathing techniques to prevent the urge of pushing before the DR arrived. About 10 minutes later Dr Cobb arrives and 20 Minutes later Baby A is born!!!!! Mom cut his cord and immediately held him and began speaking to him and letting him know how much she loved him and who she was. That was a moment that will never be erased from my memory!
Baby A weighted 6lbs 12oz and measured 19 inches.
So here we are, a little over a year from actually meeting in person, I was able to give C & S the greatest gift humanly possible. The birth of their gorgeous healthy handsome baby boy! February 4th 2014 at10:51am, C & S became parents for a 2nd time and I couldn't be any prouder nor happier for them. God blessed me with wonderful intended parents and blessed them with a loving surrogate, a healthy handsome perfectly perfect baby boy and journey that will be forever embedded in our thoughts and more importantly in our Hearts!
👪👶😚😍

21 more days!!!!!

I can't believe tomorrow I'll be 37 weeks already!
I've been experiencing Braxton hicks for some time now but nothing painful. My feet swell up from time to time,  but drinking lots of water,  soaking them in warm water with Epson salt, compression socks and keeping them elevated has helped tremendously. As far as my back pain,  it's become an everyday thing and I've gotten pretty used to it at this point.  Baby A moves around sooo much and at times I feel him under my ribs which can be a little uncomfortable but definitely tolerable. Next week my wonderful IPS fly into town to settle in and get ready for the birth of their baby boy aswell as celebrate their oldest sons birthday aswell. I still can't believe how fast time flew by. Seriously, it feels as though it was a few weeks ago when baby A's tiny little heartbeat was first seen via ultrasound by the IVF doctor.

34 weeks 4 days

Today marks one week that I've been off of work.  On Christmas day I developed severe back pain that would come  and go. I tried going back to work after the holidays,  but having to sit for an extended period of time made my back hurt to the point of wanting to cry.  After discussing my symptoms with my Dr, he recommended pulling me out of work in hopes that the rest would help with the back pain,  and me staying off my feet would help in reducing my swollen feet and ankles. I also purchased a pregnancy back brace that has helped some aswell. I'm Soooo excited for C &S (and their young son) to come and start preparing for the birth of baby A, aswell as be able to attend Dr Appts with me.
Time is going by so quickly, before we know it they will be a wonderful family of 4. 😊

Almost 32 weeks

I'll b 32 weeks tomorrow.  WOOHOOO!!!!
I can't believe how quickly the weeks have been flying by.  Next week is Christmas,  then new years right after,  then a few weeks later my wonderful IPS will be flying in to prepare for the birth of baby A.
Baby A is doing great... at my last drs appointment his heart rate sounded perfect my abdomen was measuring exactly where it should. He moves all day which I totally enjoy,  every movement is a reminder of the wonderful gift I'm helping C & S carry. I must admit tho, there are time when he decides to either punch or kick my bladder,  I don't enjoy those moments very much,  as I suddenly need to rush to restroom in hopes of not having embarrassing accident 😵.
Another week down and still this pregnancy and the journey have been amazing.  Of course with a few hiccups along the way but amazing and life changing nonetheless.

Almost 31 weeks

30 weeks and 6 days today!
I must admit this pregnancy has been pretty easy in comparison to some surrogates I've been in contact with. Yes I'm getting tired easily, yes ive gained some extra weight, yes my feet swell up every now and then, yes I was found slightly anemic, and my growing  belly is getting bigger by the day, my clothes are getting tighter, and the list could go on for days, however, things could be a whooole lot worse.
On the bright side, I'm still able to work full time,  I'm still able to keep up with my boys busy schedules,  still able to cook dinner every night and tuck my boys in at night and wake them every morning with a "good morning, I love you" kiss. Not to mention I'm a single mother of two, and I do everything pretty much on my own. So instead of complaining of a few changes that my body has gone through, I'm extremely grateful and thankful to God that he's allowed me to continue my regular life while at the same time being able to give S and C the greatest gift imaginable, a healthy baby boy!!! 💙💙💙
Life is absolutely amazing at this point in my life, & instead off seeing the glass half empty, I prefer to stay positive I see the glass half full.

27w6d

Everything came back perfectly fine with my iron testing aswell as the glucose tolerance test.  I'm almost 28 weeks and I'm starting to experience some pregnancy related bothers. Not too bad tho. I've hit the 140 lbs mark, my feet and ankles are starting to get swollen by the end of the day,  occasional leg cramps at night, constant thirst which results in constant restroom breaks and just the overall feeling of being heavier. All are normal symptoms of pregnancy and none of them are unbearable. Only 87 more days to go before S and C get to hold baby A, maybe a few more or maybe a few less. 😊

Glucose tolerance test

I woke up extra early yesterday.  It was time for my glucose tolerance test.  I arrived at the lab at 730 am and drank what some people refer to as this horrible disgusting super sweet sugar loaded solution.  To be quite honest it wasn't bad at all. Yeah it was sweet but that's to be expected. Honestly the worst part was having to sit in the waiting room for an hour, I was seriously freezing but couldn't go to my car for sweater. The receptionist told me I had to be where she could see or I'd have to return another day 😤
All in all everything went smoothly and I'll know my results Monday morning.