Channukwanzmas Picture!

A message from the girls:

"Happy belated Channukwanzmas to you all!"

(Channuka, Christmas, Kwanza etc)


The girls are One Month Old Here!

Another Visit at 3 Weeks!

My family and I went to the Bay Area to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws. Since we were so close, George and Sanj offered to bring the girls over for a visit. We had a great time hanging out and seeing how Natasha and Anjali have changed in the last three weeks.

Here is baby Anjali


and here's baby Natasha


Rick's mom was the first to hold one of the girls . . . I love this picture, I just wish I could see more of Ruby's face, she was so excited to see the girls


Here is Rick's sister Denise holding Natasha



and his sister Laurie holding Anjali



Of course, Ricky wanted to hold the girls too



Funny, that just like my own kid's photos, I'm no where to be seen . . . as I'm always the one taking pictures, oh well! There's always next week, when the come up for the Open House at my place.

After the fact, here's one of Preston kissing Natasha- and I'm in it!

Q & A Part 2

One of my favorite parts of being a surrogate is all the great (and sometimes funny) questions I get asked.
Here is the link to Q & A Part 1 and I thought I'd share a few that I've received in the last 2 weeks -it's been 2 weeks, can you believe it?

Q: Have you had them yet?
A: Now I try to not to take offense to this question, but it seems almost silly to me because I was so HUGE 2 weeks ago and even though I have a belly left (it's just deflated and several inches lower), I'm already back down to my pre-surrogate pregnancy weight. I would think it would be noticeable that I'm about 26+ pounds lighter than 2 weeks ago, but whatever! Perhaps, because I'm still about 30 lbs away from where I was before I gave birth to Ruby . . . but again, whatever!


Q: Was it hard to let the babies go?
A: Not at all. Again, I went into this whole thing knowing they were not my babies and that I didn't want anymore children, so it didn't bother me at all to see them drive away with their parents. I always wonder if people think I'm some cold-hearted lady when I say this, but it's the truth! (Wait, that sounds bad . . . the truth is it wasn't hard, not that it's true I'm cold-hearted, ha!)


Q: Did you cry at all?
A: Yes, I'm a total cry baby . . . Oreo commercials, Steel Magnolias, Brokeback Mountain, heck, even The Green Mile book and movie by Stephen King . . . not to mention I was full of hormones! First, I started to get all "misty eyed" in the delivery room- watching the dads react to the birth of their girls was amazing. Too see them so happy, and know that I had something to do with it, it was indescribable!
The other time I started to cry was when the parents and their family started thanking me (and hugging me) as they were leaving . . . I lost it. I wasn't crying because I wanted the girls, I was crying because the girls were so wanted. If you had a Grandma thanking you for helping her son and his husband and helping give her grandbabies, well, you would be a cold-hearted lady not to cry at that!


Q: Do you still hear from the parents?
A: Yes . . . mind you, it's only been 2 weeks, so I'm sure as time goes on, our communication will space out a bit- having kids will do that, but for now I seem to talk with them every day or two. I hate to call because I know they must be tired and I don't want to wake them (not the girls, I don't want to wake the parents!)


Q: Did you enjoy being a surrogate?
A: I can easily say my experience, as a surrogate was absolutely amazing. I really believe that in the future, when I look back on all my accomplishments, it will easily be one of the best things I ever did. As a friend of mine wrote in an email - “You were able to help give a wonderful gift so that two people could experience what you and I know so well... the incredible love and joy that can only be experienced by having kids." It really was an unbelievable journey for my family, their family and me. The feelings I had when I saw the parents with their babies will stay with me forever.


Q: Do you think you'll do this again?
A: I don't know. My goal was just to do this one time, but my experience was so amazing and there are other couples who still need help. I know after we got matched, I asked George and Sanj how long they had been with Growing Generations before I came along and it was almost a year! It's hard enough to find someone who wants to be a surrogate, but then to find someone who passes the medical and psychological screening, and who's not just in it for the money, that's were you run into even more issues. I tend to have easy pregnancies, heal quickly, and with my hips, I was made for childbirth . . . put that with the feeling of helping someone create a family they always wanted, it's almost like a drug- I think I'm addicted! :)

Happy One Week To You!

It's hard to believe but its already been one week since the girls were born. Crazy, I know. We'll here's a one week old picture for you to marvel over

I can't believe how alert they look for one week old babies! You can just tell they are totally advanced, probably geniuses . . . and I'm not just saying that because I carried them for 38 weeks. I'm telling you, like I've said from day one, GOLDEN UTERUS (okay, okay, and great genes that I can't take credit for at all).

The Girls Go Home!

So, it's been a few days since this event happened, but give me a break . . . I just birthed twins by c-section and made it home to three kids ages 7 and under. Better late than never.

On Monday, December 1st the girls and I were discharged from the hospital. I was told some information about recovering from a c-section, given my prescriptions for pain killers and let go. My friend Jodi drove up to meet the girls and was awesome enough to drive me home. While she was there, she was able to meet Appachchi (Grandma/Logi), Dad (George) and Appa (Other Dad/Sanj) and help us get the girls ready to go.

First, they made sure to feed the girls for their long trip back home.


Then, there was the jobs of changing the girls into their "Going Home" outfits and filling out the paperwork.


And of course putting the girls in their car seats. Which brings me to a joke (and any of you who have ever put a newborn into their car seat for the first time know the answer) How many adults does it take to put a baby in a car seat?


Appachchi pulled out their going home outfits and let me choose who got to wear what. I decided Anjali should wear the dots and Natasha should wear the stripes.

Here's Baby Anjali ready to go


and here's Baby Natasha


While we were making our way outside we stopped by the Non-Stress Testing unit were I spent the last 6 weeks (twice a week) to show off the babies and say Thank You. A little while later we made it to the parking lot and it was time to say our goodbyes and take one last group photo. Here's Appachchi, Appa, Kelly, Dad, and Nurse Valerie with the girls in front.


The girls got clicked in their seats and were ready to go


We said our goodbyes, which included lots of tears. (I'll talk more about our plans to keep in touch on a later post).

It has almost been a year since we all decided to proceed with the surrogacy and there we were, about to leave one of us with an empty uterus but a FULL heart and the others with a car full of love

My Kids Hospital Visit . . . a.k.a. Chaos in Room 360

The day after the girls arrived my mother, husband and 3 kids drove to Sacramento to visit me in the hospital and meet Natasha and Anjali. Sanj and Menaka were hanging out with the girls in my room right before my family came in. I told them that my kids would be walking in at any minute and it was about to get really noisy.

They arrived and for the next hour I was reminded why women recover at the hospital after a c-section without their kids. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing them and I thought it was important for them to meet the girls and most importantly to see them in their dads' arms. My kids have known Sanj and George for about a year and Ruby and Preston have been very aware of the entire process of their mommy being a surrogate. Back to the chaos-

We were sitting in the room when all of a sudden the ground started to shake . . . loud voices went from muffles to screams . . . a nurse ran down the hall shouting something about a stampede heading our way . . . JUST KIDDING- my kids walked in on their best behavior (that lasted about 5 minutes). They immediately saw the babies in their isolates and went ga-ga over them. Preston was trying to hug and touch them, Ruby was smiling from ear to ear, and Sawyer had no clue where he was, what was happening and why I was there. His little eyes were wide, looking all around and you could tell he was wondering what in the heck was going on- then, he saw them . . . "Babies" he said. Rick picked him up and showed him the girls.

Everyone came over and gathered around my bed. I got hugs and kisses and we talked about the babies a little bit. Menaka held Anjali and I held Natasha so my kids could see the babies up close.



Preston, my little love bug, would rest his head on them (giving them hugs) and Ruby asked if she could hold them. She sat on the end of my bed and I handed her Tasha to hold. She just sat their for a while staring at her and loving her. She was very excited to be able to finally hold one, since she had been feeling my belly for their movements for the last few months.



The funniest part of the day was Sawyer's reaction when I fed one of the babies. I was giving Anjali some colostrum and Sawyer was not happy about it. He climbed up and sat on his dad's lap, across from me. He stuck his chin up and his bottom lip out and proceeded to stare us down. You could just imagine what he was saying in his mind . . . "Don't get to comfortable baby, that's my mommy" or "Put the Boob down and no one gets hurt" . . .

For the rest of the visit my kids were bouncing off the walls, couch, chairs, etc. It was time for them to go before I made sure every woman on my floor decided against having more kids in the future. I gave them all hugs and kisses and told them I'd see them in a few days. Rick, seeing that I was a little stressed over their behavior (and my physical inability to deal with it myself) thought he'd be funny and ask if I wanted them to come back tomorrow. "No, Thank You" I said. In my mind I was freaking out thinking in 2 days I'd be back home, still physically unable to "control" my children if they decided to take advantage of mommy's "condition". Luckily, my mother is sticking around until Friday to help out since Rick's mom is now unable to help out as planned because of a family emergency. (My poor mother, I swear, she'll be back home by at least New Year's).

Birth Story Part 2

When I left you last I was checked into the hospital, 4 cm dilated, IV in, shaved and waiting for Sanj to arrive. It's usually around a 2 hour drive from the Bay Area (depending where you reside) to Sacramento. The time flew by- for me anyway- I'm sure it was a long drive for Sanj . . . because his girls would be here that very night! Before I knew it Sanj and Menaka had arrived and George and Sanj were given their scrubs to change into. Then after signing some paperwork and some last minute explanations we were ready to go to the Operating Room.



I was taken back to the O.R. where I was about to take a trip to "Surreal, USA." I have never had a c-section so this delivery was totally different. I got up on the gurney and the anesthesiologist gave me a spinal. That hurt a bit. I guess my vertebrae are really close together so getting the needle in between bone was harder than usual. Later, George and Sanj would tell me they heard me during the process and they felt bad. It probably sounded something like this, "Ouch, Ow, Ouch, Ehhhh, Okay, Oww, Ouch, Oh God . . ." I think you get the idea. Once they had the spinal in, they laid me on my back immediately. I felt like I was going to fall off the gurney. I asked them if I was falling, they assured me I wasn't and that I was attached and couldn't possibly fall off. It was really bright, so I closed my eyes while the preparations were going on and kept telling myself, "This is it!" It's crazy, we've been on this journey for almost a year and here I was, in the O.R. being prepared to deliver their girls. I wasn't scared, the whole thing seemed surreal. I couldn't feel pain from the abdomen down. I could feel them touching and tugging and moving around, but no pain. They put up the curtain, swabbed my belly and when they were ready, they called for the parents. George and Sanj took a seat by my head and the surgery began.



They told us they were cutting and Sanj took some pictures of the events.

At 7:05pm Natasha made her grand entrance. I could only hear her cry and then when the nurses moved her to the station to check her out, I could see her thick black hair. She was 6 pounds 2 ounces and 17.5 inches and Beautiful!



One minute later Natasha's little sister Anjali was born. She weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces and was 17.25 inches long and Adorable!



The nurses were attending to the girls and George, Sanj and I were in awe. Multiple cameras were being used (Thank you Sanj for using mine too) and the three of us were completely giddy! It was an amazing moment. Seeing George and Sanj with their girls was spectacular! It is unlike any other feeling I've ever had. To be a part of something so special, I can't even really put it into words. All I know is that it was a moment that I will never forget.


*Recovery stories to follow*