Ask Anything!

So I have received a lot of questions regarding my Journey!

I would like to answer those in a blog post! So if you have any questions for me, please leave me a comment on this post or email me at Smith.Breanna3{at}Yahoo{dot}com


Surro Babe is already 2 1/2 months old and is doing fabulous! She has already doubled her birth weight and is so alert! Her parents are in love and are amazing parents!!

Surro Babe: Birth Story!

It’s hard to believe that I delivered my Surro Babe 1 week ago, thursday! It was such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do it again for another couple!

On Wednesday, I had my 39 week appointment. My dr was across the street with a delivery, so I had to wait about 20 minutes. Once she was in the office, she did the usual measuring and listened to the heartbeat. Afterwards, my IP’s went out into the waiting room and my dr checked me. I was between 3-4cm and about 60% effaced. She also swept my membranes. After that, I went into the waiting room with my IP’s while she was deciding on what day was good since I was starting to show signs of Pre-E. They called me up and told me it was going to be the next day! I was shocked, excited and nervous all at the same time. My IP’s got really nervous also! The nurse told me to call in the morning to see if they had a bed for me and then to go in! I called my husband, case manager and photographer and told them that tomorrow would be the big day! After getting home, I got the rest of my bag packed and checked off the last bit of stuff on my to-do list. That night, I slept wonderfully! I thought I would be a ball of nerves, but I was surprisingly calm!

Thursday morning I got up, took a shower and helped my husband get the kids off to school just like a normal day. I called L&D at 7am and they had a bed for me!! So it was a go! I had to be there at 8am for my induction. Since I knew that my husband was coming up, I only brought my purse and Nurse Goody Bags. Once I got up to the L&D Desk, they were ready for me. Once they found out that I was a surrogate, everyone was so excited for everyone involved. My nurse was absolutely amazing and I was so grateful I got a good one!! Once I got settled in, my IP’s arrived but had to leave again.

My husband, son and mom arrived right before they left. They started my iv at 10am and Pitocin soon after. My contractions were moving along about 2-3 minutes apart. They were starting to get pretty intense, so I decided to get some pain meds through my iv. After that, things were pretty good for about an hour. During that time, my dr came in and checked to see how I was doing and then left to do her rounds. Around 3pm, I got another bump of my pain meds and had the nurse check me. I never liked being checked, it’s so painful! I was only a good 4cm and about 70%. I felt pretty defeated since I was having some good contractions for about 3 hours. My IM prayed for a good 2 hours and then took a nap.

At 3:30pm my nurse told me that my dr was going to come in between 4-5pm to break my water. I got really nervous and had been debating on whether or not I wanted to get an epidural. I had horrible experiences with my epidural for my 1^st and 3^rd birth. Finally I told my nurse I wanted one before I had my water broken. So they pumped 3 bags of fluid in me and around 4pm the Epi Cart was in my room. When the anesthesiologist came in, I got really nervous. While he was doing my epidural, I was just concentrating on my breathing and tried to go into a happy place. I just kept telling myself that everything will be okay. Once I got laid back down, I was feeling a lot better. Everyone came back in and we chatted for about 15 minutes and then my dr came in and kicked everyone out so she could break my water.

After she broke my water, I went from 4cm to 6cm. The contractions were rolling in and I could feel that this was going to happen soon! My dr kept checking me during contractions and within a 10 minute period, I went from 6cm to 9cm and 100%. It was go time! I was trying to breathe through the contractions while my dr and nurses were getting things ready. After the bed was set up, they let my husband and IP’s in, that way they could get into position. They then let my case manager and photographer in the room and got them into position. I gave 2 good pushes and out popped baby C’s head. I looked over at my IM and she was smiling from ear to ear. One more good push and out came a tiny 5lb 6oz peanut! I couldn’t get over how small she was! She was over a pound smaller than my tiniest baby. I looked around and there were tears in almost everyone’s eyes. My IF got to cut the cord and after Baby C got cleaned up, my IM got to do skin to skin. At that moment in time, everything was so calm and peaceful. I looked at my husband and he was already updating everyone. I told him to call my friend to come and pick up my placenta. My nurse came up to me and said that this day will forever hold a special place in her heart and that she was so glad that she was able to be a part of this. That definitely made my day!

After delivery, everything went so smoothly. My IM brought Baby C over to me and I got to hold her. To be completely honest, I had no idea how I would feel holding her. I knew everything would be fine, but there was always that “what if” in the back of my mind. Once I had Baby C in my hands, it was like I was holding a friends baby! After everything calmed down, my IP’s went to their private room to start their new lives with their baby girl and I stayed in my room until I got feeling in my legs enough to walk to the bathroom. Once I was able to walk to the bathroom, I was on my way to my private room. After I got settled into my room, my friends came over and we all went to see Baby C. I got a few pictures with her and then it was off to bed for me. I was completely exhausted. The next morning I had a few visitors and my boys got to see Baby C. They were okay with looking at her, but they didn’t want to touch her haha.

At around 3:30 I was being discharged and was so excited to be heading home to MY babies. I missed them so much during my 36 hour stay. So far, my recovery has been pretty good. My milk is finally coming in and my boobs are hurting. I know that will pass soon. Emotionally, I am doing pretty well. I have this overwhelming joy come over me whenever I think of what I did! I can’t wait until I am back to normal 100% and just focusing on my kids and family.

{22hrs Postpartum & 38 weeks}

**All Photos are Copyrighted by myself or Kathleen Galloway Photography.**

Thanks for reading!!!!!

Padsicles...

So a few months ago I was on Pinterest and stumbled upon a pin about “Padsicles.” I was really intrigued about the whole thing. With my first, I had a 3^rd degree tear and needed 15 stitches. I don’t think my lady parts had ever hurt that bad before. I didn’t have anything to use except some Dermaplast and Witch Hazel Tucks Pads. My other two deliveries were a piece of cake and only needed a few stitches. Since I will be delivering my Surro Babe within a month, I thought to myself, why not make a few of these for when I get home from the hospital! They are so easy to make and you only need 5 Items!

Pads: I used the Always Maxi Overnights with Flex Wings. They are big enough to hold the liquid, but small enough that you don’t feel like you have a mattress between your legs.

Aloe Vera Gel: You need the gel, not the liquid.

Thayer’s Rose Petal Witch Hazel: You can use the regular Witch Hazel, but make sure it is Alcohol Free! The Rose Petal was the only one that the store had.

Lavender Essential Oil or Tea Tree Oil: I grabbed both. I used the Lavender a lot more than the Tea Tree, just because of how strong the smell was.

Ziploc Freezer Bags: I was able to put 12 pads in a bag. I am sure you can squeeze more into them, I just didn’t want the stuff to ooze out of them.

***I have a Midwife Friend who also said the Herb Sitz Bath is great on the pads instead of the lavender and tea tree oil. So you can use either one!

Instructions:

Step 1: Open the pad, but make sure you keep the backing intact.

Step 2: Squirt about 2-3 teaspoons of the Witch Hazel onto the pad.

Step 3: Add a few drops of the Lavender/Tea Tree Oil onto the pad. (Optional)

Step 4: Add a liberal amount of Aloe Vera Gel onto the pad. Make sure you rub it around evenly on the pad.

Step 5: Wrap the pads back up and put them into the Ziploc Freezer Bag. Once your bag is full, stick it in the freezer! Make sure that if you are making a lot, put the date and the order of the bags. (1^st Batch, 2^nd Batch, etc..)

When you are ready to use the Padsicles, make sure you let them defrost for about 5-10 minutes. You don’t want it freezing to your skin! I am really excited to use these after the birth. I have heard a lot of great things about these little suckers! These are supposed to really help the healing of your lady parts. You will want to sit on a few towels while wearing these. They will leak a little.