Update

Sorry this is overdue. You would think I took time off to have a baby or something. Oh wait...I did! Baby Kate was born on June 19th at 1:59 am. She was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 18 inches. That made her an ounce bigger and an inch smaller than her big sister! She is beautiful just like her big sister and oh so loved!

The labor and delivery were amazing. We went to the hospital on Wednesday night and my OB broke my water at 10:30, I was 3 cm and planning on going all natural. After about an hour we had to start the dreaded pitocin. It sucked! Luckily for me I had Matt and my best friend Amanda there for support as well as Kate's mommy and daddy. The contractions were intense but I hung in there. When I hit 8 cm I had my moment of weakness and begged for something....ANYTHING! With the help of my support team and a wonderful nurse I was able to make it through. After just a few pushes Kate was here, sunny side up and all. OUCH! The natural delivery was painful but so gratifying for me. It was a goal that I had set with Abby and was not able to meet, I am pretty proud that I was able to achieve it this time. Not so sure I am ready to do it again though. I told Matt after Kate was here that next time I wanted the drugs...lol.

Baby Kate was perfect and so alert. I feel so incredibly proud and beyond blessed to be a surrogate mom. Besides the births of Piper and Dax, having Abby and Kate are two of my most incredible moments. Seeing the girls in the arms of their parents is a gift with no comparison. It is pretty amazing to watch people become a family. I was very lucky to be able to catch the first meeting between my sweet surro girls. Looking at them together fills my heart, knowing that they will always have one another makes me so happy. And of course seeing their parents with them and the love that radiates when they look at their girls is beyond words.

I am now a retired surrogate mom. I look forward to the next part, watching them grow up and seeing them become little people. In some ways I can't believe it is really over. I have wanted to be a surrogate mom since I was only 12 years old. I feel so lucky that I was able to have one of my dreams come true and in doing so give someone else their dream come true, not once but twice! Even with the bumps that came with being a surrogate mom I would not change any of it. There are two precious beautiful girls in this world and that trumps everything else!

So now we are settling back into a routine after having Matt home with us for a week and a half. It was so nice to have him here with us and spend time together as a family. We watched lots of Disney movies and were well fed by our wonderful friends and family. I think Matt's favorite part was playing our new Wii. Abby, Katie and their parents gave us a Wii as a thank you gift to the whole family. How awesome is that?! Matt bought a racing game and once the kids were in bed he headed to the track...lol. The kids and I are also having a good time, playing Mario and trying to Surf...lol.

Thank you for all the love, support and meals. It means so much to us to have friends that care so much and love us without conditions!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures!

Last belly shot before heading to the hospital

Hello sweet girl!

Kate

The handoff from surromommy to mommy

Look at all that hair!

me and kate

so this is what was in mom's tummy!