The few hours after delivery were a bit of a blur, as I was in recovery and heavily drugged, and my IPs were still driving to St. Louis. Unfortunately I called them to start driving right at the beginning of Chicago rush hour, so it took them forever to get out of the city, and then they had to deal with construction and traffic the whole way to St. Louis. They ended up not arriving at the hospital until about 4:30pm.
Since they were not going to make it any time soon, shortly after delivery they texted to ask for a picture of the boys. My husband went up to the nursery and got some cute shots of them getting their baths and getting bundled up. I was not prepared to get out of bed yet (it took a few hours for the epidural to wear off and for me to be able to move my legs) so I just decided to wait until my IPs arrived to see the babies for the first time.
Once my IPs finally made it, they stopped by my room first so that they could get their wrist bands for access to the babies. Then we headed up to the recovery floor (the hospital staff had put me in the long-term bedrest unit so that I wouldn't have to deal with hearing newborns in case I had emotional problems after delivery) and to the nursery where the babies were being kept. My husband and I were able to get some photos of the first moments of my IPs meeting their sons. IF got emotional, and as he held one of the babies he had tears in his eyes, and IM was just soaking in her babies. I don't think she took her eyes off of them from the moment we first saw them until we left the hospital two days later. We were able to take the babies to the recovery room they had prepared for my IPs so they could spend time together and bond.
Throughout the first day, L (Baby A) had a bit of a scare with his blood sugar levels, and the doctors said they might have to move him to the NICU, but he balanced out quickly and both babies were healthy in every other way. During the hospital stay they made it through their circumcisions (my OB performed the surgery for both of them), their hearing tests, and their 6 hour car seat tests with flying colors. L was a great eater, and I suspect he will catch up to his brother in weight very soon, and O was a bit more lazy and enjoyed sleeping while being held. IM refers to L as her "angel baby" because he is so sweet and never complains, and O as her "sour sweet" baby, because he is a bit more grouchy.
On Thursday and Friday, we had to deal with the attorney and her legal assistant to get all the legal paperwork sorted out. We signed all the paternity paperwork and our lawyer took them to the judge to get it signed ASAP. They were also able to convince the hospital to just go ahead and put my IPs' names on the birth certificates, so that my name never appeared on anything related to the babies. There were some communication issues, but between the lawyer, the hospital social worker, my IPs and I, we managed to get it all done.
Friday afternoon rolled around, and it was time to check out. I went up to say goodbye to my IPs and their babies one more time. They were doing great with them and I know they will be fantastic parents. I didn't ever feel any sort of attachment to the babies. In fact, when I looked at them or pictures of them, it was hard to believe that they had been inside me for the last 8 months. They just seemed like any other set of newborns - cute, but I had no desire to keep them, or even to hold them. I asked my IPs to stay in touch from time to time, and told them I would love to see/hear how the boys are growing and developing. I know they will be very busy in the coming weeks getting used to two newborns, so I am not counting on lots of communication. I just know that a lot of my time, effort, and health went into giving my IPs their family, and I just would love to be reminded occasionally of the happy ending I helped create.
This morning (at an ungodly early hour - man how their lives have changed already) I received a very sweet text from my IF, checking in to see how I'm feeling and letting me know that they are doing great. He thanked me for what I did for them and how I helped them get their "miracle." The text warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes - I am so happy that I was able to make such deserving people parents!
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