And Baby Makes Three

Note that I've posted two blogs today. And please come back tomorrow when author Karen Rose Smith guest blogs with us.

Here at the Writing Playground, we eat, sleep, breathe and write romance, so I'd like to tell you a romantic story.


Once upon a time, identical twin girls were born and grew up dreaming of meeting two charming princes and having families of their own. When one of the twins -- we'll call her Tara -- went to college, she met another girl who was an identical twin -- we'll call her Dana -- and they became best friends.

Tara met her Prince Charming -- we'll call him Dan -- and they got married, fully expecting to have a house full of babies and live happily ever after.

But that didn't happen. Instead, they became very well acquainted with something called infertility. They went through all the tests and procedures that infertile couples must endure, including in vitro fertilization. That didn't work either. They'd been married for more than five years and the infertility was beginning to take a toll on their relationship. So they began to look for another plan.

Enter "Plan B" -- gestational surrogacy. Tara and Dan had buns -- embryos left from the IVF. They just needed an oven to bake them in.

But who do you ask to give up nine months and her waistline? Who could you trust to go through labor and delivery and hand over the baby without fear of reneging on the deal?

Meanwhile, Dana had married her own handsome price and given birth to two beautiful children. She wanted more children, but the prince didn't. She was aware of her friend Tara's infertility situation and prayed for God to take away her desire for another baby and to bless her friend with a baby of her own.

When Dana heard about Plan B, she thought and prayed and discussed it with her family. And in a most unselfish act of generosity, she volunteered to be the oven. She'd get to experience pregnancy one more time, and Tara and Dan would have a baby with no fear that the gestational carrier would change her mind.

Have you ever noticed the "Next Blog" button at the top of this blog? I noticed it last fall and with one click I learned about Plan B just about the time the embryo transfer took place. I read the archived files and this amazing story unfolded.

I was hooked. Just like a good novel, I had to know what happened next. Did the embryo transfer work? Did Dana get pregnant?

Yes she did! And on the first try too. I read every day as we learned that only one embryo implanted. But it looked healthy and all systems appeared to be go. A bleeding scare about a month later had us all scared, but it turned out to be a not-too-uncommon uterine hematoma that resolved itself.

Then just before we were to learn the baby's gender, Tara's father died unexpectedly on Christmas night. He'd been so excited about his forthcoming grandchild (Tara's twin has two children but also had infertility problems). So when the ultrasound tech announced "It's a boy!" it became quite clear what the baby's name would be. He'd be named for his grandpa and he was due on July 4th.

Blog readers were kept up to date on Dana's progress during her pregnancy and we were treated to ultrasound photos, pictures of the nursery in progress and scenes from baby showers.

We also learned how thoughtless some people can be. When Tara told someone about Plan B, they remarked, "Oh... I see... you're taking the easy way out. No stretch marks!!"

Easy way? How about the tests? The cost? The disappointment? And did I mention in January that Tara began having severe abdominal pain. On a hunch, her twin sister purchased a pregnancy test and the result was a surprising, first-time-ever positive. The pregnancy was ectopic though and was resolved with medication. Easy way out? Suuuure.

The blog readers even had a pool going on ExpectNet.com to guess the baby's birthdate, length and weight. I joined in, picking June 30 because of the full moon.

A few weeks ago I typed in the blog URL and saw that Dana was in the hospital; her husband and Tara were her birth coaches. The other twins were there too for moral support.



Thanks to the free wireless at the hospital, we were given a fairly real-time commentary from the waiting room. At 11:56 PM on July June 28, Plan B made his appearance and Tara and Dan were finally able to hold their flesh and blood in their arms.

Please give a big cyberspace welcome to the blogosphere's newest little miracle.

Say hi to Charlie.

Had any miracles in your life lately?