Wednesday, July 25, 2007

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?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

More tissues...How very cool and how very cruel some people could be. Truthfully, i'd always wanted to have alot of kids, but couldn't. I have one son, two miscarriages, and for me, that's enough. I teach children. They're my pride and joy.

Shame on anyone who criticizes without knowing the facts. If a friend, sister, brother, whomever, asked me to be a surrogate, could I? My first thought would be, YES! But then the doubts might come in. It's the reason i can't be a foster mom. I'd never want to give back the children, for fear of them being hurt again.

Joys and sorrows today. A blessing and a devastating loss. Makes one think about the choices we make in life.

Nini

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Welcome, Charlie!!! You already have a great story to tell about your journey here. You're destined to become an author. :D

I did have a miracle. My 6th breast lump was benign. The unlucky number 6 was just a myth. :D

Wild wave to Marilyn and everyone!!!

Pam said...

Awww.....so sweet!! :) :)

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

There is hope and love in the world. This story proves it. What an unselfish act. A wonderful gift.

Instigator

Anonymous said...

Nature nut!!! Miracle time again!!! Congrats!

Nini

Julie in Ohio said...

Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?

I'm so happy for the families.

Tara said...

Thank you for such a sweet story, Marilyn!! I'm so glad to be able to share our miracle with you and so many others.

Rach said...

Oh, my goodness! What an AMAZING story!! Miracles happen and they are so beautiful when they do! :o)

Angel said...

This story is especially poignant to me, being a twin and suffering from infertility. I have my own two miracles with me today, after 3 miscarriages and endless doubts that I'd ever be a mother.

And yes, people can be cruel. I remember someone asking me why I didn't just stop taking the medication that kept my babies alive and just rely on God to decide whether they lived or died. Hmmm, sorry, not happening. I think God had a hand in bringing me to the doctor who finally listened, in the chemist who discovered how to produce this medicine and the miracles it would bring into the world, and in making it available to me. That's God's hand at work.

Sorry. Didn't mean to get on my soapbox. :(

Angel

Anonymous said...

What a lovely, lovely story. Charlie is BEAUTIFUL!!

Anonymous said...

oh how cute, love babies. Congrats to you and your family

Katherine Bone said...

Aw! What a wonderful story with a great HEA! Congratulations on adorable little Charlie, Tara. I'm sorry your father couldn't be here to see him. God Bless!

Nature Nut, congrats on your miracle! That's truly great news!

My heart goes out to Angel, Tara, Nini, and all those who've struggled to have children. I've had 2 miscarriages myself but thankfully have been blessed with 4 healthy children.

Kathy

ev said...

How cute and what a great story, especially after the last few days. He is beautiful!!

what a fantastic story. I love it. I think I see a story line for someone in that!!

And what idiots to call it the easy way out.

But you didn't mean he was born July 28th did you?? That's 3 days from now. LOLOL

ev

Angel said...

Just heard from Problem Child, who has been away on vacation without internet access. She said she misses us but is kind of glad she wasn't here to cry today. :)

Pray for her. They're getting lots of rain in Texas--flood levels. They've had a couple of dry mornings, but today was all rain.

Angel

Playground Monitor said...

July... June... what difference does a month make??? *grin*

catslady said...

Wonderful and touching story.

I just had an emergency hospital stay and luckily things seem to be fine and nothing horrible was found so like Nature Nut (horray) I had my miracle too.