“I Love Lucy”

Twins were nothing new for Angelique as she had 8 year-old twins at home. So fortunately for her Couple, not only was Angelique prepared for a twin pregnancy but she had a lot of knowledge to pass on to them about raising twins. Lucky them!!

Angelique drove to Orange County from San Diego nearly every week for the first three months for visits with the infertility physician, Dr. Hatch, and then “Mom” drove to San Diego for all of the OB visits. What dedication!

The delivery was to be a scheduled C-Section as this was Angelique’s history. Since Angelique had never had her water break prior to delivery, Mom & Dad were confident of the date their boys would arrive. So confident, that they never packed a bag or made any other early preparations. Then, of course, in the middle of the night Angelique calls and calmly explains that the oddest thing happened?..Her water broke!

Mom is an avid fan of the “I Love Lucy Show” and she suddenly felt like she was Lucy in one of her zaniest episodes ever. She leaps out of bed, bounces off the wall and falls back into bed again. Dad, aka “Ricky”, calmly goes to the kitchen to start some coffee and prepare for the trip. Mom, aka “Lucy” is throwing clothes into a suitcase without noticing that she only packed tops and no bottoms! She rushes through the house frantically looking for Dad only to find him still in the kitchen. She grabs him, he grabs the coffee and they rush out the door. When they finally get in the car, she can’t believe that only 15 minutes had passed since the phone call!

They arrived to Sharp Mary Birch within 45 minutes (clearly there were no cops out that night!) only to find that Angelique hadn’t even arrived yet! But, she arrived shortly after, as did their sons. So, in the early morning hours of December 4, Joshua was born weighing in at 6lb 1oz and his little brother Justin weighed in at 5lb 14oz. Congratulations!!

Our 100th Baby Is An International Star!!

In February 1999, a news program from Spain, “DOCUMENTO TVE”, traveled to California to interview Dr. Garzo and our Program. During the filming, we were awaiting Tara’s pregnancy test results. It was exciting and stressful at the same time. The news program announced this to their viewers and then at the end of the broadcast they were able to tell them that it was positive!

Tara and her husband, Jay, were wonderfully supportive of the program’s participation in the TV interview and were a beautiful representation of who the Surrogate Families truly are. Little did they know that their media exposure had just begun.

The pregnancy went along wonderfully with Mom & Dad traveling frequently to visit their Surrogate Family and to attend some OB appointments. We all had a great time at each of their visits. Then as we came close to the end, Mom & Dad arrived for their last trip to await the birth of their son. After several appointments, it was obvious this little guy wasn’t going to arrive on his own. He was much too comfortable. Dr. Reading even tried to convince him to come out by speaking to/through Tara’s tummy and telling him that Halloween was coming and if he didn’t come out then he would miss out on the Halloween candy. That may be why he decided to stay put until after Halloween because he knew he wouldn’t get any candy unless he did stay in Tara’s tummy! So, finally on November 3, Tara gave him his 24-hr eviction notice and the next day, we arrived at the hospital for an inducement.

After a short wait, the moment Mom & Dad had been dreaming of arrived. Quinton was born and was greeted by his parents, grandparents and nearly all of his Surrogate Family, as there were more people there than I could count. He weighed in at a perfect 8lb 1oz.

As I mentioned earlier, their media exposure began at his conception (literally) and was re-visited soon after his birth. The day after Tara and Quinton were released from the hospital, they and their families posed for the cover of O.C. Family Magazine and were the Featured Article in the February 2000 issue. It was a beautiful article. The readers of O.C. Family Magazine were very fortunate to have shared in these precious moments.

Then Quinton went home to find a life-sized cardboard picture of John Wayne waiting for him along with a fully decorated Cowboy themed nursery. What a lucky boy!

P.S. Their story doesn’t end here. Guess who is expecting a baby brother or sister? That’s right! Tara is expecting for her Couple and Quinton and they are due in April! Congratulations and best wishes on the next arrival!

Surprise times Two!!

After so many years of infertility treatments, “M” & “J” were sure that surrogacy would be the solution for them. They found me on the Internet and traveled afar to meet with Dr. Garzo and me. I met with them after their meeting with Dr. Garzo and they were nervous. They said he had told them what many physicians had already said many times before, “I can help you. Let me try.” Somehow, they managed to calm their fears and let him try. Since they were here from another country, they relied upon the program for support. So, “M” became an Honorary Surrogate Mom in our program. We took care of her before and after her embryo transfer as we do all of our Surrogate Moms. Then the time came for them to go home and await the results.

This was a familiar experience and they were afraid that the results would be the same as they had been so many times before. Two weeks later I received a fax with her pregnancy test results with a note attached asking “What does this mean??!!” Dr. Garzo and I couldn’t wait to call them and share the wonderful news, which took them by complete surprise. They were sure the results were negative because this was what they were used to hearing time and time again.

A few weeks later, we were the ones who were surprised when they called to say they were having twins! I thought this would be the last I would hear from them as they were on their way to having the children they had been dreaming of. But, to my wonderful surprise, they kept in contact throughout the entire pregnancy with pictures and faxed notes. Then on July 7, 1999 their prayers were answered. “M” delivered two healthy baby boys; Roger who weighed 5lb 3oz and his brother Arnau who was slightly bigger at 5lb 8oz. Fortunately for me, they continue to send me updates and pictures of their gorgeous boys.

Touched By an Angel

There were far less surprises in Mischa’s journey, but it was no less incredible, believe me. Mischa’s life, along with the pregnancy, remained uncomplicated. Every milestone was met or surpassed along the way and when she told her couple they were having a girl, all was wonderful with the world. They were thrilled to tell their son, Etai, that he had a baby sister on the way. You must understand that Mischa is a woman with direction, you may even say she is a No-Nonsense kind of gal. Her matter-of-fact attitude often amazed the other women in the support group. So it would seem that there were few things Mischa wasn’t prepared for??but she couldn’t anticipate what was to come on May 23, 1999. Her story can be summed up in the following statement she made and with the beautiful poem her experience inspired her to write which is printed in the “Special Thoughts” column. When Mischa said, “This was the most incredible experience of my life” you knew it was true. You could see it in her face and hear it in her trembling voice. She was touched so deeply when she heard the mother sobbing softly and she saw her face streaming with tears as Yael, a sweet little angel, was born. The affect was more than she ever realized it would be. Mischa, you have inspired us all! Congratulations on bringing your couple 7lb 6oz of pure joy!

Great Gifts Come in Small Packages

Who says great gifts don’t come in small packages? I know two people who would disagree; the proud parents of GiGi Marie and Jacob. GiGi Marie was the chunkier one at 3lb 15oz and her younger brother (by half an hour!) Jacob was a little smaller at 3lb 6oz. Here’s their story: Early in the morning, Kim and I got a page, but we didn’t immediately recognize the telephone number. We first called Mischa as she was due to deliver any day, but it wasn’t her. Puzzled, Kim and I knew it couldn’t be Juliette as her due date was not until July?..but it was! You can imagine our disbelief when she told us her water had broken. Incredibly, Juliette and the babies waited until the parents arrived to the hospital and even gave them a few hours of rest before they were born early the next morning on May 21, 1999. The NICU was so pleased with their condition which was clearly a reflection of the great care Juliette had been giving them. At only two weeks old, the twins have a frequent flyer card as they were flown to a hospital nearer to their home. Congratulations!!

Baby Makes Call on Mom’s Cellphone

After an unexpected C-Section delivery, Deena was surprised again to hear that Bennett had made his first cellphone call within the first half-hour of his life! His mom called his grandparents on the East Coast and they wanted to hear their grandson, so Mom put the phone next to him. It was a like a script, he cried on cue!

And, boy, could he cry! During the surgery, Deena asked me to tell her the moment he was born so she could listen for his cry and know that he was okay, but I didn’t have to say a word. The moment Bennett was born he belted out an incredibly loud cry. We were sure everyone in that wing of the hospital knew he had arrived.

And, my oh my, was this boy big. After the doctors and nurses made their weight predictions of about 6 lbs, he made his entrance weighing 8lb 8oz!!

Where were you hiding him, Deena?? Way to go!!

Surrogate Mom wins Gold Medal

Well, not really, but Carol B. would have won a gold medal if there was a pregnancy race that had hurdles every 10 feet! On April 1, Carol B. calls Kim and announces that her water broke and off they go to the hospital. I am in Texas, her couple are in Spain and we are all frantically trying to get to Southern California. Incredibly, the doctor decides that they will stop her labor and see if she can hang on to the pregnancy for a while longer to give the twins? lungs some more time to mature. After 16 days of hospital confined bedrest, the doctor walks in and without saying a word, she hands Carol B. a note. The note read that the babies? lungs were mature and she could now deliver. So that afternoon, Alvaro and Ignacio, were born. Just outside of the delivery room, their big brother and their aunt eagerly awaited their arrival. If Carol could have seen her couple’s faces when they walked out of the Operating Room holding their babies, she would have realized at that moment that she did win the Gold Medal after all.

Hospital Waiting Room Exceeds Capacity

When I arrived to the hospital, I was amazed by the amount of people that had come to Sandy’s delivery. It was obvious that this baby girl Sandy was carrying had a large family eagerly awaiting her delivery. I saw Grandma, whom I saw regularly at Sandy’s OB appointments, and I met the aunts, cousins and family friends. Sandy looked great as she comfortably sat in her bed making conversation with all of us. Since Sandy was so comfortable, the extended family felt safe to leave so they went out to eat. Then almost suddenly everything changed. We tried to reach them on their cell phone, to no avail. This baby was coming and she was coming fast. Then our wonderful, Dr. Cantu, asked Mom if she wanted to help deliver her baby. Scrubs were ordered for Mom, but Sandy couldn’t hold on much longer. So, the nurse took off her own scrubs and gave them to her. Then only moments later, Mom was holding her baby girl as she took her first breath. Incredible!! Nicolette was born on April 3, 1999 and she weighed an even 7 pounds. I am very interested to know if Nicolette will be a shy girl as she seemed to wait until only her parents, myself and Sandy’s husband, Jeff were present before she made her entrance. Hmmm??

Rental Car Races to Hospital

After a basic text-book pregnancy, it came as a surprise that Monica’s labor and delivery resembled a book written by George Lucas or Stephen Spielberg. It was an action packed night! It began shortly after midnight with a phone call from Monica saying she thought she was in labor and ended slightly more than an hour later when she delivered!! Her husband, Lennie, remained calm and collected as he ushered Monica into their couple’s rental car. The couple jumped into the backseat and Lennie sped off into the night. He put his flying license to good use that night as he sped faster and faster as each contraction became harder and harder. No one, not even Monica, knew the birth was only minutes away. Within moments of arriving to the hospital, Gerard arrived. His mother is overwhelmed by the whole experience and a nurse helps her to a chair and gets her some water. I finally get there and first see the new mom, sitting in a chair by herself outside of the delivery room, crying. I rushed over to her to see what was wrong. “Nothing is wrong, everything is perfect”, “I have a son and he is so beautiful!” I was puzzled as to why she was out here if all was perfect. She replied, “Have you ever had a dream come true and have your prayers answered? Well, I just did. I was fine until the moment he was born. When I saw him, the most overwhelming feeling I have ever felt in my life came over me. I had to sit down and the tears started flowing. I am happier than I ever thought I could be.” What an incredible moment, that may have been missed if they weren’t all together when Monica’s labor began. Wow!!