We arrived in Alaska on Monday ready for the baby to be born. On Wed night our surrogate started having strong contractions. She suggested that we all try to get some sleep, so we all went to bed. Come morning the contractions had stopped and everything was normal. Thursday was our check up everything went well and we were dilated to 1.5 cm. The next two days were uneventful. Sunday morning I heard my husband get up and showered, but it was still early so I thought I might as well enjoy lying in bed while I still can. About 45 minutes later I hear a light knock on the door and quiet words, so I hop out of bed and find our sm standing at the top step saying that the water had broken and that my husband was gone. At this time it was about 9:30 am and no contractions had started at this point. Wouldn?t you know it the day my husband is out looking for wildlife (Alaska) the water breaks and we have no way to get in touch with him. A couple hours go by and by this time Tim has returned and we are getting last minute packing done (after the birth we go to a bed and breakfast until departing to go home) and got housework done for our surrogate such as changing the sheets on the bed we slept in and cleaning the bathroom. We didn?t want her to have to clean up after guest once she gets home. By 2 pm she called her husband home to come help out with their dd and getting some of the packing of bags done and snacks and such (also moral support). About 6 pm we are still having contractions, but only 20-25 minutes apart. She wants to put her daughter in the car and see if she will fall asleep. She suggest that we also go for a car ride to pass the time, so we told her we would stay in town and get a bite to eat. Once we get back to her house at about 7:30 at night we come in to her husband feeding all the animals and then I see her coming down the hall in tears saying that the contractions have really changed and that we need to get going. So we grab our last minutes stuff and help her to the car. The 15 minute ride to the midwife center was about 15 hours I swear. Once we got there the midwives (3) sweep her off into a room to check her cervix, while Tim, myself and her husband unload the cars of the things we need like food and suitcases. About 20 minutes later a midwife calls me back and my sm said that she wanted to change the plans a little bit. She felt totally comfortable being totally uncovered in front of them, but not us. It was a crushing moment, but I knew it was a possibility so we agreed to wait until the baby was born and she was covered to come into the room. I had totally wished I could have been there to support her, but I had to follow her wishes. We were also told at that time that we were between 5-6 cm dilated. We went out into the waiting room and entertained her 2 year old daughter with movies and games. Around 10 pm I started hearing some loud intense moaning and knew the time was near. Next thing I knew one of the midwifes was calling our names and telling us to come quickly she had been born. As soon as we entered the room we were in awe crying and she was so beautiful. Soon after one midwife took us to a different room and I started skin to skin contact and she breastfed almost immediately. About 15 minutes later one of the midwifes came in and said that Savannah was truly meant to be in our world and that she was a gift from god. There was a problem with the placenta. The cord insertion was velamentous, the worst case the midwife had ever seen. Basically if you think of the cord going into the placenta like a stump of 3 vessels ours looked like a tri-pod and was just about ripped off. They said if that had happened it would have surely meant death for the baby. After they tell us this my sm and her hubby come across the hall to see the baby again and they bring over the placenta?they said one foot wrapped around the cord and one good kick and it would have been the end. Two hours later we are able to go to our bed and breakfast and enjoy our daughter. We go back to the midwife center the next day to finish up some paperwork and meet with our surrogate one last time. We all needed some closure. Now we are home and things are going great. We were one a BAD sleeping schedule, but now things are getting much better and everyone is getting some sleep. I have been able to breastfeed her quite a bit, but I am still supplementing with a bottle a few times a day. It is my frozen milk from months of pumping so as long as she is getting my milk that is all that matter. Plus my hubby can feed her as well.

That is our birth story!