{Click here to continue reading...}Going into my first birth I wasn't sure what to expect. You can read all the birth stories in the world and you will quickly realize just how different every single one manages to be. For me, birth apparently looks like a nighttime water breaking, followed by a steady progression of contractions, and then an hour of pushing. The biggest difference between my births was the time that it took to progress; about 11 hours the first time, only 2.5 the second!
I felt much more prepared for round two. Though a quick look at birth stories can tell you just how different second labors can be, I at least went in knowing that my body was ready and able, and that this child would be coming out! What I didn't know was just how much faster it would be this time around, in all ways!
[...] Besides the actual labor story, people are always filled with questions when it comes to surrogacy. After the birth of my daughter, Gwenivere, we pretty quickly realized that our urge for children was satisfied. We were one and done. There was something else though, in the back of my mind, a lingering feeling that I wasn't done being pregnant. There were numerous reasons, some selfless (knowing how amazing it was to have a baby, I wanted to help others to have that who couldn't do it themselves for whatever reason) and some absolutely selfish (I didn't think my first pregnancy would be my only pregnancy! I wanted to go through one enjoying it as my last). In the end it came down to much soul searching, a willing and supportive husband, and a fabulous match through an agency.
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How lucky I was to have two amazing births, to bring into this world two amazing kids!
And how happy I was to write about those experiences again!
