Journey of a Lifetime (Beginning)

Wow, what a crazy last 48 hours it has been.
Before I left, I had some of my friends stop by and wish me well. Below you will find a pic of my friend Jeff getting me some matching outfits for the babes.

That next day Mom and I set off for the "Adventure of a Lifetime". Here is a pic as we set off from the San Francisco Airport.

We flew Virgin Atlantic and stopped in London. We had about 5-6 hours to spare so I decided to show my Mom around the town. My Mom had never been to London (or even Europe for that matter), so it was great to experience London with her. She had a ball. Here's us in front of the London Bridge (completely sleep deprived).

From there we headed off to Delhi. I could not sleep at all on the plane because I was so excited. As we got through customs, we saw one of Rahul's driver awaiting us. This is a huge difference from last year when I came into Delhi and 1am and my driver from the hotel was not there and I had to argue with a driver to take me all the way to the neighborhood GK-2. The smoothness of this trip has been a blessing. We got into our hotel room, I went and picked up fresh Aquafina water, and then we headed to the hospital to pick up the babes. When we got to the hospital, we could see that they were sleeping next to each other (swaddled down), which was great.

There was a little drama at the hospital as there was a slight miscommunication as to when we would arrive and be ready to pick up the babies, but it was all cleared up and the process took an hour. Here's a pic of me first holding my girl Zora Jacinda:

Fellow SCI blogger and friend Fred asked me what was I thinking when I first laid eyes on them.
I guess I would say
1) WOW!
2) Beautiful!
3) OMG, what do I do now!

As I held them my arms shook. It was finally real and it was amazing. Being so removed from the process is a bit difficult, but makes this first moment so special. It is truly unbelievable.

While at the hospital, I met a couple from San Francisco who were picking up their twins. This was the second time they had used SCI (they had a 2 year-old daughter already). We exchanged information and wished each other well. I expect many play dates in the future with them.

Below are some pics from the ride 'home' to the hotel:

I will say that I am so glad my Mom is with me for obvious reasons. But it became super apparent to me how amazing she is. Once we got to the hotel, the babes started crying in unison and I was a bit frozen; the dreaded twins double team! Mom jumped right into action and worked it all out! Amazing! The first couple of days has been a really great mini-Mom boot camp. I have learned a lot.

About the Babes, just some tidbts:
They are strong and healthy. I am surprised how alert and active they are. They both loving having their arms free
They are both very social and their eyes follow my voice and look right at me. I was surprised to see that they are both trying to hold their heads up.

Zora is more vocal while Ravi is more chill.
Ravi pees every time he is getting his diaper changed. =)

That is it for now. Oh yeah...the paperwork process is going smoothly.

I love being a parent,
A

I got Twins y'all!

 

Twin 1- Zora Jacinda White

Sex: Female

Date: 6th September 2013

Time: 10:25PM

Weight: 2.56Kg (5lbs 10 ounces)

Twin 2-  Ravi Sadat White

Sex: Male

Date: 6th September 2013

Time: 10:26 PM

Weight: 2.63kg (5lbs 13 ounces)

• Both the babies are healthy and fine.
• Both the babies are on Demand Feed.
• Vitals and Systems of Both the Babies are Stable.

Dr. Shivani said, and I quote, "They are chubby and adorable. Amazing weights for twins. Cheers"

What joy!

With Nothing but Gratitude,

Anwar

Baby Shower Pics

Hope everyone is doing well.
I finally got the pics to my baby shower:
https://anwarsbabyshower.shutterfly.com/.

Was it a baby shower or a frat party?... you be the judge.

Also, my Mom came into town on Wednesday in preparation for the flight to India on Monday. We are all super excited for the babes to come. I'm so glad she is here.

On Thursday, my work threw me a surprise baby shower and breakfast. It was so sweet. They all pitched in a got me a Target gift card with an amount on it that blew my mind. Let's just say, I can get everything the babies need during my paternity leave, and more. What a blessing! I was telling my Mom earlier that I consider myself a pretty independent person and try not to put an expectations on anyone because I know that I can do for myself. So when people go out of their way to help or support me, it really does touch. I am so grateful.

My last day of work was this Friday... so let's bring on the babies. I mean we are already in week 37. I think it might be a record for SCI twins, hahaha.

-A

Final Scan and Report

Scan: Last Thursday, as many of you know, my surrogate was admitted to the hospital with mild contractions and extreme nausea. On Friday, the clinic sent the last and final report and scan for the babes and surromom (see below).

Dear Anwar,

We hope you are doing well.
We would like to inform you that we have done a USG scan for L as per our obstetrician's advise.
Kindly find attached herewith reports of the same.
We would like to inform you that our obstetrician has reviewed the reports & found everything within normal limit.

Your babies are also doing well.
However, L is still in the hospital and undergoing necessary medical treatment.
We are keeping very close eyes on her pregnancy.

Our medical staff have been reviewing her on regular intervals and taking further actions accordingly.
We will keep you updated with her further progress & new status.

With Best Regards,
Yogita

It is good to see that the babes are growing so much. Each of them is about 5lbs and 8 ounces. I am not sure how much faith to put into this report though. Either way, the babes seem to be healthy, and that makes me happy. Their measurements seem to be on the lower percentages on this scan, which means I am going to have to feed them tons when they leave the womb! I am starting to get the feeling that both babes will be girls, I don’t know why. Anyway, in a couple of weeks, I will know exactly what gender they will be.

I just want to take some time to acknowledge and honor the surrogates that go through so much (more than any of us IPs know) to create these miracles we call babies. Pregnancy is seriously no joke and these women are so strong to be doing this. Having my surrogate admitted in the hospital reminded me of this. I hope my children will exhibit similar illustrations of strength in their lifetime.

Update: Today, I received an update on my surromom’s condition. She is doing much better and they are discharging her! Yay!

Dear Anwar,

We hope you are doing fine.
We are here again with new updates of L.

As per our recent discussion with our obstetrician we would like to inform you that she is doing fine. With respect to the same our medical team has decided to get her discharged from the hospital. Please note that she will be out from the hospital by today evening.

We will keep you updated with her further progress & new status.

With Regards,
Yogita

My Mom seems to think that this episode was due to two things: 1) L might have caught an infection of some sort and 2) her body is starting to let her know it is close to delivery date. My Mom said she had similar episodes (Braxton Hicks) and gave birth to each of her children a couples weeks afterward. I’m hoping the L does the same thing. =)

Welcome home!: And finally, I want to give a quick shout out to Blogger Fred who came home (to the US) this past weekend. Welcome home! Now the real fun starts!

Should we stay or should we go?

Wow, times are a changing!
I received an email from SCI that my surrogate is having mild contractions and is being admitted in the hospital. Me and the family are on the edge of our seats. I told myself that I will not pack until I officially hear that they are born (if earlier than my originally scheduled flight). I currently have everything that will be packed in their crib. FYI, if you are having twins, I would schedule your flight around week 36 (not week 38.5 as instructed). Through all of the research I have done, I haven’t heard of any twins being born after week 37 through surrogacy in India. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.


Update as I am writing this post:
Just got word from Dr. Shivani that the labor has not progressed and that we are in the clear for now. Wow, I am so happy and grateful that they will stay longer in the womb and grow as big as possible. I believe the scare was to inform my surrogate (and everyone else) to get ready for these babies! THEY ARE A COMIN’!

Let’s ROCK!

Baby Shower!

What an amazing weekend! One for the record books, for sure!

Baaaaaabyyyyyy Showwwwwerrrrrrr (in my best Oprah yelling voice)!

All of my close friends and family were there. My mom even surprised Cyncere and me on Thursday night. That was the shock of a lifetime. It was really good to have my Mom there. My best friend Yui also came (from NYC) and was a lifesaver in helping out with the prep for the party! There were a ton of people that came from all over the US. It was just so awesome. So many pics to come but we are still getting them together, but here are a few:

*Just an aside, I have had that Mr. Mom shirt since freshmen year of high school (so about 16 years)! So amazing that this shirt (as an omen) is coming to past in less than 3 weeks. Truly amazing!

We had a variety of games that I think everyone really liked including:

-‘Water Break (who can melt their ice cube (with twin babes in it)the fastest ) – Winner -David C

-‘Guess whats in that diaper ‘(9 different diapers with different chocolates and baby food) – Winner – Christophe/Rachael

-‘How many tissues go around my pregnant belly’ – Winner – Yui

-‘Best sucker -Tournament bracket style’ (who can drink cranberry vodka fastest through a bottle) – Winner Francis

-‘Keep those legs together’ (put a dime in between your knees and try to get it in a 2-liter soda bottle) – Winner – Christophe

Toward the end of the party, I opened the gifts. It was so amazing to receive so many gifts. I was so touched, even got a bit emotional. To know how much love there was for these babies before their birth was so overwhelming, I just couldn’t take it. All I can say is that I am so grateful to have such supportive and amazing friends and family. It is so obvious that these kids will have a village to help raise them.

The Nursery is finally complete. The theme of the nursery is “Oh the places you’ll go” complete with time zone clocks, a map, and pictures of worldy monuments. I really like how it turned out. The pic doesn’t do it justice, but here ya go.

Here are some pics of me and Mom putting some of the baby gear together!

Next steps for me are getting an SUV or minivan (this week) and packing for India.

After that, I think I’m good.

Until the next/last scan,

A

In One Month...

I received an update from SCI yesterday (one of the final ones):

Dear Anwar,

 

Greetings from SCI Healthcare..!!!

 

We hope you are doing well.

 

We would like to inform you that we have done USG scan of Laxmi as per our schedule.

 

Kindly find attached herewith reports of the same.

 

We would like to inform you that Dr. Shivani has reviewed the reports & noted that " Single Circum nuchal loop of cord seen".

 

Please note that if the same persist then it is likely that she will have her delivery via C-section.

 

Your babies are progressing well.

 

Please note that her next scan will be done within one month.

 

We will keep you updated.

 

With Regards,

Yogita

SCI Healthcare

 

 

 

The scans at this point don't really show much of anything these days but I am still grateful that SCI sends them. I asked about the "Single Circum nuchal loop of cord seen" comment and the doctor assured me that it would continue to be monitored but should not be cause for concern. That was a relief to hear. The babes are about 4 lbs each! They are growing so much in these last few weeks, I am just amazed at this entire process!

Over at my house it is baby central! The baby shower is next week and I am getting so excited! This one of the few times in my life where people from all of my life will come together (apart from my wedding and funeral). I am so touched that people will come and celebrate this very important time in my life. 

 

I have also been keeping up with my SCI brother Fred (http://indiansurrogacywithfred.blogspot.com/) as he has arrived in India to pick up his babies. This morning I woke up 5am to Facetime with him. He is absolutely on cloud 9, and he has complete reason to be:

His kids (Camden and Chase) are so gorgeous. They move so much and are so expressive. I still can't get past all the hair they have! What angels! Watching his process gets me so excited about mine. I can't wait to pick up the babes!

Other things that happened this week for me:

-I turned in my Visa application and I will be picking it up on Tuesday, hopefully. BLS is the new Visa Processing Company. It used to be Travisa. BLS is pretty horrible in terms of service and clarity in the process. They didn't honor my online application (good thing I had copies of everything). They also didn't have change for the cash I paid and forced me to get my own change at a nearby hospital.

It was a bit frustrating but I'm glad that part of the process is done. Let's hope that they fulfill their promise of getting me my Visa in 5 business days, which people on Yelp have said it takes a bit longer sometimes. I am setting the intention to pick it up on Tuesday though! =)

-I completed a letter to my unborn children. Babycenter advises that parents do it and I thought it was a good idea so I did it. It was a great reminder about my own values and what I wish for my kids in this world. It helped me put some things in perspective. As someone who takes pride in achieving, writing this letter really helped me understand that at the endof the day i just want my kids to be good, well intentioned people. It is that simple.

-A