More Newspaper Coverage!

I know this is kind of late but i guess better late than never right? the link to the local SNP who had our story this past week for the suburbs of c-bus is in the title of this blog again... also we added more pics in a slideshow down at the bottom! Gavin's starting to look like a baby instad of a newborn! yay! keep posted to the site i'll try to get pictures every other day or so on the slideshow thing.... but don't hold me to it!


Love Ya All!

Pix and in the News

Hre are a few more pix... also i forgot to tell you all that we were in the newspaper in sanford NC because of our story! we were the first "surrogacy" case in Lee County. click on the title of this page and it should take you to the newspaper's website. then click on march 26th we should be there!



on the way to meet some of the family sunday

I call this one sleeping beauty.

Here's g-ma with her first grandbaby. she's in love!

Meeting Gavin

We finally met our son Monday March 24th at 6:13 pm. He was a healthy 8 lbs even and 21 1/2 inches long.. Shannon only had to push for about a half hour. Gavin was "sunny side up" as shannon calls it.. so he he was a little harder to get him out. He had a massive bruise on his head, a little bit of a bruised eye, as well as nose. But now he's beautiful, and healthy.

Sorry you had to wait so long for an update. Because we were in nowheresville NC and not in the busseling town of C0lumbus we had almost no cell service at the hospital and everytime i tried to connect to the wireless either at my cousin's house or at the hospital i would be disconnected right away.
We are finally home, and semi-settled with our new baby boy. I promise more pictures as soon as i can...
God Bless you Shannon and Randy! You are true blessings to us!

Almost Gavin's Birthday..YAY!

Even though it seems we were just down for the weekend we are back to see Shannon, Randy and the gang only this time........we get to meet our son! We drove the long 10 hour drive this time so that we could lug all of baby's stuff with us. It took us 10 hours to do about an 8-9 hour drive because we got stuck in traffic on 77 in WVA for about 10 miles! let me tell you that wasn't fun stop and go for that long made us wish we had flown...

Shannon is going to be going to the hospital Sunday evening after eating dinner with us and my mom as well as her dad who are coming down for the birth. She'll start the induction Sunday night. Which means we'll probably not get much sleep Sunday. I hope Ryan and i rest tonight. With the long drive in I don't think either one of us slept very well last night..we both had very weird dreams. We're just very anxious to see Gavin. We have been talking about it for so long I'm ready for him to be here.. i can't stop thinking about it!

We will be in the local paper here in Sanford because Central Carolina Hospital has never seen this type of situation. The reporter talked to Shannon Thursday and we'll be getting our picture taken after Gavin's birth. :-) so..that will be fun! I'll have to cut out the article so we can put it in his memory book!

BY THE WAY...all you people from Ohio who haven't seen a full day of clear sky and warm tempretures for waaay too long I have to tell you that the sun is out and it's in the lower 70s today... I tell you this because I hear it's snowing there today HAHAHAH...

okay love you all thanks for checking up on us!

Next time I update hopefully i'll have fun pictures of a new family!

MOM, DAD, and GAVIN!!! :-D

**MUAH**

We Just Wanted to Say Thank You

To all our family and friends...

Number one to our parents who with out their love and support wouldn't even be thinking about being parents right now! They gave us two great gifts... Our lives, and the life of a child in which they have entrusted to us.. I really am baffled by their unconditional giving.

Number two, to Shannon and Randy who have given up more than a year of their lives to make this dream possible! Shannon you truly have no CLUE how amazing you are! Randy, thank you for being the support Shannon needs through this! I'm truly amazed by you both volunteering for something so selfless!

To our sisters,Natalie and Lindsey, who have been excited about being an aunt from the start. I can't wait for Gavin to know how amazing his aunts are.

To all the extended family who have helped tremendously through this process both in love and in support that you chipped in as you could! It is really amazing the family that God has given us! I never realized how much support could come from a family who sees a dream and desire in you and helps make that dream come true! I really thank God for every one of you! We are so lucky to have such a support system!

To all our friends, you have been our sanity in the whole getting ready for Gavin process! You have given us some fun times and laughter, as well as some great things to look forward to when Gavin comes!

We love you all and really hope you know that we are extremely grateful for everyone in our lives that will share in our joy of being parents! All your kindness has NOT gone unnoticed!

Look at what you have helped us create:

This is the growing embryos before transfer



It's really been an amazing adventure!




and it's just beginning!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE!

We Love You All!

~Ryan and Rebekah

Baby Gavin's Room

Welcome to Gavin's Room!!!!

This is his toy chest for now i'm using it for boxes of diapers




I love this piece it's beautiful and we will use it for Gavin's dresser for years to come! We'll use it for a changing table by getting a curved foam changing table for the top. Here's another Picture.. please excuse the finger in the corner!




Here's Gavin's Crib.. Again i love this piece too! This will grow with Gavin why? because it's a lifetime crib.. it goes from this to a toddler bed, then day bed, then a full bed. Pretty cool huh?

NEW PICTURES!

Baby Gavin is growing strong! Strong heartbeat all 10 fingers and toes!Isn't he cute? I'm getting super excited for Gavin's arrival. I still have a check list of what still needs to be done before he comes but the house looks great!
I'm going to try to get a slide show of pictures on here of just Gavin! We'll see if it will let me!
But for now here's a few more!

Pictures of Shannon!

I'm so sorry it's been forever since i last wrote but I was waiting for pictures of Shannon. I know i should have probably written more between now and the last time I wrote but I've been one busy girl...
Okay, so I know your waiting on the pictures so here ya go!

This was a few weeks ago I'm sure she's bigger even still :-)

THANK YOU SHANNON!! I can't wait to see you in January! You are AWESOME!

Could it be? WHY IT IS!

DO YOU SEE IT? don't worry..I didn't at first either...but I'm told that it is there....the part that makes my baby a BOY... That means
Ryan's name goes......
that is...
GAVIN ELIJAH

This would be an ARM....WITH LITTLE BABY FINGERS...

This is a foot... do you count 5 toes?

THE 3D IS KINDA CREEPY BUT I LIKE THIS PHOTO NOW...

ITS THE FIRST PHOTO OF MY BABY BOY....

GAVIN ELIJAH

Nesting Habits Already?

Ryan and I had to go up to Ashland this week due to a death in his family. While we were there His mother gave us the baby clothes she found... i have to show you these!!!
Cleveland Indians Onesie with shorts and baseball cap! CONGRATS TO THE INDIANS BTW!

NEXT IS....UH HUH! OH...IO!

That's right OHIO STATE HOW CUTE IS THIS!? All we need now is CLEVELAND BROWNS and we'll be set in my husband's eyes at least! Believe me we'll be getting some I've found receiving blankets etc at Babies R' US.

SO coming home from Ashland all i want to do is rip up the carpet..start organizing...and cleaning...I want to get this place spotless (yes that will take 6 months) for baby! and all the visitors coming in and out of this SMALL place...

I also really want to get all the info I can about all the stuff we'll need. I'm surprised by how expensive things can be! wowsa! But with reading up in all the magazines about all the this stuff and how to "bond with your child" etc etc... i think i may have more questions than before...
Like for example...since babies have such poor eyesight when they are first born they use their sense of smell a lot. They can tell that you are mom b/c of your smell...they know your smell to the point of knowing how your breast milk smells! i can't breast feed, and since i didn't carry the baby will the baby not know my "smell"? humm... or even my voice...I guess i have a while to worry about that! but I'd really like to talk to some people who have been though the whole surrogacy thing...I'd like to ask them how all the different questions I have that only they can answer ya know!?

I have the nesting fever today... In a way i'm kind of panicking..so much to do...such a big responsibility...such little time... all in the mean time i'm figuring out how to provide best for this new addition but also how to get through school at a faster pace.. I'm kind of scared honestly...but we'll all be okay.. Thankfully i have my mother's spirit of "I'll do what I gotta do to get this challenge done.." this is what I've always wanted...a family...and though my plans have not gone quite as planned I'll make it work! Actually Ryan and I will make it work..thankfully it's not only me that has to do this!

Alright it's bed time!

Love Ya All! Thanks for checkin' in!

Just a little update

I was talking to Shannon on IM yesterday and asked if she saw a baby bump yet. She said not really except for in the mornings when she's laying down. She said that the baby seems to be all curled up and when she has to go to the bathroom and when she's laying down it looks like a baseball in her belly. Sticking Straight out...of course i've never seen anything like this especially since it's my baby I'm even more curious and we continued to have one of those "NUH UH".. "YES HUH!" conversations for a while. Till she said she'd send a picture. THOUGH SHE HASN'T SENT ME ONE YET i look forward to it! To see really what this looks like. Because at 13 weeks the baby isn't any bigger than a jumbo shrimp. HOW can it be as big as a baseball all curled up!? HUM.... I'm so curious i could scream!

13 weeks....this week my baby has his/her own fingerprints and his/her itsy bitsy organs are workin'! CRAZY!

Shannon and the family are comming up in January... i hope we can do an 3D ultrasound up in ashland with Ryan's mom! That would rock too! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE PICTURES! MORE PICS! CRAZY TIMES MAN!

Gotta go but I hope you liked our update! It's not nearly as exciting as an ultra sound picture but we'll get there!

Pictures at 12 Weeks

It's our little Charlie Brown sucking his/her thumb.. awww!!! :-)

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's hit the 2-inch mark (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. Her face is beginning to look more human. Her eyes, which started out on the sides of her head, have moved closer together on her face, and her ears are near their final positions on the sides of her head. Your baby's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into her abdominal cavity about now. Her kidneys are secreting urine into her bladder. Her nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological pathways in the brain) are forming. Your baby may have acquired more reflexes by now, including sucking, and she'll even squirm if you prod your abdomen, though you still won't be able to feel her movement for several weeks.


we can now tell the WHOLE world that we are pregnant b/c we have reached the 12 weeks we all were holding our breaths for! I have more photos but it premiere! gotta watch the office! yaaah baaaby!

ciao!

First Picture

This is a picture of the baby at 9 weeks only 2 more weeks to go and we'll be at 12 weeks which means we'll be more in the "clear" regarding the whole miscarrage thing... but for now we'll just marvel that we can see such a tiny thing and such a young age. I honestly cried a little when I first saw it!

I gtg back to work but i just wanted to share with everyone our little bundle of joy.. 2 more weeks and we'll see limbs as well as be at the 12 week mark.. DANG 3 MONTHS GOES SO FAST!
I'll be at shannon's this weekend with Anita...so more blogging to come! Love y'all!

We Have News!

For all of you who check in regularly I'm so sorry we haven't had much to say. But today we have news! WOHOO.

Life seemed to have returned back to normal for us back in the state of ohio...but then came ultrasound day...we learned...

We are now 9 weeks along...only 3 more weeks and we will be in the clear...well at least more than we are now!

The baby (yes just one) is growing fast. how amazing is it to think that in just 3 weeks the baby has grown from 3 mm to 2 cm! in 3 more weeks we will see limbs on the ultrasound!

And the last but most important thing we learned today....the baby's heart is strong... with 160 beats per minute the word that the doctor used was "excellent". they look for the heartbeat to be 120 BPM but they say anything over 150 is excellent progress!!! They can see the baby's head, heartbeat, and body on the ultrasound instead of just a blob that it was 3 weeks ago....

THANK YOU ALL FOR WANTING TO KNOW HOW THE PROGRESS OF THE BABY IS GOING!!
next Friday I'll be flying down with my friend/honorary sister Anita to have one more trip before school starts! hopefully next time we'll have pictures!


MUCH LOVE!!

Reading Up and Tearing Up

So we have been reading up about how big our baby is right now. I got a book called "what to expect when your expecting" I know some of it won't pertain to me but it's still nice to know what to expect at every doctor's visit and how big Shannon should be.
Looks like we'll be expecting a little one in April of 08 :-) It's fun to read how fast the baby is growing....

Our pregnancy: 6 weeks

How your baby's growing: The cells that will make up all of your baby's body parts and systems are dividing furiously as her body begins to take shape. Right now she's about the size of a small lentil bean (4 to 5 millimeters across). If you could see through your uterine wall, you'd find an overlarge head and dark spots where her eyes and nostrils are beginning to take shape. Shallow pits on the sides of her head mark her developing ears, and her arms and legs appear as protruding buds. Her hands and feet look like paddles, with thick webbing between the developing digits, but her fingers and toes will soon become more distinct. Below the opening that will later be your baby's mouth, there are small folds where her neck and lower jaw will eventually develop. (Inside, her tongue and vocal cords are just beginning to form.)

Your baby's heart (which is starting to divide into the right and left chambers) is beating about 100 to 130 beats per minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to circulate through her body. Her intestines are developing and tiny breathing passages are beginning to appear where her lungs will be. She's also starting to build muscle fibers and, halfway through this week, she'll likely start moving her tiny limbs. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to wait until you're several weeks into your second trimester before you get to enjoy feeling your baby's calisthenics.


While Shannon is busy helping the baby grow we are busy thinking about what kind of things need done around the house before a baby can join it. Ryan will be taking his days off together next week to rip out the carpet downstairs, the linoleum downstairs and upstairs and then put down pergo and tile. Not only b/c of the baby but because it needs to be done anyways. Having the baby is just a good excuse to get things down around here!
So, get this Ryan's mom has already bought OSU clothes for the baby! lol I think she's a little excited!! :-) She's also going to help us get cheap pergo and help us put it down. She's going to help us put the nursery together too. Exciting, and scary times man!

Alright, ttyl! Love ya all but its bed time

So, we have news!

I got a call from Shannon today. She said they could only find one baby on the ultrasound. it is 3 mm long and they can hear the heartbeat! she said that the baby is 5 weeks and 6 days old (which they count from when she missed her last period. not from when the embryo was implanted!)

isn't that awsome?! I think my mom cried a little bit before calling me! I think she's getting excited to be a grandma! :-)

I Think Ryan's mom is excited too! :-) YAY! she's going to be comming down to put pergo down and help us get the house ready to go for the baby! :-)

Next step, ultrasound sept 6 to make sure everything is still going well!

Then Nita and I fly down on the 14th to see Shannon!!

Then, we just wait for the 3 month mark! 12 weeks.......I think we can do that! :-)
KEEP PRAYING!

Ultrasound Change

Well the ultrasound has been pushed back to first thing Thursday Morning. So no one freak out that we don't have info on-line about it. Don't freak out if you haven't heard anything from us. We are just waiting...again. So, once we know if it's one or two babies we'll let you know! :-) Thanks for your desire to know what's up with us we really do love that you all are so interested!


We'll keep you updated! Don't worry!

*-: MUCH LOVE! :-*

1 Week-Ultrasound, 2 Weak Mommy Arms!

I talked to Shannon today she said that her first ultrasound is set for the 13th. which means We'll know (for sure) if we have one baby or two by monday of next week! WOOHOO!

At lunch today I decided to start building my arm muscle so I started with 2 lbs and just doing that i can feel it already! WOW, I'm a weakling! I'm thinking that i'll start arm reps with thes the 2 lbs and move up. Hopefully i can get my arms in shape as well as maybe my core :-) i work at the perfect place to do all this. Working with Physical Therapists they can tell you what to do and how to do it. FREE. So, that's good! :-)

I can't wait to have "mommy arms" carved with muscle! :-)

Ryan already wants to buy baby name books. I think it's too early for that! However I am contemplating how to Re-do the house to make it more 'baby friendly'. To me right now that's more fun anyways. Once i see the ultrasound I may change my mind... who knows!

okay, lunch break is almost over! talk to y'all soon!

And The Results Are In.....

I got news from Shannon that the blood work was positive. Which means we are PREGNANT! We owe it all to Shannon! She was the one that never gave up! Which I think is AWESOME of her! Even though she feels like a human pincushion she still takes a shot in the bum everyday! CRAZY girl! Who volunteers for that? My Awesome cousin!

So on Friday my cousin and her hubby fly back to NC. Before they leave they have 1 more thing of blood work done. Just to make absolute sure everything is cool. After that we'll do an ultrasound in two weeks. Keep praying, until we get by 3 months we are holding are breath!

I just thought we'd update the site of the good news! gtg to bed now!

LOVE YA ALL!
THANKS FOR THE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!

It's a Long Wait...

Sorry I haven't written lately. Really we have to wait 'till Wednesday to know if Shannon is pregnant. SO, needless to say it's been a long week of waiting. Shannon goes to the doctor at 9 am California time so that means by lunch time i should know what's going on. Wednesday i won't be able to concentrate around lunch time and afterwards. I just hope it's good news!! I guess it's just time to pray! :-)

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN for all your thoughts and prayers and offers for help on so many different levels!

YOU ALL ROCK!

:-) LoVe YoU!