Updated Thursday Night: Introducing Micah Gabriel Sacks

(Note: Computer shut down unexpectedly while I was writing this, so am updating on Thursday night.)

Dear Micah,

You're here! On Tuesday night, we went to sleep not knowing whether you'd be born in one day or a week. The doctors promised that they'd call us to give us an update on Tuesday night, but by Wednesday morning when we woke at 5:3o, we hadn't heard anything, so we headed to the gym to let off some tension. We both had good, sweaty workouts, and came back to the room at around 7:15. No sooner had we walked in the door than we got a call from the doctor that we should be at the hospital in 5 minutes! Well, our hotel was at least 10 minutes from the hospital, so we ran around our hotel room likes chickens with our heads cut off to shower, pack, get our bags down to the front desk, and check out of the hotel. Not to mention that Daddy Adam can't have a 2 hour workout without a meal afterwards! So we didn't get to meet you until you were a whole hour old.

You were born at 7:29 am on 7/29/09! You weighed 5 lbs, 11 oz; we don't know how long you were because you were all bundled up like a little pea in a pod. You have a round face, a wide nose (we apologize for that one!), lots of reddish dark-brown hair, and light brown eyebrows and eyelashes. Your daddy was relieved to see that your ears lie flat to your head, but keeps adjusting your hat to make sure it stays that way. Your eyes have only been opening when you're not in direct light, but they look like a steely bluish-grey so far. Everyone Indian at the hospital thinks you look like your daddy, but we think its just that your coloring is much lighter than someone Indian. To me, you look a bit like my uncle Mel, which is not actually a surprise, because I thought our egg donor shared some characteristics with that side of my family.

We spend 2 or 3 hours with you in an empty delivery room waiting to get checked into our hospital "suite." Although it is a spacious 2-room, 2 br area, "suite" is far too grand for this room. Everything in the room is vanilla-colored, the bathrooms are spartan, and there's mold everywhere. We can't wait to check out. While it is nice to be able to call the nursing staff for help, we find it difficult to communicate our questions and needs, even though everyone is speaking English. Being here is a bit like being in a fairly nice foreign prison, in which a steady procession of caretakers come and go on a regular basis. Two pediatricians have visited for cursory check-ups, but we haven't gotten much information from them, either, and your Daddy was very frustrated that all possibilities of obtaining human milk were shut down.

Complaining aside (and Micah, you'll find that complaining is something we do fairly well), we're so happy to have you with us. We can't stop admiring how well you turned out, and being amazed that we created you practically through e-mail.

I did get to visit briefly with your surrogate, Rajeshree, as she recovered from the birth. She looked worn out but pleased with herself. We were amazed that she was recouperating just next door to the room we were in while waiting for our suite, and wondered whether she heard our cooing over you and your early cries. I gave her a gold ring that I used to wear in my 20's -- it is very delicate, with a cluster of sapphires and two small diamonds on opposite sides. I explained that it signified that even though we're separated from her across an ocean, we'll always be connected. Unlike a lot of the other surrogates who wear gold earings and noserings, she doesn't seem to wear a lot of gold jewelrey, so we hope she likes it.

The rest of today has been more challenging than yesterday. You are a bit fussier, and suffered from a long case of hiccups at one point, and we're a lot more tired. However, the nursing staff is leaving us alone more now, so we hope tonight will be a bit easier. We can't wait to check out of the hospital and settle in with you to our hotel suite that will have plush towns and won't smell like disinfectant. We hope to make the transfer by mid-day on Friday, although like most things in this process, it will probably require lots of waiting around and difficult-to-understand communication. Our hotel will have free internet access, so we plan to post more updates, although they will probably all sound something like "gee you're cute," "gee, we're tired," and "gee we can't wait to get home."

Speaking of, our appointment with the embassy is next Thursday, 8/6. We won't know whether they'll require a DNA test until we get there; if not, there's a chance we could head home the following week, but if they do, it may take us longer. More on that later.

BTW, if there are any IPs who want more scoop about Hirandani hospital, please send me a private message through the forum.

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