Suffice it to say Cami has had her share of comments from well-meaning folks inquiring about her pregnancy. But this week takes the cake as Eli was asked "Are you having a baby brother or baby sister?"!! To which, clearly, the answer is "neither." Cami interjected that "It's complicated." Surrogacy certainly has its moments of hilarity. Our ob said something along the lines of "Tell people you are having your brothers baby" as in no one in the South will be surprised. I have heard a lot recently on tv about surrogacy. I am so thankful, beyond thankful, that modern medicine provides these much-wanted babies like Jude to be born. It is still hard to believe that it worked! I know by now I should be "getting" that part since I can physically see Cami's belly, but it is so surreal, awesome, unimaginably great! I don't know why my dumb body refuses to "grow" babies, but I am ecstatic that an answer came thru Cami's love for us.
p.s. 8 months today!

I felt baby Jude kicking tonight! Cami & I were sitting side by side, & I held my hands on her belly for a few minutes. I felt 3 little thumps, & she said, "Did you feel that?" She says he's very active...It is so hard to believe that our baby boy will be here in only 2 months!!! It's like a miracle that just keeps getting better; it doesn't stop. And I feel certain every tear we've shed, every ache, will be completely healed the instant Jude is in our arms.

Six Months and Counting!...

So Cami is officially 6 months pregnant! She is doing great! Jude seems to be smaller than her babies; she has gained 6 lbs. less at this point than she did with her last baby. We are preparing his nursery, and realizing how little we actually know about newborns! We are going to take an Infant Care class at the hospital to learn all we can. The time is flying by; it is hard to believe he will be in here in 3 months or so!

My baby got rhythm! Cami, John, & Eli went to a festival this weekend in N.C. & she said Jude was moving the whole time the bongo drums were playing!

You know how you'll be reading something and it seems like it just speaks to you, and you re-read it a couple of times, and smile? I was reading Plan B by Anne Lamott and this sentence was so powerful to me: "When God wants to do something wonderful, He always starts with a hardship; when God wants to do something amazing, He starts with an impossibility" With Cami and Jude, God started with an impossibility, that I couldn't have a baby, and did something amazing, something that I could have never guessed would happen. That He would lead Cami to John, after all John had been thru, and then bless Dave and me with not only her beautiful presence, but her actual offering to have our baby. It is bizarre to think when I was going thru those miscarriages, God really did have an incredible plan that I could not see at the time. I wish He could have told me, from 1997-2007 that something truly awesome was coming. Who knows the reasons why He allows things to occur the way they do? Not me; I'm just glad He does work all things together for our good.

The ladies in our family honored Cami with a luncheon at Martha's on Saturday~So much fun! I wanted to set aside one day to honor her for her amazing gift and many sacrifices she has made, as well as John, in order to bring Jude into this world~That's our beautiful Mom in the middle! (aka Jude's Meme)

Sweet baby boy

You can see the four chambers of his heart w/ blood flowing thru~ for Grandmother Brenda who works at Vandy Cardiac Lab! Amazing!

Jude is 15 ounces and 7 inches long!The ultrasound tech & the doctor commented on what a beautiful baby he is! Everything is perfect~we are so blessed

Ruby taken in for questioning

R

19 week fetus already spoiled rotten!

Jude's very excited MeMe brought him back a very special gift from Aspen! Dave says Jude already has more clothes and shoes than he does!

This is Jude's first photo, at 5 days after conception. He was a grade A, perfect embryo!

It's a BOY!!!

It's a boy!! Jude Helton it is!

Here is a recent vacay pic of our beautiful "babymama" Cami & her hubby John, kids Eli & Ruby~ What a pretty family!

New Ultrasound Pic - 11.5 weeks

Baby's getting bigger by the day! We saw his/her fingers today; you can see the hand waving in this picture~ the 3D couldn't read much today because baby was sitting very low. They tested for Down's Syndrome & everything came back completely normal. We are very encouraged that since we are almost out of the first trimester (Thurs.), this baby really will be born and in our arms next February! Cami also gets to stop the horrid progesterone shots this week so she is pumped! We just can't believe this is really happening; we are so overjoyed. And all of the previous heartaches have been absolutely redeemed with this precious baby.

We are completely and utterly blown away by seeing our baby today. At 10 weeks & 3.9 cm he/she is already so defined! Look how cute! Needless to say this is a very joyful day!

So Oprah had a show on American couples going to India to pursue surrogacy~and I am reminded again, how gracious and amazing and what a blessing Cami is! We didn't have to go anywhere for our surrogate~she was already here, offering herself for us and our baby. And she didn't ask for anything in return.
Thank you Cami, though those words simply can never say enough just how thankful and oozing with gratitude Dave and I are. You are a fantastic lady, full of love, full of heart~

Helton Baby

So...we got a bun in the oven, Cami's oven that is! To make a really long story short, Cami, our precious sister-in-law, volunteered (after giving birth 3 months earlier!) to be our surrogate; to help us achieve what we have wanted and attempted since May 20, 2004...to have a baby.
And we have liftoff! She is 7.5 weeks along ~
There are no words to fully express our gratitude to Cami