The Final Countdown

Another lovely day, albeit not as busy as yesterday. We all decided to have lunch at a wonderful Mexican restaurant in a nearby town and then browse in some shops. Relaxing, right? Right.

Lunch was amazing at Hacienda Villa in Westport, Ct (I highly recommend it!). The food was great and the company even better. We shared stories all around and just chatted away. Then, we drove to a shopping area and walked around looking at shops. We had a lot of fun gaping at insane prices and talking. Then, it was back to the hotel for some rest before dinner in the hotel's dining room.

After spending time with B & R the one thing that has been hitting me is how comfortable I am with everything. Shouldn't I be a little bit nervous about the transfer? I did address my concerns with B & R tonight about possible negative tests and they quickly put my mind at ease. They are realistic about the odds and recognize this isn't an exact science. Obviously, we all hope that this transfer will result in a positive pregnancy and a healthy baby, but that's not guaranteed. They are okay with these facts and are willing to try again, should the need arise.

To be honest, that is exactly what I needed to hear. I know at the beginning of this round with B & R I was pretty guarded. After what happened with my last couple I've been pretty cautious. When I met B & R on Thursday, I felt a lot better about things, and after tonight's conversation I am so ready to do whatever it takes to help them with their miracle. T-13 hours until we are introduced to a miracle!

Our timeline for the week.

A Mini Breakthrough

With a more laid back schedule than my normal day to day I'm still continuing my morning progesterone in oil shot at the same time. 

The one change I made was I am able to heat my leg for a couple of hours after the shot. The wonderful result of this is that my leg isn't as painful with the swelling seemingly reduced. The bruising is minimal, too! Hurray for small miracles!

Getting to Know You

What an amazing day today has been. Shawn and I spent the day with B & R, exploring new places and getting to know them more.

We decided to go in to New York City for the day. B had never been and its been quite a while since R has been there. We drove to a near by station and hopped on a train to the city. 90ish minutes later we were at Grand Central Station.

We decided to shop first so off to Canal Street to find some fun bargains. B & R humored me and encouraged me to find the perfect handbag. (I found a cute one!) Then, we checked out Century 21, a large discount department store by the World Trade Center. Next, it was to Times Square for the obligatory tourist thing and to pick up theater tickets. B & R bought tickets to see Newsies, a musical I have been wanting to see for a while. It was amazing and I loved every minute of it!

Now, we are back on the train heading for the hotel so we can rest up for whatever adventures tomorrow holds! 

As for the embryo transfer, we received an email today stating that the transfer will take place on Sunday at 10:30. We are all pretty excited to have a date and a time to look forward to! 

It's been so wonderful to spend time with B & R. As more time passes that I am able to spend with them the more excited and grateful that I get to be the one to help them welcome a precious miracle.

Travel and a Wonderful Meeting

I finally got to meet B & R and they are wonderful! Absolutely wonderful... I'm so glad they chose me to help them have a family!

To recap our day, we got up at 4 am to get ready for our day. A quick shot in the leg later and we were on our way to the airport for our 7am flight. Two and a half hours (and 49 oz of liquids!) later we arrived at New York's JFK. 

After we picked up our rental car we started driving toward Connecticut. As it was getting close to lunch, we stopped in a "random" town, Rye, NY. What a lovely town! After checking out a couple of restaurants, we chose a little French bistro and enjoyed baguette sandwiches.

Back in the car, we drove toward our hotel and enjoyed the scenery. It was nice to visit with my hubby and spend some time with him as we traveled.

Our glitch for the trip (hopefully!) happened when we arrived at the hotel. My reservation was in place, but the hotel was not paid for. I quickly called the Agency and talked with someone who helped me out. Ten minutes later, the Agency's credit card was faxed over and my room was secured. 

I text B & R and let them know we had arrived and waited to hear back as we checked out our room. They asked to meet us in the lobby at 6 for dinner.

I've been nervous about meeting B & R. What if they don't like me? What if we don't hit it off? What if... 

My fears all vanished soon after meeting them. They are so friendly, down to earth, and just nice! Yeah! I am so glad they chose me to help them!

We enjoyed a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant. The food was good but the conversation even better. From my perspective we all clicked well. I'm very happy with how things went!

They are very concerned with how things are for me. They asked how I was handling the shots and if the transfer would be painful for me. I was honest with them, but know this is part of what I signed up for when I agreed to be a gestational surrogate for them. I hope they don't feel too bad about any discomfort I may be experiencing. 

They also told me that we/they should hear from the Clinic tomorrow morning by 11. The Clinic will tell us if the transfer will happen tomorrow, Saturday, or Sunday. Odds are that it will happen Sunday. We will see! It's "hurry up and wait" for a miracle! Good night!

Almost Time

So many things have happened in the last couple days... I will try to recount them.

-Monday night I had my first IM PIO. It wasn't fun and I had to talk myself into it (see previous post.)

-Tuesday morning I had my second shot. It also wasn't fun, but it was easier to talk myself into than the first one. I also started taking several more meds on Tuesday.

-Tuesday afternoon I received a call from PC informing me that B & R offered to pay for all of Shawn's travel expenses for the trip this weekend. Holy cow and woo hoo! What an amazing blessing my IP's are! Super sweet people that I am blessed to be working with.

-Wednesday morning. Another shot. Have I mentioned that I'm one of those people who bruise easily? Well, I am. Sticking a one inch, 22 gauge needle filled with 1mL of a really thick liquid doesn't help things, either. (See picture of thigh). 

-Wednesday night. I'm trying to pack, make dinner, email with B & R, clean the house, make sure everything is lined up for the people shuttling my kiddos around while we are gone, etc. You know, the basic mom stuff.

I think that's about it. I'm still not packed, but I have several dresses on my bed ready for packing. I have a load of laundry in the wash and another in the dryer. I have a ton of butterflies in my stomach from nerves, excitement, etc. I've tucked the kids into bed, made tentative arrangements for the dog, and started a list of things I need the sitters to do while we are away (dance registration, drop off a kid, etc.)

My excitement keeps building with every preparation and accomplishment. I can't wait to meet B & R tomorrow. There is so much I want to know about these wonderful people who are letting me be a part of their miracle.

My bruised thigh from this morning's shot. Gross, I know. It looks worse than it feels.

Take a Shot

Tonight is the night before the egg retrieval which means that it also marks the first intramuscular (IM) progesterone in oil (PIO) shot I need to give myself. To be honest, this is not something I've been looking forward to at all. I was a nurse for 5 years and have given thousands of shots, however, none of them were pointed at me! There really isn't much I can say that makes this easier or less than what it is.

So, what is this?

This is a medicine that aids in pregnancy (it is naturally produced with natural pregnancies). Since I am undergoing a medically induced pregnancy, my body needs the added boost of synthetic progesterone in order to support a pregnancy. This is part of the contract that I signed when I agreed to be a surrogate for B & R. 

It's also a freaking big needle used to draw up 1mL of a really thick liquid of which I am then supposed to inject into my thigh or fanny.

What am I thinking?

Before I get too worked up over the whole injection thing, I grab a trusty ice pack and start freezing a 6 inch area of my thigh. (As I've said, I've had lots of experience giving shots and know some of the tricks to ease the pain). 20 or so minutes later I'm drawing up the medicine and cleaning my site. Shot #1 done! Now I'm off to spend some quality time with a heating pad on the site to help work the medicine into the muscle.

Ugh, really not my favorite experience. What kind of person willingly agrees to puncture themselves every day for a couple she's been introduced to only 4 months ago? Shots, raging hormones, medicines, procedures, stretch marks, heart burn, increased thirst/decreased appetite, exhaustion...

Then, realization hits me as I'm putting my children to bed. My little one softly murmurs "Lubbs you mommy" and I just melt. To help a couple experience the love for their child, to assist a couple who naturally cannot have a child in creating a family. That is what this is all about. The "lubbs you" and the child's snuggles. It's all about inviting a miracle into our lives.

Put On Alert!

Yesterday I received an email from the Clinic. It let me know that the egg donor's eggs will be retrieved on Tuesday. This means I will be leaving on Thursday for a transfer either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. 

Why the multiple days for a possible transfer, you may ask. The Clinic watches the embryo(s) very carefully. Depending on how they develop determines if the transfer will take place on day 3, 4, or 5. (3 and 5 days are pretty much standard.) We won't know which day the transfer will take place until after the embryos are developing and are being monitored.

I'm so thankful that all of this is happening this week. Next week, 11 days from now to be exact, my "baby" is off to kindergarten. I was feeling a bit concerned that I wasn't going to be here for her first day of school. Now, I no longer have those concerns as I will most definitely be here for her big day!

Back to the whole embryo thing. Since I've been put on notice that things are happening in the next week, I've also been given additional medicines to take. I will be starting progesterone, doxycycline, and prednisone on Monday as well. Wow, that's a lot of meds, especially when these three (four, actually. Progesterone will be both in the form of a shot and a vaginal suppository) are added to my current five pills. At least I get to stop taking the Lupron this after today's dose. Exchanging one shot for another, I guess. 

My IP's are traveling today to Connecticut for all of the medical stuff. They said they will be there through my stay, so that's a comforting thing. I'm glad I get to meet them before helping them start their family. (I find it helpful to know the others involved when starting a family, don't you?) 

Oops, time to wrap this up. I'm getting a little silly/sarcastic with the excitement building! I'm so excited to meet a miracle!

Final Check

SCHWOO!!!!!!!!

I had a final lining check this morning at the U of M. Honestly, I have been a nervous wreck over this one! What if after all of the pills, tablets, and shots my body just wasn't responding to the meds and my lining wasn't as thick as they needed it to be? I have been trying some of the suggestions that other surrogates have given me to help thicken my lining, just to be on the safe side. I had trouble sleeping last night and was awake long before I needed to be. I know that worrying won't help anything and try not to worry, but wasn't succeeding very well at remaining peaceful, much to my chagrin.

Back to this morning...

I hopped up on the table and the ultrasound tech did her thing while I patiently waited her to tell me the measurements. After several measurements I couldn't stand it any longer so I asked her where my lining was. Her response "its between a 7 and an 8." YES! Dr D needs it above 7mm, so between a 7 and 8 is a good thing! Woo hoo! (Yes, I actually cheered while on the table with the wand up my... TMI, right?)

Once I left the clinic, I immediately sent an email off to my IP's and received a response right away. They are happy the lining is at a good number and are getting really excited about the next two weeks. I also called my hubby and shared with him the good news, so we all are glad that is taken care of.

Happy, peaceful and ready to be a part of a miracle!

Small Change in Plans

I received a call this morning from the coordinator at the Clinic. She said that they had their weekly IVF meeting this morning. When my case was brought up with the results from Tuesday's monitoring appointment, Dr D decided that he wanted to check my lining thickness one more time to make sure the estrogen is doing its thing. So, next Monday or Tuesday I will be back at my clinic for a quick ultrasound to check for lining thickness. I'm just waiting for the appointment to be scheduled and orders to arrive. 

Getting ready for a miracle!

Monitoring appointment #2

At 7am I arrived at the U of M for my monitoring appointment. After my blood was drawn I was then given an ultrasound. The tech told me that my endometrial lining was at a 6.5mm. Bummer.

Most doctors want it greater than 7 or 8mm... I guess I just have to wait for the clinic to tell me what to do next.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. I received a call from the clinic an hour later. The nurse said that my blood work looks good, but the doctor wasn't really happy with such a low endometrial lining thickness (thinness?). Because of this, he is now increasing my estrogen by a LOT (at least I think it's a lot). Instead of 4mg twice a day, I am now to add to that 4 mg vaginally every night. So, that's 12mg of estrogen a day. 

My new daily doses of pills... For now!

The current dose of estrogen has made me very affectionate (need lots of hugs and snuggles from my hubby and kids) and just a tad weepy (sappy commercials or books make me cry!). I'm curious to see how the added estrogen will effect me! 

The good news is that the doctor said I do not need another monitoring appointment, we will just go with whatever and however my body chooses to respond to the added estrogen. Good thing, since we are about two weeks away from a transfer and meeting R & B's little miracle!

Medication update

After being on the decreased Lupron and starting the estrogen for the past week, I am just checking in with an update. I'm doing well overall. I've been cramping pretty much since Wednesday. Nothing I can't live with, but rather annoying or occasionally inconvenient. I've been on the hot side as well, which is a total change for me. I'm usually cold, my sweatshirt is my steady companion. Not lately! (Shawn's not complaining!)

My tummy is rather interesting. By interesting I mean interesting looking. I've had lots of pokes in the stomach, but the hard part is that I bruise easily. So, yes, I have small bruises all over the front of my belly on either side of my belly button. *sigh*

The small bruises and marks across my tummy from the needles.

I have one more week to go before I start another host of meds, and I'm okay with those to be prolonged as much as I can. Basically, there are pills and suppositories and another daily shot. A much bigger shot with a bigger needle. One that I should feel long after it is done. That will come soon enough. 

So, that is basically where I am right now. Lots of pills, hormones and a daily poke into a bruised stomach. But once we get a little miracle for B & R it will be all worth it!