3rd Ultrasound!!!

It has been 3 long weeks since we started our ultrasounds and so much has been going on. We have been dealing with 2 sick children, allergic reactions, long hours at work, I'm still taking my Literature class, the normal early pregnancy symptoms, and lots of stress! I have still not vomited but I feel so nauseated any time of the day if I haven't eaten in a few hours. This is difficult because my appetite has been very small, certain smells or sights turn my stomach, I'm trying to get past it and eat anyway though. My body is starting to feel weak and I am completely exhausted even if my day consists of staying home. I think I feel worse when I have the day off work than I do working a 6-8 hour shift. I love love LOVE taking naps when possible but I feel like I can never get enough sleep. I am even more anal these days with the house looking a certain way, vacuuming at least every other day, using the Clorox wipes on every surface daily, deep cleaning the kids rooms, and get more organizing done, although I'm not sure how I could possibly be more organized. :)

I went into the ultrasound appointment with all positive thoughts. I knew things must be going well if I was starting to feel this BLAH! I sat for a while in the waiting area, by myself, and every minute that went by I got a little more nervous. I could hear the television in the background talking about whooping cough and how important it is to be informed about it and then the topic changed to infertility discussing a specialist in New York and the new egg freezing technique so that woman can manipulate their biological clocks. This clearly got me interested because 5 minutes past in a blink. I think it is amazing how technology has came along and that there are doctors dedicated to helping women (families) have children. This technique enables a working woman to freeze her eggs at a younger age and use them when she is ready meaning her eggs are higher grade staying at her young age even though she has gotten older. This is like freezing time and giving women the option of choosing a career without the worry of infertility after a certain age (to an extent). Very Interesting!

I was called back, FINALLY, It was just minutes and I was looking at E and A's little miracle again. Baby is a sneaky little thing and likes to hide but we ended up getting a good photo to share. Baby is so comfortable it is measuring 3 days ahead at 8 weeks 3 days with a STRONG heartbeat of 173! WOW!!! I was a little worried after discontinuing the injections but my body has taken over and is providing what this little precious needs. It makes me feel great that I am completely taking to this entire process and actually able to help E and A have a baby! It is finally sinking in as I believe it is for them as well.

Can you believe how big baby looks compared to the last two weeks? So Neat!!! Head to the left...Less and less space in that little sac, it's about to get tight in there ;)

Thanks for reading our super short post this week, it is waaaayyyyy past this old woman's bed time, hehehe :)

p.s. Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone eats a ton of amazing food and I hope I have the appetite too (:

Love Love Love!!!!

2nd Ultrasound!!

As things have calmed down for me these past few weeks with getting the relief of a BFP  but it has not exactly been the same for E & A. They have been very nervous, anxious, and just emotionally drained because of all their previous disappointments they have had to go through to get to where we all are today. I don't think it has really sunk in yet for them that they have a baby on the way but how could it for anyone? They have been so strong through these hard times and it has to be difficult for them to think they are just getting their hopes up again only to have another disappointment. Every appointment/ultrasound we have I see a change in E's responses. I can hear the tone that she wants to be excited but the next appointment will give her just a little more relief. After these first initial ultrasounds all confirm that baby is comfortable and growing as it should then they can finally relax a little. I can't wait for them to blurt out to the world that they have a baby on the way and get all the attention expecting parents deserve! This is a completely different way of doing things and instead of being there everyday feeling the baby grow and move, they are living their lives as if nothing has changed. E and I are in the same situation but the experience for each of us is completely opposite. To break it down and really think about E doesn't carry the baby, go to all the appointments, have the crazy hormonal changes, or have any restrictions. I don't have to plan a nursery, wake up every 2 hours to a newborn, and even though my life routine has changed for now, it will all go back to normal in 7 months.

I say it will all go back to normal but this journey has already change my life. I am much more conscious about infertility and have sooooo much sympathy for those families. I look at my children differently and realize how blessed I am to have a little part of me in them. I will raise them to be thankful everyday for what we have and to not get down when things don't always go the way we plan. People everyday go through terrible situation but sometimes there are other ways to get the things we desire. E & A had to be patient, think outside the normal, and just have faith that amazing things can happen for them even if it hasn't seemed that way thus far.

Our 2nd ultrasound was yesterday at 10am and I went alone this time because I knew it wasn't going to take long. As soon as it was in place I could immediately see how much their baby had already grown! The little heartbeat last week was 111 and this week it was all the way up to 148, woooooo hoooo strong little love bug! It was so neat to see the little blob forming slowly into a little person and you will know what I mean looking at this photo! Soooooo Coooool!

If you look closely their baby's head is down, the two little arms are coming right out from under, and the two little legs look slightly separated. If you look at it upside down it looks little a tiny human standing in my uterus! So Neat!  This has to be one of the best first photos ever! Of course I took this picture before I was even out of the medical room and sent it right to E. Her response, "Love!!!" See, the responses get better and better and I think she is coming around to this being more real of an experience. I am going to do something special for E & A so that they have the chance to feel like expecting parents and that this isn't about just me and the baby. I will let you know when it is finished ;)

With that good news I have even more good news, the fertility clinic called telling us the ultrasound results looked wonderful and I  am officially off the booty shots! yayyyy! I will be continuing the prenatal vitamins, baby aspirin, suppositories, and 2 estrogen patches every other day until I am told otherwise. Let me just tell you though, whether this is WTMI or not, I CAN'T WAIT FOR NO MORE SUPPOSITORIES! Those awful little pills are gross and 3x a day (uuukkk) They are placed pretty far back near the cervix but being a waitress I move around and my body heat causes them to melt. Usually I'm at work and I get a gush feeling (ladies: like you just started your period and weren't expecting it for a day or so) GROSS!!!! So my daily routine has consisted of many panty liners and wipe downs, ugh! Again, I can't wait for those to be crossed right off the medication list! Check!

I'll leave you on that note and will update you on next weeks ultrasound appointment, Tuesday November 20th at 12pm. (:

p.s. I found this awesome little baby tracker growth progress app that I will be adding to the right column today, you can hear a heartbeat and turn a little light on the baby, CUTE!

Love Love Love,

Blissfully Surrogacy!

What an exhausting last few days! Our daughter has been so sick, poor thing, with a high fever and double ear infection :( She has never been sick before so it was a rude awakening for the whole family. I have been trying to get as much sleep as possible because I have felt so tired this past week. I have said again and again how I never had morning sickness while pregnant with Ava but fingers crossed for this pregnancy and sure enough Wednesday evening/Thursday morning I was SICK! I got up so many times throughout the night and just stood in the bathroom with my arms above my head taking the deepest breaths I have ever taken  (heeeeee whoooooo heeeeeee whoooooo) I kept coaching myself silently, "your not going to throw up...your going to be okay...just breathe" which soon turned into begging myself, "Please don't throw up! Keep breathing! Please don't throw up!" On that note I hate vomiting more than anything and I will do anything possible to not do it, I know once I start there is no stopping me for a long time (NOT GOOD!) Thankfully I did NOT end up vomiting but I felt so sick to my stomach all the way until 11am Thursday. UGH! Happy to announce I haven't felt that way since...so far :(

Saturday was an exciting evening for Ben and I both, if the ultrasound this next Tuesday comes back with great results then Saturday was my last progesterone shot!!!! Yayyyy, No More Bootayyy Shots! That deserves some pineapple sherbert! It was the best shot of all which figures, save the best for last, it didn't hurt and was barely even sore, YES PLEASE! I will absolutely keep you posted for Tuesday's ultrasound and hopefully figure out how to upload the video as well. I'm not too anxious for this appointment but at this point it feels like a waiting game as if it is still surreal because I don't feel much different. I am very excited to see baby and make sure baby is still comfy and cozy in there to give E & A a little piece of mind. For them the experience is so much different I'm sure. They don't live the journey every single day except in thought/e-mail and I can't imagine waiting for these appointments to come each week. It is the medical confirmation that can give piece of mind that their perfect little embryo is growing healthy and comfortably. They have their full trust put into us for all the in between appointment details but I am very prompt at telling E anything I would want to know, as if I were carrying my own (: Love her to death!

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!

Love,

Congratulations E & A!!!!

It feels like forever since my last post and finding time to sit and write gets more and more difficult it seems. I have sooooo much to tell everyone and I'm not sure where to begin. I suppose I will tell you right in order how things have happened for us to give you the same suspense ;)

It was almost a week ago when Ben and I were going through our normal injection routine. We both got out of work around the same time and I was starving so I decided to make something to eat. I had the bright idea to sit on the ice pack while I ate my food to save a little time and get the shot over right after I was done eating. I ate and put my dish to the side when I was done and continued to watch the show Ben had on. I remember telling Ben I'm ready when he was and he didn't say anything and kept watching, as did I. About 5 minutes later I told Ben again that I'm ready for him to get the shot ready. (He was completely oblivious that I asked him the first time ----> a man for ya hehehe) He jumped up and quickly got things around and I took the ice pack off. 1...2...3   I felt nothing. Hmmmm? And he was done. Uh Oh, that's not good! There was a huge white spot on my butt where I had the ice pack (Never had this happen before...Also never left an ice pack on for 15 minutes) Oh Jeez!  That white spot turned into a huge red spot the next day and yep I literally frost bit my butt! ?WHO DOES THAT!!! Needless to say I learned my lesson and the spot is slowly going away, yet still there. Not only did I have 1 sore cheek but 3 days later I had to get another shot in the other one so both cheeks were sore for a couple days. Glad the soreness is gone in both now and that my butt didn't turn black and fall off! Boy Ben would have been mad! hahaha!

I received a phone call on Halloween from my great aunt who was very interested in how things were going for us with our surrogacy journey. Her initial question jokingly got the conversation going with, "Now did you get pregnant in a medical room OR?" ha! She makes me laugh so hard sometimes. We both started laughing and I replied, "Well, I'm still married so yes I got pregnant in a medical room, hehehe" Too Funny!

She asked a question that I didn't know the answer to so of course I had to do more research. She was confused on how the baby could absolutely not have any of my DNA or be related to me. I explained the egg and sperm concept but she went a little further as to  say, "Don't you supply the baby with your blood and technically transferring your DNA to the baby?" What a great question! To answer: Whether it is a traditional pregnancy or a surrogacy the mother does not supply the fetus with her blood. The fetus makes its own blood supply from it's genetics which is how a baby can have it's fathers or mothers blood type and sometimes a mix. Maternal blood and fetal blood never mix because of a structure called a placental barrier. It was so interesting for me to look this up because I had no idea the mothers blood never came in contact with the fetus so to be honest I was a little nervous when my great aunt asked this and I had never thought about it. The best way to describe a placental barrier is like a window screen. The screen has holes in it big enough to get the air through (in baby terms - the nutrients) but small enough to keep the bugs out (in baby terms - large molecules like blood). Cool Huh!

 

Now for the big news! I had my first ultrasound yesterday and I was super excited! I invited my mother to join me because Ben ended up having to work and I needed someone to witness with me. Of course I got there a half hour early and downed an entire bottle of water in a minute. The ultrasound tech had someone cancel their appointment so she called me back earlier than expected. By this point I was just ready to see 1 and 7 (the embryo numbers chosen) so I could let E know any news possible! I knew she was going crazy at work and she wasn't able to make it so I wanted to do something special and I had my mom video the appointment for her to see. It was such a relief to see a little sac inside there and as of right now there is only 1 heartbeat (111) so it looks to be a singleton. There is an off chance though that the other embryo could be clinging and hiding without a developed heartbeat yet so I'm sure they will be keeping a look out in case that happens. I read so many articles online where they didn't notice a twin until 8-14 weeks! That's crazy! I immediately told E the news and as excited as we both were to see one heartbeat, we were expecting two. It is not that we weren't happy with one healthy baby but I knew how much E & A wanted twins and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint them. E felt bad that either 1 or 7 didn't make it but she also said it is out of our control so what is meant to be will be. I'm not sure what to call this little embie now because we don't know if it is 1 or 7.

Look at their little edition!!! Yayy!!!

We were exactly 6 weeks along yesterday and they put our due date at July 2nd, 2013! This is very exciting because in other news my sister just found out she is pregnant and also 6 weeks along! What are the odds!? She is due June 28th so we aren't too far apart in dates. I'm excited to have someone that will be pregnant at the same time and will understand all my crazy hormones. It will be nice to vent to one another, ha!

I will have weekly ultrasounds done for 2 more weeks to monitor baby and decide on my new medication calendar. If our ultrasound goes great next Tuesday then I will be stopping the Progesterone Injections!!! Yayyyy!!!! I am down to 2 patches every other day instead of 4 but I am continuing the prenatals, aspirin, and endometrin daily for now. If all goes as planned I have 2 shots left which is great because I thought I had over 10 to go.

On last little tid bit that turned my extremely awful night last night into a better one was an e-mail I got from E that I have to share!

"Not only are you our surrogate, but you are such a support system. I love your emails and prompt texts when I am frantic! I want you to know we appreciate you sooooo much. I was bummed today that two weren't there, but I didn't mean to belittle the fact that we have a baby on board! I know you have been amazing and I guess the fact that two didn't take is out of our control. So we can move forward knowing we have one baby on the way! I wonder of it is a girl since you feel the same as you did with Ava! I want a girl:) The fertility nurse told me today that she has seen times where there are 2 after the second ultrasound, but it is rare. I am not getting too hopeful . . . but very interesting. These weeks are killing me! We all need to get a drink after this is all said and done!! xoxoxox E"

This just makes me feel great! I love our IP's and our relationship about teamwork and being supportive. I also like that things aren't so uptight and we can laugh and joke with one another. Now for next week, I don't feel nervous or anxious which is weird but I think I'm over those feelings and on to being content. The pregnancy is happening and now we just take things one day at a time. When I talk to others about being pregnant I have keep saying things like, "when I'm pregnant I will have to buy some stretchier black pants for work" ha! I am pregnant silly me, it still has not fully soaked in that I am pregnant or even 6 weeks along. Everything is just so darn surreal and I never thought it would happen so easily but here we are. It will only get more real as time goes on.

How am I feeling? Fant-freakin-tastic! No sickness what so ever. I feel a little uneasy in the morning if I don't eat but it was the same way with Ava so I have learned to always eat. I have been sleeping amazing but going to bed earlier than usual. I feel very tired at night so it is normal for me to be in bed before 10 or falling asleep on the couch while Ben watches a show.

Random Finds - I ventured out and took a long 3 hour grocery trip a few days ago and found the ultimate find for our journey! E and I have been on a pineapple kick and guess who found Pineapple Sherbert!! ------------------> This Girl! (:

I will let you know how next Tuesday goes!! Fingers Crossed! <3

Love,