Our First OB Appointment!

I went in this morning to my OB's office and did the normal signing in routine. They called me back within 10 minutes and there it is right in front of me, my nemesis! Oh Okay, it was just the darn scale but I hate that part of the appointments, lol. I do not own a scale and I don't think I ever will but I think I was traumatized through my pregnancy with Ava by this dang thing. I never thought in a million years it would be possible for me to gain 50 pounds and she definitely proved me wrong, ha! I weighed myself at my mother in laws at the beginning of the pregnancy at 131 pounds. Not to shabby as I ended my pregnancy less than a year ago at 185 pounds. YIKES! I get on the scale, now being 11 weeks pregnant, and 132! Yes! Only up 1 pound woooo hooooo! I also have to admit that the 1 pound gained has to be in the breast area.

The nurse took me into the room and we started talking about the surrogacy and I just get so darn emotional that I almost cried when she said how wonderful it was and how strong I am for doing this. I put my hand up and said we are going to have to stop this conversation before these hormones make me start bawling, hehehe. Lets just say that wasn't the only time I almost broke into tears, I did it again with my OB in the room talking to me about it. My blood pressure is great and my uterus is growing just as it should be. She ( my OB is a woman) searched for a heartbeat with the little mini monitor they have in the patient rooms but she couldn't seem to find one. With the fetus still being little and liking to hide it can sometimes be difficult at this stage. This meant that it was my lucky day and I was going to get to see surro baby on the monitor again. (:

It just so turned out that at the exact time of my appointment they were getting  new ultrasound equipment so E & A's baby had the first little photo shoot while the sonographer learned the new system. I just layed there patiently admiring all the little positions baby was in. It was so crazy to see how big baby has grown and how fast they were moving in there. It almost looked like it was leaping and kicking their little legs in the air after, too cute (: I am just excited I was able to get a few good photos to send to E and A including a 3D. So cool at this stage.

 Mini E & A



 Baby's Profile

3D snuggling (soooo coool)

 

During the appointment my OB and I discussed how I have been feeling - Great! I am still not having any nausea symptoms but I do keep getting a tiny headache daily and she informed me that it was a hormone headache and that I can take Tylenol. I feel bloated at times but the baby is growing and will be start pushing me outward soon enough. We talked about my emotions so far and I haven't experience anything I didn't with Ava. I cry during shows and sensitive subjects but I'm hormonal so I'm blaming that, ha! I don't feel any type of attachment so far to the baby (even in the ultrasounds) except happiness for E & A. I can't wait for them to finally have what they always dreamed of, their family. I feel a close bond to E especially but that is nothing against A, it is only that I can put myself in E's shoes more easily. It is a hard thing for a woman to except that she can not carry a child and I sympathize for her. I think this journey will be full of emotions but I can only imagine happiness as of right now. I instantly texted her about the appointment and she was happy to hear the baby is growing and healthy. The heartbeat was at a strong 165 and our due date of July 2nd is still right on target!

 

Next appointment is January 8th. This will be the time to test for any genetic disorders if E & A choose to do so. If not it will be a normal check-up with the heartbeat to hear.

 

How is the family? Everyone is still super supportive and full of questions but I always love talking about it so that doesn't bother me. David hasn't been asking questions recently but I think he is just accepting of anything Ben and I decide to do. I'm sure once I get to the point where I'm showing surro baby will get brought up more in topic with him but for right now it still seems pretty surreal.

 

Until next time loves!

Morning Sickness! Ugh!

I seriously can NOT believe it has been 20 days since my last post! I bet everyone is wondering what the heck is going on! To be honest, I have had absolutely NO interest in blogging these past 2 weeks and I tried so hard to focus and write but I was not feeling it at all. I usually save drafts on things that happen so I know not to forget to write about it and I have a list full on here that all my readers should have been updated on forever ago! I do apologize but here is the scoop! (:

The last post I wrote was our 3rd ultrasound. We will not be scheduled any more ultrasounds at this point but we start our routine OB appointments, Yayyyyy!!!! I am actually super stoked about this because now I will get to talk to my doctor about what to expect and start to prepare for all the emotions leading up to the birth and even after the birth. There is really no way to really prepare for that sort of things because I am going to be emotional but it will be nice to have my OB there to not judge and understand.

Our first OB appointment is December 11th -----> Ya I know, in 2 dayssssss!!!! Just makes me realize how fast things are going already and I need to write more (: The appointments will continue to be local just we are just blocks away from the hospital, which is wonderful! :) E and A will still not be attending as of right now but as the baby gets bigger I'm sure they will want to be there!

Other News that I am ecstatic about!!!!! I am officially DONE with all medications as of December 7th! YES! No more suppositories, No more suppositories, Did I mention No more suppositories?! He He He. I will be taking prenatal vitamins for the remainder of the pregnancy and that is it. (: I am very happy about this but my body on the other hand, has not been so thrilled with the changes :(

Feeling Like BLAH! These past two weeks have been THE WORST! I have been so sick to my stomach, NO appetite, just pure exhausted (even after doing nothing). I have not vomited because I do everything in my power to avoid it. I find myself running into the bathroom, putting my arms above my head, and taking the deepest breaths possible. I have managed to not throw up once so I can be thankful for that. I can sleep 9 hours and feel like I haven't slept at all. Ben is working a ton of hours so if I don't work that day, I have both kids all day. The way his schedule works for now is 10-10, right in the middle of our day. I'M EXHAUSTED! I've been napping like crazy during the day and I have had no motivation to do anything. I cried the other night alone just thinking that I want my old self back! I cry to the weirdest things (Say Yes to the Dress, Cinderella, or for no reason at all) Ha! I know it is so lame! I had been having the craziest dreams to, as strange as being chased around Red Lobster with the live lobsters in the tanks! Horrifying I know! hehehe

Thankfully I am glad to announce that these past few days have been a blessing! I have had no nausea (knock on wood), the 4 day headache I had is gone, and I am finally starting to feel like I am back. I mean I'm blogging aren't I? It has to be a good sign! I still like my mid-day naps but I feel like my energy is slightly returning to where I feel half way descent waking up. We had our son's birthday party today and actually had the courage to invite his classmates. It all turned out wonderful and I am glad I was feeling up for the 7 year old birthday party challenge.

At Home - Ben and I are still looking for a house to buy and unfortunately nothing has come up worth while but we are keeping our faith that things will work out when the time is right. Christmas shopping has consumed me the past couple weeks although I dreaded every minute due to the awful headaches I was getting. I'm happy to say we are done shopping for birthdays and Christmas but the party planning is still continuing. Ben and I are so lucky (NOT) to have both of our children's birthdays in December along with Christmas. We are planning a 1 year party for our daughter Ava after the first of the year since she didn't grace us with her presence until the 28th, right in between Christmas and New Years. Let us just say that we are having a busy month for sure! (:

What we've been up to ;) We made our Christmas tree this year since our space is limited and Ava would not do good with a tree at this age. Here are some photos (: Don't mind me in my work clothes, ha!

 

 

 

Ta Da! Our Buczynski Tree! (:

 



Fantastic News! I will be officially graduated with my Associates Degree in 1 week! I know it has seemed like forever but I am glad things have worked out the way they have. I have been going to school part-time while working full-time and being a wife/mother. It has taking me 4 years of going but I have NO student loans and I am soooooo proud to have accomplished this on my own. I will be a college graduate and I will continue to go to school for physical therapy. Things for Ben and I are better than ever and we are so happy with how things are laying into place. We truly could not have done it without all of our friends and family. They have helped us so much with the kids and supporting us 100%. Now I better stop before I start crying again, hehehe.

I promise to post more often now that I seem to be feeling better and hope this darn morning sickness was only a 2 week fling because it is no longer welcome! (:

Oh Gosh, more water works as I just opened a card from E and A (It has a little black pug dog on the front for their puppy O) Sooo Cute! "Dear Chelsea, This is definitely no hallmark card for what I want to say! There are no words to describe our appreciation for all that you are doing for us. On top of just being a surrogate, you are the sweetest, most thoughtful person. You always make me feel better with your texts and words of encouragement. I truly admire how you balance all that you do -- work, school, mommy, and now this! We wish you the happiest and healthiest of holidays and new year! Love, E, A, & O (our puppy) :)"  Seriously!!!! I am soooo darn emotional!!!! I love them so much!

Love,

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,

2nd & 3rd Beta Results!

I swear, once an appointment finally gets here, the next one feels like forever away and the wait starts all over again. We had our 1st beta last Tuesday, October 23rd and the results came back at 286. Thursday, October 25th was our 2nd beta so E and I were e-mailing and texting non-stop all day. We were so darn anxious to see if our numbers were higher because if they are it means that the pregnancy is still active. The beta level are supposed to double every 48-72 hours so we were both hoping for 600 and we thought we were shooting high with that. It was taking soooooo long to hear back from the clinic! Finally after all the nervous texting back and forth (ex: "C'mon already, Call Us!" ... "sick to my stomach") I was literally feeling uneasy that we were not hearing back and I thought for sure I was going to throw up. My stomach wouldn't stop turning and I couldn't get my mind focused on anything else. We Got The Call! 713!!!!!! Yes! E and I ended our conversation with a big fat WE DID IT! That number just confirmed that the embryo(s) are getting comfortable and taking to their short-term home very well! Ahhhhhh Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It was such a breath of fresh air to hear that number and it was such a high one! I never expected the 700's so that was insane to me...maybe twins?!!!!!! For E and A, I hope so!!!! I don't think the numbers can completely tell you the amount of embryos that actually took but seriously I can not wait to get to that next appointment! That seems to be what we anxiously await now a days, lab work after lab work, just the excitement to hear those next numbers.

Okay, our last lab work came back at 713 for our beta but we didn't hear how the progesterone turned out. They don't call us with the results anymore unless they are bad so I suppose no news is good news! I went in for lab work again today for our 3rd beta which was the quickest appointment yet here in our hometown. I am very thankful every time we do not have to drive to Chicago just to get blood work done. It saves so much time, money, and finding childcare so that is always a plus! The wait this time wasn't as bad as our 2nd beta but that is because Ben and I made a day trip to do a little pre-christmas shopping. This time I was eager to hear the numbers BUT I knew I was pregnant! The pregnancy symptoms are ON -- I have the sore breasts which seem to already be bigger...Or I could have just made that up (you know how you start to look at things on your body differently after you know something true, like being pregnant, so you start to 'think' you see changes when maybe it is just all in your head!) Well, at least I admit it :) Can you say sense of smell!! I should say 'scents' everything is so potent lately! My daughter and I were visiting my parents a couple days ago and I saw her little face start to get red as she was playing with her toys. I said, "Ava, are you pooping?!" (in a fun playful voice) and as if I interrupted her she crawled as fast as she could into the kitchen 2 rooms over where none of us could see her. I laughed and waited a minute and all the sudden 'Wooooff!' All I could smell was her stinky little tush! UGH! Then. here comes Ava happy as can be crawling back into the room. Ha!

Anyhow with the slightly larger becoming breasts I had mild cramping a few days out of last week but nothing that was overbearing. I have had many people tell me that each pregnancy is different so I have been nervous to see how this pregnancy will compare to Ava's. I did not have any morning sickness at all with my 1st pregnancy so I'm hoping for the same with this one (knock on wood! so far so good!) Okay Okay I wont make you wait any longer, our 3rd beta is 2433! This is great news! Our numbers are continually rising and that is all we can ask! I am now scheduled for our first ultrasound next Tuesday, November 6th! How exciting, I didn't expect it to be so soon but I'm not sure what to look forward to seeing because I'm not sure how far along I am exactly. With Ava, I didn't have an actual ultrasound until 21 weeks gestation, that was the only one I needed. I will be attending the ultrasound locally for us so we wont need to travel again this time. It is very strange being able to stay here to get these things done because we have been so used to the long trips and it is bringing back memories of my 1st pregnancy. E and A will not be attending this appointment and she described why in a much better way than I could have ever saw in their perspective. "Your best interest is our priority...being there will not change the outcome...as long as you call me with great news after!" Simply put but they will be going to other appointments later on which is also fine with us. Sometimes we think more contact would be good and other times we think less contact would be good but ultimately we want E and A to be comfortable and we want to accommodate their needs/wants as much as possible.

Ironic Story! Ben and I have both been excited about finding out how many embryos took or if any split. I think it would be such an awesome experience to be able to carry twins because the chances of me ever doing it on my own are very slim. Last night, Ben was in the kitchen preparing to make breakfast for dinner and he cracked open the egg and TA DA it was a twin! HOW CRAZY! (: It is a sign...it has to be a sign! I don't think I've ever seen that before so how random! Love it!

I am now a pineapple juice junkie! I have been buying the orange/pineapple juice lately and yum! I pour it into a cup and put it in the freezer for a couple hours...Sooo Good! E e-mailed me and told me that she is eating pineapple for me too! (: Great Team Work! I went to the store today and bought fresh lettuce for my salads and V8 Juice because my diet this past week has been awful! I was stuck on the Velveeta macaroni which is no longer allowed in our home, hehehe. I am going to try hard to keep my weight down this pregnancy and under 30 pounds total. I have so much water retention with Ava though that I'm worried that I will have to work extra hard with my diet to prevent more gaining. I need to step on a scale now to see where my starting weight will be and then go from there. I had so many cravings with Ava and I truly didn't think I would get fat but 50 pounds later proved me wrong!

I have been keeping in touch with 2 women I meet in the initial research for surrogacy back in April. I am in the middle between both ladies as one is 22 weeks pregnant and the other is just starting her journey.I suppose you can call them my surro friends/sisters but it is so nice to be able to go to someone if I have questions and also to be there for someone if they have questions. It makes my journey that much better to have others to turn to who know exactly what I am going through and who can relate on that deeper level. I am very thankful to be able to have that!

Eeeeeek! I can't wait until Tuesday for our first ultrasound!!!!!

Love,

More News!

Since we are able to get the blood work done locally we don't need to make the 6 hour round trip drive, thankfully! That gets very exhausting after so many times. The clinic sent over the physician's orders to my OB's Lab stating they would need same day results and the lab said it was possible. It wasn't until I got to my appointment after they took my blood that they informed me that only one of the tests would come back same day because the other had to be sent out for testing. Ugh! There were two test: beta hcg hormone level and progesterone hormone level. An HCG level of less than 5 means no pregnancy and anything above 25 means pregnant. To recap, mine was 286!!! Progesterone is a hormone that is produced by the ovaries and surrogate will take this to help their uterus prepare for being pregnant. When the surrogate's body recognizes the placed embryos and forms a placenta her body with begin to produce her own progesterone and she will no longer need to take the medication (the end of the first trimester).

The clinic called today with our progesterone level results.  They like to see anything over 10 for the first few weeks of pregnancy. It is soooooo weird to think I am actually 4-5 weeks pregnant already when we literally just did the transfer 2 weeks ago. I was wondering how the due date worked so I found a website to help out a little. My estimated due date through this site would be July 1st 2013 for a singleton and June 9th 2013 for Twins!!! Twins! Twins! Twins! ;) My progesterone level came back at 10.39 so we are right on track and doing great!!!

Can't wait for tomorrow to have my levels checked again for peace of mind! Anxious but not as anxious as Tuesday. At least we know we have a POSITIVE, which I am overwhelmingly happy about!!!!! I will let you know how tomorrow goes!

Love,

Positively PREGNANT!!

Last night was awful! I could not get to sleep for anything which is odd because all week has been simply wonderful! I have been able to relax and honestly these past 10 days have gone by fairly quickly. I have had a strong positive attitude while thinking the best possible outcome will happen. Back to the horrible night -- I could not focus on sleep what so ever! I would listen to every little sound which made me paranoid that someone was outside. I got up twice to look out the windows and check on the kids but really I wasn't afraid for them I was just so uncomfortable and my stomach was churning. I seriously thought I was going to throw up because I was so anxious for the test. I couldn't stop thinking the worst and that I didn't want to let E and A down.

I kept telling myself and E this past week that everything will work out and we will get a BFP! I drank pineapple juice like crazy!!!! I wanted to recap on the significance of the pineapple again so that it is not just a random quote that pops up here and there. I explained it to my dad like an old wives tale that E and A began as tradition for themselves before/during their pregnancy attempt and egg retrieval. E would eat pineapple all day everyday in hopes for a healthy pregnancy/embryo retrieval. It was so sweet and my heart melted when they brought me pineapple the day of the embryo transfer. I think it is so important to make this experience as much about them as possible and if I can do something small (like eat pineapple) as they would have done during their own pregnancy then I want to do that! She e-mailed me, "We did it! Your excitement makes me cry...you have no idea what you mean to us" I responded, "I absolutely know what I mean to you! That is why I wanted to do this in the first place! What an awesome feeling! You cannot explain this feeling and longing to help in a surrogate interview, lol. It's definitely like nothing else!"

E and I have been making each other laugh all week with random one word/sentence e-mails--Butterflies...Diarrhea (due to her stomach being in knots from the 10 day wait!)...Pineapple Juice!...Eeeeeeeeeek ....OMG I can't believe it's hours away! Yeah, that pretty much covers it, lol!

I woke up bright and early to go get my blood work done -- Locally This Time! The male nurse would not stop talking and talking and talking about anything and everything. The only thing I was thinking was hurry the heck up and draw my blood already! I just want to know if we are pregnant or not, HELLO! (: Oh Jeez, I'm blaming the hormones but I smiled and listened to all his rambling. (hope he doesn't read this, lol) He took my blood and said it would be about 2 hours to hear the results, they were going to fax the results to the Illinois clinic and the clinic would call with the results.

I went home and laid down for about an hour thinking that would make the time fly by faster and it did not! E e-mailed me that she was anxious and just ready to hear the news and I just waited and waited for the call. Finally about 4 hours later we got the phone call... Beta HCG results - PREGNANT! My beta levels came back at 286 which is great! The clinic said they are looking for them to be above 25 so I think we definitely exceeded that! I have my next beta level taken on Thursday October 25th. As long as the numbers are rising (hopefully doubling) then we are in great shape!!!! How Exciting!!!!! I am beyond ecstatic and I immediately e-mailed E  and sent her texts wondering if she got the call yet. We both are sooooooo happy and we are hoping for the best on Thursday! Nothing but great vibes running through my body!!!! I looked in the mirror this morning and my complexion was flawless! Maybe I'm making it up but I feel perfectly pregnant!

Our Latest Photo (; See The Glow?? Yes!!!

E and I have a good connection and we will be going through so much in the next 9 months. I look forward to all the great memories and fun conversations with her and it makes me truly understand why it is hard to say goodbye after the baby(ies) come. Not necessarily to the baby(ies) but to the experience and to our journey. I look forward to all the e-mails, phone calls, and crazy pregnant venting that her and I will do. (:

Ben was right there when we got the great BFP news, I explained to him the beta level and my number 286. Then I started going over the don't requirement list: Continue the same medication calendar, no exercise, hot tubs, heavy lifting, or Dun Dun Dun ..... "intercourse", I said quietly. Obviously he wasn't over the top happy about that restriction! Uh Oh! No, that was an understatement, he really really really is not happy about that detail. It will be okay darling is pretty much how that was handled. Of course he is thrilled about the positive result but as a man he jokes about the restricted sexual aspect of things. Soon enough love! (: (Maybe this was a little too much? Well, that is what this is all about, being open and honest)

I will let you know how Thursday goes! Positively Perfect is what is expected!

xoxoxo,

Say Hormones 3 Times Fast!!!!!!

I decided to share a little about the last year and a half sequence of hormonal changes throughout my body. May seem a little strange but I find it quite humorous so I have to tell you! I'll start at the beginning around February 2011:

Healthy 21 year old with the normal amount of raging female hormones

March 2011 - becoming pregnant (change of hormones)

June 2011 - final stretch of planning our wedding (enough emotions and stress for anyone without the changing hormones of pregnancy)

December 2011 - delivering a baby (hormones hormones hormones is all can say) nothing describes the emotions and amount of crazy feelings/moods going through a woman after giving birth (We blame that on the hormones as well)  (Ladies Am I Right?!) Please back me up so I don't seem psychotic! Ha!

January-March 2012 - hormones getting back to normal after pregnancy and my cycle getting back on the regular PMS schedule. =]]]]]]]]]  [btw, PMS absolutely refers to putting up with men's ****, enough said ;)]

April 2012 - choosing a birth control [with hormones in it!] Again, altering my regular routine of normal raging hormones!

July 2012 - going off the birth control [due to not being able to have an IUD in place during pre-screening process]

Okay, now the cycle is getting back on track again from being off the birth control...

NO WAIT! August 2012 - going back on birth control to regulate my cycle with the fertility clinics transfer schedule! Just kidding body, are you having fun yet!? lol

September 2012 - then the start of fertility medications [altering my hormone levels by stopping my ovulation cycle halting the estrogen in my body] for 3 weeks.............

and then...........

BAM! Flowing Miss Estrogen back into my system with new medications to help my body form a thick uterine lining. Seriously, every time I put the estrogen patches on, about 15 minutes later I get a rush sensation throughout my body and I am oddly getting used to it. It is like my veins are on full fast blood flow for another 15 minutes or so. Weird Right?!

Now I will continue the heightened estrogen and hopefully get all those pregnancy hormones continuing to flow.

Don't even get me started on how emotional I have been lately! [Blaming the hormones!] I can't even watch a single T.V. show without bawling my eyes out over the smallest things! I can just start talking about our surro journey to someone and immediately have tears in my eyes! COME ON! Ha!

Lets just say emotional t.v. dramas are off limits for a period of time! hehehe

Officially 1000 page views! These 3 months blogging have truly helped me focus on each small thing and each huge thing we have experienced. This is going to be a great way for others to get information and a wonderful diary per say for me to look back on. (: Thank you to everyone for all of your support and following us through the start of our journey!

Here are a couple videos that many have discussed their curiosity about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgLhX1M55No&feature=endscreen&NR=1 (Great View of the embryos going into the catheter from the petri dish. The fertility Dr. will in a way suck up the tiny little embryos and you can see them in this video going one by one. E and I were able to see them do this with embies 1 and 7 and let me tell you it gave me chills. The rest of this video isn't a good view of the ultrasound where they show the embryos placed so I have posted a different video for that. In this one you can't seem to see much of anything after the embryos go into the catheter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqUmMYgAkKY Video of an IVF ultrasound during an embryo transfer. It seems like you are looking at a blank screen for about half the video and then you see the glowing catheter make its appearance and then quickly leave. After you see the glowing 2 embryos placed in the uterus. It doesn't give the real experience any justice but for the most part this is what our screen looked like. (:

Love,


P.S. Extremely looking forward to Tuesday for the beta-hcg blood test!!!!!!!!! All of us are trying to stay distracted and I'm sure it is much worse for E & A not being able to first hand experience things but we will all know for sure soon! 2 1/2 more days!!!!!!

I Can't Wait!!!!

Here we are, 6 days past transfer day! I hadn't thought about how I would feel during this 2 week wait because my mind throughout this journey has only been set on the transfer day and just being so excited for that day to be here. Now that transfer day has come and past it is a very anxious time for me. I am a religious planner and it drives me crazy when I don't know what to expect or the answer to something so YES I caved in a bought 2 home pregnancy tests (HPT's). I took the first HPT on day 4 post transfer and before I took it I told myself I would not think anything of it if it came back negative. It is still early but I was curious to see how long after the transfer HCG could be detected. I was very calm and either way the results were it would be okay. I took the test, waited a couple minutes, and then I looked at it. I kept squinting my eyes because it looked like there were 2 lines (which I was ultimately hoping for) but it was so faint I thought I was seeing things. I was in such doubt that I ended up opening the other pregnancy test just to see if you could see any type of line before you peed on it. NOPE, you definitely can't see any lines before hand so even a faint line has to be good news! I just thought that maybe my HCG levels weren't high enough to read bold.

Yesterday, day 5 after the transfer I was getting cramps very low in my pelvic area. They felt exactly like I was getting ready to start my period, UGH! I wasn't sure whether to see that as a good thing or a bad thing but I've been reading a lot about how many people experience different symptoms after a transfer. I have tiny cramps again today but besides that I feel great, even with taking the booty shots. I decided to take another HPT but I was torn whether I should do it on day 6 or day 7. Of course I couldn't wait another day so I took another one as soon as I woke up this morning. Immediately a BFP result! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! It was the best feeling ever to see those big bold lines! Obviously we have a positive transfer but I am trying not to get my hopes up because my beta levels are the determining factor whether it was a successful transfer or not. I've read that anything over 50 after the 2ww is good and then the numbers should begin to double each day. As long as the levels are continuously rising then we are PREGNANT!





TOP- Day 4 (barely see the 2nd line)
BOTTOM- Day 6 (bold lines)


I had to e-mail E about the HPT's and she was pretty darn excited! Her response was, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh OMG!" She also doesn't want to get her hopes up but it is so hard not to have butterflies about the positives! ONLY 4 more days to wait until my beta HCG blood test and I will be going in as soon as they open!

I am being very positive about everything hoping for the best! I've been extremely lucky with how I have been feeling throughout all the medications and the transfer and I hope that is a blessed sign with how the pregnancy will go. (fingers crossed that we are pregnant) I went to the store and picked up some pineapple juice (yum!) then I e-mailed E "Pineapple Juice Pineapple Juice Pineapple Juice!!!" I think she appreciated that and it definitely made her laugh! I love the relationship we have and how appreciative they are. She always reminds me how lucky they feel to have me helping and it makes this experience all the more worth it!

Until Tuesday!!!!!!!

Officially A Surrogate!

This is the post I have been waiting to write all along and it's finally time! Transfer Day was yesterday at 8:20am Chicago time. Ben and I were so relieved to not have to pack the kids and their belongings because my mom decided to come to our house for the day since we were leaving so early in the morning. Ben and I both had to work the night before so we didn't get out until late, got the kids home, finished up my homework and I was in bed by 11:30. Of course my mind was going a million miles a minute and the last time I looked at the clock it was 12:30. Ben didn't get home until 1am so he had even less time to sleep. Lets just say we were both exhausted and felt like zombies! I woke up at 4:30 so I could make sure we had everything we needed and I wanted time to straighten my hair. These days I never get to straighten my hair due to lack of time so it was nice even if I had to get up earlier to do so. Ava woke up when my mom arrived at 4:45 and sat there dazed while making all her cute sounds an playing with Nana. We left by 5:30 and the only thing open was McDonald's so we went through the drive thru and got something small.

I swear until about 8am when the sky was a dull bright it was the most boring drive to date. I was so out of it tired and kept riding the line in the 3 lane segments as if I couldn't decide which I wanted to be in. We finally got past the Chicago Skyway and I could feel my stomach tingling with a little nervousness. I'm glad we left as early as we did because we ended up merging off on I90W instead of I94W taking us about 15 minutes out of our way round trip. The IVF procedures are done at the main campus location so our drive was about  a half hour longer and we had never been there before. When we got back on track it was a breeze to get to and we were finally getting off the official exit. My stomach was rolling by this point.

<---------Chicago!

Ben and I walked through the main entrance of the hospital only finding out the IVF Center was on the other said of the building in the medical office. Walking into the medical office there is no one to great you and no diagrams directing you where to go. All we knew was the suite number B400. We walked up the stairs 1st floor 100's, 2nd floor 200's, 3rd floor 300's.........wait? There isn't a 4th floor! WTH!? We walked back through the halls on the first floor (no one in sight) and found some double doors with the number B400 on them. YES! We Found It! We walked in and a huge sign when you walked in (in pink) said Breast Center. Huh? We told the receptionist we were lost but of course she had no idea where we needed to go either. GREAT! We decided to go back to the lobby and try the basement. I absolutely did not want to be late so I was walking pretty fast in order to find this darn office. Finally! We found another door that said B400. Thank Goodness and we were exactly on the dot 8:20. Too Ironic. We walked in and the scenery was completely different than the entire hospital look. The office was on the smaller side and it has bamboo lining the walls top to bottom. It looked like we were on an exotic island in a tiki hut. Ha!

Ben and I sat down on the fluffiest couch ever (more likely sinking not sitting) and were relieved we were there before E & A. I don't know what it is about being last but I didn't want the awkward walking in right on time and them staring at us thinking "cutting the time rather close huh?" It was so nice to see them again and have faces to speak to rather just words through an e-mail or a voice through the phone. None of us knew what to expect so we were all pretty anxious for the next steps. A nurse called my name and at first I was a little confused whether I go back or all of us went back. I ended up following the nurse while Ben, E, and A stayed in the waiting area. I was told to go into a small room (the size of a elevator it seemed), with a small half table/chair and some shelves. The nurse said, "down to just bra and socks, open in the back (pointing to the hospital scrubs on the chair), belongings in the drawer". Oooookayy. I asked something about the scrub outfit because there was another white sheet next to it and I wasn't sure if I needed to do anything with that and again she said, "down to just bra and socks, open in the back (pointing to the hospital scrubs on the chair), belongings in the drawer". Obviously very procedure, no "Hiiii!!!" or personality involved but I just did what she said both times and sat in the chair waiting for the next step.

As I was waiting I couldn't help but take a picture of how ridiculous I looked in the scrubs!

I haven't bit my nails in over a month now so I sat there picking at them little by little because I was so anxious for the transfer to happen. As I'm in the room the only thing I am thinking is what in the world Ben is talking to E & A about in the waiting area. Knowing him I was thinking about all kinds of jokes he would be making like he was doing on the drive down. After the transfer he talked about shaking A's hand and saying, "Congratulations on impregnating my wife!" Oh Jeez! I told him we wont know until 10 days later whether I am pregnant or not so he agreed to wait until then, ha! There was a knock at my door and in walked E! I was relieved that I didn't have to go into the procedure room alone. She had to put on scrubs over her clothing. The embryologist came in along with the nurse and the F. Dr. poking his head in as well all with E and I still in the room. (Did I mention that this room was tiny?) Good thing none of us were claustrophobic! They wanted to meet us personally and I had to sign a paper stating the amount of embryos that we would be transferring.

 

Oh Goodness, IT'S TIME!

 

E and I were the only ones to go back into the procedure room while Ben and A stayed in the waiting area. We went through a few different doors and walked into a dark room with one bright beaming light a piece of equipment let off. The room looked straight out of a movie scene! E and I both felt like we were on a reality TV show wondering where the cameras were at. I was asked to lay back on the table and I put my legs up on stir-ups instead of my feet. I can't remember exactly how many people were in there because I was trying to focus on the one man (He did the 3D ultrasound during the transfer guiding the F. Dr, where to place the embryos) He was speaking to me so fast it seemed telling me what the were going to be doing and what I can and cannot do after the transfer. Something a little like this, "You may not use a hot tub, take hot baths, or exercise because your body temperature rising could affect the embryos. You may however; cough, sneeze, poop, pee, burp, fart and the embryos will NOT fall out!" Ha! I had to giggle at him saying all of this. The F. Dr. came into the room and I believe asked me how I was doing (so much going on I can't remember what he said) He tells E and I the news that they choose the best 2 embryos they had for the transfer. He said, "Embryos #1 and #7 are the ones we are implanting today" What A Coincidence! My lucky number is 17 and has followed me throughout my entire life bringing good luck! It never fails! My mother was pregnant with me at age 17, my mother and I were born on the 17th, my sister and I are 17 months apart, I graduated at age 17, I was married on the 17th, and the embryos are 1 and 7. Then the ultrasound man says, "We will waiting for Manny (the embryologist) and only when he is ready we can go ahead" Thinking we would be waiting at least 10 minutes.

 

Frozen Embryos ------->



 All of the sudden I felt something ice-cold touch the side of my leg letting me know they were beginning. Oh My Goodness....Breath....It's Happening....Relax....Stay Calm....Don't Cry (because of emotions)...I have to pee so bad...Look at the monitor....Listen to the man talking about the monitor. All things going through my mind! Then the Dr. started things as they would do a PAP Smear --best way to describe it-- E and I are looking at the screen as they are showing us the 2 embryos in the petri dish. They magnified the embryos to show them up close and back to the original size. It was so hard for me to concentrate on the man talking and the screen considering the Dr. was putting the speculum in at the same time. E sat right next to the table watching the screen with me. We see the catheter going toward the petri dish and FOOOM FOOOOM! There go the embryos one at a time into the catheter. We look on the screen below that one and this is when the man (who did all the talking) put the 3D ultrasound right on my bladder, eeeeekk. We now see a full picture of my uterus and we are watching the catheter go through the thin line right down the middle. It was so interesting to see my uterus this time. When I first began getting the ultrasounds it was very thin and small like a perfect oval. This time it looked like a football with way too much air inside! Ha! Too Cool! Extra Fluffy little friend of a uterus!

 

Getting back to the transfer, I feel nothing as the catheter enters my uterus and the man begins to count; 1, 2, 3......FOOOOM, the embryos shoot out of the catheter! We see the actual embryos go into my uterus! I seriously wanted to cry! It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen! The F. Dr. pulled the catheter out and then had to tug on the speculum a few times which made me cramp up quite a bit not feeling the greatest. I hear E beside me say, "That's It!" We were both so shocked that the actual procedure was less than 5 minutes and they lifted me off the bed. I didn't have to stay lying for a period time or anything. I completely forgot by this time that I had to pee. As I walked out of the room, the F. Dr. was standing there to greet me and he says, "You did a great job! You are doing an amazing thing for this family, Thank You!"
 

 Oh No, That Did It! Here Come The Water Works! -->

 

I was directed to the bathroom finally relieving my bladder and got my self together emotionally before returning to the room. I got dressed and made my way back to the waiting area to see Ben, E, & A. We decided after all the suggestions on where to go sit and eat to go to a bagel shop not to far from the IVF clinic. After that is Ben blurting out, "We could get coffee, Didn't you want some today Chelsea?" Ha! He will kill me fore telling you this. I said, "Ben, I can't have coffee anymore, that is why I was excited to have my last one yesterday". Silly man! At the bagel shop we sat, ate, and talked about what happened in the procedure room and about our lives in general.

How would you feel if we got pregnant with twins? I asked E. She replied with, "I would just be sooooo happy!" It was nice spending some time with them before we had to make the drive home. I was emotionally and physically exhausted the way home with less than 4 hours of sleep from the night prior. It was too hard to sleep in the car so Ben sang his heart out and we kept talking about the transfer and E &A.

I was ready to be home, see our children, and go to bed. My mom wanted to know how everything went so we told her the story and I took an hour nap. Woke up for dinner and reclined on the couch until 8 o clock rolled around. I couldn't seem to relax and my head was so congested so I took one of the Valiums given to me by the clinic. 8:30 rolled around and I was out for 12 hours! I stayed in bed until about 9 or so and then made my way to the couch. Ben reminded David (our son) that I was fragile for the next few days and he couldn't rough house with me. He understood and had sympathy as we explained to him the embryos were placed in my belly.

How Am I Feeling? Well, I woke up this morning to Ben already being up with the kids, laundry was in, breakfast dishes were done, and I relaxed --I'm feeling pretty darn great! Wouldn't you? I don't have any cramping or bleeding and my congestion is better than yesterday so I'm pretty near perfect! Besides not taking a shower or making any effort to get around today that is, ha! Ben took the kids over to his mom's house while he is watching the Lion's game and I am relaxing in bed writing my blog and reading some literature.

Quotes of the day -- David: "What if there are 2 girls? Ugh! I want them to have boys!" ... "Stick Embies Stick" (so far we are calling them embies for short and it is a cute childish nickname for David to relate)

2WW (2 week wait)! -- October 23rd I am able to walk into my OB's Lab and get my BetaHCG blood work done. We will have same day results but that doesn't mean I will be able to wait that long. I have read that after 3-5 days of implantation you may take pregnancy tests to try to see results BUT a negative doesn't mean a negative because my HCG levels aren't guaranteed to be high enough for the home tests to read so we shall see! Hoping for a BFP!!!!!

Previously in the story--When E & A made their entrance into the clinic they were holding something in a plastic bag. Interesting! As the conversation grew they began telling us about how they heard that pineapple increase your chances of pregnancy and when they were going through their egg retrieval cycles --not knowing at the time she would not be able to carry a pregnancy-- she ate pineapple like it was going out of style! So they brought me some pineapple to help our odds! ;) Too Cute! This was the e-mail I received this morning from E -- "Hope you guys got back in good time! A and I were so emotionally exhausted yesterday. What you are trying to do for is is so amazing and we are so lucky to have you guys by our side . . . eat that pineapple:) xoxoxox E"
Love! I ate it on the way home, for dinner, and breakfast this morning! Goes to show that we are all for doing anything possible to help relax their worries and to do as much as we can to make this a good experience for them as well. I know I would love it if someone did things the way I would carrying my child(ren).


Eat That Pineapple:)    --------------->



I am now going to rest for the next couple days and then go back to work but taking it easy. I will not be lifting anything heavy because of the risks of miscarriage or too much stress on the embryos. I will be continuing the estrogen patches, suppositories, and P in Oil injections to further thicken my uterine lining. With those I also continue the baby aspirin and the prenatal vitamins.

Updating the abbreviations in the right hand column!

 

There is a You Tube video that explains shortly how the transfer is done if interested. Only 27 seconds long under  Ultrasound-assisted Embryo Transfer Catheter

WE DID IT!
 

Love,

 

 



Whole Shebang!

2 Dayyyysss!!!!

 

So for the last few days I have been feeling like a walking, talking, breathing band-aid. I have 4 patches on my abdomen at a time and they stay on for 48 hours until I change them with 4 new patches. After taking off the patches there is a sticky residue that is left behind that is near impossible to scrub off without taking 3 layers of skin with it. Ouch! I have yellow bruises on both arms where they have drawn my blood and my tooshie is throbbing sore at the moment. Ben administered my second progesterone (P in Oil) shot and OOOWWWWW! That one hurt! It was in the opposite check and I obviously didn't numb it as well as the last time. I felt the liquid going in and of course it couldn't go in fast enough due to the thickness! Ugh! I have to stay positive and hope the next one wont be so bad.

 

I have had an amazing burst of energy these past couple days and I'm not sure what has gotten into me. I am just so darn excited for Saturday to be here although we wont know the pregnancy results for another 2 weeks almost. Well, I lied, I slightly know what got into me yesterday. I may or may not have stopped at Biggby for a grande frozen caramel marvel WITH extra caramel! Ha! I had to splurge a little and since I have 2 days left I am going to eat what I want and have a darn coffee! C: I am just so full of life and it is starting to feel more real, this experience that is. I can't wait to share this moment with E & A as they have been waiting for this day much longer than I. It is a family's history in the making and I can look back knowing that I was a part of creating their beautiful family. Every time I think about it (which is becoming daily) it becomes more and more rewarding just being apart of things. I realize that this is all about E & A and their child(ren) but it is so wonderful how they make it about us too always wanting us to be comfortable.

 

I can only imagine the thoughts/worries going through E & A's minds not being able to be close to the (let's call it) baby making process, trusting us to do everything we can to keep their embryos safe and healthy. I would be a nervous wreck and want the surrogate to do everything I would do being pregnant. I suppose that seems a little psychotic but I try to keep myself in E's shoes and anything she suggests I fully think it through doing whatever she is most comfortable with.

 

A lot of conversation has come up about whether Ben and I should take the train into Chicago so that we don't have the stress of traffic the transfer day as the clinic wants to be as relaxed as possible. Also, E & A have offered several times to book us a hotel for the night before the transfer and the night of the transfer so that I can rest and be comfortable (not crammed in the car for 3 hours after the transfer). I guess we look at it more as we don't want them to spend the money on a hotel when we can go home and feel comfortable in our own environment. On the other hand they might be thinking they want the best possible results from the FET so maybe lying immediately after the transfer and not sitting up throughout a drive would be better chances to get a positive result. This is where it gets difficult as far as realizing their reasons for asking these types of questions and keeping that frame of mind about being in their shoes. We have decided to drive in on Saturday only because we would get back home quicker instead of having a 5 hour layover and waiting around. Also, we will not be staying in a hotel. I am fully comfortable being in the back seat lounged out for the ride. You can see me now with the feet up writing notes in my notebook to help my mom with her college paper. :) Great memories we will be making during this journey.

 

I can't believe in less than 2 days we will be driving down to Chicago again but for the actual FET Day. Crazy. Things seem like they are going by slow but within a blink we will be moving into our new home (hopefully we get great news back on our offer made), we will be 7 months pregnant, and talking about how we can't wait for E & A to see their precious baby for the first time! And Yes I say WE will be pregnant as in E, A, Ben, and I. How different is is to see this pregnancy as a group effort instead of just Ben and I with our last pregnancy. This baby already has so much love! Our love to help them grow until they can go home with E & A to be loved the rest of their life. Love that thought!

 

On that good note I will be signing off. Thank you for all your love and support and I can't wait to update you all again soon!

 

Love,
 

No, No, No, No!!!!!!

Last night, October 8th, was the start day for my first progesterone injection. Ughk! I have pretty much been dreading this day since I received our medication calendar. Well the day came quicker than I wanted but I had to suck it up because I can't get to the exciting transfer day without passing the inevitable shot day first.   

Ben really wanted to be the one to give me the shots since it is a little difficult for me to turn, balance, and give the injection myself. It was almost scary how excited Ben seemed to stick the shot in my booty. Of course I trust him to do it right but geesh seeing those needles is enough to freak anyone out.

 

Ben prepped everything and got the injection ready while I (You Guessed It) Broke out the ICE PACK! I iced for about 2 minutes and it started burning having ice on the booty even in that short period of time. I obviously was much more afraid of this 1 1/2 inch needle shot than I was the tiny little belly shots. Ben stood there ready with the syringe and I let him rub the alcohol swab over the area we would be using. It burned a little him doing that because it was so ice cold but I found myself being in front of him but I kept turning my hips the opposite way because I was so scared it was going to hurt. Finally after about 10 minutes I turned toward the counter, relaxed my right leg, and clenched my fists. Ben asked, "Are you ready?" I said , "No" and I felt nothing. I started laughing and Ben told me not to move but I didn't realize he had even poke me yet. Progesterone going into the skin takes longer than a normal shot because it is so thick so I had to stand there waiting patiently for him to fully empty the syringe.

After all was said and done it bled a tiny bit and Ben came back into the kitchen saying,   "Because you were such a big girl, you get a Charlie Brown Peanuts Band Aid"! Ha! Too Funny! He rubbed the area while I lied on the couch and warmed up the heating pad. I was so exhausted from the days trip that I feel asleep within 5 minutes of that heating pad being on. Glad to say the shot didn't hurt but it is a little sore/stiff being the day after. I'm definitely glad these are every 3 days and not every day!

 

Things to add about our last trip: Ben likes to go fast down the parking ramp and he will be banned from driving out of Chicago if he continues to do. Scares the heck out of me but he seems to think he isn't going fast enough, ha! We no longer use printed directions for the trips which is cool that we know are way around now. The last 2 visits have been direction free! Did I mention that my booty hurts from that shot?! lol I better get used to this soreness :)

 

4 Dayyyyssss until our FET!!!!!! 

 

Yes! We are getting very anxious and excited for Saturday to come! We have a few more work days and then we will have Saturday and Sunday off (me being on a mild best rest for 48 hours after the transfer. Frozen embryo success rates are nearly the same as fresh embryo transfers. E has already had her eggs retrieved previously and they were frozen so they could take the time to find a surrogate they were comfortable with carrying their embryos. In a FET the clinic will thaw the embryos 1-3 days prior to the scheduled transfer. I believe they thaw more than they plan on using due to some of them not making it past the thaw. If all goes well we will transfer the 2 best embryos through a catheter. They will put a saline solution into my uterus and inserts the embryos watching the placement via 3D ultrasound. I have not actually been through a transfer to know this is exactly how it will take place but this is the research I have done and I will absolutely post how our transfer went!

 

Ben and I are both excited to have E & A there Saturday with us to see the embryos placement although I'm sure they are so anxious just to here a confirmed positive pregnancy test. I will have blood work done 10 days after the transfer with same day results! Hoping for a huge POSITIVE! October 23rd cannot come quick enough!

 

C:

 

 

 

 

 

Last Baseline Appointment - 5 dayssss!!!!

5 Days!!!!!

 

So far we have matched with IP's, had all of our pre-screening done, and had 3 baseline appointments tracking how my body is taking to the medications. In 5 days our wait will be over and it feels good that we are finally in the home stretch for our frozen embryo transfer! I am trying really hard not to get my hopes us for a positive pregnancy result but it is soooooo hard not too be excited! I want to believe with everything I have that we will see a BFP! (Big Fat Positive!) If it does so happen to be a negative result then we will start at square one putting me back another cycle of medications but I have a good feeling it will not come to that.

 

Ben and I drove down to Chicago again today for our last baseline appointment for blood work and another ultrasound. Our drive down we passed 9 police and 3 huge over sized load semi's with trailing airplane wings. The way back we passed 5 more police! Jeez o petes they were thick today because all the other trips down we rarely saw 2 the entire trip. Our morning started off with our adrenaline pumping as I woke to hearing Ava in the next room, looked at the clock and it was 1 1/2 hours past the time I set my alarm! YIKES! I realized after scrambling around that I made our appointment for an hour later than I thought, WHEW, so we were going to be just on time! I have been on a random coffee frenzy which is severely strange seeings how I hate coffee but I have been liking the caffeine kick from the frozen caramel coffee's I'd get. I decided not to get one this morning because I'm obviously going to have to check out on the frozen coffee kick for the next 9 months so I might as well get used to it, hehehe.

 

We got to Chicago and could not believe how awesome traffic was an hour later than we usually go through. We literally got through what normally takes us 40 minutes to an hour within 10 minutes! It was crazy! We were excited and thought our entire day would just go flying by from here on out because that is always the worst part about our Chicago trips. Nope, the clinic was so packed and backed up because they have specific cycle dates they run so everyone literally comes the same time 2 weeks out of the month. We were at our appointment for about an hour which still isn't bad considering the great news we got! Uterine Lining is now at 16mm and Nurse C said that is awesome! I took my last Lupron shot last night around 9:30 and now have the go to start the Progesterone in Oil injections! Ughk! Can't say I'm exactly anywhere near excited for that :( I'm going to attempt to let Ben do it and not go in the room until he is ready to poke the needle in because I don't want to freak myself out like the first time I took my belly shots. I will not be preparing to take a picture of this shot either because there is no way I will be emotionally up for it.

 

I was a little nervous about getting my blood work done this time because our last appointment I was tortured with the needle. She didn't end up hitting the vein the first time so instead of taking it out and starting again, she continued to move the needle around jabbing me with it 3 times! Ahhhhhh! I am still bruised pretty bad from a week ago. This time another lady saw my arm and said, "Oh No" and was nice enough to draw from my other arm and not torture me, hehe. It was easy breezy!

 

Progesterone in Oil

1 1/2 inch 18 gage needle to get the progesterone out of the vial and 22 gage needle to administer.

 

Progesterone is a hormone that in basic terms helps get the uterine lining all nice and fluffy for the embryo transfer. I continue to take this throughout 12 weeks of pregnancy until my placenta makes enough progesterone by itself to support the pregnancy. It makes the little embies 'stick' to the lining. There are 3 different kinds of supplements that a woman can take in order to increase or just maintain a high progesterone level: oral supplements, vaginal suppositories and injections. All of these must be prescribed by a doctor. I will be taking injections and suppositories as pictured :)

 

Progesterone will be stopped if the pregnancy results come back negative. If we get a BFP then I will continue the injections throughout the first trimester.

 

Did I mention these are in my Boooootaaaayyyyyyy!!!!! Eeeekk!

 

Antibiotics

This is a 5 day antibiotic that I take starting today to prevent any infection that may occur. I started taking 2 pills the first day and I continue taking 1 pill until gone which is the day before the transfer.

 

Endometrin

These are tablets that have to be inserted vaginally (I apologize for the TMI)

 

Endometrin is another medication that is used to thicken the lining of the uterus but in suppository form and done 3x daily. The box with all the pills, the actual pill size, and the applicator. (Inserted exactly as a tampon would be)

 

Whew! So For the next week I am going to be hopped up on all types of medications: prenatal vitamins, baby aspirin, progesterone injections every 3 days, 4 patches every other day, antibiotics, and 3x daily suppositories. 



 

Last bit of insight into our journey: I had someone inquire about whether or not I was pregnant yet. I told them excitedly, "Not yet but just one more week until out transfer day!" The reply shocked me a little but it makes me realize that not everyone sees things in the same manner so it is interesting to see how others view it. He says, "So, how does it feel knowing that someone else will be controlling/owning you the next 9 months" Huh? I replied explaining that it has not been that type of journey and it wont be a boss to employee relationship. I had just never seen it as that, so someone bringing it up in that manner caught me off guard. I told them that all for of us are in this together as a team and there are so many more people surrounding us with all their love and support making up an even bigger team. I don't look at this as a job although compensation is involved. I am doing this because I want to help their family and it just so happens that they are able to help our family as well. Any thoughts/comments are welcome on this little remark. I didn't take it as a rude comment but do other people see it like that?

 

Until tomorrow! Revealing our first booty shot story and going over a typical frozen embryo transfer.