Surro Babe: Week 11

Today is: September 29, 2013

How far along: 11 weeks 2 days (tomorrow is 200 days left!!)

Total weight gain: 2lbs 

Baby is the size of: A Fig

What is going on with this baby: Their baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. His/Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of his/her bones are beginning to harden. He/She's already busy kicking and stretching, and his/her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as his/her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel the baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that his/her diaphragm is forming.

Baby is a: ??? Should find out the middle of November!!

Maternity Clothes: oh yeah...

Sleep: My hips are really starting to bother me. I need to invest in the preggo body pillow. 

Movement: Too soon but I am getting little twinges :)

Symptoms: Nausea is slowly getting better. Zofran, Peppermint Gum and Warm Tea are my friends.

Food Cravings/Aversions: I cant eat or drink anything sweet or I will get sick. Loving Protein, fruits and veggies.

Best moment(s) this week: 
Nausea is slowly subsiding. 

I'm looking forward to:

My OB appt on the 2nd!!

Betas are in!

My clinic called me with my first set of Betas!!

562

I am beyond thrilled with that number!! We definitely believe that I am carrying Twins!! We will find out in about 2 1/2 weeks!! I should be getting an u/s at 6 1/2 weeks! I need to stay at the same dose of meds and go in next friday for my 2nd beta!

My IP's are Officially going to be Parents!!!!

Big Fat Positive!!!

My IP's are going to be Parents!!!

Results and Exciting News!!!

First off, lets get through my last three labs results :)

Week One:
Progesterone - 0.7
Estradiol - 15

Week Two:
Estradiol - 97

Week Three:
Estradiol - 392
Uterine Lining - 12.8 w/ Triple Stripe!

So everything on my end looks great and my uterus is ready for a baby! Today was hopefully my last day of Lupron! So I should be starting my PIO and Inserts tomorrow!!

Big News...

Our Transfer has been bumped up!! S the schedule is as planned, unless anything changes: My IM has her Egg Retrieval on Thursday, so please send positive vibes her way! I was told that we will be doing a 3 Day Transfer, which means that I will be leaving on SATURDAY!! That also means that the Embryo Transfer will be on SUNDAY!!!!!

You have absolutely no idea how excited I am! I will also be meeting my IP's face to face on Saturday or Sunday!! I got my IM a special something for our journey.. Pretend like you didn't read that last sentence, IM ;)

So there is the exciting news!! I leave for LA in FOUR Days!!!

Two Weeks!!!

WOW!!!

I can't believe that it's almost time to head down to la! In exactly two weeks, I will hopefully be at my fertility clinic getting ready to have 2 embryos transferred!! It's been a long time coming and I am so excited, nervous, anxious and ready for this day to get here!!

I had my first of many labs last Tuesday to measure my progesterone & estradiol levels. My estradiol was 15 and progesterone was 0.7. So both numbers were great! I've taken 2 delestrogen IM injections and have my second set of labs today and should get the results today :)

Dave and I like to talk to the kids about our IP's and why Mommy has been giving herself shots everyday. They know who they are if we show them their picture. They said that they can't wait to meet them and their baby :)
Sorry for not updating, my laptop is still broke and we've been so busy... Plus i'm on my phone doing this!
Xoxo,
Breanna!

Prenatals = Blech!

I now remember why I dislike Prenatal Vitamins. When I was pregnant with my kids, I would get so sick to my stomach from my vitamins. I wouldn't throw up, I would just get nauseous.

Well I have been taking prenatals for a week and I am so sick to my stomach. I started taking them in the evening after dinner and I would still get an upset tummy. So I emailed my amazing nurse and she ordered me CitraNatal Harmony Vitamins.. I am ready to try these out. I am also getting my BCP's in this package, which should be here some time tomorrow. I can't believe how fast everything is moving along!

I had emailed my IP's and let them know where we were at on our side and that everything is moving smoothly and that all of the Consents should have been delivered to the clinic today and we signed and emailed back our Retainer to our Lawyers. I got an email back this morning and they let me know that IM has started her weekly blood draws and she should be starting her BCP's next week also!

I had asked them if they would like me to schedule a "Stork Tour" at the hospital. It's a tour of the hospital/L&D, Nursery and everything else. That way when it is time, they will know where to go!

So that is whats happening in my neck of the woods... Hopefully we will sign contracts within the next week!

Moving Forward!!!

Yesterday, I flew to LA for my Re-Evaluation :)

I got to the airport around 6:45a and my flight didn't leave until 8:10a. So I walked around and tried to calm my nerves :) I got a sweet email from my IP's the night before saying to relax and have a nice time. It made me feel better!

Once I got to LAX, my Caseworker picked me up and we headed to CFP. We got there around 10:45 and my appt wasn't until 11:30, so we were able to check in early and I went back for blood work and urine test. I have a pretty little bruise now... At around 11:15 I was called back to the room and was told to get undressed from my waist down. About 5 minutes later, the nurse came in and told me that I needed to get weighed. I wrapped a blanket around me and I went to get weighed. I'm not back into the room 5 minutes and she comes back in and says "You're gonna hate me. We have to go and get your height now.." I just laughed..

{In Surro Land, this is known as the Weenie Wand}

After all of that, my Dr came in and we chatted. He was very happy with my weight loss {YAY!!!}. We talked a little and then he started the Sonohysterogram. This time I didn't really cramp! He said that my lining is absolutely perfect and that I need to start taking Prenatals. So I have finally finished all of the screening and can now move to CONTRACTS!!!! We just have to wait for all of the blood work from dave/myself to come back. That should only take about 5-7 days.

It was now off to see the nurse for my Meds!!! I got a bag full of Prenatal Samples. The one that everyone likes was gone, so she is going to order me some! I was told that I will be taking Birth Control Pills {BCP's}, Lupron, Estradiol {Delestrogen} & Progesterone. So once I start my cycle/period {CD1}, I need to call her and I will start BCP's on CD2. After that I will begin the Lupron Shots for 7 days. Then its the Estradiol Shots every 3 days. Then I do Labs & u/s of my lining. Then its on to Progesterone. I am so confused but my nurse is amazing and is going to send me detailed instructions for everything along with my calendar!!

I am so excited that things are moving!!!!!

Scheduled!

I scheduled my Re-Evaluation/Medical Appointment with Dr. this morning!!!

I will be heading back down to LA on Thursday the 16th! I was able to schedule it on Dave's day off that way we don't have to have anyone watch the kids.

I will be flying out in the morning, go to my appointment, grab some lunch and then fly back home. During the appointment, I will be doing the following:

- Sonohysterogram - Ultrasound of my Uterus.
- Blood Work.
- Find out what medicines I will be on.
- Learn how to give myself my Injections.
- Ask Questions, Get Answers!

I am a little torn since the 16th is also D's Open House at school {first one since he is in Kindergarten} but Daddy will be there :) Since I work in the classroom 2x a month, I get to see everything they are doing for open house, so that makes me feel a little better.


Next week can't come soon enough!!

Just a little setback...

So we have ran into a tiny set back.. 

I was supposed to fly to LA one day this week to do my Re-Evaluation with Dr., but it looks like he is completely booked for the week. So what does that mean?! I have to wait for my next cycle, which should be around May 8th.

I had only done half of what was needed because of the whole weight thing. But I get to do all of this all over again with my new Dr.

My Medical Evaluation will include: 

Medical History
Pregnancy History
Blood work
Sonohysterogram - Ultrasound of the uterus.
Explain all of the meds and process
Give me a lab slip for D to do his blood work..


Psych Evaluation will include:

MMPI-2 (or PAI) Test - roughly 340 T/F questions. None of them are right or wrong because it is a personality test.
Talk about why I chose Surrogacy.
Misc Questions.
3-4 hours for everything


So here is hoping these next few weeks fly by! I don't think I have ever wanted my period to start so fast.. Like.EVER! #SurroProbs! 

The only thing that sucks is that my Anniversary is right in the middle of this crazy cycle.. May 12th is our 6 year wedding anniversary :)

Hope everyone has a great day!!!

One step closer...

So it looks like I will have to go back down to L.A. for a Re-Evaluation & Blood Work at the IVF Clinic and then do my Psychological Evaluation. I wish I didn't have to fly down there, but the new dr wants to see me.

I should be flying down some time next week... Eeek! I should be getting a call from the clinic on monday to schedule the appt.. This is just one step closer to getting a set date on our transfer!

So as of right now, I am just trying to tie up loose ends and figure out a plan for the kids next week. I am hoping that I can fly down on Thursday since its Dave's day off and I wont need to have anyone watch the kids or pick them up from school.

The IP's and I have started emailing back and forth! It was a sweet surprise when I checked my email yesterday and saw the first email from them... I was finally able to email back this afternoon. It has been a busy few days..

XOXO,

Conference Call!!

This morning I had our Conference Call with my new IP's!!

First off, let me say that they are amazing! I absolutely adore them already! They seem so genuine and can not wait to have a family! Once we all started talking, the nerves went away and everything went really well. I was so nervous before the call, I barely slept. Our call was at 6:30am pst and 9:30pm their time...

We were all on the phone together for about 30-45 minutes. {Me, My Caseworker, IF, IM & Their Translator} I asked questions, they asked questions. They want to try for a June Transfer, which would mean that I would start my meds in May. Once I get my Psych Eval done and both mine and Dave's blood work done, I believe we will be starting contracts!!

When we were talking and asking questions, I told them that I have a Surrogacy blog and that I will be updating it as things move along. I also told them that I will not display their names or put pictures of them up on here. They were pretty excited about this. They said that it will help them connect with me and the pregnancy more. This made me so happy! When I logged in to write this post, I checked the audience and there were some hits from where they are! This made my heart swell :)

We talked about multiples and if they would like to be in the room when I deliver. They were very grateful when I told them that it was up to them if they wanted to be in the room. It will be their baby/babies and they deserve to be in that room!

So for now our check list consists of this :

- Complete my Psychological Evaluation.
- Complete Mine and Dave's Blood Work.

Thank you for all of your sweet comments and prayers!!

I Made It!!!

I made it!!!

I finally hit that weight.. I am just waiting for my dr's appt so I can do a weight check to send to my caseworker. I can't believe its finally here.

So the plan goes as followed:

- Get weight check at drs and then send it to my caseworker.

- Caseworker sends my weight check to the IVF dr. She will check it and will let my caseworker know what to do next.

- If approved, we will either go back with our original IP's and finish where we left off OR we will have to look for new IP's. It all depends if our original IP's still want to work with us.

- I will then have to fly down to L.A. to do my Psych Eval and Medical Eval {again}. They will show me how to give myself meds and let me know which meds I will be on.

- Start Contracts and find out when the Transfer will happen.

- Start giving myself shots and then fly down to L.A. for the Embryo Transfer...

- Get a B.F.P!!!


So there ya go Ladies & Gents! I am beyond excited to be back on track!

Will post more when I have new and exciting info!!! I just want to say a big Thank You to all of the friends, family and strangers that have prayed for us!! It means so much!


xoxo,

Breanna

Good News/Bad News....

Well, yesterday was a very, very long day.. Flying to LA and back was tiring enough.

The plane ride there was very uneventful. A quick one hour flight. When I got to LA I was driven to CFP for my Medical Evaluation. When I got there, I had to fill out paperwork and then get my blood drawn and give a urine sample. One of the girls from my agency met me there and stayed with me for the whole appt. We then went in and talked to the dr and went over all of the medical questions..

When we got into the exam room, I had to have a pap and then she did the Sono/Ultrasound. The whole procedure was pretty fast but I did cramp up during and a little after. My Uterus looks great and my ovaries look good too! After all of that, I get dressed and go do my height and weight... This is where it gets a little depressing.

I need to lose some poundage..

29 pounds to be at the max BMI for this IVF clinic..

So where do we go from here?! I was told that things will be on hold until I get the weight off. The Owner of my Agency will talk to the IP's and see if they want to wait for me to lose the weight or move on. I am praying that they wait. The transfer will possibly be in February  so I have about 1 1/2 months to lose the weight and be ready for meds. I am confident that I can lose this weight. I am just hoping that my IP's see that I am working on my weight and want to work with them. I will know their decision next week. {praying for good news}

So after that, we went to lunch and I soon found out that my Psych was cancelled and put on hold too. So I got dropped of at the airport 3 1/2 hours before my flight and just prayed that time would pass by quickly so that I could be home with my family. I'm not gonna lie, there were quite a few tears shed last night. I waited until I got home to break down. I just felt so defeated and mad at myself.

So starting today, I have better meal plans and exercise routines ready. I am going to prove to myself and everyone else that I can do this! I had no idea that I had gained that much in such a short time. Time to rev up my metabolism, lose the weight and try to grow a few inches too!


Love & Prayers...
Breanna

Medical and Psych Evals!!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!!!

It felt like this day would never come! So, I am flying to L.A. tomorrow to do my Medical Evaluation and possibly my Psych Eval. {trying to get everything into one trip} I am so anxious and excited for everything to move along!!!

I just want to say that my Caseworker is absolutely Amazing and I am so glad she is here with me every step of the way! She just gave birth and is still answering all of my emails/texts and calls! I am also thankful for my husband and my dad! My dad is going to watch all three kids for us while I am gone and D works. I am so lucky to have such supportive people in my life!

So here is what I should be doing tomorrow:

My Medical Evaluation will include: 

Medical History
Pregnancy History
Blood work
Sonohysterogram - Ultrasound of the uterus.
Explain all of the meds and process
Give me a lab slip for D to do his blood work..


Psych Evaluation will include:

MMPI-2 (or PAI) Test - roughly 340 T/F questions. None of them are right or wrong because it is a personality test.
Talk about why I chose Surrogacy.
Misc Questions.
3-4 hours for everything.



After all of this is done, we will move onto the Contracts in early December!


Love & Prayers,

Breanna