Surro Babe: 35 Weeks!!

Today is: March 13, 2014

How far along: 35 Weeks 2 Days!!! 33 Days to go!!!

Total weight gain: 9lbs

Baby is the size of: A Honeydew Melon

What is going on with this baby: Baby Girl doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (about the size of a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Baby is a: GIRL!!!

Maternity Clothes: Oh Yeah, and loving it!!

Sleep: Eh... I am waking up around 3x a night to go to the bathroom and my hips are killing me. 

Movement: She is a Mover and loves to kick my ribs. She is mostly active in the mornings and late afternoons.

Symptoms: I've been getting some energy back but some days I am completely exhausted. I have been getting really bad acid reflux and the Zantac 75 is helping a little. I have been getting a lot of Braxton Hicks lately. My Dr. prescribed me Vistaril to calm my uterus down. They have been helping a lot.

Food Cravings/Aversions: A lot of Fruits and Veggies. Cheerios. Ice. Lots of water!

Best moment(s) this week: 
Finding out when the parents are coming!

I'm looking forward to:

OB Appt on 3/19

The Mommy To Be gets here on 3/31

The Dad To Be gets here on 4/10

And I'm Back!!

First off, My IP's are absolutely amazing!!!

My flight to LA was a breeze and it was nice that the flight was less than half full! I was able to lay down and take a nap since no one was next to me! My IP's picked me up from the airport and we immediately hugged and it was like we were old friends. We went to my hotel The Crescent in Beverly Hills and I got all checked in... Then it was off to dinner!! They took me to a Curry place called Curry House CoCo Ichibanya. I have never had curry before so I was a little nervous. We looked at the menu and they picked out some pretty tasty plates.. After everything was brought over, my IM dished me up and omg it was pretty amazing! She kept giving me more and I told her that if I ate anymore, they would have to roll me out of the restaurant haha.. I gave my IM her Origami Owl Locket at dinner and they brought me a lot of treats from their country and a few things that she personally made. It was so heartwarming :) After dinner, they took me to my hotel and I went to bed since we had a BIG DAY on Sunday!!

Sunday morning I ordered room service and got some yummy fruit and oj :) I got ready, took my meds and had my caseworker give me my 2 shots and then it was off to our TRANSFER!!!!

When we got to CFP, I had to go back and give blood. I swear they use the same spot over and over again. After that, they were ready for me! They take me back to the room and I have to get undressed from the waist down. By that time, my IP's have arrived! Everyone crowds into the tiny transfer room and then they wheel in the precious cargo in an incubator :) My IP's got to look at them and I got to take a picture of these precious embies!!

My Dr decided to put all 4 embryos in considering my IM's age and the quality of the embryos. I was a little nervous but I knew that I was in good hands. 1 Embryo was a 9 cell, 2 were 7 cells and one was 5 cells. After the transfer, my IM sat down and prayed and I had to lay with pillows under my knees/thighs for about 30 minutes. After that, I was able to get up and get dressed. I was wheeled out since my valium had kicked in and couldn't really walk straight. I got back to my hotel and took a nap :) My IP's brought me lunch and dinner and I was completely stuffed! I also ordered dessert and got a massive brownie and vanilla ice cream :) It was scrumptious!! After that I passed out!

I was so excited to finally be heading home and give my babies big hugs!! All in all this trip was such an amazing one! This will forever be etched in my heart!!! I probably missed a lot, but I got most of it :)


this is what happens in a 3dt : 

1dpt ..embryo is growing and developing 
2dpt... Embryo is now a blastocyst 
3dpt....Blastocyst hatches out of shell on this day 
4dpt.. Blastocyst attaches to a site on the uterine lining 
5dpt.. Implantation begins as the blastocyst begins to bury in the lining 
6dpt.. Implantation process continues and morula buries deeper in the lining 
7dpt.. Morula is completely implanted in the lining and has placenta cells & 
fetal cells 
8dpt...Placenta cells begin to secret HCG in the blood 
9dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops 
10dpt...More HCG is produced as fetus develops 
11dpt...HCG levels are now high enough to be immediately detected on 
HPT

Moving along & 2 Days!!

I can't believe I leave for LA in TWO days!!!

Yesterday was my very last Lupron Injection!!! I am so glad to be done with those. They were small, but I bruised easily with them.

This morning I started my PIO Injections and my Progesterone Inserts... Holy Cow, my butt is sore! It was also a Double Shot Day.. Bleh!

I will start packing probably this evening or tomorrow!! I am beyond excited to meet my IP's face to face on saturday evening! I will be flying out saturday late afternoon. It seems so crazy that everything is already here :)

**Please send positive vibes to my IM <3 Today is her Egg Retrieval Day!

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!

One Medication Done!

I took my Last BCP!!! 35 BCP's during this journey! Since I took my last one today, I should be starting my menses soon. The day it starts, I need to call my nurse and let her know. I am so glad to be done with these! BCP's make me gain weight like crazy, so good riddance!

So I have been on Lupron for one week! First off, I feel like I am in a sauna at all times. I have some serious hot flashes.

On my first day, I was pretty nervous and had Dave take pictures {none of them turned out good}. After everything was all done, I started getting a small reaction and kinda freaked out. I texted my CW and she said that it is completely normal and should go away in about an hour... She was right ;) I still have the bruise from the first shot too..

Now I have no problem doing them. It's like clockwork. I have my alarm set for 7:45a and it gives me a few minutes to clean up and get everything ready. I am supposed to take the Lupron at the same time every day. So since I did my first shot at 8a, I will have to do them at or very close to that time.

I have my first monitoring appt on Tuesday the 9th! They are going to check my Estradiol & Progesterone Levels. On Wednesday the 10th I will start my Delestrogen Shots. These ones, I am really nervous about! This medication is really thick, thicker than the PIO that I have. I am just glad that I only have to take these every 3 days. The needles are pretty scary too...

I hope everyone is having a great 4th of July!! Stay safe!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

I take my first ever Lupron Shot Tomorrow!!!!

My friend is going to come over and video/take pics of me giving my first ever injection!

When I told Dave that I was really excited for Friday to get here, he said "Why on earth are you excited to give yourself shots?" It's not really the fact that I am excited about giving myself shots, Its about the journey that is officially starting tomorrow!!! The bigger needles are a little scarier, but nothing too bad :)

My IP's and I emailed back and forth this morning and I found out when they are going to be in LA. I also found out when we will be meeting Face to Face!! We are going to meet the day I fly to LA, which I am so freaking excited about!! It is going to be so nice to finally meet them in person and actually talk to them and give them a big hug :)

In exactly one month, I will be packing for my Transfer Trip to LA!!

Ready to Cycle!!!

This is a big week!!! Well, the past 2 weeks have been big!

On Thursday, I received my Calendar! This tells me when I take my meds and what days to take them!

I also received my Meds on Saturday!!! Dave and I went through the box and I immediately got butterflies in my stomach!! I will be on the following medications:

Lupron
Delestrogen
Progesterone in Oil
Progesterone Vaginal Inserts (gag!)

I will also have antibiotics, steroids and muscle relaxers.

So this is a group picture of my Miracle Meds!!

 

I honestly forgot how huge those needles are.. Yikes!

 

This is where my EV2 and PIO Shots are going.. Not fun!

Friday, June 28th I will start my Lupron Injections!! I can't believe it's finally here!! My IP's are ecstatic also! My Calendar looks a little like this:


06-28 Start Lupron 1mg (20 units)

07-04 Take Last BCP

07-08 Expect Mensies

07-09 Labs (Estradiol & Progesterone Levels)

07-10 Start Estradiol Valerate (Delestrogen) 2mg IM

07-10 Decrease Lupron to 0.5mg (10units)

07-15 Labs (Estradiol Level)

07-16 Possible increase in dose of Estradiol Valerate

07-21 Labs & Ultrasound

07-22 Possible Last dose of Lupron

07-23 Possible Progesterone Start

07-28 Arrive in Los Angeles

07-28 Possible EMBRYO TRANSFER!!!!


Both my IP's and myself are so ready to get the SHOW ON THE ROAD!!! Here is hoping these next few weeks go by super fast!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

Moving Along...

Our laptop is still not fixed.. Grrr!

We finally got our Contract on thursday!! Dave and I read it a few times and do not see anything that needs to be changed. It's a great feeling when you know that both you and your IP's are basically on the same page and want the same thing. So hopefully the contract signing will go smoothly and fast!

I have my Consultation with the Lawyer on Wednesday to go over everything. I'm so glad things are moving along nicely. I am just sad that we won't be able to do a June transfer like they wanted. We are shooting for a early July transfer now.

I have about 10 days left of my first BCP pack and need to call my nurse to get a refill along with some more prenatals :) Hopefully my meds & calendar will arrive soon after contracts!!

Hope everyone is having a blessed monday & rest of your 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!!

Psych Evals!

Dave and I get to drive to San Francisco for our Psych Evals on Thursday!!

Since Dave won't be able to go to LA with me next month, We are able to get our Psychs done by us! This is another big task we can check off our list! We will be taking the Personality Assessment Inventory {PAI} Test and talk with the Psychiatrist.

The PAI Test is a 300+ True/False Test that gets a comprehensive assessment of adult psychotathology. They want to make sure Dave and I are sane and can handle this big journey!

The test should only take about an hour and about 20 minutes to score! A June Transfer is looking sweeter and sweeter! Eeek!

So now we just have to wait for my cycle to start, which should be in about a week, then I head to LA a week after that for my Re-Evaluation with Dr. R!!! Then its Contract time!

Hope you all have a blessed day!

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!!!

Just a few meds...

I have been looking at majority of the meds that are used for Infertility & IVF. I am trying to get a feel of what meds I will be taking and how they will react. I have been reading all of the side effects and am not really that scared anymore, just nervous!

Here is a list of IVF Medications and what they do. I know I will be taking at least 4 of these...

Prenatal Vitamins - Prepares the body for conception and balances out nutrition deficiencies.

Baby Aspirin - Minimizes the chance of miscarriage.

Birth Control Pills - Regulates menstruation prior to an IVF cycle.

Zithromax - Helps prevent infection and harmful bacteria.

Clomid or Femara (generic Letrozele) - Inhibits estrogen to increase the release of follicle stimulating hormone, resulting in higher rates of ovulation and pregnancy.

Repronex - Provides follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone that help stimulate healthy ovaries*

Bravelle, Follistim, Gonal-F or Menopur - Controls the timing of egg maturation, allowing more follicles to be produced*

Ganirelix - Controls ovulation by rapidly suppressing the production and action of the luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) - induces ovulation or the release of eggs in the ovaries and is the hormone produced by an embryo shortly after conception.

Novarel (hCG) - Stimulates the release of eggs in the ovaries.

Estrogen - Stimulates growth of the lining of the uterus.

Progesterone - Prepares the lining of the uterus for implantation and fosters gestation, helping to achieve and maintain pregnancy.

Lupron - Controls ovulation by briefly increasing and then suppressing the production and action of the luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone.

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Since I have been getting a lot of feedback on my Facebook, I have decided to start a Facebook Page. I was flooding my facebook with all of the blog entries. So now they will just go to the facebook page :) If you would like to follow, just click here!

Me, Nervous?

Why yes, yes I am...

Things have been racing through my head since Friday when we got the new IP Profile. Will they back out? - Will they not like us after the conference call? - Will we not like them? I know that this is all normal, but I can’t help but think about these things.

Wanna know what else I am nervous about?!? Those damn Progesterone & Lupron Shots. It’s not that I am scared of needles, because I’m not. I just don’t think I could build up the courage to stick myself with a massive needle, at least two times a day.

{Video via YouTube}

This is where my nurse friends come in handy! I have already told them that I plan on having them give me my shots. At least the one that goes in my behind ;) To be completely honest, I think it’s all of the YouTube videos that I have been watching that are freaking me out. I just need to stop watching them!!

Once I get that bfp, I will have to keep taking one of the shots until I hit 12 weeks. The bruises and knots will be worth the look on my IP’s faces when they are holding their baby in their arms for the first time!