one foot in front of the other...there we go

So, D&C was just about two weeks ago. I am feeling and recovering ok. I had a neck and headache for a full week...before I went to the chiropractor, after an adjustment it has been gone! Today I got the test results back from the tissue sampling they did from the d&c. The results confirmed that the baby was male, with no chromosomal abnormalities. Which on the one hand is great to know...moving forward, since the remaining frozen embryos are untested as well. But a hard pill to swallow on the other hand bc we have no definite answers as to why this happened...especially so late. I have been reassured numerous times by the OB that sometimes this just happens...that I have done nothing wrong to cause it. But, it still sucks! :( Last I heard from my SCM, the IFs want to move forward and continue to have me as their surrogate. I sent an email to my RE nurse last week to inquire about next steps and timeframe, etc. (She is out of the office until late month.) After being reassured by these results that it wasn't genes...I feel confident in moving forward with transferring the embryos that are untested. So, I'm looking forward to a late September transfer at the earliest.

From over the moon to devastated...rough month

So....it's only mid month it's already been a bad one. Some back story: I went to the OB for the first time on April 21st and got to see the baby moving all over. :) The next day I went and had the Harmony blood test done....it is a blood test that is able to see if the baby will have downs or other genetic disorders and it can tell you the gender. On the following Monday I got the call that the baby is a BOY and that everything is perfect (no genetic issues.)We were all over the moon excited! My IFs sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a blue teddy bear, I received that on Wednesday, the 4th. Then, on the 5th I went to my 2nd OB appt. (The first was just 2 weeks before.)This was my first appt alone (no Daddies or case manager.) The doc couldn't see a heartbeat...and neither could I! We were devastated! I went to radiology to get a second ultrasound done to confirm that the baby boy had passed....and it was confirmed. I was 13 weeks pregnant, beginning the 2nd trimester (3 months along) and the baby was gone!He measured at 12 weeks and a few days. :( I had to wait for my insurance to approve the d&c procedure....so 6 days after finding out...and carrying a dead baby....I had the surgery. It has been 5 days now...I'm doing ok...but emotionally this has caused some damage. I'm still deciding if I want to go through another transfer. If I decide to move forward and do it again, I have asked to do it mid to late September. That will give me the summer to recover...and it will allow my family to take a camping trip over labor day weekend. Plus, it will give a due date of June...after school is out.

11 weeks...first OB appt

Hi all :) Today I am 11 weeks along. I had my first OB appt for this surro pregnancy yesterday. Everything looks great. Baby was swinging it's arms and legs. I went to the lab today and did the harmony pregnancy screening blood test. It is able to pull the baby's genetic info from my blood. We will learn gender, as well as if there is a possibility of downs and other genetic abnormalities. The results should be back in a week or so.

The count is in...

Yesterday, at 6w4d pregnant, was my 1st u/s at the RE for this surrogacy journey. Both the IFs were there, so exciting!! Based off the beat numbers, I was prepared to see one miracle growing...although I knew my IFs were hoping for 2. So, I was not surprised...we have 1 baby!! Healthy heartbeat of 122! Everything looks good on the baby. The RE noticed an area near the baby that she said was either 1)the second embryo that had tried to implant and just didn't...or 2) a bleed. So, I'm not allowed to do anything strenuous...and I go back in two weeks to have my last u/s before graduating to the OB. YAY!! This week has been rough. I discovered I'm allergic to the oil in my progesterone injection...so, I'm unbearably itchy all day long!!! Benadryl knocks me out, so I can only take it at night. I was officially taken off the shot on Saturday...and I'm still itchy! Hopefully it'll leave my blood soon. I also have had extreme heartburn and acid reflux for a week too! not the most comfortable week for me.

Last beta is in!

I did my last beta yesterday morning, at 16dp5dt, and it was 1136! All is good and we go in for ultrasound on March 21st to see how many babies are in there. :) Super excited for my IFs!

Beta #2...it's official!

We are pregnant!!! My Ifs are having a baby or babies. Beta at 9dp5dt was 51, up from 24 two days before! Yay! EDD of 11/10/16. This RE requires one more beta at 16dp5dt....so I do that on this upcoming Thursday (3/10.)

First Beta (Bloodwork) is in

So, this RE tests beta (pregnancy bloodwork) early, at only 7 days after transfer. I went yesterday morning and got the call that afternoon that I am pregnant!! My beta was 24! I go back to have my 2nd beta tomorrow. This is to make sure that the hcg numbers are doubling, assure an actual pregnancy and not just a chemical pregnancy. YAY! So excited for my IFs. I actually was able to call them myself with the news, so amazing!!

Transfer Day!!

Hi all, it's been crazy busy here for me...being a wife, mom, Girl Scout Leader, Girl Scout Cookie Coordinator, and a surrogate all at the same time, YIKES! So, Transfer was pushed back a day bc the ED wasn't responding to meds in the way the clinic had hoped. So, She did her ER on Thursday and got 26 eggs. 21 of which were mature. Each of my IFs donated their "contribution" and had embryos made from each. That way we could transfer one genetic embryo from each IF. From my understanding, they have 3-5 embryos left to freeze. We had transfer day on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd!! G drove me to the RE clinic in Los Angeles after we dropped Kiwi and Bubba off at school. My SCM, Debbie, met us there, along with one of my IFs and his mom (who happened to be visiting from France.) My other IF just started a new job and was unable to take the day off. I got all settled in the room , then the 4 of them were able to join to watch the whole transfer process. It was great! I now have 2 embryos, hopefully all snuggled in. I have my beta on Tuesday, March 1st! (The pic is of the 2 embryos that were transferred.)

Meds have been started!

I finally got a calendar and started Lupron injections on Saturday, Jan. 23rd. YAY!! I stop BCPs tonight and go into the clinic on the 2nd of Feb. If all looks well at that appointment I will decrease the Lupron and begin estrace pills on Feb. 4th! Then I end injections on the 12th and go in for one last look at the clinic to make sure everything is doing what it's supposed to on the 15th or 16th...THEN TRANSFER ON THE 22ND!!! YAY!! We're all super excited!

An update...progress!! (TentativeTransfer)

I got a call from the RE today to discuss the ED's false positive. They feel very confident (after 3 additional negative results) that it was indeed a false positive. YAY!! ED has been med cleared and IFs genetics must be fine...because my nurse is making our transfer calendar! She said that if all goes well, we should be looking at a mid February transfer, tentatively! YAY....FINALLY!!! I go in on cd2 or 3 (early next week most likely.)