It’s been awhile! I am happy to say I am continuing my efforts as a surrogate. I was matched with a wonderful couple in November of 2010. When I had first talked to IM on the phone I had an instant feeling that we would be a good match. We had a lot of the same beliefs and feelings about the pregnancy and what type of relationship we would like to have after the birth. We both felt that we could not go through something like this without forming a special bond. While the bond I anticipate having with the baby would not be that of my own child, I do anticipate caring a great deal about my little friend. It is important to me to maintain contact after the baby is born. It’s not just about the baby it’s about watching this family that I helped create grow together.
The process was a bit drawn out this go round. IPs are using a different RE so I had to transfer my complete medical history to the new clinic. I appreciate them being so thorough but it was a lot of information to pull together. They wanted the history from each of my own pregnancies and my surrogacy history. That included 3 different OB’s, 2 different hospitals, and 2 different RE’s. It took months to get it all together. By the time we were done the RE was given a novel of my reproductive life. After reviewing all of my information I was approved as a gestational carrier.
It had been a couple of years since I had my psych evaluation so the RE required that I repeat it. The questionnaire was even better the second time around. Haha! I was able to meet with the same counselor as last time. I am really glad I had the opportunity to talk to her again. I talked to her about my concerns and my hopes. Of course I was nervous given my experiences as a surrogate to date. My biggest fear is letting this family down. I know what is at stake here. I want more than anything to be able to give this family the baby they so want and deserve. I had to work through my issues of feeling like a failure when the previous attempts did not work. I have to believe it is all a part of God’s plan. I still feel like I was lead on this path for a reason and I am determined to see this through. God willing!
This journey was a bit different from the others since this time is a fresh embryo transfer. I was excited for the chance to try a fresh transfer. I definitely had to have a bit more patience this go round. There was no set schedule. I was spoiled with my frozen transfers in that aspect. ;-) At least I knew what to expect and when. When I was given my schedule this time it had the word “tentative” written all over it. I knew this going into it so I was ready for whatever they needed to me to do when they needed me to do it. The medication protocol was different this time as well. I had to do Lupron injections for a month before the retrieval. I had horrible headaches right after starting the injections. I did some research and found out that the Lupron tanks your estrogen levels causing menopause like symptoms. I had the hot flashes and fatigue as well. Not fun! As soon as I started introducing my estrogen patches the headaches began to subside. No progesterone injections this time. I was thankful for that. They have me on Crinone which is a gel. It’s not as bad as the suppositories I was on previously but still not my favorite thing to do. I shouldn’t complain. At least it’s not the shots! I think DH was a bit relieved with that as well.
Everything went well with my appointments. I responded to the medications well. At my first lining check I was all set for transfer. My hormone levels have been great. All I had to do was wait for IM to trigger and have her retrieval. I did not get a chance to talk to her much while we were cycling but I thought of her constantly. I was hoping she was handling the medications well. When we did talk I found out she had the same issues with the Lupron. Other than that she responded fairly well to her meds. There was a slight delay when they did her follicle scan. The first scan showed 8 mature follicles on one ovary and 4 follicles on the other ovary that had not yet matured. She went in a few days later and they said she was still not quite ready to trigger. IM was disappointed in the news. I couldn’t blame her. I tried to stay positive for the both of us. They increased her medications that evening and had her come back the following morning. We got the good news that afternoon that she was ready to trigger. They schedule the egg retrieval/fertilization two days later. They were able to retrieve 18 eggs! We were very excited to have that many to work with, especially considering the concerns we had just a few days before. The only downside was that IM was in pain for a few days following the retrieval. It sounds like they worked very hard to get those eggs. Bless her!
Of the 18 eggs, 11 fertilized. Of the 11, 9 embryos made it to transfer with 7 of them good for transfer. We decided to transfer the 2 best embryos. We had one that was a 4BB and the other was a grade 3 the morning of the transfer. By the time they checked the embryos as we were getting ready to transfer the number two embie was upgraded to a 4BB. We were all elated with the news. The doctor seemed to be pleased as well. DH, IM, and IF got to be in the room with me during the procedure. I loved seeing the looks on their faces. They were so happy. I would love to be there to see their faces when they get their positive pregnancy news. This is me being hopeful and thinking positive thoughts for all of us.
I am currently 5 days past transfer. I am not any more patient than I was with my own two week waits or the previous 2ww as a surrogate. I am trying not to overanalyze every little twinge and pain. Any woman that has been here waiting to find out if she is pregnant knows that that is next to impossible. I can’t say that I am having any real defining symptoms yet. I did wake up feeling shaky and weak yesterday morning. Even after eating something I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling. I felt a little better after taking a nap. Today I have had some sharp pains off and on in my pelvic area. The more I was up and around the worse it got so I decided to cut my task short this afternoon and take it easy. I have not discussed testing with IPs. Of course I am dying to know but I am also fearful of the results if I did test. Our beta is scheduled for Thursday, the 25th. We will see if I can hold out until then.
No comments:
Post a Comment