Happy Trans-iversary!!!

A year ago today was the day of our transfer.  A whole year people!  I can not believe how fast the time went.  Believe me when I say some days seemed to drag on FOREVER!  

A year ago today I was standing in the little doctors office making some difficult decisions on whether to transfer two or three embryos with my FIP's.  So many "What ifs?" were going through our minds and the biggest was "What if all three DO take?".  

We were all a bit freaked out.  I sat there inverted on the table with a full bladder and we all were concentrating on small talk.  Meanwhile our minds were racing with every imaginable scenario.  

I remember it like it was yesterday.  

 To think that now those three little embryos that all of our hopes were pinned on grew into such adorable, chubby sweet little babies is nothing short of a miracle. 
I look at all of the videos and pictures of those sweet little babes and I can't help but feel so grateful that all three did take.  

What a wild ride this has been, but I am grateful for every second. 

Alrighty...update time.

Well, so much has happened that it seems like a month has gone by since my last post.  So let me start at the very beginning {a very good place to start}. Bare with me here, it's a bit lengthy...

So, we flew down to LA Monday {17th}  to prepare for our transfer on the 18th.  My Ip's picked us up from the airport and since it was after 9, the only places open in Hollywood were straight up club scenes. We pulled up to one place and there was actually a lady outside in a sequin gown.  Yikes!  So not us...We promptly left and opted for a more casual atmosphere back at the hotel restaurant.  It was really nice to spend the time with them.  

The next morning, the Doctors office called and said they were canceling the transfer.  My heart dropped.  The nurse promptly corrected herself and said they were rescheduling for the next morning.  She said the embryos just need one more day.  I of course thought there might be something wrong with them.  The nurse told me  out of the original 18 eggs, there were 6 A+ embryos and a few B quality embryos.  Whew, great news!

So, we got to spend the day touring around the city.  We ate A LOT, did a bit of shopping, a bit of drinking, and we went to the movies.  {True Grit, in case you were wondering and yes, it was really good.}  It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we got the opportunity to spend the extra time together.  We were scheduled the next morning for the transfer so we all had a bit of the nerves going on, but we had a great time.   

The next morning I was definitely nervous.  I kept looking at my phone like it was a bomb ready to go off.  I was so afraid they were going to call and cancel.  But thankfully, they didn't. We arrived at the office and got checked in.  We quickly found out we had a decision to make.  I say we because A and S really wanted me to be involved in their decisions.  

The dilemma:  

Out of those 6 A+ embryos, we only had 3 B quality embryos left.  The doc wanted to implant all three and we were all a bit hesitant to do this, for obvious reasons.  Dr. S played out a few different scenarios for us.  

Option 1: 

Transfer all three embryos for the greatest odds of a pregnancy. 

Option 2: 

Transfer the 2 and freeze the last one.  This could go a couple different ways.  We could have none, one or both embryos stick.  If we ended up pregnant, great!  However,  if they didn't stick...

Option 3:

Try to transfer the last frozen embryo.  Knowing full well that it would be even worse off being frozen and thawed, if it even survived at all.  It could work, but if didn't work out we would all be playing the "what if?" game.  We would regret not going with the 3 embryo option AKA the  greatest odds...

So after much consideration, we decided to transfer all three fresh embryos.  The transfer in itself was not an easy feat.  You know you're in trouble when the doctor says "Bare with me a moment. This may hurt."  Yikes!  He was right, It was not pleasant.  At some points of the transfer it was downright pain.  Pure pain.  I guess I have a bend in my tube or something so he had to use some sort of metal contraption to straighten it out and get where he need to go.  All the men in the room were so grateful NOT to be the ones on the table.  Dr. S finally got the little embryos implanted and wished us luck.  I then spent the next hour inverted on the table head down with a full bladder.  Let me tell you , I barely made it.  I should have been thinking about what an amazing thing we just did, but all I kept thinking was how embarrassing that would be if I peed all over the myself in front of everyone.  Ha. Luckily mind over matter won out.  

The rest of the trip was spent napping, reading, playing dominoes, and Wii.  My husband, A and S took great care of me.  I had all my meals taken care of and they spoiled me rotten.  

Now I am back to reality at home with a few restrictions to my regular day to day activities.  No pools, baths, exercise or lifting over 10 pounds.   Oh, and in the back of my mind I am trying REALLY hard not to start taking home pregnancy tests.  Patience is really tough sometimes.  I'll keep you posted!

Ya-hoo!

I believe my title about sums it up, but I'll elaborate a bit just for fun.  Today was a great day on the surrogacy front.  I woke up with total butterflies knowing how much was riding on this one day.  I got some good news early on from my IP's and the doctor.  The egg retrieval was successful.  They retrieved 18 great quality eggs. That was one HUGE relief. 

Then I took the kiddos to school and went for yet another visit to my local vampire, I mean Lab tech.  On the way there I was psyching myself out ab it and I swear I could feel myself ovulating.  Preparing for the worst and hoping for the best?  I had my progesterone check  and all was good. Whew! I am not ovulating and we are set to transfer on the 18th.  I am so thrilled even the nurse on the phone said my excitement was contagious.  :) 

So tonight I start my progesterone injections.  That means double the shots and yes, double the fun but I've got my eye on the prize.  I'll just have to give myself another pep talk and I'll get through it.  Anyway, we are all so excited!  I'll keep you posted.

Keeping our fingers crossed

Lots to say on this one so here it goes.  First of all, I had my Ultrasound to check my lining.  The doctor that did the u/s was a man of few words, but he did say, "Looks like your ready."  Thanks doc!  

So  on to the blood tests, all looks good there for my hormone levels.  Yay!  Then the Nurse A called with what I thought was just a routine follow up call.  Nurse A told me how the lining looked good and blah blah blah...BUT {with a long pause} she told me that it looks like my frickin' body is trying to ovulate.   Fantastic.  The nurse is hopeful it won't happen based on the numbers {progesterone level}, but I've gotta admit, I am freaking out a little bit.   

Let me break it down for you.

No matter what my body does,  the egg retrieval has been set for the 13th.  {Remember Lucky 13?}  I will also go in for another hormone check on the morning of the 13th.  So that means if all goes well, my progesterone level is still low, and I'm not ovulating,  we will be having our Embryo transfer on the 18th.  Ya to the hoo!!!  

But...If My progesterone level is high that means my body decided to ovulate and we have to scrap the 18th for the transfer.  The embryos would then be frozen.  Then I would have to wait through yet another cycle and do a frozen embryo transfer in February or March.  uugghh...

All I can do is keep my sunny outlook on this and hope for the best.    I have been so excited for this transfer.  I can't even tell you!  The fact that my blood draw will be on the 13th is a good sign.  We've got a lot riding on this day.  So, keep your fingers crossed and come on Lucky 13! 

To do List-Part II

Ok, so I finished my previous to do list. The next one was a little more difficult. At the top of that list was Learn to give self injections...YIKES! The injections have been a bit of a sore subject for me, excuse the pun. Although I have tried, for some reason my hands don't listen to my brain when it comes to causing bodily harm to my self. (I guess that is a good thing?) I was determined to get this checked off my list before I went to LA so the night before I left I went to work. I tried standing, lying down, and sitting. It turns out there is no "good" position to inject yourself in the rump. I had to have a pep talk inside my head. I felt like a football coach..."You can do this...Don't be a baby...etc..." Finally my strong will paid off. I was able to coach my hands to do what my brain didn't want them to do. If I can do that, I can do anything! Right?

So I kissed my sweet boys and my hunny goodbye and went out into the big world. My hubby told me to go ahead and get prego with another man's baby and to have some fun too...What a comedian.

So the list goes on...

9am Have a delicious breakfast-Check

10:30 am Embryo Transfer-Check

Now comes the fun part...bed rest. I can still remember the days telling my parents, "I'm bored." "I'm not tired." "There's nothing to do." etc... Look how far I've come. I have nowhere to be, nothing to do, and I have to stay in bed. I love it!

D (intended parent) has brought me lunch, cupcakes not once, but twice today, along with 3 pints of REAL ice cream (no low fat about this stuff). So sweet! (excuse the pun) I guess if I have trouble sleeping, I could just lay there in a self induced sugar coma. This is the life, eh?

Now we keep our fingers crossed for the next 10 days until we get our positive pregnancy test...

The Big Day!

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. My Hubby and I went down to LA and had a great time with one of the IP's. The other couldn't make it...busy bringin' home the bacon. We did miss him, but never the less, we got some quality time all together. We did the Transfer of two frozen embryos on Thursday (2/4) and I am very optimistic. The whole experience was quite surreal... and surprisingly fast! I don't even think the natural way is as quick as IVF ;). So, as I said, I'm feelin' good about the whole thing. I go in for my test this weekend, if I can find a place open, and I'll post more then...
Oh, and I'm sending some peace, love and positive pregnancy tests to all the other February transfers! Good Luck!