Positive

Yep. There it is. :) 8 days past a 5 day transfer (8dp5dt in surro-world) ... otherwise known as one day before my period should have started.

Our trip to California was fabulous. The transfer itself took about 5 minutes and was painless. Such a significant procedure, but so simple. The transfer was Sunday and I was in bed for 24 hours. The next two days were very low-key, but we did manage to see some fun sites before flying home on Wednesday.

I took a test on Thursday and Friday, both of which were negative. I had been feeling crampy all week, so I knew something was up. Then I woke up on Saturday and said to myself, "It's going to be positive today." And it was! So naturally I took a test again on Sunday, and finally a digital one this morning. Betas on Wednesday, and then again on Friday if they're not over 100.

Haven't told the guys yet - waiting for betas to be sure, but I know they'll be over the moon!

I'm feeling great! Tired ... but a good tired. And on that note, it's nap time. :)

Transfer week update

The doc retrieved 26 eggs from the donor yesterday. 15 fertilized.

First progesterone shot was last night - built it up in my head like none other, but it wasn't horrible. Eric is a good shot-giver. :)

I am doing everything I know and can do to get my mind and body in the right place for the transfer and the pregnancy. Yesterday I had an appointment with one of my favorite people, Dr. Rebecca Cohen of Full Circle Holistic. ("hippie stuff" to follow ...) We cleared the space in my pelvic bowl, balanced the muscles in it (we all hold stress in our pelvic bowl, just like we do in our shoulders), did some meditations, and I left feeling super prepared for what is to come. I also have a flower essence from the madonna lily. Read about it here. I have a vaginal steam bath for the morning of the transfer (calendula), and some fabulous reading for the plane. Looking forward to reading this book!

While the baby I'll be growing and nurturing for nine months is not mine, I still consider this journey a spiritual one. I never feel more connected to Mother Nature and feel more like a woman than when I'm pregnant. I fully intend on doing everything I can to embrace this journey, both physically and spiritually. Being prepared in such a way will help me when the time does come to hand the baby back to his/her parents, and it will also help me as a mother to Duncan and Violet.

Big week!

Donor's egg retrieval on Tuesday. I start Progesterone shots that day (and continue daily until 10 weeks if the baby (or possibly babies) sticks.

Saturday, fly to LA.

Sunday, transfer. Also begin my Progesterone pills.

Meanwhile, continue Delestrogen shots every 3 days.

My booty is going to be sore.

Worth it, though. My IFs (intended fathers) are going to be amazing parents. :)

Here we go!

The past two months have been a whirlwind. Lots of work with our business, work on our home, and making some fun memories with our kids. :)

After finally passing the medical screening, we had to wait until mid-October for the egg donor to have her screening in LA. After news that she passed the screening, and that I started my period, we both began birth control pills on October 22. My last birth control pill was on Saturday, November 9.

I had an appointment this morning for a blood test to find my estradiol level - this is helpful to know so the IVF doc knows where I am in my cycle. Went downtown for the test, and started my period when I got home, of course! So that was a relief. Then I waited all day to hear the results, and finally did - we were cleared to begin injections! So that's what we did tonight, and Eric was an absolute pro. I numbed the area with ice ("the top-right quadrant of the right bottom cheek") and didn't even feel the needle go in. Wahoo!

We'll do injections on Friday, Monday, and next Thursday, then I have another appointment next Friday for an ultrasound and bloodwork. If the lining of my uterus is what it's supposed to be, then we'll be going back to California right after Thanksgiving. Yay!

On another note ...

The majority of people I tell about the surrogacy are excited for me, some are confused and don't understand but still support me, and a select few think I'm absolutely nuts. My goal with this blog is to educate people about the process, and maybe open up some minds to the idea of surrogacy. For the past few years, I've been all about living naturally as much as possible. I realize that gestational surrogacy is anything but natural - IVF to grow a baby that is not related to me in any way - but regardless of how the baby gets there, pregnancy and birth ARE natural. The actual process of getting the baby in is very short, and after 12 weeks, this pregnancy will be like any other normal, physiological pregnancy. Am I excited to take the birth control and inject my body with hormones? No. But it is temporary and I am SO excited to be able to give the gift of life to two very deserving parents that otherwise would not be able to experience parenthood.

The Beginning

So here I am, embracing something else in my crazy, awesome, strange life. First I embraced after birth, then I started embracing essential oils (and continue to do so), and now I'm embracing surrogacy.

The beginning:

I began considering surrogacy after my son was born in early 2009. I loved being pregnant, I loved giving birth, and I couldn't wait to do it again. I had the same thoughts after my daughter was born in 2011, except we were pretty sure we were finished having children. So we waited a little bit and made the decision during the summer of 2012 that we were definitely finished. I applied with a reputable gestational surrogacy agency in September of 2012. I had my initial phone screening, which lasted almost 3 hours, and all was good. When the agency realized I was breastfeeding, the process came to a halt, and they assured me we'd pick right back up after my daughter had weaned.

That brings us to June of 2013. I emailed the agency to let them know that we had finished breastfeeding and things moved very quickly. My husband had his screening, I passed a personality test to make sure I'm mentally competent, and we were matched with a fabulous couple from Europe. We were considered officially "matched" in mid-July. We worked with a lawyer to finalize the contract, and I had my medical screening in early August in Los Angeles. One month later, I am medically cleared!

Now we are waiting to hear that the donor is medically cleared, and then we'll receive a "cycle schedule." I am hopeful that I'll be pregnant by Thanksgiving!

A few things about this blog:

I plan to write about things pertaining to the pregnancy, the surrogacy process, the birth, and postpartum. I do not have plans to share details about the couple, even though they are awesome! I will probably be able to share once they are back home with their baby (or babies - but most likely baby), but surrogacy is not legal in their country and I do not want to take a chance on anything happening.

I plan to share how I am feeling physically and emotionally. While I'm generally a positive, happy person, I know that the surrogacy process is a complicated one. I hope that perhaps I can help clear up some misconceptions about surrogacy, and maybe even inspire some other women to go on a surrogacy journey.

I plan to share about how I take care of myself using natural medicine.

I will not share the agency name that I've chosen in this public forum, but if you'd like to know, send me a message on Facebook or leave a comment.

What would you like to know about? Comment and let me know!