I Got a Feeling

Happy dance, happpy dance
No ants in my pants
Happy dance, happy dance
Watch how I prance

Happy dance, happy dance
Boogie on down
Happy dance, happy dance
All over this town

Happy dance, happy dance
Our contract's finally here
Happy dance, happy dance
Our time is drawing near!

Today's the day!! We got final contracts and I went to print them out and wouldn't you know we ran out of paper!!!! Seriously?!?!? LOL Oh well, I will print them at work, Al's taking off tomorrow because our poor little guy is sick, and we'll get them signed and notarized. (It's handy having notaries all over your office!)

I cannot believe it! (Said in Quincy's "Little Einstein"'s voice-you probably have to be a mom to know it) It's silly to get excited over 37 pages of paper (yes, 37 pages of lawyer speak!) but we've been working for nearly a month on getting this done and it's a great accomplishment. Those of you that hung in there and waited with us...consider this practice for the 2ww! :) I will be a mess by then!

Can it be that we just started this journey a month ago, today? I placed an ad on SMO and E responded. I sent an email back through my phone while on vacation at the beach house from hell! :) It seems as if we've known each other for longer than that. I feel incredibly blessed to have this bond with E&J already (although moreso with E since we girls are such talkers!) Not everyone gets that during their surrogacy journey (and not everyone wants that) but it was really important to me that we be close. I respect any IPs that need their privacy afterwards (although I'm secretly thrilled that E&J want me to be sort of aunt-like figure!) but it warms my heart to know that I'll get to see their baby hit his/her milestones! What a special privelege!

Tomorrow, I will call the nurse coordinator (NC) and finalize the remainder of our schedule for the mock cycle and the actual cycle/transfer. (or, at least finalize as much as you can with this sort of thing!) My birthday's 2 months from today. To think that I could be drawing the "big beta" number that day...wow. Did I mention I'm excited? I think that's how E and I began and ended every conversation for the past 3 weeks. "I'm so excited!!!" I began thinking of synonyms for excited: thrilled, stoked, can't wait, enthusiastic, filled with anticipation...nothing says it better than excited though. :) It's as if it's Christmas and the tree's up, the presents are wrapped and my hands itch to tear the shimmering paper. It's all I can do to not stop everyone I meet and say, "Hey! Did you know I'll be getting pregnant in August!! You see, they place two tiny little embryos in my loverly uterus...hey wait, where are you going???"

So, we wait for August. Until then...enjoy this song.

Hurt So Good

Estrace is one of the IVF drugs used and I started this nifty little drug on day 3 of my cycle. 2mg in the morning and 2mg in the evening. I have a reminder on my phone that goes off at 8AM and 8PM to help me keep on track. I have a feeling as we start to add to the meds schedule, it'll help me remember what to do when. So far, the only side effect I have had is a little nausea. I have read that it can cause increased libido, headaches, dizziness, sleepiness, hyperness and myriad other symptoms. I'm hoping to only get the good ones. :) The past 2 days, I've started feeling sick about 3PM. Nothing terrible, but I did notice it was better when I nibbled on something. Maybe that's where the weight comes from during cycling! :) I had my ultrasound on Thursday and that seemed to go well. The NC is back in the office today so I chatted with her a bit and we're on schedule for an August transfer.

In other news, we're getting the last of the details worked out in our contracts. I'm waiting for IPs' lawyer's "Final Copy" to forward to my lawyer and hopefully, that will be the end of it and we can sign!

At Last...

She's not my love, but she's come along...break out the fine china, put out the decorative soaps, hang the guest towels, brew a pot of tea because she's here!! AF has arrived and we'll be entertaining her this week. :)

Sonogram of my lady bits today. Always a fun time. Wouldn't it be funny to vajazzle before an ultrasound? Imagine the look!!!

I can't think of a song for this...don't think I want to!

I'm waiting for AF to arrive...TMI, I know, but you're probably going to get a lot more than that if you stick around for the entirety of this blog. On day 3 of my cycle, I start Estrace and I get a sonogram of my lady bits. So, the one month I need to be on a perfect schedule and have a normal 26 day cycle, of course, I don't! So, I made many, many calls to see if I should cancel the sonogram, yes, no, yes, and so I did only to find out that I should've kept it, oops, and it had been filled already in the 2 hrs since I had cancelled. Ugh. So, I had to find another facility to reschedule and score, they have a Thursday opening so I had to bug the NC's sub who was out today and get her to fax a doctor's order to get the appointment. Whew! An hour, and 20 phone calls later, done and done! :) It wasn't that I minded so much, but I was stressed that I wouldn't get a replacement sonogram and I'd mess everything up!! (IM has told me to stop being a perfectionist and stop stressing b/c that's probably why she hasn't come yet.) haha! She's probably right! I even wore a white skirt today thinking I would be tempting her, but alas, no AF! Oh well, now I know the sonogram can be anytime this week so I'm not so worried.

And now, a little verbal medley to sate your musical appetites...this is an email I sent to my IM after I told her I'd cancelled the appointment in error. Set to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas. Enjoy!

On the 24th of June my surrogate gave to me…..an ultrasound of her vajajay!

12 What have I done’s
11 Crap, let me call hers
10 she’s not in the offices
9 they’re in a meetings
8 voice mail messages
7 call backs later
6 rescheduling sonograms
Fiiiiiive quicky emails………
4 wishful thinkings
3 I hope this works
2 call-ins to God
And an ultrasound of her va-jay-jay

And the sonogram is set for Thursday!

I'm So Excited...

I think this picture is totally appropriate as all of this waiting makes me anxious to get pregnant! I talk to IM almost every other day or so. We talk about what this journey will be like. We talk of hopes and dreams and calendars and schedules. And so, I wait for lawyers to do their thing. It's a bit like a tennis match with volleys back and forth only there is sometimes a lag on one side. Doesn't make the game any less exciting, but the anticipation of bouncing the ball back into the other side's court provides quite the burst of adrenaline now and then. It's so much nicer this time. There haven't been any surprises...just some legal clarification of terms and stipulations. I have to say, I do grow tired of the contracts stage and am anxious to move on to more "fun" things like picking out green nail polish for the transfer! :)

I am due to start Aunt Flo (AF) on Monday. I'm supposed to be doing a mock cycle sometime soon and I think the Nurse Coordinator (NC) is supposed to be ordering me some Estrace and calling in some birth control pills? I question this because I haven't heard from her yesterday or today and she goes on vacation tomorrow, I believe. It's fine if I need to wait until she gets back, I just want to be sure I'm not messing up the dates for the cycle. This is all still pretty new to me and I'm not always sure of the time frames.

I do know that the Egg Donor (ED) and I have some scheduling issues on the same weekend so we opted to push back the transfer for a little bit. I think the last date I heard was August 16th (correction...17th). Sounds like a good day to me.

The Chicken Dance

I've never had the chicken pox. Never. I managed to get German Measles when I was in Elementary School though, so I'm immune to that (and so are my kiddos). I don't know if this immunity extends to surro babies though?

Anyway, during my last pregnancy, my OB told me I should get vaccinated against Chicken Pox after I deliver as it's much harder on the body as an adult. I figured I'd get around to it, but it hadn't occured to me until today. Oh crap. I should've gotten this right after Hadley was born. I did a little Googling and it seems that the CDC doesn't want you to get pregnant until 1 month after vaccination (some places on the web say 3 months, but others said 1 month). I have a little less than 2 months before we start trying to get pregnant. Should I get the vaccination? The way I understand it, if I get Chicken Pox while pregnant, it hasn't been proven to have any effects on the baby, but that doesn't mean there aren't any ill effects. I guess I will call IM and the RE's office and find out if I should get that or not.

In other news...Al finally got his bloodwork done today. He said they took 6 vials and he kind of got a little giddy due to lack of blood at the end. Silly boy. They had to run to Houston to get the kit he needed so it took a few extra days.

I got a haircut. It has nothing to do with surrogacy, but it does deal with me so I'm blogging about it. :) I really like it! It's my first haircut in a year. Seriously. The hairdresser was really impressed by how healthy my hair is. I wanted to reply with, "If you think that's healthy, you should see my...." well, you know. :D Loverly, just loverly.

Happy Together

Well, things with the new IPs are going quite well! We talked all last week and IM, the kids and I did a video chat and it was great to "see" IM on camera. I got contracts last week and went over things with a fine tooth comb. I sent IM some revisions/requests that I would like to have made and she called back and said it was all fine! YAY! We're making progress.

Another thing IM asked was how I felt about a birthing center and natural birth. My first instinct was to say, "not for me," but I admit to a certain curiousity about the whole experience, so I answered with a, "let me think about it." I'm now doing some research, talking to people and awaiting a video regarding a "crunchier" birth experience. I mentioned going natural to Al and he kind of laughed. He knows I don't tolerate pain well...I had epidurals, nice, sweet, epidurals with my 3 kiddos. What makes me think I can do this without them? Other than women being born to give birth...maybe something in me is secretly wondering if I've missed out on something by not going natural? So, I've decided to seriously consider it and look into my options. I did Google birthing centers near me and the first one I came across was this one: Birthing Center

It looks rather snazzy! Definitely a place with a homey touch and a tub to boot! I am going to see what I need to do as far as insurance and if this will be an option for me. I wish it was a little closer, so I'm going to keep looking into it.

In other news, I had my phone interview with the psychologist today. Turns out, I'm crazy enough to do this, but not insane "crazy." Good to know! :) I called IM and let her know that I was going to complete the MMPI by mail (per the psychologist's request). IM said she feels so good about the match and the phone interview that she is asking the psychologist just to skip that part. I'm glad IM trusts me so much already as a lot of surrogacy is based on trust-but I wouldn't blame anyone that would want their surro to complete it. You definitely want to use any tools you can to help determine if the person that is going to carry your child is sane.

We're hoping to get contracts done by the end of the week. After revisions are made, we will let the lawyers review and then we'll just wait for Aunt Flo (AF) who is due to arrive on the 21st. We'll then do our mock cycle and start Birth Control (BC) simultaneously. Lupron will follow shortly after, then the transfer should occur around August 3rd & 4th. It'll depend on when the Egg Donor (ED) is ready for the egg retrieval. We will do 5 day embryos so I'll fly up to Dallas then.

It's a little less than 2 months away, but I cannot believe how quickly it's all falling into place! Here's to a smooth journey.

Loverly

Dr. Chantilis said my uterus was "lovely...just lovely and the way it should be" and that I was "one of the best candidates he's ever seen." Well, pin a rose on my nose...er, um, womb? Gimme something cause this babymaker's rocking!! :) The hysteroscopy went well and we got some blood drawn. The flight to Dallas was fine and the flight back wasn't too shabby either, if a little on the long side due to some thunderstorms. We flew around it via the air over San Antonio and made our arrival safe and 1 hour late. Two wrong turns later, I was stuck in Houston traffic for about 15 mins. but the Highway out of Houston wasn't too congested so I made it home in no time and proceeded to wait at CVS for 30 mins in line before finding out my Rx hadn't been called in yet. Poop. I headed home to await our company and then the nurse called and said she had called in my Rx and I could get it tomorrow. (I have to take an antibiotic for the hoo-hoo wand they stuck up inside of me). Dang! I should've asked for pictures! Oh well. It's interesting to see your insides...or "your junk" as my IM likes to call it! haha. (And yes, I'm calling her my IM because we're working on icky, but necessary, contracts!!!!! YAY!! Yes, yes, I've already got a lawyer picked out...No, really this time!) Anyhoo, they put a camera up in your goods and the doc said everything was just loverly. He didn't sing it like Eliza did, but in my head, I hummed the rest of the appointment.

On to the next step. Al has to get bloodwork drawn to make sure he's not part werewolf or something and starting next cycle, I get on the pill and do a mock cycle and then I should start Lupron around the 3rd week of June and egg retreival from the Egg Donor (ED) should be around the 28th of JULY (not June-thanks Heather). This clinic does 5 day embryos so I'll likely transfer around the 3-4th of August!!! What a great month to get knocked up! (It's my birthday month). A Big Fat Positive (BFP) is all I want for my birthday this year!!! (unless you're Al and reading this....in that case, I want a Kindle-is it too much to ask for a pink one?)

Before we can go through that, we've gotta get contracts in place. We all know what significance I place in contracts now, so that will take some time to make sure I'm good and ready to sign before I put pen to paper. Given that I've actually gotten to talk to the IM and ask her lots and lots of question, I expect this part will go a lot more smoothly.

On to my IPs...they've given me the green light to share a little about them. Woohoo! Introducing......E&J, my IM & IF. We're doing a webcam call tomorrow night. Sadly, Al will be watching the 'stros lose. Haha. So, we'll have to do it again another day so he can partake, but the kids and I will be ready to video chat with our new IPs. They are in New Mexico, but IF is from Austin so it's okay, they're part Texan. *grin* They have had a little over a 2 year journey so far and it's their time to shine. The plan is to meet them at transfer and then IF will likely attend as many of the appointments with me as he can as this will be the first child for him. I'm so excited! Everytime I talk to IM, it just re-affirms my decision to proceed on with this couple. I feel really good about it all. (I am still feeling little pangs of guilt at not being able to continue with the first couple, but I need to keep reminding myself that they'll find the right surro and it'll happen for them too...if a cow can have 4 stomachs, how come I can't have four loverly uteri?)

So, I'm one step closer to being a surro. It's really happening y'all! :) My dream's coming true.

If You're Ever Down in Dallas...

So, the lyrics don't fit the situation this time, but I AM going to Dallas! I spoke with a new set of IPs over the weekend (well, really just the IM) and while we were just chatting to feel things out, we really hit it off! We're going on to the next step of me going to the clinic to see if the RE (Reproductive Endocronologist) will work with me and doing a hysteroscopy to see if I am a good home for some little embryos. I'm really excited and hoping that it all works out. I already know that I have to lose a minimum of 10 lbs. to work with this clinic. Ideally, they want me to lose 25 (and I want me to lose 25 too! Everybody wins!) So, I really need to kick up the cardio and burn some fat. To the gym, to the gym to the gym I go...

Anyway, I fly to Love Field in Dallas tomorrow morning, hail a cab, do my appointment, hail another cab, grab some lunch (at the airport, I guess?) and then fly back to Houston by 3:30.

I'll fly up there for the transfer, too, if it all works out well but I'll be staying for a little while. I'm hoping my BFF can come up there with me since she's done with school for the moment. It'll depend on when we would transfer :)