I'm So Excited...

Wow...let's just say that I'd never seen the video for this song considering it was released around the same time I was born, so pardon the risque nature, but I am so very excited! This time next week, I'll be sitting in a room with 1 or 2 little embies snuggling in real deep!!

The ED is supposed to be doing her trigger shot today. That means that 36 hours from the shot, she will be having her egg retreival (ER)!! ER day is day 0 so on day 5 (Monday) is when our transfer will occur. As you can imagine, I'm on pins and needles (no, seriously, I have to do injections). :) Everytime I see IM's name pop up on my phone, I get so excited and we sit there and talk about how thrilled we are, how we can't wait and how awesome it all is.

Al and I will be heading to Dallas this weekend and I won't lie, I've got my Kindle full of Diana Gabaldon books and I'm ready for a few days sans responsibilities, work, kids and cooking! :) I will miss my babies, but this is like a mini staycation for them too. The baby and Logan are staying with their beloved babysitter and Logan keeps asking, "How many days till I sleep on the mattress at Bebe's??" And Rachel is hanging with her BFF (daughter of one of my best friends) for the week and cannot wait to be like "sisters." I'm very blessed to have people in my life that help me out like they do!! This is only reason why I will be able to have a relaxing and wonderful few days away. Al and I don't get much time where it's just the two of us, and that's okay, but I'm looking forward to finishing a conversation with him without stopping to get someone a PB&J sandwich or some juice! :)

I believe tomorrow is the last of my Lupron and then I will begin PIO!! I took the needles out the other day just to get the feel of them in my hand. My friend is going to come over and help with the first few so that Al can get the hang of it. I already know of a couple of days when he won't be here and I'll have to get someone else to do them for me. Thank God for the nursing school down here. I already have some volunteers lined up because this girl will not be poking herself!! Assuming there's a "next time," perhaps I'll try it then! :)

One more thing, the surrogacy world is such a small world after all. When I first looked into surrogacy, I was completely overwhelmed by all of the information. Did I want to go "indy" or with an agency? What type of couple/single did I want to match with? Gestational or Traditional Surrogate? How many embryos did I want to transfer? What were my thoughts on reduction, termination, multiples, etc.? There was just SO much information. One thing that does stand out in my mind is a woman named Gayle. When I first placed an ad on SMO, she responded to me and I almost worked with her except, at the time, I did not fit their BMI requirements. You've read the beginning of this blog (and if you haven't, you can! :) haha!) so you know how I ended up finding my IPs. Anyway, Gayle stayed in contact with me through all of this and I got to know some of the surrogates she is working with/has worked with through SMO. She emails me every now in then to check in on me, see how things are going and just to be sweet. Fast forward to last week. My friend, A, told me she had a friend that just delivered her first surrobaby and thought we'd mike like to talk. She put me in contact with her friend and we are having coffee tonight! :) I read her blog and she mentioned this Gayle person. It was so late at night so I didn't call her up, but I thought, "this has to be the same Gayle!" (it was) That same day, Gayle sends me an email to say hello and check in b/c she heard from a surro (C) that I was going to be transferring soon. I told her who I was having coffee with and she was tickled pink. :) So, all of this is just to say that the surrogacy world is so very small and this is not the first time where this has happened. Just a neat little anecdote. And just so you know, Gayle is a sweet, sweet lady and I look forward to working with her for my next journey. :)

Okay, I guess that's it for now. I'll post again after that first PIO shot and let you know if I passed out or not! :)

Firework

Long time, no blog? I know, I know. I am not a superstitious person, per se, but I do get that ominous feeling that people get sometimes and am not above succumbing to some outside source of pressure to act as if my actions could somehow jinx the future. So, I cautiously post this in order to update you on the news of our upcoming transfer. :)

We're on!! I can feel the excitement bubbling at the edges of every part of me and I am thrilled to say that even despite a few little bumps in the road (Me not starting my stupid period on time and having to do an ultrasound and pregnancy test (Beta) to confirm there was no pregnancy-there wasn't, Lupron getting lost and having to literally use every last drop I had, ED having slightly elevated Estrogen levels that caused a small, but anxiety-causing delay) we are about 12 days away from our transfer date!!

The ED started her stimulation meds on Friday (21st) and I have been on Lupron and Estrogen. My ultrasound is tomorrow morning and they will check my lining to see if it is getting nice and thick. If it's not quite up to snuff, they will increase my Estrogen from twice a day to thrice per day. (I always wanted to use that word).

So, how am I feeling? Anxious, scared, excited, hopeful, happy, impatient! :) That about sums it up. I was lying in bed next to DH and I told him I was scared (of the needles). He said, "well, it's too late now!" and I lovingly explained, after I (jokingly) punched him, that I wasn't having second thoughts, but I WAS allowed to be scared. I reminded him of each of the times during the last days of our own pregnancies when I would turn to him and say, "I'm scared" and he would reply with his consistent "It's too late now." Of course, I wasn't expressing a desire to not labor and deliver, I was expressing my human reaction to the anticipation of pain and new beginnings. Silly boy. We've never made it this far in a cycle yet, so while I am scared when I think of the needles, I am almost excited about it because I'd like to kind of get it out of the way and know what it's going to be like already. Like any good student, I studied surrogacy and read blog after blog and post after post about injections; what they felt like, how to do them, the resulting lumps, bruises and pain and how to deal/prevent/lessen that. So, naturally, I came across some horror stories as well as some stories to give me courage and hope that I could overcome this needle thing. You'll remember my first Lupron injection and how I sweated that one out. It ended up being nothing and I'm even letting DH give them to me now (another phobia off the list!) It's always been the anticipation that I've feared. So, I am excited to be moving past that point shortly.

We will be heading to Dallas for the transfer and I'll get to see my wonderful IPs again. They are amazing people. If you see the fireworks going off over Dallas around the 5th, you'll know it's because a large amount of awesomeness has entered the city.