It's All Coming Back to Me Now

It's been a little while since I posted about surrogacy because I've been on a little mini-break from meds but I'm pretty sure I remember how to do it! We're basically waiting for the days to tick off of the calendar (although I should mention there is a lot of life packed into those days and I am enjoying the hours in each). Never fear, we get back on real IVF meds this week and I start Lupron on Friday! We have an ultrasound on the 10th and then another that next week and we start gearing up for the transfer. Holy cow!

In NSR (non-surrogacy related) news...I'm 28! I joked to my IM that she may not want me now that my uterus is a whole year older! :) Laugh now, but in the ED and Surrogacy world, age is still only a number, but it is one that a lot of clinics pay attention to. I'm still in my prime as far as surrogacy goes, but I'd be ready to retire soon if I was an ED! It doesn't really matter as I won't be donating my eggs to anyone (unless a close friend should need/ask for them, then it's up for discussion) but it does feel a little odd to be nearing "old age" for some things in this world. Oh, I had to have someone tell me how to spell "Flo Rida" the other day. I totally didn't know that was pronounced "Flow Ridah." I'm officially out of the cool loop. :) We had the 80s Karaoke Birthday bash on Saturday. It was wonderful and I got to sing all the songs I wanted. Amazingly, we had no problems getting to our minimum $400 tab. Alcohol does make the tune a little sweeter, no?

It was a marvelous birthday and my IPs sent me some gorgeous earrings that I need to take a picture of and post. It was very thoughtful and sweet of them. I love getting mail!

I'm sorta excited to be starting meds again. Yes, me. The crazy chick that used to sweat just thinking about needles. I wouldn't say I like the idea of needles just yet, but the small ones don't bother me anymore. Not really anyway. Anyway, it means we're on our way to transfer! Let's say Oct. 4th is our target date since it's right in the middle of the range. That makes my EDD around June 22nd. Hot, hot, hot, but right at the beginning of hurricane season, so with any luck, I'll be back in the office before things get nice and windy. :) (Oh boy, insurance humor...lame!)

We have around 35 days until transfer!! Please Lord, let everything go smoothly this time. It would be great for E&J and oh, yes, I'll have some of that too, please! :)

Not Fair

Posting twice in one day may be a blogger's faux pas, but I'm prepared to deal with any consequences as the other was more of a "shout-out" than a real post.


A lot has changed in our little journey! The former ED had to be pulled off of the donor list for some personal reasons and IM called me, a little shaky in voice, and my heart immediately fell for her and my IF. "Not Fair! Not Fair! Not Fair!!!!!!" is what I wanted to scream out, but if infertility can teach you anything, it's how to get used to life not being fair. I won't claim to know what it feels like, but after hearing many stories of why couples are left with the choice of surrogacy, it does scream out that it is a difficult path and one that is still relatively new as far as modern science goes. Agree with it or not (and if you disagree, I honestly couldn't care less. Just saying), there is no denying the complexity of ART. Add in an ED, a SM and that little thing called "Life" and you need quite the lining of the stars for everything to go "right" the first time!


IM had some big decisions to make and was, thankfully, able to find an ED that she is thrilled about. (Stars aligning!) We now have a tentative transfer date of October thirdfourthfifthish....remember that uncertainty I told you about? :) Yeah, that gives us a three day window or so. I should be heading to Dallas the first week in October to transfer! It feels great to have a new target date and this allows me to get past my birthday, Rachel's first day (and few weeks) of school, and my grandparents' 55th wedding anniversary. (Awww, Al, I can't wait until that's us!) I would've been ecstatic had we been able to keep the original date, but there's not much to do about that except embrace change and it's going to be great. This time next year, we won't even remember the delays!


On a NSR (not surrogacy related) note, my baby starts school in 12 days!!!! I am going to be a bawling mess!!!! I'm going to try and refrain from crying (she's so independent and cannot wait to go to school!) as I don't want to upset her, but how can it be that my tiny little girl is walking into that big school all by herself!?!? I loved school as a kid. I loved the smells, the new clothes and supplies and the excitement of making new friends every year. I hope my darling girl has the same experience I had.

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.