excitement, anxiety and best of all....JOY!!!

With only 3 more days until the embryo transfer, I sit here in reflection of each and every step of this amazing journey. Applications, interviews, phone calls, e-mails, forms, home visits, psychiatric evaluations, meetings, Dr. appointments, attorney's, contracts, medical screenings, ultrasounds, blood tests and several weeks of medications and injections. All of it makes up this incredible journey but my favorite memory, hands down, would be the day we met our Intended family....

 

Meet Roi, Shahar and Bar

 

 

I remember it like it was yesterday. Tears rolling down all of our faces...the most perfect and amazing meeting, any of us could have ever imagined. We immediately knew that we all came together for a very special reason. There were no doubts, only joy that we were going to become a part of their Journey to Happiness!!



 

 



 

 

 

I absolutely love that they send me pictures of them out on their family adventures!!

102 days have past since that meeting and we have enjoyed sharing our days, weeks and months with each other. Sharing pictures and vacation memories and learning about each others culture, our families, our traditions and what makes us who we are. 

 

Now with 3 days until the transfer date, I am on the most medications I have been on at one given time and my body is trying to figure it all out. 

 

The fear and anxiety is coming over me like a ton of bricks at times. What if this doesn't work the first time? Not only with Jake and I have to deal with all that would come with bad news, but that times a million for Shahar and Roi. I want nothing more than for this to work out for them. To give them a gift they have been waiting years for. Although this is their first try with a surrogate, they have had 15 failed attempts. I hope that this will be their lucky #16!! 

Please send sticky thoughts our way and keep Shahar and Roi in your thoughts and prayers!!

XOXOX

14 days until transfer date

Wow!! Time is sure flying by! Today, I was thinking back to the beginning of this journey. When I first thought about becoming a surrogate, I had no idea the who, the what and the when. There were an infinite number of unknowns and the thought that many of us have when they have a dream of doing something... 

"This will never happen to me"

But here we are just 2 weeks out and my body is just as the doctors at ORM were hoping it to be. I had an ultrasound today to measure the lining of my uterus and it is thick and sticky. All ready for those sweet little embryos to grab on and thrive!! After the ultrasound, my doctor tears off a piece of paper and hands it to me. What was it you ask? A beautiful picture of my uterus! 

                     

Isn't it cute!?! Hahaha!! I am so lucky to have this beauty to hang on my fridge! ;)

I also had my blood drawn at my appointment today. This was to check my estrogen levels. As some of you make remember from an earlier post, my estrogen level was at 13. I am happy to say that my levels are at a hearty 328 with the help of the Delestrogen injections. I am feeling soooo much better with lowering the Lupron and the increasing Delestrogen. I will do those injections for another week and a half and then stop the Lupron and start the Progesterone injections. Those will continue until I am 12 weeks pregnant.

I asked what my chances are of becoming pregnant vs. not becoming pregnant with my body being exactly like they are hoping it tobe. This is what she said:

"I do not have any percentages for you, but what I can tell you is that your chances of becoming pregnant are very very high."

Eeeeeeek!!! So excited for the weeks to come and to hopefully deliver amazing news to the intended parents!

                     

23 days to go!!

I had my first inter muscular injection last night. The hormone that I am taking is called Delestrogen and it is generally used to treat symptoms of Menopause. Lucky for me, the side effects of my other injection are that of menopause and this is resulting in a much better feeling me!!!

               

These are the two hormones I am taking: Delestrogen on the top is a thick oil and a large 18 gauge needle is used to draw the oil into the syringe. We then switch to the thinner 25 gauge needle to inject the oil into the muscle in my bum. When the needle is inserted, I feel a slight prick and then when it reaches the muscle, I feel a sharper nerve pinching sensation. It does not hurt when the oil is pushed into the muscle and I am left with a sore muscle that I can feel when I walk around and small bruise. Last night I felt pretty light headed a few minutes after the injection. I sat down and waited for it to pass and then I was left feeling VERY tired. Almost as if I was drugged with a sleeping aid. I have decided to do this injection later in the evening, right before bed so that I do not have to fight to stay awake for rest of the night. 

I also decreased the amount of Lupron I am taking from 10 units to 5 units (using the needle on the bottom of picture) and today I am feeling fantastic! It is as if the symptoms from the Lupron have been swept away and I am feeling more like myself!! Happy happy girl right here!!

We are just short of 3 weeks from the date of embryo transfer and I am feeling very optimistic about this whole process!! Once I have a positive pregnancy test, I will celebrate with the introduction to all my family and friends, this amazing family that I have been talking about all this time....the extended family that I have come to love and adore 6900 miles apart!!

Menopause sneak peak at age 30

After my post the other night, it was as if my body was screaming at me "how could you forget about this side effect???" as I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. Hot flashes and night sweats...ummm yeah...no thank you!

I found out today that the Lupron has indeed done its job and has decreased my estrogen levels to ensure that my ovary will not grow a follicle and ovulate. In doing this, I have experienced what it feels like to be in menopause. A woman in menopause has estrogen levels of 32 and as low as 10....my blood test shows my levels are at 13. Ah ha! It all makes sense now! 

I have had to find humor in all of this....I can hear Jesse from Breaking Bad speaking his all famous words "BITCH" or roll laughing when I try to put into words how I feel inside and Jake pulls up the YouTube clip of Me, myself and Irene when Charlie turns into Hank. I love that we laugh our way through times like this and that I have the most incredible man by my side through it all. Laughter and love are the best medicines after all!

I have been assured that I will feel so much better on Monday when I cut my Lupron dosage in half and start the Delestrogen injections. I am now the proud owner of two beautiful circles drawn with a Sharpie on my bum...the two areas that Jake has been instructed to inject two different hormones for the next 12 weeks! 

4 week count down to the Embryo Transfer date! I am feeling excited and hopeful!