18w4d - So far, so good!

We had our checkup today.  I am 18 weeks 4 days.  This was the big anatomy ultrasound where they measure everything and check all the organs and such.  Everything is great.  Baby A is the boy, measuring 19 weeks 2 days and 10 ounces.  Baby B is the "big" girl, measuring 19 weeks 4 days and 11 ounces.  My belly is measuring around 24 weeks.  Yikes!  :)  I'm feeling great.  The parents are super happy.  It couldn't be better right now!  

17 weeks

I haven't updated for a month.  It's been a very busy few weeks for me and my family.  Everything is going great and is quite uneventful on the pregnancy front - that's a GREAT thing!  There is no denying I'm pregnant and haven't just eaten an entire pizza by now!  :)  I told Brad a couple days ago that I am now realizing I will be quite large and probably miserable in a few months.  His reply, "You are just NOW realizing that!?".  LOL!  It's all so worth it.  Worth every ache and pain.  Worth the constant sore boobs.  Worth every kick and punch from inside.  Worth all the extra stretch marks. Worth all the heartburn.  Worth the swollen ankles to come.  Worth all the pillows in bed that pushes Brad to the edge of the mattress.  Worth not being able to see my own feet.  Worth the added pounds. Worth the million trips to the bathroom. These babies are so worth it.  These parents are so completely worth it.

We are 17 weeks today.  It's so crazy to think we are almost half way there.  Our next appointment and the big anatomy ultrasound is in a week and a half.  The last ultrasound showed babies a few days ahead of schedule, so that's awesome!  I am still not feeling them move consistently yet...wondering if I have anterior placentas, as I didn't think to ask at the last ultrasound.  I normally feel distinct movement around 14 weeks.  The parents are getting more excited each day and decorating the nursery.  I remember that excitement with my own.  I'm over the moon happy for them!  Again, please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.  They are much appreciated!!  

Checking in

I have been slacking on my posts here.  Sorry!!  The 3rd ultrasound went well.  Both babies were measuring ahead a day or so ahead, so that was great!  I had my first appointment with my own doctor.  All went well there, too.  We were even able to hear the heartbeats for a few seconds before they moved.  :)  I am finally feeling better in regards to morning/all day sickness.  YAY!

My wrist has been bothering me.  I woke up one night and almost shrieked out in pain when I moved my arm/wrist.  I purchased a wrist brace and it seems to be helping.  I will wear it for awhile before trying to go without it.  I don't think it's carpal tunnel, as it's on the side of my wrist, not towards the middle....but who knows.  I hope it's not tendinitis either.  I think I just slept on it wrong and pulled it or something.

I have another doctor appointment next Monday.  I will also be getting an ultrasound at every appointment (every 4 weeks) because it is twins.  My doc said they do this in order to make sure both babies are growing consistently and making sure one isn't getting too much bigger than the other.  I can't wait to see how much they've changed since last time!!  I know S&G will love seeing the pics every month from the ultrasounds.  I swear I've started feeling them move every once in awhile.  I usually felt movement in my other pregnancies (except my first) around 13-14 weeks.  I will be 13 weeks on Thursday!  How time flies!  I had to break out my fat pants and some maternity pants that fit me....and so it begins!  :)

Second Ultrasound

We had the second ultrasound last Thursday at 7 weeks.  Babies looked great and had grown the proper amount in the week since the first one.  They had heartbeats of 134 and 144 bpm.  We could actually hear them this time.  So amazing!!  We have another one this Thursday.

I'm still feeling pretty crappy and super tired.  The nurse at the fertility clinic told me I could drop one of the progesterone meds - injection or suppositories.  You better believe I stopped those nasty suppositories!  Those suckers are so gross, especially when you have to use them 3 times a day!  LOL.  I never thought I would choose a big ole needle over that.  I was also able to drop the estrogen pill and decrease the estrogen patches from 4 down to 2.  I was hoping by reducing my meds, that my all day sickness would decrease a bit...no such luck, as of yet though.  I will be on the decreased doses now for another 3-4 weeks.  I can see the light at the end of the med tunnel!

Keep the prayers coming for the babies, me and their parents!  We all truly appreciate it.

Ultrasound!!

We just got back from our first ultrasound.  I am always so nervous and anxious when going to these.  I immediately saw 2 sacs.  Both babies are growing great, measuring right where they should be, almost 6 weeks.  We were able to see both heartbeats, too.  We were not able to hear them just yet though.  S&G are super excited!!!!  Please keep the prayers coming for these 2 littles to keep on growing, for their parents and also for me to not feel so nauseous!  :)

Beta #3

Well, beta #3 was yesterday.  The number is pretty darn great, if I do say so myself -- 21,344!  :) That's fantastic!  We will find out if it's twins or not on Thursday.  I'm starting to feel not so great lately.  Even scrolling on my phone or computer screen makes me queasy.  I may have to break out my sea bands to help with the nausea.  Brad's deodorant smells so strong, just like when I was preggo with Baby D.  The soap we use and even perfume smells obnoxiously strong to me.  We will have to switch out the pretty smelling soaps to plain Jane soaps smells for awhile.  LOL.

Beta #2

I'm feeling pretty good still.  My chest is so darn sore, probably the most sore they've ever been (aside from when my milk comes in after delivery).  I have had a couple bouts of nausea.  I coughed and gagged while getting in the shower this morning...that was new.  LOL.  I've never had much for morning sickness before.  I would get queasy in the evenings usually.  Everything just seems to smell so strongly now.  Everything stinks.

We had beta #2 this morning.  I was hoping it was going to be above the 5,000 range.  I got the call this afternoon that it is 6,260!!  That's excellent!  Now I'm really thinking twins.  WOW!!  We have another beta on Monday and then the first ultrasound on the following Thursday.  How exciting!!  Keep those prayers coming!

Beta is IN

Happy Friday all!!  I had to go in for bloodwork to check my beta (pregnancy hormone level) this morning.  I had a pretty good feeling, since the home tests were coming out positive.  I (im)patiently waited until later this afternoon before I received a call from the clinic.  She congratulated us and said that we were indeed pregnant.  My beta number is 1330!  This is a pretty awesome number.  With it being so high, that could possibly mean twins.  We will have the first ultrasound in 2 weeks and find out for sure.  S&G are on their way to becoming parents!!  How exciting!!  Please continue praying and sending happy thoughts to the little one(s) baking and his/her mom and pop!

Another exciting thing is that my hubby is gone for the weekend.  He is the one who does my PIO injections each evening...aka, the big dawgs!  I had tried before to do it myself and always chickened out.  I had a nurse friend who very kindly offered to do it for me.  I told her I would try it one more time and then if I couldn't do it, that I'd let her know I needed her help.  It took a few minutes of psyching up and I did it!  It wasn't bad at all!  I was so happy I did it myself.  :)

Check it out!

Transfer was Sunday, July 26th.  I really hate how the meds make you feel pregnant, so you can't really gauge anything based off of that.  Smells do seem stronger, which is a good sign.  I have taken some tests though....

All looks pretty awesome so far!  Beta test is Friday.  Can't wait to see what the number is.  :)   S&G are pretty excited and we are absolutely tickled for them!  Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes!!  Keep them coming!

Smooth Transfer

My hubby and I drove to Chicago last night.  We had a very nice dinner with S&G.  It was great to see them again.  They are so sweet and brought me a beautiful four leaf clover necklace for luck and some yummy Dutch treats!

We were to be at the clinic bright and early at 6:50am this morning.  We ended up at the opposite end of the hospital and were a few minutes late by the time we actually got to the correct location.  The actual transfer was at about 7:30am.  It was so fast.  Dr. Kaplan and his crew were amazing and made us all feel comfortable and well taken care of.  He transferred one boy embryo and one girl embryo.  How exciting is that!!??

S&G are in Chicago until the end of the week to do some more sightseeing.  We headed home right after the transfer for the 3+ hour drive home.  It's been all relaxing and resting now and for the next couple days.  It's strange having Brad get my meals for me.  ;)  I will gladly accept it though.

Prayers and happy thoughts are much appreciated for at least one of these embryos to stick.  Also prayers for S&G as they are going through many emotions in this waiting time, I'm sure.  Thank you all for your support.  It means the world to us.  Love you!!

Good Start

I had labs and an ultrasound this morning.  The doc said I, as in, my uterus, looked beautiful!  :)  She said I'm at 11 and triple striped.  That's exactly what we want it to be.  She said I'm definitely ready for transfer, which is on the 26th.  The Lupron hasn't been a nasty beast this time, no major headaches and no bladder spasms, thank goodness!  The 2 estrogen patches have me a bit emotional, but it's all good.  I will add another patch Friday.  Then I will add the lovely suppositories a couple days later, along with a couple more pills and the famous PIO injections....the big dawgs!  LOL.  I'm happy things are progressing as they should.  Prayers for it to keep heading in that direction!  

It's on!

Well, I started the ever lovely Lupron injection Saturday.  So far, I've had a steady headache.  It's tolerable.  I'm still praying I don't get the bladder spasms I had last time.  Those were so, so terrible.  I'm really pushing my water, as I've heard Lupron can dehydrate you - which could have been part of the reason for the bladder spasms before.  I don't know.  I just know I don't want to experience them again.  We are set for transfer on July 26th if my body responds accordingly to all the meds and does what it needs to do.  I've had no issues before, praying it all goes well and we end up with awesome news to share!  :)

On Hold

I forgot to update this page.  We are in holding right now, due to an insurance issue.  As soon as it's resolved, we will be able to move forward.  I hate the waiting game, but it is what it is now.  S&G had great success with their egg donor last week.  They now have some embryos for future use, which is fantastic!!  As soon as we start moving along, I will update again.  Surrogacy is all about "hurry up and wait"!  :)

Oh. My!

It's been pretty quiet here.  BUT, I received an email stating my meds will ship today and arrive tomorrow!  Woohoo!  I love it when that box-o-drugs comes!  It means things are moving forward. How exciting!!  Will keep you updated as thing progress.  :)

Screening

My hubby and I went to Chicago to FCI for our psychological screening and my medical screening. We got to meet Dr. Kaplan.  He's so extremely kind and quite funny.  He performed the sonohysterography.   It didn't take long at all, maybe 1-2 minutes.  As he was looking at the ultrasound monitor, he said, "Your uterus is beautiful, absolutely beautiful!".  LOL, that's not something you hear every day!  It was such a relief though.  You never know what could be going on in there.  Dr. Kaplan is a very well known and highly successful fertility doctor.  He helped Bill and Guiliana Rancic have their baby via surrogacy.  Small world!!

After all that, we had our bloodwork done - 3 vials from Brad and 9 from me.  We then met with the psychologist.  I believe all that went well.  I then had to take the MMPI....a 344 question test to assess my psychological state.  It's full of strange questions to see if I think people are stealing my thoughts or are out to get me or if I'm suicidal.  Yeah.  Interesting, to say the least.

As of right now, we are looking at a possible early summer transfer.  S&G will decide later if they would like to do a fresh or frozen transfer.  The success rate is the exact same, as long as the donor is young.  I was reading over all the information we received tonight.  It gets me all excited!!  I can't wait to begin all this again!

Meeting

On Saturday, my hubby and I drove 3.5 hours to Chicago to meet S&G before they headed back home.  Wow!  Driving in Chicago is something else!  We live in a very rural town where you only have to worry about getting stuck behind a tractor or Amish buggy.  I'm so glad Brad drove.  I don't think I could have done it without having a panic attack!  Traffic, traffic and more traffic...and they just cut you off and don't use their blinkers.  We have to go back on the 12th (tentatively) for our psych and medical evaluations at the clinic.  It is an early morning appointment, so we will be heading down the night before and staying in a hotel.  

We had a very nice lunch and chatted for a couple hours.  I think all went well.  They seem to be such wonderful, down to earth people.  I hope they liked us as well!  They are having to use an egg donor, as they found out they are unable to retrieve any eggs from S.  :(   S did say that the one they really like is currently in a cycle for someone else.  She will be available again in May.  That would put us in a June or July transfer range.  That seems like a long time to wait, but then I think of how long THEY have waited for this.  I know I can handle the wait just fine.  This will just give us more time to get to know each other and feel more comfortable with each other and the entire process.  :)