:-(

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to write an update. I am very sorry that I havent posted in a long while. Things have been incredibly emotional for me around here. I had a transfer May 25th with 1 embryo of good quality: 4BB. I do not know what happened but I still ended up not pregnant. I did the same thing. 3 days of serious bed rest followed by 7 days of mostly bedrest.

The parents want to try again, however not this month, next month. They want to transfer 2 embryos instead of 1. So she needs to go thru 2 natural cycles of an egg retrieval. So now back to waiting.

I am on birth control for this month. And as far as I know, when I get my period after the month of birth control, I will have to notify the Drs office and I will most likely start monitoring again. As long as her egg retrivals go well, of course.

Between the medications, and then coming off the medications, and then pms-ing, and now going back on birth control, the past couple weeks have been so emotional for me. Most of the time I feel like crying at the drop of a hat, then the next moment Im irritated, then I feel fine, and then back to sad again. Sighhhhh, the parents are worried about me worrying and I am worried about the parents worrying. I feel so sad and upset for the IPs. Im emotional mostly because of the hormones, but I an only imagine how upset my IPs are. :-(

Please just keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.

Cycle # 2, Monitoring Appt #3

Sorry Im a little delayed on posting this time. Things have been a little crazy in my household, and I havent had a chance to just sit down and type.


My next Monitoring Appt was supposed to be set on CD13-Friday. However, I had another appt that day and the Drs office said it was fine to make it for a day earlier. So my appointment was on CD12-Thursday.

Great and AMAZING news!!! My ultrasound showed my uterus lining is already 11.6!! I cannot believe that!! The goal for the uterus thickness is usually 10. Last cycle, on my Transfer Day (day 17), my uterus was only 10.9, which is absolutely great!! So, I am soooo super excited about the thickness now on day 12!!

My IP's embryo(s) are ready and waiting for the transfer! So, now we are just waiting for my body to be completely ready to coddle and protect their little embie. I am not sure how many or what the grade level is though. I will try to find out Tuesday.



Below is the updated medication regimine:

Continue with Estrace, 2x a day
Continue with Prenatal Vitamins
I was instructed to do the hCG shot and Lupron shot Friday night at 10pm.
Sunday I am to start Progesterone pills 1x a day
Also, Sunday I start the Crinone-Vaginal Suppository 1x a day....womp womp
Monday-Crinone 2x a day

Continue this all until Wednesday, which is my next Monitoring Appt. They will only be checking my progesterone levels. This appointment will probably be where they have me start the wonderful PIO shots. However, Im feeling more confident about it this time around. I spoke with the nurse about the welts and itchiness that I had.

She thinks that I was having a slight allergic reaction to the sesame oil (just as I thought). She gave me a different one. This one is in olive oil, so hopefully no itchy welts, yaaay!


Friday (April 30th) is the Transfer Day!! This will be my CD20. I am sooo happy and thankful and excited for this day to be here! I can only imagine the thoughts and excitement my IPs are feeling!!

Happy Memorial Day EVERYONE!!!

Cycle # 2, Monitoring Appt #2

Today, all my questions were answered, I found out why and why not about everything, all the confusion was squashed.

At my appointment this morning, they only drew blood to check my progesterone level. I was not put on medication last appointment because my level was too high. The nurse said it was probably too high because only a week ago I was taking progesterone suppositories and also the injections. She also informed me that if the progesterone level is still too high (greater than 1.0), then the transfer will need to be canceled for this month. You can imagine the amount of stress and worry I have been feeling from this morning until this afternoon!! I finally received the email and its lowered: .39. The nurse was right, it was just high because of the medicines from last cycle. I guess the extra hormones are finally out of my body now. We can continue to monitor. 

I was instructed to start the Estrace pills, the same dosage as last Cycle: 1 pill, 2 times a day. My next appointment will be to check all the hormones flowing thru my body, and once again I will have a date with Mr. WW. I feel more at ease with these dates now because I can at least see my ovaries on the ultrasound and feel assured that I am not going to accidentally get pregnant with my own child. Not being on birth control still has me feeling a little nervous regarding that.

On Monday, I want to email my agency to ask them how is my IPs cycle coming along. I am hoping to be able to speak with them sometime soon. My next Monitoring Appointment will be on next Friday, May 23. That will be Cycle Day 13. Im thinking this will be the day they have me start the lovely injections again. My butt has been healing nicely and enjoying its vaca. 

Cycle # 2, Monitoring Appt #1

Heres the update!!

My IPs arrived yesterday!! Hooray!!  My Intended Mother has already started her cycle of medication to do another egg retrieval. Many, many prayers are needed for a great batch of eggs!!

They are starting me on monitoring appointments. HOWEVER, I was given a strong forewarning! Our goal will be to transfer 2 fresh embryos around the end of this month-May. IF the eggs dont turn out so strong, or IF the embryos do not grow well, THEN the Embryo Transfer will be canceled for this month, and I will once again stop all medication and be back to playing The Waiting Game :-/ So, we need all the prayers we can get for my sweet IM and her precious little eggies!!

Lots of love and prayers needed!

Yesterday was my 1st Monitoring Appointment for Cycle # 2. This is NOT to be confused with CD3 (Cycle Day 3) theres a difference. Cycle # 2 means this is our 2nd try for a successful embryo transfer. CD3 means this is my 3rd day of my menstruation cycle. 

They drew my blood, I met once again with the lovely Mr. Weenie Wand for my ultrasound, and they gave me refills on all the medications that I am running low on.

Last night, the Drs office emailed me with my blood and ultrasound results. The email said everything looks great and for right now, there is no need to start any medications. Now, on one hand I believe that is a good thing. I mean it is, because I dont have to be putting extra medications into my body.

BUT, I have to wonder.....

Why did I have to start on the Estrace pills last cycle on CD3, But not this time??  I am not sure, but for some reason or another, the Doctor feels like my body does not need the extra estrogen right now. And I should probably keep in mind that this clinic is after all, one that prefers to do an As-Natural-As-Possible IVF Cycle.

My next appointment is on Friday. That will be CD6 (Cycle Day 6). Last month, I was taking only Estrace pills until CD11, which is when I needed to do the Lupron and hCG shots.

So for now, I am just going to enjoy my reprieve from all medications and let my body do what it naturally does: prepare for a pregnancy :-) Join me in thinking positive, keeping high hopes and praying for very beautiful and amazing things to happen this Cycle!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers, soon-to-be-Mothers, Surro-Mothers!!!

Good news.....I got my period! Yaaay
So tomorrow, I will inform the doctor's office and see what they say. I really hope they tell me to come in for bloodwork and to re-start meds :-)

downs and ups....

First I want to apologize for my ranting and raving in my last post. I was sad and stressed and worried, and angry, and every other emotion you can think of. Of course, I blame the meds. ;-)

Moving on, I went to the drs yesterday and it went pretty much as I thought. No baby.

I had a feeling when I was taking the HPTs. At 6dp5dt the 2nd line was getting darker and then by the next day it became faint again, and kept getting fainter as the days past. Yesterday my hCG # was 2.1 which is half the # from 2 days prior. So it was a chemical pregnancy.

I was pretty upset when it became official, even though in my gut I already knew. The Dr told me to discontinue all medication and that I will get my period in a couple days. Later, I spoke with my agency, asking them, now what?

I told them everything the doctor said, and that I would need to start birth control by Sunday, if we are not trying again right away. My agency said they will speak with my IPs and find out what are their thought as to what they want to do next. She said she will definitely let me know before Sunday.

I thought it was pretty much over. The parents left the US before the transfer so, I thought they were pretty much done trying. Well, I reallllly need to stop thinking!!

 I got an email later that evening from the drs office saying that my IPs are flying back here, next week!!! They want to try again and right away!!! OMG I was sooo excited and happy, I re-read the email maybe 15 times!

 I was instructed to tell them when my period starts!! Yaaaayyy!!!

So for now, back to the waiting game.

PIO shots update: Last night my butt finally got a rest from these little buggers. Most of the welts are healed up. On my right side there are 2 pink spots where welts used to be and a small bruise. On my right side is only 1 raised welt from the last injection that I did. Both sides, thankfully, are not sore. But, OMG do they itch! Idk if its the sesame oil that my body is reacting with. Possibly a slight allergic reaction....? But, I absolutely do NOT remember any of this thru my last journey.
I am going to email the doctors office to ask if I need to continue the prenatal vitamins. Im thinking it will be a yes.

Im so excited for next week! I want to try to get together with my IPs more often while they are here this time. Im hoping we will have many opportunities to bond more this time around. I would really love for them to meet my kids and boyfriend.

Beta Check = Blood Pregnancy Test

Grrrr.....the ups and downs of Surrogacy. I suppose it cant alllll be ups...

So, I will start off by saying what everyone is waiting to hear: the Beta #, am I pregnant or what??
The answer: I still dont know :-/  My beta number was really low. 5.3    The doctor said the embryo could have implanted later than normal, which would cause the hCG numbers to double later. So, I need to go back again in 2 days. Wednesday's lucky number will be 10. If the number is 10 or higher, than the pregnancy can continue. If its not, I will have to discontinue all medication, wait for my period and also wait to find out if and when the IPs would like to try again :-(

The hardest part was the pregnancy tests. Starting from 4 days post transfer (4dp5dt), I have gotten positive-faint but still positive-home pregnancy tests (HPT). 6dp5dt was the darkest line, and then the next day was faint again, and every day after that. So I couldnt help but check what Google had to say about that. Unfortunately, Google implanted an idea into my head, that is still pretty hard to stop thinking about. Google said this was possibly a chemical pregnancy. Thats pretty much a miscarriage, just verrrry early on. Im thinking if I have to do this again, I am banning HPTs and Internet from my house. I think I would just rather wait it out for the blood test. This was the worst week ever!

Because of the time difference of where my IPs live, my agency is going to speak with them later this evening and then give me a call. We will probably do a conference call later this week. I know the parents have their heart set on a "year of the horse" baby, so I think we have one more chance. But it will be cutting things very close.

One thing I cant get off my mind though is the decision to transfer that embryo alone. The original plan was to transfer the frozen embryo and 1 fresh one. The fresh one stopped growing, so obviously they cant transfer that. Buy Im not exactly understanding why they would only transfer that one frozen embryo. It wasnt the greatest quality. They grade embryos, and the frozen embryo's grade was a 4cc. 4 just means that it was hatching, thats a good thing. aa would be the perfect embryo, and dd is not to great :-/  Heres what Google found for me:

Expansion Grade

1    Early Blastocyst: the blastocoel filling more than ½ the volume of the embryo, but not expansion in overall size compared to earlier stages.
2    Blastocyst: the blastocoel filling more than ½ the volume of the embryo, with slight expansion in overall size and notable thinning of the zona.
3    Full Blastocyst: a blastocoel filling more than 50% of the embryo volume and overall size fully enlarged with a very thin zona.
4    Hatching Blastocyst: The trophectoderm has started to herniate through the zona.
5    Fully Hatched Blastocyst: Free blastocyst fully removed from the zona.

Inner Cell Mass

A     Tightly packed compacted cells.
B     Large, loose cells
C     No ICM distinguishable
D     Cells of the inner cell mass appear degenerative 

Trophectoderm Grade

A     Many healthy cells forming a cohesive epithelium
B     Few but healthy cells, large in size
C     Poor, unevenly distributed cells. Many appear as few cells squeezed to the side
D     Cells of the trophectoderm appear degenerative embryo surface.

So, the thing thats been stressing me out the most is, if the fresh embryo stopped growing, than why not just transfer two-not so great-frozen embryos. The way I understand it, it would be the doctors call. I dont know. :-( I just keep praying for that lucky 10!!

 The rest of today and tomorrow is going to take for plus ever!! I was supposed to go to a little party tonight, with a couple friends, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. But now Im not feeling up to it. Im not buying anymore pregnancy tests either. Im just going to put this little embryos life in God's hands. Only He can give life to this little embie!

Update on PIO shot.....ughhhhhhh  hahahaha thats my update lol
**sigggghhh** forreal tho, they suck!!
 My right side has 4 raised welts and 1 small black and blue, not to mention a small hard spot under my skin.
 My left side has 2 raised welts and 2 small black and blues, but no small hard spots.
The welts itch like crazy...think poison ivy. The black and blues are sore, of course. So every time I scratch, I also cringe in pain. Every time I have a moment to sit down on the sofa, I warm my rice pack and massage my right side, to help the small hard spot go away.

I just want to also say how lucky I am to have the support of my agency! They are the best ever!! I called them up crying when I found out my beta number was only 5.3. They were super sweet and thoughtful. They made me promise not to drive until I calmed down. They also said if I cant calm down, or if I dont feel like driving, they could rent a hotel room for me to stay the night in. So that I could rest. They are amazing! I could never stay away from my kids like that, (unless I absolutely have to), but they are awesome to offer that!

Well, Im not sure how Im gonna keep my mind busy, and my fingers away from Google (Google is not my friend right now) for the next 36 hours. But I will stay focused on that lucky number 10!!!

2dp5dt=2 days post 5 day transfer

First Id like to say Happy 3rd Birthday to my Surro-son: N!!! <3 <3 <3

Our Embryo Transfer was done on Friday 4-25-14!!! HOORAY!!

1st I will start off with a little sad news. My IPs left back to their country. So they werent able to attend the transfer appointment. :-( My boyfriend came with me tho to be supportive and of course to drive me home. I am slowly realizing that each fertility clinic does things their own way. For my first Journey, my IPs were allowed in the transfer room. At this clinic, noone was allowed back except me, so now I understand why the parents left. But my agency did tell me that my IPs plan to go back and forth throughout my pregnancy. So, when they are here, they would like to go with me to all drs appointments! That will be so great! I definitely look forward to that.

The next little bit of sad news. It was supposed to be 2 embryos-1 frozen and 1 fresh. Unfortunately, the doctor informed me at the transfer, that the fresh one stopped growing :-( poor little embie. But the doctor also stated that the frozen embie is strong and already starting to hatch. It is a 5 day old embryo, that is ready for implantation! YAY!! My uterus lining thickness was 10.9, so my body is completely ready for the lil embie! Heres a photo of what a hatching embryo looks like:

The transfer itself went great! On one side of me was a tv screen that showed the embryo under a magnifying glass. I watched the embryologist suck it up into the catheter, and then on the ultrasound screen I saw the doctor insert it into my uterus. He wished me good luck and the nurses helped me up off the table to the other room to lie down for 30 minutes. I had brought my book, so that was the fastest 30 minutes ever lol. The nurse informed me to continue all my current medicines and dosages except for the Crinone-vaginal suppository. I am to discontinue one of them per day. Thank you God! After that they set 2 appointments for me. 1 is tomorrow (4-28-14 = 3dp5dt) to check my progesterone levels. The other appointment is to check my Beta #s-to see if Im pregnant!! That appointment is next Monday!! CINCO DE MAYO!!! (10dp5dt) :-) I am sooooo excited for that day!! As for tomorrow,  Id love it if I could discontinue the Crinone altogether, hahaha. Id rather continue the shots than deal with the nasty suppositories. And speaking of shots....

The PIO injections are going pretty well, all things considered of course. The first injection did give me a little trouble. After I took the needle out, a little oil came out of the wound and got on my skin. I now have one itchy welt in that spot. :-( I learned my lesson quickly. Now after I take out the needle, I wipe my skin with an alcohol pad and then put on the bandaid. No more welts, except that first one. So thats good.

April 22nd was the last time I took the oral Progesterone. I am pretty sure thats what was causing my bloated-ness. I am still a little bloated in the stomach area, however, it seems like every day its getting less and less. So far I am not experiencing any other side effects.

A few other things for this embryo transfer were a little different than in my experience. I didnt have to take any medicine prior to the transfer. Before, I was given Demerol to help me relax. However, after the transfer, that medicine knocked me out for like 6 hours! Thankfully, I had my IPs with me to help take care of me! :-)  So I was definitely pleased to hear no meds this time.
Also, no mandatory bedrest. Simply one day of rest. With only one embryo (same as with TNT), I decided to do the same rest as I did for them. 3 days of strict bed rest, and 4 more of mostly bed rest. It worked before, Im sure itll work again! :-)

Today I also watched Baby Mama. I loved that movie when it first came out, and I still love it! Although, most of it is NOT how things go in real life, its fun to watch and laugh. I watched it with T n T before we had our transfer. So I thought it might give me some good luck with this transfer.

I decided that I will be doing home pregnancy tests (HPT) starting Wednesday. I will be 5dp5dt. I found this informative little graph:

5-Day Transfer

Days Past Transfer (DPT)	Embryo Development
One	The blastocyst begins to hatch out of its shell
Two	The blastocyst continues to hatch out of its shell and begins to attach itself to the uterus
Three	The blastocyst attaches deeper into the uterine lining, beginning implantation
Four	Implantation continues
Five	Implantation is complete, cells that will eventually become the placenta and fetus have begun to develop
Six	Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) starts to enter the blood stream
Seven	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Eight	Fetal development continues and hCG continues to be secreted
Nine	Levels of hCG are now high enough to detect a pregnancy

Pre-transfer Excitement!!

Guess WHAT!! :-)  :-)  yaaaayyy I am sooo happy!! I was putting away my clothes, and guess what I found at the bottom of my jammie drawer!!  My special necklace, that was given to me from my 1st IPs!!! The charm is a little horseshoe with a 4 leaf clover!! 

Aint it the cutest!?!?! I love it so much!! I took it off at Christmas time because my daughter had given me a necklace for Christmas. I forgot where I had put it. Now what else could possibly bring me more good luck than that! OMG I am soooo excited that I found it! Last minute, and by total accident! YAAAAYYYY!!! Of course immediately I put it on! On total countdown now: T minus 4 hours to go!!

I already went to the library and picked up a couple books to keep me entertained over the next few days. I still have to stop at the dollar store to pick up a couple HPTs :-) I know they are only $1 and you may think they are too cheap to work, but they have told me for the past 10 years whether I was preggers or not, correctly every time! Including when pregnant with my daughter, who is 10 and my surro-son who will be 3 in 2 days!! 

Which just got me to thinking...this is definately going to be a great good luck cycle! My son was born in the year of the horse and his birthday was April 18th. My surro-sons bday is in 2 days. This month was Easter. This journey process has happened incredibly quickly with barely any bumps in the road. I even was able to meet my IPs before they left the States. I found my necklace.We are transferring 2 embies. I have such great confidence in this transfer! I truly feel God is just clearing the path for us!! 

Lots of Love.....

and Sticky Baby Dust!!!

Pre-transfer thoughts

As I am laying here in bed, waiting for the arrival of tomorrow, my mind is passing over many things. Im feeling a little sad. I asked my agency if they knew if my IPs would be attending the transfer with me and my boyfriend. (I thought they were going to be able to meet each other). Their answer: nope :-( They actually flew back to their country already.....wait, what??? They wont be joining me at the Drs office for the embryo transfer :-( That totally sucks!! I was under the impression they would be staying here in California thru the entire pregnancy. Actually, the agency informed me that they will be traveling back and forth until the baby is born. :-(  Also, since I sorta found out by accident, I felt even more sad that they didnt email me. Of course they arent obligated to email me these things :-( Im a little at fault too because I havent emailed them either....Tomorrow after the transfer, that will be the very first thing that I do!! The transfer will be an ice breaker. We really bonded over lunch, but sometimes, theres still a little bit of awkward feelings to be the first one to text or email. Well, tomorrow, I will stop feeling awkward and just get over it. Afterall, I will be having 2 of their little embies inside me ;-)

 I cant remember if I posted on here, but there will be a transfer of 2 embies: one fresh and one frozen. And of course I will post after the transfer!!

Which brings me to my next thought. What am I going to wear?? As in what type of clothes? I was trying to think a little logically, so Im wondering if a dress would be a best type of choice. Im not sure how this doctors office does things. Do I have to change into a gown? Do I get to keep my socks on? Would I keep my top on and undress from the waist down? Im not sure. I didnt really think to ask these things until right now. My only instructions were to come 30 minutes prior to my appointment. They didnt even mention about drinking enough water for the ultrasound to work. During an IVF transfer, the doctor usually has an ultrasound tech use a trans-abdominal ultrasound. For this to work, the patient (me) needs to have a full bladder. All these questions will be answered is about 12 hours :-)

What else is floating around in my busy brain? good luck charms
I dont remember exactly what I wore for my transfer during my first surro-journey. However, I wish I had paid more attention back then, because I had such great luck!! 1 embie = 1 pregnancy = 1 beautiful healthy lil baby boy. I dont have any lucky pairs of socks, but I do have a 4 leaf clover. So, Ill be carrying that in my pocket. Only other good luck charms that I have, is God. I know he is watching over this journey, and with His Blessings, these lovely 2 people will finally have a baby together!!

The next thing is the 2ww. (two week wait) OMG it is the LONGEST 2 weeks everrrrr!!! After the transfer, we surromoms have to wait about two weeks to get a blood test done to confirm a pregnancy. The test is referred to as the beta hCG test. During the 2ww, there are alot of POAS's (Peeing On A Stick-as in home pregnancy tests) Every day that passes, is nerve wracking, wondering and thinking and hoping and praying. My first journey, I felt so incredibly dumb. I poas every single morning. Every time, it was negative. I didnt get sad or worried. I stayed positive and hopeful. Then one day, I realized I wasnt doing the test right. ughhhh How dumb can a mother of 3 be, like really?? How hard is it to pee on a stick, wait, and read? Well apparently, its the waiting part that was hard for me lol.  I wasnt waiting long enough to read the results, so everyday could have been a positive HPT(Home Pregnancy Test), Siiigh....yupp thats me hahahaha well now I have learned my lesson! I cant wait to POAS again ;-)

So for now, thats all thats hindering my tranquility. Now that its all typed out, maybe I can get some sleep. YAAAYY!! Still so very excited!!!! :-)

Monitoring Appt #4

Yesterday I had my last Monitoring appointment before my scheduled transfer. They only drew blood to check my progesterone levels. I also spoke with the nurse who gave me my prenatal pills. These are different than others that I have seen and taken. They are actually 2 pills a day. One is a tablet that has 16 different vitamins and minerals-quite typical. The other is a soft gel. This one has DHA in it, for the potential baby. I find this quite interesting. The newer types of formula (at least new to me since my youngest is 9 yrs old lol), they have DHA in it. Its supposed to support brain development and neurological function in babies. I cant help wonder if it promotes these babies to be smarter....?

Anyways, so Ive received my new treatment plan which now includes these prenatal pills. Unfortunately it also incudes the dreaded PIO...that is Progesterone In Oil. This is an injection to be done daily, in the rump. Ouch. So, my new meds are as follows:
Estrace-pill-2mg-2x a day
Prenatal-2pills-2x a day
DISCONTINUE Progesterone pill
Crinone-Vaginal Suppositories-3x a day
PIO-Injection-1x a day

SIDE EFFECTS SO FAR: Bloating.  Im not sure which medicine is causing it. Im thinking the progesterone (whether the pills or the veg. supp. Im not sure) because I was taking the Estrace alone for about a week before the other meds were added and I was fine.

PIO is no fun at all, but I have figured out lil tips from other Surro-Mamas that have worked best for me. First, keep record of each injection including what side you used. Alternating sides help to give your body a slight rest before getting poked again. I like to ice the desired location, and in the meantime, I warm the vial of meds in my bra. After at least 10 minutes, my rump area is numb from the ice and the progesterone is warmed up. Since its PIO-Progesterone in oil-warmer oil equals thinner oil equals flows faster from the syringe into your body. After the injection, I use a heating pad on my skin and gently massage the area to better help the medicine disperse throughout my body. After a few weeks of daily PIO injections, lump start to form beneath the skin. The area becomes numb and the skin becomes thick, making it harder for the needle to penetrate. My lil process helps me to prolong that from happening.

I think Ill do a directions to administer PIO while Im on bedrest, next week.

Cant WAIT for tomorrow!!!!

Directions for Injections-hCG and Lupron

I decided to do a blog on Directions for Injections. All injections suck, as well as possible side effects. But, if done properly, they dont suck as bad as they could-if done wrong.

This is directions for mixing the hCG. So, first things first. Pop the tops off, use the alcohol pad to wipe the tops.

 Use the "big" syringe-usually a 18 gauge, 3ml. Pull the plunger back to 2ml, so the syringe is full of air.

 Insert the needle into the bigger bottle that has the fluid in it. Push the plunger so that all of the air enters the bottle. Tip the bottle upside down, and pull back on the plunger until 2ml of liquid is in the syringe. Withdraw the needle.

 Take the vial of hCG powder, push the needle into it. Then push the plunger so that all the fluid is in the smaller vial.

 Dispose of the needle safely. Also, the vial a liquid can be trashed.

 Swirl vial gently until all the powder is mixed . Do NOT shake it!

 Use the smaller needle. Same as before. Pull plunger to Dr directed amount (mine was 20 units) so that the syringe is full of air. Insert needle into vial. Push plunger so that the air is transferred into the vial. Hold vial upside down and pull plunger to Dr directed amount, this time full of the hCG medication. Take needle out of vial.

 Make sure there is no air bubble in the syringe. If there is, hold syringe with the needle pointing upwards. Flick the syringe so the air bubble moves up towards the needle. Push plunger so the air bubble moves out of the syringe. Make sure you still have the correct amount of medication in the syringe. If there is less, repeat the steps. It is important to have the correct amount of medication in the syringe, with no air bubbles.

Then slowly push the plunger until a small drop appears on the tip of the needle. You are now ready for your injection. Below is a photo of the two areas for hCG and Lupron injections. Luckily, I only had to do 1 each. Unfortunately they were on the same night lol. Saturday, April 19th.

 Pick the side that you want to start with. I keep a medicine journal. For every pill, suppository and injection, I record what, when and where. That way I can keep track. Its best to alternate sides if you need to do it more than once.

Wipe correct area with alcohol pad. Pinch the skin, insert needle at a 90 degree angle. Slowly and carefully push plunger till all medicine is out of the syringe. Let go of skin and pull needle straight out and dispose correctly. Do NOT massage area. If bleeding, put on a band-aid and press on the area gently for a couple moments.

Lupron is done the same way, except there is nothing to mix, so you just draw the medication in the small syringe to the Dr directed amount. 

Both medications are refrigerated.

There are side effects, however I didnt experience any.

Monitoring appt #3

Things JUST got interesting!!

So this morning was my 3rd Monitoring appt. Today is my CD11 (cycle day 11). Pretty much the same as before, except they were super busy. Unfortunately this time there was alot of waiting involved. Since today was Saturday, my boyfriend came along to support me. Like before, they drew my blood and then did the ultrasound. But this time, I had the coveted, ever so special "Triple Stripe"!!  Yaaayy!! It has to do with the thickness of the uterine lining. On the ultrasound screen, it looks like 3 stripes. It means my uterus is ready. As soon as I saw it on the screen, I knew they were going to have me do the hCG trigger shot. Later in the afternoon, I received an email, and I WAS RIGHT!!!

Tonight I have to give myself the hCG shot in my Right lower abdomen and Lupron in my Left lower abdomen. Maybe I can try to take photos, and post the how to's tomorrow.

I am to call Monday morning to schedule my next Monitoring appt for Wednesday 4-23.

And Friday 4-25, at 1:30pm is when they have scheduled my TRANSFER!! Yaaayy!!!  OMG I am soo excited! I cant wait to see my IPs again!! And this time, my bf will be driving me, so he will be meeting my IPs for the first time! :-)

Here is an updated list of my new med routine-except the injections for tonight:

Estrace pills: 2x daily
Progesterone pills: 1 @ bedtime-starting tomorrow night
Crinone(vaginal suppository): 1x tomm, 2x Monday-4/21, 3x Tuesday-4/22

I thought I would add a couple photos too.

These are the current meds, starting tonight thru Wednesday morning. I bought the pill container to make things easier.

This is when me and my bf each had to do blood work. Lucky him, he didnt bruise. But guess who did, womp womp....

Heres a photo of the ultrasound machine and the wonderful weenie wand. This fertility clinic has a tv on the wall thats connected to the ultrasound machine. That way whoever is laying down, doesnt have to lean over to see the screen. Heres a pic of that too.

Scenery around my fertility clinic-Southern Orange County, California. Love it!!!

This is a pic of my table while I was going thru all the paperwork for the agency and the fertility clinic:

This is my fave pic!! This is where my IPs and I went for lunch together for the first time!! I will always remember that day! It has a special place in my heart! Very Special, and yummy!

So now that Im thinking about it, I probably should have put these photos into the correct postings. oh well, maybe I will do that while Im on my own personal mandated bedrest, next week ;-)

One last thing, I just wanted to post about for my own personal future reference: Estrace has given me no side effects. We shall see about the other meds tho.....

Contracts signed!!

I was soooo excited to receive the final copy of the contract, I totally forgot to post about it! Ooooops :-(  Anyways, I received the final copy on Wednesday afternoon (4-16). I printed it, signed it at a notary-got it notarized too, then thankfully I only had to fax the signature page. Thursday morning I mailed it to the law firm. Friday morning, the attorney emailed me saying my IPs had signed their portions and I now have full clearance to start any dr ordered injectable meds. And literally just in the nick of time! Monitoring appt set for Saturday morning (4-18). Whew!!

Monitoring Appt #2

This monitoring appointment wasnt as exciting as the last one.  Actually the most exciting thing that happened was trying to get to the appointment on time. I definitely miscalculated the morning rush hour traffic. My GPS said 44 minutes, the appointment was for 7:30am, so I left at 625. I arrived at 735 :-/ oops....the office was fine with this, and you live and you learn. So, at least now I know for next time. Even though I was a couple minutes late, this appointment was very quick. I checked in, they took my blood, I had a lovely visit with Mr. Weenie Wand (AKA trans-vaginal ultrasound hahaha), and I checked out by 8:05am. Niiiice :-) Getting home, was just as much traffic though, womp womp......

I got home just in time to eat something and prepare for my phone consultation with my attorney. We reviewed the contract together and she answered all my questions. We finished up in 45 minutes, with her saying she will email me a copy of the contract-with the information that we fixed or added-in red and of course she will be forwarding all info to the IPs attorney.

**With a quick side note, I just wanted to say that it is out of respect for my IPs privacy that I havent been referring to them by name.

I had 3 phone calls and 1 email throughout the rest of my day.
1. from the agency. In their paperworks, I accidently skipped 2 small places where I was supposed to initial. I initialed, took a photo, and emailed it over to her.
2. from another contact of mine within the agency. She was following up about any information regarding the contract. I told her I had just had my phone consult a couple hours ago with the lawyer. She seemed very happy and said she will be reporting back to my IPs about this. Im sure they will be just as thrilled!
3. from my medical insurance contact. She just wanted to review the papers and cards that I have received in the mail.
1. The doctor reviewed my bloodwork and ultrasound results and gave me my updated treatment plan. Good news: no new meds. My levels all look good, so I am to continue the Estrace pills 2x a day. My next monitoring appt is set for Saturday morning, April 19. This will be my Cycle Day 11.

So, now we are going day by day regarding the contracts. My adjustments will have to be approved from the IPs. If they request any adjustments, it will again come back to me for approval. Once we each give final approval, the attorney will have us sign and notarize the final draft of the contract.

At this point, I am feeling excited and at the same time, calm and confident. I dont feel as worried as I did before. Things are almost completed and set up for the Embryo Transfer to be done on time.

 I also just received an email from the doctors office saying that I do not need to do bedrest after the transfer. Only take it easy and no heavy lifting. I guess every doctors office is different. With my first journey, the doctor said 3 days. I have my own requirements. I have already spoken with my family. I will be doing 3 days of 99% bedrest-only get up to go to the bathroom. and 4 more days of 75% bedrest. This is what I did the last time. We had 1 embryo transferred and I was pregnant. So, I will be repeating this. I want to do everything I can to help this little embie stick.
 :-)

Monitoring Appt....

With a few extra SURPRISES along the way!!

First things first. At the monitoring appointment, I figured there would be an ultrasound. I didnt expect more blood work tho. SURPRISE! Apparently, there will be blood work done every monitoring appt lol. Luckily it was only 1 vial. They check the hormone levels. Todays appointment was for them to get a baseline. The ultrasound went fine except, as I mentioned in my last post, today is Cycle Day 2, which means my 2nd day of my period. I have never felt as uncomfortable as today. Sitting naked from the waist down and waiting for the ultrasound tech to come in. Ugghhh poor lady, I would NOT want her job lol.

Anyways, after the ultrasound and blood was completed, I was asked to wait in the waiting room to speak with the nurse. The nurse called me back and said she is going to be giving me all my medicines. SURPRISE! I was confused at first because I was under the impression that this would be a natural IVF = no meds. She was nice and explained, they are just giving me allll the medication that I might possibly need. That way, if I need it, I will have it. She reassured me, we will be going as natural as possible. So thats good. I have 3 different meds that are injections, 3 that are in the pill form, and 1 that is a vaginal suppository, as in ummmm that goes where lol. Definitely didnt have to do that the last time. I will post the names of them if and when I am instructed to take them.

The nurse then informed me that SURPRISE!!! My IPs actually are on their way because she has a monitoring appointment as well!! She asked me if I wanted to hang out a little and I could meet them in person and speak together with them and the doctor!!! OMG What an awesome surprise!!!! I was soooo excited! Of course I will wait for them!!!

As if that weren't enough, are you ready to hear the next SURPRISE?! While I was waiting for them, I received an email from my attorney with my contract attached for review!!! YAAAYYYY I realllly think we are on the right track towards a transfer this month!!  I have a phone consultation with the attorney to review my contract on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, I have my next monitoring appointment. I am to start taking Estrace pills 2mg, twice a day starting tomorrow. I had received an email from the doctors office later in the afternoon with those directions. I was also told to discontinue my birth control pills = Safe Sex Only lol. So we are well on our way.

After my IM (Intended Mother) was finished with her appointment, we all went together to lunch. They are so sweet!! I had a great time. We spent 3 hours together. I am sure they will be super supportive throughout the pregnancy! I look forward to a wonderful journey together. We all had a nice time, I smiled my whole way home. In fact, I am still smiling :-) I feel a bond with them already.

I know deep in my heart this is the exact couple God intended me to help out! I was the one who wanted to help out that other couple back in January. But I believe Gods plan was for me to help them in a different way. I believe God helped me lead that couple to the IVF doctor in Thousand Oaks, so that he could help them. I believe Gods plan was for me to help complete THIS couple's family.

After a we finished eating, we exchanged emails and cell numbers, hugged, and parted ways.
When I got home, I immediately got started on the contract. 35 pages, and I read each one ever so carefully. Luckily, most of it is very similar to my other contract that I used for my 1st journey. Even so, it still took me a few hours to go thru it all. I am pleased to say there isnt anything major that needs changing. Most of it is minor things that need to be added. For example it mentions about loss of uterus, but nothing about any other reproductive organs. It also mentions that I cant take any medicine including over the counter, unless approved by the IVF or OBGYN (for later in pregnancy). This is technically a minor problem because what happens if I have a headache, or start coughing. I will email the doctors office to check if they might have a list of pre-approved meds that I would be allowed to take. Like I said, very minor things. I am sure we will have the contract signed quickly, I just hope it is quick enough. We need to have it signed before my body is ready for that hCG trigger shot.

Tuesday(April 15) at 730am is my next monitoring appt and at 1030 is my phone consultation for the lawyer to answer any questions I have about the contract. I was thinking to email the attorney tomorrow with my few minor concerns. That way maybe she can speak with my IPs attorney about it before Tuesday.

One last SURPRISE! One of the Surrogate Mothers that I have been emailing with, just got a positive pregnancy blood test!!! Congrats GKGH!!! Today was just a great day!!

Gotta love progression!

Still no sign of the contract, however I started my cycle late last night. This morning I emailed the fertility clinic, so tomorrow morning will be a "Monitoring" appointment. I will get more information tomorrow, and post about the appointment.

Since this will be a natural IVF transfer, I am not very familiar with this process. But from what I have gathered, there will be quite a few Monitoring appointments over the next 2 weeks, where they just do an ultrasound and keep an eye on my uterus and my ovaries. At some point, I will get a "trigger" shot. The official name is HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) trigger shot. It contains a synthetic form of the hCG hormone. I triggers the release of the mature egg. About 36 hours after the shot, I will ovulate. We wait about 5 days, and then do the transfer. During this time frame, abstaining from sex is crutial. This will ensure I dont get pregnant with my own egg.

 Unfortunately, I was told if the contracts arent signed by the the time my body is ready for the trigger shot, then there will be no shot, and we will need to wait until my next cycle, in May. :-(

 So for now, positive thoughts because I really dont want to cut things too close for my IPs. They want a transfer this month, so thats what I am focused on and praying for.

I also need to find out about the birth control pills because I would normally be due to start my next pack on Sunday night. So Im not sure if I am supposed to take them or not.

Hurry up!!! Then waaaaaait....lol

So, as every experienced Surrogate knows, the mantra is Hurry up, and wait!

Last week there seemed to be no progress, I was starting to feel forgotten. But then, Saturday (April 5th), I received not one but TWO emails!!  One was from a psychologist. She wanted to schedule a 40 minute phone call and also she sent me a link to take an online psych assessment test (more on that later).  The other email was from the fertility clinic.

 I was told to notify them when I start my cycle (get my period), which will be any day now. She mentioned that the IPs (Intended Parents) are working on the contract-which I have yet to see-and they are still aiming for a mid-April transfer!!! YAAAYYYY!! When I read this, I was sooooo excited! So, if we can hurry up and sign those buggers, we can have a transfer in the next couple of weeks!!! Otherwise, we will have to wait until May. This will be okay, its just cutting the timeline verrrrry close. My IPs realllllly want their baby to be born within the Year of the Horse....so the timing of the transfer is super important. The year of the horse ends mid-February 2015. With the help of an online IVF transfer calculator, I figured the transfer would need to be done by end of May, to have a due date of mid-Feb. So, a May transfer is possible, its just very close to the ending of our timeline goal.

Now back to the email from the psychologist. She set our phone call for Wednesday (April 9) at 10am. I decided to take the online psych assessment test this morning. It consisted of about 350 crazy and some silly questions. It took me about an hour to complete. I emailed the psychologist to let her know I completed it. Within 20 minutes she called me saying she had a cancellation and was hoping I was available to do the phone consult right now! Of course I was!! :-) We talked about my family members: mom, dad, siblings; my children, boyfriend, ex-husband; and of course my pregnancies, childbirth, and my last surrogacy journey. Our phone call was wrapped up with a nice little bow in about 25 minutes with her saying she is happy and proud of me for helping another couple with their fertility struggles and wished us luck with our journey together.

Now that the Psychological part is done, Im back to waiting again ;-)  Im not quite sure what is taking so long with the contracts, because like I said, I still havent even seen a rough draft. I plan to email my agency again to ask about communication with my IPs. I would love it if we could email each other, and maybe schedule a dinner together before we have the transfer. They live about 1 1/2 hours away from me, so it would be nice if we could all meet each other in person.


:-) :-) :-) Just as I was about to publish this, I received an email. FROM AN ATTORNEY!! Hooray!! Its a legal retainer that I need to sign and fax back with a copy of my driver's license. It says after they receive my fax, and the contract from the IPs attorney, they will email the contract to me and schedule a phone consultation to go over the contract together. OMG! This just got real!! I am so excited!

Update.....

So, here is my update: Nothing to update on :-/

Not much has happened this past week. I feel like there has been no progress, no steps forward, just standing still. I spoke with my agency today. She said they have everything they need and they are just waiting for my boyfriend's background check to be completed. Then we can complete our contracts. :-( She also mentioned that they arent sure yet if a mid April transfer is going to be possible.....waaaaahhhh!!  I am a bit concerned with what my IPs have to say about this. I emailed my agency back asking about my IPs thoughts. I also asked if I am going to be having any more skype calls with them, or at least their email address. I havent heard back about this yet, although it was a bit late in the afternoon.

So, back to the waiting game.

Screening

I had my screening appointment with the fertility doctor today. It went very smooth. They said to anticipate this appointment to be about 2-2 1/2 hours long. My appointment was at 11am, and I was outta there by 12:25. yaaay

I arrived there 20 minutes early. I checked in and gave them stack of 40 pages that I had filled out yesterday (the other 30 were for the agency). She made a copy of my DL, and told me to have a seat and theyll be with me in a little bit.

I was in the waiting room for only 15 minutes and got called back to get my blood drawn (6 vials!) and to give a urine sample. After that, I was taken to the ultrasound room. I was told to undress from the waist down, and as opposed to what happened to other Surrogates, I was allowed to keep my socks on. First was a trans-vaginal ultrasound-done by an ultrasound tech, to check my uterus. Then I waited 10 min for the doctor to come in to do the SIS (my last post had a description of what exactly that entailed). It was pretty easy, I felt a little discomfort but not much. I had forgotten about taking the pain medication, luckily it wasnt needed. That was completed in less than 10 minutes. The doctor had a great sense of humor! He said, congrats, you passed the uterus test lol. I got dressed and was directed to wait in the waiting room. Stayed there for only 5 minutes and was called back to speak with the doctor. He went over my paperwork with me, we spoke about my previous pregnancies, he talked with me about the risks of IVF and he also asked if I have met with the Intended Parents yet. Proudly, I have-remember, skype ;-) After we were done speaking, I went to the waiting room for 5 minutes while they checked to make sure everything was completed. It was, and I was able to leave.

Easy, Peasy, Lemon Squeezie

Because the appointment was quicker than I thought, there was no traffic....perfect!!

I am now starting the contract phase. We are all trying to work together as quickly as possible on this. Luckily, the IP's and I agree so far on everything. The agency has really done a great job with this match! The agency pretty much already had my basic requests and preferences, so there shouldnt be any hiccups in this stage.....God willing <3

The doctor had mentioned that the couple is hoping to do a transfer in April!!!! The way I understand it, right now I am on week 2 of my Birth Control Pills (BCPs). My 4th week is the week of my period, and because this is going to be a natural IVF transfer, I will not take any pills after that. I will go in for monitoring every couple of days-possibly every day, so the doctor can keep an eye on the thickening of the lining of my uterus. When the doctor is satisfied with the thickness, then we will have the transfer!! So, they said to expect the transfer to be done mid-April!! That is so exciting to me because my son, T's birthday is April 18th!! I told him he is my good luck charm!! My IP's really want their child to be born in the Chinese year of the horse and T was born in the year of the horse!! How coincidental and exciting!!

Matched!!!

Before I begin this post, I want to extend my gratitude to my little son, T. He went on his Minecraft game and designed the rollarcoaster background for my blog.....Thank you buddy!! <3 ;-)

Now for all you readers wondering how my skype call went with this new couple......it went GREAT!!! I am so excited!! We are officially matched and they are sooo happy to work with me!! They have a son, 17 years old from a previous marriage and are wanted a child together. The greatest news is that they are local!! They will be able to accompany me to all my doctor appointments! This is exactly what I was praying for!

Within an hour of us hanging up, I received a phone call from the agency to ask for an official yes from me....my answer was, yeahhhhh of course!! :-)  The agency told me to expect a phone call from the fertility doctor that the couple is working with.
About an hour after that, the fertility clinic called me to schedule my screening appointment. I will have blood drawn, give a urine sample, and an SIS done...more on that later...also I normally would have needed to have a pap smear done, but luckily for me I had it done in January with my yearly physical ;-) hahahaha

So, my appointment for all this, is this coming Thursday at 11am!! She said to expect the appointment to last 2-2 1/2 hours. And I am to bring my pap smear record from January with me so I wont need it done again.  There is more good news! This is a fertility clinic that specializes in a more natural approach....which means no extra unnecessary medication. I am not sure how much medication I will need to be taking but the nurse that I spoke with reassured me that this time is going to be very different than my last time.  (FYI: The last Surro-Journey was with a different doctor/clinic and also a different agency)  That is great news for my body....and maybe that will mean no injections...lol not sure tho.

I received an email confirmation from the clinic, along with documents that are to be printed, completed, and signed. I also received another email, but from the agency with other documents that are also to be printed, completed, and signed. So since I have no printer, this evening me and my daughter headed for the library.

I printed all the pages which equaled to be almost 70 papers!!! L was able to get a book to read and another one to draw characters. We love the library :-) So, tomorrow will be spent reading, writing, and signing. :-/

Okay a little more info about the SIS...Saline Infusion Sonogram. With my first surrogacy, I didnt need to have this done. Each doctor makes this decision. I dont know too much info about it yet, although I will be asking Google allllll about it tomorrow, lol. The only thing I know is that they put a little saline water into your uterus and use a trans-vaginal ultrasound machine to look more closely at the uterus lining for scar tissue, fibroids or any other abnormalities. They want to make sure I have a normal uterine cavity. I had been advised to take an ibuprofen about 1 hour prior to my appointment, to help with any cramping or discomfort. I will be driving myself to the clinic and home thru traffic, so I will definitely take the pain medicine.

Speaking of traffic, I dont anticipate too much traffic going there, however to come home is probably going to be another story. Google maps says the fertility clinic is 32 miles away with 2 toll roads. Thats not bad, but that means I will be in the afternoon traffic to come home.

Thats about everything. Tomorrow I should buy a new pack of pens just to get thru all the paperwork. I cant believe there are almost 70 papers that need to be filled out....soooo not looking forward to that.....but its important and has to be done.

Dynamite!! ;-)

Here is the post that I promised about my first Surrogate experience.

I decided that I wanted to be a Surrogate Mother after my daughter was in 2004. All my pregnancies were enjoyable and the childbirths were very quick....to quick even for epidurals. There was a couple in my church that had fertility problems. They were in our close circle of friends. They explored their options, including surrogacy. That was the first time I had heard about it. They ended up adopting two precious little girls, but that didnt stop me from contemplating becoming a Surrogate Mother. (Sidebar: There are 2 types of Surrogates: Gestational Surrogate, thats me-only carries the embryo, literally the nest for the embie....and the other is a Traditional Surrogate-she donates her eggs to use and then also becomes the nest for the lil embie) Over the years, it continued to stay in my mind. Finally towards the end of 2009, I signed up with an agency (tho never again will I work with that agency).

I was matched with a couple first, but that didnt work out, and by April of 2010 I was matched with my German Couple: T and T. The wife looked so much like me since we both have German background, and we bonded instantly. We emailed everyday, they were so interested in me and my children. They were so caring and thoughtful and loving. By the end of July we had completed everything including screening, bloodwork, psychological meeting, and even contracts signed. And Mid-August was our transfer. The transfer actually would have been even sooner,but T had a problem with her eggs.

Ok let me back up a little bit. After the contracts were signed, T and T arrived here in the US for her egg retrieval. However, after arriving and being checked out by the fertility doctor, we all realized that the hormone medication that she was taking in Germany was a lower dosage. Her eggs were supposed to have grown and multiplied by that time but they didnt. The fertility doctor in Thousand Oaks was so sweet towards T. He upped her meds and did the best he could with the limited time available....T and T were only here for a short time due to visiting visas. The last day possible, the doctor was able to retrieve only 2 eggs. After fertilization, there was only 1 grade A embryo. That was implanted into my uterus via IVF Mid-August and I was pregnant. 

 Of course, thats putting things simply. there was alot more stress and worries. Anyways, even though they live in Germany, they became my 2nd family. The IM (Intended Mother) became like a sister or Auntie to me. We emailed every day. I video taped every doctor appt for them. And as my due date grew closer, my IPs and also my own mother planned their trip out to California to be with me to support me as my 1st Surrogacy Journey was coming to an end. My mom flew here along with my lil sister and my niece. We had a full house for Easter 2011!

T and T came with me to my regularly scheduled doctor check up at almost 39 weeks pregnant. My blood pressure was a little high and there was protein in my urine. The doctor sent me right over to the hospital where they admitted me to keep an eye on my BP. 2 days later, when I was 39 weeks pregnant, they decided to induce me. They broke my water, and Baby N was born quickly after. He was so cute and small, he looked like a little old man, lol.  The IM was taking natural medications to sort of trick her body into thinking it had given birth so that her body would start naturally producing milk. In the meantime, I pumped and she fed lil N the breastmilk. A few days later, she started producing milk. I continued to pump until the left for Germany a few weeks later. I still receive emails and updates now and again.
But theres my TNT story ;-) Dynamite!!

Another Match...

Soooo, I had my phone call last week with the potential IP's (Intended Parents). Everything went great!! We talked from 7am till 830! Friday the agency asked me a few questions that the couple had wanted to know including small things like exactly how many weeks did I give birth to each of my kids, and also my Surro-Son. That took some digging, but since I have kept calendars for each of my children, along with every email from during my Surrogacy in 2011, I was able to find all of the information.

Monday morning I received a phone call. I was so excited to answer, however, the call did not go as I thought it would. Apparently the couple I had skyped with are no longer IP's. They decided they are not ready to start their Surrogacy Journey. I thought at first it was something that I said or did but the agency quickly let me know that it had nothing to do with me. She said she was actually calling because they have another couple who are highly interested in me and would like to skype with me tomorrow morning, if I am interested.

She asked me a few more questions, like if I had any pets (I would assume that is because a pregnant woman cannot clean a cat litter box because she seemed pleased to hear that I only have a chihuahua). She also wanted to know if I am on birth control pills (BCP) or if I had an IUD or taking birth control shots. Again she was pleased to hear may answer-BCPs for a few years now. With an IUD or the shots you need to be off them for about 6 months before you can start the process of becoming a Surrogate Mother. After the phone call, she emailed me the parent profile to review.
So once again, lol, I have a skype meeting with a pair of IPs tomorrow morning at 10am. I am excited yet nervous at the same time. I signed up with this agency almost 2 weeks ago, and since then, this is my 3rd "match" :-/ Im sorta starting to feel a bit shuffled around. I really hope God opens the doors for me. If this is the right couple, than I pray things go well tomorrow morning!

A little background

Okay, so first I guess Ill give a little background about me.

I am 32 years old. I was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I moved to Southern California in 2007. I am a mother with 3 of my own children: D is 14(son), T is 11(son), and  L is 9(daughter). I have a very supportive, sweet and thoughtful boyfriend-Miguel. I am divorced from my children's father. I have a cute chihuahua-Lucy, who is currently my lil baby, lol.

In 2011, I gave birth to the most adorable lil Surro-Son ever! He will be 3 next month. They live in Germany, and I still receive email updates from time to time. Next post I will give a quick recap of my 1st Surro-Mom experience. It was so wonderful! They are the sweetest IP's ever!

Heres my re-cap of my current (2nd) journey so far.
Back in 2006, I was matched with K and F. That was the very first time I signed with an Surrogacy agency. Unfortunately things fell through and we never even got to contracts. Over the years, K and I kept in touch, however everytime she was ready, I wasnt, and vice versa. Fast forward to January 2014. Our timelines synced up and we decided to move forward without an agency. I introduced K to my fertility Dr that I had in 2011. Dr. Kumar and his staff in Thousand Oaks, CA are simply amazing, and dedicated! Well, unfortunately for me, K and F decided they didnt feel comfortable with me not being married anymore. They are still proceeding forward with Dr. Kumar but with one of his surrogates. I wish them the best of luck. I was so hurt, upset and even offended. But now I realize this just wasnt the perfect couple for me.

So, I decided to sign up with the agency that my 2011 attorney is affiliated with. My attorney was amazing, so I figured her agency MUST be amazing as well. And I was right!! They have been awesome! I updated my profile on March 12th and that night I received a response!! They are on top of things and I like that. I am a very organized type of person, so I respect an agency who is also organized. Things run so much smoother with organization.  I have great confidence they will find a sweet match for me. They understand that I do not want a "business relationship". I look forward to working with them. I actually already have a potential match and we are trying to set up a skype meeting for Thursday early morning. I am excited and hopeful!!

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