Graduation

We have great news to share!!

(Finally, now that Blogger is working again)

As you can see, the baby is growing and looking more like a human. :)

I've officially graduated from the IVF clinic and to my OB.

My first OB appointment is December 16th and we'll also have the NT ultrasound that day.

This baby is already not being shy and letting everyone know he or she is there. It might also have to do with the fact that this is my fourth pregnancy. Haha!

(I try not to wear too tight-fitting clothes during early pregnancy in that "Is she pregnant or not?" stage. People look and wonder silently but aren't brave enough to ask yet. lol)

Even though the baby measured a week behind our first ultrasound, he or she has been growing consistently and has stayed measuring a week behind. Maybe just a small baby?

At 7 weeks 1 day, the baby measured 6 weeks 1 day with a heart rate of 118.

At 8 weeks 5 days, the baby measured 7 weeks 5 days with a heart rate of  171.

At 10 weeks 1 day, the baby measured 9 weeks 1 day with a heart rate of 175.

We're all looking forward to seeing baby again next week! Stay tuned for an update :)

10 weeks

Ultrasound Results

Ahh...finally...

Sorry for the delay. If I haven't been at work or busy running the boys around I've been sleeping.

This pregnancy has me incredibly tired.

That being said we saw one baby with a healthy heartbeat of 118. Baby was measuring a bit behind but we're hopeful we'll see progress at my next ultrasound on November 30th.

I have a tilted uterus so that makes it a bit difficult for the ultrasound tech.

We could see baby's heart just beating away but baby is so tiny it was hard for the tech to stay in the same spot long enough to get a reading. I didn't move, didn't even breathe so there wasn't a chance of me moving and her not being able to measure the heartbeat and we finally had success!

D & I are super excited and relieved it is just one baby. Here's to a healthy pregnancy!

Beta Progression

Thank you all for the continued prayers for this pregnancy. It means so much to have the absolute best support from all of our family, friends, and followers.

As you can see by the tests below, everything is moving along very nicely so far.

Normal hcg level doubling times are 48-72 hours and I am very happy to say that mine is averaging around 42 hours! Since the hcg levels are going up at a good rate we now have yet another "2 week wait"....the wait until ultrasound.

The first ultrasound scheduled for November 9th will be checking for a gestational sac, yolk sac, and hopefully since I'll be 7 weeks 1 day we'll be able to see a fluttering little heartbeat in the tiny little baby. They'll also be confirming if one or both embryos implanted.

You may be asking what all of that means on my photo below. In the surrogacy world we use this to show # days past 5 day transfer where 5 is the age of the embryo transferred. You can also translate this to 10+5=15 days past ovulation, 13+5=18 days past ovulation, etc.

We are very anxious for ultrasound and so very happy with how this transfer is going so far.

Let me also just say that I am so very thankful that D & I decided to move forward with me for a 4th transfer. It's rough from all aspects after multiple failed transfers, but with a little prayer, hope, and trust we are finally where we're meant to be.

Beta Results

Blood was drawn yesterday morning for our first official Beta which tests the quantitative level of Hcg present in the body.

This is my test 10 days after transfer

The number is..............109!!!!!

We're PREGNANT!!!

Officially 4 weeks 2 days today

The clinic is having me repeat the bloodwork on Thursday (with results Friday) and again on Monday (with results Tuesday) to make sure the level is rising appropriately indicating a healthy pregnancy. We're feeling great about this result and can't wait to hear next week's results! :-)

Of course I will still be occasionally taking home tests to see that line get darker over the next week.

Please continue to pray for this pregnancy's viability and God-willing we'll see a fluttery little heartbeat in 2-3 weeks and deliver D&I's healthy little baby in about 36 weeks!

Transfer

Ah, finally a transfer update.

First, do not, I repeat DO NOT wear anything sparkly or metallic through airport security. LOL

You will be felt up and down in public in places no stranger should touch.

I especially love traveling Northeast during the fall season. Such beautiful colors! Fall is my favorite! I wish I could have gotten better photos of it all.

 

I arrived at the clinic shortly before 10am. The clinic does this very wonderful thing of having each person wait in a different area so as to not impose on people's privacy. I didn't wait long in the initial area before being taken back to the "transfer area".

The doctor came in and explained the embryo quality of the 2 embryos we were transferring.

This embryo is 5 days old. A (great) quality, 120+ cells.

This embryo is 6 days old. A/B (good) quality, 120+ cells.

And here they are in my uterus after embryo transfer. See the white specs in the middle?

There is a theory that eating fresh pineapple with core will increase the chances of implantation. The enzyme bromelain that is in the core supposedly helps the embryos stick. So starting day of transfer and for the following 4 days I've been eating pineapple and will continue to do so. :)
It couldn't hurt and it's delicious!

This is a picture of the sunset over St. Louis as I was on my way home. 

So, our fingers are crossed and prayers going up that this transfer is successful! We appreciate all the amazing support. I was elated to tears morning of transfer with so many people reaching out in support, wishing us good luck, and praying for us. It is truly amazing the positive support that we've received and continue to receive. I know many people are following for home pregnancy test results but D & I will obviously get the first call :)  The official blood test is Monday, October 19th and I'll receive the results on Tuesday, October 20th. Thanks for continuing to follow our journey!

10 days until Transfer!

This cycle has just flown by for me. I guess that's partly due to us just being busy with the move and stuff but here we are 10 days away from transfer #4.

I had blood drawn this morning to check my hormone levels and a vaginal ultrasound to check my uterine lining thickness. The tech said it was "about a 10mm" which is great!

My agency should be facilitating travel arrangements after the bloodwork results are received in the morning. I'll be leaving next Thursday, have the embryo transfer on Friday, then fly home on Saturday and wait to test. I say I would like to wait a bit longer to test this time (in hopes of avoiding negatives) but it's an addiction and I'm sure I'll be dreading the 4-5 days that I'll make myself wait lol.

I am super hopeful this transfer will be successful and a sweet little baby will be entering this world next summer in the arms of his or her amazing parents and big brother. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate all of you!

Cycle Update

Just a quick update to share with everyone where we are.

I had a baseline monitoring blood draw and ultrasound on Monday. My uterine lining was thin at 3.2mm and my hormone levels were where they need to be so Tuesday morning (after we received the results) I was able to lower my Lupron injections from 10 units to 5 units and start 2 Estrace (2mg tablets) twice a day along with a baby aspirin. I was very thankful to start the Estrace so my migraines from the Lupron would subside.

My next monitoring appointment on the 29th will check to make sure my uterine lining is at least 8mm thick and triple striped (ie. ready for embryos!). My lining has historically been 10-13mm so I'm not expecting any issues there (knock on wood).

Please pray with us that this transfer is successful and the sweet little snugly embryo(s) sticks around for a happy & healthy 9 months.

Thanks for following our journey!

Just keep swimming...

Did you keep going with the song? Lol

 

Lately we have been in the "waiting" stage of the phrase "hurry up and wait" that surrogacy makes so popular.

 

But today we finally moved another step forward in our journey. We signed the addendum to our contract legally agreeing to transfer #4!

 

From here, the agency will forward legal clearance to the clinic so they can begin working on our cycle calendar for transfer #4 scheduled for October 9th. This means medications will begin in just a few short weeks!

 

We are remaining positive that the 2 embryos we will transfer will be kind enough to stick around for 9 months (well, at least one anyway). ;-)

 

Feel free to follow the blog at the top of the page to stay up-to-date with our journey. And thank you for hanging in there with us!

The perks of a long journey

Thank you all for following our journey!

 

Unfortunately transfer #3 failed. I actually did have faint second lines on my pregnancy tests but they got lighter instead of darker and my official beta test was negative. :(

 

We have been matched with D & I for 15 months now and that my friends is a perk of a long journey. Yes we've had lots of discouraging news, but we have gotten to know each other quite well and enjoy the relationship we have with D & I that has developed over the past 15 months.

 

That being said, even though contractually I have fulfilled my agreement to 3 transfers I am just not the type of person to turn away without helping D & I bring a new baby into their lives.

 

After having some in depth conversations with D & I, the clinic, and the agency we have agreed to move forward with a fourth transfer. There are some legal steps involved to ammend our contract, but after the agency completes that step and passes along the legal clearance to the clinic we can get started on a cycle calendar for transfer #4! We are tentatively scheduled for transfer on Friday, October 9th.

 

We are very excited! IVF statistics tell us that 40% of the time it will fail. We have been unlucky and landed in that statistic the past three transfers. However, we are staying optimistic and hopeful that our fourth transfer will bring us into the positive side of IVF statistics and help bring a happy, healthy 9 months to our journey and a baby into D & I's arms come next summer. I'm sure the big brother will be super ecstatic to have a sibling too!

 

Thank you for sharing in the ups and the downs with us. We're continuing to pray for success!

Lucky Transfer #3!!!

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So, this is it! I've been praying hard and I'm believing that it is in God's plan that this is the transfer that is going to be successful and bring a baby into D & I's arms. Lucky transfer #3 just like each of our first journeys, right guys? :)

We are less than 10 days away now!!

I have a monitoring appointment in the morning to check my hormone levels and an ultrasound to check my uterine lining thickness and pattern. Fingers crossed for 8mm+ and triple striped!

We are actually making this transfer trip a little extended family trip and bringing the boys for a little sight-seeing and time at the beach. They are super excited! So we are beginning our little road trip next Wednesday and are planning to transfer 2 embryos on Friday, June 26th.

The beta will be on July 6th and God willing we'll get a positive result. Of course I'll be testing at home before then. Please send good thoughts and prayers our way. Thank you :)

Transfer #2 Update

As many of you already know, the second transfer was not successful.

I started getting positive home pregnancy tests 6.5 days after transfer. They continually got darker albeit maybe a little slower than normal. But I've come to learn that nothing is really "normal" in pregnancy, they are all different.

My first beta at 10dp5dt was 41. Then at 13dp5dt it was 104. With a doubling time of 53ish hours the clinic was not concerned as the average doubling time is 48-72 hours.

They ordered another beta on 17dp5dt and we were up to 405.

At 7 weeks 1 day I went in for ultrasound. The sac measured only 5 weeks 4 days and appeared to be empty. :(

The clinic ordered a repeat ultrasound for 7 weeks 5 days to confirm if there was any growth.

There was just minimal growth, but not enough for the pregnancy to be viable.

There was just an empty gestational sac, no embryo.

The clinic said this is most likely due to the embryo having chromosomal abnormalities.

I immediately stopped the medications to sustain the pregnancy and waited to pass everything.

Four days later I started to pass everything. It went very quickly and within 24 hours I felt confident that I had passed the majority of it all. *graphic* The gestational sac came out whole and I had a lot of large clots.

I had my beta checked again a week later and it was down to 69. The clinic felt they would give my body a bit more time to get back to normal so we are waiting for my next period to check my beta again and make sure it is back down to "not pregnant" levels so we can try again.

We are very hopeful and will remain positive for transfer #3. Third times the charm!

And, it has been in my previous surrogacy as well as D&I's previous surrogacy. Now for history to repeat itself :)  We are expecting transfer #3 to be around mid-June at this point. We will know more in a couple weeks. (My positive transfer with my first surrogacy was a June transfer and D&I's positive transfer their first surrogacy wasn't too far off!)

Please keep us in your thoughts and if it's your thing pray that God sees it in His plan to bless D&I this next transfer. Thank you!

....and sorry for the long delay in updating....

In the 2WW

We are officially in the 2WW (two week wait)!

Transfer yesterday went smoothly and Dr. D said we had 2 great blastocysts to work with. Here they are:

He also commented on how great my uterine lining is...hopefully we have an embryo or two snuggling in for the next 9 months!

I'm sure you will all be stalking for test results. I am probably going to start testing Tuesday morning but of course D & I will be the first (well 2nd & 3rd) to know. When we all feel comfortable with the results we will definitely share but until then just hold tight. Even if it's positive on Tuesday or Wednesday we want to make sure the test is darkening and my hcg levels are rising appropriately. My first beta (official blood test for pregnancy) will be February 9th. Please keep your fingers crossed and pray we get good results this transfer. Thank you!