This past weekend, my husband and I had the great fortune to finally meet our intended parents in person! They flew in earlier in the week but between their appointments and our busy schedule, it wasn't possible to get together until Sunday evening. Thankfully we were able to find a sitter for the kids and so we were able to give them our undivided attention and get to know them a little bit better.
Our time at dinner passed all too quickly and before we knew it, it was time to go home. We got some photos together and said our goodbyes. Hubby and I were both very pleased to know that we chose a wonderful couple to help grow a family. It made us feel even more excited to get the actual medical stuff started!
Three days prior, I was able to review the details of our contract with my attorney. Thankfully, there were only a few minor details for which we requested changes. By the time we met over the weekend, the IP's were just waiting to meet with their attorney again to discuss the changes they had and to review what we had requested.
The next day, Hubby stayed home with the kids and I drove to the IVF clinic to meet in person with the IP's and the doctor and nurse coordinator. We had some more time to talk (yay!) and verified that we were in agreement over several major points regarding the transfer, pregnancy and delivery. Unfortunately, that too ended all too soon and I was headed back home...
I really felt like we made a good connection this weekend and aside from being excited to move forward with the surrogacy process, I'm also appreciative of the fact that I've had a chance to become friends with some really fantastic people!
At this point, I'm to contact the clinic around mid-September to start taking medications to begin cycling with the egg donor. Barring any unforeseen delays, it seems as though we're anticipating our first transfer (hopefully the only one needed) around the end of October!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Big News!
Hooray! I've got IT!! The contract...is in my hands. Well - actually on my computer. But that's good enough for a draft version. I'm super excited because I'll be reviewing it with my attorney and hopefully it will be signed by all parties within the next few days. It's 38 pages!! Wow! - and I thought we had a fairly simple thing going here... It appears to be only slightly less complicated than the paperwork for buying a house... at least it appears I'll only have to sign once (unlike the 50,000 signatures required for the home purchase). I can't wait to review it with my attorney and get this part done and squared away. Starting the process of cycling with the egg donor isn't very far away at all...
Also, the intended parents are here for the week! We'll finally get to meet in person this weekend. I'm very excited but also nervous to meet the people I've been longing to help for years. (even though I didn't know it was them until recently)
Stay tuned...
Also, the intended parents are here for the week! We'll finally get to meet in person this weekend. I'm very excited but also nervous to meet the people I've been longing to help for years. (even though I didn't know it was them until recently)
Stay tuned...
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Get Ready, Get Set... Wait!
There is a recurring theme to this blog. It's something like, "Hurry Up and Wait." Thankfully my family's summer activities have more than filled the days and so I haven't gone too crazy waiting for more to happen with this surrogacy project!
My IF's (intended fathers) are coming to the States very soon! They have their travel dates to do all their initial appointments with the RE (reproductive endocrinologist) office. My husband and I will finally be meeting them in person before the end of August. After our meeting, we'll be having a group meeting with the doctor in charge of this surrogacy to be sure we have all the information we need and to discuss how everything moves forward in the actual clinic.
From what I understand, the big holdup is the contracts. I believe the egg donor contract is completed and signed, but mine is still in the works. I think it's being sent to my IF's this week, but I'll truly only feel better once they can say they have it... Once they sign it, it will come back to me for review. Once the paperwork is completed, it will be time to start cycling with the egg donor.
Initially, I had hoped everything would move forward enough that we might be looking at a transfer at the end of August or by mid-September... but because the contracts have taken so long, I'm thinking it will probably be more like the end of September or mid-October. As always - it will be wait and see.
In the past, I've mentioned my hope to lose a couple of pounds before beginning medications for the surrogacy. So far, I've had no luck - mostly because I have no willpower if there's snack foods in the house. (and I'm a big-time ice cream junkie, which makes summertime "dieting" a lot harder!). But my husband has finally decided he wants to join in too, which is always a tremendous help to me. So... here's to saying goodbye to 5-10 pounds in the next month or so!
Until next time...
My IF's (intended fathers) are coming to the States very soon! They have their travel dates to do all their initial appointments with the RE (reproductive endocrinologist) office. My husband and I will finally be meeting them in person before the end of August. After our meeting, we'll be having a group meeting with the doctor in charge of this surrogacy to be sure we have all the information we need and to discuss how everything moves forward in the actual clinic.
From what I understand, the big holdup is the contracts. I believe the egg donor contract is completed and signed, but mine is still in the works. I think it's being sent to my IF's this week, but I'll truly only feel better once they can say they have it... Once they sign it, it will come back to me for review. Once the paperwork is completed, it will be time to start cycling with the egg donor.
Initially, I had hoped everything would move forward enough that we might be looking at a transfer at the end of August or by mid-September... but because the contracts have taken so long, I'm thinking it will probably be more like the end of September or mid-October. As always - it will be wait and see.
In the past, I've mentioned my hope to lose a couple of pounds before beginning medications for the surrogacy. So far, I've had no luck - mostly because I have no willpower if there's snack foods in the house. (and I'm a big-time ice cream junkie, which makes summertime "dieting" a lot harder!). But my husband has finally decided he wants to join in too, which is always a tremendous help to me. So... here's to saying goodbye to 5-10 pounds in the next month or so!
Until next time...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Testing, Testing, 1.2.3...
Monday was a great day! My husband and I found some poor sucker to watch the kids all day and skipped town! Ha... just kidding - well, sort of...
Actually, we entrusted the care of our munchkins to my sister-in-law, who was gracious enough to arrive at our home at 5:50 am, and hubby and I rode off into the sunrise to the Philadelphia area to visit the RE office for the first time. It turned out to be an enjoyable and peaceful 13 hours of time together.
We were introduced to the nurse coordinator who will be handling our entire case. She introduced us to all the different medications I'll be taking in order to synchronize my cycle with the egg donor and subsequently building a nice home for my IP's embryo, while suspending my own ovulation. It's amazing what can be accomplished with hormones. The human body is really just one large, extremely complex, chemically-operated machine! We provided blood and urine for all the required tests and super-Hubby survived the dreaded needle!
After reviewing the medications and explaining how I got involved in surrogacy, Hubby and I had the pleasure of spending some time taking some written psychological tests. We weren't to be sharing answers (obviously) but at least we were able to joke with each other a little while taking them, which made the whole process at lot more bearable!
After a quick lunch break, we met with one of the physicians, though likely not the one I'll be seeing regularly. He reviewed a lot of information about how the whole process works, including the FDA oversight of testing and process, and he got a complete history from me, including the location & ages of all my tattoos and piercings. That was something I wasn't necessarily expecting. Our time with the good doctor ended with a physical exam, which included an ultrasound of my reproductive parts. I've never had one done without actually already having a baby in there, so it was definitely a new experience for me. The doctor labeled my ovary as "Picasso-esque," whatever that means! I think it was just a bit of RE humor that must've flown over my head...
Finally, we finished up by meeting with the psychologist, who was kind enough to come to the clinic so we could complete all of this stuff in one visit instead of two - saving us a full day of travel and childcare. Yay!
I really liked her - she was very personable and made our 3 hour interview a good one! We talked about pretty much everything under the sun with regards to myself, my husband, our relationship, our expectations about the surrogacy journey and the IP's. I can say with confidence that I'm certain that if we weren't ready for this, she would've uncovered the issue during this visit and talked to us about it.
So now I get to wait for our results to come in - hopefully by the end of the week and then it's on to contracts. Once that is complete, bring on the meds and we're off and running.... My expectation at this point (based on the information provided by the nurse coordinator) is that I might be starting a birth control pill by the end of July or the beginning of August, which means that hopefully a September transfer is in the works! Can't wait to see...
Actually, we entrusted the care of our munchkins to my sister-in-law, who was gracious enough to arrive at our home at 5:50 am, and hubby and I rode off into the sunrise to the Philadelphia area to visit the RE office for the first time. It turned out to be an enjoyable and peaceful 13 hours of time together.
We were introduced to the nurse coordinator who will be handling our entire case. She introduced us to all the different medications I'll be taking in order to synchronize my cycle with the egg donor and subsequently building a nice home for my IP's embryo, while suspending my own ovulation. It's amazing what can be accomplished with hormones. The human body is really just one large, extremely complex, chemically-operated machine! We provided blood and urine for all the required tests and super-Hubby survived the dreaded needle!
After reviewing the medications and explaining how I got involved in surrogacy, Hubby and I had the pleasure of spending some time taking some written psychological tests. We weren't to be sharing answers (obviously) but at least we were able to joke with each other a little while taking them, which made the whole process at lot more bearable!
After a quick lunch break, we met with one of the physicians, though likely not the one I'll be seeing regularly. He reviewed a lot of information about how the whole process works, including the FDA oversight of testing and process, and he got a complete history from me, including the location & ages of all my tattoos and piercings. That was something I wasn't necessarily expecting. Our time with the good doctor ended with a physical exam, which included an ultrasound of my reproductive parts. I've never had one done without actually already having a baby in there, so it was definitely a new experience for me. The doctor labeled my ovary as "Picasso-esque," whatever that means! I think it was just a bit of RE humor that must've flown over my head...
Finally, we finished up by meeting with the psychologist, who was kind enough to come to the clinic so we could complete all of this stuff in one visit instead of two - saving us a full day of travel and childcare. Yay!
I really liked her - she was very personable and made our 3 hour interview a good one! We talked about pretty much everything under the sun with regards to myself, my husband, our relationship, our expectations about the surrogacy journey and the IP's. I can say with confidence that I'm certain that if we weren't ready for this, she would've uncovered the issue during this visit and talked to us about it.
So now I get to wait for our results to come in - hopefully by the end of the week and then it's on to contracts. Once that is complete, bring on the meds and we're off and running.... My expectation at this point (based on the information provided by the nurse coordinator) is that I might be starting a birth control pill by the end of July or the beginning of August, which means that hopefully a September transfer is in the works! Can't wait to see...
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Finally More to Say
It's been a long time since I've had anything to post about this journey. There's been a lot of waiting, but there's finally been progress. After almost being matched with several couples, I found a couple in Europe who is ready to move forward and liked me as much as I liked them!
We emailed and Skyped last week and are starting the process of getting to know one another. There is a bit of a language barrier as sadly, I'm not bilingual in any respect. Their English is actually pretty good, considering it's not their first language, but I have to remember to not speak too quickly (an annoying habit of mine) and to avoid using too many local phrases. They are traveling to the States near the end of August to meet with the doctors at the IVF clinic and we'll be making arrangements to meet in person at that time. I can't wait!
My understanding of the surrogacy timeline is that once they arrive in August, the genetic material from the father has to be cryofrozen (for quarantine) for six months. About 4 1/2 months later, the egg donor and I will start taking meds to sync our cycles and then sometime around the end of February or early March, we should be able to attempt our first transfer. And because I can't resist looking forward even further, if we're successful on the first try, then we're looking at a potential estimated due date of mid November 2013. Phew! What a wait.... but, oh - it will be so worth it to help build a family!!
In the meantime, my husband and I will have to take a trip to the IVF clinic to do our psychological screenings. I should be hearing from the agency soon as to when that appointment will be. I'll admit I'm a bit nervous about that appointment as I really don't know what to expect and of course, no one wants to even consider the possibility of somehow "failing." I'm sure it will be fine... but I"ll feel much better once we're on the other side of that task.
I can find at least one reason to be thankful for the extra-long wait in this journey - I can have some extra time to try to drop a few pounds prior to starting meds. I hear that it's not uncommon to put on 10-15 pounds just in cycling with the medications and then of course about 25 with the actual pregnancy. I would be more than thrilled to drop maybe 20 pounds prior to February. We'll see - now that my youngest child is sleeping better at night and naptimes, I'm finding more time for exercise than in the past. It will feel good to slim down the tummy before watching it grow again....
Another thing which comes to mind is how and when to tell my kids what is going on. The two oldest will be 6 and 7 at the end of the summer (when we meet the Intended Fathers) and will definitely need an explanation. Time to go in search of a good book to help!
Can't wait to come back with more updates. Stay tuned...
We emailed and Skyped last week and are starting the process of getting to know one another. There is a bit of a language barrier as sadly, I'm not bilingual in any respect. Their English is actually pretty good, considering it's not their first language, but I have to remember to not speak too quickly (an annoying habit of mine) and to avoid using too many local phrases. They are traveling to the States near the end of August to meet with the doctors at the IVF clinic and we'll be making arrangements to meet in person at that time. I can't wait!
My understanding of the surrogacy timeline is that once they arrive in August, the genetic material from the father has to be cryofrozen (for quarantine) for six months. About 4 1/2 months later, the egg donor and I will start taking meds to sync our cycles and then sometime around the end of February or early March, we should be able to attempt our first transfer. And because I can't resist looking forward even further, if we're successful on the first try, then we're looking at a potential estimated due date of mid November 2013. Phew! What a wait.... but, oh - it will be so worth it to help build a family!!
In the meantime, my husband and I will have to take a trip to the IVF clinic to do our psychological screenings. I should be hearing from the agency soon as to when that appointment will be. I'll admit I'm a bit nervous about that appointment as I really don't know what to expect and of course, no one wants to even consider the possibility of somehow "failing." I'm sure it will be fine... but I"ll feel much better once we're on the other side of that task.
I can find at least one reason to be thankful for the extra-long wait in this journey - I can have some extra time to try to drop a few pounds prior to starting meds. I hear that it's not uncommon to put on 10-15 pounds just in cycling with the medications and then of course about 25 with the actual pregnancy. I would be more than thrilled to drop maybe 20 pounds prior to February. We'll see - now that my youngest child is sleeping better at night and naptimes, I'm finding more time for exercise than in the past. It will feel good to slim down the tummy before watching it grow again....
Another thing which comes to mind is how and when to tell my kids what is going on. The two oldest will be 6 and 7 at the end of the summer (when we meet the Intended Fathers) and will definitely need an explanation. Time to go in search of a good book to help!
Can't wait to come back with more updates. Stay tuned...
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Getting Closer to being Officially Matched!
Well, I've said, "yes" and they've said, "yes" - so tentatively, it seems I'm matched!! I'm so excited, I could squeal like a little girl. And probably do the jumping-up-and-down-in-excitement dance. But I won't... well, not while anyone's watching anyway...
We still need to talk face-to-face/online to get to know each other a little better, but unless something comes up, I can't see why I wouldn't be partnering with this couple of IP's (intended parents) for my first surrogacy journey. I'm very eager to move forward and will be hoping that nothing unusual crops up to deter our road to success!
Waiting over the weekend to hear back from my agency has felt like forever. Looking forward to having another update soon!
We still need to talk face-to-face/online to get to know each other a little better, but unless something comes up, I can't see why I wouldn't be partnering with this couple of IP's (intended parents) for my first surrogacy journey. I'm very eager to move forward and will be hoping that nothing unusual crops up to deter our road to success!
Waiting over the weekend to hear back from my agency has felt like forever. Looking forward to having another update soon!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Waiting...waiting...
So it's been another week and I'm still looking to be matched. Actually, I'm waiting to receive a profile. It's soooo hard to wait, especially when I'm this excited about doing this finally! Thankfully, the next week always arrives sooner rather than later, so I can hopefully get to see some info about the couple I might be helping!
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