Transfer!

Okay, so it's been just over four days now since we had our transfer.

I know I'm late with this update!

I got up at 430am on August 13th soo sleepy. I got to the airport for 530 and got in line to get xrayed and everything else. It was SO embarrassing to explain why I had baby bum cream (thanks a lot suppositories! You SUCK!). I got onto the plane, I was half asleep. I know this because it's all pretty foggy still haha.

I got to Montreal, switched planes, still half asleep.

I got to Toronto.

My IF's were waiting at door C. I went to door C. They were NOT there. I texted them. They said they were at door C, and one of them was actually waiting just outside the door. We played this game for twenty minutes, and then finally, I asked for help.

Well.

Found the problem.

We were BOTH at door C.

They were at DEPARTURE...I was at ARRIVAL. Leave it to me!

We went right to the clinic. I was so nervous.

We got there, and we were called in almost right away.

I was told to put on two paper gowns, one on the front, and one on the back. Okiedokie.

I got locker number 7. Lucky 7. Surely this is a sign?

Then I was told to go and sit down for acupuncture. First thought : this is going to be relaxing. She started to put little tiny needles into my body, and it wasn't too bad.

I didn't feel this way all the way through, in fact, I could NOT wait for it to be over. It hurt. So much.

It was over, and done with and I was finally going to transfer. Thank goodness.

I laid down. It was a normal chair, reminded me of a dentists' chair, I was told to put my bum almost on the edge, so I did so. There I waited, with my two VERY nervous IF's for 10 hours.

Okay, it wasn't 10 hours.

It just felt like it.

It was probably 15 minutes.

Then the Dr came in, with the embryologist and a nurse. The nurse awkwardly put my legs up in the holders and told me to scoot down some more. Surely I couldn't scoot down any more. I could and did.  They gave us a picture of our embryos, they are such beautiful...balls.

They are a 9 cell and 8 cell 3 day embryos. Very very good quality. 

I also got a picture from while they were putting the embryos in, you can't see the embryos per say since they are soo small, but the embryos are in between the air bubbles :)

So the claw looking thing is what was used to put the embryos in, and between my finger and thumb is where the embryos are! 

After the transfer, I barely wanted to walk in fear that I would be moving too much. 

I didn't realize that I would have acupuncture afterward again. I dreaded it and it felt like she hit every single vein she could. By the end of it I just wanted to tell her not to touch me. I have bruises all up and down both legs and arms as if I was beaten from those tiny needles. NEVER AGAIN. I am all for trying whatever I can to make this transfer work, but I have officially decided that acupuncture is NOT for me. 

I've  also started to test of course, and this morning I seen what I thought was a shadow of a positive, but I'm still waiting until they're clearly positive to get excited. 

                                                                 4DP3DT *4 Days Past 3 Day Transfer*

Now it's just to keep testing, or to wait, whichever I can talk myself into doing haha. I may not test tomorrow and wait to test until Monday just so that I don't have to deal with another negative though, they're hard to take, and really, now would be quite early to be getting a test. I only have four good tests left so I also don't want to waste them!

I still have about 170 cheapy tests that I got for 18 cents each, so I'm doing those pretty well every time I go pee now, I may just keep up with those until I ssee a positive or until I hit 7DPT (in another 3.75 days). It's so hard to decide. I may just end up going to get more tests haha.

The Blue/Pink/Blue/Orange Pills

Okay.

My goodness.

I have enough meds in my body to sustain a pharmacy.

My current daily med routine :

Wake up at 6am to my alarm clock. Med time.
-PregVit *pink, morning pill
-1ml Progesterone in Sesame Seed Oil *my bum is a great pin cushion...not
-2mg Estrace
-Aspirin 81mg chewable *but I prefer not to chew it...it tastes like McDonald's juice...ick
-Antibiotic
-Vaginal Suppository 200mg Progesterone

Go back to bed for an hour because my PregVit has me SO nauseous that I usually have a bucket beside the bed, even just the little bit of water that I have with the pills feels like it's going to come back up.

12pm (noon)
-Vaginal Suppository 200mg Progesterone

9pm/Bedtime (sometimes a bit later)
-PregVit *blue, evening pill
-2mg Estrace
-Antibiotic
-Vaginal Suppository 200mg Progesterone

Sleep.  Sweet sweet sleep.

Most of my day is used to remember my meds for noon and then no more night snacks at all because my blue PregVit has to be taken at least 2 hours after anything is eaten. So pretty much, I can't eat after 7pm, which is NOT my norm, I usually snack until 9pm and wait a half hour and then go to bed.

My first shot didn't hurt too much. It only started to ache that night. I thought okay, this isn't too bad. Same thing with my second shot (opposite side). After the second shot that I had though,I started to have a raised rash on my lower back, just a few dots. It isn't too bad. The third shot killed me a bit, it was really sore all day today.

I did the third shot while standing up AND I forgot to warm it up a bit too. It could have been either, I also didn't put a hot compress on it like I normally do afterward. Most of the pants I wear hurt, so I'm in my maternity clothes to avoid having anything up against my upper bum area.

The raised rash is normal, and there's not much I can do for it, if it gets really bad (full body) then we could try something, but really there's not much point. So unless it gets really bad, I'm going to suck it up. It is all worth it, I knew going into this that I would be a pin cushion for at least 10 weeks. I have 3 days down, about 61 to go still. Give or take of course.

I have found that the viles of progesterone probably won't last that long, I wonder how long each one will last me, but I am still on the first one, and it's been 3 days and it was pretty easy, so we'll see tomorrow how much is left. It says there is 11ml in each vile, but I also lose a bit every time from making sure I get all the air bubbles out. Hopefully each vile will do me about 10 days, that would be great.

The vaginal suppositories are a bit of a nightmare. They're not as messy as I thought they would be, but I think it's bringing on a yeast infection, but I've also been told that it's normal to think it's a yeast infection when in fact it's just a normal reaction and there's nothing I can do for the itching/burning. That sucks. So much. lol

My youngest child turned 1 year old today, I wanted to wait a year to transfer, I have officially done that. I have finally taken a full year to heal and recover and now I am ready to move on to another pregnancy and baby, maybe babIES! I have my transfer shirt ready to go, and I'll pack a bit tonight, I'm not sure what I'll do in the hotel for two days, but I'm sure I'll take time to sleep a lot haha.

6 Days To Estrace

Yes.

I know.

I haven't updated in a long time. I promise that there is a valid reason though!

Okay. There's not.

Surrogacy is a LOT of hurry up and wait. So, I hurried up, I took my Lupron shot July 7th, and now is the "wait" part.

Wait for what you may ask? Wait for a period? Nope. My period no longer matters. I wait until I am supposed to start estrace, and then the show really begins.

I started my period though, July 19th. Like I stated earlier though, it has no bearing now on anything, it's there, it's great, and that's it. I still hate my period and didn't care if it started or not, some women get their periods within a couple days of Lupron, some don't. We're all different and the lupron shot has definitely given me some pretty darn great symptoms.

Bloating.

Headaches (not often though).

Exhaustion.

Insomnia (great combination with the symptom above...ironic huh?).

Moodiness.

Hot flashes.

Those are the ones I notice every single day. The headaches are off and on a lot, some days it'll only last for 10-30 minutes, some days I'm dealing with the headache for hours. Sleep usually helps, but not always.

I had a one time shot, and it will be in my system for 4 full weeks. Menopause SUCKS. I can now sympathize with women who are going through it, even though I am only 22. It isn't nice. Hug your mothers and grandmothers and aunts...they deserve it, bring them some cake too...they'll want some.


Next is Estrace, which I start in 6 days from now. I will be taking them in 2mg dosages, at first, it'll be 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills at night. I take them like this until I go for my ultrasound August 7th (bright and early...730am...eek!).

Protocol changes August 9th if everything is going well with my lining and it's thick enough (which, let's hope it is and so that we don't have to start over or put anything off!). I will then drop to one estrace pill per day in the morning and one at night, and then start my progesterone vaginal suppositories (one in the morning, one at noon and one in the evening) and my progesterone in sesame seed oil once in the mornings.

I will have 7 days of antibiotics for around transfer to ensure that I don't get an infection.

(Minus the antibiotics) - This will be my daily routine for every single day until I am released from the clinic's care and when I start to see my normal OB. Sounds like fun right?!

That is the hurry up and wait :)

LUPRON!! EEEEK!

Yeah!

That's right!

I did it.

Yesterday.

And I forgot to update here.

My bad.

Forgive me?

Yeah?

Good.

I love you all still as well.

So, the reason that I forgot to update here is simple...it barely even hurt and then my day continued as normal. It was a HUGE needle...but it went in really fast, injected within 2 seconds and then it was out and stored properly.

That was it!

20 days until I start the IVF meds!! EEK!

I'm also going on a getaway. teehee. 2 weeks in PEI, and then 10 days after I get home I'm off for transfer!

I'm getting excited!

3 Day To Lupron!

Is it time to be nervous yet?

It is officially the 4th of July, which means there is technically only 3 days until I am supposed to take my Lupron injection!

For my many American (USA) friends, happy 4th of July!!

I relooked at my Lupron injection today, and I cringed. This is what I chose to do though, and I even if it isn't easy, I knew I wasn't signing up for "easy".

"Easy" doens't seem to EVER be what I sign up for...I have to reconsider my decision making skills.

Anyone want to take the Lupron shot FOR me? No? Anyone? What if I pay you? Not even then? That bad huh?

It's becoming more and more real that I will finally get a normal surrogacy journey (NOT to say that any journey is normal or typical or remotely ordinary, surrogacy is amazing and beautiful and...absolutely extraordinary!).

I'm getting super excited! It's crazy that now it's literally just under 6 weeks away to transfer! I remember when it was six MONTHS away! How crazy has the last year been?!

Answer : very.

It keeps me on my toes though.

I'll try to upload a video of my Lupron injection on Sunday, I make no promises though!

Happy Thursday, and I hope that all of my fellow surrogates are wishing me all sorts of good injection vibes and let's hope I don't have a reaction to the shot and I'm  hoping I'm not a complete baby about it (says the woman who has pushed 5 babies out of her vagina...figures).

CD7...And The End To Evil Provera

I survived to CD7, but just barely.

Provera...is still evil.

Oh yes it is.

CD7...and I am STILL bleeding. Not spotting. Bleeding.

CD2 and CD3 I was actually concerned for my health.  If it had gone on for one more day, I was going in to see the ER Dr. 

CD4 was like a normal "really heavy" period day. 

CD5 was a "heavy" period day.

CD6 seemed like a "normal" period day. CD6 I figured I'd just continue bleeding...forever.

CD7 is like the first day of a period, it's there, and there's flow, but it's not as life threatening as someone turning on the kitchen tap all the way and hoping for the best.  

I'm taking two prenatal vitamins per day to try to keep up since I feel like I'm a lemon being squeezed dry. I don't know if it's low iron or something, but I also have some insomnia since CD4. It's driving me nuts. It's 1am and I'm wired awake! And I was passing out all afternoon. 

Either way...I hope CD8 is better than CD7 and that this period actually DOES eventually end. ...Not that it actually seems as though that's possible right now. Most women who have had children know what after birth bleeding is like...you never think it'll actually stop and you don't actually remember a time when you weren't bleeding every day. That's how I feel. 

Positive note (depending on how you look at it..), two weeks until my Lupron shot. I'm excited...and extremely nervous. That is one biiiig needle. Just saying. 

The count down truly begins now.

14 days to Lupron. 

I do feel good about it though, I'm supposedly "lucky", I only have to take it once, some surrogates have to take it daily, but the needle is tiny. 

Lucky women with their tiny needles. 

Surrogacy : the only time a woman will brag about being stuck with something small.

Provera

Provera.

Let me explain what it is first and then we'll continue.

Provera is a form of progesterone. Taking Provera simulates the end of the menstrual cycle, after ovulation when progesterone is normally high. The withdrawal of progesterone (once you stop the medication) is what causes your period to start.

 

Provera is available in 2.5, 5.0 and 10 milligram tablets. Many practitioners will prescribe 5mg or 10mg each day to induce a withdrawal bleed.

 

You will get your period within two weeks of finishing the medication, although many women do get their periods while still taking Provera.

 

Side Effects:

• Change in menstrual bleeding or flow
• Acne
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Breast tenderness

 

I just finished Day 5 of my 7 day Provera prescription.

 

I have had the acne, fatigue and breast tenderness. I've been hormonal, but I think that that's mostly due to the fatigue if I'm honest.

 

They are tiny tiny pills, like anti nausea pills. No taste, no odor. I've been taking them between 9 and 10am every day (I'm usually pretty good at taking them right at 915, but I've taken them as late as 945, not a big deal, they're just once per day, it doesn't say that they have to be taken at the same time each day).

 

Today shortly after I took my 5th pill, I thought I peed myself a bit (I've always had a lot of pride when it comes to bladder control...but hey...5 babies in 3 years can really do a number on your whole area down there!). Went to go to the bathroom, and there is was! Aunty Flow!

 

Which is great, I'm officially CD1 and this is my Lupron cycle!

 

You all know I love countdowns, so 20 more days until my Lupron shot.

 

That, my dears, is a 23 gauge intramuscular needle. That's right...it's going to be a pain in the butt!

I am going to be emailing the guys today as well to let them know that my period has started so that the procol has been put into motion. Now that I have started my period, the clinic can send me a full new protocol and I'll have a transfer date in place. Yay!

I think it'll be August 16th-ish. It also means that I'll be home for Evan's birthday party, which was worrying me with the transfer being bumped ahead!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Father's Day weekend! I will update again when I get my med/transfer protocol and dates! I've started to get super duper revved up for my needles and other meds, and am going to start organizing them in pill cases with times writing on each little box instead of days of the weeks.

Yay for Periods so that we know when we can expect things to happen though!

Let's be honest... as glad as I am that I started my period...I fricken hate it and want junk food and take out...NOW!

Insstead I'll go do some crunches and so when I DO finally go for transfer, Dr D will say "I think we have the wrong file...it says here that you've had children already?".

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Happy Monday everyone!