The Watched Pot

Baby A has now been baking for 38 weeks plus 5 days, and as I'm growing increasingly uncomfortable (and larger), I'm feeling like the watched pot! Our estimated due date is only 9 days away but a "due date" is just that - an estimation - and my body really likes baking babies, so I suspect that date will come and go with Baby A still nestled snuggly in his comfy spot.  But this fast approaching date often presents the question "will you be induced?" - luckily, my favorite midwife wrote a blog post on this very topic so rather than hash it all out again, I will let her say it more perfectly than I ever could - please check out her blog post on Induction of Labor.

While some days leave me feeling more miserable than others (directly related to how much sleep I managed to get the night before!), I'm fine with that, really, because it's a bittersweet thing to see this journey coming to a close.  I have loved every minute, even the hard ones, of bringing this miracle to life for M & C - and while the journey is coming to a close for me, a new, more fabulous journey is just beginning for them! So the birth supplies are gathered, the birth pool is filled, Baby A and I have been soaking in the warm water as I find the time, and we will continue to wait until he decides on the perfect time to join his daddies earthside!

36 weeks!

Today, Baby A is officially 36 weeks - full term! And yesterday, M, C, our amazing midwife and her wonderful assistant came to our home for the "home visit", signifying that Baby A is now far enough along that a homebirth is safe.  All the birth supplies have been gathered together in one place and the birth pool will be delivered on Monday! Of course, I'm not expecting any baby action for 4-5 more weeks but we are all prepared for when he decides the time is right.

M & C have had several baby showers, it is really fun for me to see all their friends and family so excited for them - what a loved little guy Baby A will be! They have taken baby-wearing classes, carefully selected baby gear, researched cloth diapers, watched birth videos, decorated the nursery and are so excited for their impending arrival! I couldn't be happier for them or more proud, they are going to be such amazing daddies, I can't wait to see them in action!

As this pregnancy is winding down, I'm experiencing many common end-of-pregnancy conundrums, maybe some of you can relate! So without further delay...

#thirdtrimesterproblems

When turning sideways to fit through tight spaces doesn't work because your front to back is wider than your side to side...

When rolling over in bed at night requires concentrated effort and rearrangement of pillows...

When, much like a potty training toddler, a trip outside of the house must be planned around the availability of restrooms...

When any change of body position is likely to result in a snap, crackle or pop...

When every random stranger you happen to speak more than 3 words to, asks when you are due and what you are having...

Happy end-of-pregnancy, friends! I can see the finish line!

3rd trimester, 3D ultrasound & a wedding!

It's been a long time since I've updated but things have been moving along smoothly so there hasn't been much to say! We are now in the 3rd trimester, I'm 31 weeks pregnant with just 9 weeks (give or take) to go and, of course, the aches and pains that come along with it. M & C have been busily planning and preparing for baby A, they are an adorable combination of excited and anxious. We went for a 3D ultrasound at 28 weeks and wow, technology has come a long way, it's so amazing what they can see with ultrasound these days! At the time, baby A weighed approx. 3.2lbs (he's likely close to 4.5lbs now) and he has been consistently measuring about a week ahead, I'm not expecting him to be a tiny little guy!

Baby A in 3D

In other news, M & C traveled to southern California this week to exchange wedding vows - congratulations you two! So very excited for your growing family!

It's a BOY for M & C!

Baby A was more than happy to show his stuff yesterday! We had a fun ultrasound and even got some very...revealing 3D pictures haha No doubt about it, in December, M & C will welcome their little SONshine earthside! They have also made an "official" Facebook announcement, it was really fun to see their friends' reactions.

As for me, I have started feeling little kicks and jabs here and there, and even had a stranger comment about the pregnancy this weekend - I guess it's getting to be obvious now at 15 weeks! I've been feeling well, in general, and have been avoiding the Arizona heat as much as possible!

Looking forward to our next midwife appointment on July 8th!

We Did It!

After our transfer on April 2nd, M & C asked me not to test at home, to wait for the blood test, to help relieve some of the anxiety that we all felt seeing negative tests last time.  As it turns out, sometimes I'm not very good at following directions but, as a result, on Wednesday I had the great joy of sending this:

 

 

It was a very long week for me, it took a long time for me get a positive pregnancy test so no one was more shocked than me to finally see a positive the evening before the blood test! I've since been back to the doctor to check beta levels twice and everything is rising appropriately, Dr. L is really happy with how things are progressing and of course, so are we! I go back again for another check on Wednesday but the pregnancy tests keep getting darker so we're all feeling great about it!

 

 

 

Congratulations M & C!!! So very excited for you and your growing family!

Another Door Closes

I am sad to report that after careful consideration, M & C have decided, for financial reasons, that they will not be prepared to cycle again until July 2013.  They have terminated our contract early, as is within their right, but would like me to wait for them until July. 

This came as a complete shock to me and I am...a little confused, a little hurt and very sad.  But I do believe everything happens for a reason.  Maybe the timing is just not right - my family and I have a very busy year ahead of us between school and dance and chorus and moving...maybe this is the universe's way of telling me not to take on too much at once.  Maybe July will be better for all of us.  Or maybe it just wasn't meant to be...maybe there's another couple out there who needs me more urgently.

Everything Happens for A Reason

I don't know what the reason is yet, so I will wait until it becomes apparent to me before I decide my next move.  Thank you all for your support, it has meant so much to me!

Beta Results Are In

Unfortunately, we were not successful this cycle. I have been taking pregnancy tests all week at home so, while the news wasn't surprising, I am devastated for M & C. This is an emotionally and physically draining process for me but it's their child that we are trying to bring to fruition and nothing compares to that. I am hopeful that we'll be able to try again soon.

To M & C - I love you guys and I know this process, while painful at times, will make the reward that much sweeter for you in the end (((HUGS)))

Transfer Complete!

This morning, when the clinic called, they had one 5-cell embryo and one 7-cell embryo so the plan, at that time, was to transfer the 7-cell embryo. But within 6 hours, just before transfer, the 5-cell embryo had grown to 8-cells and the 7-cell embryo was still at 7-cells so the decision was made to transfer the one 8-cell embryo.

This is the 7-cell embryo that they will grow out to day 5 or 6 to see if they can freeze it...more on that later this week!

Both the 7-cell and 8-cell embryos looked great but since the 8-cell had a recent "growth spurt", it was decided that it would be a better choice.

The transfer itself was easy and "perfect", Dr. L was able to place the embryo exactly where he wanted it. They did do assisted hatching beforehand so hopefully the embryo will hatch out of its shell over the next few days and find a nice place to snuggle in for 9 months!

I return for a blood pregnancy test on September 7th!

Transfer TODAY!

The clinic just called and there is one little embryo that is the star of the show right now so we will be transferring that one this afternoon to give him/her the best chance to thrive in a more natural environment.  The others will be grown out to see if they can be frozen for future use, if needed.  I'll be on bedrest for 24 hours after the transfer so I'm sure I'll be back with another update! 

Donor Egg Thaw & Fertilization Results

Yesterday morning I received a text message from M with the somewhat disappointing news that only 4 of the 6 frozen donor eggs survived the thaw.  *sigh* Not how we were hoping to get this started! Of course we agonized all day yesterday, then today we got the exciting news that ALL FOUR EGGS FERTILIZED! *happy dance*

So things are looking good right now, we just have to wait and see how the four little survivers grow!  Hopefully they'll do well and we can do a day 5 transfer on Thursday, we should know more by Tuesday!

"I'm really happy with everything I see here..."

...said the doctor to the surrogate, while checking out her uterus via ultrasound.

Today was my last appointment with Dr. L until transfer day, which we can now officially say is next week (thanks to M for pointing that out to me!), and Dr. L is super happy with how everything looks - which is awesome to hear.  Gotta love when your uterus cooperates!

This weekend is going to be very exciting! On Saturday, the clinic will thaw 6 eggs from M and C's selected egg donor (which were frozen after a previous cycle).  According to Dr. L, stastically, 5 or 6 are expected to survive the thaw.  Because freezing of the eggs can make the outer layer of the egg harder to penetrate, they will be using ICSI to help encourage fertilization.  Typically, they will check for fertilization 24 hours later - so Sunday morning.  Again, statistically, they expect about 2/3 of the eggs to fertilize.  This should leave us with 3 or 4 embryos.  Dr. L will want to see which embryo will be the best to transfer so they will observe the embryos over a 3 to 5 day period.  Some of them will not grow and there is a small chance that we will only be left with one embryo by day 3, if that's the case, we will do a day 3 transfer on August 28th.  More likely, they will continue to grow the embryos until August 30th, which will be day 5, or the blastocyst stage.  At this stage it is easier to select the best one to transfer.  Depending on the thickness of the outer layer of the selected embryo, the embryologist may perform an assisted hatching procedure immediately before transfer, to help encourage implantation.  Any remaining embryos will be frozen for future use.

Then the agonizing wait until I can take a pregnancy test begins!

P.S. Read the links above if you have the time, the science behind all this is really fascinating!

Where We're At Now

Today M, C and I got together to sign contracts (it's "official"!) and meet with their fertility doctor for a consultation - we are using Advanced Fertility Care.  I love this clinic - the doctor and all the staff were organized, thorough, compassionate and really took the time to explain the process in great detail.

Fortunately, most of my screenings have already been completed and, equally fortunately, we were able to get more screenings done today (ultrasound for me - since I conveniently just started a new cycle plus "swimmer" analysis and bloodwork for M and C); so we should be able to move forward pretty quickly!

I have a funny story to tell and I'm pretty sure M and C have a story to tell - but I don't want to scare everyone away with TMI on post number 3 sooooo....

Next up: bloodwork and sonohysterogram for me; and psychological exams for M and C.  Then back to the clinic for a follow up on August 2nd.  We should get a better idea of what time frame we are looking at then - we're all hoping for an August transfer!