2nd Transfer

Well, unfortunately, even after several positive pregnancy tests the blood test still came back negative.  They said it was a chemical pregnancy.  So we're on transfer number two now.  I was getting lots of very strong positive pregnancy tests and the first beta 9dp5dt was 242 which is a very good number.  If it had doubled every 48 hours then it would have been 968 13dpt but instead it was only 750.  750 is still a good number for 13dpt but the fact that it didn't double is seriously stressing me out.  I have another beta test tomorrow morning so fingers crossed we get a good number.  I really want this to work out.  I really like the guys and want this so bad for them.  And I want this to stick so I can get through this first trimester and get off all the meds and injections.  My backside is so sore and full of knots from all the injections.  Anyways, fingers crossed for tomorrow. 🍀

Oh, and my oldest daughter, Alyssa, recently started softball.  She had her first game tonight and her team won 6-4. 😊

Also, I'm leaving Petsmart.  I'm thankful for the experience and knowledge I've gained but it's time to move on.  I'm very limited in what I can do there training wise.  That makes it very difficult to help certain dogs.  I don't like not being able to help them, it's very frustrating.  And this working every weekend thing is for the birds.  I miss my family and I hate having to miss out on everything on the weekends.  Plus, I can make as much money working from home training one dog a week as I can working at Petsmart all week.  I'm trying to stay on until they find another trainer which will hopefully be soon.  I told them I can only stay through April though.  I've got several birthday parties, plus Mother's day and Memorial Day holidays every weekend in May.

Surrogacy #3

Well, as you can tell from the title I'm doing my 3rd surrogacy.  I signed up with GG again and they told me they didn't have any matches for me.  I don't know if it had anything to do with my weight because I had gotten up to 220 at that time or what the reason was.  But everything happens for a reason.  In January of this year my husband and I started keto and I lost 55 lbs.  Then I signed up to do a surrogacy for a local agency, Tomorrow's Parents International.  Everyone in the surrogacy world here in Ga has heard of THE surrogacy lawyer, Sara Clay.  Well, she started her own agency and since I'd heard lots of good things about her I decided to try her agency.  Everything has gone great with her and I have no complaints about her or the agency, they've all been great.

I got matched pretty quickly with a local couple here in Atlanta which I love.  I'm very excited about this couple being so much closer and being able to share more of this pregnancy with them.  They are great guys, super nice!  We've only met for dinner once so far and that's the only time outside of the various surrogacy meetings that we've gotten to hang out.  Hopefully that changes soon, once the pregnancy progresses and we get to know each other a little better and the weather gets nicer.

We are using Emory Reproductive Specialists this time and they've been great.  I love that they are in the same hospital where I'll be delivering.  The med protocol has been a little different but it's working great.  I don't think my lining has ever gotten so fluffy.  The last ultrasound before the transfer my lining was at a 15 which is great for me.  With my first surrogacy it was "almost 7" the day of the transfer.  Even with the twins I don't think it ever got over 8.

So, my transfer was this past Saturday, 12/22.  Sunday night and all day Monday I had a lot of cramping.  By Tuesday (Christmas) my boobs were getting sore and it only got worse over the next 3 days.  On Thursday I was feeling a lot of pelvic pressure and discomfort and today I've been kinda nauseous off and on but nothing too serious and I get tired easier.  I'm usually a night owl but I'm doing good to stay up until 11:00 these days.  I took my first pregnancy test yesterday and got a very faint positive.  I was kinda surprised to get a positive at all though because I'm notoriously late getting positive tests.  With my first surrogacy I took like 15 pregnancy tests over several days before I got one to come back positive 8dp3dt.  The same thing happened with both my kids.  I've always known I was pregnant before the tests could detect it.  Besides the twin pregnancy though, this is the first time I've ever gotten a positive so soon.  It was positive on the first test, 5dp5dt and the next morning as well.  I think I'm going to wait until Sunday to test again and hopefully the line is a little darker.

I am working now.  I work at Petsmart as the dog trainer.  I enjoy it, it's definitely a fun job.  I've been there for a little over a year now.  The kids were getting older and they were like, "Mom, when are you going back to work?".  So here I am...lol.  They are 11 and 9 now.  My oldest started middle school this year which is scary.  They grow up too fast.  She just got her own cell phone for Christmas.  I remember I was at this same point in my first surrogacy as I am now, when she was starting pre-k.  She was crying every morning and the teacher would have to pry her off my leg so I could leave.  I was an emotional wreck between that and all the pregnancy hormones.  It's crazy how quickly time has gone by and how much the kids have grown and changed.

But this is going to be my first pregnancy with a job so it'll be interesting to see how it all works out.  Only one girl at work knows anything about the surrogacy and I'll probably keep it like that for a while.  At least until after the 1st trimester if possible.  I worked up until 3 or 4 months with my first pregnancy and I've been a stay at home mom ever since then until now.  Hopefully I can work up pretty close to the delivery.  I really hope I don't have another huge baby or twins.  The likely hood of having twins this time is very low though because they only transferred one embryo.  But fingers crossed for a nice 7 lb baby...lol.

Ok, time for everyone's favorite part, the pictures.  I'll try to keep you updated as the pregnancy goes on.  I go in on Wednesday 1/2/19 for my blood work pregnancy confirmation.

Beta Day

Ok, let me catch you up.  Everything went great with the screening and the guys liked my profile.  We ended up doing a video conference with the guys instead of flying out for a match meeting because their schedules were too busy at the time.  The video conference went great, we hit it off right away, and told GG we would love to work with them.  After that we got started on paperwork and contracts and all that boring stuff.  On March 16th we flew out to L.A. for the transfer.  We had dinner with the guys that night at the Cheesecake Factory and they had their son with them, it was the first time we'd ever met.  We all hit it off great, they are very very sweet and easy to get along with.

The next morning, on St. Patrick's Day, we all met at Dr. Kolb's office for the transfer.  They had two 5-day embryos to transfer and they were very good quality, they had already hatched and looked great.  They already have a little boy from their first surrogacy and are hoping for a girl this time.  They told the doctor they wanted to use one female embryo and then use the best looking embryo out of the bunch but no one knows if the second embryo is a boy or girl.  After the transfer I had to be on bed rest until the next day but the guys came to the hotel that night and we all went downstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner.  After we ate the guys gave us some gifts that they had gotten us.  Tommy got some really good smelling cologne with a travel bag and stuff, the kids got some really cool night lights with a remote and everything, cool magnet tins and some of that really cool sand stuff with a sandbox and stamps for it.  I got an iPad mini with a purple case which completely floored me, I didn't know what to say, thank you didn't seem like enough.  They said they share a lot of pictures to the cloud and they wanted me to be able to see all the pictures of the kid(s).  It had only been about 9 hours since the transfer so I guess they were really expecting this to work, no pressure or anything you know, lol.

The next morning my husband and I went out for breakfast then walked a couple of blocks to a little mall.  I had been cramping since the transfer and after walking to the mall and doing a little shopping it got worse so we found a nice seating area outside and took a rest while waiting for the hotel shuttle to pick us up.  After that we caught our plane back to Georgia and went back to our normal routines.  5 days after the transfer I took my first pregnancy test and it was very obviously positive.  I bet if I had taken a test the day before it would have been positive also.  I took another test, 6dp5dt, and it was even darker.  

Today, March 30th, was my beta day.  I am 13dp5dt and it was the longest 13 days of of my life.  The doctors were hoping for anything over 100 today and when the doctor called me with my test results she said, "You're very pregnant!"  My hcg was 1,237!!!  So, needless to say we're probably having twins.  I'm very excited and nervous at the same time because I don't know what to expect with a twin pregnancy.  Also because I've never had a small baby and I'm probably going to be huge with two 8lb babies in there.  I've never gone into labor before my due date before so I'm curious if I will this time.  I plan on carrying these babies full term, I don't want to deliver them early unless it happens naturally or it's medically necessary.

I've got another blood test in two days and my numbers should be doubled by then (fingers crossed).  We're supposed to have another blood test April 8th then an ultrasound on the 10th before we leave for vacation on the 11th.  I can't wait for that ultrasound and I'm so glad we were able to squeeze it in before vacation instead of having to wait until after.

The guys have been very sweet today.  I asked them if they were nervous about possibly having twins and they said, "We would love twins but yes we are nervous and worried about you."  ❤️❤️❤️