First Ultrasound

Ok so good news, the HCG tests came back good and everything looked good on the ultrasound.  We were all so relieved!  I swear it felt like it was taking the ultrasound tech forever to tell us anything or show us anything.  It was torture! 

So the official due date is 11/14/19 which means I'm 7 weeks along today.  I get to start weaning off meds next week.  Yay!!!  When we were talking to the doctor after the appointment the other day about coming off the meds she said they were going to start weaning me off the injections first and I would be on the suppositories until 12 weeks.  I swear I thought I saw her head spin around when I asked her if I could come off the suppositories first and stay on injections.  LOL!  I don't think she's ever had anyone request that before, she looked dumbfounded.  She kept telling me I can change my mind at any time and it's ok.  It's just that with the injections it's a once a day thing and it's quick and over with in about a minute and I don't have to think about it again for 24 hours.  Plus that whole area is pretty much numb by now from all the injections.  It's something that has happened with every surrogacy and the feeling always comes back later after stopping the injections.

I have one more ultrasound with Emory Reproductive on April 10th and after that I get released to my OB and my first OB appt is April 22nd.

I'm just so happy that it worked and happy to be pregnant.

30 weeks!!!

Yay!!!  We made it to 30 weeks which is a big deal in the surrogacy world.  Both babies are doing GREAT.  I'm doing great too.  The heartburn and indigestion are still really bad and it's getting hard for me to be up on my feet for over an hour at a time.  My stomach muscles start to get really sore and my stomach starts to feel really heavy and I just feel this overwhelming need to sit down.  I've got this belly band thing that goes around my lower belly and helps hold it up and takes some stress off my stomach and back muscles and I need to start wearing it more.  Since I'm in the 3rd trimester now I've also noticed I've been getting tired easier.  Naps are very important these days.  I'm doing pretty good on my weight gain with this pregnancy I think.  I gained a good bit during my first trimester but I think I've only gained about 5 lbs since then so it kinda balances out.

Babies both move around a ton so I get to feel plenty of movement and I'm loving that.  I had an appointment with the specialist last week and the baby girl (did I mention we're having a boy and a girl) weighed 2 lbs 15 oz and baby boy weighed 3 lbs 4 oz so they are great sizes.  I really wonder how far along I'll go with the twins and if I'll go into labor on my own this time.  I've only gone into labor on my own once and that was with my first pregnancy and I was 4 days overdue.  I've carried babies over 9 lbs and over 11 lbs without going into labor so that's something I'm really worried about.  I've been measuring 10 weeks ahead at every appointment except the appointment I had yesterday.  Now I'm only measuring 8 weeks ahead...lol. 

The guys came up for the 20 week ultrasound and we had a great time.  It was so good to see them.  They brought their little boy and we all got together with mine and tommy's family for dinner two nights and everyone loved them.  We met up for my daughter's birthday and went to lunch then took the kids to the children's museum.  After that we walked down the street to the park and let them all run off some energy before we went to the hospital tour. 

I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out but I'm a horrible writer so it is what it is.  I'll add the pictures later.  I've got a new laptop and no pictures on here yet.

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."  ❤️❤️❤️