The results are in... Surrogate Side

The 2WW is over!  The blood was drawn this morning!  The results are in...

But first, I have to relive the moments leading up to this day with all of you.  Not a minute went by that I did not want to pee on a stick (POAS).  I used great self-control over those two weeks.  I didn't start testing until 7dp3dt (7 days past a 3-day transfer - embryos developed for 3 days before being transferred into me).  I made it clear to myself that if the home pregnancy test was negative, that I would just consider it a "practice run". 

Monday was the first test. Well, the first official test; I didn't count Sunday's effort because I didn't use a First Response Early Result (FRER) test.  Those are the best and are the only test worth squinting for.  So, long story short, Sunday's leftover Dollar Tree test from a "scare" a few months back with the Hubs didn't make the cut. 

Monday morning, I POAS.  It was negative. And believe me when I tell you that I examined that thing thoroughly.  Nothing.  Because I was adamant about giving K a really good birthday present (Monday was her BIRTHDAY!), I did a second test on Monday evening.  I saved my pee for as long as I could so it could be "concentrated".  I POAS and... negative.  Bleh.

Tuesday's test was negative.  Again, a thorough examination was performed.  By Wednesday morning, I was expecting to see a second line.  Nope.  Negative.  WTF?!

Thursday: negative.  This is when I started getting nervous.  I google around to see if other people had not gotten a positive home test before getting a positive beta (blood test).  There was still hope!!  Other people have been negative with home tests and got a positive beta!  One of my friends (who just gave birth to her second surro-baby last month) had this same thing happen to her.  At this point, I was reassured.  There was hope.

Friday.  Today.  I took my very last FRER.  I watched as only one line appeared.  For a brief moment, I thought to myself, "how the heck did I get all the faulty tests?"  Well, at least we still have the blood test...

I arrived for my blood draw and was immediately taken back; no waiting!  The phlebotomist preps my arm and takes a look at my veins.  She'd taken my blood before without an issue, so I wasn't concerned.  Welp, I was wrong.  She sucked this time.  Long story short, she had to try FOUR TIMES before she could get my blood. 

Fast forward to noon.  The clinic called.  The results are in. We are not pregnant...

9 Months...Parents Side

 

Charlie

 

Same Chair, Same Socks...Parents Side

The time had come. I had taken 4 flights in less than 24 hours and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I was so excited to see G. Every time we see each other it's like seeing family.
I couldn't wait! The surrogacy process is never boring.  I flew in the night before, and did not sleep much because I was both excited and a tiny bit nervous for the next day.  There is always the risk of losing the embryos during the thaw but knock on wood that has never happened to us before. As I walked into the large fertility center this week, there is a feeling of happiness, familiarly and a little bit of anxiety. We had been down this road before, with much success. Every cycle you do your best to prepare yourself for a failed cycle or success. This was lucky cycle number 8. It becomes common, yet never super easy. Although, 8 is my lucky number so maybe this is a good thing! G was worried since she was going to be a little late but I assured her they wouldn't start without her, and a few minutes after she arrived. So great to see her! We were sent back by the same nurse as last time. Also the same chair which seemed a little weird, but hopefully good luck. The doctor on staff that day came in and explained the little embryos thawed well and we would be able to transfer all 3, with Assisted Hatching. G and I were thrilled. As we were sent back to the surgical room, I looked around. I stared at the medical staff, G, all of the equipment and stopped for a moment and realized that no matter what happened, we were already so lucky. The amount of time and energy that it took to have Charlie was amazing. A medical miracle really. As we went through the transfer, we waited with anticipation. We hung out for a bit after, and sadly I had to head to the airport. Frankly, that was the "easy" part.... Now we wait for the dreaded 2WW.

Rush... Surrogate Side

Our transfer was scheduled for Monday, September 29th at 9:30am.  I had to be at the clinic at 9am to check-in and prep.  K had flown in and was going to meet me at the clinic in the morning.  I couldn't wait to see her!  

Because we have been through this before, I knew I had to allow enough time in the morning to accommodate the EXCESSIVE traffic that I remember hitting last time.  I gave myself a pretty good cushion of an extra hour.  As I made my way for the 3-hour trip, I was making good time.  And then...BAM!  Traffic like you wouldn't believe.  I had 18 miles to my destination.  I texted K to let her know and we both were like, "yeah, no problem. We've got this".  I had an hour to go 18 miles.  We're good.  And then, I see this:

Uh-oh....

Is this for real?!  I'm in a rush!  At this point, I still had 14 miles to go and had already been in this traffic for about 15 minutes!  This was not good.  I stay in touch with K and let her know that I wasn't going to be on time.  It was 9am and I had 5 miles more and the traffic was bumper-to-bumper.  Long story short, I literally RUN into the clinic at 9:15am.  As soon as we saw one another, we immediately embrace.  It's like seeing family you haven't seen in a long time.

K and I were pleasantly surprised by how incredibly understanding and sweet the clinic was.  The receptionist was a doll who said, "you're here, you're safe; that's all that matters".  She even whispered 'good luck' to us as we walked away.  Lovely lady.

As we waited to be called back, we chatted about our families and, of course, gushed about Charlie and how awesome he is.  Clearly!  She listened to me complain about how badly I needed to pee.  I prepped my bladder like a champ.  When we were called back to prep, we were brought to the same station that we had last time; our nurse was even the same and K thinks she remembered us because she had said something while I was in the bathroom to undress.  I walked out of said bathroom adorned in these (and a robe):

Oh, but of course!  Couldn't forget these!  K had hers, too!

Everything was lining up to be a good transfer!  The Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) showed us the results of the thawed embryos and told us that all 3 of them survived the thaw perfectly.  Three 6-cell embryos!  K was concerned about the quality, but the RE assured her that a 6-cell can be just as good as an 8-cell, so he was happy with the odds.  Good enough for us!  

We were escorted to the room where the transfer was to take place and my excitement skyrocketed.  I got myself situated on the table and let go of all of my modesty.  Not too long later (well, it felt like forever having an old man was staring at my goodies), the 3 embies were transferred into my fluffy uterus where they will be urged to implant and grow.  Okay, okay.  Maybe I don't wish for ALL of them to implant and grow, but you know what I mean!  (wink, wink)

After saying our goodbyes, K rushed to make her flight given the horrendous traffic.  I rushed back home (but, not without obeying all traffic laws because I was carrying precious cargo...) so I could get a nap in before picking up the kids -- a 3:45am wake-up makes for a long day!  As I was resting after our festivities that morning, my doorbell rang. 

How thoughtful! A delivery from Charlie, K&J!

So now, we wait.  We wait, we wait, we wait.  The two-week-wait (2WW).  There is nothing more frustrating than the 2WW.  Our beta blood test to test for pregnancy is scheduled for Friday, October 10th.  Let's put a rush on it, okay?  But, maybe there's a plan in place to make use of these:

Just picked these bad boys up at lunch today... o_O