First IVF cycle... Surrogate Side

Waiting to hear back from our cycle nurse to give me a date to stop my birth control pills was like waiting for a 10-gallon pot of water to boil to curb your immediate, ravenous appetite.  And then, when I finally got the go-ahead, waiting for "aunt flo" to arrive was ten times worse!  Who would have ever thought that I would be BEGGING for it to come??

But, the time did come and the meds were started.  I was told that I would be a huge hormonal mess, but (luckily) that never really happened.  Well, I thought it hadn't - my husband may have a different response??  I was super-nervous about the progesterone injections - intramuscular and into my backside.  I knew I would have to do them myself because we all know now that my husband wouldn't be able to help me without passing out.  I kept going back to when we were at our Medical Screening and literally took 15 minutes to give myself  a "practice" shot of saline into my backside.  Mind over matter.  I have to say, if I didn't have such a great relationship with my IPs, I would have been lost.  K, the intended mother, was there for me every step of the way and offered great tips and humor.  God love her!

After many trips to my monitoring clinic to be sure the meds were working as they should, we were finally given our transfer date -- the date when they would place the IPs fertilized embryos into my uterus.  This day couldn't come fast enough!  (I am sure by now you have realized my lack of patience with regard to this stuff.)  As the date approached, I began planning playdates for my children and looked at my calendar and told my friends, "sorry, I can't that weekend because I'll be getting knocked up!"  It was becoming REAL.

December 9, 2012 finally came and I made my way down to the fertility clinic with my full bladder.  K met me at my hotel room and brought me the most thoughtful overnight gift chock full of magazines, snacks and other necessities (all wrapped up in the cutest Vera Bradley bag)!  Together we traveled to the hospital for our big moment.

When deciding to become a surrogate, your vanity and self consciousness has to go out the window with your application.  During the transfer procedure, you are "exposed" with your knees at your ears for the whole world to see.  But, all done for good cause and all very worth it.

We were told that my beta blood test to verify pregnancy would be on December 20, 2012.  K joked that we would have to purchase home pregnancy tests to test before then.  Little did she know that I planned on it from day 1!

Although I could feel some "magic" happening in there, this cycle was sadly unsuccessful.