Never Boring.....Intended Parent Side

As promised in the world of surrogacy and pregnancy this process is never boring. About a week ago on a Saturday afternoon I was doing the boring Saturday morning routine. Laundry, errands and just as I was walking in the house I received a phone call from our carrier. Now, we talk to her all the time but typically it's via email or text message and once in a while on the phone. When the phone rang I saw her name and I had a feeling this wasn't great news. She started out the call very calmly saying: "The baby is fine I heard the heartbeat, but I did have some bleeding."

I could tell she was nervous on the phone and I immediately felt HORRIBLE that she had to make this call to us. When speaking to a pregnant person, no less someone who is carrying your child you have to try to remain calm. The last thing I wanted to do was sound too freaked out, although I'm pretty sure she could tell you I was nervous. She also said that she had gone to the hospital and the doctor wasn't sure what caused the bleeding but they think it was a fluke occurrence since it stopped. I told her I was so sorry this had happened and wanted to make sure she was feeling okay and to keep me update on how she felt the next few days. Right after getting off the phone I paused for a second and debated how I should tell my hubby the news. Over the past few years we have taken turns at hearing news, giving news and relaying news. We often have an unspoken rule that we both try not to freak out at the exact same time. Although that doesn't always work......I lasted about 2 hours (in my defense he was at work for part of day) and then tried to 'casually' mention the news to him. Well, that went over like a lead balloon and his first question was "is she okay, are the doctors worried." I reminded him that we can't do anything other than support her and hope for the best and since the bleeding has since stopped that probably was a good sign that things hopefully were fine, especially since this trouble maker baby had a strong heartbeat.

 Our number one concern is that our carrier felt okay, because we knew from past experience that this isn't actually the most comforting experience. I assured him she was but rightfully so had a rough day. We were so grateful that her friends and her amazing hubby were there to help her out. My next thought was the bleeding was probably caused by the twin pregnancy or the small SCH she had in the past. Also, bleeding is no stranger to IVF pregnancies. A little word of advice, when talking to other friends about pregnancy if it's an IVF pregnancy try not to compare yourself, because IVF often does not follow the same rules and things can go wacky for no reason.  Either way, we were worried but wanted to see how the next few days went. We decided a ultrasound wouldn't hurt and even though the doctor said there isn't much we can do if something was wrong (never the words future parents want to hear, although we know this is true) so we asked for an ultrasound and they scheduled one. Meanwhile, our incredible carrier borrowed from someone a Fetal Doppler and send us this video one afternoon.

We honestly think we probably have the worlds greatest surrogate on the planet. Not many people would have gone out and done this for someone else, not to mention gone the extra mile of taping it and sending it. We aren't using this as medical information, just as a fun way to hear the heartbeat, which was pretty cool. She has since sent us several more and it's always really fun to receive these! She had an appointment scheduled for that Thursday so she went an hour early and the night before she went into the appointment she asked if they knew the sex would we want to know. We didn't hesitate and said YES! She told us she still didn't want to know the sex and would have the medical staff member write down "blue or pink" and put it in an envelope along with any pictures and she would give to her friend when she got home and her friend would email or text us the information. Well that didn't quite work out. She told the tech to let her know when he was starting to go in and look for the goods. Apparently he didn't let her know soon enough and being the smart person that she is she caught a view of something that she didn't want to see. She sent me a text message saying that THANKFULLY everything looked fine on the ultrasound that day and they couldn't find the source of the bleeding early in the week but it was most likely due to the small SCH or past twin sac that never grew past 9-10 weeks. The doctor's appointment also went well and they took some blood to run a few more tests. I received a call from her about 2 hours later and she was laughing since it was somewhat possible that the cat had been let out of the bag, but she promised her friend she could be the one to give the news. She put her very sweet friend on the phone who gave us the happy news that the baby was a..........................
 
Okay, maybe it wasn't a royal baby update but it's a BOY!!! We couldn't be more thrilled! I was on my way home from work when I received the call and when my hubby got home from work he asked for the big NEWS. I think I SHOCKED him by telling him it was a boy. All along we thought it was a girl (along with our carrier and many of her friends and our family) since the heart rate had continued to be high. We proved again, that this was an old wives' tale. We couldn't be more excited and grateful. We could have cared less what the gender was, but we have to admit, it's fun to know. Now, let's just hope that we have a boring remainder of the summer. Keep the good thoughts and prayers coming our way!

As promised... Surrogate Side

There is never a doubt in my mind that I was matched with the most perfect couple.  They are always so supportive and caring.  They are so deserving of having a child of their own.  I am so lucky to be able to help them reach that goal.  

When you come home from work and see that you have a package waiting for you on your doorstep, you immediately get excited (especially if you know you haven't ordered anything recently).  When you take that package inside to open it and see that it is chock-full of fun summer activities for your children and a nice comfy set of PJs for yourself, you get tears in your eyes as you watch the excitement on your children's faces as they squeal with delight.  When they ask who it's from and you say K&J and their response is "thank you so much!", your eyes begin to sting while you hold back the tears.  (Okay, maybe the crying part is just me and we can blame it on the pregnancy, but come on... these guys are simply awesome.)

From the most thoughtfully sweet IPs EVER!

Just as I promised, below is a belly pic!  Wowza!  And this is even before I've had lunch.  (I say that because my belly gets even larger with every morsel...)

17.5 weeks!

And take a look at this little cutie...

So precious...

If nothing else... Surrogate Side

Well, it's been another long couple of weeks.  If nothing else, this pregnancy sure does keep us on our toes!

So, I think this baby just doesn't like country music.  I went to see Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert (who really sucked live, but that's a whole other story for a whole other time, wink wink) on Friday, July 12th at Fenway Park in Boston - WooHoo!!  My hubby and I had a really nice time -- ate dinner (quickly, since we were, of course, running late) at a cute Mexican place, Qdoba.  The pulled pork quesadilla is amazing if you're interested and have one near you.  From there, we made our way to the concert where we people watched - a lot - and, oh yeah, listened to music while I bounced in my seat.

It was a long night and I surely played the pregnant card to get out of driving back home; "oh my, that was so much fun.  I am just SOO sleepy now, hunny........"

The next morning, the kiddies were up bright and early and I decided that I would take them out to breakfast since I was already heading out to bring the babysitter home (she's awesome and stayed the night), so I thought I'd surprise them.  We had a nice breakfast and did some shopping before heading home.

And this is where it gets CRAZY!

When I pulled into my driveway, I felt a gush.  A GUSH!?!  I took a look and saw that it was blood - it went through my pants and onto the seat.  I felt like I was about to puke from my nerves.  My children were still in their carseats, so I had to pull it together and remain calm.  The only thing I could do at that moment was text my hubby since he was working that day.  My text to him:  "I'm bleeding".  I stuff some napkins down there (I know, probably TMI, but hey, at this point, if you're reading this blog, you realize that I don't hide much) and get the kids out of the car and set them up with an independent activity. 

While in the bathroom to clean up, I call my husband.  He understood my alarm and wanted to help (I could hear it in his voice), but simply said, "I can't talk right now.  I'll call you back."  With his line of work, that means he's not alone and doesn't want his "company" to hear his private conversation.  I understand the situation and say okay.  I call one of my best friends and explain what just happened and she immediately is on her way to my house.  My husband ends up calling me back shortly thereafter and says he's on his way home.  Both my husband and my best friend show up one right after the other.  I really am a lucky girl.

My friend asks if I have called the doctor and I'm like, "uh, no."  I couldn't think - that never even crossed my mind!  What is wrong with me??  Anyway, I call the doctor's office and the answering service has her call me right back.  I tell the doctor what just happened and she asks the typical questions for someone with bleeding during pregnancy -- did you have sex recently? (no)  do you have any cramping? (no)  have you done any strenuous activities? -- Well, this is where I explain to her that I went to a concert down in Boston the night before (she asks, "The Aldean concert??").  Being her carefree, blunt, funny self, my doctor asks if I was smoking any pot while I was there.  I said, "no, but there was some around me in the air!"  She laughs and says that I'm fine.  (I adore my doctor, I really do.  She lightened the mood and really made me laugh and feel better about the freaky situation.)  She said that she thinks everything is just fine since the bleeding had stopped and said for me to come in to the labor and delivery unit at the hospital to hear the heartbeat for reassurance.

I was so nervous about calling my IPs to share this scary news.  I didn't know how to tell them.  My friend encouraged me to say the following and in this order, "The baby is fine, I just heard the heartbeat!!  But, I did have some bleeding."  She's brilliant.

My bleeding had stopped at that one gush, but I experienced another incident on Tuesday morning when I used the bathroom first thing that morning.  I was not "bleeding", but more of rust-colored discharge when I wiped (and a little in the toilet).  My initial reaction?  "You have got to be kidding me."

K was so incredibly understanding and supportive.  She and her husband ultimately decided that they wanted to schedule an ultrasound to be sure that all was really okay in there. My doctor's office arranged an ultrasound for just before my regularly scheduled OB appointment that upcoming Thursday afternoon.  The nurse sensed my nervousness and said, "why don't you come in and have a listen to the heartbeat?"  I did just that.  I put K on speakerphone so we could all listen to the beautiful sound.

My bleeding subsided completely and I went to my scheduled ultrasound and OB appointment on Thursday.  All went fantastic and I could see the little butterball all snuggled up in there.  (We also got some other exciting news while there, but I will let K share that...)  My appointment with my doctor went well, too.  She doesn't have an explanation for the bleeding, but thinks that it might be due to the twin pregnancy or even the small sub-chorionic hemorrhage that they saw at my very first ultrasound.  Either way, we're good.

I was sent on my merry way to the lab to have my follow-up blood draw for the NT scan.  I wait and wait and wait to be called.  Finally, it's my turn and I walk back with the phlebotomist.  She says, "no worries, just one little tube this time".  I smile and sit down.  Next to me sits a women who must have been newly pregnant because her phlebotomist brings out her 9,000 tubes for her blood draw.  I don't envy her.  My lady says she's gonna start and I hold my breath.  After a few seconds, I look over to my arm and see nothing - the tube is empty!  My girl is digging around my vein and pleading with it (silently) to give her blood.  I look over to the other lady (who started after me!) and she has 2 vials down.  What??  I try to relax and look over at my arm again.  Still nothing.  Okay, I'm about to punch this lady.  I look over to the other lady and 5 vials down.  Wait!  She's done?!  I look at my arm and this lady's got a trickle of blood coming out of my arm.  I've about had it and said, "okay, it's beginning to hurt" and just when she's about to remove the needle, my vein delivers the goods.  YeeHaw. 

So, here we are.  Feeling fine and taking names -- well, at least waiting for the final name reveal from K&J!!!  Woot!

Belly pic to come... Stay tuned!

Where'd it go?... Surrogate Side

Okay, here's my most significant "pregnancy brain" post for the time-being...

Long day yesterday.  Hubby had the kiddies for the day and I made sure his day was full of excitement; I had made an appointment for my son to see a Pediatric Pulmonary Specialist (he's okay!) for a simple consultation that afternoon and told my hubby that he'd be riding solo to the appointment with our daughter in tow, too.  I'm so nice.

I attended the consultation via speakerphone (yeah, that was easy with 2 children saying, "hi, momma!" every other second...*insert sarcasm here*).  The doctor was accommodating and allowed this to happen.  Sweet!  We got through the appointment with no harm done and resulting good news (see?, told you he was fine).

My hubs definitely had his hands full as my 3-almost 4-year old was in rare form and legitimately overtired from his "I'm going to play in my room and not go to sleep when Momma tells me to" overload the night before.  Although my 2-year old sleeps just fine (and even asks to go to sleep some nights), she feeds off of her older brother's shenanigans and, together, they become little monsters who have somehow gotten a hold of imaginary caffeine for kids to make them have the MOST energy one has ever seen and who's ears just don't seem to work.  At all.  (wink, wink)

That said, my husband decided that he was going to stop by the mall on the way home to maybe pick up a thing or two.  He later described that episode as disastrous.  (Yeah, us mommies would have known to go directly home by that point, and this mommy probably should have said something when she was told of his plans, but........Eeek! LOL!)

Around 1:30pm, my husband calls me at work and says that he just got called into work for an emergency.  Given his line of work, that simply means I drop everything and take the kids no matter what.  He tells me that he'll be dropping the kids off at my office and heading out.  When he arrives, he tells me that they have been terrible and that they hadn't had naps.  Yay......

Fast forward to after the kids (finally) get put to bed...early.

I sit down on the couch and turn on the television.  I needed some good teen drama or reality TV.  As I sit there, I begin to feel some "tickles" in my belly.  I immediately text K to tell her that I think I'm beginning to feel the baby move.  She's excited and I've made her day.  I google Babycenter's week-to-week synopses and find the 15-week mark.  The baby is the size of an apple.  Wow.  Then, as I sit there, I question my 15-week mark "guess".  I, for the life of me, could not figure out how far along I was.  I had to reverse google how many weeks I was by using our due date! 

That thing tells me I am 16.5 weeks along right now! What?!!?!  Where the heck did that week go?  (I'm losing it.)

16.5 weeks! Already? Geesh.

2nd trimester fun... Surrogate Side

I cannot believe the second trimester is here!  With all of the waiting and whatnot, I really thought this time would never come.  Not to mention the yucks of the first trimester!!  Thank the heavens above for no more nausea/sickness!  Yippee!

We had a battery of baby appointments last Friday, June 21st.  Our first entailed a discussion with a nurse to review our medical history.  I have to tell you, if K hadn't been there, it would have been hard.  Doctor's offices don't have surrogacy specific forms for circumstances like this, so the questions were answered as a collaborative effort.  I have to admit, my OB's office had their stuff together and treated K as the parent from the get-go.  When speaking of the baby and things pertaining to the baby in the future, direct eye contact was made with her.  It was a little weird being the patient and not taking the lead on answering the questions, but I gladly took the backseat (seeing as though this IS her baby after all, LOL)!  After all of the paperwork was complete, the nurse did an internal exam to be sure all was happy in there since I had a little bit of an issue the day before with what I thought was odd discharge - but, all is well and my OB just thinks I peed myself.  She would; that is her personality and I love her for it.  (In my defense, I certainly DID NOT pee myself.)

After my internal exam (or maybe it was before, who knows? I'm pregnant and I blame all memory fail on it), the nurse placed the fetal doppler on my belly to hear the butterball's heartbeat.  Usually, they would have to navigate around to find the heartbeat, but that sucker popped right up as soon as it landed on the gel on my belly!  After a few "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh"es, I looked over at K and caught her crying.  So sweet!  I remember doing that for my own as well. That is the most beautiful sound in the world until you hear your baby cry for the very first time.  And then it's when he or she says, "momma" or "I love you"...  You get the point. :)

When we were done with the intake exam with the nurse, we had a meeting with my OB.  I warned K that my OB was "direct".  In fact, the nurse also warned K of my OB being very direct and blunt.  I like that in an OB - no BS for me; just tell me like it is.  I just hoped K was okay with it, too.  Either way, we'll be switching to another OB closer to the end of the pregnancy because K&J decided that they felt more comfortable delivering in a hospital with a NICU onsite.  Completely understandable.  That said, our meeting with my OB went great.  All of our questions were answered -- I can participate in water-park fun until I am 16 weeks along and can get my hair highlighted for my brother's wedding in September...  Phew!! Those were weighing on my mind like you wouldn't believe (wink, wink)!

From there, we stopped by the cafe to grab a bite to eat before our NT scan appointment.  During that time we chatted and caught up on our family stories.  I was heading to Boston for the weekend and then to NYC for a few days in the city and to visit my husband's family.  I learned that K's cousin is also pregnant and due just a couple weeks after us!  How exciting is that??  Their family must be on baby overload!  WooHoo!  When I finished my blueberry muffin and yogurt with granola, we headed towards the diagnostic imaging center down the hall.  Although we had to wait a bit, it really wasn't so bad.  I shared with K that there is a man who looks JUST LIKE Channing Tatum.  I saw him the last time I had an ultrasound there.  I think looking for him kept our interest pretty good.  Too bad he never appeared. 

We were finally called for our ultrasound.  We explained our situation; K was the mom and I was the carrier.  The technician was really nice and was interested in our story.  People always seem to ask the same question - "did you know each other beforehand?"  No, but we know each other now!!!  And very well, to boot!  As the technician started the scan, I could tell that K was nervous.  She wanted everything to be A-okay and I can completely relate.  During the scan, that little butterball in there was a jumping bean.  I could not control my laughter!!!  Every time the technician went to get a heart rate, the little bugger would fling itself like a jumping bean!!  All ended up turning out great and I was finally told the beautiful words that I could now empty my bladder!

After the scan, we headed over to the lab to have my 9,000 vials of blood drawn.  As I walked in, the lady said that I would also need to leave a urine sample.  WHAT????  Couldn't they have told me this before I just relieved myself 2 minutes ago??  That said, I walked out of the lab to meet up with K and explained the situation.  She laughed at me.  We found a water bubbler and I began chugging away.

It was so nice to see K and have her there to experience this with me.  I loved watching her as she listened to and saw her baby.  I am so lucky to have such great IPs.  At the end of the day, we said our goodbyes and looked forward to our next get together -- which will be August 7th for the BIG ultrasound where K&J find out the sex of their baby.  This girl is gonna wait to delivery to find out.  We hope...

Oh yeah!  Can't forget the growing baby belly!!!

(almost) 14 Weeks!

Visit to Carrier and NT Scan.........IP Side

Happy Summer! 

Things have been a little busy with starting a new job and the hubby being extra busy at work as well, but things are going great! Last week I was able to travel to New England and meet our carrier for our NT scan and meet the OB on June 21. Our carrier met me near the hospital and we followed each other to the hospital where we gave each other a big hug and we were excited to start the day! I was quickly introduced to the medical staff at the doctor’s office and I could immediately tell that they adored our carrier, which anyone who has spent 5 minutes with her would tell you she is the sweetest.

I met one of the nurses who did a quick internal exam (our carrier had a little issue a few days prior, but no biggie, all was well). She also checked the baby’s heartbeat with the fetal Doppler and I got teary eyed (okay maybe I cried a little, what can I say). It was amazing to hear! I also met the OB, whom I loved and she spent as much time with us as we needed. This appointment was a little different, because I wasn't the 'patient' this time, but no less exciting. Our ALWAYS carrier does a fantastic job of always making us feel included. Even though she has has obviously been pregnant before, she really makes us feel like this is our pregnancy too,and that is fun to experience and watch.

My hubby and I did decide that we wanted to deliver at a larger hospital about 40 minutes away, in the rare chance we needed a NICU, so we will be transferring to another OB a little later in the pregnancy, which is a little sad because I really liked this OB, but hopefully she understood our feelings as well. We had an opportunity to eat lunch together after and catch up on our families and all of our summer adventures. After this with a VERY full bladder we moved to the next appointment where we had our ultrasound. The staff at the hospital were so accommodating and helpful. It was extra work for everyone to have a few meetings in one day and we really appreciated it. The little gummy bear (or should I say Swedish Fish, since that is the size the doctor said the baby was at the time) was moving all over the place, but we were able to get some good views and the tech told us that everything looked great! BEST NEWS EVER! We are still waiting to hear if the blood work was okay, but hopefully it should be just fine. The next OB appointment will be in a few weeks, and then August 7 will be the next BIG ultrasound. Since it’s summer things seem to be moving along a little more quickly, and I am so happy I was able to see our carrier in person, she looks adorable!

Now, on to the pictures.I think it looks like me!

Oh, happy day... Surrogate Side

After 12+ long weeks of faithfully following medication protocols and taking required hormone supplements, I have made it to the end -- today is my LAST day of medications!!  Woo freaking Hoo!!!  Just last night I was thinking to myself, "tomorrow is it..."  No more patches, no more pills, no more PIO needle fills!  Ahh...  Maybe now I will return to my normal self??  Then again, what is normal ?  Hmm.

That said, this also marks a pretty substantial milestone in this pregnancy -- the end of our first trimester!  That, in itself, is a reason worth dancing for!  I think I may just do that...  The ladies at work will love this one!  (wink,wink)

Oh, happy day!!!  And now on to the bigger and better things relating to pregnancy -- a growing belly, fluttering, kicks and wiggles, gender reveal (for K&J at least - we're keeping it a secret from me!), baby names!  And, bring on the belly pics!!!  Here's one to start it off (besides the bloating pic from week 6, of course).

12 week baby belly!

Things are looking up... Surrogate Side

I never imagined that a surrogacy pregnancy could be so different than my own pregnancies.  Now, don't get me wrong!  I am in no way "complaining" - I am just expressing the differences that this pregnancy presents versus the pregnancies of my own children.  My husband and I were actually discussing this last night.  Let's compare our thoughts:

     ME:  Eh, I've been tired, nauseous and feeling some side-effects 

of the hormone therapy -- Crinone crap, hugely sore boobies, bloating, etc.  

That said, not too bad.  No biggie.

My husband (obviously) has been privy to a boatload of changes in these past few months.  Here's his list... 

HIM:  "You're tired, sick and moody.  I never know which G I'm gonna get.  

I tiptoe around you with the fear that your head will spin without notice."

Well, geesh!  I didn't think I was THAT bad!  My kids don't seem to notice...  Well, at least they can't tell me and continue to treat me as their own local celebrity.

With some further thought, I guess  things have been a bit different.  As I thought last night after our conversation, I realized that there were more dishes left in the sink on a more regular basis.  The laundry would get done, but folding it was not on my priority list and would pile up pretty high.  My floors had more "sprinkles" than ever before.  And, I just felt run-down - like I could sleep for a week. 

But, all that being said, it made me realize and appreciate at a more significant level what exactly I am doing and for whom I am doing it.  I know if K could do this on her own, she would in a heartbeat.  She may even wish she could experience these things on her own - she'd be crazy to want to feel this way, but I can appreciate why.  As much as I try to let K&J know how things are going, I know they aren't able to know everything they want to know as soon as they want to know it.  J can't go over to K's belly and give it a hug or kiss.  K can't caress her belly and sing it lullabies when she sees fit. 

They have given ME this gift of growing their little butterball for them.  They have entrusted in ME that I will take the BEST care of it until they are able to take over.  That has to be the hardest thing to endure.  Who am I to complain about not feeling well, or being tired and nauseous?

11 week mark!! Intended Parents Side

We made it to 11 weeks! We are thrilled to have made it this far! Also, only 1 more week until we are at the '12 week mark' and the end of our carrier's medications. THIS IS A BIG DEAL!!! 

As you can see from her last post, it’s been a roller coaster of a ride over the past few weeks (well months really). Our carrier has had a LONG few weeks, and we hope it's smooth sailing from here. We were able to have another sweet ultrasound yesterday, which was our third to date. Although we weren’t able to FaceTime this ultrasound due to the local monitoring hospitals rules, our carrier and the amazing technician made a 4D video for us! She got a copy of it, and mailed it to our house, isn’t she amazing? But even better she also emailed us a short version of it this morning, and we viewed it with amazement!! Our next large step is our NT Scan and blood work and I’m flying down to Boston for a few days to visit family and friends and then driving to the local hospital where our carrier is having the testing done on June 21. This is a big day for us because: 1) I get to see our carrier again-yay, can’t wait! 2) I get to meet the local doctor who will be taking care of our baby and our carrier for the next 6 months and 3) We get to complete our first trimester screening, which hopefully goes very smoothly! We can’t believe we made it this far, and we couldn’t be more thankful. Stay tuned and thank you for all your well wishes and prayers.

What a long couple of weeks... Surrogate Side

Well, first, let me apologize for the delayed post!  It's been a long couple of weeks with a lot going on!

We had our follow-up ultrasound on May 29th to determine the progress of Twin B (and to see a thriving Twin A - yippee!).  We were able to FaceTime the scan again and I was actually able to have the scan sans "weenie-wand"!  WooHoo!  The warm goo on my belly shot me right back to when I was pregnant with my own children and how excited I would be to see them on the screen.  It's different this time around, as I am now more excited to see the reaction of K&J of their little one on the screen.  Don't get me wrong - it is still SUPER fun to see, but seeing the parents watch their child is the most rewarding part of this whole journey so far.

The ultrasound showed us the same thing as last time - one sac with a magnificent heartbeat (176!) and another smaller sac with no heartbeat.  It appeared to me that the second sac hadn't grown at all, but HOLY SMOKES did Twin A get bigger!!!  And a MOVER, too!  That little gummy bear was wigglin' all around!

This ultrasound marked a big step for me in this journey - I got to be released to my own OB rather than be monitored via the IVF clinic.  I have to say, I was really excited to get to this point.  I really like my OB and her nurses and was excited to share this experience with them; they all have been so excited to be a part of this journey as well!

I had the ultrasound report faxed over to my OB for her review and for my records there.  She called me the very next day and said that she'd like to have another ultrasound in a week to further monitor Twin B - she, too, doesn't believe it will be viable (and I think we're all on the same page at this point).  So, we'll have our 3rd ultrasound this week on the 6th of June.  From there, I really need to get on them about scheduling the NT scan (another ultrasound and blood test combination that screens for any biological complications such as Down's Syndrome).  This special risk assessment is a time-sensitive matter and needs to be completed before I am 13weeks6days along -- right around the corner!!  And, I'd like to get this scheduled ASAP since K (and possibly J) will be coming for this appointment and they'll need to book a flight and make travel accommodations!!  I can't wait to see them!

So, I said that there was a lot going on these past two weeks.  The ultrasound turned out fabulous and I was finally released to my super-fantastic OB - all good things.  There were, however, some not so fun things happening during this time.

To preface, I want to remind everyone that I am still on lots of medications to help make this IVF pregnancy successful.  I am on a hormone regimen that consists of two different types of Estrogen and a Progesterone supplement.  The Estrogen has been simple - take a pill twice a day and change a patch every 3 days.  No big deal.  My Progesterone supplement was awful.  I was taking Crinone (a vaginal suppository) twice a day.  Not that I have to explain this, but that area  is quite sensitive and after about 10 weeks of adding a foreign substance to it twice a day can begin wreaking havoc in there.  That said, my area  was beginning to hurt (burn is more like it).  On Monday, May 27th, I was in touch with my nurse at the IVF clinic and she (sweet, sweet soul) recommended taking a tub and letting it soak while trying to remove all the "excess" Crinone and sleep sans panties for a while to let it "air out".  I almost cried after reading her response.  Those are all things that I did on a regular basis and it didn't work.  I decided to suck it up and put on my big-girl panties for the next day or so.

Nope.  This is not going to work.  The pain has gotten worse.  I contacted the IVF clinic again on May 29th (after our ultrasound) to pretty much say that I was done with Crinone and that I couldn't tolerate the discomfort for the next 3-4 weeks.  Unfortunately, I hadn't heard back from her all day and took it upon myself to go see a doctor.  As I was on my way to the appointment, the nurse from the IVF clinic phoned and said that she is swapping out the Crinone for Progesterone In Oil (PIO) injections.  I couldn't have been more relieved.  I was dreaming of the injections for quite some time now because of my disdain for Crinone.  I let her know that I was on my way to the doctor to be sure nothing more was going on in there.

At the doctor, I was diagnosed with at urinary tract infection (UTI) that was ultimately caused by the stress of the Crinone on my body.  Good thing I followed my instinct and went to the doctor!  An internal exam was performed and my poor area  - it was raw, irritated and inflamed.  Good riddance, Crinone.  No more "what goes up, must come down (but in a less attractive state)".  No more being wet.  No more burning.  No. More. Crinone!  WooHoo!

The next day, I received my couriered med delivery (yes, this lovely woman drove my med package to my home all the way from Massachusetts).  Sweet, sweet lady.  I gave her a bottle of water and some cookies for her time.

I can't explain my next reaction upon opening the package - was it relief to finally not have to do Crinone any more? - was it astonishment and fear when I took a look at the syringes they packed for me? - was it denial that I couldn't have used a syringe that big when I did PIOs before?  Yep.  It was all of the above.

The syringes they supplied me were GINORMOUS!!!!  I was horrified!  There was no way that I used those before.  I wasn't just in denial since the last needles I used were the small ones from the Lupron.  These needles were freaks of nature.

Luckily, I had saved (and I don't know why) my old - but never used, of course - syringes from our failed attempt in December.  I ran upstairs to compare the two needles.  Much to my relief, they were different!  The needles I used back in December were smaller - thank GAWD!  I counted to make sure that I would have enough of the smaller ones for the next 2 weeks of injections - phew...

I believe this is self-explanatory...