It's been a whirlwind of a month, but we've made some wonderful memories and more people in our family are vaccinated! My sister and I spent many, many hours calling pharmacies to add a bunch of family members to a "no waste list" in case they had leftover vaccines they needed to use up at night. We've successfully managed to get every single one of those seven people in for their first vaccine! It's a huge relief knowing that we're protected, and we're looking forward to a little more normalcy in the near future. Whatever that might look like?
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| Spency, Jack-O, and Chloe sledding |
On March 4th, I went in for and ultrasound to make sure my lining was thick enough and my blood-work was ready for the tentative transfer on March 11th. I had a PA who did the ultrasound this time and she struggled finding my right ovary. After about 15 to 20 minutes she had the ultrasound tech from two weeks earlier come in and find my missing ovary. They want to see a lining measuring at minimum a of 7, and my lining came in at a 9.2! I was directed to start my progesterone suppositories two days later and our transfer was confirmed for March 11th.
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| Last snuggle before Jeff's surgery |
On the morning of March 11th, I dropped off our sweet bunny, Jeff, to get neutered on the same day I was getting pregnant. I just think its kind of a funny coincidence that we both were having reproductive procedures on the same day! He did great and is all healed up now.
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| 32oz of water |
Anyway, I was told go to the bathroom and empty my bladder at 10:30 am, and then I had to drink 24-32 ounces from 10:30-11:00 before the 11:30 transfer. Of course I drank the 32 ounces because I needed to be the A+ patient. I needed to have a ride home from the transfer and only one person was allowed in the clinic for the transfer, so my IF picked me up at 10:45 to take me to the transfer and watch the IVF proceedue. After getting all changed and settled on the table, the ultrasound tech looked at my bladder and it was too full. She asked me to empty two small cups full of of urine so my uterus was in a better position for the transfer.
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| Sweet Baby's First Photo |
I hopped back up on the table and my uterus was in a much better position. The doctor walked in and introduced himself and gave my IF this sweet first photo of their baby prior to the transfer. We had to review that they were transferring one girl embryo, who is genetically connected to the IF who brought me, and sign one last piece of paperwork. After that, they did a little trial run with the catheter and were ready to do the transfer. They opened the window to the lab and placed the tiny catheter through the cervix and right into the lining of the uterus. The doctor was happy with the placement of the embryo, the lab confirmed the embryo was out of the catheter, and I had to lay on the table for five minutes. IVF is so simple, painless, and fast. My IF dropped me off at home and I took it easy for the rest of the day.
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| Lydia's post |
In case you wonder what a teenage child of a surrogate feels about her mama becoming a surrogate for the third time...worry no longer. Lydia has only posted a few times on her Instagram, and this is one of the few posts of her life! It's pretty amazing the positive impact this has on our kids!
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| Can you see the line? |
The soonest and at home pregnancy test will show up is three days and twelve hours post transfer. I took my first test at three days and seventeen hours after the transfer. Only a seasoned eye would look that this test and feel the excitement I felt that day knowing that's a positive line! I'm sure the people I sent this picture to were doubtful that it was truly a positive test.
I took the next test at four days and 17 hours post transfer. I didn't want to take the digital one until we were a full four days post transfer. This one doesn't leave you guessing...
The last home test I took was just about seven days post transfer. It's fun to see the line getting darker!
I had a beta test on Monday, March 22nd to "officially" confirm the pregnancy took. My blood work came back positive with a number of 810. They like to see that number double at the next check on the 24th, and it came back at 2,210! I'll head in for a confirmation heartbeat ultrasound on April 9th.
I'm starting to feel the symptoms of a healthy pregnancy already. I always think that cramping after the transfer is my greatest sign that the embryo is snuggling in and implanting into the uterus. I've had a lot of cramping! I'm in full swing of pregnancy fatigue and have a heightened sense of smell. All beautiful signs that it's a healthy pregnancy!
