Betas Are IN!!!

Betas are in! I had 2 blood test last week, one on the 25th and one on the 27th. After getting stuck with either a new person or a person who didn't know what he was doing, I went home to wait for the results of the first beta test. I knew we needed something over 25 or 50...so all day I kept thinking about that. Please be high, please be high, please be high! Anything that indicates a positive pregnancy. Around 2:45pm I got the results...drum roll please.......131!!! Woot Woot!!! Our first blood test on the 25th was 8 days past our 5 day transfer. That number is amazing!!! Now we play the waiting game again...between the 25th and the 27th my number should double. I went in that morning and requested the guy that I had normally gotten, before the not so good guy on the 25th. As he sits me down and takes my blood, I can't help but get an overwhelming feeling of happiness that we are actually at our second beta test!!! That's a really good thing! With this blood test, they tested for the beta number, my progesterone level and my estrogen level. Time to wait again. Around 3:30pm that day I got the exciting news that my beta number this time is 320!!!! Holy Cow, it more than doubled!!! At the end of that phone call the nurse tells me that they are still waiting on the progesterone and estrogen levels and she will call on Monday...MORE WAITING!!! lol!!! Monday morning rolls around and my estrogen level is at 260! Anything over 200 is good :) My progesterone level is a 6 and they like it to be around a 10. No worries though. They increased my dose to one gel insert, three times a day. The nurse reassured me that this is normal for women who are on the progesterone gel. The levels are not shown on the blood panel as well, so increasing the dose is to ensure that I am truly around a 10. I was so worried that I had done something wrong and that I messed everything up. She said that I was doing everything perfect and this is just to make sure everything is perfect. We are headed in the right direction! And to top it off, we have our first ultrasound on the 2nd of August. This ultrasound will check the yolk sac to make sure everything is developing the way it should be. At this appointment I get to skype with Roberto and Mauro for the first time! I am so excited to see them again, especially since the last time I saw them was when we first met. So much has happened since January! It will be amazing to have them "there" with me! We will all get to see the yolk sac and developing baby for the first time together :) It will be amazing! In my last post I had left you with an open question....did I pee on a stick, lol.....

Yes I Did!!! It was so exciting to send the picture of the clearblue test to Roberto and Mauro :) I didn't send the other two because they are harder to see and I wanted them to see the positive right away and not have any doubts on what the test said! It is so cool being able to look at them and know that there is a baby developing inside of me!


So much excitement !!! I will post our pictures from our first ultrasound later in the week :) Happy reading :)

~Rachelle

Transfer Video!!!

This is our transfer video! Hope you like it!!!

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Transfer

Oh boy, what a crazy week this has been. I had originally planned on writing this post while I was on bed rest but found that I was overwhelmingly tired. So judgment call, sleep is better! But today, I will share my wonderful transfer experience.


Morning of transfer, well words are hard to find. The feelings that were going on were unbelievable. Like I had said in my last post, I wasn't nervous for me, I was nervous for Roberto and Mauro. I kept wondering if they were going to stay up and wait for me to message them, or if they were nervous or what would happen if something went wrong. As I just finished getting ready to leave, my surro sister and one of best friends arrived to take me down to Encino. As we were driving down we talked about everything under the sun, related to surrogacy of course. What the feeling is going to be like when the baby comes out and I see Roberto and Mauro's faces light up at the first time seeing their new baby. Watching their family grow and the pregnancy experience in general.

When we got to Encino we had planned on getting some lunch at Johnny Rocket's. As we finished up lunch and our first lucky charm dessert, we headed to a mall to walk around and burn off some of the awesome lunch we had just stuffed our faces with :) One of the best parts of having Danielle with me, was she had already experienced everything I was about to. She comforted me and was truly a lucky charm. We loaded up with cookies (not my second dessert, lol) and headed to Huntington Reproductive Clinic.

When we got inside, on time might I add, it felt like a hundred years went by as we waited in the over heated waiting room. I don't know if I was getting warm because of nerves or what...but it was a million degrees in there. While waiting to go back to our room I was sad that Roberto and Mauro couldn't be there. I understood why they couldn't be there, but deep down I was still sad. As we made it back to our room Dr. Boostanfar came in and showed us the amazing embryos that were ready to go. We only transferred one...lol...he told us the Lucky Number 8 was the best one. 


Time to gown up...well I guess it's gown down if it is only from the waist down...right?!!? Everything happened SO fast! Dr. Boostanfar came in and put the speculum thing in, swabbed stuff and without me even knowing or feeling it happen, he said the catheter was in place (in the uterus) and ready to go! He told the nurse we were ready and she went and got the embryologist who brought Lucky Number 8 to us! At that time they injected the wonderful grade A (doesn't get any better then that) baby BOY into my uterus :) We were lucky enough to be able to take pictures and a video of everything (G rated of course)! Dr. Boostanfar ROCKS!!! And I know, I know...I didn't put my lucky rainbow socks on...not only was it really hot, like I already said, but I FORGOT, and was so sad once I figured it out...at least I had them with me though. Instead of seeing the socks, you all now get to see my semi tan, chunka chunk legs, lol!!!

Once everything was transferred he put the progesterone gel around my uterus, removed the speculum and told me to rest there for 30 minutes. EASY RIGHT!!??!! Dr. Boostanfar is such an amazing doctor who has always made me feel at ease with everything. Before he left me grabbed my hand and said good luck and everything will be ok. You know to the best of his ability as well as my own. But at me last appointment before the transfer they had told me that I was doing everything right, I was responding to the meds perfectly and that the odds of a positive transfer and great pregnancy were in my favor. That made me feel better! 

Once the 30 minute rest time was up, we left to head back to Tehachapi. Bed rest for the rest of the day and the two following. Hmmmm...I am a mom of a 3 year old...WHAT DOES BED REST MEAN? LOL!!!! Just kidding, my mom took care of my son that week for me. As we drove home, none of the days events felt real. I can't even really describe how I felt. Happy, excited, nervous, bloated....and so many more feelings rolled into one. Going through Palmdale we stopped to get my favorite cupcake as my second lucky charm dessert. Yum!!! As we were driving home I received a message from the guys, what a great surprise, I even got a picture!!!

Mauro on the left and Roberto on the right. They look so happy and excited! It warmed my heart more then words can explain :) 

As I was on bed rest the day after the transfer, I received the most beautiful flowers from them with a sweet note. Brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. Being alone for that day, it was really nice to get a gift like that. 

So bed rest went fast, thank goodness. I know not everyone believes in "signs" but the second day I was on bed rest I felt a minor cramp on my right side that lasted about 2 minutes and then my lower back was mega sore for the next couple days. I will take that as a good sign!!! 


As the days have gone by, I have been really hungry...another sign...lets hope so! Each and every day since the transfer I wake up and tell this precious baby boy to hold on tight, we can't wait to meet you and that his daddies love him very much :) It's never to late to let the baby know he is loved!


Before the transfer, and everyday after, my friends have been bugging me about taking a home pregnancy test...DID I???? You will have to wait! But on a side note, today was our first beta test! So we will see what the results are! Happy reading :)

~Rachelle

Night Before Transfer

For the last couple days I have watched the clock like a hawk, counting down to our transfer. T-Minus 17 HOURS!!! Every 4 or so hours recalculating and getting more and more excited each time. As tomorrow quickly approaches and I find myself scrabbling to get things ready, I wonder what Roberto and Mauro are feeling right now....are they able to even sleep? Will I be able to sleep? 

My schedule for tomorrow is going to be great. Hopefully one of those days that I will be able to look back on and truly say, "that was one of the best days of my life!" My girlfriend Danielle will be picking me up in the morning at 11am from my house in Tehachapi. Poor thing lives in Palmdale, 40 minutes away from me, in the opposite direction of the doctor's office. I can't drive tomorrow, which is why she is coming all the way out to my house to get me, then back tracking 40 minutes to get back on route to the doctor's office. So we plan on stopping to get lunch once we get to L.A. As soon as lunch is done we will head to the office for our transfer!!! Woot Woot!!! We will document as much as we can tomorrow and I will post my updates through out this week!!! I am so excited! And honestly, after talking with Danielle, I am not nervous any more. She told me to concentrate on myself, be calm and patient, while relaxing and focusing on the embryo getting inside and sticking!!! Let everyone else worry!!! 

Happy reading and please send happy, sticky prayers, vibes and baby making dust our way! I will be thinking our you two, Roberto and Mauro, all night tonight and all day tomorrow! :) Lets make a baby boys!!!

~Rachelle

 

Count Down!

Holy Moly! So I celebrated my 24th birthday yesterday and totally forgot about it until the day before. I have only been thinking about surrogacy stuff, Roberto and Mauro, their egg donor, and basically anything and everything related to our journey. I am not one to look forward to birthdays because growing older kinda freaks me out, lol...yes, yes, I know, I am only 24... :) Still bugs me a little...


So all day yesterday I was thinking about the egg donor. I know NOTHING about her and all I can think about is her. What her journey has been like, how she is feeling and what made her want to donate her eggs. From my prospective I completely understand surrogacy and can't wait to 'bake' this amazing 'bun' for Roberto and Mauro, but I don't understand being an egg donor, probably because the procedure for egg harvesting FREAKS me out. I can handle birth, transfers and everything else that comes with the surrogacy, but not the egg donor stuff...lol. She is so brave and I can only imagine what her journey was like. As she sits at home recovering, the rest of us are preparing for the next REALLY big step :) For all I know, her and I have passed in the hall at Dr. Boostanfar's office or talked in the waiting room, so crazy to think about that! I am so great full that this amazing woman has donated her eggs for these two amazing men! 


So, count down has begun, transfer in T-minus 92 Hours!!! Everything is falling into place. My lucky charms are ready, my meds are set up, all of my entertainment needs are ready to go for my bed rest and my WONDERFUL surro sister is taking me to my transfer and bringing me home! She is one of my lucky charms too!!! 


We are so close :)

~Rachelle

My Meds Video!!!

Here is a video of my meds routine for Roberto and Mauro :) And everyone else! I am not very good at making videos but I hope you can look past that!!! LOL! :D

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New Calendar

What a great way to wake up and get the day started!!! We have our final cycle calendar!!! Our transfer will be on July 17th :D This is so exciting I don't even know what to say :D For the next week I will be continuing my regular meds of 2 Estrace Pills, 1 Baby Aspirin, 3 Pre Natal Vit, 1 DHA and 3 Folate Pills a day. Tomorrow I stop the Lupron shot and start taking Medrol once a day for 9 days and Doxycline twice a day for 5 days. One is an antibotic and one is an anti inflamatory. The day before the transfer I have to take 2 Aleve and the day of the transfer I take 2 Aleve before the transfer and 2 Aleve after the transfer. SO many meds!!! I will have to create my daily lists to keep them all straight! The day after I stop the Lupron shot I will start the progesterone gel. Later this evening I will put together all of the video clips I recorded of all of my meds!

This is so crazy! Just a short time ago we were driving to Beverly Hills to meet Roberto and Mauro for the first time. Having so many questions run through my mind, what will they think of me, will they like me, will they pick me, how will we communicate, will we feel the same about certain pregnancy related things...and SO MANY MORE!

As we are now just a short week away, I am so excited for the transfer and nervous about everything sticking…but most of all I think I am even more nervous and anxious about finding out the results. I want the first time to stick so back that I think I am over analyzing it. Are these feelings normal? I am even getting a little nauseas thinking about how Roberto and Mauro are feeling.

I have all of my “lucky charms” waiting to go with me to my appointment, so I feel prepared from that prospective.

Got my lucky toe socks in the mail yesterday too! I have one pair for our transfer and delivery and one pair to keep my prego toes happy throughout our pregnancy! I can't decide which pair to wear on Tuesday....hmmmm....maybe I should let Roberto and Mauro pick....I like that idea! Ok guys, which one should I wear on Tuesday???!!!???

So many crazy feelings going on right now :D More later, video too!!!

~Rachelle

Ultrasound and Blood Work!

Last Friday I went to my last ultrasound and blood work appointment until our transfer! All is PERFECT!!! My uterus and lining are perfect, both ovaries are shut down and all levels in my blood panel are perfect! I will continue to be on 2 Estrace pills a day along with the Prenatal Vitamin, Baby Aspirin, DHA, Lupron shot and Folate. As soon as Roberto and Mauro's egg donor goes in for the egg retrieval, later this week, I will stop the Lupron and start the Progesterone gel.

Me at our appointment, getting ready for my ultrasound!!! 


Everything is moving so fast now and with each passing day I get more and more excited! 

~Rachelle