High Fives

Today I had my appointment at the Fertility Clinic, I was fortunate enough to be scheduled around the same time as the IP's S and E. The clinic walked us all through the paperwork and tests leading up to the IVF procedure.

In addition to the urine and blood work, I also had the hysteroscopy procedure done. The first thing I noticed was how empty my uterus was, I have only had ultrasounds done during my pregnancies and I remember seeing that little flicker of a heartbeat. Now I just waited to hear what the Dr. thought about my uterus.

Well it wasn't long into the procedure that Dr. K gave his assistant and I 'high fives' saying, "this is the best looking uterus I have seen." The Dr. had the biggest smile on his face and even his assistant mentioned she hadn't seen him so excited about a uterus. I was so happy to hear such a glowing review and I am now even more confident that I can help S and E's baby dreams come true.

                                             

I do have some cramping and light bleeding left after the procedure but my guess is it won't last much longer. They also gave me birth control pills to start once I start my next cycle and showed me some of the medications I will take once we get further along in the process. I mentioned the shots to my husband Jon and he didn't seem so confident that he will be able to administer them for me (he almost passed out when I was giving birth to our second child) so I think I will need to get more comfortable with the idea that I will be doing them on my own.

So now we wait... actually while we all wait my family and I are headed to Destin, FL. tomorrow so I hope that upon my return some of the paperwork has started to move and we can all take more steps into our journey together.

Next Step...the first appointment

I scheduled an appointment with the IVF clinic this Friday. They will do all of the necessary screenings, blood work and a uterine hysteroscopy.

A hysteroscopy is a procedure to examine the inside of your womb. Your surgeon will pass a thin telescope, called a hysteroscope, into your vagina, through your cervix (neck of the womb) and into your womb. A light on the end of the hysteroscope allows your surgeon to see inside your womb. The pictures from the camera are sent to a television screen so that your surgeon can clearly see the inside of your womb.

Of course all of this is to make sure I am in the very best physical health to be a surrogate. I am really excited to be moving along in the process, of course this couple has waited long enough (they tried for 6 years, two failed IUI's and 3 failed IVF's) and we do still have a lot of paperwork before we would even start the 'transfer process'.

In addition to meeting this wonderful couple through this process, I have also met an on-line group of local women who are also in the process of becoming a surrogate and/or who are currently a surrogate. I have plans to meet a few of them this Wed. It will be so nice to make some new friends in my area and have this additional support.

I am pretty excited as this wonderful IP couple will also take time throughout our journey together to share 'their' story on this blog.

Moving Forward....

The bbq was absolutely wonderful; the IP's are such a fun, easygoing couple and they were so awesome with our kids. We enjoyed 4 hours at their house while our kids swam and by the end of the day I knew without a doubt that I was meant to help them in their journey in becoming parents. I sent our agency an email that I was ready to take the next step.

The First Few Baby Steps ...

I have wanted to be a surrogate for a couple of years now but my life kept me busy and I couldn't find the time to start the process, or better yet I should say complete the process. You see, I found the agency I wanted to use and started my application a year ago but I never got around to sending it in/finishing it until a few weeks ago. It was just now that my life was settled and I knew that the time was right for me to start my journey as a surrogate.

After the agency had all of my information, they completed my background check and then my on-line profile was 'ready' to be viewed by the agency so they could 'match' me with a couple (IP's = Intended Parents) who they believe is compatible with me based on our profiles.

It didn't take long for them to find me a 'match' on 7/9/12 and I knew when I read their profile that they were exactly whom I was wanting to help. The couple was also provided with my profile.

We both agreed to take the next step, so the following day I spoke to them on a conference call so we could get to know each other a little better and after the call if both myself and the IP's were ok with it we would exchange direct contact information so we could set up a face to face meeting. I knew I wanted to get to know this wonderful couple better and see if I was meant to be the person to help them by carrying their baby via gestational surrogacy.

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman, the surrogate mother, may be the child's genetic mother (called traditional surrogacy), or she may be genetically unrelated to the child (called gestational surrogacy).

That pretty much brings you all up to date, we have a barbecue at the IP's house tomorrow and I am anxious (a wee bit nervous as well) to get to know this couple and have them get to know myself and my family to see if we are all ready to embark on this journey together. I feel so fortunate to have my 3 children and would love to give the gift of biological parenthood to a couple unable to conceive. I am sure some people might wonder why one would want to be a surrogate and my usual reply is, 'because I can.'  I have an amazing support system and an empty uterus at the moment so why not give the most amazing gift and help this couple start a family.