I Didn't See That Coming!

17 weeks until we get to meet these little boys! That’s if I don’t go into labor or my water breaks beforehand. I would absolutely love if I could call their mom and dad to say its baby day by surprise. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed. Our 20 week scan looked great with baby A weighing in above average at 14oz and baby B at 13oz. Both babies will continue to put on weight as a singleton until 28 weeks when twin growth usually slows down.

As for now I’m feeling fantastic and honestly feel like I’m caring only one baby. On occasion I’ll have a difficult time breathing. My guess is the little stinkers are stretching out and compressing everything up into my lungs. Cravings are still fresh fruit and veggies, breakfast foods always sound good and a weird concoction of Spaghetti O’s with cottage cheese, which I did not consume because I didn’t have Spaghetti O’s, but man it sounded so good at that moment.

For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram, I received Belly Buds from my intended parents. They are little speakers I stick to my belly and with an app their parents can record anything from a simple conversation, storybooks, or  dad playing the guitar. It’s been so important to me that the boys hear their parent’s voice daily and now with working little ears we have a new bedtime routine with our Belly Buds. The boys love it! I didn’t think I’d get such an immediate response, but the boys moved like crazy the first night!

With permission from my intended parents I have been granted the opportunity to tell you a little bit about what lead them to surrogacy and some BIG news. 

My intended momma never had a normal menstrual cycle in her adolescence, so it wasn’t a big surprise that they hit a speed bump when they decided to start trying for a baby. After seeing doctors it was discovered that she had a bi-unicornuate uterus . A bi-cornuate uterus is heart-shaped with two conjoined cavities. A typical uterus only has a single cavity.

After surgery to remove the smaller section of her uterus and a fallopian tube they decided to give IVF a go. My sweet intended parents dove right in with a few egg retrievals, three IVF transfers which were unsuccessful and  two cycles for transfer that were cancelled due to her body not being where it needed to be for transfer.

With a big sign from God they decided to stop the IVF process and start an adoption journey. They were instantly matched and have a beautiful daughter that they are so proud to call theirs. She is truly the apple of their eye and so very blessed.

Now that left them with the question of what to do with the three remaining embryos they had frozen? After long conversations and healing they decided to look into surrogacy. This is where we met and I knew there was something special about them. And so to now you have read and followed our journey to this point!

Imagine my shock and disbelief when on a “girls” day with my intended mom she pulls out a sonogram picture. I’m pretty sure my mouth hit the floor as we both were fighting back tears. After years of trying to get pregnant and finally having babies via surrogacy BAM pregnant. I am so happy to say that baby C (the intended moms baby) looks great to date and I am officially 8.5 weeks ahead of her with my pregnancy. Not many surrogates get to walk the pregnancy journey with their intended mom. This is just another blessing and one more thing that makes our story truly incredible.  

Mind blown, right?! It’s still crazy for me to think about. While I always ask for prayers I now would like you to add the new little one growing inside my intended momma and for her as well. I want happy healthy pregnancies and babies all the way around!

One Trimester Down,Two to Go!

110 pills (that consisted of birth control, antibiotics, steroids, and baby aspirin), 54 injections, 119 patches, and 141 vaginal suppositories over 102 days, BUT we've made it to 14 weeks. I can't believe I'm 1/3 of the way finished with this pregnancy. Some days I feel like it's creeping by, but in the blink of an eye these babies are going to be here!!!  Right HERE!!!

December was bittersweet for my intended parents and I. On December 18th I officially weaned off all medications and graduated from Colorado Center of Reproductive Medicine to my regular OB/GYN. We developed such a wonderful bond with our nurse and a sense of security being in their care that it’s sad to let them go. On the bright side, this means the boys are growing and my body is doing what it should to help these little guys meet their parents!!!

I have definitely been hit with more "morning" sickness than I had with the girls. My evenings were down right miserable and usually landed me in bed by 7 most nights. I am starting to feel much better this week and my energy is slowly coming back!!! I've had cravings for fresh fruit and vegetables, anything spicy, and pancakes so far.

For now I see my doctor every 4 weeks and both boys have sounded fantastic at each appointment to this point!!!  I've gained 14 lbs from the start of meds to now. Not too shabby considering fertility drugs can take a toll on your weight. We will have our 20 week anatomy scan in just SIX short weeks. I am really excited to see how much they have grown and for mom and dad to see more than little blobs on the screen. Prayers that we keep trucking right along.

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is a time to come together to share what we are grateful for. Today I'm thankful for all the love and support I've received from everyone. I'm also thankful for my amazing intended parents. I can honestly say they are more than just intended parents, they are family. I love and care for them like I have known them for years. No matter the outcome of this cycle I knew we gained some pretty special people in our lives.

Today's appointment took forever to arrive. Once we finally made it to 1 o'clock they kept us waiting on the edge of our seats in the waiting room. Patience most certainly was hurting me.

I am over the moon to say we have heartbeat. Let me rephrase that, I am ecstatic to say that we have HEARTBEATS!

Baby A and Baby B are measuring right on track with new heartbeats measuring at 114 and 117 beats per minute perfect for this gestation.

Not only do we have twins, but we have genders too! Both little bundles of joy are BOYS!

Again, I ask that you keep us all in your prayers. Prayers that these little ones grow and that this pregnancy goes nice and smooth over the next 7 months. Thank you Lord for this wonderful blessing!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Results

Waiting for beta results has been agonizing today. Waiting all day just to hear that magic number can truly make a person insane.

I went from insane to flat out stupid after I got the call. 

I couldn't process anything going on around me. 

Not a word.

Not a thought.

Not a darn thing.

Am I pregnant?

Beta hcg levels needed to be at least 50 to confirm pregnancy. My levels.......

716......716.......omg 716!

I'm so very pregnant! I couldn't be happier! I'm still in awe that I have been given the chance to do this and it's actually happening.

Please pray that these babies grow big and strong and that we see heartbeats in 16 days. Sono will confirm if we have one or two babies growing, but I'm feeling like we definitely have two!

PUPO (Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise)

We all were going a little stir crazy waiting for transfer this afternoon. We had so much peace that everything was going to go perfectly, but yet couldn’t help to be nervous about nothing and everything. We left for CCRM at noon and immediately had labs drawn. From there we ventured upstairs to the surgery center where I entered “the room.” I had acupuncture then waited for the doctor and the embryologist to come in. It all went so fast from there.

The embryos are wheeled in an incubator where we were able to see them up on a screen.  The embryologists then sucked the little embabies into a tiny little catheter and then were given to the doctor to place inside my uterus.  The procedure was completely pain free, minus some discomfort from having a completely full bladder.  I was laid flat and had another acupuncture session and was able to get up an hour later.

We transferred two beautiful little babies.

The embryo on the right is fully hatched while the embryo on the left was in the process of hatching. The really neat part is in about four hours the hatching embryo should be fully hatched and would look like its sibling on the right. 

It’s a huge relief to be done. Now the hard part is the waiting game. My first HCG blood test is a long ten days away. In the meantime, I’ve been placed on bed rest and can continue normal activity Sunday when we will travel home. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and family. Every text, message, and post I received today meant the world to me. You all are stinking fantastic! Once again, keep us all in your prayers and send lots of sticky baby vibes our way. 

"Did Someone Say Transfer?!"

I’m sorry I haven’t updated my blog in so long. It’s been a crazy few months and I wanted to make sure my body cooperated with meds before I spilled the beans on a transfer date. The wait is over! I’m set for transfer this Friday, October 28th! So many emotions are going through me. I can’t believe I’ve made it to this point and with the most amazing intended parents ever. The support and love I feel from them is the greatest feeling in the world.

I have a few specific prayer requests. For safe travels as we all make our way to Denver tomorrow. Prayers that the embryos thaw beautifully and last but certainly not least that they stick around to meet their wonderful parents.

I want to give a special thanks to people who have reached out with support, kind words, as well as the ladies at work covering for me during early morning appointments and missed work. The little things mean the most. I will update Friday or Saturday!

Where there's a will, there's a way.

I wasn't anticipating on writing another post so soon, but I couldn't be happier to be doing so. Almost immediately, I was presented with a different potential family to carry a baby for. I read their profile and looked at pictures, but I just couldn't keep myself from comparing them to my first family. As much as I tried I couldn't let them go. 

 So that door that closed, never latched. In my heart I never felt like things were final between my intended parents and myself. Sometimes in life you just need time to breathe and regroup. I am beyond thankful to say that we are moving forward on this crazy journey. Final details are being wrapped up and I'm hoping to have a transfer date set in the next week or two.

Thank you to everyone who prayed and to those who've dealt with my emotional self over the last month. I'd be lost without some these amazing people in my life.