Transfer Complete

We transferred two blastocycsts this morning at La Jolla IVF. The procedure was much the same as last time with the main difference being location. Last time I kept my own clothes on and we were in a quiet room with a typical OB/Gyn table... this time I was asked to strip and change into a hospital gown complete with hairnet, and then we moved into the OR (which is right there in Dr. Smotrich's facility) for the transfer. I have pictures of the two blastocysts and of my uterus after transfer. I will try to get those posted soon, but, I'm on bedrest now and the scanner is out in the garage. :-)

I wore my lucky necklace (a gift for luck from my IPs) and was able to speak with our Intended Mother just prior to the transfer. She wished me good luck, and of course I wish her luck too!

Dr. Smotrich prayed over the little ones and spoke of Genesis 1:28 where God tells his people to "be fruitful and multiply". I believe I caught him with a tear in his eye... :-) He truly wants his clients to have the family they are seeking. And so do I.

TIRED!

I'm so SO tired! I don't remember feeling this tired during the last cycle, but I am TIRED! It's been 2 days of Progesterone injections (today will be the third) and I've read that the Progesterone is the lovely pregnancy hormone that causes that First Trimester exhaustion. So here I am waking up from a much needed nap and feeling like a need another one! :-)

Transfer is set for Monday morning at 10am. !!

Day at the Zoo

We spent a long wonderful day at the San Diego Zoo today, with our Intended Parents. The girls especially enjoyed the monkeys (and anything similar to a monkey: gorillas, orangutan, lemurs...) and Aly climbed on every rock and statue she could find (like a monkey). We finished the day with giant ICEEs with no lid or straw! The zoo apparently doesn't give out lids or straws due to littering. :-( You can imagine the mess made by a 4yo and 2yo with large cherry ICEEs.... they did surprisingly well though.

We left the zoo just in time to get home right as Jasmine's bus was pulling up. Whew! Now these two little girls are running around the house like crazy sleepless monkeys. A 20-minute nap in the car does NOT suffice! :-)

I'm now taking the full load of medications for pre-transfer: Prenatals, baby aspirin, Progesterone, Medrol, Prometrium, Doxycyline, and Delestrogen and Vivelle patches 2x/week. Yay!

Minor Date Change

Dr. Smotrich called this morning and advised me to stop Lupron injections (yay!). The egg retrieval will be on Wednesday of this week and the transfer is now scheduled for Monday, May 3rd. I was really hoping for April 30th/May 1st because then I wouldn't need to seek out child care for my bedrest, but.... oh well. We'll have a nice weekend and then hopefully get knocked up on a Monday. :-)

I will be seeing Dr. Smotrich tomorrow morning to review the medications for the coming week. This will include the start of Progesterone, Medrol, Prometrium, Doxycyline, the continuation of estrogen, prenatals, and baby aspirin, and... ? There's so many!

I've been thoroughly enjoying the farmer's market just down the street and am eating more fresh organic locally grown fruits and vegetables than I've ever eaten in my life. !

Getting closer!

Uterine lining is at 7.9 (up from 2.9 last week). I'm still taking Lupron daily (at half dose since last week, 5 units), prenatal and baby aspirin daily, Delestrogen and Vivelle patches on Mondays and Thursdays.

Next appointment is next Monday. My Intended Parents are traveling to San Diego this week and we will hopefully have dinner together again. :-) And it will hopefully be SUNNY in San Diego instead of POURING RAIN like it was for their last visit. LOL.

Tip: Keeping Track of Medications

There are so many medications that just be taken in preparation for surrogacy. It can be confusing! This time around I used a printable calendar with each daily medication listed for each day. I then taped my calendar schedule to the inside of my kitchen cabinet where my medicines are stored. I also taped a pen on a string to the inside of this cabinet. Now when I open the cabinet I can clearly see which meds need to be taken for that day and what time (for those meds which are time-sensitive). I cross them off when taken so I no longer ask myself "did I do my Lupron shot this morning?"

Remember to use a heating pad after Progesterone shots, and let alcohol dry before injections.

Update

I met with Dr. Smotrich yesterday and his new nurse practitioner Christina. He just returned from his annual trip to Israel!

My daily Lupron dose has been reduced to 5 units, and I've begun Delestrogen at 0.4 on Monday and Thursday, plus Vivelle patches which will give a localized boost of estrogen.

Next appointment is April 19th for another blood draw and ultrasound. :-)