Embryo Transfer Process
Prior to an embryo transfer, your uterine lining needs to be a certain thickness. The clinic wanted my lining to be at 7mm a week prior to the transfer. When I flew in and was seen at the clinic, I was at 6.7mm. The clinic was confident that I could get to a 7 with a little more time and meds. They asked me to stay in town for a couple additional days to get there or we would need to cancel the cycle and try again. I contacted my employer and asked them if they would allow me to
Third Trimester
This trimester has been so fast moving. More doctor appointments. Planning the birth. Getting all the details together. It has been amazing. My third trimester has been great. I was deep in this trimester throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I worked up until I was 38 weeks. In the third trimester the IPs were able to come to more appointments and we became closer. As we got the final paperwork done for the parentage and adoption portion for dad number 2. We were also able to work on the hospital birthing plan. It was relieving to know we were
First Trimester
After the HCG levels were confirmed pregnant, I had an ultrasound done around 6 weeks which a gestational sack was found and then another ultrasound at 8 weeks which a heartbeat was confirmed and a baby was seen for the first time! For the first trimester it was much different than when I was pregnant with my son. I had different sets of cravings (pizza!) and different symptoms. I didn’t want to eat much as nothing, but pizza sounded good. I was tired more often than not but walking a lot to remain active. I developed a uterus bleed externally
Matching part 2!
So we left where I had to wait a month to get into the cardiologist for a check up because my cholesterol was just above normal at 202. Well I had that appointment just the other day and ... Everything is fine! Just as we expected. After this appointment everything seemed to take off at rocket speed. I guess after waiting over 2 months and moving at a snail's pace anything would seem fast. However the same day I had my cardiologist appointment that office sent the report to my agency, NYSC, which sent it immediately to the fertility clinic of the IP's. This same day the
Clearance Process
The IPs we are matched with live about 4 hours away, so we traveled there for medical clearance at their clinic. Since we would finally be in the same town, we decided to meet the IPs in person and the four of us had lunch together. It was so great to meet them in person, we hit it off right away! The clinic was incredible. The staff was friendly right from the moment we walked in. During our visit they did an exam and an ultrasound on me and bloodwork for both my partner and I. They also took
Matching!
Good Morning, afternoon or evening, wherever you are reading from! I have some great news about my profile! NYSC took my profile and matched it up to the intended parents profiles they have. In the same week they sent over a profile for me to review! I was really surprised that it didn't take long for them to find a couple that they believed would be a good match for us. My husband and I reviewed their profile and also thought that this had the potential to be a really good fit. I gave it the thumbs up and
The Second Trimester
As I went from the first to second trimester I was hopeful that the morning sickness would subside. It took another 4 weeks for it to go away. Little girls are no joke. 20 weeks at the anatomy scan and the intended dads were able to drive over. It was a magical scene watching them see their daughter. Counting toes and getting amazing profile pictures. At 24 weeks they did a repeat ultrasound because little one was curled up and they couldn’t see everything they needed to. The intended dads came back and got more beautiful pictures. I figured out she
Creating My Profile
Now that I have chosen my agency, it was time to start making my profile. This will get sent out to potential parents for creating a match. It was a lot more intense than I thought it would be. There were questions asked that I had never thought of but thank goodness for that! It was a real introduction of what this process involves. I thought it would just be a couple questions about me and my health status with some pictures included. It was so much more in depth. They asked the standard questions that I had expected; things
Agency Pre-Screening / Application Process
After choosing New York Surrogacy center as the agency I wanted to work with, I was introduced to Joe and the team at NYSC. Joe was great with the intake process and gathered my information while answering any questions I had. Joe educated me on the process, topics to think about, and what to expect going forward. Although I had done my research about surrogacy prior to applying to be a candidate, I was given more information on the process and areas of the process I hadn’t thought about. Topics such as pregnancy reduction/termination, deciding my surrogacy preferences, etc. I always
Embryo Transfer Process
After all clearances were issued, we were then good to go to start the embryo transfer process. This started off with tracking my period and communicating with the clinic to determine when to start the injections and wean off birth control. I took an injection teaching class offered by the fertility clinic that gave clear instructions as I self-administered the injections. I was nervous to self-administer but after a couple times it became easier. It started with 3 weeks of Lupron injections in the lower abdomen along with rotating estrogen patches By the end of this I was wearing
