Stick Baby Stick
The moment is finally here! I will finally be doing the embryo transfer. I started this process in October and the moment is finally here. I have had appointments to check my levels twice a week since the start of my period. While at the appointments the fertility clinic checked my lining thickness and progesterone ect. Levels to make sure my body is ready to be pregnant. Also, the intended parents opted to have HCG wash the day before the procedure which I found out through some research is supposed to make you extra ‘sticky’. In a week I will
Start of Meds and Embryo Transfer Schedules and then Canceled (Oh no!)
Right after we received the legal clearance the medication process began. I thought this would take longer than it did, but then again everything revolves around my menstrual cycle. I received an encouraging box from the agency that was well thought out with gifts that included things I definitely knew I needed. The agency has been amazing throughout the whole process, and little things like the surrogacy box made me feel special. On Friday after being cleared I called to schedule a time for my meds to be delivered. They told me that they could send it out on Monday
Transfer Day
Pre-Transfer Day: A huge lifelong fear of needles made me nervous of the prep for embryo transfer. Every clinic has a different protocol, but most involve injections, patches, and suppositories. I learned a lot of mental toughness and was able to give myself the injections. As an Ohioan, I traveled to NYC for the embryo transfer. NYSC was great at communicating with myself and the clinic, and scheduling flights and transportation. They were thoughtful in scheduling the least amount of time away from my kids, while still keeping the embryos health at the forefront. NYSC booked my flights, hotel, and
The Process for Transfer
Everything about our first transfer was perfect. My spouse and I flew to Colorado Springs where we met up with our Intended Parent for the first time. We planned to get dinner together the first night. My spouse picked the place and made reservations. Dinner was most definitely an ice breaker. We could hardly read what was on the menu and when we received our food, it was barely a couple of bites. We all had a good laugh and decided my spouse was no longer picking our dinner spots. He called an Uber and we hit Hardees on the
Transfer Day
I had the perfect trip to New York for my transfer. Monday I flew out and was greeted in the Big Apple by my IM to take me to the hotel. The next morning I had my blood work and the last ultrasound to make sure everything was great for the transfer on Wednesday. My IF walked me to the appointment and then back to the hotel. The rest of the day I explored New York with my mom. We did Times Square- lots of shopping, ate at Juniors for some amazing breakfast, went to Rockefeller center, some high end
Failed Transfer & Transfer #2
I'm not sure that I was really prepared for the tears, sadness and heartbreak that followed our 1st transfer that failed. It was honestly quite an emotional rollercoaster after waiting all day for news we were so hopeful would be positive. Everything about our first transfer was so perfect. As mentioned in my transfer blog, we didn't plan on taking home tests and waited 10 days for our HCG Beta test. There was no black and white reason for why our transfer failed. My lining was great, the embryo was perfect and hatching, and my uterus was receptive. She just didn’t implant
Transfer Day ?
My oh my, where do I even begin with the magic that unfolded on Transfer day? First of all, it's truly amazing to be this far in my surrogacy journey. I have dreamt of this for many years and the fact that I have been successfully matched with THE MOST perfect couple and working with THE BEST agency is literally what makes this experience so amazing. Once we were clear on the legal end, all the fun stuff could start happening. My Intended Parents asked that I undergo an ERA first. This ERA (Endometrial Receptivity Assay) would allow the fertility
Transfer
It’s kind of amazing how different transfer protocols can be from clinic to clinic. On my last journey, that clinic’s protocol lasted only a month, and on this journey, it was more like 7-8 weeks! So, getting to transfer this time around was a much more arduous process. Not to mention, the reproductive endocrinologist had me undergo an ERA first. An ERA (Endometrial Receptivity Assay) is a biopsy of your endometrial lining on would-be transfer day to see how receptive it would be to an embryo. So, I went through the 7-week protocol for the ERA, and then another 7-week
Surrogate Embryo Transfer
When you think about it, reproductive technology is amazing. A woman can carry and grow an embryo that was created by two other people. Wow! Getting your body ready to do such a thing involves a lot of careful planning and testing. Is your uterus healthy? Is your lining thick enough this cycle? Are you responding to the medication? (Yes, there is medication involved.) Fortunately, your Intended Parents’ (“IPs”) fertility clinic will guide you through all that. All of it is necessary to give you the best chance of a successful embryo implantation. When I was a surrogate, my IPs
