Transfer Trip and Results!

Hi All!

I told you all I would update at the end of March, and with a few hours to spare, here I am! I left off with my last post about to leave for my trip to Boston for training for my new job with Circle Surrogacy! It was a great trip, once the travel was over, of course! I was able to meet people I have emailed back and forth with a lot, and put faces to names, and train for my new job! Everyone was so nice, welcoming, and helpful! Since I was in town, the marketing department set up for me to have my picture taken for the new website we are working on. We had to take an Uber to a different part of the city and head to the photographer's studio. The photographer was a cool dude. He was quirky, kind, made me feel comfortable, and took about 500 shots! lol. He's photographed people like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Joe Biden, and a few other famous people I did not know. Cool right?! :)  My job is going great! I am learning new things every day, and am so thankful for the opportunity I have been given to help other surrogates who want to help others in the same way!

So I got back from my trip to Boston on February 24th! I was very happy to be home, see the kids, and get my office set up! I went to my first monitoring appointment for the new cycle the day after I got back into town. Hey, it was better than going while I was in Boston! Results came back from that, and turns out the Lupron shots I had kept doing the whole time I was waiting for my period worked, and I started on the regular protocol from there. On day two of my cycle, I started estrogen injections in my hip, and went for another monitoring ultrasound and blood work appointment shortly after that. Everything was going just as it should, and was definitely nice to hear, instead of the opposite like the month before this! The transfer day was set for March 20th, in Connecticut, and I would get to meet my intended mother, some of her family, and get to just spend some time together getting to know each other more! My mom flew with me, and it was nice to have her with me!

After some confirmation from the clinic about a week before the transfer date, my lining was at an 18mm and triple striped! PERFECT for transfer! My mom and I flew out to New York City on Saturday the 18th. We landed in La Guardia after a quick stop in Washington D.C. I was very glad to touch down...HATE FLYING!!! Okay, okay...strongly dislike flying! Once we landed, my intended mother's neighbor picked us up at the airport, and dropped us off in Times Square. Our plan was to see a Broadway show, have some dinner, and then head back to a suburb of New York where my intended mother lives. My mom and I got in line for half price tickets to Broadway show, and we decided to see Cirques Du Soleil Paramour. It was a great show! Love story with acrobatics, singing, and dancing! Those shows never disappoint! My intended mother and I formally met in person, while in line waiting for tickets. She arrived shortly after we had arrived to Times Square, and we hugged in line, and made small talk as we were waiting for the ticket booth to actually open up. Once we had tickets in hand, we decided to do a little shopping for the kids at the M&M store in Times Square. We  had time to take the subway to the New York Public Library. It was beautiful! I had never been so I'm glad that we were able to see that! So much absolutely beautiful architecture. The history of the city really gets me sometimes! After the museum, we decided to grab a bite to eat before the show! We talked a lot through dinner, got to know each other some more, and just discussed some logistics for the next day and transfer day. I was exhausted, I know my mom was too, and we were supposed to come back to the city the next day and go to the natural history museum. The thought of that exhausted me even more, so I asked my Intended Mother (IM), if she would be heartbroken if we skipped coming to the city again, and maybe did something a little more local to her. With it being the day before transfer, I didn't want to completely exhaust myself! After all, transfer day was what we were there for. So we saw the show, and then took the train back to my IM's car in the suburb, and then she dropped us off at our hotel around midnight. We had gotten up around 4 am that morning, so it was a super long day. Was ready for bed for sure!

We slept in a little the next morning, and then headed to brunch with my IM. It was a good meal, more talking, and sharing our thoughts and fears about the situation. She took us to the a mall that was very cool! It had a skating rink in it, all the restaurants were on the first floor of the mall itself. There was go-kart track in the mall, and an obstacle course that was suspended from the ceiling...my kids would've completely gone crazy for it! We spent a few hours, just browsing. They didn't really have any stores that we don't have, but it was nice to just chill and relax! We had dinner at a great little Italian restaurant close to our hotel, and then went back to the hotel after dinner and just sat around and talked.

Transfer was at 2:00 pm the next day. I had to be there for blood work at 12:45, and acupuncture at 1:00. We slept in, and had breakfast at the hotel, and then my IM picked us up and drove us to Connecticut for transfer! No traffic and we made it there on time! Got blood work done, acupuncture done, and transfer was done at 2:00. I FINALLY got to empty my bladder and then had last treatment of acupuncture, then we were on our way! Stopped at McDonald's for a large french fry. Us surrogates swear by them for an after transfer aide to get embryo to stick! There is something called Bromine in them, and bromine is supposed to be really great for embryos sticking, so I ate the whole thing...not gonna lie, it was pretty delicious as they were fresh ones, too! After transfer, my IM drove us to her place, she gave us the tour of her home, and we relaxed on the couch and I ate some pineapple, which also has lots of Bromine in it, but just the core does. It was chewy but I got through it lol.

My IM had planned a meet and greet for her family and friends to stop by and meet me. It was nice to see her support system, and talk to people who care about her, and be able to ease their minds a little about me. I answered questions about my life, about why I want to do something like this, and it was all met with endless thank yous and gratitude!

Our flight was at 9:30 am the next morning, and I was ready to get home! I woke up at 4:30 am with the most intense cramps, so I was walking a little slow that morning and taking it easy at the airport! My IM's neighbor picked us up at the hotel at 6:00 am, and he drove us to La Guardia. We had plenty of time before the flight, but because of how traffic can be in the city, better early than late! Straight flight home, and then touched down in KC! Got home in enough time to pick up my daughter at 2:00 from school! Was exhausted, but so glad to be home, and wait for the blood test on March 29th!

I told myself I wouldn't take a home pregnancy test, and my IM and I had even talked about it, saying that she didn't want to know if I did. By Day 7, I couldn't handle it anymore. On March 29th, I got the official word. Beta HCG came back 115!!! Anything above a 50 is considered great at this point and definitely pregnant! Was told to go back for another blood draw today, and the number needed to at least double. It went from 115 to 240!Yay, more than doubled! So, the 6 week ultrasound is set for the 13th, and we will hopefully be able to see a little heartbeat on the screen, even if we can't hear it! In the meantime, I stay on the morning and night shots, and suppositories until I will be 10 weeks. My butt is bruised and very sore, but 6 more weeks! The end is in sight!

For those of you praying, and sending good thoughts and sticky vibes my way, thank you!!! I will update after my ultrasound on the 13th! Keep all those thoughts, prayers and vibes coming!

Sarah