Hey all,
Well, I have made it to officially full term! I'm so looking forward to not being pregnant anymore, and am so thankful this pregnancy has gone smoothly, minus a few hiccups!
Hasn't really been anything eventful since the last update pregnancy wise! We are going to have a little bit of change come our way shortly after this baby does come. Right now, we are looking at a April 7th induction date. If I make it that long! At my 35 weeks appointment, my OB did the group B strep test, which came out negative, and she also checked me. I about fell off the table. She said I was dilated to a 1, 60% effaced, and anterior. You guys. I have never been dilated this early, or effaced for that matter! But, as most of us know, I could be dilated to a 1 for weeks before labor actually starts. But because of this, I probably won't have to go in the night before for cervadil like last time. Yay for that! I will have to be at hospital crazy early, at 5 or 6 am, so they can start the induction before shift change at 7 am in the morning! The couple will be flying in on the 6th, the night before, and will stay at a hotel across the street from the hospital, and will join me in the morning! It's getting exciting now, folks!
On april 15th, we close on our house that we are selling, and also on the house that we have bought! We sold our house in 4 days, and there was a little bit of time there when we didn't have a house to live in after closing date, but after 4 offers on 4 different houses, we finally got one! It's in a great neighborhood in South Olathe, and even has a neighborhood pool! The kids are going to love that this summer! It's been a little bit stressful with that experience but now that the house hunting is over, I have been able to concentrate on other things!
At the beginning of March, I officially applied to nursing school! Yay!! I'm not holding my breath, but will also be really disappointed if I don't get into the program. I've spent the last year preparing for admission, so hopefully it pays off!
I have not been this uncomfortable for this long in a pregnancy before. My body is finally saying its had enough, and while it is doing the job it has been asked to do, she is saying enough is enough, don't do this to me again! Okay, okay, body. I got it. No more baby making will be asked of you! I've heard people say it before, but now I can definitely attest to this. My first pregnancy with Brae in my early 20's, is very different than my 4th pregnancy in my early 30's. And maybe it's just because it's a 4th pregnancy, but either way, I am done after this! Helping two families has been so awesome, and in a perfect world, I would have a baby for everyone who can't, but that's just not realistic, and so I'm cutting myself off at helping two!
The next time I come back with an update, it will probably be the birth story, so stay tuned! Thank you all for following along with me on this journey! If you have any questions, or comments, I would love to hear them!
Talk to you all soon, not pregnant!!! WOOHOO!!
Sarah
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
30 Weeks!
Hey there everybody,
I truly don't know where the time has gone and how I've managed to let 7 weeks go by without updating this blog! So sorry about that! I'm sure you've all been waiting on pins and needles for an update! For those of you that did not detect the tone of sarcasm in that last sentence, I again apologize! :)
Well, not much has happened in the last 7 weeks. I've just been chugging along, inching closer and closer to my due date! At around 26 weeks, I did have a little bit of a scare. It was a Thursday, and I noticed from the time I woke up that morning that I was having lots and lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. Was having trouble walking through them, and would just have to pause until it passed, and then keep going until another one hit. I was somewhat distracted in the early morning, making breakfast for the kids, and making their lunches for school that day, dropping off one, and then the other. I came home around 9:30, and just wanted to sit down and do nothing, so I did. I sat on the couch for 4 hours straight! Let me tell you, it was heaven...well sort of. The darn contractions were coming every minute or two as soon as I sat down, and even though I was sitting, I couldn't move through them, like my legs were paralyzed, but not really. The not being able to move part was mostly because it hurt to move, so I just wanted until it passed, but when they kept coming and coming and were very strong, I started to get worried. I called my OB right before I had to go pick up my daughter, and left a message for the nurse, and waited for a call back. She called back about 35 minutes later, and after describing more in detail what I was feeling, she wanted to see me. Even though I was staying well hydrated that day, she wanted to test my urine for a urinary tract infection (UTI). That could very well be the cause of the contractions since everything would be irritated and inflamed down there, and could be spreading to my kidneys. With the contractions, I also had a constant ache in my lower back and hips. I was just very very uncomfortable that day. So, I picked up my daughter, then my son, and then my husband, and then went to my OB office and saw the nurse, and she dipped my urine to check for the UTI. That was negative. All this time, contractions are still coming, having to pause in my walk through them. My stomach would get rock hard, and moving anything other than my hands, would make it worse. My doctor had just been called to the labor and delivery floor for a delivery and so the nurse asked me to hang tight and she would see if my doctor wanted to see me or do anything else. Whoever was delivering was speedy fast because my doctor was back in the office 15 minutes later! She decided to see me, and she checked baby's heartbeat, and then she checked my cervix to see if I was dilating at all with the contractions. She said I was open a little bit on the outside but that was to be expected since this was my 4th pregnancy, and that she wasn't worried about that necessarily. After watching me through a few contractions, she decided to send me upstairs to labor and delivery for observation. Troy and the kids came with me, and while they insisted I ride in a wheelchair (hospital policy), we made our way to the labor and delivery floor. They hooked me up to the monitor that tracks the baby's heart rate, and to one that also picks up contractions. I was told to sit tight for a little while, so they could just observe what my body was doing. The kids were tired, and hungry, and so Troy took them home after I made sure had a ride back to the house after they were done with the observation. My doctor came in about an hour or so later, and said that the baby's heart rate sounded great, so no problems there, and that the contractions that I was having were not picking up on their monitor. Well, that's just fantastic! She was a little surprised since she palpated my belly during a few contractions and thought for sure they would pick up. She checked me again to make sure I hadn't dilated at all in the hour I had been there, and then got ready to discharge me. She told me the only explanation for the discomfort I was having was that I was "just having a bad pregnancy day." Alright then! I guess I'll take a bad pregnancy day over pre term labor or anything else that might result in this baby making a very early appearance. She told me to take it easy for a few days and to drink lots of water, and just try to relax. I resisted the urge to ask her what "relax" meant and just nodded and smiled. So far, I haven't had another "bad pregnancy day" like that, and while the contractions are still there, they aren't right on top of each other like they were that day, and while I still have to pause if I'm walking or sit still until they pass, it's just par for the course at this point, I guess!
At 30 weeks, the intended mother flew in, and we set up to have a 3D ultrasound done, as well as my regular check up with my OB. Everything went great! We did a growth ultrasound at my OB office, and they are estimating that this baby is already 4 lbs 4 oz!!! All I can say is yikes, this baby might be a big boy! I've gained about 12 pounds so far, and while the doctor is pleased with that, I can't help but wonder how big this boy is going to be at birth! Not gonna lie, I'm a little freaked out! Maybe he will chill out on the growth when he runs out of room in the next few weeks! Hey, an oven can hope! :) He has long arms and legs, and is very flexible as he likes to put his foot to his forehead all curled up inside! Heartbeat is nice and strong, and it was great to see the intended mother's face as she looked at her baby on the screen! We grabbed a quick bite, and then headed to the 3D ultrasound! I've never done one of those before, so it was something I was excited about. I was instructed to eat about an hour before the appointment, and to drink some caffeine, so I did both, and then off we were. It was a fun experience. They don't do anything diagnostic, they just do things like try to get facial expressions, and just give you a look inside to see what baby is up to. It was very cute, and again so nice to see mom's face and excitement as she anticipates her new arrival.
Found out a few weeks ago that I don't have gestational diabetes, phew, but that I am anemic. My level was a 10.3, and they want it above 12. I've been extremely tired lately, but that seems to be my only symptom related to being anemic. She said they typically see people with my level of 10.3 right after they've delivered the baby and lost all the blood, so the fact that I'm low like this before giving birth is a little bit scary, but she gave me a prescription for Iron supplements, and so I've been taking those every night. I would much rather take the supplement than have to get a blood transfusion after birth! I'm also trying to get more iron in my every day diet as well. My doc also prescribed something for the extreme heartburn I was having, and would just like to take a moment and thank God for whomever came up with this medicine. It's been great! I'm no longer waking up with my whole chest on fire in the middle of the night, and I can eat pretty much anything again! The list of things I couldn't eat was getting longer and longer every day!
I am currently 31 weeks, and starting to really look forward to the end! Been having some crazy weird dreams lately, with last night's dream being that I gained 110 pounds in the last week of pregnancy and was horrified! lol wouldn't that be something!
I haven't applied to nursing school for those of you wondering about that, as the deadline is April 1st, but my goal is to have everything submitted my the second week of March so that I don't have to worry about anything like that as my due date will be just a few weeks away. I have to take a special test and so I am in the process of studying for it! For those of you praying, I ask that you keep me in mind for the testing, and for the pregnancy of course! The timer on the oven doesn't need to run out yet, as much as I'm ready for it to!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
I truly don't know where the time has gone and how I've managed to let 7 weeks go by without updating this blog! So sorry about that! I'm sure you've all been waiting on pins and needles for an update! For those of you that did not detect the tone of sarcasm in that last sentence, I again apologize! :)
Well, not much has happened in the last 7 weeks. I've just been chugging along, inching closer and closer to my due date! At around 26 weeks, I did have a little bit of a scare. It was a Thursday, and I noticed from the time I woke up that morning that I was having lots and lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. Was having trouble walking through them, and would just have to pause until it passed, and then keep going until another one hit. I was somewhat distracted in the early morning, making breakfast for the kids, and making their lunches for school that day, dropping off one, and then the other. I came home around 9:30, and just wanted to sit down and do nothing, so I did. I sat on the couch for 4 hours straight! Let me tell you, it was heaven...well sort of. The darn contractions were coming every minute or two as soon as I sat down, and even though I was sitting, I couldn't move through them, like my legs were paralyzed, but not really. The not being able to move part was mostly because it hurt to move, so I just wanted until it passed, but when they kept coming and coming and were very strong, I started to get worried. I called my OB right before I had to go pick up my daughter, and left a message for the nurse, and waited for a call back. She called back about 35 minutes later, and after describing more in detail what I was feeling, she wanted to see me. Even though I was staying well hydrated that day, she wanted to test my urine for a urinary tract infection (UTI). That could very well be the cause of the contractions since everything would be irritated and inflamed down there, and could be spreading to my kidneys. With the contractions, I also had a constant ache in my lower back and hips. I was just very very uncomfortable that day. So, I picked up my daughter, then my son, and then my husband, and then went to my OB office and saw the nurse, and she dipped my urine to check for the UTI. That was negative. All this time, contractions are still coming, having to pause in my walk through them. My stomach would get rock hard, and moving anything other than my hands, would make it worse. My doctor had just been called to the labor and delivery floor for a delivery and so the nurse asked me to hang tight and she would see if my doctor wanted to see me or do anything else. Whoever was delivering was speedy fast because my doctor was back in the office 15 minutes later! She decided to see me, and she checked baby's heartbeat, and then she checked my cervix to see if I was dilating at all with the contractions. She said I was open a little bit on the outside but that was to be expected since this was my 4th pregnancy, and that she wasn't worried about that necessarily. After watching me through a few contractions, she decided to send me upstairs to labor and delivery for observation. Troy and the kids came with me, and while they insisted I ride in a wheelchair (hospital policy), we made our way to the labor and delivery floor. They hooked me up to the monitor that tracks the baby's heart rate, and to one that also picks up contractions. I was told to sit tight for a little while, so they could just observe what my body was doing. The kids were tired, and hungry, and so Troy took them home after I made sure had a ride back to the house after they were done with the observation. My doctor came in about an hour or so later, and said that the baby's heart rate sounded great, so no problems there, and that the contractions that I was having were not picking up on their monitor. Well, that's just fantastic! She was a little surprised since she palpated my belly during a few contractions and thought for sure they would pick up. She checked me again to make sure I hadn't dilated at all in the hour I had been there, and then got ready to discharge me. She told me the only explanation for the discomfort I was having was that I was "just having a bad pregnancy day." Alright then! I guess I'll take a bad pregnancy day over pre term labor or anything else that might result in this baby making a very early appearance. She told me to take it easy for a few days and to drink lots of water, and just try to relax. I resisted the urge to ask her what "relax" meant and just nodded and smiled. So far, I haven't had another "bad pregnancy day" like that, and while the contractions are still there, they aren't right on top of each other like they were that day, and while I still have to pause if I'm walking or sit still until they pass, it's just par for the course at this point, I guess!
At 30 weeks, the intended mother flew in, and we set up to have a 3D ultrasound done, as well as my regular check up with my OB. Everything went great! We did a growth ultrasound at my OB office, and they are estimating that this baby is already 4 lbs 4 oz!!! All I can say is yikes, this baby might be a big boy! I've gained about 12 pounds so far, and while the doctor is pleased with that, I can't help but wonder how big this boy is going to be at birth! Not gonna lie, I'm a little freaked out! Maybe he will chill out on the growth when he runs out of room in the next few weeks! Hey, an oven can hope! :) He has long arms and legs, and is very flexible as he likes to put his foot to his forehead all curled up inside! Heartbeat is nice and strong, and it was great to see the intended mother's face as she looked at her baby on the screen! We grabbed a quick bite, and then headed to the 3D ultrasound! I've never done one of those before, so it was something I was excited about. I was instructed to eat about an hour before the appointment, and to drink some caffeine, so I did both, and then off we were. It was a fun experience. They don't do anything diagnostic, they just do things like try to get facial expressions, and just give you a look inside to see what baby is up to. It was very cute, and again so nice to see mom's face and excitement as she anticipates her new arrival.
Found out a few weeks ago that I don't have gestational diabetes, phew, but that I am anemic. My level was a 10.3, and they want it above 12. I've been extremely tired lately, but that seems to be my only symptom related to being anemic. She said they typically see people with my level of 10.3 right after they've delivered the baby and lost all the blood, so the fact that I'm low like this before giving birth is a little bit scary, but she gave me a prescription for Iron supplements, and so I've been taking those every night. I would much rather take the supplement than have to get a blood transfusion after birth! I'm also trying to get more iron in my every day diet as well. My doc also prescribed something for the extreme heartburn I was having, and would just like to take a moment and thank God for whomever came up with this medicine. It's been great! I'm no longer waking up with my whole chest on fire in the middle of the night, and I can eat pretty much anything again! The list of things I couldn't eat was getting longer and longer every day!
I am currently 31 weeks, and starting to really look forward to the end! Been having some crazy weird dreams lately, with last night's dream being that I gained 110 pounds in the last week of pregnancy and was horrified! lol wouldn't that be something!
I haven't applied to nursing school for those of you wondering about that, as the deadline is April 1st, but my goal is to have everything submitted my the second week of March so that I don't have to worry about anything like that as my due date will be just a few weeks away. I have to take a special test and so I am in the process of studying for it! For those of you praying, I ask that you keep me in mind for the testing, and for the pregnancy of course! The timer on the oven doesn't need to run out yet, as much as I'm ready for it to!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
23 Weeks-Where did the time go?
Wow, I just realized that it's been 6 weeks since I've updated this blog! I have been very busy with homework, projects, studying for finals, and being a mom to two kids that time has just escaped me! But here we are, at the 23 week mark! Woohoo! One good thing about being so busy with school, and other things, is that I have been sort of distracted with the pregnancy that I sort of can't believe that I'm already more than half way there. Yay!
In my last post, I told you all the story of my experience in my doctor's office with the office staff and their problem with the ultrasound that I had requested on behalf of the intended parents. The last time I saw my doctor was at 20 weeks and the intended parents were at this appointment in person, since it was kind of a big appointment for the level 2 ultrasound that we had done. It was a good visit with them! We got to tour the hospital birthing center where I will be delivering their baby, and we got some preliminary paper work done that the hospital needs on their end, and the intended parents were able to ask questions, and I think it helped ease some of their fears of the unknown. They were also in awe of the size of the maternity rooms that are at the hospital I will be delivering at. I will labor and deliver, and recover in the same room. After the birth, they roll the hospital bed out, and a queen size murphy bed comes down from the wall behind, and is very spacious and roomy and comfortable! The intended mother had to share a room with a curtain when she delivered their daughter, and that was after a c-section! This will be a treat for them, I hope! As long as the hospital is not at capacity, they said they would be more than happy to provide a room for them to keep the baby in there with them, and just facilitate some bonding time. We got to hear the heartbeat for quite some time and it was very strong! Nice to see the smiles on their faces, and a little bit of worry leave their faces!
At the appointment, I waited until the clinical things were done, and the doctor was able to go about her normal check up for me, and then I brought up how I was treated when I came in for the ultrasound. As I suspected, the staff member that scolded me for having the ultrasound done was talking as if my doctor was upset and angry that I was having an ultrasound done that she hadn't authorized, when in fact, my doctor had no idea what was going on. She wasn't even asked! I told her what my experience was, and she was very apologetic and the more detail I gave her, the more upset she got. I asked her to please talk to the staff member that scolded me and to make sure that it didn't happen again. My doctor told me, from now on, to only call and talk to the nurse, and not talk to the office staff. Done! She apologized to the couple and to me one last time, and off we went!
The appointment with the level 2 ultrasound was right after lunch the same day and so we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed over there. The level 2 ultrasound just allows the doctors to see a little more detail than what a level 1 ultrasound will allow in your OB's office. It allows them to measure all of the major organs, see the heart in lots of detail, see the brain, and of course the sex! The baby was moving around a lot which made some of their views very difficult, but for the most part, I think the doctor got what he needed. He asked that I return in 6 weeks (3 weeks from now), so that he could get a better look at the heart, since the baby had curled up and was blocking his view too much. No matter how much he pushed and tried to wiggle the baby to move, there was no budging! So I will return in 6 weeks, and we will try again! He said that what he could see of the heart looked good, that the blood flow was good, so I'm not sure what else he needed to see that he couldn't get a look at, but whatever! We want a healthy baby, right!?
The intended parents headed home with lots of pictures of their new baby boy! :) Yes, it's a boy! Yay!!!
So far, this pregnancy is treating me well. I've gained about 4 pounds so far, which my doctor is pleased with, and most of the exhausted feeling has subsided, except for some days, when I feel like I could sleep all day and night! Wouldn't that be nice? I'm not sleeping that great at night, getting up to pee several times, and I have been having some crazy dreams that wake me up and make it hard to fall back to sleep! Crazy pregnancy brain!
This semester of school is over! I made it, and accomplished my goal of straight A's, too! I retook two classes that are prerequisites for nursing school to improve my GPA, which will hopefully give me a better chance of being admitted to nursing school. It is very competitive, and this will be my fourth attempt at getting in, but the first since I have had my bachelor's degree. I have not given going back to school this much effort before, so I am really hoping that it pays off! My application is due April 1st, but since this baby is due the 10th, I am planning to submit everything mid March. Have to study for a test that is part of the application process, then can submit everything else. I am hoping I will know something by June about whether I got in or not! And this whole paragraph stresses me out!
The baby has been kicking away, and getting stronger every day, seems like! My placenta is in the front, which can make movements hard to feel, but this baby isn't letting that stop him for now! I imagine when he gets bigger and starts running out of room, that I may not feel movement as much, but we will see! It's nice to feel the movements get stronger, makes me feel like I am doing something right! :) I am so excited to deliver this baby to the intended parents! They are so excited and thankful, and I am so happy to do this for them! I have my regular check up with my doctor next week, and then the repeat ultrasound for a better view of the heart, two weeks later, so I will probably update again after that is done!
For those of you praying, thank you, and please keep it up! Pray for a good repeat ultrasound, and for my admission into nursing school, and for the overall health of the rest of this pregnancy!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
In my last post, I told you all the story of my experience in my doctor's office with the office staff and their problem with the ultrasound that I had requested on behalf of the intended parents. The last time I saw my doctor was at 20 weeks and the intended parents were at this appointment in person, since it was kind of a big appointment for the level 2 ultrasound that we had done. It was a good visit with them! We got to tour the hospital birthing center where I will be delivering their baby, and we got some preliminary paper work done that the hospital needs on their end, and the intended parents were able to ask questions, and I think it helped ease some of their fears of the unknown. They were also in awe of the size of the maternity rooms that are at the hospital I will be delivering at. I will labor and deliver, and recover in the same room. After the birth, they roll the hospital bed out, and a queen size murphy bed comes down from the wall behind, and is very spacious and roomy and comfortable! The intended mother had to share a room with a curtain when she delivered their daughter, and that was after a c-section! This will be a treat for them, I hope! As long as the hospital is not at capacity, they said they would be more than happy to provide a room for them to keep the baby in there with them, and just facilitate some bonding time. We got to hear the heartbeat for quite some time and it was very strong! Nice to see the smiles on their faces, and a little bit of worry leave their faces!
At the appointment, I waited until the clinical things were done, and the doctor was able to go about her normal check up for me, and then I brought up how I was treated when I came in for the ultrasound. As I suspected, the staff member that scolded me for having the ultrasound done was talking as if my doctor was upset and angry that I was having an ultrasound done that she hadn't authorized, when in fact, my doctor had no idea what was going on. She wasn't even asked! I told her what my experience was, and she was very apologetic and the more detail I gave her, the more upset she got. I asked her to please talk to the staff member that scolded me and to make sure that it didn't happen again. My doctor told me, from now on, to only call and talk to the nurse, and not talk to the office staff. Done! She apologized to the couple and to me one last time, and off we went!
The appointment with the level 2 ultrasound was right after lunch the same day and so we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then headed over there. The level 2 ultrasound just allows the doctors to see a little more detail than what a level 1 ultrasound will allow in your OB's office. It allows them to measure all of the major organs, see the heart in lots of detail, see the brain, and of course the sex! The baby was moving around a lot which made some of their views very difficult, but for the most part, I think the doctor got what he needed. He asked that I return in 6 weeks (3 weeks from now), so that he could get a better look at the heart, since the baby had curled up and was blocking his view too much. No matter how much he pushed and tried to wiggle the baby to move, there was no budging! So I will return in 6 weeks, and we will try again! He said that what he could see of the heart looked good, that the blood flow was good, so I'm not sure what else he needed to see that he couldn't get a look at, but whatever! We want a healthy baby, right!?
The intended parents headed home with lots of pictures of their new baby boy! :) Yes, it's a boy! Yay!!!
So far, this pregnancy is treating me well. I've gained about 4 pounds so far, which my doctor is pleased with, and most of the exhausted feeling has subsided, except for some days, when I feel like I could sleep all day and night! Wouldn't that be nice? I'm not sleeping that great at night, getting up to pee several times, and I have been having some crazy dreams that wake me up and make it hard to fall back to sleep! Crazy pregnancy brain!
This semester of school is over! I made it, and accomplished my goal of straight A's, too! I retook two classes that are prerequisites for nursing school to improve my GPA, which will hopefully give me a better chance of being admitted to nursing school. It is very competitive, and this will be my fourth attempt at getting in, but the first since I have had my bachelor's degree. I have not given going back to school this much effort before, so I am really hoping that it pays off! My application is due April 1st, but since this baby is due the 10th, I am planning to submit everything mid March. Have to study for a test that is part of the application process, then can submit everything else. I am hoping I will know something by June about whether I got in or not! And this whole paragraph stresses me out!
The baby has been kicking away, and getting stronger every day, seems like! My placenta is in the front, which can make movements hard to feel, but this baby isn't letting that stop him for now! I imagine when he gets bigger and starts running out of room, that I may not feel movement as much, but we will see! It's nice to feel the movements get stronger, makes me feel like I am doing something right! :) I am so excited to deliver this baby to the intended parents! They are so excited and thankful, and I am so happy to do this for them! I have my regular check up with my doctor next week, and then the repeat ultrasound for a better view of the heart, two weeks later, so I will probably update again after that is done!
For those of you praying, thank you, and please keep it up! Pray for a good repeat ultrasound, and for my admission into nursing school, and for the overall health of the rest of this pregnancy!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
Thursday, November 5, 2015
17 Weeks
Hey all,
I just had some time to myself, so I figured I would update everyone on the last week! I had my 16 week checkup last thursday with my OB, and everything checked out and went well. We did a blood test to check for Spina Bifida, and am happy to report that everything came back normal for that! Yay! Did you know they can do surgery while I'm still pregnant on the baby to correct the spina bifida if I did have a problem? I thought that was so cool to learn! The advancements in medicine are fascinating to me sometimes!
It is great getting to experience this again as a surrogate with the intended parents. This is the first time they have gone this route, and they have expressed that they feel good about certain things because I have experienced it before, and can sort of prepare them for what's coming. But still, there are some things that are different, as each journey and pregnancy is different.
Overall, I'm feeling great! Nausea is gone, unless I get really hungry. I am still tired, but not like before with all the injections and medications I was taking! I am enjoying this time, because it gets hard in the next few months with heartburn, and carpal tunnel!
Last friday, the intended mother called me and wanted to know if I would be willing to go have an ultrasound done, only for the sole purpose of checking on the baby. From her perspective, she is far away, has no control over the situation, and is putting all of her trust into somebody that she didn't even know at the beginning of this year. It is also the only visual she has of her baby that will be joining their family soon, and pictures of a sonogram are her way of showing her family and friends. Sometimes, you just need that extra reassurance, even when you're carrying your own baby! I was happy to do it, but told her that we may have some obstacles in the way, with insurance and the willingness of my OB office to do an ultrasound when it hasn't been indicated by the doc to do so. I told her I would call Monday morning and see what they could do. So, I called that morning and spoke to the receptionist and explained the situation: "I'm a surrogate, I don't think there is anything wrong, but the intended mother would just like to see her baby and check up on it and see how things are going! Can you help me out?"
I got the run around. Had to wait for a call back from the clinic manager, who informed me that it would cost a little under $200 for the ultrasound because it would not be covered under my insurance policy, and it would need to be paid in full at the time of the appointment. She also said that since my doctor is not recommending this, therefore they are reluctant to do this. Their typical way of monitoring a baby at this point, is with the heartbeat doppler and that's it. Okay, but still: "Can you help me ease the mind of the parents, and let us do this?" They ended up letting me make an appointment for yesterday, which was Wednesday. I arrive to my appointment, and am told that the monthly budgeted amount for October has not been paid yet (error on the agency's part), and so I cannot be seen unless that is paid in full and well as the cost for the ultrasound. I had the intended mother on the phone and she was happy to pay for it and settle up with the agency afterwards. Great!
I take a seat and wait to be called back. The next thing I know, some lady that I have seen before in the office calls me back and is very rude with no smile on her face, and barely asks me to join her at her desk that is out in the open for everyone in the office to see and hear. I take a seat at one of these two chairs she has set up next to her desk, and she then proceeds to scold me. "I just wanted to be clear and make you aware that we will not be doing another ultrasound like this. This was not ordered by the doctor and she is not understanding of why you are doing this, and we will not be doing this again. Is that clear?" "If you want to have this done again, you can go elsewhere, like a 3D ultrasound place and have this done."
"Okay." I said.
"You can go have a seat back in the waiting room now." She says with the rudest tone that matched everything else she had said in our conversation.
I got up and went back to the waiting room, and started shaking, I was so upset! I know, I know, I didn't stand up for myself, and let her have it, but what am I supposed to say? I felt like I had just been scolded like a little child, and that the situation was not being understood. Why did they let me make an appointment, collect the intended mother's money for the ultrasound, and then take me back and scold me for it? If they didn't want to do it, they should have said so, and not let me make an appointment with the ultrasound tech in the first place. Instead, they made the appointment, collected what they were owed, and then made me feel like absolute crap and not welcome in their clinic.
I sit in the waiting room for 5 more minutes, and the sonographer calls me and is happy to see me. Her room is all the way in the back of the office and so I just hightailed it to her room. We get in the room and she asks how I'm doing, and expresses that she is happy to see me again (she did all the ultrasounds for the last journey, for the couple in France).
I just looked at her and said: "You know what? I'm not doing great right now. I just got scolded for being here and doing this ultrasound from the clinic manager. She was incredibly rude and I am sort of ticked off!!!"
She said: "What happened, I feel like I'm in the middle of something and I don't know what's going on!"
I told her what I was there for and why, that this was not something that my OB was asking for, but that the intended mother wanted it done and for good reason!
She understood completely and said she would do her best! I told her that the intended mother was waiting for my FaceTime call and that she was so excited to see her baby! She then tells me that typically they don't allow any facetime, video, or pictures, but that she would go and check for me. She comes back and says that indeed, no they will not allow me to have a FaceTime call with the mother.
At that point, I asked the sonographer to step out for a sec because I needed to call the intended mother and this was probably not going to go well. She was happy to do it, and told me to just open the door when we were done.
I called the intended mother and filled her in on everything. She was definitely not pleased, for good reason, but agreed to still have the ultrasound done as long as we could get lots of pictures. Alright then! I called the sonographer back in and she was happy to do her job! She got lots of angles, we were able to see feet, hands, face, stomach, bladder, kidneys, and we even saw the baby opening his mouth to drink. She said she could tell that everything was working well since the stomach was filled with liquid, and the bladder was filled which told her that everything was working well! Yay! That was all we wanted! She did great at labeling everything we saw. No complaints with the sonographer at all! She is fabulous and she gets it!
I walked straight out of the office and looked and spoke to no one! I was able to FaceTime the mom when I got to my car and share all the pictures with her! She was thrilled and excited and happy to see her baby!
The couple is coming for the 20 week appointment with my OB, and for the ultrasound that we will have done as well! That should be a fun appointment since we will definitely be talking to my OB about this experience. If I think about it for too long, I get mad, so I'm trying to just tell myself that we will deal with it later. This is a direct reflection on my OB and her practice. If they can't be understanding of the situation and a little sensitive to it, then I will find someone else that is. I certainly hope it doesn't get to that point though!
Thanks for reading my ramblings! :)
Will update in a few weeks after the 20 week appointment!
Sarah
I just had some time to myself, so I figured I would update everyone on the last week! I had my 16 week checkup last thursday with my OB, and everything checked out and went well. We did a blood test to check for Spina Bifida, and am happy to report that everything came back normal for that! Yay! Did you know they can do surgery while I'm still pregnant on the baby to correct the spina bifida if I did have a problem? I thought that was so cool to learn! The advancements in medicine are fascinating to me sometimes!
It is great getting to experience this again as a surrogate with the intended parents. This is the first time they have gone this route, and they have expressed that they feel good about certain things because I have experienced it before, and can sort of prepare them for what's coming. But still, there are some things that are different, as each journey and pregnancy is different.
Overall, I'm feeling great! Nausea is gone, unless I get really hungry. I am still tired, but not like before with all the injections and medications I was taking! I am enjoying this time, because it gets hard in the next few months with heartburn, and carpal tunnel!
Last friday, the intended mother called me and wanted to know if I would be willing to go have an ultrasound done, only for the sole purpose of checking on the baby. From her perspective, she is far away, has no control over the situation, and is putting all of her trust into somebody that she didn't even know at the beginning of this year. It is also the only visual she has of her baby that will be joining their family soon, and pictures of a sonogram are her way of showing her family and friends. Sometimes, you just need that extra reassurance, even when you're carrying your own baby! I was happy to do it, but told her that we may have some obstacles in the way, with insurance and the willingness of my OB office to do an ultrasound when it hasn't been indicated by the doc to do so. I told her I would call Monday morning and see what they could do. So, I called that morning and spoke to the receptionist and explained the situation: "I'm a surrogate, I don't think there is anything wrong, but the intended mother would just like to see her baby and check up on it and see how things are going! Can you help me out?"
I got the run around. Had to wait for a call back from the clinic manager, who informed me that it would cost a little under $200 for the ultrasound because it would not be covered under my insurance policy, and it would need to be paid in full at the time of the appointment. She also said that since my doctor is not recommending this, therefore they are reluctant to do this. Their typical way of monitoring a baby at this point, is with the heartbeat doppler and that's it. Okay, but still: "Can you help me ease the mind of the parents, and let us do this?" They ended up letting me make an appointment for yesterday, which was Wednesday. I arrive to my appointment, and am told that the monthly budgeted amount for October has not been paid yet (error on the agency's part), and so I cannot be seen unless that is paid in full and well as the cost for the ultrasound. I had the intended mother on the phone and she was happy to pay for it and settle up with the agency afterwards. Great!
I take a seat and wait to be called back. The next thing I know, some lady that I have seen before in the office calls me back and is very rude with no smile on her face, and barely asks me to join her at her desk that is out in the open for everyone in the office to see and hear. I take a seat at one of these two chairs she has set up next to her desk, and she then proceeds to scold me. "I just wanted to be clear and make you aware that we will not be doing another ultrasound like this. This was not ordered by the doctor and she is not understanding of why you are doing this, and we will not be doing this again. Is that clear?" "If you want to have this done again, you can go elsewhere, like a 3D ultrasound place and have this done."
"Okay." I said.
"You can go have a seat back in the waiting room now." She says with the rudest tone that matched everything else she had said in our conversation.
I got up and went back to the waiting room, and started shaking, I was so upset! I know, I know, I didn't stand up for myself, and let her have it, but what am I supposed to say? I felt like I had just been scolded like a little child, and that the situation was not being understood. Why did they let me make an appointment, collect the intended mother's money for the ultrasound, and then take me back and scold me for it? If they didn't want to do it, they should have said so, and not let me make an appointment with the ultrasound tech in the first place. Instead, they made the appointment, collected what they were owed, and then made me feel like absolute crap and not welcome in their clinic.
I sit in the waiting room for 5 more minutes, and the sonographer calls me and is happy to see me. Her room is all the way in the back of the office and so I just hightailed it to her room. We get in the room and she asks how I'm doing, and expresses that she is happy to see me again (she did all the ultrasounds for the last journey, for the couple in France).
I just looked at her and said: "You know what? I'm not doing great right now. I just got scolded for being here and doing this ultrasound from the clinic manager. She was incredibly rude and I am sort of ticked off!!!"
She said: "What happened, I feel like I'm in the middle of something and I don't know what's going on!"
I told her what I was there for and why, that this was not something that my OB was asking for, but that the intended mother wanted it done and for good reason!
She understood completely and said she would do her best! I told her that the intended mother was waiting for my FaceTime call and that she was so excited to see her baby! She then tells me that typically they don't allow any facetime, video, or pictures, but that she would go and check for me. She comes back and says that indeed, no they will not allow me to have a FaceTime call with the mother.
At that point, I asked the sonographer to step out for a sec because I needed to call the intended mother and this was probably not going to go well. She was happy to do it, and told me to just open the door when we were done.
I called the intended mother and filled her in on everything. She was definitely not pleased, for good reason, but agreed to still have the ultrasound done as long as we could get lots of pictures. Alright then! I called the sonographer back in and she was happy to do her job! She got lots of angles, we were able to see feet, hands, face, stomach, bladder, kidneys, and we even saw the baby opening his mouth to drink. She said she could tell that everything was working well since the stomach was filled with liquid, and the bladder was filled which told her that everything was working well! Yay! That was all we wanted! She did great at labeling everything we saw. No complaints with the sonographer at all! She is fabulous and she gets it!
I walked straight out of the office and looked and spoke to no one! I was able to FaceTime the mom when I got to my car and share all the pictures with her! She was thrilled and excited and happy to see her baby!
The couple is coming for the 20 week appointment with my OB, and for the ultrasound that we will have done as well! That should be a fun appointment since we will definitely be talking to my OB about this experience. If I think about it for too long, I get mad, so I'm trying to just tell myself that we will deal with it later. This is a direct reflection on my OB and her practice. If they can't be understanding of the situation and a little sensitive to it, then I will find someone else that is. I certainly hope it doesn't get to that point though!
Thanks for reading my ramblings! :)
Will update in a few weeks after the 20 week appointment!
Sarah
Sunday, October 25, 2015
16 Weeks update
Oh man, I just looked at my last blog update, and realized that I was 8 weeks when I wrote it. I am now 16 weeks! Time is flying by! I have been busy with the kids and playing chauffeur to and from school. Have I mentioned that I am taking 6 credit hours this semester to help reattempt admission to nursing school? Yeah...I'm taking Nutrition and Statistics. Nutrition is a breeze, but my statistics class is going to be the death of me if I get through it and I maintain my A I currently have in the class. My teacher is not very good at all, and is making things very difficult for us. When the semester started, there were 19 people in the class, now there are 8 of us, and only 5 of us showed up to take the test on Saturday morning. The homework, which is worth 20 percent of my grade takes an average of 6 hours to complete, for each assignment. I am having to teach myself the material with the online homework aide, because the teacher does not leave herself enough time to lecture in class. So, all that to say that I have been spending most of my evenings, after the kids go to bed, on homework for this class! December 14th can't come soon enough! But hopefully it is all worth it, so if you could, keep me in your thoughts and prayers regarding nursing school. The program is an accelerated 1 year program for adults who already have a bachelor's degree. Since that's right up my ally, I am really hopefully this will work out! The classes I am retaking this semester are just to improve my GPA so that I will have a better chance for admissions!
So, 16 weeks pregnant! Everything is going well! I don't really feel pregnant mostly. In the evenings, after a day full of kids and whatever that brings, I do. I have been feeling lots of small movements, and its definitely encouraging to get to feel those! I am starting to not be able to button my jeans, so the belly band I used for last pregnancy is my new best friend!
Remember how I was saying I wasn't nauseous, by some miracle? Well, since my last post, the nausea came on like a vengeance. I was instructed to quit all my shots and pills at 10 weeks, and that is when the nausea and other early pregnancy symptoms made their presence known. But even still, the nausea was by far the best nausea I have had for all my pregnancies. It got really bad in the evenings, around 4 o'clock, through dinner and bedtime, but would wake up in the morning feeling fine. It is starting to get a lot better now, so I can't complain too much! Still very tired, but that's to be expected at this point!
The intended parents are very excited and were able to tell their first born daughter that she is going to have a sibling soon! She is very excited, and I am so happy for them! At just before 13 weeks, the intended mother came to Kansas for the first time to attend the nuchal translucency test that we had done. I had this done last time as well. It is just an ultrasound that measure the amount of fluid between the baby's neck and spinal cord. If it is above a 3.4, then they are able to say that they suspect Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 21. My levels were checked and they said the levels are 1.7 Well below the 3.4, so yay! We also had some bloodwork done that just gives an extra confirmation on the same info, and that came back negative as well. That was great news and it was great to spend time with the intended mother and introduce her to my OB as well.
I have my regular OB check up this week, and so we should get to hear the heartbeat and maybe get a sneak peak at this little being in the oven. The intended parents and their first born will be here for my 20 week appointment and ultrasound, which will be the week of Thanksgiving! We will also tour the hospital and go through some of the legal aspects of the pregnancy regarding the birth certificate, and making sure the parents' name is on there. This part is going by quickly so far! I am just enjoying feeling better, and not being huge yet! Thank you for reading! Feel free to ask any questions you may have! I'm mostly an open book!
Sarah
So, 16 weeks pregnant! Everything is going well! I don't really feel pregnant mostly. In the evenings, after a day full of kids and whatever that brings, I do. I have been feeling lots of small movements, and its definitely encouraging to get to feel those! I am starting to not be able to button my jeans, so the belly band I used for last pregnancy is my new best friend!
Remember how I was saying I wasn't nauseous, by some miracle? Well, since my last post, the nausea came on like a vengeance. I was instructed to quit all my shots and pills at 10 weeks, and that is when the nausea and other early pregnancy symptoms made their presence known. But even still, the nausea was by far the best nausea I have had for all my pregnancies. It got really bad in the evenings, around 4 o'clock, through dinner and bedtime, but would wake up in the morning feeling fine. It is starting to get a lot better now, so I can't complain too much! Still very tired, but that's to be expected at this point!
The intended parents are very excited and were able to tell their first born daughter that she is going to have a sibling soon! She is very excited, and I am so happy for them! At just before 13 weeks, the intended mother came to Kansas for the first time to attend the nuchal translucency test that we had done. I had this done last time as well. It is just an ultrasound that measure the amount of fluid between the baby's neck and spinal cord. If it is above a 3.4, then they are able to say that they suspect Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 21. My levels were checked and they said the levels are 1.7 Well below the 3.4, so yay! We also had some bloodwork done that just gives an extra confirmation on the same info, and that came back negative as well. That was great news and it was great to spend time with the intended mother and introduce her to my OB as well.
I have my regular OB check up this week, and so we should get to hear the heartbeat and maybe get a sneak peak at this little being in the oven. The intended parents and their first born will be here for my 20 week appointment and ultrasound, which will be the week of Thanksgiving! We will also tour the hospital and go through some of the legal aspects of the pregnancy regarding the birth certificate, and making sure the parents' name is on there. This part is going by quickly so far! I am just enjoying feeling better, and not being huge yet! Thank you for reading! Feel free to ask any questions you may have! I'm mostly an open book!
Sarah
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Update!
Hey all,
Sorry for the long silence since my last post! Have had a lot going on, and these last few weeks have just flown by! So the last time I updated, I was considered 4 weeks and a few days. I am 8 weeks today!!! I have had a few more blood draws and 2 ultrasounds since the initial blood test. The blood draw after the first one was just a few days after to make sure the levels of HCG are increasing at a steady rate. Since HCG is supposed to double every 48 hours in the beginning, we were expecting a decent number. That blood draw gave me a HCG of 327, and so the clinic in Connecticut just told me to keep doing the same thing I've been doing, which is to continue all the shots and pills. Yay! (sense the sarcasm?) Hey, it's all part of the process! The couple requested a third blood draw, just to ease their worries and reassure them a little bit, so I went back a week after the last one. That HCG level was 5,384! Yikes, I'll be honest, I was freaking out a little bit! If it's supposed to double every 48 hours, we would've been looking at a number closer to 2,000. So to get that number, I secretly googled HCG levels for women carrying twins at 5 weeks. Let's just say it was not comforting! :) Since we transferred one embryo in, that would mean identical twins in the oven. Again, the clinic told me just to keep doing what I'm doing and we will see at Week 6 for the first ultrasound and confirmation of a heartbeat!
The ultrasound was on August 17th! The couple was waiting on FaceTime, and since I had to go to a different clinic than the one I have been going to in Olathe, I was unsure about whether they would allow FaceTime. Got all checked in, got my blood drawn again, and then waited for the ultrasound. Thankfully, after asking as nicely as I could and trying to explain the situation as much as I could, the nurse practitioner (NP) performing the ultrasound agreed to let me FaceTime the intended parents. So, at the same time, we all saw the little heartbeat, just a beating away! Yep, just ONE heartbeat!! PHEW!!! The NP wouldn't let us hear it, but we could all see it on the screen. The couple was very excited, happy, and over the moon! And I think, a little in shock! They have waited so long for this! When it actually happens, it's almost like an out of body experience! The NP did a few other measurements, checked my ovaries, and saw that I had a subchorionic hemorrhage. If you followed my last journey with the couple from France, I had one during the first trimester as well. I did have some bleeding with that, but I was told then that it is very common for patients who have undergone IVF to experience this, and not to worry, that I may have some bleeding, but most of it should absorb on its own over time. The NP asked me if I had had any bleeding, to which I replied no, and so she just said that I have the hemorrhage and that I may bleed or it'll probably just absorb by itself over time. That was two weeks ago, and I haven't had any bleeding or spotting! So glad, because I don't want the intended parents to worry about anything extra like this! The baby is measuring exactly to the day, which is great and the heartbeat was strong! Same word from the clinic, my HCG was over 15,000 and to keep doing what I'm doing!
I think I might just be a person with high HCG levels and that it may not necessarily reflect the presence of twins! I have had some pretty intense nausea during all of my pregnancies and it always starts at 6 weeks, to the day. I am currently 8 weeks, and I am only nauseous when I eat! Go figure! Nothing really sounds good to eat, but I have to eat every 3 hours, or I start feeling shaky and sick! Hey, I'll take it! This is so much better than constant nausea, morning and night! I'm hoping it continues!
I had a second ultrasound on Wednesday of last week. Went in for another blood draw, and then the ultrasound. I think the baby looks like a little gummy bear at this point, and there it was, just floating around, growing! We saw some growth from a week before, and saw the heartbeat again, and they didn't mention anything about the subchorionic hemorrhage, and the clinic didn't mention it either, so I have just told myself that it absorbed and is gone! The clinic would like one last ultrasound before they discharge me as their patient and leave me free to see my own OB for prenatal care. So, I have one last ultrasound scheduled for next week, which will put me at a little over 9 weeks, and as long as everything looks good, that'll be it for the ultrasounds and blood draws for a while! I'll be able to start weening from the shots and the estrogen pills at 10 weeks, which I am so excited for! If I'm honest, sitting is getting pretty painful!
I have talked to the intended parents, mostly the mother, via text messages, and I appreciate our conversations! She is a lot like me, in some ways, so it's nice that we can relate to each other!
For those of you praying, please pray the nausea stays at bay, and that the last ultrasound with the IVF clinic is a good one! We are thinking strong heartbeat and a bigger gummy bear! Will update after the last ultrasound!
Thanks for reading! I appreciate it more than you know!
Sarah
Sorry for the long silence since my last post! Have had a lot going on, and these last few weeks have just flown by! So the last time I updated, I was considered 4 weeks and a few days. I am 8 weeks today!!! I have had a few more blood draws and 2 ultrasounds since the initial blood test. The blood draw after the first one was just a few days after to make sure the levels of HCG are increasing at a steady rate. Since HCG is supposed to double every 48 hours in the beginning, we were expecting a decent number. That blood draw gave me a HCG of 327, and so the clinic in Connecticut just told me to keep doing the same thing I've been doing, which is to continue all the shots and pills. Yay! (sense the sarcasm?) Hey, it's all part of the process! The couple requested a third blood draw, just to ease their worries and reassure them a little bit, so I went back a week after the last one. That HCG level was 5,384! Yikes, I'll be honest, I was freaking out a little bit! If it's supposed to double every 48 hours, we would've been looking at a number closer to 2,000. So to get that number, I secretly googled HCG levels for women carrying twins at 5 weeks. Let's just say it was not comforting! :) Since we transferred one embryo in, that would mean identical twins in the oven. Again, the clinic told me just to keep doing what I'm doing and we will see at Week 6 for the first ultrasound and confirmation of a heartbeat!
The ultrasound was on August 17th! The couple was waiting on FaceTime, and since I had to go to a different clinic than the one I have been going to in Olathe, I was unsure about whether they would allow FaceTime. Got all checked in, got my blood drawn again, and then waited for the ultrasound. Thankfully, after asking as nicely as I could and trying to explain the situation as much as I could, the nurse practitioner (NP) performing the ultrasound agreed to let me FaceTime the intended parents. So, at the same time, we all saw the little heartbeat, just a beating away! Yep, just ONE heartbeat!! PHEW!!! The NP wouldn't let us hear it, but we could all see it on the screen. The couple was very excited, happy, and over the moon! And I think, a little in shock! They have waited so long for this! When it actually happens, it's almost like an out of body experience! The NP did a few other measurements, checked my ovaries, and saw that I had a subchorionic hemorrhage. If you followed my last journey with the couple from France, I had one during the first trimester as well. I did have some bleeding with that, but I was told then that it is very common for patients who have undergone IVF to experience this, and not to worry, that I may have some bleeding, but most of it should absorb on its own over time. The NP asked me if I had had any bleeding, to which I replied no, and so she just said that I have the hemorrhage and that I may bleed or it'll probably just absorb by itself over time. That was two weeks ago, and I haven't had any bleeding or spotting! So glad, because I don't want the intended parents to worry about anything extra like this! The baby is measuring exactly to the day, which is great and the heartbeat was strong! Same word from the clinic, my HCG was over 15,000 and to keep doing what I'm doing!
I think I might just be a person with high HCG levels and that it may not necessarily reflect the presence of twins! I have had some pretty intense nausea during all of my pregnancies and it always starts at 6 weeks, to the day. I am currently 8 weeks, and I am only nauseous when I eat! Go figure! Nothing really sounds good to eat, but I have to eat every 3 hours, or I start feeling shaky and sick! Hey, I'll take it! This is so much better than constant nausea, morning and night! I'm hoping it continues!
I had a second ultrasound on Wednesday of last week. Went in for another blood draw, and then the ultrasound. I think the baby looks like a little gummy bear at this point, and there it was, just floating around, growing! We saw some growth from a week before, and saw the heartbeat again, and they didn't mention anything about the subchorionic hemorrhage, and the clinic didn't mention it either, so I have just told myself that it absorbed and is gone! The clinic would like one last ultrasound before they discharge me as their patient and leave me free to see my own OB for prenatal care. So, I have one last ultrasound scheduled for next week, which will put me at a little over 9 weeks, and as long as everything looks good, that'll be it for the ultrasounds and blood draws for a while! I'll be able to start weening from the shots and the estrogen pills at 10 weeks, which I am so excited for! If I'm honest, sitting is getting pretty painful!
I have talked to the intended parents, mostly the mother, via text messages, and I appreciate our conversations! She is a lot like me, in some ways, so it's nice that we can relate to each other!
For those of you praying, please pray the nausea stays at bay, and that the last ultrasound with the IVF clinic is a good one! We are thinking strong heartbeat and a bigger gummy bear! Will update after the last ultrasound!
Thanks for reading! I appreciate it more than you know!
Sarah
Monday, August 3, 2015
Results Day
Hi there,
Here we are again, made it to results day! I have to admit, I have been a little distracted with the waiting game this time around since we were getting ready to come back to Kansas, with packing and road tripping it took my mind off of it a little bit! But once the weekend hit, and we were home, I was getting pretty antsy!
So, when I got the call today, I was more than ready! The nurse on the phone said: "Hi Sarah, I have some great news this time! You're pregnant! Your levels look great! Good job, you did it!" Alright, I'm not exactly sure what I did, but who the heck cares! I'm pregnant, peeps! That is all that matters! The nurse said they want the HCG to be above 50 and my level was 137. They want the progesterone level to be above 12 and my level was 19. And while she didn't say what they want my level to be at for the estrogen, it was in the 800's, which she said was great! I will have another blood draw on Wednesday, just to check to make sure the levels are going up, and then if everything is good there, we will schedule the first ultrasound by mid August! That should give enough time for this little bun to get a strong heartbeat we can hear! Right now, I am considered to be 4 weeks and 1 day!
Now, for the confession: I cheated and took a pregnancy test on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Both were positive! By the end of the day on Saturday, I just wanted to know already! Ever since the transfer, I have had this gut feeling that I am pregnant. With the way the doctor and staff reacted to the transfer itself, and how pleased they seem to be, it gave me some courage to take a test. I also had noticed a few symptoms like a heightened gag reflex, sharp pains that only last a quick second in my uterus that continued even after the transfer day, a heightened sense of smell, and just getting clumsy, dropping things mostly. I also was talking to the intended mother via texts messages early on Saturday, and she told me that her and the intended father weren't going to be together today, due to work, and that sort of sealed the deal for me. So, I went and took the test, and Troy told me not to peak and he said he wouldn't either. The test said to give it 2-10 minutes to view the results, and so I went about my business. About 5 minutes in, I went back upstairs and waited for Troy. He said: "Ok, here we go. I already peaked, and it's negative, except for it's positive!" Little stinker, right?! Pretty sure I had a small heart attack, and for a brief second, I went through going through another cycle in my head. Then when he said it was positive: relief, excitement, happiness, and cue the disconnect between my brain and my body. I gave it about 20 minutes to sink in slightly, and then I called the intended parents! They definitely weren't expecting my call, but were glad to talk! The conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey guys, I just took a pregnancy test, and it was positive!!!"
Them: "Oh. MY. GOD! Wait, what? Are you sure? Take another one!"
Me: "Yes, I'm pretty sure! Let's FaceTime, and I'll show you the test!"
Them: "OH MY GOD!!!"
They were so surprised and excited! They are being really cautious with their excitement but no one can blame them! They've been through a lot to get to this point, and it's only natural for them to feel this way!
For those of you who followed me through my last surrogacy, I talked about feeling as though my brain wasn't connected to my body a lot because I wasn't really registering all that my body was doing with growing a baby with the plans to give it back to the parents. The only thing I can think of for why I feel this way is because when you find out you're expecting one of your own, you immediately start thinking about what life will be like with another baby in the house, another sibling, making room for the baby, and all of that! As a surrogate, I don't have to put thought into any of those things! The pressure is off, for those things and it's the same thing this time around! I'm in a little denial most of the time, except for when I feel those little sharp pains! I'm also really not looking forward to the months of nausea ahead of me! With all three of my last pregnancies, as a surrogate or not, I am usually really nauseous by week 6. I'm just gonna take it as it comes at this point, and do what I can to feel good and keep this baby healthy!
So for those of you that are praying and sending good thoughts and vibes out this way, THANK YOU!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time, even just for a minute! At this point, I would ask for all of your prayers, thought and good vibes to be directed towards another great blood draw on Wednesday, and for a good strong heartbeat after that! This little bun has some plans, I can tell!! :)
Sarah
Here we are again, made it to results day! I have to admit, I have been a little distracted with the waiting game this time around since we were getting ready to come back to Kansas, with packing and road tripping it took my mind off of it a little bit! But once the weekend hit, and we were home, I was getting pretty antsy!
So, when I got the call today, I was more than ready! The nurse on the phone said: "Hi Sarah, I have some great news this time! You're pregnant! Your levels look great! Good job, you did it!" Alright, I'm not exactly sure what I did, but who the heck cares! I'm pregnant, peeps! That is all that matters! The nurse said they want the HCG to be above 50 and my level was 137. They want the progesterone level to be above 12 and my level was 19. And while she didn't say what they want my level to be at for the estrogen, it was in the 800's, which she said was great! I will have another blood draw on Wednesday, just to check to make sure the levels are going up, and then if everything is good there, we will schedule the first ultrasound by mid August! That should give enough time for this little bun to get a strong heartbeat we can hear! Right now, I am considered to be 4 weeks and 1 day!
Now, for the confession: I cheated and took a pregnancy test on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Both were positive! By the end of the day on Saturday, I just wanted to know already! Ever since the transfer, I have had this gut feeling that I am pregnant. With the way the doctor and staff reacted to the transfer itself, and how pleased they seem to be, it gave me some courage to take a test. I also had noticed a few symptoms like a heightened gag reflex, sharp pains that only last a quick second in my uterus that continued even after the transfer day, a heightened sense of smell, and just getting clumsy, dropping things mostly. I also was talking to the intended mother via texts messages early on Saturday, and she told me that her and the intended father weren't going to be together today, due to work, and that sort of sealed the deal for me. So, I went and took the test, and Troy told me not to peak and he said he wouldn't either. The test said to give it 2-10 minutes to view the results, and so I went about my business. About 5 minutes in, I went back upstairs and waited for Troy. He said: "Ok, here we go. I already peaked, and it's negative, except for it's positive!" Little stinker, right?! Pretty sure I had a small heart attack, and for a brief second, I went through going through another cycle in my head. Then when he said it was positive: relief, excitement, happiness, and cue the disconnect between my brain and my body. I gave it about 20 minutes to sink in slightly, and then I called the intended parents! They definitely weren't expecting my call, but were glad to talk! The conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey guys, I just took a pregnancy test, and it was positive!!!"
Them: "Oh. MY. GOD! Wait, what? Are you sure? Take another one!"
Me: "Yes, I'm pretty sure! Let's FaceTime, and I'll show you the test!"
Them: "OH MY GOD!!!"
They were so surprised and excited! They are being really cautious with their excitement but no one can blame them! They've been through a lot to get to this point, and it's only natural for them to feel this way!
For those of you who followed me through my last surrogacy, I talked about feeling as though my brain wasn't connected to my body a lot because I wasn't really registering all that my body was doing with growing a baby with the plans to give it back to the parents. The only thing I can think of for why I feel this way is because when you find out you're expecting one of your own, you immediately start thinking about what life will be like with another baby in the house, another sibling, making room for the baby, and all of that! As a surrogate, I don't have to put thought into any of those things! The pressure is off, for those things and it's the same thing this time around! I'm in a little denial most of the time, except for when I feel those little sharp pains! I'm also really not looking forward to the months of nausea ahead of me! With all three of my last pregnancies, as a surrogate or not, I am usually really nauseous by week 6. I'm just gonna take it as it comes at this point, and do what I can to feel good and keep this baby healthy!
So for those of you that are praying and sending good thoughts and vibes out this way, THANK YOU!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time, even just for a minute! At this point, I would ask for all of your prayers, thought and good vibes to be directed towards another great blood draw on Wednesday, and for a good strong heartbeat after that! This little bun has some plans, I can tell!! :)
Sarah
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