The original plan was October 1, but the donor needed one more day before she was ready for a "trigger injection" to signal her body to be ready for the retrieval of the eggs. Once they have the eggs
they will be checked for the quality ones. The clinic will then fertilize the egg with our intended fathers semen. The embryo will then be watched for 5 days to give it time to mature and increase chances of survival. On day 5 they will transfer the embryo to my uterus. How weird is it to say, "I'll be getting pregnant next week"?! Praying so hard for this miracle little baby to be strong and healthy and for the pregnancy to take the first time!!
So, we are to fly down on Wednesday the 1st and stay overnight for the transfer on Thursday the 2nd. The Dr. doesn't recommend bed rest after a transfer (just light duty) like previously; moving around will increase blood flow and oxygen to the baby/uterus. The whole procedure takes about 5 min (followed by laying flat for a little)! Since my husband is singing in a wedding Friday, we are going to fly back Thursday after the transfer. Boo! It would have been nice to have a getaway! Which reminds me....I need to contact the travel agency to put in our travel date request. The support persons way is paid to come with the surrogate on this trip.
The nurse called on Friday to tell me she was getting the injection then and would be ready for retrieval Saturday morning. She also told me to carry this Endometrin tablet with me on Saturday so I would be ready to inject it as soon as they called. The tablet is a progesterone tablet to help the uterine lining to receive and nourish a fertilized egg. She instructed as long as the eggs looked good I would then start intermuscular progesterone oil injections once daily. I will be taking these shots for 12 weeks. These are supposed to help support the pregnancy and prevent miscarriages.
Cue evil music.
BOM BOM BOM.
I haven't complained about my other injections because I knew these were coming! The worst of the worst from what I heard! In my phone call she said, "these needles are much bigger and you will inject a lot more".......mmmhmmm ok got it.
On the surrogacy Facebook page a lot of people say they make them really sore, hard to sit, bruising, etc. Since the progesterone is carried in an oil, the oil doesn't always dissolve well and leaves knots in the muscles. I was frantically searching for tips to make it easier!! I also read that it was important to take them at the same time every night, which my nurse never mentioned so I am shooting her an email!
Its strange how fast the egg donor staged moved. I feel like we just started. I wish I knew her; it would be so awesome to meet someone who is helping the same couple make a family! Praying everything went well with her and she is recovering ok. I really don't know her part of the process and how that works.
Meanwhile is surrogacy land. Estrogen side effects finally started kicking in big time. Each day I woke up feeling a little more bloated. My face and belly are just super uncomfortable and my body is tender. It's like when you eat a huge meal....but it doesn't go away. Lots of big T-shirts. I am hoping it's a good sign! I guess if my uterus is growing, my belly needs to grow too. I just never expected to gain so much weight before I was actually pregnant and am trying to just keep exercising and staying healthy. I don't want a scale or my changing body to prevent me from enjoying this experience! Oh, and I had to make a life changing decision. What color to dye my hair before a pregnancy. In my contract it states that I can't dye my hair during the entire pregnancy. I'm overly dramatic I know...but that's a long time!! I dye it so I don't get bored and cut it off again! So black it is. :(
Everyone keeps asking me if I am freaking out. Honestly, no. It is really odd to think it is really happening next week...but I am so ready! So ready to do the transfer, pray for a success, and finally stop the injections and enjoy the pregnancy process with our family. I feel similar to when I was pregnant and thinking about labor. In the beginning it's so scary and at the end you are just ready for the baby to be out one way or another!!!
SOOOOOO around noon I got the call from the nurse today saying there were 14 eggs and to insert the progesterone tablet! Good thing I was at a cute little coffee shop with a nice clean bathroom! An hour later and I would have been at a fall festival using a portable potty! EEEEK! She said I wouldn't know any updates on how the fertilized egg was doing until Monday.
The pill was huge! I laughed when I opened it from the shock. It was a little dry, but no big deal. I felt a little pressure until is dissolved.
Now for the progesterone shot. I couldn't wait until late evening to do it. I just wanted it out of the way. 6pm would have to do it. I read to ice and not to ice the spot. People can't agreed on anything. I just chose to microwave a wet cloth and wrap it around the needle to warm the oil and help it dissolve. As that was warming I massaged my hip, threw a heating pad on it for like 2 seconds, and just went for it. I am not a patient person and am a little lazy with the whole process of doing a million things! If I am to do this every night it needs to be easy. I decided to lay down to rest my muscle while my husband injected me (he hates it as much as I do) and hold a pillow over my face in case I needed to freak out.
Guess what. I felt nothing. Praise Jesus.
Did we do it right?! I googled to make sure I had the right spot!
I'm sure there will be bad nights (like when my husband injected me in the sciatic nerve last week and I still have a huge bubble and pain....why did no one warn me about that nerve?!). But tonight, it was great. I ran around the house, did some squats, and am sitting on a heating pad to try to help it dissolve in my muscle to prevent the knots and pain they say come up. I feel a deep soreness in my muscle now. Like I worked out or got punch by someone really hard haha. I'll let you know how it goes coming up!!!
Thank you so much for being so supportive, asking questions, and your support! Be in prayer for this little baby,the transfer, and its future!!!