Sunday, May 27, 2012

Interested?

I got an email this weekend about another set of parents that are looking for a surrogate. This is what it said...

Kelcie,
I have another set of Intended Parents that are looking for a surrogate that is willing to meet the requirements below. Can you take a look and see if you want me to send them your profile? 
 
Obviously no drug history, alcohol, prescription meds or smoking
-Under 35 yo
-Hispanic or Caucasian
-Married with own children, stable enviroment
-Willing to have a C-section
-Amniocentesis
-No tattoos or body piercings (one or two small tattoos would be OK)
-No breast augmentations (increase in platinum levels in blood)
-Willing to give a hair sample for prior drug use screening
-Willing to undergo random drug testing while pregnant, including a urine EtH (detects alcohol 3-4 days after consumption)
-Willing to allow a home visit prior to selection
-Willing to eat mostly organic foods, at our expense, during pregnancy
-No indoor cats
-No history of depression
-Surrogacy friendly states
-Willing to travel for transfer
-We would like to get pregnant in August or November
-We have 4 precious frozen embryos
-We would prefer an experienced surrogate



I think I was in shock as I read the requirements...
Under 35,  √ (until November) 

Caucasian, √
Married with a crap load of kids, in a semi stable environment, √
Willing to have a c-section √ (only if medically necessary)
Amniocentesis, √ (If you really want one)
No tattoos or body piercings, √
No breast augmentations, √ 

Willing to give a hair sample for prior drug screening, √ (wow)
Willing to undergo random drug testing, √ (Whoa... who are these people?)
Willing to allow a home visit prior to selection, √ (hope you don't mind the crap load of kids and messy house)
Willing to eat mostly organic foods, √ (yum)
No indoor cats, - indoor and outdoor cat but I don't change the litter (got to love kids and chores!)
No history of depression, √ 

Surrogacy friendly states, √ (as long as you aren't a gay couple, Texas doesn't support them)
Willing to travel for transfer, √
August or November pregnancy, √ (who are these people again?)
4 frozen embryos, no way in hell they are putting all 4 in at once! Quadmom?
Experienced, √

I added to the list that I would only use my doctor.

I'm not sure what to expect from this couple and it kind of scares me to imagine working with a couple with a list like this... but I'm open to trying anything once.

I also got an email about the Germany couple. They wanted to make sure I would be willing to transfer two embryos, not just one. I agreed but only if they intend to keep both babies if they both took. I don't think I could do selective reduction.

I'm excited to have the opportunity to do this again but at the same time I'm really nervous. I only hope that whatever happens, whoever picks me... that they will be half as wonderful as B and C were to me.

Guess we will just wait and see what happens! 





Thursday, May 24, 2012

Closed For Renovation...

I can't believe it's only been 3 months... it seems like so long ago. The girls are doing great! I get updates from B every once in a while and she says they are PERFECT! <3 I love hearing the happiness in her voice! 

I'm pleased to report that I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I never thought that would happen so quickly after all the weight I gained! For a while there I was really worried that my feet and legs would remain swollen for the remainder of my life. I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I was when I was able to put my wedding ring back on and wear my shoes again! Complete joy! :) 
I'm working really hard right now to lose a few more pounds and build some muscle. It's my goal to improve my health and become stronger before the next Womb and Board journey! 


The agency that I'm signed up with requires a waiting period of six months before cycling again. That doesn't mean that they won't attempt to match me before that date arrives, it just means that I can't go through a transfer until my six months are up. 

I actually got a phone call the other day from a coordinator asking if I wanted to match again. I told her that I wouldn't mind. I sent in a medical release for my pregnancy with the girls and updated my profile. A couple of days later I got another phone call saying that they had a couple interested in meeting with me.

It was a little odd. The moment she said those words to me I recalled my first conversation with B and C. I thought to myself there is no way I'll ever meet another couple like them. There is no way anyone else will compare to them. I doubted that I could do this again but I agreed to the conference anyway.
I wasn't nervous at all when I called the 800 number to connect with the coordinator and intended parents. I came on the line, introduced myself, told them all about my family, and answered their questions.
I didn't feel the immediate connection that I felt with B and C but I did feel something as I heard them explain their situation.
They live in Germany and have been trying for years to get pregnant. They have attempted IVF and are down to their last 4 embryos. They had to use an egg donor and their doctor suggested that using a surrogate is the last option.

I think the conversation went really well. They seemed to be happy with my responses to the questions they asked and I was okay with their requests, for the most part.
I could tell toward the end of our conversation that this was a really big decision for them. The intended dad asked that we give them about 10 days to make a final decision.

So, I wait.  And you know what there is no doubt in my mind... I'm okay with doing this again because I can do it again. I can help them become a family and give them something they have dreamed about for so long. I would be honored if they chose me. Guess we shall see...



Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Till Next Time...

I can't believe it's been (almost) 3 months since the twins were born. Time flies!
Recovery was just about perfect. I'm a trooper and have a high tolerance for pain, but even  I had to admit that I couldn't fully function for the first week or two. Of course that didn't stop me from trying! :)
The hardest part for me was waiting on the swelling to go down. I wanted to put my wedding ring back on and wear my shoes again. I ranted about it to some of my mommy friends and was assured that it would go down along with my weight. But I really felt like it was NEVER going to happen. If it wasn't for one friend in particular, I would have just given up and stayed down in the dumps. This friend was amazing. So supportive and encouraging. And to think I met her online over three years ago and have never met her in person.... it's on my "to-do" list.
The swelling did eventually go down and I got to put my wedding ring back on! It took a little less than a month for all of the swelling to go away and for me to drop all the weight I had gained. I was truly amazed! I couldn't believe it happened so quickly. Maybe I owe it all to the Belly Bandit? If you have no idea what that is and happen to get pregnant, GET ONE! AMAZING! I never believed in anything like this product before and never used anything like it with my other pregnancies but after reading reviews I decided to give it a shot. I gained twice as much with the twins as I did with my singeltons and getting rid of that extra weight was really important to me. I used it for 6 weeks and loved the confidence it gave me!

I'm pretty sure pumping also helped with the weight loss. I ended up doing it for almost 8 weeks. It was a little strange at first, devoting 15 minutes every 2-3 hours for pumping, but it was well worth it and made me feel good to help the girls out.
Shipping milk is a little crazy. I had no idea how much work went into packing and shipping something like that. Thank goodness for FedEx!

I look back over this whole adventure all the time. How it started and all the adventures we endured. In the end I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'm so happy that B and C chose me to be a part of this. There is something really amazing about helping a family grow and creating little miracles. <3