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I'm a wife, mom, and gestational surrogate. I've been blessed to be able to have 2 beautiful daughters of my own and 2 cute little surro babes for IPs. With the support of my WONDERFUL family and friends, I'm doing it again!! Follow me on my journey...

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Illusive contract, conquered!

FINALLY GOT OUR CONTRACT!!!!! Signed, sealed, delivered! Whew! Thank goodness that's done and over with, geez!
Thankful that all that drama was behind me, I called the clinic, as instructed, once AF came and they were supposed to call in the Rx for BCPs. Simple, right? WRONG.
The nurse coordinator at the clinic proceeded to tell me "oh, we're not gonna start you on birth control just yet, your IPs haven't chosen a donor" SAY WHAT!? I told her that she must be mistaken because my IPs told me in February that they'd chosen a donor and got it all squared away, but she was insistent that there was no donor. Grrrrrr!!!!!! So I emailed my IPs asking what was going on and I texted my agency coordinator. After a bunch of back and forth, what it boiled down to was miscommunication. Go figure. From my understanding, the agency hadn't sent over the donor's info to the clinic, so the clinic was unaware that my IPs had, indeed, secured a donor.
So, I finally got my BCPs and am now awaiting our calendar, but from what I'm told, we should be having a transfer some time in July, around the 16th. **Fingers crossed** I'm so excited!! Well.....not about the huge needles I'm gonna have to stick in my behind, but excited about everything else! ☺ Speaking of which, I'm going to ask the RE if I can do Crinone (progesterone suppositories) instead of the PIO injections. I mean, after all, I DID get preggo last time while I was on Crinone ☺ And when I did have to do PIO, it gave me a horrible side effect....my left hip was literally numb for MONTHS after I stopped the shots! It was absolutely horrible; I wasn't sure if the feeling was ever going to come back, but thank goodness it did. I really don't want to have to go through that if there are other options. Ya know?
Enough about that; guess what my super sweet IPs did? They sent a beautiful arrangement of roses to me for Mother's Day!! It was very unexpected and much appreciated.
I can't wait until they can celebrate their own Mother's and Father's Day :) Hopefully soon!!!
I don't really have anything else to report right now. I'm just ready to get things going! We've been moving at a snail's pace and as we all know, I'm not the most patient person on the planet.  I know I'm late updating and I promise I'll do better. That's all I got people! Ttyl!



Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Surros ROCK! (if I do say so myself)


 
Quoted perfectly from my surro-sister, Shannon:
 
"Want to read something AMAZING????? Every woman in this group is currently a Surrogate or has been a Surrogate. Some MORE than once!! I am not the ONLY crazy woman out there willing to share my body for approximately 40 weeks to help create a baby miracle!! In just these 15 woman alone, together we have created 23 babies, helping build 17 families!!! 7 of us are currently pregnant. 10 more babies are baking and adding on helping build 7 more families!!! Which leaves a GRAND total of 33 babies building 24 families.... How AWESOME to be a part of this!!! This group of woman are truly AMAZING!"
 
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending 2 surro get-togethers; one was coordinated by my agency and the other was put together by my surro support group on FB. Both were a great time and I'm so glad that I have these ladies in my life! There's nothing better than being able to talk about boobs hurting, lactating, stretchy skin, and dropping F-bombs in the delivery room and not feeling embarrassed! :-) I don't know what I'd do without them!
 

Agency luncheon
As far as where I'm at in the process.....still no contract, but hopefully by the end of this week. (Fingers crossed) Apparently there was some kind of hang up with the company that verifies insurance and then my IP's attorney had a death in the family, so that set us back as well. All I know is, it's time to get this thang goin'!! After being around all those preggo ladies this weekend, I'm having belly fever! I'm ready to help create another family and cannot wait to see my IP's faces when they hold their little one for the 1st time.

On another note, I'm taking a page out of my blog buddy Mark's book and have started juicing! I'm on day 3 and have already lost weight. It's not easy, by any means, but it's well worth it when I see results happening already. Yea, I wanted a sh*tload of non-sense on my 1st day, cookies, donuts, Snickers, chicken; you name it, I wanted it! BUT fighting that temptation is rewarding enough in itself even if I hadn't lost any weight. I just wanted to get a bit healthier before we started cycling for a transfer (those meds pack on the lbs) :\ I'm planning on doing this for 10 days....pray for me!! Eeekkk!  

Anywho, that's all I have for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get the finalized contract soon and we'll be on our way to baby makin'!!

TTYL!
 



Friday, March 29, 2013

Impatiently waiting


I did FINALLY get a draft of the contract (after buggin everyone and their mama).
I went over it with the attorney and there were some things that I wasn't comfortable with that I asked to be changed. (a cap on lost wages, being the biggest change) In my opinion, my attorney should be more than happy to change or ask for these changes for me, right? Well, apparently not in this case. I felt like he was trying to pressure me into just keeping the contract the way it was and I almost did, but after I got off the phone with him and had more time to think about it, I emailed him and asked that the changes be made...I'm sure he was reluctant, but he agreed and said that he would revise and send over to my IP's attorney. (This was on March 20th...almost 2 weeks ago)
I got an email from my agency a few days later asking for me to send over my disability policy info, so maybe that's a sign that my IPs are considering not having the lost wage cap...
I know that my IP's have to discuss and review the changes, but I just hate not knowing what's going on! It's driving me insane! Are they ok with me not wanting a cap? Do they not want to be matched anymore because of what I want? So many questions....

I just know that, especially because of being on bed rest for so long last time, having a cap on lost wages is a big 'no-no' in my book. I understand that my IPs want to be protected, but I also have to look out for my family; hopefully they will understand.

So now we wait....again....sigh




Sunday, February 17, 2013

Still no contract


Not too much to report...things seem to be going at a snail's pace this time around. (We've been matched since mid November) On one hand I'm okay with that because it gives me more time to do things that maybe I can't do while we're cycling or while I'm pregnant (i.e. have margaritas!), but on the other hand I'm like "hurry up, already!!" I'm not the most patient person :-) I know my IM is ready to get things moving, she texted me and told me that they should have the contract over to the attorney by this weekend and that she couldn't wait for the paperwork to be over with so we can get started! (Thank goodness I'm not the only one with very little patience!)
Kevin and I are going to have lunch with M&P next weekend, so that will be nice. I like being able to hang out and get to know them even more.

That's all I have for now. I'll keep ya updated as things progress. Ttyl!



Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Keep it movin'

I know, I know....I suck. Let's get over the fact that I haven't kept up my blog like I should, k?
Thanks.

So I'm gonna try to streamline this update because we all know I can get a little wordy...

1. Brunch with the potential IPs went well. The girls liked them, Kevin & I liked them; we even made plans to have dinner at their house sometime in the near future. ☺ So since we all decided that we liked each other, we're moving forward!!

2.  Kevin and I both had our Psych evals done...not really sure how Kevin passed that one, but whatevs. We both passed and are officially deemed mentally acceptable...at least for now.

3. Here's the sucky part...I went in for my medical eval; got an ultrasound (which was fine), got blood work done and then the RE did a hysteroscopy and he saw some "old tissue" which caused concern to him. He said that it needed to be removed and that he'd talk to the IPs to see if they "still wanted to move forward with you as their carrier"....gee, thanks, doc. His bedside manner was lacking, to say the least. Anyway, this was over the holidays, so the wait to hear back from the IPs and/or the Dr was agonizing. I felt like a failure...like my uterus let me down. I know my other surro girls know what I mean. Anyway, I got a text from the IM saying that they still wanted me to be their carrier and that I just needed to schedule an appointment to have the tissue removed. I must have smiled from ear to ear when I got her text...the thought of surgery freaked me out, but the fact that they were still willing to allow me to carry for them really meant a lot to me.
So I called the RE's clinic and they wanted me to come in to get another hysteroscopy before they scheduled the surgery, just to make sure the tissue hadn't resolved itself...well it did! Nothing was there!!! Whew! So then Kev went to have his blood work done and all is now well on the medical eval front!

4. Here's where we are now: M&P got their blood work done last week and now they are trying to decide on an egg donor. In the meantime, we are having the contract drawn up and are getting things rolling! The contract phase is definitely my least favorite part, but I suppose it has to be done. I'll be glad when it's over, that's for sure.

Anyway, that's all for now. I PROMISE I'll do better with my updates! ☺ TTYL!



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

1 Step Closer

1st I'd like to say thank you to all of you that left me comments and sent emails regarding my last post, One More Time, whether you know it or not I really do appreciate your input and insight! So thanks! ☺

Things are moving right along, so I just wanted to give you guys a quick update on what's happening. I received a profile from my new agency a few days after my previous post; Kevin, the girls, and I looked it over and decided that we liked what we saw! ☺ The agency set up a conference call for us which was scheduled for this Monday, unfortunately, Kevin was still at work and the call kept dropping when I tried to conference him in so he didn't get to participate. I filled him in on what he missed though. ☺
So anyway, I was super nervous....didn't think I would be since I've been through this 2 other times before, but it felt like I was going on a first date;  I was all jittery and it was awkward at 1st because the coordinator called me first then connected my call to "M&P" and said "Ok, Krystal I have M&P on the phone now".................................................................................................Literally...dead silence. AWKWARD....I guess that was my cue to say something, but whatevs.  After that initial weirdness, the conversation was much better. (between the stupid phone breaking up every 3 minutes...thanks AT&T, not!) We laughed and discovered some things we have in common and after about a 30 minute conversation they asked if we could meet! Yay!! I really liked them and was hoping they were feeling the same way, so I was glad they asked...we decided that we're gonna meet for brunch this Sunday. Eeeekkk! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time! To be continued..... ☺


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

1 More Time?

As many of you know I've had "the itch" since Baby L was probably a month old....no, not that kind of itch, get your minds back on track!

The surrogacy itch! I've contemplated back and forth on whether I want to do another journey or not and I've pretty much driven Kevin crazy with talking about it. So I'll just talk to you all this time! ☺

There are plenty of people that think I'm nuts for wanting to "go through it again", after having been sick for the first trimester and being on bed rest for 10 weeks. I understand, but what they don't understand is that I see the bigger picture. I see the struggles and heart break that the IPs have been through. I see the years of being told "no, you can't have a baby". So to me, being sick or the possibility of bed rest are small sacrifices for a greater good. Yes, I may complain and whine about it while I'm in the midst of it...Hell, most other people would too, but I know that it will pass and in the end there is indescribable joy.

So, after talking with Kevin for the bajillionth time, he finally said he'd be okay with me doing another journey!! Don't jump for joy just yet, that's just the first hurdle. (Albeit a big one)
This past Saturday I was invited by another surro to attend her agency's semi-annual luncheon, just so I could check out the agency and see if I really want to do this again. It was AWESOME! I'm not sure what I was expecting...cheese and crackers...a few surros...maybe the agency director...I didn't have high expectations after my shitty agency. It was WAY better than I expected; there were surros that are currently pregnant, surros that had already delivered, IFs, IP's, babies, 2 owners, 2 doctors...and a partridge in a pear tree. ☺ Seriously though, it was very well put together and needless to say, I was impressed and ready to sign a contract right then and there, lol. I met some great people and after I left I received an email saying that there were 2 sets of IPs as a possible match for me! WHAT!? Apparently I made a good impression at the luncheon. Ummm...yea....speechless. I wasn't expecting things to move quite as fast, I mean, I'm not even signed up with the agency yet!

So anyway, the one lingering question I have is: Is it selfish of me to do this again? Being a surrogate takes not only my own efforts, but that of my family as well. I don't want to be a burden, but I also want to do something that makes me feel fulfilled. Does that make sense?

Without getting even more wordy than I already have, what do you guys think? Should I just leave well enough alone and be happy that I was able to do it at least once or do I try for one last time?

Sigh.

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