Oops I did it again...

Probably just got that song stuck in your head but I wanted to share some big updates with our followers!  But what is it that I did again?  What is our big news?

First, my oldest daughter and I went to UAE for 3 weeks to visit our best friends and this was the trip of a lifetime!  It was seriously an amazing trip and we saw so many spectacular and moving things and ate so much great food!

Here are a few photos to show you just what we were up to...

Desert Safari - Abu Dhabi

Souk - Dubai

Snoopy Island - Fujairah

Pearl Journey - Eastern Mangroves, Abu Dhabi

Domes at Presidential Palace, Abu Dhabi

Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

   

What I didn't share with the world is that before I left for UAE, I started my estrogen injections so that meant that the entire time we were on our trip, I was doing injections... Which also meant headaches for a week towards the end.

We flew into Dulles, I dropped off the kid with a friend and ran quickly to Richmond to get a lining scan to see how the estrogen was doing in my system.

At the time of scan, Dr. Steingold was pleased with my triple stripe lining and the 12mm thickness and I was instructed to start Progesterone 3 days later with a transfer on 6/27 -- 27 happens to be my lucky number!

So off I went to drive back to DC to catch a flight to New Orleans for a chance to see my husband that I had not seen since before I left for UAE and also hang out with another of my best friends -- remember Crying Doula?  Melissa?  Yeah I got to hang with her too!
 

Last drink before the transfer - a yummy FRose with Melissa!

                        
Then I flew to Denver for a night and back to DC for the transfer.  But before the transfer could happen, I threw out my retainers and I had to fly back to Denver to get a new set of retainers.  Terribly expensive and inconvenient mistake, but I made it back on Wednesday night at midnight -- Just in enough time to make it for the embryo transfer on Thursday. 


Here's some photos from that day.  Of course we had to replicate the day of Rowan's transfer and again we went to PF Chang's for lunch then off to the clinic.

We transferred a beautiful 6 day hatching embryo. The photo of the embryo was taken right at thaw but before it was transferred, it was actively hatching which is a great thing!  The embryo was rated a 3AA and was from C's embryo batch.  Last cycle, they took 8 donor eggs for each guy from the same donor and created embryos.  Rowan was E's biological baby, of course both daddies are her daddies, but this time, they chose the best embryo from C.

These are the announcements that Melissa made me to tell the guys.  I started getting positive tests around 2.75dp6dt.  That means 8.75 days past ovulation or about 5-6 days before missed period.  I couldn't tell the guys until I had a no shit positive.  With my direction (and no internet), Melissa made these with my 4.75dpt photo.  My favorite being the Pregnant AF one but I knew that maybe that isn't appropriate for everyone -- appropriate for mine and the guy's relationship but maybe they didn't want to send that to mom lol  So she kindly created two other graphics and carried out my full intentions with me not having internet -- she's the best!

Of course I have to keep testing!

Their Little Wingman is due March 13, 2020 

(FYI - a wingman can be a girl or boy -- We don't know the gender of this baby!) 

Next up is Beta in a few days to say how strong these numbers are for this baby growing!  Can't wait to see how this pregnancy compares to my last one with the guys. May this be a smooth journey with wingman like it was with baby Rowan -- it was my easiest pregnancy by far... crossing my fingers for no morning sickness!  But the first trimester fatigue has already set in and I woke up at 2am last night with extreme nausea so there's that! 

And this is how I currently take my Alcohol -- Right out of the freezer and put it on my butt to freeze the spot before my injection -- Only 9 more weeks or so to go of shots.  I already have wretched muscle knots from a month of shots.  The joys! These freezie drinks are perfect for this gig  -- No more wasting veggies when I forget to put them back in the freezer lol

Good things come to those who wait! Surrogacy and Life Update

Usually I wouldn't agree with these sentiments.  Usually I would say "Good things come to those who wait go out there and work hard for it!" 

Finally, things are moving along with surrogacy.  Finally.  I repeat that.  Finally.  I have been matched with C&E for 16 months now.  We had anticipated cycling somewhere around November/December 2016.  Life happened.  Something happened -- not sure what except that we know a lot of time happened.  The guys selected a donor that was perfect for them. The first one wasn't available so they chose another one.  Then she had a family emergency and contact was terrible at best.  Finally she got back in touch with the clinic and she is going to do a fresh cycle sometime this summer but while we are waiting, they chose to use her frozen eggs in the bank so we could expedite this cycle.

We finished contracts in May and we should be starting estrogen injections next week sometime with around July 21 (that is just a guess -- depends on when my cycle starts and how the embryos are growing).  So yay -- the cycle is on the horizon.

Also, business is booming.  I have been so busy writing blogs for work that I have neglected this blog -- but if you want to read about whats going on with Stars & Stripes Doulas, check out our blog.  Lots of good reads on there.  We have even expanded to 3 other chapters and hopefully soon a 4th chapter in addition to the Home Chapter of Washington DC.

As a run down of some other things that have happened in the last few weeks.

Sweet Aggy is now 18 months!  That is hard to believe.  She is big and I love the occasional emails of photos or videos her parents send me.  There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you see the two parents that have become a family with the little baby you carried (who is not a little baby anymore!!)

In May, I graduated with Honors from American Military University.  I received my Bachelors in Emergency & Disaster Management with a minor in Intelligence Studies.  This degree took some serious determination and resiliency.  There were many times I wanted to quit.  But I didn't.  My story was even told by the President of APUS during commencement.  She mentioned me by name and told my story about being a military spouse -- my story is not unique, but I am glad that she told my story because in that, she told so many other military spouses' stories!

My husband (an instructor at AMU) and me right before I walked!

That same week, I was invited to the Governor's Mansion in Richmond for the Heroes At Home reception with Governor McAuliffe and his wife Dorothy.   I had already been to the Northern Virginia Military Spouse appreciation luncheon where I was nominated for the Northern Virginia Spouse of the year.  What I didn't know is that I would be awarded the Heroes at Home Virginia Marine Corps Spouse of the Year for 2017.  What an honor!

Next up came the Girls Graduation Cruise to Bermuda.  I was able to get away for a week with my friends Diana and Melissa and just enjoy the beauty and relaxation of a cruise and of Bermuda.  I cannot rave enough about my husband for caring for the kids while I got away for a week to celebrate my graduation!

Finally,  we just got back from a quick trip to Atlanta.  By quick, I mean we drove halfway down on Thursday, we were there Friday & Saturday and drove home Sunday.  We went down to watch some Brewers baseball.  But in there, in all of the testosterone induced feelings about baseball, I had one request.  It was to see my former IFs from 6 years ago!  Remember them?  I could never forget them.  After 6 medicated IUIs, we were never successful but their dreams of becoming parents never left my heart.  I wanted to bad to help their dream become a reality and we stayed close friends over the years.  I was even able to help them find donor embryos which created their beautiful little girl Chrissy.  We only got to catch lunch with them and see their amazing house, but somehow, it completed something inside of me.  I may not have been their surrogate, but the pride I felt seeing them just dote on their precious girl is immeasurable.  I cannot even tell you how seeing them and her made me feel.  They thanked me many times and said that I had a huge part in their journey to fatherhood.  It feels minute what I did, honestly it does.  I am just so glad I got to see it come full circle.  It was amazing to see them again.  Leah has decided she wants to be a big sister to another baby just like the happy and never crying Chrissy.  Or she wants to live with S&F and Chrissy during the summers and be their babysitter!

 

With that, I will update as the cycle progresses -- on with the shots!!