Mid August

Hope everyone is having a good summer. I was reading through old blogs and reflecting a bit on the journey that we've had over the past year. It's been really great to know that there are other people out there going through the same thing. Same challenges, same emotional roller-coasters.

It looks like our next transfer will happen in mid August. Probably between the 15-20th. We're thinking good thoughts. Sixth try is a charm, right? I say "yes."

Just thought I'd give a quick update... even with little info to share.

Happy summer.

Quick Update

Sorry it's taken a few days to update everyone on things. Unfortunately, we got a note from the Kiran Clinic a few days ago that said they did the follow up blood test and our surrogate is not pregnant. With the initial blood test showing low beta hCG numbers, we thought this might be the case.

We know that it's just a matter of luck, but this is attempt number 5. And we'd think that we'd have at least a chance. It makes me wonder what could be happening that isn't. Is there something that they can do that we aren't thinking of? What would the difference be of doing it here in the U.S.? Would there be any difference in the luck that we are having?

Oh well for this time. Hoping Dr. Samit can pull it off for us next time! We now wait three or four weeks for our new surrogate to be ready.

Fireworks...Again

One year ago, exactly, I was sitting in sunny Florida, computer on, writing a very similar blog post. It's insane to think that one year has passed since we got news that our first surrogate was pregnant. Unfortunately, that try didn't work out in our favor. But now, a year later, we woke up to an email saying that 12 days after our latest transfer, our surrogate's pregnancy test has come back positive.

This is awesome news, for sure. But you can imagine how skeptical we are. The Beta hCG level came back on the low side at 20.04 mIU. Not great, but that could mean nothing, assuming that the number doubles in the next day or two. They've ordered a new blood test for today so we should know how things are looking within the next day or two.

Fingers crossed that this is our time.

Happy 4th!

Patience

I think I've said it before but, patience is overrated.

C and I have been super positive this go around and were very excited to find a great donor in Thailand. We ended up having 17 embryos, which is awesome. The transfer happened just over two weeks ago and this morning we woke up to an email saying that the blood test came back negative.

We're not going to be massively upset as we've been through this so many times before. But, wtf? Does this really need to be this complicated? And do we really have such bad luck? I guess my biggest question is, is there something we should be doing or asking to up the probability that one of these embryos will take? Or is it truly just luck?

I felt like we had a really good chance this time. And we still have a good amount of embryos so we're not giving up. But shit. Throw us a bone.

Ok, done venting. Going to move on with the weekend and keep our fingers crossed for next time. Next transfer is in three or four weeks.

Easter "Eggs"

I just realized how much of a habit it is to respond to somebody on the phone with a nicety when they wish you well, wish you a good weekend, etc. For example:

Caller: Have a good weekend.  Me: You too.
Caller: Hope you have a Happy Easter.  Me: Hope you have a Happy Easter too.

Problem with that gut reaction is that I just got off the phone with the doc in India and he ended the call by saying the latter (...have a Happy Easter...) and I quickly responded "Hope you have a Happy Easter too.... err... ughhh.. just kidding...guess you probably aren't celebrating Easter." Duhhhh. Too funny. Ooops.

Speaking of Easter, how much more appropriate could it be that my conversation with India was about today's "egg retrieval" from our donor?!

The good news is that they retrieved 21....yes 21!!!! eggs. 18 of them were mature. We'll know how many viable embryos we have come Monday but probably between about 15-18! That's amazing. And 21 is a lucky number, right? We're very excited. The transfer will take place on Monday and the two-week waiting game will begin.

Our donor is doing OK. She took much, much longer to come out of the anaesthesia than is normal so it was a stressful afternoon for the doctor. She is resting now and all is good... and she heads back to her family in Thailand tomorrow. We're so thankful that she did this, and that all turned out well.

Hope everyone has a good Easter (if that's what you celebrate). And thanks to the Easter Bunny for bringing us the best eggs possible this weekend!

Thailand -----> India

It's a beautiful day in Puerto Vallarta. The temp is perfect and the breeze coming off the ocean is refreshing. I had to pop down here for two days to take care of some business stuff (see pic below) while C stayed home to hold down the fort and go to school.

Last week, before I left, we got the news that our donor's visa had been approved, she had started her meds and that she would be arriving in India on Sunday or Monday. Much to our surprise (and without our needing to hassle him for more info), we received an email from the doc on Monday that said our donor had arrived in India OK and that following her first visit to the office they confirmed that they could see 16 follicles that are 8mm in size. Scheduled retrieval is this coming Monday!

That's great news and it was very refreshing to get an update with details without having to hassle them for info. I think a new way of working has been established with the team in India and that's a huge positive.

I'm headed back to San Francisco today to get ready for a new job on Monday. Between that and our new donor, I think we may be in store for a very good 2011.

And they're off....

After much waiting, thinking and soul searching, we have decided to try again. Their were many challenges last time but this time, we're having a good feeling...

So we decided to give the Kiran Clinic in India another try. They know us so well now and we have a good relationship so I'm hoping that this time around it's a much smoother and ultimately more positive experience.

We decided to go with a donor from Thailand. Dr. Samit's team has done some really great screening and we have what we think is the perfect donor lined up! We love Thailand and think it can be really cool to have such an amazing country be a huge part of our new life. They are in the process of working with her now to get everything ready for the retrieval and transfer. We're estimating that it will take about 4-5 weeks for the transfer to happen, so early May.

It's hard to believe that almost one year ago to the day, we were doing this same thing, having these same thoughts and hoping to start a new family. So here we go again...We're both super excited and hope that this is the time.

Fingers crossed and we'll keep you updated along the way.