Latest Scan

It looks like time has gotten away from us again and we've realized that we haven't updated the blog in the past two weeks or so. Here's where we are at...

Two weeks ago Saturday, we received an email from Dr. Shivani's office that said our surrogate had came in due to light bleeding. We of course freaked out. They did an emergency scan that day and found that everything was totally fine. No issues at all. Apparently, this is fairly common. Who knew!?

That said, we had a scan at 7 weeks, instead of the normal 8 weeks. You can see it below. All four embryos were fine, all four had heartbeats detected (124, 126, 132, 136 bpm), and the next step was to wait two week for the next scan and update.

We heard from the doc on Monday and the specialist has seen our surrogate and believes that everything is looking really good so they have decided to schedule the mandatory reduction for Saturday. Bummer to have to go through this, but we don't have an option. I've read about many people who really struggled with this and I can now understand why. The only saving grace to it all is that we have no option in the matter. Otherwise, we'd probably be having quadruplets.

We're thinking good thoughts for the next few days and wishing our awesome surrogate and the docs in India all the best.

More to come next week. Hopefully continued positive news!

6 Week Scan

It's funny how quickly a week passes by, while at the same time feeling like it has taken forever. It's been nearly two years since we've gotten this far along in the process and we nearly forgot how annoying the waiting process is! Patience is the name of the game though (I suppose).

So I woke up on Thursday morning, the day that this week's scan was suppose to take place. I hadn't heard from the doc so I waiting a few hours. Ok, I waited one hour. And then sent a short note "just checking in." They quickly responded -- side note: Dr. Shivani and her team have been AWESOME at responding quickly to any of our emails or calls -- and said that the scan has been scheduled for Friday. Ughhh. Another 24 hours of waiting.

It was worth it.

The email came in this morning and much to our surprise showed that there were not three, but FOUR "well defined gestational sacs with live embryos." Heartbeats were detected in all four (110, 118, 124, 126 bpm). Ummm. Great news right?

We're keeping our fingers crossed still and we'll see in two more weeks how everything progresses. It's super exciting but still super early. Based on the CRL measurements, we are at 6 weeks, 1 day. So much can happen over the next 6 weeks, which will be the end of the first trimester. Twins are the max that surrogates are allowed to carry, for both their health and the health of the babies. So we'll have to see what happens and deal with it in a few more weeks.

But until then, we're really lucky to have received good news, yet again this week. And we'll see just how slow the next two weeks go before we see our next scan.

Here's a few pics. So cool.

Lucky Three

Just a quick update...  Right on schedule we heard from Dr. Shivani's office that the scan was done and that three gestational sacs were identified. So awesome. Super early of course but the fact that we have three chances for things to work out is really great.

Next week we'll have even more good news hopefully. Until then, here's the picture.

I always like to see the pictures!

Super. High.

So I decided to take a look back at old blog entries over the past two years. Have two years already passed by since we started this whole process?

I was specifically seeking out the results of our first Beta HCG report. So it was June two years ago and the first blood test that they did was 23 mIU. We thought that was great at the time as it was more than 0! Unfortunately, that didn't work out. But...

We just got our blood test back from the transfer that took place on March 27 (transferred four embryos at Blastocyst) and it is... 831.25 mIU! Ummm. That's super high. Super. High.

We know that we have to keep guarded on this one and that we've been through this all before. BUT we have been through this with an initial blood test of 23 and this is 831. I'm hoping that this means that we have had really good luck this go around.

And now we wait. Next week will be the first scan to see what exactly is going on. The next scan (assuming all is good) would happen the week after.

Great news in what has been a tough week. We're headed in the right direction.

Thanks for everyone's encouraging comments. They no doubt helped make this a great start with the new clinic, donor and surrogate!

 

25. That was a fun year.

After a quick whirl-wind trip to Delhi, I made it back home and jumped into the madness that is work. Really love my job. But need to fit in some sleep and down time at some point!

For the first time in a really long time, I returned from my travels with an upset stomach. Something got to me. I probably shouldn't have drank the water out of the tap in Agra. Not a smart move. About Agra... Seeing the Taj Mahal was incredible. I can truly understand why it is such a wonder. What is also a wonder is the amount of time it takes to drive there. Don't get me wrong, there is a bunch of stuff to see, culture to soak in and everything from cows crossing the road, to monkeys hopping from roof to roof, to chaos at every intersection. Getting there was interesting. Getting home was a true test of patience.

I'm thinking that when we go back in nine months (hopeful thinking!), if somebody wants to see the Taj, I'm going to recommend the train. Surely can't be that much worse than the drive back, especially if you get carsick.

Back to baby stuff now... Today was the egg retrieval day. All went well and they were able to harvest an incredible 25 eggs. Will know more about the quality and how many are viable after Sunday. But 25 is a great start. We couldn't have asked for better news!

Now the fun starts. Learn more about the status of the embryos on Sunday/Monday. Wait a few days for the transfer to take place. Wait two weeks for a blood test. Wait a few more days after that for another one, hopefully. Then wait two weeks for the first scan.

I feel like we've been through this before. Oh, wait....

From London to Delhi

We're both really excited to say that we are off and running... again.

Last night, I fell asleep just after taking off from London and woke up this morning as we were descending into New Delhi. Between our recent move and work being super busy, we haven't had the time to really think about whether this time was going to be our time or not. Stepping onto the plane last night though, I felt really positive.

Landing in India, reality set in and it took me back nearly two years when we started this whole process for the first time. I was really nervous then. Not sure what I was walking into. This time though, I felt at ease. The ride to my hotel was pensive. I dazed out the window at the passers by and random cows on the side of the road. I was soaking in the vast differences between India and London and for some reason, thinking about how calm Delhi feels to me in comparison to Mumbai or even Hyderabad. Yes, it's chaotic. Yes, it's even shocking what you see at times. But not to the extent that it was in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

So I spent the afternoon catching up on work and hanging out by the pool for an hour or so. I grabbed a snack and then headed to meet our new doctor. I waited in a waiting room with about six other people in it. There is no doubt that she is busy and has a successful practice. But once she came out to introduce herself, the six other people in the room seemed to disappear as she was fully interested in getting to know me, hearing about things at home and our experience thus far.

I was given a tour, shown the very detailed medical records that they keep, explained the process of finding and then qualifying a surrogate and donor and then introduced to the many people that she has working for her. We sat down, went through the various surrogates and picked the wonderful woman that will give it a try for us in just a matter of weeks.

We're really excited and hoping that by mid-April, we have good news to share...

More to come from Delhi.

We're back in action.

Updates coming soon...

Hey everyone. We know it's been a while since we've updated the blog. But we're back. We're working on the final details of our next plan of attack. Should be able to share an update very soon!