No Luck

So... contrary to our gut feeling that this time things were going to work, they didn't. Unfortunately, the surrogate's blood test came back negative. The weird part is that at this point, with so many negatives, we are purely annoyed. Why does this have to be so difficult?

We haven't gotten much response from the doc on what next steps are but we are in the process of reconsidering the best plan of attack. The road thus far has been far from easy and we're wondering if we should just start fresh, with a new clinic, a new doc and fresh embryos. It's a gamble but we don't want to give up yet.

No worries though about us. We're totally fine. A bit bummed and annoyed with the entire process, but determined to figure it out somehow. Anyone know magic?

More to come when we sort out next steps!

Quick Update

This time it's going to work.

I'm convinced if I keep saying that, it will somehow influence the likeliness that everything will work out for us this time. We'll see...

So the latest is that our surrogate's endometrium is at 8mm as of today. It has to be at 10mm for the transfer, which should only take a few days more.

This time though, we are going to have the embryos cultured until they reach the blastocyst stage (day 5). By doing this, the strongest, most kick-ass embryos will be those that survive and my understanding is that by transferring a few of those, there is a much higher chance of the embryos implanting and growing into our new, little baby. That means the transfer will happen on Wednesday of next week.

I'm loving this idea and hoping it works.

Like I said, this time, it's going to work!

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.

Checking In

Hey everyone... So we know we've been M.I.A for a few months now and thought we'd give a quick update.

The move went well and we are all settled in at our new place in San Francisco. It's great to be out west.

We've been back and forth on next steps and how best to approach everything in India. We considered adoption, we considered using a close friend as a donor, but neither seemed to stick. So we are in the process of sorting out how best to give India another shot. We think we have a solution and should know very soon if we'll be moving forward.

We'll keep everyone posted.

EandC

What's Next?

We know it's super late to say it, but Happy New Year.

What a crazy month or two. We went to Mexico for three weeks and had a great time with family and friends. Unfortunately, two days before Christmas, we got the news that the blood tests came back negative for a pregnancy and that we were now out of embryos.

For about 24 hours, we were upset, angry and not sure what to do next. And then we realized that being upset and angry would not help the situation at all so we decided to get through the holidays, get through our move to San Francisco, and figure out next steps.

So we're now in SF, moved in and trying to figure out some sort of routine and get settled in. We absolutely want to keep trying but there are a few hurdles out there right now that we'll have to deal with.

One of them is that we now need to find a new donor... and that's the major one. How do we find somebody as great as our last one? We have a friend of C's that is likely going to do it, but need to sort out the details.

The other hurdle is dealing with our agency. They have absolutely dropped the ball on everything that they were supposed to do. We've been working directly with Kiran Clinic to get information and determine next steps. Not sure we are totally happy with the arrangement at hand. This is something we need to deal with quickly.

We hope everyone is doing well. That those of you still trying will have success very soon. And that those of you who were lucky enough to start your new family are enjoying every minute of it.