Ugh, the BCPs are kind of kicking my ass. I feel nauseous a lot, and really tired. Though, I did discover that, if I take my BCP in the morning and then wait until evening to take my prenatals, I don't feel as sick. But, I discovered yesterday that I also need to nap, or I feel sick from being too tired. Today, I had to get up early to take my daughter to the dentist, and I actually took two naps! One in the morning and one in the afternoon, like a baby. It was lovely, and I felt better after each nap, but was overcome by exhaustion again within a few hours. I'm really hoping that this evens out, and that it's not a sign of things to come. Though, BCPS have bothered me in the past, too, so I hope it's just that this brand is worse than others I've tried.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Looking Good
I had my appointment this morning to start the cycle. The sonogram looked good, and so did the blood work, so we're moving forward again. I started my BCPs today. I don't have to go back in until the 4th, and then I should start on Lupron on the 5th!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Finally
I finally heard back from Ashley about when I could expect my period. She said it would come at it's normal time. Well, my normal time ranges from 25-30 days, so there's a bit of leeway. I saw Adam & Steve for dinner last night, and I told them I was expecting it towards the end of the week.
Well, it happened today! I wrote to Ashley, and she scheduled me for an appointment on Wednesday. She also sent a tentative calendar. They're going all out this time. I'll start on BCPs Wednesday. I'll do Lupron, then I'll do the estrogen shots. As much as I prefer pills to shots, I much prefer something that works over something that doesn't. So, I'm fine with shots.
I hope so much that it works this time.
Well, it happened today! I wrote to Ashley, and she scheduled me for an appointment on Wednesday. She also sent a tentative calendar. They're going all out this time. I'll start on BCPs Wednesday. I'll do Lupron, then I'll do the estrogen shots. As much as I prefer pills to shots, I much prefer something that works over something that doesn't. So, I'm fine with shots.
I hope so much that it works this time.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Blah
So, today was another swift appointment. Adam met me there, which was fun. I told him he didn't need to bother, as the appointments were so fast, but he wanted to meet Ashley in person, and he wanted to be nice. They had attended most of the appointments with their previous surro, but they had been right by the clinic then, and have now moved. So, it isn't as easy for them to get to the clinic now.
Anyway, it was nice to see him. He came down with me for my blood work. I wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the room for my sonogram or not, so the nurses gave him the option. He came in after I was safely covered up on the table. It was a nurse that did it this time, and when she had everything positioned in such a way that nothing was visible, she moved the curtain aside a little so he could see the sonogram screen. She said my lining looked good, and that Ashley would let me know what to do meds-wise when the blood work came back in the afternoon.
When it was done, we asked her if she might have an approximate date for the transfer. Our calendar went through May 31, but it didn't have the transfer on it at all. We both assumed it would be on the 1st. She said no, it was more likely to be the 21st or so of May. They just don't put the date on the calendar, because people get mad if it doesn't happen that exact day. So, we were both happy that it was going to happen earlier than expected. Plus, May 21st would be an awesome day, because it's my great-grandma's 100th birthday. How lucky!
Getting up so early and driving for over an hour makes me sleepy. So, I took a nap. I was awakened by a phone call from Ashley. She said that my estrogen level had dropped, and the cycle was cancelled. She said I would bleed soon. She asked what my protocol had been with my successful cycles. She asked if I had been on Lupron. I told her only for my fresh cycle, not with my frozen one. She asked about the estrogen. I told her I had done shots the last times, not the pills. She said thanks, and that she would talk to me when my period started.
I'm very sad. I emailed her and said that I hadn't yet taken my morning estrogen when I had the blood test, would that affect it? She said no, that my body had just moved more quickly than they had expected. She said I was an "overacheiver." Not sure what kind of bullshit answer that was, but it's annoying. Maybe they have a lot of stupid surrogates, and she figures explanations are wasted on us. I wrote back and asked her what she meant by "soon" for my period starting. She didn't answer.
I wrote to Adam & Steve, as well as my agency. I wanted to make sure they all knew that I had done just what I was told to do. I don't want them to think I messed up. Both the agency and Adam wrote back and said they know it wasn't my fault. That's good.
Nothing like this has happened to me before. I can't help wonder if getting the meds late, or them having me stay on twice a day estrogen instead of three times a day had messed up the cycle. I don't know.
Anyway, it was nice to see him. He came down with me for my blood work. I wasn't sure if he wanted to be in the room for my sonogram or not, so the nurses gave him the option. He came in after I was safely covered up on the table. It was a nurse that did it this time, and when she had everything positioned in such a way that nothing was visible, she moved the curtain aside a little so he could see the sonogram screen. She said my lining looked good, and that Ashley would let me know what to do meds-wise when the blood work came back in the afternoon.
When it was done, we asked her if she might have an approximate date for the transfer. Our calendar went through May 31, but it didn't have the transfer on it at all. We both assumed it would be on the 1st. She said no, it was more likely to be the 21st or so of May. They just don't put the date on the calendar, because people get mad if it doesn't happen that exact day. So, we were both happy that it was going to happen earlier than expected. Plus, May 21st would be an awesome day, because it's my great-grandma's 100th birthday. How lucky!
Getting up so early and driving for over an hour makes me sleepy. So, I took a nap. I was awakened by a phone call from Ashley. She said that my estrogen level had dropped, and the cycle was cancelled. She said I would bleed soon. She asked what my protocol had been with my successful cycles. She asked if I had been on Lupron. I told her only for my fresh cycle, not with my frozen one. She asked about the estrogen. I told her I had done shots the last times, not the pills. She said thanks, and that she would talk to me when my period started.
I'm very sad. I emailed her and said that I hadn't yet taken my morning estrogen when I had the blood test, would that affect it? She said no, that my body had just moved more quickly than they had expected. She said I was an "overacheiver." Not sure what kind of bullshit answer that was, but it's annoying. Maybe they have a lot of stupid surrogates, and she figures explanations are wasted on us. I wrote back and asked her what she meant by "soon" for my period starting. She didn't answer.
I wrote to Adam & Steve, as well as my agency. I wanted to make sure they all knew that I had done just what I was told to do. I don't want them to think I messed up. Both the agency and Adam wrote back and said they know it wasn't my fault. That's good.
Nothing like this has happened to me before. I can't help wonder if getting the meds late, or them having me stay on twice a day estrogen instead of three times a day had messed up the cycle. I don't know.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Wham Bam, Thank You, Ma'am
Today was a sonogram and blood work appointment. Linnell was off work today, so he came with me. We got there, they sent me downstairs for my blood work, I came back up to the waiting room for a minute or so, and then they called me back. Linnell came back, too. I hurriedly stripped (the RE came in so quickly last time), and hopped up on the table. The RE came in, stuck the weenie wand in, said my lining was looking nice and thick already, and told me to get dressed. So, I did.
Ashley said that, since my lining was developing so well, I didn't need to increase the estrogen as it said to do on my calendar, just come back in on Monday for another check. She called me this afternoon when the blood work came back, and said that everything looks good!
Ashley said that, since my lining was developing so well, I didn't need to increase the estrogen as it said to do on my calendar, just come back in on Monday for another check. She called me this afternoon when the blood work came back, and said that everything looks good!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Contract Craziness
So, we actually got the first draft of the contract soon after the psych appointment - April 12th. But, it was fully completed until May 2nd. So, I'll condense everything. Just know that it took 3 weeks to get this all done.
As soon as I got the draft of the contract, I printed it out and started looking over it. I brought up my last two contracts and compared them, remembering things that I liked and things I didn't like. I talked to Linnell, though he didn't have an opinion on most of it. But, I discussed the important stuff with him. I came up with what I felt was a fair contract. There were some changes that were non-negotiable (for instance, it said that if we ended up with triplets or more, we would all discuss with the RE what was best to do. No. Three or more get reduced. That's non-negotiable for me, which is why it is so important to talk about these things in the very beginning), but I was willing to compromise on some things. So, I made an annotated copy to send to my lawyer. She was at a conference across the country that week, but I wanted her to have my notes, in case she had some time on the plane, or something. I wanted to get everything done ASAP, because I was expecting my period in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to be able to start the IVF cycle with that period, so we wouldn't have to wait a whole month.
I didn't have many changes in there that hadn't been in my application with the agency, so I didn't expect any problems. I actually sent my annotated copy to Adam & Steve, too (I asked them first if they wanted to see it), so they would know what to expect when my lawyer got back to them. They looked it over and thought it looked fine. There were some legalese things that none of us understood, but that's why we all have lawyers to help us.
A note on lawyers. The IPs need to pay for a surrogate to have a lawyer. Even if you are bestest buds, you need to be represented individually (well, as couples). Even if this is your second time, and you're using the same contract, you still need lawyers. Laws change, situations change, everything needs to be gone over every time. Protect yourself. The surrogates lawyer will be paid for by the IPs, yes, but she represents the surrogate and her partner. It's a big paragraph in the contract about how there is no conflict of interest.
My lawyer didn't get back to the area until the 18th, so we had a phone conference that afternoon. Unfortunately, a calendar screw up with different time zones meant she didn't have time to go over the whole thing with me. So, we went over the rest on the 20th. She sent our draft to Adam & Steve's lawyer. She talked it over with them, she changed some things, we looked over it again, it went back and forth a few times. Mostly just details, nothing big. For instance, she had the name of my OB wrong. No biggie. But, now she and my lawyer were both at another conference, so it took a little while.
We finally got the instructions to sign the signature pages. I also needed to sign the HIIPA agreement and the escrow contract. 4 each of every signature page, and all needed to be notarized. Luckily, Linnell had a day off, so we could go get it done. We signed, we mailed, and we faxed a copy of each to their lawyer. April 24th.
Unfortunately, with all the copies that were flying around, we ended up signing different ones. It was discovered a couple of days later. So, this time, Linnell and I had to reprint the final final final copy, initial every page, fax every page, and mail every page. Plus, the escrow contract had been messed up (which nobody noticed until the escrow company said something), so we had to re-sign and notarize that. Ugh. But, it was finally, finally done. Praise Jebus.
As soon as I got the draft of the contract, I printed it out and started looking over it. I brought up my last two contracts and compared them, remembering things that I liked and things I didn't like. I talked to Linnell, though he didn't have an opinion on most of it. But, I discussed the important stuff with him. I came up with what I felt was a fair contract. There were some changes that were non-negotiable (for instance, it said that if we ended up with triplets or more, we would all discuss with the RE what was best to do. No. Three or more get reduced. That's non-negotiable for me, which is why it is so important to talk about these things in the very beginning), but I was willing to compromise on some things. So, I made an annotated copy to send to my lawyer. She was at a conference across the country that week, but I wanted her to have my notes, in case she had some time on the plane, or something. I wanted to get everything done ASAP, because I was expecting my period in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to be able to start the IVF cycle with that period, so we wouldn't have to wait a whole month.
I didn't have many changes in there that hadn't been in my application with the agency, so I didn't expect any problems. I actually sent my annotated copy to Adam & Steve, too (I asked them first if they wanted to see it), so they would know what to expect when my lawyer got back to them. They looked it over and thought it looked fine. There were some legalese things that none of us understood, but that's why we all have lawyers to help us.
A note on lawyers. The IPs need to pay for a surrogate to have a lawyer. Even if you are bestest buds, you need to be represented individually (well, as couples). Even if this is your second time, and you're using the same contract, you still need lawyers. Laws change, situations change, everything needs to be gone over every time. Protect yourself. The surrogates lawyer will be paid for by the IPs, yes, but she represents the surrogate and her partner. It's a big paragraph in the contract about how there is no conflict of interest.
My lawyer didn't get back to the area until the 18th, so we had a phone conference that afternoon. Unfortunately, a calendar screw up with different time zones meant she didn't have time to go over the whole thing with me. So, we went over the rest on the 20th. She sent our draft to Adam & Steve's lawyer. She talked it over with them, she changed some things, we looked over it again, it went back and forth a few times. Mostly just details, nothing big. For instance, she had the name of my OB wrong. No biggie. But, now she and my lawyer were both at another conference, so it took a little while.
We finally got the instructions to sign the signature pages. I also needed to sign the HIIPA agreement and the escrow contract. 4 each of every signature page, and all needed to be notarized. Luckily, Linnell had a day off, so we could go get it done. We signed, we mailed, and we faxed a copy of each to their lawyer. April 24th.
Unfortunately, with all the copies that were flying around, we ended up signing different ones. It was discovered a couple of days later. So, this time, Linnell and I had to reprint the final final final copy, initial every page, fax every page, and mail every page. Plus, the escrow contract had been messed up (which nobody noticed until the escrow company said something), so we had to re-sign and notarize that. Ugh. But, it was finally, finally done. Praise Jebus.
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