Tick Tock

When I signed up for surrogacy… I had a general idea of how long it would take.  Approximately 1 year.  Well, I officially got medical clearance (saying the hubby and I are both clean and free of infection- like there was any question) last night.  So NOW we all sign contracts.  THEN shots start…. Let’s take a look at the timeline:

May 28^th- Applied with THE AGENCY

June 2^nd- Placed on website to be matched

July (beginning) – Interviewed with the Intended Father<<< LOVED him

Next day- officially matched

10 days later-ish - Met with psychiatrist and got clearance

August----waited waited waited

September 6^th- Drove to L.A. for fertility screening

Last week- Mailed Marco’s blood and urine. TWICE (Weird)

Yesterday- Got medical clearance

Today- Start birth control pills (thank goodness!)

But from here it is still going to be a bit… contracts, shots, 4-6 weeks, then implantation.  THEN nine months of incubating.  So, there is at least 11 more months left.  I am just curious as to where the 12 month estimate comes from.   So if this is something that you are interested in- I think that a better, more accurate estimate of time is 15-18 months.  Which is fine with me, but everyone should be clear on that.

Today, the IF (Intended Father) said “I am glad I have you.”  Just a great reminder that he is truly grateful and as excited as I am about getting this baby to him.

One step closer...

My birthday is right around the corner.  T minus 9 days.  I am not so thrilled about it.  I never am.  In fact, I typically cry.  Today I was talking to ElleBee about my sadness about not having done much in my life.  No real travel, still going to school and I don't have a CAREER.  The same things that I stress about every year.  And she said the best thing (not an exact quote). 

-You are doing something amazing.  You are giving up your body and social life to give someone else a baby.  That is amazing. 

It made me feel really good.  And definitely better.   But I still want to travel.

On to the surrogacy- We are almost there...  So, last night I recieved a call from the fertility clinic.... all my tests came back good.  SWEET.  The only thing we need now is for the hubby's results to come back.  After that, the shots start and 4-6 weeks later implantation happens!  That means that in 2 months I should be pregnant... for someone else! 

Now they tell you about the shots.  A lot.  Everyday.  You can't miss a shot... blah blah.  I like to think that this will be no problem.  I am fairly certain that I am wrong.  For like at least THREE months it will be minimum one shot a day. 

One is to thicken something, another is to stop something and then I forgot all the rest.  If there are more.  There's no telling really.  Okay, maybe there is and I just wasn't listening.  The fertility peeps were just talking so fast.  But they gave me lots of paperwork to sign that also have a TON of instructions.  Thank goodness I enjoy reading, because there is plenty of that to do!

On a side note: I had to mail Marco's blood and urine today for them to test.  That was a neat experience.  NOT.  I felt weird giving it to the FedEx guy.  See below.

Nice Uterus, Lady

“You have a great uterus!”  Something I am well aware of, but always good to get confirmation.  I am a surrogate.  Okay, maybe it’s a little premature for that.  I am working on becoming a surrogate.  Since May.  No one mentioned that it takes THIS long.  In the end it will be worth it.  A friend of mine recommended an agency and THE AGENCY matched me with an AMAZING Intended Father that lives many clicks away in France.  Thanks to Google Chat- for making it possible for us to talk regularly.

I know that a lot of people “frown upon” surrogacy.  They think that I am giving up my own baby or selling a baby or it’s not how God intended.  To those people I say: Bite me.  Marco and I have been so blessed.  We have A LOT of babies.  All four of those babies have changed my life incredibly.  Ali with her sweet demeanor, Kingston with his daring ways, Jaedon with his sensitive smile… and Caleb with his HUGE appetite.  Man that boy can eat.  God has given to us.  A LOT.  I want to give back.  We don’t have a lot of money to give but I do have a great uterus and I know that it will change someone’s life.

Surrogacy is a huge step and some probably wonder how I came to it.  So I will give a brief overview of the beginning… a while ago (not sure if I should say when), my best friend, ElleBee, and her husband started trying to get pregnant.  A while later it still had not happened.  Even longer after that, still no baby.  It was so difficult to understand and incredibly heartbreaking.  There were lots of tears.  She saw specialists- nothing was wrong.  He saw specialists- nothing was wrong.  They keep trying, nothing.  It makes no sense.  I joked one day saying that I would carry their baby for them, but they weren’t quite ready to take that route….  But I realized that I was, it would just be for someone else.

It may not work out in the end.  We are still waiting for blood test results and cycles need to match and lots of shots will be taken, but if all goes as planned the Intended Father will be holding his new baby by this time next year.

Side note:  Check out my dear friend, ElleBee, as she and her husband embark on the amazing journey of adoption.  Read her blog, maybe even donate a bill or two to the cause, because it turns out that adoption is pretty pricey!