A Sweet Surprise from my IF's!

I usually don't get very many surprises, but we do get necessities from Amazon.com delivered to us a lot. So when I opened our front door today, there was a big black box sitting there. I brought it inside and opened it. It was a box from FTD so I knew it was flowers. As I was opening it, my first thought was that my Mom sent us flowers. She's usually the one to send us random goodies. But then I read the card and it was from N & F showing their appreciation for being their surrogate. It truly put a smile on my face and made my day.

How gorgeous are these?! They made quite the trip on a warm day.

Who knew Vera Wang designed flowers?!

Gorgeous!

Surro~Mama Angela

First Ultrasound! And the verdict is....

Brandon and I waiting to be called back at ORM for my ultrasound

Today has finally arrived... all the anticipation and nervousness has paid off. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep well last night but surprisingly I did! I've actually been sleeping really well lately. I do have to wake up at least once to pee already.

Once they called me back, I got my blood drawn to test my hormone levels to see if we can lower my dosage of progesterone or estrogen. Then we were taken into the ultrasound room. Shortly after I undressed from the waist down, Dr. Hesla came in with a big ol' smile.

The infamous ultrasound machine, waiting for action.

Marissa, my Coordinator came in shortly after Dr. Hesla and had the ipad with my IF's on Skype. We said our hellos quickly and Dr. Hesla inserted the ultrasound probe. Within seconds this is what we all saw....

TWINS!!!

Both babies are there! My initial instinct was right all along. But to see it on the screen was AMAZING! How exciting. Everyone was thrilled. Baby A's heart rate was 119 and Baby B's heart rate was 129. Both measured beautifully and healthy. Dr. Hesla measured the sacs and they both measured great. He said that all looks wonderful! He did mention to the guys that sometimes one of the twins doesn't make it, but he said they both look GREAT.

Another great shot of both babies

My next ultrasound will be in about 2-3 weeks. Hoping for sooner than later! I love being able to see the babies, plus I'm sure my IF's would love to see them again too. Brandon took a nice 10 minute long video of the ultrasound that we sent to them.

Now I'm just waiting to hear back from Marissa on my blood work to see if we're making adjustments to my medications. She will also need to order more since I'm going through it all quickly.

Brandon and I went to breakfast after my appointment to celebrate the occasion. We are so happy for my IF's and beyond excited! Cheers to hoping that I have an uneventful twin pregnancy. Praying that all goes well and both babies remain healthy and thriving.

Surro~Mama Angela

Let the nausea commence!

Small update: Today is the first day that the nausea has kicked in and hasn't left. It comes in waves. It's not terrible yet but I can definitely tell it's there. I'm embracing this new symptom since it's a good sign that things are going good in my uterus. I'm super excited and anxious for our first ultrasound on Monday! I'm so glad it's in the morning. I'm so impatient as it is! My IF's are so excited and can't wait for the ultrasound either. I will be sure to update as soon as I get home. I hope to have beautiful pictures of their babies to share with you all!

Surro~Mama Angela

Third & Final Beta Results!

Went in this morning at the same time to get my blood drawn. She got my vein on the first try again! YAY! That's when you know it's going to be a GOOD day. 

I sent a follow up e-mail to Nikki & Marissa (I know I'm impatient) and Nikki responded shortly after with the following e-mail:

"Hi everyone,

Angela, you have been so patient! I know how hard it is to wait for results. Your progesterone is 43.27 and your pregnancy level is 4633. These are great rises for both. I have your new dosing instructions. You will stay on the same dose of Delestrogen at 0.35 on your Mon/Fri schedule. You can decrease your progesterone dose to 1 .5ml. You will stay at twice a day for your Endometrin. We will see you on 4/28 at 9:15am for your next ultrasound. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. Have a great rest of your day."

One of my IF's responded with: 

  

"Hello everybody,

Good figures, good mama surrogate, good luck, good energy ... Keep doing it that way :-)

Happy upcoming fathers !
F & N"

YAY! My numbers are rising great! Doubling time =1.6 days or 38.95 hours I'm so happy. I talked to one of my IF's today and he was telling me that he never thought he would be reading online about HCG numbers and pregnancy blogs. They are very excited! We are very much looking forward to the ultrasound in less than two weeks now.  So far, so good! I hope it continues to go well. I am one happy Surro~Mama!

Surro~Mama Angela

Second Beta Results are in!

I went to ORM this morning at the same time as last Thursday. My appointment was for 9:30am, but I arrived around 9:10. The same nurse drew my blood and she got it on the first try this time (YAY!) I was so happy. Marissa, my coordinator came in right after and gave me a hug to congratulate us on the pregnancy. It feels so surreal right now. I think once we have our ultrasound, it will feel more real.

We took our oldest daughter to watch Rio 2 and when we sat down in the theatre, Nikki called me with my results.

My second beta was: 1972! 

My doubling time is 38.34 hours. (which is GREAT!)

We set our first ultrasound appointment for Monday, April 28th. I will be 6 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I hope that my IF's will Skype into the appointment to see their baby(ies) for the first time. I'm so excited to finally have an ultrasound date! Two weeks from today.

My third and last beta will be this Wednesday, the 16th. Same time. They will also test my estrogen and progesterone levels then. I thought they were testing that today, but they just did my beta.

I'm definitely feeling the exhaustion already. But I try to keep my energy level up by walking and dancing around. Nothing too strenuous but it feels good to keep my blood flowing and releasing endorphins. 

Surro~Mama Angela

12 days past transfer!

Today has been 12 days past my embryo(s) transfer. I decided to give my left over tests away to some of my surro friends since I won't be needing them anymore. But I did keep one. I took this one today since tomorrow is my second beta. As you can see the test line (on the left) is MUCH darker than the control line which is AWESOME! I didn't think these cheapie tests could get this dark so when I saw this I got very excited--just had to share!

I'm anxious to see what my beta results are tomorrow and see if we will be adjusting my medication at all. I'm still on Progesterone and Estrogen injections and just started Progesterone suppositories 2x a day(which I'm not a huge fan of by the way) but whatever I have to do to keep this pregnancy going strong, I shall do!

I've been super exhausted this weekend, which I'll take it as a good sign but wow it hit me out of nowhere. I've also been walking a lot with my Mom in the evenings which has been really nice. The fresh air and endorphins have been helping me feel good.

I shall update tomorrow after I hear back on my results. Hoping I won't have to wait very long! *crossing my fingers*

Surro~Mama Angela

More Medication... It's like Christmas!

I got a shipment of more medication today, YAY! This is what's helping to keep the baby(ies) thriving right now. It's amazing how scientific this is. I love organizing all of my meds and having it nice and neat. I'm OCD like that.

Those that know me, know that I never take medication. I've had three home births, med-free, all natural. I don't take tylenol when I have a headache and I don't take anything when I'm sick. I usually ride it out or use natural remedies like essential oils. But this is a very special case. To be able to help two people become a family, the medication is worth it. So worth it.

I've been pretty tired lately. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the medication. Also feeling very bloated which the medication can do that as well. Nothing out of the ordinary though.

My Dr. will be monitoring my hormone levels to make sure all is good. I'm looking forward to more blood work on Monday and Wednesday next week. Hoping for HIGH numbers! *Crossing my fingers*

Time to enjoy the weekend with mi familia!

Surro~Mama Angela