We finally had our shot training yesterday. I will be taking 2 shots, 3 pills, and 1 patch. I was a little nervous to say the least. Our doctor was so nice and was very helpful. She had everything laid out on the table that we were going to be using. There were needles, alcohol pads, meds, fake tummies, pens and paper, etc. Did I mention needles?!?!?! The egg donor has her own regimin of meds, but I didn't pay much attention so I wouldn't get them confused. I will take 1 shot for 10 days in the belly. The needle is very small and is a diabetic needle. Then another shot that I will take will be determined by the results of the pregnancy test. I will have to do it for at least 6 weeks. The needle is bigger and will require someone to do that for me. Thanks God for my mom!! That medicine will go in my upper hip. It is a 'intermuscular' shot. The medicine is a little thicker and needs bigger hole in the needle. I have a whole bag of needles, medicines, band-aids, and sharp containers. We are ready for this!! I will stop taking my birth control on April 10th and start the shots April soon after!! I'm telling you, there is no turning back now. Our transfer day will be April 30th if all goes well with the meds. We have to make sure egg donor's eggs are ready and my body is ready!! I will try to post later about the meds. I would like to be informative as much as I can!!!

Valerie

Jenn's "FIRST" post - LOL!!

WOW!!! God is AWESOME!! He gave me 2 healthy gorgeous boys in my early 20's before having to get a full hysterectomy at 26 because of endometriosis. I was divorced at 28 and met the love of my life, soul mate, lover....my everything and got married 12/12/08!! He (Jeffrey) had never been married and had not had any children. He wanted children but I couldn't have any so we prayed for God to make it happen if it was in his plan!! HE DID!!! I went to Women of Faith and roomed with Val's sister who I had met at church (LFCC) but didn't really know very well. I didn't know the other lady at all. Both very sweet and that night before bed talked about our families and I had said that my husband and I would like to have a child but I cannot do it and would have to have a surrogate. Val's sister said, "my sister will do it!" the other lady said I'll do it!! I WAS LIKE YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!! SERIOUSLY!!! OMIGOSH!! Val called me the NEXT DAY!! She was SO EXCITED!! I was SO EXCITED!! OMIGOSH!! THIS IS SO AWESOME!!! I wanted to find an egg donor who was thin, tall, and had green eyes....the first doctor (nightmare dr) said that would be hard to find. WELL, I knew a girl at work who would be great!! So I asked!! What is the worst thing that could happen she'd look at me like I was a nut and say NO! Well, she looked at me like I was a nut and said YES!! LOL!!! WOOHOO!!! How awesome!!! God is great!! At one point my egg donor worried me with a phone call because she was leary....oh no! GOD took care of it!! Get this!!!! I called my husband to let him know....he prayed (I didn't even think of that because I was so upset and worried!!! that should have been my first thought duhhh!! I was just freakin') She called her Dr. because she was worried about having to have her IUD removed and put back. A nurse answered the phone that had previously been....oh yeah....an EGG DONOR that had an.....oh yeah....IUD!!!!!! She reassured her that everything would be fine and my egg donor called me back and was A-OK!!! GOD IS WONDERFUL!!!!!! I got home and told Jeffrey everything was fine and that is when he told me he prayed to God and got all choked up!! I LOVE HIM!! So as you see from Val's post we are on our merry way!!! Tomorrow we go to Louisville to see the doctor (NEW awesome Dr) and go over the injections with the two gals so they know what injections to give where and what days!! I LOVE THESE GALS!! They are going to give themselves shots for ME and my hubby!! Crazy huh?! ;) OMIGOSH!!!!! TIME IS GOING FAST!!!!! We'll touch base with you after tomorrow's appt.!!

Well, I wanted to update since we had our ultrasound appointment. We had a Saline Ultrasound. That means they use saline to 'highlight' the uterus while doing an internal ultrasound. The procedure took about 5 minutes. There was a small bit of cramping, but nothing major. It really felt more like cramps in the back. Barely noticeable and gone in about 5 minutes also. If you have this done, you will leak saline for a brief amount of time. Go prepared with a pantyliner or 2!!
I wanted to explain a few of the medications we are taking also. I am taking 2 different multi-vitamins and will soon start a prenatal vitamin. I take 1 baby aspirin daily to help with blood flow to the uterus. It's only 81 mil, so no big deal. I don't worry about blood being too thin!! The last pill I take is the birth control pill. We are tricking my body into thinking that I am already pregnant. I don't know exactly how that works, but it does. I will be going back to the doctor in 2 weeks to do training on giving myself shots. The egg donor will be doing the same training and she is on the same meds I am on. That will change later, but for now we are doing the same. I look forward with moving forward!!! It is nice to be working with such a great doctor. She is thorough and has answered all questions and concerns. I will update as things change. We will be looking for OB/GYN soon. We have to be ready for the next step!!!

Valerie

well, before we get into the details of the process, i want to say a couple of things. #1- we have totally put this in God's hands. we have prayed specific prayers and they have been answered in a way that we can get it. like he's sending us a personal message. let's face it, this isn't something you can just make the decisions and expect God to go along with it. he has answered and will continue. #2- i have the most amazing husband. there are not many men who would let their wife carry another man's baby and approve of it!! from the first time i called him at work to ask him if i could do this he has blown me away. i tell him he is a saint for this. he will have to go without intimacy and when he gets 'it', he will have strict orders from the doc. he will take care of me when i am huge and can't do like i usually do. he will have to help more with the kids. he will be taking a whole new role. i love him for that. #2 is i would not do this with anyone but jeffrey and jennifer. the are the best. they are totally deserving of this baby. did i mention they want twins???? they are determined to take care of me and my needs. i want them to be here through the whole process and i know they will. jeffrey and steve have become good friends. they are like women when they start talking:) jennifer and i are a lot alike. we are both 'go getters'. to the point of driving our men crazy!!! there is nothing that will stop us.

i would love to hear some of your experiences. we are new at this and we are learning as we go. although i did some research on this, you don't know til you actually do it. we have an appointment march 11 for an ultrasound. they will be checking my inside plumbing. i am confident things are good. i had 2 great pregnancies and 2 unforgetable deliveries. i am going to make sure jeffery and jennifer have unforgetable experiences too!!!! i would appreciate any comments that are encouraging. there are a lot of opinions out there and we don't want any judgement during this. we have opportunities that we feel God is providing us with. we will not stop til He says stop!!!

well, i guess we should start off at the beginning. you know, it's the best place to start. literally. the way the beginning of the story goes is amazing. for any of you out there who know that God can do whatever he wants will understand. so, here goes the beginning.......





well, i have a sister who went to a christian convention called 'women of faith'. she had a great experience. she was very fortunate with the roomies she had. one of them was jennifer. alyson had known her from church so she was excited when they became roommates after some hotel drama. well, you know how girls are...they like to stay up late and talk. they were taking turns taking about their hubbies, kids and life. jennifer mentioned that she and her husband were wanting to start a family, but she had had prior surgery that would prevent that. my sister, bless her, said "i know someone who will carry a baby for you". i am sure jennifer probably just about wet the bed. seriously, my sis knew i had always wanted to do that for someone. i had experienced a little trouble getting pregnancy with my kids and i knew how jennifer and jeffrey were feeling.

so, let's fast forward from august 2009 to march 5, 2010. i don't want to bore you with every detail, but we may hit on some of those later.

jennifer and i wanted to create a blog for those of you out there who are experiencing the same things or thinking about going down this road to build your family. we hope we can learn from each other and have awesome experiences in the process.

right now we are at the stage of testing and pills. we also have some dates of testing and training. we have a projected date of egg retrievel from a donor on april 27 and embroy transfer on april 30. we have found a good doctor who specializes in this and we love the office. we are choosing to use an office in kentucky. it is a bit from our house, but we have to do things out of state because of the laws in indina.



i also want to tell you that jennifer and i will be doing the post together. you will hear from both of us. valerie will be the gestational carrier and jennifer is the mommy. steve is valerie's husband and jeffrey is the daddy.