Monitoring

   Today I had monitoring appointment #2 of 3. I am pretty sure that everything is going well. My uterine lining is thickening up as expected and everything on the ultrasound looked good. Last week I started on many of the medications again. Currently I am taking 3 prenatal vitamins, 2 estridol tablets, DHA, folate, baby aspirin and a shot of Delestrogen every 3 days. I am feeling well and the shots are totally painless. We are only 18 days away from transfer.  This is still an emotional roller coaster. I am excited and thinking positive that this WILL work this time, but the doubt that it may not still looms. I know that it is out of my control, that is probably what is so scary about it! I am dedicated to this though, and I will try however many times it takes us to get pregnant. I have struggled to even blog about the process this time. It seems like there is not much new to share as the process is the exact same as last time. It is much nicer to go through the process with my OB, partially because there is not much of a drive, but mostly because I will be able to have the same person through it all. He has done the monitoring, he will monitor the pregnancy and then he will, hopefully, be there for the delivery. It is very reassuring that I will not have to explain the situation over and over to different doctors. As much as I like sharing the experience of this journey, it gets tiring to repeat things to every professional I come in contact with. I have learned that there are not a lot of people in this community that know much about surrogacy.
   I am asked a lot of questions when people find out I am a surrogate, the first one is almost always "how are you going to give the baby up" to which I get to explain the process of how it is not mine and that there is no genetic connection. The next question is usually about my mental stability when I share that my goal is to TRY to deliver without an epidural! There are a lot of questions about the medical process and the shots. It is really hard for others to fathom that it really is not hard to give myself shots or to have my husband do it. Then there is always the BIG question: How will I handle being pregnant, caring for 3 kids, going to classes, attending a practicum site, being a wife and taking care of my house? Well, just like I do everything else, one day at a time and with very careful scheduling! I am VERY dependent on my planner. Everything has to be written down or there is no way I will remember it! From there things just work out. I am trying to accept that I cannot do everything and be everywhere. I will have to miss some of Kimberly's swim meets, I cannot volunteer in Noah's class as much as I would like but I do as much as I can! I have also learned to ask for help. When I look at my calendar I am SO glad that I will not have to throw the care of a newborn into the mix! I am happy to answer the questions that people have. I wish that there was more publicity on the positive surrogacy stories. There are so many stories out there of when things go wrong, but there are also many untold stories of happy journeys and families that would not be without surrogacy. My ultimate goal would be that I could encourage at least one other woman to help someone else have a family. I have had a few inquiries but no one actually start the process. Even though we are early in the journey, it has changed my life, my children's life and my families beliefs. That on it's own in a huge accomplishment!