A Small Hiccup

Hey! It’s been a couple of weeks, so I felt like it might be time to come update my blog on what’s been going on. I ran into a hiccup in the process and have to wait for it all to be resolved before we can move forward. I’m hoping that it doesn’t take much longer before we can get back to the board and moving ahead.

So, here’s the story. Only because I’m entering into this process, I got a pap test done sooner than I technically “needed” to. The new regulations state that if everything comes back normal, you don’t have to do them every year anymore, you can do them every 3 years. So of course my plan was to wait the 3 years, because why would I do something that’s unnecessary? Anyways, to start the surrogacy process and be medically cleared by an IVF doctor, I needed an updated pap. I went and got it done, and for the first time in my life, it came back abnormal.

Now, even though that was scary for me, I’m thankful I started this process when I did so that I went in for that pap and found out sooner than if I had waited another almost 2 years to get the test done. So that’s a blessing of sorts. I am going to see an OBGYN this week for a procedure that they call a colposcopy, which basically means they are going to do biopsies of different parts of my cervix to see how much of an issue there is. From what the pap showed, I do have low level lesions that tested positive for ‘high-risk’ cancer cells. At first, I thought that this meant I had already begun the stages of cancer, but since seeing the new OBGYN I saw last week, she described it a bit differently to me and I think I understand better now what’s going on.

The colposcopy will, if everything goes smoothly, remove any abnormal cells and I should be able to get cleared to proceed on schedule for a transfer in late August or early September. That’s the results we are hoping for, and optimistic that they will happen based on my visit with the OB last week. She was pretty positive from reading over my medical record from the pap that everything would still be a low level and be able to not have an issue being removed so we can just move forward and not worry about it further. But you can bet that I’m pretty sure I will always get pap tests done sooner than the 3 year date now, just to keep up on everything and make sure it’s okay.

So, that’s kind of where we are at. My procedure is on Thursday morning, so after that I will have a better idea of where everything stands. I’m sure I’ll have to wait a few days for lab results, but barring any issues there, the doctor told me she would be comfortable clearing me for pregnancy. Hopefully that still ends up being the case after this week! It’s been a somewhat stressful process, but I’m glad it’s going. We had an insurance issue or the procedure would have been able to be done last week, which I wish it had been. But, c’est la vie, and here we are. I’m hoping for no more setbacks on this journey, because as always, I can’t wait to get truly started.

If anyone reading this has ever had a colposcopy done, let me know how it went for you. I’d love some reassurance that this is more ‘normal’ than I originally thought and that everything was okay! I’ll write again when I have an update.

It’s a Waiting Game

Hey everyone! I wanted to write a short update on what’s happening in my surrogacy world! There’s not a TON to update on, but there’s some. I’ve gotten a lot of questions since my last post. First of all, keep those coming! I love that so many people are supportive, curious or just want to talk to me about it. It’s been so great being able to talk to so many people about everything. I truly love it! Second, I really am going to try and write at least weekly. Even if there’s not a ton to update on about this particular journey, I may go a little bit into mine & my family’s back story, for those that don’t know me or us on a personal level. So I hope you enjoy that content just as much.

Alright, so first thing’s first. I heard of a couple looking for a surrogate and I felt such a strong pull toward them, before even meeting them, that it encouraged me to consider doing an independent journey in stead of proceeding with the amazing agency I was in the process of getting on with. Everything happened in such a way that has made this possible! I got to do a match call with them last week, and it went better than I ever could have hoped. For those of you not familiar with the process, a match call is a phone call between the surrogate and the IP’s (intended parents-the ones the surrogate will be carrying the baby for) after they think they both might want to work together. It’s sort of a meet and greet, to confirm that your initial desire to work together is in fact real and that you want to proceed. Well anyways, it went wonderful. I love these people and if all goes well, they WILL be the ones I carry for! Which is so incredibly exciting. We talked for quite a while and I am in the paperwork process to get everything going.

Today I got my medical records and they are being sent to the IP’s IVF clinic for review. If all passes their doctors’ review, I will be cleared to move forward and go to med screening. Which means I will go meet with a clinic here in Houston to get everything going. For the transfer, I will have to go out to their clinic in Los Angeles, but they have found a clinic for me here in Houston that I can go to for med screening, which is amazing. One trip to L.A. will be plenty initially! I was medically cleared by my midwife last week when I went for an exam to carry another pregnancy, which I expected since my delivery with Salem was great and thankfully had no complications.

So, right now it really is kind of a waiting game, which sucks. BUT things are moving in the right direction. Hopefully their RE (reproductive endocrinologist-the IVF doctor for the IP’s) will get my records soon and be able to review them quickly and get us moving on down the road. As soon as I get cleared in my med screening, and after more paperwork and the whole legal side of the process gets done, I should be okay to begin taking the IVF medication(s) in July or August to get ready for a transfer. Pretty crazy for me to think I will hopefully be pregnant by September! I think about it every single day and I cannot wait.

On some more personal notes, my baby girl is 4 months old today! Time is flying by so fast. She’s very healthy and growing amazingly. She got her second round of shots today at her pediatrician’s office. They were surprised to already see two teeth in her mouth, and she has gained almost exactly 3 pounds and 3 inches since her last check-up two months ago.

Baby girl is 4 whole months old! 25 1/4 inches long and 14 lbs. 9.5 oz. She’s getting so big! No smiles for the camera today, this was post-vaccinations and she wasn’t the happiest camper.

I also officially began watching my niece today for her parents. and we had a good day. She will be 1 year old next month, so I’ll have my hands full but it will be fun. She’s such a good little girl, too. She just has to get used to our kitty, because she’s a bit scared of her right now. Which made me realize how truly strange a cat would look to someone if they had never seen a cat in their life, which is exactly her story until today. Hopefully they’ll become little buddies over time, although I have a feeling Belle (my cat) will want to stay far away from all the little hands of both her and Salem. The next little while will be an adventure for everyone, to say the least.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me! I’ve created this blog to document my journey through surrogacy. Before things really get going, I decided I should write my first post introducing myself, what this is all about, my family and anything else that seems like it belongs here. Be warned now, this will be a very open blog. If you don’t like hearing about medical procedures, or the use of words like uterus, and real emotions, this probably isn’t going to be the blog for you. And don’t get me wrong, that’s TOTALLY fine. I’m definitely not for everyone. But I do welcome everyone to follow me on this exciting journey, and you’re more than welcome to share this blog with anyone you think would be interested in following along as well.

So, here we go!

My name is Anna and I’m a 26 year old mother of two girls. My oldest daughter Skyla is almost 9 and my youngest, Salem, will be 4 months next week. I’m happily married to my wonderful wife Mailee and we relocated from Utah to the Houston, TX area last year. We have one kitty named Belle (because she’s definitely a princess) and just moved into a new beautiful apartment. We love the life we are building together here!

I have wanted to be a surrogate for as long as I can remember. From the first time I ever heard about the idea, it appealed to me and it’s been on my list of my life-long goals. I can’t believe that the time is coming that I’m finally going to be able to complete this. I’m very much looking forward to it! Giving someone the gift of a child will give me and inexplicable purpose and happiness that I can’t imagine getting any other way. I hope that whatever IP’s I end up with, that they feel just as bonded to me as I know I’m going to with them.

My pregnancies with my own two girls were pretty good as far as pregnancies go. I didn’t get horrible morning sickness, although it was definitely there for a couple of months with both of them. No major complications with either of them during pregnancy or birth, or with myself. My wonderful wife fully supports me, and that’s not something to take lightly. I appreciate her so, so much.

I started the paperwork process of the surrogacy journey a few weeks back. Everything takes a little while, so I’ve been waiting for the right time to start and share this blog. This week should be the final things in that part of the process, so once that’s all done, things will hopefully start moving somewhat quickly. Next up will come matching, everything legal, medical screening and clearance, and then it’s just about coordinating for everything to actually start. As soon as I’m in the right part of my cycle, I’ll begin taking different medication(s) to get everything inside my body where I need it to be for an IVF transfer.

I’m very excited to share this journey with you all. I’m sure there will be good, not so good, unexpected, sometimes boring and exciting things shared here and I’m honored you all want to be a part of it.