Candace- I mean Chris and I both are really. We all did our due diligence and read every single word on the 22 page contract document. Dotted i’s, crossed t’s and made sure all parties that would be involved (including the man-folk) were in a good place after tossing some ink one the lines of the surrogacy agreement.
So what happens next? Well, Kanga gets to ride pine on the waiting bench for a while. It’s now my turn to saddle up in the stirrups of our RE clinic. Yep, me, a paper pink mini skirt and Mr. Ultrasound Wand.
There once was that time when I said I would NEVER EVER EVERRRRRRR subject myself to yet another IVF stimulation/retrieval. See that shoe string dangling out of my mouth? Suffice it to say, I am getting ready to start another round and we are officially starting our second surrogacy.
Fun fact. Jellybean was the last of our frozen embryos from circa 2012. DAYYUUUMMMM. That’s a big gap of time that has lapsed since I have had a stimulation and retrieval cycle and I have been out of the game for a while. It’s like riding a bike right? RIGHT? Please someone tell me yes.
Here’s where things get a little complicated too. In a “normal” IVF/Surrogacy situation, one would just have to wait til CD1 begins (you know, when you ride the cotton cowboy). Problem. I’m kinda missing a uterus. So sorry, no Auntie Flow happening here. This makes pin pointing my cycle a bit more difficult. The fine doctors at our clinic just get to be blessed with seeing me more…a lot more. Every few days I will need to pop in and get an US and bloodwork (estrogen and progesterone) to determine where I am in my luteal phase and beyond, but basically down to the day of what it would have been if I had the natural indicator, menses. This is also not fun for the pocket either, it’s a lot of extra screening which tacks on an insane amount of additional costs.
Dear God, I hate my reproductive system.
So over the next month or so, I will be channeling my inner Excel prowess and mean quantitative analysis skills on chipping away at the most competitive pharmacy costs. Adding some additional miles on the stirrups at the fertility clinic and changing my status to “in a relationship…with an awesome, and quite amazing selfless girl” who has offered to be our Kanga.
Chris-For stimulation and retrieval, there isn’t much I can do. Since this will be a transfer to a 3rd party, we had to put my little swimmers on ice for at least 6 months. The reason is that, were I to have been up to any “adult” shenanigans (STD testing), it is possible that they wouldn’t show up for several months. So, back in August, I romanced the sweet plastic cup, crossed my fingers, puffed out my chest, and declared that I had completed my part of the task. Now, it is all on Candace.
OK, not really. I will need to give Candace all of her shots, help her with whatever she needs and dote on her every desire. One of which was … socks. Candace, although quite comfortable in the stirrups of our RE’s office at this point, still endeavors to spread cheer, or at least make conversation, during her encounter with Mr. Ultrasound wand. So, she requested socks. I found a site that had tons of awesome socks to choose from and well, I did go a bit overboard. I picked out 15 pairs of socks and whittled it down to 7. My favorites are the ones with a comment on them. One says, “I Love You! Weirdo” The other one says, “Dutchess of Sassytown” Both seem rather appropriate.
With socks in one hand and needles in the other, Candace and I are getting strapped in for an already wild ride that will be all the more wild this go-round, our roller coaster car has 3 seats in it!
For those who want to keep insta-tabs on our surrogacy journey for hash-tagy purposes check out @Ourmisconception #KangaKapers on Instagram. If you want a little more than just a blog post here and there or have questions, comments or witty quips to share with us, toss an email our way or stop by our Facebook page for some #IF encouragement.
