Ugh. We lost the babies again.

Jane's hormone levels dropped.

No babies again.

Ugh.

Now for the NEXT hurdle!

So...

As you might suspect, there are many hurdles two gay men need to overcome in order to have children. The next hurdles consist of blood tests to verify that the pregnancy is moving along properly.

On Monday, 8/23/10, Jane goes to the Clinic again for more bloodwork. They will be looking for her hormone levels to have doubled since Friday's bloodwork.

On Thursday, 8/26/10, Jane goes to the Clinic again for more bloodwork. They will be looking for her hormone levels to have doubled again since the 8/23/10 tests.

Typically, if the numbers triple or quadruple anywhere along the line, that would suggest that there are multiples (as in twins or triplets)...

If all is fine on Thursday, 8/26/10, then we schedule the ultrasound to determine just how many babies we have!!

:)

I'll update everyone Monday once we know how the bloodwork went!

Potato #1

Looks like good things DO come to those that wait!

Just posting quickly while on the road...

Jane had her bloodwork this morning at 7am...

Results were available around 9ish!

Her Beta bloodwork numbers were 29 which are good for frozen embryos (though of course it differs from woman to woman)...

So...

WE ARE PREGNANT!

Woohoo! :)

More info coming soon!

Cycle #3 Update, 8/11/2010

Oops... I just realized that I forgot to post the updates that I had been editing - sorry!  But here is the latest!!  :)

Cycle #3 Update:

1. Lupron start date: 7/4/10
• Started!
2. OCP (birth control pill) stop date: 7/9/10
1. Done (and many thanks to Jane's husband)!
3. Approximate date of suppression check: 7/15/10
• Done, all looks okay!
4. Estrace start date: 7/16/10
• Started!
5. Approx. date of endometrial lining check: 7/30/10
• Done - Jane's lining looks great!
• Slight schedule adjustment... Embryo transfer originally scheduled for 8/9/10 has been moved to 8/11/10... all good!
6. Last dose of Lupron: 8/2/10
• Stopped!
7. Begin progesterone & prometrium: 8/3/10
• Started!
8. Begin prednisone and doxy: 8/4/10
• Started!
• Spoke to the clinic and confirmed the embryo plan.
• Potato #1 and Potato #2 each have one(1) pair of "Grade A five-day embryo blasts", with each pair coming from a different egg donor.
• Following an extensive review of each egg donor's "proven productivity", Dr. H. suggested that we start off with (2) of Potato #1's embryo blasts, and (1) of Potato #2's blasts.
• Once the (3) embryos are thawed out, the geneticists and Dr. D will review them, and if any of the embryos appear to have any "issues", then we will thaw the 4th embryo.
• Yikes - learned that Jane is experiencing morning sickness - something she didn't go through with her own children... :(   Gosh, thanks so much for doing this for us!!! :)
9. Embryo transfer is scheduled for Monday, 8/9/10 Wednesday, 8/11/10
• Transfer scheduled for 10:30am... Jane needs to be there by 10:00am - we will be there too!
• When we got there, we found Jane wearing green nail polish (mani/pedi) and a green tshirt... according to other surrogates wearing green "helps"!
• We also met a couple from NY, that were also having their first transfer done today - good luck guys!!
• FYI: Vitrified/Cryopreserved embryos thaw within 90 minutes or so, as they are moved from dish to dish within the incubator(s).
• According to Dr. H. and the geneticists, all three embryos thawed at "100%", so the decision was made to move ahead according to plans!
• Potato #1's embryos are displayed below:

• Potato #2's embryo is displayed below:

• Note, that the Clinic waits until at least the surrogate is in the office before they start the embryo thawing process (which makes total sense, if you ask me)!!
• Dr. H. transferred the embryos to Jane; everything went well!
• Jane rested for a little while to let gravity "help"...
• We ran out and got her some french fries (another "surrogate helper")...
• And then we all went out and had a REALLY GREAT MEAL/TIME at Joey Garlic's Pizzeria, where we got to not only enjoy great company, but an awesome and yummy meal!!

Next steps:

1. First Beta on Friday, 8/20/10 (9 days out)
• Note that it takes longer for the body to actually generate the hormone levels that are measured by the Beta, so it is considered somewhat "unwise" to do a home pregnancy test, since it is looking for much higher hormonal levels.
2. Subsequent Betas, scheduled as appropriate...
• And will be reported here as soon as we know!!

All in all, we had a really great day, and are REALLY excited.... statistically speaking, it looks like we are "due"...

:)

Cycle #3...

Here is our Cycle Schedule for Cycle #3. 

Completed:
Lupron start date: 7.4.10

Coming Soon:
OCP (birth control pill) stop date: 7.9.10
Approximate date of suppression check: 7.15.10
Estrace start date: 7.16.10
Approx. date of endometrial lining check: 7.30.10
Last dose of Lupron: 8.2.10
Begin progesterone & prometrium: 8.3.10
Begin prednisone and doxy: 8.4.10
Embryo transfer is scheduled for Monday, August 9th, 2010
 
:)

Waiting for "the timeline"...

Looks like the weekof 8/8/10 is when we might be looking to conduct Transfer #3!

We'll hopefully have the timeline next week.

Yay!!  :)

The countdown to Transfer #3 is about ready to begin!

Following a very much anticipated conference call with Dr. H., it appears that we are ready to create the timeline for the Transfer #3, which should be finalized by the end of the week!

Each of us now has two frozen "Grade A" five day blastocycst embryos ("five day blasts"), and the idea at this moment is to transfer three of them to Jane.  Which three of the four isn't really a concern - we're just hoping for at least one healthy baby!

Woo-Hoo!!

2 More Frozen Embryos!

We were notified by the clinic today that two of the embryos fertilized by Potato #2 made it to nice Day 5 "blasts" - YAY!!  They are still keeping an eye on the third one, but we are excited, as we now have two nice frozen embryos each - almost enough to take over the world with!!

And there is another egg donor coming in this week, whom we also hope to receive more eggs to fertilize from.  So, though we are trying really hard to temper our excitement, we are really excited!!

Woo-Hoo!!!

WooHoo - there's an update!

Gee, sorry for not posting in so long - but there just wasn't anything to post.  :(

Now, after over a month of silence, we are happy to report that there is finally something to update everyone about!!

The clinic contacted us during April about an egg donor that will have eggs retrieved during the week of the 17th (if not sooner).  So, we while Potato #1 has two happily frozen 5 day blasts, we decided to use Potato #2's sperm for these eggs (assuming we get any).

Then this week, the clinic contacted us at the last minute about an egg donor  (literally for the next day).  We wound up with 3 eggs which were successfully fertilized with Potato #2's sperm.  Now the wait is on to see how many might actually grow to become happy 5 day "blasts"!  What a blast, man!  :)

Yay!

:)

And the wait continues...

We followed up with Dr. Handsome to make sure we are still on the radar, and are relieved to hear that we are.

At this point, we have two frozen "grade a blastocysts" and are just waiting for more available eggs to fertilize.

Ugh.  Thank goodness we are patient people!  :)

"Oh Sugar!"

We just learned that none of the last batch of eggs made it to cryopreservable embryos.

Bummer.  Ellen - are you following?!?  You really should put us on your show so that you and your audience can follow us along our journey towards parenthood!!

Oh well, we'll just look toward the next fertilization batch.

:(

Looks like we will have one more embryo to freeze!

Quick Update:

We received (4) eggs from the last egg donor, and following fertilization it looks like we have (1) really great grade A embryo that we'll be able to cryopreserve tomorrow!

Of course there is still the chance that there might be two!  I guess we'll find out tomorrow!

Oh, and btw, do you watch the Ellen DeGeneres show?  Well, Ellen is lookin to change lives, and is looking for folks to write in about anyone you know that may be having a tough time ( more at http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=234).  Though we have jobs, and a roof over our heads, I am trying to see if I can get them interested in doing a story about surrogacy, as I don't believe they have done one yet.  Feel free to drop the show a line and give a plug for us - just reference our website so that they know where to go to read about us!

:)

No update to update the update yet...

So, we are anxiously waiting to hear if we got any eggs and fertilization action going on yet... more news as soon as we have some!

Next Egg Donor on deck!

We just got word that the next egg donor we hope to receive eggs from will likely start her stimulation medications this Friday, with an anticipated retrieval by the week of 3/1/10!

As for the status of the fertilized embryos, we wound up with two "Grade A" blastocysts to cryopreserve.  According to the Clinic, the vitirification process used in the cryopreservation provides for an average thaw rate of approximately 99%.

Yay!

Lets just hope that this doesn't become an Abbott and Costello skit!  Hey - who's on Third?  I don't know?!?  First Base!  nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!

Embryo Update...

According to Dr. H, the Clinic was able to cryopreserve two "Grade A (the best grade) blastocysts" today.

Tomorrow, perhaps some of the others will also make it to the blastocyst stage and they will be able to freeze them also, but at least today "we have two beautiful ones."

Woo-Hoo!

:)

Embryo Update...

As of Saturday...

Potato #1: (3) 8-cell embryos "(ideal)"
Potato #2: (1) 8-cell, (1) 4-cell , (1) 2-cell embryos

On Monday, any embryos that make it to the blastocyst stage get cryopreserved.  The most likely ones to do that are the ones currently at the 8-cell stage, but the others may get there too by then...

Current thought is to get 5 or six high grade blastocysts in storage before the next transfer...

:)

Quick Update!

As of this morning, four of the six "very nice looking mature eggs" retrieved yesterday have fertilized and we should have more info on how they are doing on Monday...

Our sperm was also broken out into three batches (with each batch containing each of some sperm from each of us), for future fertilization.

Meanwhile, we are reviewing another potential donor...

Yay!

Moving forward...

Hola everyone!

To paraphrase Mark Twain (and the Lowell Shallot), "rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated" and we are [albeit] slowly moving forward towards Transfer #3! 

Following several strategy discussions, here is our general plan of action:

1. We will be using eggs from several donors.
2. Both of us potatoes will provide our sperm, which will be frozen and thawed as needed for fertilization.
3. Donor eggs will be fertilized, and any resulting "good day-5 blastocysts" will be cryopreserved.
4. Once we each have a good number of frozen embryos, they will get thawed and transfered to Jane.
5. Assuming that several embryos attach, anything over two will be selectively reduced.

Today, 2/10/10:

• Both of us went to the Clinic and provided our sperm.
• Several "very nice looking mature eggs" were retrieved from an egg donor.
• The first batch of eggs were fertilized.  We should gain a better sense of how many fertilized tomorrow, and how many resulted in blastocysts on Monday.

Woo-Hoo!!     :)

And today's word of the day is...

dis-ap-point-ment   [dis-uh-point-muhnt] / [dɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt] / hear  **

-noun

1. the act or fact of disappointing: All of his efforts only led to the disapppointment of his supporters.
2. the state or feeling of being disappointed: Her disappointment was very great when she didn't get the job.
3. a person or thing that disappoints: The play was a disappointment.

Origin:

1. 1605-15; DISAPPOINT + -MENT

Synonyms:

1. failure, defeat, frustration
2. impasse
3. setback
4. fiasco
5. mischance
6. dissillusion
7. false alarm
8. flash in the pan

** Compliments of Dictionary.com (An Ask.com Service)

We received the call at 11:23am to let us know that we're not pregnant.  We immediately called Jane (not knowing if she had already received the results), and sure enough, she already had.  Needless to say, all of us were somewhat shocked.

Dr H called us this afternoon to follow up with us and discuss options.  Hearing from him really helped; more on that later.  For now, we are all trying to stay upbeat as we consider our next step in this journey.  Jane is doing okay, and though the Potatoes are a little bit mashed up, we haven't beome French Fries yet...

My apologies for not updating everyone sooner, but I'm sure you understand. 

Thank you all for your good thoughts, well wishes, and prayers.

Potatoes 1 & 2

Today will be a loooong day while we wait for the Pregnancy Results!

Jane's appointment is this morning, and we should know by noon if we are pregnant!  Wish us luck!  :)