October 2008 Archives

Well it's 8pm and we have just finished web-camming with Norma and her son and for some reason we both feel compelled to update! Exactly one week from now we will be on an aeroplane somewhere over the atlantic on our way to New York City for the first step of the actual process of baby making! It seems unreal that we have now known Norma for 3 and a half months.....the time has flown by and it feels like we have known her all our lives. Our relationship seems so easy that we feel we are incredibly lucky to be in the position we are in now with Norma and couldn't have asked for a better match. The day after we arrive in NYC we go to a clinic to have our blood work repeated as per FDA regulation and then we have the weekend fairly free so we are going to drive to Washington for the weekend. I have never been but Brett has and he is going to show me around which will be cool. We then figure we will make our way back to Connecticut on Monday and await our cue that the egg retrieval will take place so we can be in the right place at the right time! Norma flies in to join us on the Wednesday and we are going to go to see a show on Broadway and have dinner and I will have finally got to meet this lady who I feel like I know already and who is being so generous. All this while our embryo's will be incubating in Connecticut awaiting transfer to Norma which will be day 3-5 we think. Strange to think that in as little as 3 weeks we could be pregnant and be fathers to be. The day we find out we are pregnant I guess will be the day our lives change forever.....for the better!
The past few months have been like a whirlwind....when we first embarked on this journey there were so many questions in my head...I am definately the sort of person who likes to know the 'plan' and how it will all come together but at the start of this I really couldn't fully piece it all together which was fairly daunting. However as time has gone on and things have occurred it is all coming together fairly smoothly which is a relief. I think a lot of it is having trust in the agency staff and the clinic staff who have done all of this before and we have had a great team guiding us and who will continue to guide us through the rest of the journey. I am still thinking ahead to the logistics of getting out to the US for the 20 week scan, and should we buy a stroller in the UK or the US, and when the baby is born how will we sort out the legal paperwork, and which formula will we use, and which brand of diaper will we use, and how can we best support Norma if she gets bad morning sickness or back-ache, and and and and and.............. There are still so many unanswered questions at the moment but I have confidence that it will all come together in the end and we will end this journey as contented parents and will start a new one with our family in the UK, and our new extended family in Colorado.....

Well Matthew and I are trying to get over our first Colds of the season and trying to prepare for our pending trip to the US of A to make us some embryos!

I can scarcely believe we have reached this point. This evening we spent 30 minutes or so webcamming with Norma and talking excitedly about the trip. This really is a dream coming true for us. And it's unfolding so fast I can hardly believe it! This time next week we shall be in the air somewhere over the Atlantic heading for New York. That's exciting. But what is "take my breath away" exciting is the prospect that two weeks from today we could be making some embryos, which could, four weeks from today be showing up on Beta Numbers as a pregnancy. I can honestly say that the excitement is building ... and building ... and I am terrified about the height this excitement could reach.

Work have been fantastic and everyone knows I am leaving next week on the "Baby Mission" as it has been coined around the office. Sweepstakes have started on the gender(s), all of the ladies in my office argue regularly about the number (twins, singleton) and the gender mix should it be twins. My good friend at work Aparna (who has two adorable boys but she is desperate for a girl however has decided her baby making days are done) is convinced we are having a girl or girls and has told me on a number of occasions that she will be picking our daughter up on a Saturday morning and taking her shopping and to do girlie things with. Aparna's dad was the CEO of Air India and she has travelled the world and has impecable taste, so I am pretty cool with the idea!!

I am so excited to see Norma again and to hang out with her. It's amazing what good friends we have become and I truly believe we will remain friends for the rest of our lives. I am excited at seeing Sharron and the team at CFA again. I just wish Circle were a little closer so we could visit with the fab team there too.

Well I better sign off now. It's time for my hot medicated lemon drink!

Brett

  In two weeks from this exact moment, I will be tucking my beautiful children into bed and preparing for my trip to Connecticut to see Dr. Doyle. In two weeks from tonight, I will be setting out my children's Halloween treats ever so quietly, so I can surprise them when they awake. It saddens me that I will miss their Halloween festivities, but they understand what a gift we as a family are giving the Griffin's. I'll be a little nervous for the transfer. I'll be excited to meet Matthew, whom by now, I consider an amazing friend and an extension of my family. I will finish any packing I have left and I will be preparing to take a single trip that could not only change my life, but that of my intended fathers lives forever. 

  It is only the last few weeks that I have really started to realize what an enormous act of love this is. These children we hope to bring forth, have an amazing family. I have been so warmly welcomed into Matthew and Brett's circle of friends and family. I can only imagine how much love this child(ren) will have the luxury of knowing. I feel so honored and so proud to be a part of this. I know I have said this so many times, but I truly feel this way. 

  I am a little nervous that somehow the transfer will fail and that I will feel like I somehow failed my friends. I am confident that most, if not all, surrogates experience some sort of anxiety before their transfer. It is just that I want this to work so badly for my two favorite guys. Historically, I have always been a very optimistic person. I can truly and honestly state that despite a few nerves, I know we will be successful. After all, Dr. Doyle did say I had an Olympic perfect uterus and that I was very prolific! HaHaHa

  I hope the next time I post I am able to share the news of a positive pregnancy test with everyone. Until then, peaceful steps.....