Definition of Infertility: If getting pregnant has been a challenge for you and your partner, you're not alone. Ten to 15 percent of couples in the United States are infertile. Infertility is defined as not being able to get pregnant despite having frequent, unprotected sex for at least a year.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/infertility/DS00310

This is the story of 2 couples, 1 infertile and 1 fertile, and our journey of hope towards the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon any person: the gift of life. Though we are just beginning the process, our goal is simply to share our experiences and emotions along the way and our hope is that this story might bring comfort, courage, or simply answers to other people who have found themselves at what once was seemingly a dead end.

What makes us different than so many stories is, we are neither family nor strangers. Our friendship lately has been a long distance one. I always found it interesting that friendship are one of the few relationships that can survive distance. Boyfriends, girlfriends, married people, even family can fall victim to physical distance. We have not.

Friendship, like any relationship, is a give and take. Like the dipping and rising of waves you remain connected. Kelly and her entire family are giving us the greatest gift, even if it doesn't work, that gift will never be tarnished or less cherished.

This blog is not for the faint of heart. It will be raw and honest as this is a challenging process. We hope our sense of humor does not offend you; if it does we won't be hurt that you don't come back to visit, but we do hope that you take something away. Please be forgiving of our grammar and spelling as there will be times that our writing will be a release of intense emotion.

We hope you enjoy, find what you need, and come back for more!

*NOTE: This blog was started in January 2010 - the very, very beginning of our process. The first preliminary/counseling appointments are scheduled but have not happened yet. Kelly has yet to get medical clearance. The purpose of starting from this point is to detail the emotions and experiences of every little step. *

Genetic Material Mama's Story

The Boring Stuff:

My name is Katy, and I am half of the genetic material. (Or the "intended parent" if you want to get brushed up on your legal/medical jargon.) I am a 29 year old Michigander. I've been married for about 7 years to a great man named Matt.

Meeting My Future Baby Mama (is that supposed to be hyphenated?):

I met Kelly when I was hired on as a stylist in a mid-level salon. Soon after we became friends. She understood my sense of humor and wasn't put off my sometimes-lack-of-tact, and she wasn't afraid to tell me when I was saying something, um, unpalatable. I enjoyed the company of her and her husband and later her two amazing children.

As I watched Kelly progress through her first pregnancy it was as if I was watching what I would be like because we were so similar in a lot of ways. She took care of herself and had a supportive husband as well (shout out to the Baby Daddy here). Though if I remember correctly, she complained a lot less than I would have. I was not present for either births but Kelly remarked that they were mostly uneventful.

The Struggle:
By the time of the birth of her second child, a girl, my husband and I were aware of our struggle to conceive. Each month was a fresh slap in the face. I always felt it was ironic that there was blood involved because the wound in my heart felt that deep. Of course, everyone around us announced the expectancy of their own baby and it hurt terribly every time. Then the guilt followed for not being fully happy for them.

In June (I am uncertain of the year exactly, 2005 or 2006?), a few days before I was going to call the specialist, I had a late period which was not unusual for me but I took a test and it was positive. It was in the morning after I showered and in my towel I sank to the floor. I was stunned. The lines were bright and tears poured from my eyes. I heard my husband stir for his own morning routine and quickly pulled myself together. I hid the test. I wanted to tell him in some special way - not while in the back of his mind he was thinking he had to poop. I got ready in record time and left the house with my hair still wet and pee stick in hand. I could hardly stand it. I felt as though I was going to burst! Later I did burst but in a decidedly different way.

Maybe 3 weeks later I took another test. I'm not certain why. I think I wanted to see those lines pulsing at me like a neon sign again. This time there was only one line. The Control Line they call it. I called the doctor immediately and they drew blood and did a urine test, both were negative. They had told me not only was it negative, but I was never pregnant. It was a false positive. "But the stick said positive!" I shouted and thrust it at her. I had brought it with me. It was proof damn it! The stick lied. My mind whirled. How could it lie? It's job is truth. It's chemicals for Christ sake! It's science. It's fact. It is or it isn't. Not a lie. But science is apparently a fickle bitch when relied upon. I left the office in tears and dry heaved while holding onto my car.

My husband and I spent the next few days crying every whip-stitch. We had not done the wait-until-the-first-trimester-is-over-to-tell-everyone thing. Everyone close to us knew our story and struggle. We were too excited to hold back. I felt guilty for that. I felt that that lying stick had made me a liar too. I was utterly embarrassed and felt like a real fool.

Welcome To Infertility. Here is Your Complimentary Bag of New Shit to Deal With (oh, and tissues):

We went through the whole variety of tests, the most interesting being the Post Coital test. There really is nothing like scheduled sex to really heighten the romance. Then, you get to walk into the doctors office right after feeling like you have FORNICATOR written on your forehead. I was surprised at this point that they didn't ask, "So how was it". *TMI Alert* So they get us settled in the room and I, uh, assume the position and they check how many of his soldiers made it across the terrain, which is to say, next to none. In this procedure they were to check my cervical fluid, which apparently is supposed to be the consistency of egg whites. The nurse laughs and says, "well, I can already tell you this is not going to work for you. It's like rubber cement." Usually they analyze it, but that was just redundant after this.

We continued on to IUI's (Inter Uterine Insemination) and then to IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) and then to FET (Frozen Embryo Transfer). The IUI's weren't so bad but the IVF and FET's were fraught with emotion and failure. Between the injections and other medications it was impossible not to have the experience run our life. Every thing was timed. We had to plan our days around our injections or pills. I had to leave work early or receive injections in the car. We had to find out what the policy was on bringing needles into a concert. My husband gave me almost all the injections. I knew it was hard for him to inflict pain on me each time. I could see it in his eyes. The injections left bruises and left me sore at the injection site. It wasn't pure hell but it was extremely difficult.

That's me! The oven!

My name is Kelly and I am the gestational carrier-to-be. I really hate that name. Surrogate is even a little weird to me. I don't know what the right name/term is - but I'm sure I'll find it before this is all over. Or maybe not. Who am I? Why am I doing this?

I am 32 years old, married to the love of my life (who also happens to be the best man and husband that has ever been), and a mom of two beautiful amazing children. My son is 5 and my daughter is 4, and yes, I am the genetic parent and gestational carrier for each of them. That is exactly why I am here.

My husband and I are living our fairy tale and while we may do things the hard way, everything has worked out exactly as we have wanted and hoped for. Even the unplanned, unseen things have been welcomed, life changing and defining moments for our family. We have much to be grateful for, try not to take anything for granted, and we live for today.

When we decided we were ready to start a family we were both lucky and blessed. We were pregnant on the first try with each child and we had no complications throughout either pregnancy. Prior to starting to try I had an appointment with my OB/GYN to have my IUD removed, discuss getting pregnant and start prenatals. During my pelvic, prior to removing the IUD, my doc remarked "You've got great hips! Oh, ya, you were made for having babies."

I have never forgotten that. If I have been given this body that handles pregnancy so well, why wouldn't I be a part of this opportunity to help our friends? By no means was this decision taken lightly by me or my husband. If he were not 100% supportive we would not be here. Obviously having kids the ages we do makes the decision more complicated and delicate. After much consideration and debate we decided that we could not withhold what we could potentially offer. This is not a sacrifice to me. This just is. Beyond the complicated facade it is very simple: We have these amazing, beautiful, ridiculously funny and loving friends who we know would do anything for us. So their oven's broken. No problem! They can borrow ours!


Little Wonders

For Katy and Matt. May you realize that each step of this is a little wonder, a small miracle. We love you! ~Kelly & Ben

Tuesday, March 30

Timing is Everything

After being diagnosed with the PCOS, the doctor strongly recommended going on the South Bitch diet.  I know I need to loose weight.  I've known for a long time that I need to loose weight...but, well, it's just so hard.  I'm an emotional eater, happy, sad, whatever.  And I love beer and wine!  Ugh!

I've been on the damn diet a week and 2 days.  I have lost 12 lbs.  Great. Peachy. Wonderful.  My face is thinning out, my pants are looser-as are my bra's.  Oberon (one of my favorite summer time beers) was just released on Monday and I really, really want one.  My niece's 1st birthday party was Saturday and that means cake.  My kryptonite.  I took some cake home and froze it in pieces so I could have it as a reward after we move into phase 2 (which happens to be Easter Sunday.  Sonsofbitches.)  What I wouldn't give for some cake and an Oberon. 

The reason I post this here is because of the emotional part.  As I wait, I want something to enjoy, ie cake and beer.  I know this is the right thing to do but it still sucks balls.  
Posted by Katy at 2:46 PM 0 comments
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Thursday, March 25

Never thought I'd say that

I called Kelly last night to jokingly ask if Ben still had all of his teeth ('cause of my dream).  Kelly hadn't read the post so she put me on speaker phone and I related the nightmare to their accompanying chuckles.  We had a short conversation to which I ended.  "Don't forget to call me when you get your period!"  I could almost here the eye roll!  When I hung up the phone, I kind of stared at it for a minute thinking "did I really just say that?"  Wow, this stuff messes with your thoughts big time!  When else would you say something like that?  Or, for that matter, be selfishly excited for someone menstrual cycle?  When did I become a period cheerleader? 
Posted by Katy at 11:54 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, March 23

Bad Dreams

For the first time since we started this endeavor, I found myself having a nightmare about it.  It wasn't the nightmare that was unexpected, actually I was more surprised that I hadn't had any sooner, but it still shook me.
 I dreamed that Kelly had called me in the middle of the night.  She was frustrated.  She told me they had missed paying their rent because we took to long reimbursing her for expenses, and that Ben's teeth were falling out and that they didn't have the money to get his mouth fixed because we hadn't gotten them a check yet.  Then, very frankly, Kelly stated I'm sorry but you are going to have to do this without us.  I told her I understood and felt oddly calm.  It was as if as I expected it.  My physical response was what scared the shite out of me.  My heart pounded, blood screamed through my veins, and I had to scream, but like all my nightmares I am muted by the dream.  As I fought to scream, I also fought to breathe.  Finally, I woke, gasping.  The air almost hurt as a dragged it deep. 
Then, a shot of cough syrup and I was back on a river boat to the land of Nodd.
Posted by Katy at 1:45 PM 0 comments
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Sunday, March 14

"Soooo - do you wanna make a condom run?" & Invoicing

Thursday morning at work I got a call about 9:30 that my OBGYN had a cancellation for the annual I had scheduled in July and I could come at 12:30.  PERFECT!  At that point my annual, my IUD removal, and some signed consent were about the last three things I had to complete until showing up for the trial run.  I had been slacking on the annual but I did have the IUD removal scheduled for March 30th and honestly had forgotten about the consent thing....but I'll get that in the mail ;-)  At 11:30 I was off.

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Posted by Kelly at 6:52 PM 2 comments

The good, the blood, and the WTF

Friday Matt and I had our first appointment with the specialist.  It started with a bit of paperwork and then a lot of labs.  They drew about 3 to 4 vials of blood from each of us to check for all sorts of stuff (AIDS, HIV, and other communicable diseases).

When we finally met with the doctor I was so tight with tension that if you flicked me with a finger I'd vibrate right out of the room.  Ugh, I tried so hard to breathe deep and keep a handle on the questions I wanted to ask but that became quickly difficult.  My head was spinning a bit.  I don't know how to do this!  I want a manual!  Finally, I gathered myself enough to start asking questions.  There were only a few that I needed answered at this stage.  I wanted statistics.  For a creative person, I cling unusually strong to facts.  I was relieved to hear that with the quality of our eggs, we had approximately a 45-48% chance of one embryo implanting.  That was better than we expected.  A smile, but it quickly faded as I had my chance to ask the fear that has been plaguing me since we've begun this.  I cleared my throat, it was amazingly difficult to find my voice.  I asked about the thawing success rate.  I have been concerned that none would serve the thaw.  That we would have gone through this all but to no avail, and worse, that Kelly and her family would too.  A significant part of the difficulty here is that we are drawing others into our struggle.  But this is a lesson in trust; not just trust, but love.

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Posted by Katy at 4:44 PM 0 comments
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Tuesday, March 9

Up coming Appt

Matt and I have our first appointment with our specialist on Friday.  Well, first for these series of procedures.  I'm really interested in what all will be discussed.  I'm beginning to wonder if at every step they'll keep verifying that we know what we are getting into.  It's easy to say yest about the procedures but can anyone be truly prepared for the success of the procedures and the onslaught of what follows...let alone bringing home a baby!  I know that is the whole point but I don't think anyone truly knows what they are getting into when they bring a child home. 

I hate the hurry up and wait portion of this all.  I wish it was here and all done, with results so we can move on one way or another.
Posted by Katy at 12:49 PM 0 comments
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