News travels slow

I am so sorry for not updating sooner. There are a lot of moving pieces in the communication between my monitoring clinic, my fertility clinic, K & J, and myself. Whew!

Monday was my ultrasound to check my uterine lining to see if we are ready for transfer. (It was also my birthday, yay!) We saw a fluffy, trilaminar 21mm uterine lining. Since I was 19mm prior to the previous transfer attempt, I can only think is good news the fluffier the better, right?! So off I went to celebrate my birthday with my family complete with flowers, cupcakes, and even a surprise overnight getaway with the hubby, sans kiddos! The hubs and I spent a couple of days in Atlanta, exploring Oakland Cemetery, the Georgia Aquarium, and my favorite part: The Bodies Exhibition. Perhaps not everyone would enjoy viewing cadavers on their birthday, but it floated my boat! And just as we were wrapping up our trip and about to head home, I got an email from the fertility clinic...

Y'all. Another set back: my lining is TOO thick for transfer. I cried a little. Apparently, the RE would like my lining to be between 8mm and 20mm at this point. Soooo, instead of transferring on May the 4th (be with you!), we will have another ultrasound to see if lowering my estrace dose by half will drop that lining measurement a bit. I will be in the office bright and early next Wednesday, praying my body responds favorably this time.

I'm trying not to be discouraged with all the push backs; it's frustrating. And I know K is a bit frustrated as well. We're so so ready!

Let's try this again!

Hi, friends!! Perhaps some of you have been waiting patiently to find out how this week's appointment went, considering that the previous ultrasound did not go as we had hoped. I have better news this week. My ovaries are still suppressed (as they should be!), and my lining is at 5mm. The clinic is looking for it to be below 7mm before we can continue with the meds, so yay! I began estrace on Thursday and we preparing for transfer May 4th. Quote from my husband. "Transfer is Star Wars Day. So cool!"

Lining check will be April 25, so let's hope that goes well so we can keep the rockin' date as planned. April 25 also happens to be my birthday so it can only be a good day, right? 

And if all that news wasn't exciting enough, I also attempted and failed, then attempted again and succeeded at making pretzels...cinnamon sugar and salted. Not photogenic at all, but they tasted good!

Making Auntie Ann proud

I don't think my family minds being taste testers for my kitchen adventures. They didn't mind this sweet peanut butter cream pie either:

I promise not to fill the blog with pictures of food. It is about surrogacy afterall. But what a fun way to spend the "hurry up and wait." (and pictures are fun!)

I'll check back in soon. Thanks for following me!

Another bump in the road

Yesterday's baseline appointment didn't quite yield the results we would want. Although my labs came back great and my ovaries are very quiet, my uterine lining was too thick. So, even though my cycle began as planned, the lining hasn't shed enough to allow us to begin the estrace. The clinic assured me that this happens sometimes and it should only delay us by a week. I will be rechecked next Wednesday. As a result, we will no longer be transferring at the end of April; we are pushed back to the first week of May. I will have an official transfer date after we receive the results from next week's appointment. Until then, we wait. I have to remain on the Lupron, with my ovaries turned off and no synthetic hormones to fill the gap. Thankfully, the side effects have been a bit more mild this cycle. Yay!

To pass the time with all this waiting, I have been in the kitchen. I love to bake, and last weekend, I made my first batch of real homemade cinnamon rolls! I generally fear yeast baking, but I found the courage to give it a try. I am so proud.

My baking skills are waaayyyy better than my photography skills. These were fantastic! They are definitely too rich and decadent to make every weekend, but perfect for special occasions. I don't think I can blame any of my recent weight gain on the hormones any longer thanks to glorious treats like these! They're worth it. This is a more interesting than all this "hurry up and wait" that's been happening on this blog lately, don't ya think??

Check back in with me next week, friends. I hope to have better news and possibly another kitchen adventure!