All of Us and the Baby Bump

All of these were taken at exactly 34 weeks by the talented Kim Bazan - thanks Kim.
Isn't Angie gorgeous?! :)

An Update from Anne, finally...

Hasn't Angie done a great job keeping the blog up to date? Even more so considering she is the one carrying the baby (and looking after her own four children)! :)

This week we are at 34 weeks. Angie posted on her Facebook status that we had 43 days until 'baby day' - wow!
Time had been going pretty slowly for Dave and I, but that has changed in the last couple of weeks and all of a sudden time is flying by.
Dr Zimmerman measured Angie on Monday and she is measuring exactly what she should be and her weight gain (3 pounds in the 2 weeks) is perfect too. The baby is active and she is having contractions that she is feeling about 4 or 5 times a day, which is what is expected. Angie is doing well controlling her blood glucose levels with diet, especially with holiday foods and celebrations. The doctor is happy so far that diet is controlling her numbers, but if that stops being the case she will need to take medication to help regulate her levels. Angie has had a terrible cold/flu and blocked sinuses for the last month and last weekend she got some antibiotics and nose spray and she is finally feeling better and has some more energy.
Last night Angie felt some strong contractions and some even woke her up during the night, but they are less today, so it must be a false alarm. I am not ready for this baby yet!

Next time: our version of maternity pics and some peeks at the nursery.

It's been far too long.....so sorry.

     We have obviously been caught up in the activities of the pregnancy and the time of season to post. That isn't really a good excuse, but I tried.
     The ultrasound went great and everything measured how it should and right on track. And of course, the sex of the baby is still a big question mark. I have my suspicions but I will keep them to myself. Anne has all the pictures on a CD, so she will be (hopefully) putting them up along with the post for you all to see.
     Every appointment since then has been great news, except for one. The doctor sent me for another 3-hour glucose test and I did not pass this one. But it now has more to do with the pregnancy than if I'd had it at 15 weeks pregnant. This means it should probably go away when I deliver the baby.
     For now we are able to control this with diet. I met with a dietician (as if I know nothing about diabetes) and they set me up with a food plan which contained how many carbs I could have at each meal and snack. They told me my numbers had to stay below certain numbers. It hasn't been too bad, but I do miss some things. Like pop. I know I'm better off without it anyway, but I really love an ice cold fountain coke. I also miss my cereal in the morning. I am a cold breakfast kinda gal. But cereal has too many carbs for the morning. Along with fruit. I can't have any fruit in the morning. So eggs and yogurt has been my breakfast staple. What a pain to cook eggs every morning! And lattes. I miss lattes. They are a comfort thing mostly. When it's cold (like today) outside, a hot latte just hits the spot. Pray that we will be able to continue to control it with diet instead of taking medication.
     My weight gain is great. It's the least amount I've had out of any of my pregnancies. I believe it's 12 pounds so far. And only two months to go! I've been having a lot of contractions, but nothing steady or constant. Anne really wants to hold out for a February baby, but I believe it will take place in January. Just call it a hunch, or at least a deep desire. :)
     The Holidays will help time to pass quickly and easily. Before you know it the due date will be around the corner. I've done a lot of my Christmas shopping online, which definitely makes it easier! I did brave the black Friday sales. I ended up staying up all night which only worsened my already terrible cold. Let's not talk about that experience! It was fun but would have been better not pregnant and not sick. We made it to Iowa and back without any complications. Major traveling for the Holiday season is done, thank goodness.
     We'll try not to let it go so long without an update. Anne will make her appearance on here one of these days. She needs to tell you about the preparations and nursery- and maybe even show some pictures! ;)

Thanks for hanging with us and for all of your prayers.
Until next time.
Angie

Great, great, great news

My three hour glucose test turned out normal!! Can you believe it? I can't. I had myself (along with my doctor) convinced that I was in the beginning stages of having diabetes. But all my numbers came back normal from the three hour test. I am so thankful!

God is so awesome!

The ultrasound has been set for September 27. But don't wait around for any news. Dave and Anne don't want to find out what they are having. This will be sooooo hard for me!

Good News, Bad News

This is Angie. Anne will make an appearance on her sometime soon. But right now she is super busy! Her family is making their first visit to the States and Anne has been busy with preparations. Her parents arrive tonight. Her sister arrives on Saturday. And her other sister (and family) will be coming in a couple of weeks. I have some good news and bad news to share.

Good News- Things are going great! Sorry we have kept you waiting in suspense. Anne and I have been to my OB Doctor 2 times since the last post. Dr. Zimmerman says that things are looking great. Growth is on track and results were good from the exam.

We were accepted for the special insurance that Dave and Anne applied for. There was certain terms. They would not cover any complications from my nose ring and they would not cover anything having to do with gestational diabetes, which I have had in past pregnancies.

Here comes the bad news.

Bad News- Dr. Zimmerman sent me at 14 weeks to get the glucose test done because of my previous history of gestational diabetes. I failed it. When we went to see Dr. Zimmerman yesterday, he said it is not good to fail that test this early. It pretty much means that I am diabetic already. Diabetes is prevalent in my family. I have a son with Type 1 and my brother just got diagnosed with Type 1 a few months ago. Dr. Zimmerman said there is obviously a bad gene in our family. If I have diabetes now, it may not go away when the baby is born. This is a shocking revelation.

I am sitting in the lab at Holland Hospital right now. I've been here for a total of 3 hours already. I have my last blood draw in 20 minutes. This test will determine if I have diabetes, for sure, already. We'll know by the end of the day.

This is bad for Dave and Anne because it does put the baby at some risk. And also, all of these tests, medications, and extra costs are not covered by the very expensive insurance that they are already paying for.

Please pray that everything goes well, and that no matter, the results are received well and things will work out.
Thank you.

Sorry it took so Long

     Our ultrasound turned out great last Monday. We found out there is one baby inside me, growing and developing. We all had a mixture of reactions and emotions. At first I was disappointed. Dave said he was a little too, but then was angry at himself for feeling that way. We all came to the conclusion that this was good news. With one baby instead of two, there would be less complications. Things would be easier on me and the baby. I told Anne she wouldn't be so overwhelmed and would be able to enjoy everything so much better with one baby. She agreed.

     It still would have been pretty neat to give Dave and Anne 2 babies with this costly one-time experience. But we were grateful to see the one and be able to get a glimpse of it's little beating heart.

     Thank you for your support and prayers. We have another ultrasound on Tuesday June 22nd. I will update you with the results as soon as I can.

God is Good

     I have some great news!!! I know, I know. It's a little late, but I wanted to give Anne a chance to tell everyone she wanted to first.

WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!

     The blood tests on Monday and Wednesday came back with awesome results. The call came in on Monday with Dave home from lunch and Anne sitting there with him. It was the best timing with the best news. Everyone is very excited (to say the least).

The next step is an appointment we have at the fertility center on June 7. They will be doing an ultrasound to see if both embryos took, or just one. Now that things are a little more of a reality, maybe Anne will make a guest appearance on the blog.

As for me, the pregnancy feels quite normal. I need naps in the afternoon and I have some strange hunger cravings. It does feel a little different. Just knowing this baby isn't mine keeps me a little disconnected. But I think that's normal and probably a good thing.

Thanks for all of your prayers. Please pray that everything goes smoothly for the next couple of months especially- and throughout the pregnancy.

Still Waiting

I wanted to give you guys a heads up as to what is happening soon.

I have orders to get blood tests done on Monday and Wednesday. If I go in early enough, we should know the same day.

On a positive note, my chiropractor knows about the procedure and this is what he had to say on Wednesday.
"I predict that it took the first time from what I see here" (As he was feeling my back) "I believe you'll have good news on Monday" 

!!!!!!!!!!!!

But we will see. Still trying to remain neutral.....but it's so hard.
Never thought of myself as a positive person....but maybe I am.
Or maybe someone with a lot of FAITH!

Stay tuned!

All is Well So Far

I'm nearing the end of my sentence. Bed rest is not fun when you feel fine. I was a little tired, but that is about it. I've been catching up on my Google Reader, email, random internet surfing, and magazines.

The procedure was great. Other than the fact that my bladder was so full I thought I would pee on the doctor while he was working. And of course, the nurse had to put the ultrasound thing right on top of my bladder and push down! It only took a few minutes and they were done with the transfer. Then they used a catheter to help ease my discomfort. OUCH!

The doctor didn't give precise grades for the embryos, but instead said that 4 of the 5 were excellent. The fifth was okay. So they put in two of the excellent ones and we'll know more in a week or so.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Anne has pictures of me in my hospital garb and some of her from her procedure. Maybe she'll post them for all of you.

T-Day T Minus 12 hours (approximately)

That's right, Transfer Day is tomorrow. At 11:45- so that all of you can be praying.

Anne's egg retrieval went good on Tuesday. They got seven eggs. They deposited Dave's deposit (tee-hee).

We received word today that 5 of the 7 eggs were mature. So they made 5 embryos. They give grades to the embryos- One being perfect and Four being poor. We will find out tomorrow how theirs are graded. Two will be used right away.

Then they will do the TRANSFER!

I'll be out of commission for the whole day. I have to take a happy pill (valium) and lay on my back for the whole day.

Pray everything goes smoothly and that the eggs take right away.
Pray that I will be able to relax and stay in bed- Doctor's orders!

We'll update when we can!

3 Days and Counting

Big things are happening. This is the week. T-Day is in sight.

I had an appointment on Thursday where they had to do another ultrasound.
Yes, that's right. They had to use the probe.
I've talked about it previously. There's a photo if you really want to see.

I thought I'd include another photo in this post. This photo is of the "probe cover" , as they call it.

Here it is.

Doesn't the "probe cover" look suspiciously like an item with a different name?
And do you know what the "probe cover" does? It covers the probe when they use it.
True story. This is the real deal, here.

I got to poke Anne with a gigantic needle yesterday. It was a little frightening. But we did it.
I don't have a photo, but Dave took some pictures of it. Maybe they will post them.
It had to be done at precisely 9pm. Right after the very disappointing 'Amazing Race' that we watched.

It was preparation for tomorrow. It is harvest day for Anne tomorrow.

Please be in prayer for Anne that everything goes smoothly and they get the eggs that they need.
Please be in prayer for Dave and Anne as they have to make an important decision about how many embryos to make.
Please be in prayer for everyone because Transfer Day is Thursday!

I will check back in when I'm able to keep you up to date.

Good News

I have good news to report. Anne went in for an appointment today and things looked much better. They were able to see at least 8 eggs and new growth happening. Things are on track and looking positive! Thanks for praying!

    Today I start taking three estrogen pills a day. I have an appointment tomorrow to make sure I am on track. Anne has another appointment on Friday to check the follicle growth and make sure there are plenty of eggs.

T-Day is approaching quickly. (Transfer Day)

Another thing to keep in your prayers- How many embryos to do? Dave and Anne have to make the decision on how many embryos to make. It would be good to have more than the 2 we plan on implanting. That way, if pregnancy doesn't happen this time we have some embryos waiting to try again. If pregnancy does happen, Dave and Anne have to decide what to do with the frozen embryos. We consider embryos to be life and need to be treated as such.

So please pray for Dave and Anne in this decision they have to make.

Getting caught up

     The second blood test turned out good. My estradiol levels were where they should be. So Christine gave me the instructions for the next phase- Take less Lupron and start taking the Estrogen pills. This helps to start the thickening of the uterus walls so they are ready to accept the transfer. I started with one pill a day and then went to two pills a day. Tomorrow I start taking three a day and I have an appointment for Thursday morning. They will check my uterine lining, I guess.

     Anne has had to take different drugs than me.  She actually has to mix stuff together and then use a needle to shoot it into herself. I believe (but not positive) it is to help boost the growth of follicles so that she will have more eggs available.

     For those that read this blog, please be in constant prayer.  Anne had an appointment with Dr. Young to check on follicle growth. It did not go well. She only had two eggs on one side and the other side couldn't be located. I am not sure yet what that means to the whole process. Anne said that Dr. Young did not seem hopeful. It would be devastating to come this far, only to be let down and not continue. Pray for more follicle growth. Pray for the other ovary to be located. Pray for Dave and Anne and whatever may come next.

Thank you for your support.

I'll give you an update as soon as I know anything.

Drugs while on vacation are a good thing

Thought that title might get your attention.

    Christine, who is our donor coordinator, called me up to give me the date for the start of the medication. Anne had ordered all of the medications for the entire process and they came in the mail. April 3 is the start date. Perfect. That is while I'm on vacation. No big deal, I can just take everything with me. As long as I can remember to take it, right? Riiiiiiight.

    I forgot the first day, but so did Anne, so it's all good.  She started a week earlier than me. It's a drug called Lupron and is used to suppress our own natural cycle. Apparently we were only a week off. It has to be administered by a needle into the stomach on either side of the belly button. It kinda hurts. And once in awhile, I hit a blood vessel or something and end up bruising pretty badly. Here's the proof.

Sorry you had to see that, I really am. I actually have a different bruise right now that is 2 1/2 times bigger than this one. I thought I would spare you and not take another picture of my stomach to put on here. You've seen enough already.

     It turns out I looked at the wrong paper when I started the Lupron. I was supposed to be starting at 20 units, not 10. So when I went in for my blood test to check my Estradiol levels, they were way too high. I told Christine it was my fault because I was taking the wrong dosage. She said "I know we talked about doing 20 units". Yes, we did Christine. We talked about a lot of things that day. Remember when I said "information overload"? Well, that was the day she told me how much dosage to start on. Along with me worrying about softball and getting everything done before we left for vacation! (I told you I'd come back to this) But it is no one's fault but my own. It turns out God worked it that way for a reason though. The transfer will happen a week later than it would have, which works out better timing wise.

New instructions- Up the dosage to 20 units and do another blood test in a week.
Oh man, not another blood test. At least I didn't bruise as badly this time.

I think I worried Anne a little. I assured her I would not mess this up anymore!

Sonogram/Mock Transfer

We have a photo to make the post a little more interesting.

    So the first appointment after getting the results back from the personality profile was coming in for a new patient appointment with Dr. Young. It was simple enough. They got my measurements (it was interesting learning what my BMI was!) and did a simple exam. Then they sat me down and talked about the entire procedure and any ifs or buts that could occur. I had to sign a few papers and then was sent home with all the paperwork, including a stack that had to be signed and notarized by me and Scott. Talk about information overload! This was a somewhat stressful time for me. I had just started coaching JV softball and worrying about having enough girls to have a team. We were also getting ready to go on vacation for 10 days in the next couple of weeks. (I'm building this up to make a point at a later date).

     So Scott and I got all the papers signed and notarized. Next step was a blood test. We made it a family outing and brought everyone along. A lady with a heavy accent was the one that helped us. I don't know how experienced she was but she had to wiggle mine around quite a bit. They needed a lot of blood from me. She filled 5 or 6 different bottles. Scott was hilarious to watch. He tried to put on a brave face because the boys were watching. My elbow bruised so badly, it hurt for 2 weeks afterwards.

     The next appointment was a week or so later and was a sonogram and a practice transfer (or mock transfer). Anne came with me so that we could be on the same page and experience everything together. I also thought this was the appointment where I had to take a Valium, but this wasn't the case. She practiced driving all the way there because she was going to be trying to get her driver's license soon. She doesn't want to always be waiting on us to take her where she needs to go, apparently. What's the deal, right? I'm joking, of course.

    Both procedures went very quickly and was quite easy.  For the sonogram, they filled me up (I'll spare you specifics) with water to check for any problems. Everything checked out great. They used something called a probe and that is what our picture is of. Isn't that nice for us to illustrate that for all of you!

    They also did the mock transfer. This is the exact procedure they will use when they do the actual transplant.  They did a practice to measure how long of a distance it is to the perfect drop off point. They need to know this ahead of time so it is exact and not a guessing game.

    I was nervous for no good reason. Everything went smoothly and was very easy. Poor Anne got an eyeful, but it isn't anything she's not going to see for the birth!

Game On

I'm not sure if anyone caught that movie quote. If you did, you're pretty cool.

So, after the roller coaster ride of decisions and emotions, the plans to carry Dave and Anne's baby is back on.

    Anne has already been partway through the first phase, but for me it's all new.  The first step for Scott and I- counseling. This was an interesting introduction to the whole experience.

    When I approached the counter at the fertility center, I let them know I was there to be a surrogate for Anne DeWitt. I was abruptly corrected at the use of the term surrogate. I learned that surrogate usually means your own egg is being used in the procedure. This is not the case for us. So I learned the new correct term- Gestational Carrier. That's what I am.

    Scott, the counselor, and I sat in a little room where she probed into every detail of my life- past and present.  She wanted to know about my parents and each of my siblings and my relationships with them. She wanted to know why I hadn't even told my mom about what we were doing, about my parents whole messy divorce, about how we were raised, and about what my family is like now. Then she got into more personal questions (if that's possible) like asking if my husband is abusive and what our sex life is like. Scott was sitting right there with a beet red face the entire time. He remained pretty quiet for the most part. She had given us the option of having him leave when she got to those questions, but we did not feel it was necessary. He was probably wishing he had chose to leave!

    Then Scott went to the waiting room and I took a personality profile test for an hour. It was over 300+ questions. A lot of the questions asked the same thing but the wording was different. I was chuckling at quite a few of them. 'Do you hear voices that no one else can hear?' 'Do you often feel you are being followed or someone is out to get you?' 'Do you or did you love your father and think he was a good person?' There were some pretty strange questions. We already got the results back. Turns out I'm not crazy because they gave us the go ahead. I believe Dave and Anne had to go through the same rigorous process, but I'm not sure.

Next appointment- The sonogram and mock transfer.

The Saga Continues

Sorry if I left you hanging from my last post. I figured it was a good place to stop since I tend to get a little long winded.

I make this outlandish offer to Dave and Anne and I'm not quite sure anyone took me serious. So I said it again but with more determination. Scott said, "Isn't this something you should talk to your husband about first?"

     Scott and I had tentatively decided we were done having babies after the birth of our fourth son. I think he was ready to move on to the next stage of life and away from the baby stage. And in a way, I was too. I was ready to get my body back into shape and be able to enjoy my older boys a little more. Being pregnant or having an infant kind of ties you down. It makes it difficult to do activities with your older children. But those things couldn't stop me from wanting to have a baby for Dave and Anne.  There was a single thought that kept me steadfast in my decision. A thought that I couldn't even fathom.

What if I hadn't been able to conceive? How would that feel and how would it have affected my life?

    When I told my family about our decision, it was met with some skepticism.  In fact, there were some family members that were a bit negative about it.  But that didn't deter me one bit.  I believe it was their lack of knowledge that led to their attitude. Most of my family was very receptive and supportive.  So it was settled and proceedings began.

    Dave and Anne grappled with the decision they were making. They were putting off surgery that would eliminate the cancer growth from Anne's body.  This was a risk, they were told, they could take for a short period of time.  So, Anne started the drugs that would help her body produce a large number of eggs that would then be harvested.  In the meanwhile, Dave and Anne did a lot of investigating and praying. The doctors informed them that Anne would have to have a full hysterectomy, including her ovaries. This would leave no chance of children of their own after the surgery. After weighing many factors and looking at total costs for everything included, Dave and Anne decided to stop pursuing this route.

    I was heartbroken for Anne. I knew this was something she wanted so badly, but together they decided they weren't willing to risk her health in order to achieve it. They also knew that for the cost involved, they could do even more by going with adoption. We were all saddened for them. They would not have children of their own......

...but why would I start a blog if that were the end?

God is awesome. We received word from Dave shortly after Anne's surgery- the cancer was only in the cervix. That meant she would still have her ovaries when all was said and done. That meant the decision was still theirs to make. They could still have children of their own, just not in Anne's body.

The Journey Begins

So starts this crazy, beautiful journey.

Let's backtrack a little first, for those who are just tuning in.

    I married  my husband in 1999 and  was welcomed into a wonderful family in which God intended for me to be part of, I knew this for certain. Scott, my husband, has three siblings. He is the second-born, preceded by a brother, and following him is a sister and another brother. He was the first to be married out of his siblings.

 
    I got to witness Shelly falling in love with her spouse-to-be, Rob.They met at Cornerstone University and were married in 2001, the same year Scott and I welcomed our first son into the world. I was pregnant with our second son when Dave, Scott's older brother, met a girl online. In a Christian chat room, Dave met Anne, an Australian beauty. Their conversations and brief encounters (sorry, sped that part up) led to a wedding set in Australia and attended by the whole family in July of 2004. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

 
    After the wedding they stayed in Australia and worked on their careers. They both had great jobs that kept them very busy. Anne's job was extremely demanding and stressful, but she enjoyed it nonetheless . They had tentative plans to move to the United States some day and start a family.

 
    Dave and Anne traveled to the U.S. every summer to visit. It was fun spending time with them and slowly getting to know Anne even better. I enjoyed hearing about the differences in our languages and cultures. It was always sad to see them go back home at the end of their trip.

    Scott and I brought boy #3 into the mix at the beginning of 2006. (ha ha that rhymed). At the time, Brian, the youngest sibling, was engaged to a little cutie whom he met working at Pietro's. Brian and Kristen were planning to be married sometime in the summer of 2007. 

 
    The date was set at June 30, 2007. Dave and Anne heard the news and made the plans to take their annual trip centered around the time of the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful and a good time was had by all.  We all enjoyed being together and celebrating Brian and Kristen's union. Now the family was complete....or was it?

 
    Well, this is getting longer than I intended so I'm going to fast forward some. We got surprising news that Dave and Anne were moving to the states. We were all ecstatic. They came in late 2008 (oh my goodness, did not do that on purpose, promise) just after the birth of our fourth boy. They moved in with my in-laws (who live next door to us) until they found a house of their own. Well, first Dave had to find a job. But we were all hoping and praying that it would be something close.

 
    In the meantime, I got to spend almost everyday with Anne. We had TIME....lots and lots of TIME without a long goodbye looming in the distance. My boys got to know Dave and Anne very well. Dave was the perfect playmate they never had. He loved to do all the same stuff as them. Especially play video games. It was awesome to watch them fill their days getting closer to their long lost aunt and uncle. And I loved taking the time to get to know my Australian sister-in-law.

 
    I should say, Shelly and Rob were also busy expanding the family during this time. They brought two boys into their clan in 2007 and 2009. That brings the grandchildren total to 6 boys.  Just trying to cover all the bases here.

 
    I'm going to fast forward again to fall 2009.  What a spectacular year it was. Dave got a job in Holland and they bought a house in Borculo. It was so amazing witnessing Anne experience a lot of her American firsts throughout the year. We had a summer full of activities and excitement. But tragedy was around the corner and it was a jolt that shook us all.

 
Dave and Anne sat us down and shared the news that they had recently discovered. 

Anne had cervical cancer.

    It was devastating news. As a woman, I knew what that meant, and knew what was laying heavy on Anne's heart. Not only the terrible news of the cancer, but what that meant for the future of their family. The family they waited to start until coming to the U.S. I asked her if they could save her eggs, already having made a decision in my head. A decision that took only a few seconds and needed the confirmation of her answer. She looked at me with tearful, hopeful eyes and said yes.

I responded with, "I will have your baby for you."