The first trimester is left behind! Welcome to the
second trimester, the most marvelous time of the whole pregnancy. No more
morning sickness and evening fatigue, but not yet carrying this huge bump that
prevents you from putting your shoes on and even sleeping normally…all night
long. Oh, I remember this all very well. When I was last months pregnant with
Den, my bump was really HUGE. I had a special U-form pillow for pregnant. Oh,
was it a salvation? It was really working. This pillow was my best friend during
last 2 months of pregnancy. So, I know how it feels. But if we talk about
second trimester, this is the prime time of pregnancy. The bump is already
showing out but still makes no discomfort. People’s attitude changes: now
everyone knows you are pregnant and you get this special type of attention. So
sweet! Then come first baby’s kicks. Then knowing baby’s gender, choosing name.
Of course, I feel a sort of nostalgia for that time. I know that for me it will
never repeat again… BUT it’s a new history of our family and life is going on.
Even though the baby is not in my bump, this is still MY and MY HUSBAND’S baby
and this is our pregnancy, after all.
It was the 12th week and we met our
surrogate. She is a lady of 35 years old, 3 years older than me. A bit taller
than me, looks healthy, athletic type. We couldn’t see her growing belly yet
but she says it was growing a bit. Maybe.
The lady’s name is Galia or Galina. She is Ukrainian
and comes from Kiev region. She needs to cover more than 100 km to get to Kiev,
to the clinic. We met last Friday. It was the time of our 12 weeks scan and we
all were excited. Firstly, because being introduced to each other for the first
time, secondly, because of the baby’s ultrasound and first clear image and
video. Galia seemed a bit embarrassed to meet us. I could feel it. Or maybe she
is just so modest. She wasn’t very talkative even though there was a translator
to ease our communication. She ensured us that she is feeling well now, but
used to have some morning sickness at earlier stages. She lives with her two
children of school age, and her husband. When we asked her, if her children
need something and we can provide it for her, she said nothing. Ok, anyways, we
will bring something for them the next time we’ll travel. This time we brought
presents as well. I hope she liked them: it was a golden pendant, a pack of
delicious things from Norway, and some souvenirs. By the way, she has never
been abroad. Never. Hopefully, she knows what Oslo is, the city we live in. At
least, she said she does.
The ultrasound scan was a pivotal moment of the whole
trip. We had to wait for our doctor near her office for around 20 minutes, but
hopefully our English speaking manager was with us, thus we had a chance to
communicate with Galia and to know each other better. By the way, she said she
feels that it’s a girl! We’ll see.
Our Dr Elena ensured us that everything’s fine with
the baby and with surrogate. She said that the size of the baby is respective
to pregnancy term, collar space is ok. The baby was moving. He/she was shaking
arms and legs and that was…fantastic. We’ve got the video and I keep watching
it again and again now. Our baby! Our little pea!
This same day we had to travel back home! A tiring
trip, very tiring, but so extremely emotional. I hope we’ll repeat all that in
four weeks, at our 16 weeks scan. The travel is worth all those emotions we
received. It was fantastic. I already started begging Martin to arrange our
next trip to Kiev.
I’m counting days!
Grow, baby, grow!
You’re always on our mind! Day and night! We love you
and we are waiting for you!
xxx
You will have be bawling my eyes out with such a sweet post like that! ❤️
ReplyDeleteI don’t often feel brave. Just feel sometimes we have no choice but to keep chugging along like the little engine that could? And hope we don’t tun out of steam!
I’m praying for your luck, luv. Nerves strained but it’s normal. It cannot be vice versa..
I thought you might have mistaken my ”sweet post”. I mean I love the way you’re coping with things. No matter how difficult and tough they are, you feel strong enough to deal with them.. I like reading your posts, so vivid they are..Every time reminding my own way.
Here's how our surrogate looked like. An attractive 21 yo youngie with blonde hair and lovely small nose. She's got big blue eyes and full lips. I was even tempted to ask whether her lips were natural..oh god, I know it's silly..We got to know she has a daughter of her own. Moreover she showed us a picture of her - a real beauty! And resembles so much her mother!! We had a nice talk at the clinic. And it turned out that she spoke English. This made us glad twice. She told us she'd like to keep in touch for us to be involved into the pregnancy as she knew how important it was for the IP. What a lovely!! This is unforgettable!
Whether a single parent or couple, the parents should be the primary focus for bonding. Whether skin-to-skin time, a bath, or feeding, begin creating your new rituals and routines together, while safely introducing your new baby to the world! Don’t forget to ask for help! Becoming a new parent can be overwhelming for anyone, and having support will allow you to focus on establishing a beautiful relationship with your precious new arrival. Congratulations to you and remember – “There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one.”
DeleteAlso have found this on the internet. It would be nice to know your thoughts on this point.~Even in the womb, babies can hear sounds and movement around them. Starting early, during pregnancy, is one way to interact with baby before they’re even earthside! Record your voices reading a favourite childhood story or singing a nursery song, choose favourite songs for baby to listen to in the womb, or talk to baby via skype or in-person time spent with the surrogate.
DeleteBaby’s sense of smell is also strong. One surrogacy family chose to ask their gestational surrogate to sleep with a stuffed animal regularly. When it came time for baby to transition to her parents, she had the scent of her surrogate for comfort. Of course, after baby arrives, the ways you can bond grows!
''I’m counting days!
ReplyDeleteGrow, baby, grow!'' -- Another note from the past!! When we saw our man growing strong and healthy inside the surrogate, the first thing which came to my head was ''Grow my sweet, grow!'' Though they say everyone's story is different, there are still some similarities always! You just start recollecting memories of what you've read before, other women sharing their feeling and you obviously can't understand..You think you do, but actually no, 'cause it differs a lot when YOU are going through the same! These are the worries which are battling you from the very start and up to the end of the treatment. Thanks god, we had our surrogate and dr and nurses at Biotexcom so lovely and kind they really helped us through.. Otherwise this whole journey would seem endless..
This post is very emotional. And it must feel like YOUR bump, 'cause you're more likely to be aware of all the ''symptoms'' your surrogate feels with your kid inside. I wonder to what extent you keep in touch with your surro. Some are very close. Others not. yet some make it a life long relation, letting the families be absolute friends..I'm so interested how it all feels. And I guess the last is possible also 'cause you know your baby's YOURS from the very moment of conception. So you actually percive your surro like friend not the person who might want to keep your baby one day..This makes a huge change though. 'cause in the US for example, it's possible you'll never get your kid in some states if the surro will want to keep it..Sadly enough, and I'm so pleased you chose Ukraine to feel absolutely safe about this. I truly appreciate your time taken and lot of sensitive thoughts shared with us. ''I know that for me it will never repeat again… BUT it’s a new history of our family and life is going on. '' - This must be the core point for thousands going through this path. Thank you for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI was addictive during the 2nd trimester of the pregnancy with my baby#1, ivf baby boy. So read huge amounts of info concerning it. This one made huge impression on me.
ReplyDeleteIn the second trimester of pregnancy your baby's fingers and toes are well-defined. His eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails, and hair are formed. His teeth and bones are becoming denser. Your baby can even suck his or her thumb. Your baby may yawn, stretch, and make faces.
The nervous system is starting to function at this point in pregnancy. The reproductive organs and genitalia are now fully developed. So your health care provider can see on ultrasound if you are having a boy or a girl. Your baby's heartbeat may now be audible through an instrument called a Doppler. By the end of the fourth month, your baby is about 6 inches long and weighs about 4 ounces.
Hair is beginning to grow on your baby's head. And lanugo, a soft fine hair, covers his or her shoulders, back, and temples. This hair protects your baby and is usually shed at the end of the baby's first week of life. Your baby's skin is covered with a whitish coating called vernix caseosa. This "cheesy" substance, thought to protect baby's skin from long exposure to the amniotic fluid, is shed just before birth. You may begin to feel your baby move, since he or she is developing muscles and exercising them. This first movement is called quickening. By the end of the fifth month of pregnancy, your baby is about 10 inches long and weighs from 1/2 to 1 pound.
By the end of the sixth month, your baby is about 12 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds. His or her skin is reddish in color, wrinkled, and veins are visible through the baby's translucent skin. Baby's finger and toe prints are visible. The eyelids begin to part and the eyes open!!..Your baby may respond to sounds by moving or increasing the pulse, and you may notice jerking motions if baby hiccups.
If born prematurely, your baby may survive after the 23rd week of pregnancy with intensive care!!
There are so many interesting things we don't know unless experience..I'm happy it was possible to feel all this once myself.This time is exclusively different. Our surrogate is going to feel all that sort of things..But I'm thankful ayway..
Ukraine – for real?? I’ve already got used to phrases like this! – lol. But the choice is very individual. Noone can judge not knowing. We’re passing surrogacy program with Ukrainian clinic and here’s what I want to say.
DeleteFirst, we looked into the process of surrogacy in the US. We found it to be overwhelmingly expensive ($60 – 150k), which was a factor. (Unless you have a kind family member or friend that is willing to carry it for you!) If things go wrong, such as a surrogate backing out, or unfortunate situations like a miscarriage, you automatically have to pay at least $5k to match with another surrogate. Also do their health workup through the agency. It just seemed that there were so many costs that could be added at any time! But seemed even too unreasonable that most of that cost was going to the agency or lawyer, rather than the surrogate! What also bothered us was that in some states, surrogate mothers retain a parental right to the child, and can even pursue custody. Even though the embryos placed in the surrogate have both of our DNA, the surrogate mother’s name is on the birth certificate!! And then you have to go through the process of adopting the baby in court!
The biggest factor of all for us, though, is time. All of the legal paperwork, signing a contract, matching a surrogate, having the surrogate go through the work-up, and so on, and next thing you know, it’s been a year or two since you started the process. Having already put in 7 years, we weren’t willing to wait for an indefinite amount of time again. So applied for options abroad – in Ukraine.
Every time we were waiting for the scans drove us crazy.
ReplyDeleteA lot of that has to do with negative outcomes that can have an impact on pregnancies. Such as chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo, uterine lining or placental issues or even fetal growth problems. And good docs always take time to explain that all of these concerns can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth. It’s a fertility treatment, but it doesn’t cure you of the things that can happen with any pregnancy!! So we all are waiting impatiently to get assured everything is going on just right. And that our bean(s) grow well inside the surrogates. I read some women worry about whether their surrogates are taking good care of themselves during pregnancies. I used to sympathize all those kind ladies. 'cause I knew it had to be difficult not to know exactly. But at Biotex things on the point are clear. They take good care of all their surrogates. They're controlling everything daily – from the hour they're having their walks and up to the vitamins and supplements they are taking. Those efforts are priceless. Thanks to them, we have got our sweet twins strong and absolutely healthy.
Wishing you all luck in the world !!
DeleteSo how do you know if you’re fertile? Unfortunately, the short answer is, unless you just got pregnant, there’s no sure way to tell. However, if you’re a woman, the two most important clues that you may be fertile are your age (the odds are highest before age 35) and a history of regular periods. Your chances are also better if you have never smoked and have no history of a pelvic infection that could cause blocked fallopian tubes. But still, that’s no guarantee. I never expected us to be here: waiting on egg shells to hear news of our genetic material growing in a lab. I don’t think people expect to have difficulty conceiving. Why would they? Babies are everywhere; the world is full of adorable, chubby, cooing little ones and all their accoutrements. I see them all the time. I pass an empty stroller outside a coffee shop and it hurts. It’s difficult not to feel isolated in the throes of infertility treatments..
ReplyDeleteFound this on the internet. Baby's development in the 2nd trimester week by week. Very detailed and so informative. Thought I had to share.~
ReplyDeleteWeek 14: Baby's sex becoming apparent
Fourteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 12 weeks after conception, your baby's neck has become more defined and the lower limbs are well-developed. Red blood cells are forming in your baby's spleen. Your baby's sex will become apparent this week or in the coming weeks. By now your baby might be almost 3 1/2 inches (87 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh about 1 1/2 ounces (45 grams).
Week 15: Baby's scalp pattern develops
Fifteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 13 weeks after conception, your baby is growing rapidly. Bone development continues and will become visible on ultrasound images in a few weeks. Your baby's scalp hair pattern also is forming.
Week 16: Baby's eyes move
Sixteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 14 weeks after conception, your baby's head is erect. His or her eyes can slowly move. The ears are close to reaching their final position.Your baby's limb movements are becoming coordinated and can be detected during ultrasound exams. However, these movements are still too slight to be felt by you. By now your baby might be more than 4 1/2 inches (120 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh close to 4 ounces (110 grams).
Week 17: Baby's toenails develop
Seventeen weeks into your pregnancy, or 15 weeks after conception, toenails appear. Your baby is becoming more active in the amniotic sac, rolling and flipping. His or her heart is pumping about 100 pints of blood each day.
Week 18: Baby begins to hear
Eighteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 16 weeks after conception, your baby's ears begin to stand out on the sides of his or her head. Your baby might begin to hear. The eyes are beginning to face forward. Your baby's digestive system has started working. By now your baby might be 5 1/2 inches (140 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh 7 ounces (200 grams).
Week 19: Baby develops protective coating
Nineteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 17 weeks after conception, growth slows. A greasy, cheeselike coating called vernix caseosa begins to cover your baby. The vernix caseosa helps protect your baby's delicate skin from abrasions, chapping and hardening that can result from exposure to amniotic fluid. For girls, the uterus and vaginal canal are forming.
Hi, girls! Yesterday I met a woman with a baby in the park. At first sight it seemed to me that our children are of the same age (approximately 2-3 months). The woman fed the baby with a bottle. We got acquainted and after some talk I asked her why she didn’t feed the baby with breast milk. And I was so disappointed with the answer. She said she simply didn’t want to lose her breast size and its form. Also she tried breastfeeding once and it was too painful for her to continue. I cannot understand such a thing. Ask any expert and he’ll tell you that breastfeeding is the most natural of a woman’s mothering instincts. It’s not as simple as it seems. Sometimes women can find themselves at a loss. I mean, how it should be done properly. But mothers must not refuse of breastfeeding just because of some ridiculous convictions. Breast milk is very important for the baby’s health. It’s the ideal way to both nurture and nourish a newborn. What do you think?
DeleteAnd yes. Any experienced mother can tell you that going about feeding a newborn might feel anything but normal and natural. Practice makes perfect. When it comes to knowing exactly what to do you feel a real professional. It’s not so at the beginning but if a woman does her best to provide her baby with all vital things, no difficulties will matter. Lots of women wonder why, if breastfeeding is natural thing, the skills don’t just magically appear. They say it happens so because of a lack of exposure to the process itself. Previously little girls watched their mothers breastfeeding. Sisters watched each other. So, women generally had a support system as well as role models. Nowadays many women don’t have any experience to relay on. That’s why sometimes they feel awkward or even uncomfortable.
DeleteSome of them avoid this discomfort and simply give up the idea. The good news is that, with just a little bit of knowledge and some patience, it is possible to master the art of breastfeeding quickly. I’m sure that a baby’s health is more valuable than losing any breast size or whatever.
Week 20: The halfway point
ReplyDeleteHalfway into your pregnancy, or 18 weeks after conception, you might be able to feel your baby's movements (quickening). Your baby is regularly sleeping and waking. He or she might be awakened by noises or your movements. By now your baby might be about 6 1/3 inches (160 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh more than 11 ounces (320 grams).
Week 21: Baby can suck his or her thumb
Twenty-one weeks into your pregnancy, or 19 weeks after conception, your baby is completely covered with a fine, downy hair called lanugo. The lanugo helps hold the vernix caseosa on the skin.The sucking reflex also is developing, enabling your baby to suck his or her thumb.
Week 22: Baby's hair becomes visible
Twenty-two weeks into your pregnancy, or 20 weeks after conception, your baby's eyebrows and hair are visible. Brown fat also is forming, the site of heat production. For boys, the testes have begun to descend. By now your baby might be 7 1/2 inches (190 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh about 1 pound (460 grams).
Week 23: Fingerprints and footprints form
Twenty-three weeks into your pregnancy, or 21 weeks after conception, your baby begins to have rapid eye movements. Ridges also form in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet that will later create the foundation for fingerprints and footprints. Your baby might begin hiccupping, causing jerking movements.
Week 24: Baby's skin is wrinkled
Twenty-four weeks into your pregnancy, or 22 weeks after conception, your baby's skin is wrinkled, translucent and pink to red because of visible blood in the capillaries. By now your baby might be about 8 inches (210 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh more than 1 1/3 pounds (630 grams).
Week 25: Baby responds to your voice
Twenty-five weeks into your pregnancy, or 23 weeks after conception, your baby might be able to respond to familiar sounds, such as your voice, with movement. Your baby is spending most of his or her sleep time in rapid eye movement (REM), when the eyes move rapidly even though the eyelids are closed.
Week 26: Baby's lungs develop
Twenty-six weeks into your pregnancy, or 24 weeks after conception, your baby's lungs are beginning to produce surfactant, the substance that allows the air sacs in the lungs to inflate — and keeps them from collapsing and sticking together when they deflate. By now your baby might be 9 inches (230 millimeters) long from crown to rump and weigh nearly 2 pounds (820 grams).
The above poster is awesome! Thank you very much for the information provided!! It's amazing how well the nature thought things over. I'm wishing every mom to be the best and the healthiest mons of pregnancy. May every other planned scan bring you joy and satisfaction! Whether you're an IVFer or turned for help to the surrogate - we all deserve our little ones with us! Lord's blessings.
ReplyDeleteWe had 2 failures too while passing DE IVF more than a year ago. Also 1 delay. (Because of OHSS (Ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome). Drugs used for egg production stimulation enlarged the ovaries to dangerous extents. So we had to wait a little bit more than it was planned). I know how devastating one may feel and confused with the point it's NHS. And what explanation do docs give?..Is this connected with the egg quality? Or is this an issue of preparing home for the embies? One has to put herself together. Take care of yourself and hope for better. I guess docs must do investigation, find out what's the matter, probably make some changes to the treatment plan or offer you just another treatment option. Even a failure is a step for further success.
DeleteOur 3rd att was a rainbow. Though we had to survive 2 dreadful BFNs earlier. God blesses waiting, hoping and struggling. I wish your stay here is short and your dream come true soon. Take care and good luck, hun X
The second trimester is for many surrogates the easiest three months of pregnancy. They are feeling better and energy is more likely to be up. During the second trimester, the baby is growing quickly. Between your 18th and 22nd week of pregnancy your surro will have an ultrasound, so the doctor can see how your baby is progressing. You also can learn the sex of your baby. unless you'd rather be surprised. As your surro enters the second trimester of pregnancy, the morning sickness and fatigue that plagued her during the last three months should be fading, leaving her feeling more energetic and like her old self again) Hope everything will go well.
ReplyDeleteIt’s important to be aware of what to do and what to avoid as your pregnancy continues. This will help you take care of yourself and your developing baby.
DeleteWhat to do: Continue to take prenatal vitamins. Exercise regularly. Work out your pelvic floor by doing Kegel exercises. Eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, low-fat forms of protein, and fiber. Drink lots of water. Eat enough calories (about 300 calories more than normal). Keep your teeth and gums healthy. Poor dental hygiene is linked to premature labor.
What to avoid: Strenuous exercise or strength training that could cause an injury to your stomach. Alcohol. Caffeine (no more than one cup of coffee or tea per day). Smoking. Illegal drugs. Raw fish or smoked seafood. Shark, swordfish, mackerel, or white snapper fish (they have high levels of mercury). Raw sprouts. Cat litter, which can carry a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. Unpasteurized milk or other dairy products
deli meats or hot dogs.
I'll add. It’s ok you drink 1-2 cups of coffee daily. And it won’t make any harm to the process unless drunk too much. The best advice ever is to lead the life an already prego woman lives. So try drinking more freshly squeezed juice, enough water, milkshakes whatever. Eat well balanced. Make your coffee intake the less you can, but again you don’t have to avoid it at all. You may ask your dr for setting your mind at ease. Have adequate rest. Have more fresh air. Have good talks with supportive people around you. Avoid stress at work or elsewhere. Take folic acid and Omega 3 daily. You may ask your dr to prescribe you vitamins and supplements to take additionally. But the main source of vitamins is from food now. So make sure you eat healthy. Try to think positively over the process. What's done is not done in vain. Good luck!
DeleteAs far as I know, the second trimester prenatal screening may include several blood tests, called multiple markers. These markers provide information about a woman's risk of having a baby with certain genetic conditions or birth defects. Screening is usually performed by taking a sample of the mother's blood between the 15th and 20th weeks of pregnancy (16th to 18th is ideal).Usually an ultrasound is performed to confirm the dates of the pregnancy and to look at the fetal spine and other body parts for defects. When a woman has both first and second trimester screening tests performed, the ability of the tests to detect an abnormality is greater than using just one screening independently. Most cases of Down syndrome can be detected when both first and second trimester screening are used.
ReplyDeleteWomen should see a doctor about every two to four weeks during the second trimester of pregnancy. Tests that the doctor may perform during a visit include:
ReplyDeletemeasuring your blood pressure
checking your weight
ultrasound
diabetes screening with blood tests
birth defect and other genetic screening tests
amniocentesis
During the second trimester, your doctor can use an ultrasound test to determine whether or not your baby is a boy or a girl. Deciding whether or not you want to know the sex of the baby before you give birth is your own choice.
Dr Elena is amazing! I've watched some of BioTex videos on youtube. She always explains facts in simple words. No need of further googling etc.
ReplyDeleteI hope she'll be there by our side too.
Well I believe every trimester is important to monitor. We are not experts here, but it's understandable, one should keep eyes on the baby's health and growth. The thing is now that the surrogate is pregnant and has made it all the way to 2nd trimester, shouldn't the jealousy have disappeared?? - I've recently read on board a lady was feeling like a bad person for this..She told she's completely over the moon about DD and has GREAT support from DH, family, and friends, but when she sees posts from other FB friends and other pregnant women in general, like at the grocery store, she still feels a little bit of resentment especially for the FB friends who she didn't feel should be getting pregnant at this time in their lives (one who is irresponsible, doesn't have a job, still smokes pot and cigarettes, no real place to live much less put a baby, no access to good medical care for prenatal checkups etc) She knows it's not her place to say when others should have a baby or not. So this makes her feel bad to be jealous and resentful and seems she can't help it..
Have any of you, lovelies, feel the same??
I love the way you told - this is DH's and My and Our pregnancy after all..Sounds magnificent! I've lately come across this post on https://biotexcom.com/a-unique-m
ReplyDeleteethod-to-get-pregnant-in-your-40s-with-your-own-eggs/. ~~
BioTexCom Center for Human Reproduction offers patients who are above 40 and for those, who suffer from low levels of AMH, an innovative program that makes it possible to get pregnant with their own eggs. Mitochondria replacement therapy is an innovation and a breakthrough in the field of ART and the fertility treatment. This program gives women, who underwent numerous unsuccessful IVF cycles, aged 40+, patients with low mitochondrial functional activity, an excellent chance to give birth to a child who shares a genetic relationship with her and her partner. Mitochondrion is one of the most important components of any living cell, including the egg. In simple words, mitochondrion is the cell’s energy station. Essentially, its work consists in supplying the cell with vital energy for its normal functioning. Women that went through multiple unsuccessful IVF attempts, as well as of older reproductive age, need to restore oocyte mitochondria in order to successfully become pregnant. A woman can become pregnant only if there are functionally active mitochondria in her oocytes. Donation of mitochondria will allow thousands of hopeless women to give birth to a healthy child through IVF using mitochondrial donation. To carry out such a procedure, an egg donor with a high functional activity of mitochondria, a patient, and sperm for in vitro fertilization are required. Healthy functionally active mitochondria are taken from a donor’s oocyte and integrated with the patient’s cells. Next, fertilization with sperm and transfer of a healthy embryo into the patient’s uterus is performed. Mitochondria donation is a unique assistive reproductive technology, which is basically the implantation of a healthy and functionally active donor mitochondria into the cells of an infertile patient, that provides the patient’s cell with the necessary energy and contributes to successful pregnancy.
Mitochondrial donation is an IVF technique that gives families affected by mitochondrial disease the chance of having healthy children. It involves taking the DNA out of a woman’s egg that has faulty mitochondria (the ‘batteries’ that give all our cells their energy), and transferring it to a donor egg with healthy mitochondria. And this information made me really aware.
Have anyone here heard/experienced it? If yes, please, do share.
I checked out a few top ivf clinics in the world before we chose the one. Got loads of information and reviews on them. But that didn't help. All of our 4 OE & DE IVF shots failed! And our old clinic did have some amazing success rate, and 100% transfer of frozen embryo etc..Seemed no one could shed some light on this very complex ivf at that time. Perhaps what were the most important questions to ask after recurrent heartbreaking bfn? Also what other tests we had to get checked apart from SA, amh, day3&21 blood tests..This all was so difficult for us. From the one hand, we both were the textbooks of infertility treatments. From the other hand, this lack of control was driving us both crazy..So I'm thankful dh once got fed up with the clinic and made me look for other options. I did thank him and me later. So I'm steadily going away from the topic lol. This is me however lol. Well, we turned for the overseas options then. Again found several attractive places wich cought our eye. Among those BioTexCom. We've read lots of positive reviews about them and probably the hater's one, like ''I didn't get pregnant after IVF#1, I invested all money I had and got nothing..'' But this didn't confused us much as for the majority of couples this is usually shot#2-3 of treatments when they get bfp. So we didn't take that post seriously and headed off for surrogacy with them. Kiev is a BIG city! It's modern and is full of places of interest. So probably the first couple of days we couldn't but went sightseeing whatever the weather was – we wanted to see just more and more. We've already had our first consultation at BioTexCom. They've got professional team, and it's awesome. They're English speaking, which is a great ''bonus'' we don't have to apply for the interpreter's help every other time. But our kind interpreter Lidiia at the charge of the program spent once the whole evening with us while making us acquanted with the city – such a lovely young lady! Ukraine on the whole made an impression of a hospitable country. With its warm hearted people who've been making our first stay here unforgettable. Holly.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I’ve tried to avoid all possible announcements or baby showers/ family gatherings where sb’s pregnancy was going to be highlighted. You know, honey, that hurts too much when you know you’re infertile & you even don’t know what your next path is going to be. We’ve ttc for long yrs, just trying harder from time to time. This brought us no result so soon we began seeking help from fertility expert. We applied for a clinic’s help. They studied our med records and offered iui cycles to try. On the whole we passed them 6! All with bfn ending. Then tried to move on with ivf procedure with the same clinic saying it was definitely going to work, they know they case, they made the improvements, so it will work. Well, we followed their recommendations as usual. BUT our ivf cycle was soon called off because a single additional test. I felt disheartened..& miserable, no suitable words could be found for that condition..We put into years and got nothing to move with on!! That was the last point. I told dh I wasn’t willing to continue with them, so we switched the clinics for overseas one. That was a bit stressful as you never know what should be expected with a new place. But it turned out to be absolutely fine.
DeleteI faced a mc once and was more likely to think I was going mad…I cannot imagine how it feels when this is more than one…That is why we turned to DE. I passed 2 shots myself. Believe me, the devil is not so black as he’s painted. Once you get your baby placed into your arms, you forget all the nightmare you had to endure. I believe like with any other option..
DeleteHi all. We passed treatments at Biotexcom clinic time ago. So all I've heard about before turned into reality lol. I didn't actually expect. All I was focused on was – a healthy kid born safely. All the further periods were somewhat..still faraway..Until now!! Personally I don’t believe that teeth can grow without causing the baby any discomfort at all. We feel like we had all of them at the same time. First of all, our baby had a disturbed sleep. She didn’t want to eat anything because of a poor appetite. Conversely she was constantly chewing something (toys, fists etc). Sometimes she seemed to have a fever. Her chicks flushed. Every time that was a signal for us that the baby had got a cold or whatever. Also I cannot mention her irritability and nervousness. Nothing could amuse our baby except the medicals of course, but I’ve told you we are very careful with them. Only at the last stage of tooth coming we actually saw a sore red gum around where the tooth was coming through. Our child is big enough, so very soon we’ll get rid of this problem. Your daughter is much smaller, so maybe these prompts will be useful for you:
ReplyDeleteUnder supervision, give the baby something hard to chew on. A special teething ring is an option but a crust of bread, breadstick or a peeled carrot may work as well. Don’t dip teething rings in anything sugary. Even new baby teeth need to be protected from decay caused by sugar.
If the baby is dribbling a lot, remember to keep wiping its chin to prevent rashes.
Try to distract a fussy, teething baby by playing.
An infant’s gums may feel better when gentle pressure is placed on them. Try massaging the baby’s gums with a clean finger.
Don’t stop breastfeeding when your baby’s teeth break through. Babies can’t bite while suckling.
Finding out about infertility is a devastating experience. I know it perfectly well myself. Choosing an egg donor is probably one of the most significant and important decisions you will ever make in your life. We passed DE IVF in Ukrainian clinic which resulted in our 1 yo girl.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, this page is a thing from the past now. But still have lots of things on mind to share. Probably your first decision is to choose whether you want your egg donor to be anonymous or not. Some of the future parents prefer to get to know the donor and hope she could meet the child and establish some relationship with it. Others choose the anonymous donors and they do not want the donor to get involved in any other way besides providing the eggs. We belong to the first mentioned.
Then take a close look at is the donor’s profile. It is important to get a good “vibe” about a donor and to feel like you can relate to her. Imagine if you can see this person fitting into your family or if could she be your friend. Then overall important qualities: aged between 21 and 30. (Below 21 is too young and could be not mature enough, 30 is past the fertility peak.) Mature, dependable, responsible. Physically and psychologically healthy with documented medical history. Good figure proportions. Drug free. Non-smoking.
It is natural that we wanted our child to resemble our own physical appearance. So we wanted our donor to be attractive. And if you don’t care about the physical appearance at all that makes things a lot easier and broadens you selection. But all in all, only doc has his/her last word as for the donor matching program to be completed. And this is so nice when your views absolutely coincide!!
I'm glad we were helped the best at bio texcom. And that I'm familiar with pregnancy trimesters, etc. God bless them!
This road is so individual. I’m 48 yo, currently living in the UK. We’ve been ttc for 7 yrs. We’re through 6 failed iui cycles. 1 ivf shot cancelled because of one single additional test undone. That very single test could have told us years ago that it wasn’t going to happen. Dr told I had fibroids in the uterus. Although fibroids could be removed that was not the only condition preventing us from conception. Dr told pregnancy was life threatening for me so we turned to surrogacy.
ReplyDeleteOne should look for high LIVE BIRTH rates rather than success rates. Also the clinic's staff. One should make sure it's professional. Take time to study all the information before you start the process. Talk to more people in similar situation and those who were successful with the clinic chosen. Ask for their experiences and tips. 'cause advertisement is not necessarily truth, so be aware.
DeleteWe’re currently undergoing de ivf treatment in Ukraine. After loads of self educating and talking to many lovelies on the point & going through the same thing I’d say ukraine is a good destination for surrogacy obviously. Firstly its surrogacy friendly law. the baby is considered to be yours from the moment of conception. A surrogate has no right to keep the baby after delivery. Secondly, its affordable prices which vary from 40k to 60k euros. (Which is exclusively cheap comparing to those of the US for example.) Surrogacy doubles one's chances if not more.
ReplyDeleteI believe your joy is just around the corner. Decision on using donor egg is the toughest. 'cause we never want to give up on our genes, that's obvious. It's quite hard to know they'll not be passed to your kid. And none of those of your family.. Dad's talent to play the guitar, or mom's good hand in sewing..And it's all makes you feel terribly sad..It took us years of ttc and unsuccessful ivf shots with oe to come to terms with donor ones. Our new dr was frank with us. She told she wasn't counting much on my eggs. and gave us sth like 5-7% chance of conceiving with them.which was extremelly low! People around didn't seem to understand our grief well.. each time I heard a stupid thing like ''Relax, don't get overstressed and you'll get prego'' ''Good suggestions'' like that drove me crazy hysterical as if i didn't knew how kids are made and all that stuff about stress etc..I suppose this is not your road and you're a strong brave one probably struggling with her eggs. I'm here to wish you all the luck in the world!!
DeleteWe've been through treatments with BTC clinic. Got success after 1st donor egg cycle.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly the option to count on after you've been unsuccessful with oe shots. The clinic has the following requirements for their donors to meet. Age 18-25 yrs old. perfect mental & physical health. Proven fertility. This said, our mind was at peace we'd have eggs of high quality. The clinic guaranteed at least 3 A grade embies for the ET. I know, the majority would say, this means nothing. cause one can get prego with low grade embies as well, and A grade doesn't mean the embryo will definitely implant. But at least you know you have higher success rates with those grades.