Contract and insems...interesting business!

The contract is now signed and we have done 1 insem. VERRRRY interesting process!! I won't go into too much detail as it's quite embarrassing to discuss, but if anybody has questions I suppose you can email, call or text me. I'll just say that laying for 45 minutes (yes, I took it to the extreme) with your feet in the air (yes, another extreme) at 10:30 at night is not the most comfortable way to watch a movie! I've read different places that 15-30 mins is how long you should lay with your hips elevated. I figured if 15-30 is good, 45 is better, right? And they suggest 3 pillows to elevate your hips,but either our pillows are much thicker than the average pillow (which I would NOT believe) or other women are able to bend themselves over backwards much easier than me, because with my hips elevated that much, there was NO way I was going to be able to put my feet down!!
Anyway, that's the insem. Everyone send us some sticky vibes and say lots of prayers!!

Home Insemination...complicated or not?

OK so I know it's been FOREVER since I posted, but REALLY all I've been doing is ovulation testing. I promise!! Anyway, we are still waiting for the attorney to get back to us with the contract (going to have to call in the morning, as we need it ready so we can do an attempt this week). Emily and Henry are coming up this week and we're going to (provided the contract is signed) attempt home insems this week. Now, I've heard several different ways of doing this. One lady told me you have to use a speculum on yourself so you know where to aim "the goods", another used a speculum to do intrauterine inseminations on herself at home (NO WAY!), and yet another simply used a medicine syringe on herself and it worked for her the first time both times. We're going to attempt the medicine syringe style and cross our fingers!! I'll let you all know soon how the insems went!!

Still Testing

Well, I'm still just doing the ovulation testing. Not quite sure yet when I actually ovulated, if I did, but let me tell you, this is not easy!! It's kind of like when you WANTED that first kid. You were praying and crossing your fingers for a second line. Oh well, I've heard that things take about a month to get back into working correctly after you go off the pill. So we may or may not try to do an insem in September. Anyway, that's pretty much all the update I have for y'all. Getting the contract ready to go, we're almost ready to sign it!! Just have to get through this holiday weekend to have the attorney check it out, then we should all be ready to sign it!! Then it'll REALLY be official!! Have a great holiday, everyone!

Ovulation Testing....Not for the Faint of Heart!

Yesterday was my first day of ovulation testing. What an experience!! I had pictured it quite differently, but as usual it was not as I had imagined! I woke at about 5:55 (of course, since my alarm was set for 6). I was kind of excited about the testing, so I went ahead and got up. Unbeknownst to me, so had my 5-year-old. So I knew it was going to interesting from the start. When you buy the kit I bought, it comes with 20 test strips in a little canister. It says in the instructions that they're only good for 30 days after you open it. Guess who was more curious about the tests than reading the instructions? Yeah, that's me. So I opened the canister a week ago, but it's OK there's only 20 tests. But I digress. Back to the narration: it's first thing in the morning. I'm still groggy, and I have an audience who is FULL of questions. I open the canister of tests and get one out. No problem. Then I pull out the enclosed cup for peeing in. Problem. Have you ever ordered something to go from a mom & pop restaurant and had your condiment come in a little plastic cup with a lid? That's the cup they gave me to pee in. I tried, I really did, but no matter where I'd put the cup, my stream managed to go RIGHT BESIDE it! (sorry, I know this is not a post you're going to want to read while eating your wheaties) Needless to say, if I'm successful with this ovulation kit thingy, I'll be able to pee in a soda bottle by the end of the month! Next I do the dip, then wait the 5 minutes it tells you to wait. Of course it's negative, my least favorite auntie packed her bags and left the day before, but it was an experience I'll never forget!
Have a great day everyone!!!

Moving Forward!

We are officially matched.  We shook (and hugged) on it today!!  We've contacted an attorney about drawing up a contract and are awaiting a response, I've been given the OK to get ovulation test kits and begin testing and charting, and now we're just waiting on the contract to be done and signed so that we can start insems.  We've decided none of us are going to do psych evals.  It seems to be a waste of money when you've familiarized yourself with each other so well.  I know, I know, its for everybody's protection, but I just don't think we have much to worry about in that department, we all know everyone else is a bit crazy ;) hehe!  SOOOO....if anybody has any tips on little things you can do to get preggers, let me know.  I've heard of eating pineapple (not gonna happen, it makes me sick) and eating beans.  Anything else??  Anyway, I'm just so excited to announce that I am in fact going to be a surrogate mother.  I wasn't sure we would make it to this point!!!  I love my IPs!! Henry is still pretty shy, but Emily makes up for it :D They're just a fun couple!!
I better get going, sounds like I'm going to get blown away in a storm in a minute!! Stay safe!!

We're A Match!!!

I and the boys met Em and Henry yesterday evening after I got off work for supper at Pizza Hut.  They were FANTASTIC!!!  Poor Henry is so shy, he pretty much just sat there and smiled, but he interacted very well with my kids, so that's good.  If he can do that with a stranger's kids, he'll be a great daddy!  Em and I did most of the talking, we were all pretty nervous, but we're all glad we got the initial nervous meeting out of the way!  After Pizza Hut, they followed me to my house and we talked and talked some more.  They had a few questions for me as far as the contract goes, and I had a few for them.  I sent the 2 sample contracts with them, and my "price sheet" thingy.  We discussed a few options as far as insems go, such as how many nights to attempt per month, stuff like that.  I think we'll be buying an OPK (ovulation predictor kit) and I'll have to start using it soon.  We got lucky, my pill cycle ends tomorrow!  I was kind of nervous that they wouldn't like me, and of course they were nervous that I wouldn't like them, but they already felt like family to me.  I haven't talked to Henry much before now, but still I've seen so many pictures and heard so much about him, I just feel like they're not strangers. 
So they're coming back today for lunch and more talking and to meet Bubba.  They said our kids were beautiful (which I know they are hehe) but its always good to hear it from the outside.  I think Henry and Bradin really hit it of.  Although Zach was quite a charmer, too.  He actually jumped into Henry's lap at one point and was being silly.  I hope they (and I) didn't scare them off!! Although I did get a text last night when they got back to their hotel saying they had found their way back and wouldn't be running off tonight lol. 
It's amazing to me that they were so nervous.  I mean, they're looking to see if they want me to carry their baby, they are checking me out physically to see if I look like a fit person for that.  They're also checking out my kids to see if they want a child that might have some traits similar to my kids.  The only thing I looked for in them was to see how they acted around my kids (which, for a first time nervous visit, they did amazing! At bedtime I had to tell Zach it was time to stop and they stopped playing with him and got unexcited looks on their faces so he would stop playing.  How perfect!!) and if they creeped me out (which they didn't).  I will be very comfortable handing their baby over to them, with the understanding that I will still be in touch with them after they go home. 
Anyway, that's how it went yesterday evening, it was like a dream come true!!!  I'm going to go finish my potato salad for lunch today and get ready for the day! Hope everyone has a fantastic day!! I know I will!

Nervous!!!

They're coming tomorrow, I think!!!!  It's about 9 hours from them to us, so they left or are leaving today, they are planning to spend tonight somewhere about halfway here, then coming the rest of the way tomorrow and are going to stay int Mt. Pleasant.  Bubba is on night shift tonight and tomorrow, and has to go in an hour early tomorrow, so we decided that after I get off work (if Henry agrees to this) that they might grab pizza or something easy like that and bring it to my house and we'll hang out a little bit.  That way the initial meeting is over with and we won't be so nervous about Friday.  And Alicia is coming over tonight after Bubba leaves for work and we'll get those cobwebs and bathrooms taken care of, then I'll just have the last minute stuff like vacuuming and picking up toys to do and we'll be ready for company!!! Plus, if they see the house clean tomorrow evening, I won't feel quite as pressured to have it as clean for Friday lol!  Anyway, gotta go take my big boy for his checkup so he can go to kindergarten this year!!  He's getting SO BIG!!  And I'm such a proud mama, he has an owie he says the dr. needs to look at while we're there.  We'll see if he remembers it.  Have a great day, I'll try to update tomorrow evening or Friday morning, but I can't promise anything until Saturday!!