Spreading the Word...

These 2 pictures are of my SUV complete with the new window film I had installed today. A large picture on the rear window, and 2 smaller pictures on the rear side windows. My firehouse is 53 miles one way from our house, so one day I thought that with me driving back and forth from the house to work this would be a great opportunity to try and reach out to those out there that are also suffering from infertility issues and might not know where to turn. Rhonda and I sat down and designed what we would like to have on the windows and then I took it to my friend Adam who put his artistic touch to it and then printed it up on this special window film which is actually completely see-through when you are looking out from the inside, it's pretty cool!!! So if we get even one person who seeks out Surrogacy India's help in their own journey to having a child, then it was well worth it.

Coming up with ideas like this is a way for me to try and take my mind off of worrying. Everyone thought that the 2 week wait was hard!!! Well let me tell you something, that is only the beginning!!! I am going crazy and it's only been just over a week since we found out that we are pregnant.

On Sunday, we spoke with Dr. Sudhir inquiring about what the next steps would be after the recent beta tests and ultrasound. We were so surprised when he said just wait a minute and he then sent us an email with the full itinerary of our step by step process laid out starting from the intial tests, then the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters and then right up to the day the baby is born. As well, each step has the date which it will be performed. This kind of individual personalized service is definitely one of the reasons that we chose to go with Surrogacy India, along with about a hundred other reasons!!! So, from our personalized itinerary, our next step will be our 6-7 week ultrasound which is scheduled for around February 3rd. That seems so far away!!!

I also had an opportunity to speak with one individual from our extended surrogacy family yesterday. I wanted to talk about the recent DNA issues being instituted in India, that we have just found out about and I have been doing some research on my end and wanted to discuss this with them. What a great feeling it is to be able to reach out and talk with someone that you hadn't previously known, but now have a common bond through surrogacy. This is what Rhonda envisioned when she started her blog and also when her and Dr. Sudhir started the surrogacy forum which has been such an overwhelming success. We are definitely not going through our journey's alone.

We found out this morning that the Docs have already had 4 positive pregnancies for 2009, so we are hoping and praying for everyone to make this the year that their dreams come true.

Fun baby facts...

We received our official due date.....September 23rd, WOW!!!! What a strange feeling. We had anticipated mid October, but the sooner the better. These after hour phone calls are getting better and better. This morning it was 7:08 a.m and Dr. Sudhir wanted to know, 'Why I was sleeping and not wide awake waiting for their phone call?' Yah, right! Anyone who knows me well enough, knows that I LOVE my sleep and being the weekend, I was getting every minute I could before Gerry arrived home from his 24 hour shift at the firehouse. Dr.Sudhir was in great spirits, so I was relieved, as I knew it had to be more good news. He immediately put Dr. Yashodhara on and she said KT had her 1st ultrasound today. There was a single sac, and the yolk sac looked great and was in a good position. YAY!!! what wonderful news! I am now feeling more and more excited as the days pass. Our next hurdle will be hearing the heartbeat which will be in a few weeks. KT was feeling well. She was heading home today to see her family and then tomorrow, she will be moving into her new apartment near Hiranandani Hospital that she will call home for the next 9 months until our baby is born.

Gerry and I are both very overwhelmed with the outpouring of feedback we have received. Such beautiful sentiments from everyone here on our blog, in emails and phone calls. We never imagined how many lives would be touched with our journey. I even went ahead and notified the journalist for Chatelaine magazine that had joined us during our last trip to India in August. I wanted to inform her that the story that is almost ready for publishing in the coming months, which originally had a sad ending with our negative result, would now have a very happy ending.

So now that we are officially pregnant, the Parents magazines that I have been receiving since our first pregnancy in 06' (I tried to cancel the subscription after we miscarried, as it was too hard getting a reminder every single month, but no such luck!) are all now unpacked and Gerry has one literally in every room of the house. So be prepared folks...to be drowned with tons of baby facts over the next 9 months.

Finally...Our Prayers have been answered.

YES, that means its official...

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!

We received our first call Saturday, January 10th at 0832am and heard both Dr. Yashodhara and Dr. Sudhir's voices say those long awaited words. 'You are pregnant!!!' Almost one year to the day since we began this part of our journey to having a family through surrogacy in India.

We waited to announce it here on the blog until we could tell our family and we received our second Beta test, so I (not Gerry) could be somewhat certain that it wasn't a false positive.

So, here are all of the details:

Saturday January 10th - our first Beta was 134.
Tuesday January 13th - it increased to 336.
This Saturday January17th will be our first ultrasound and we should find out if the sac is in the perfect spot and how many there are.

Gerry was so very excited from word one! Me on the other hand, well, I froze and truly don't remember any of the details past those 3 magical words. I am still feeling very cautious and a little bit in a fog as I still can't believe it is actually true.

We told my Mom and Dad first as we could tell them in person since they are "snowbirding" in Arizona for the winter and kept asking if we heard anything almost every single minute of every single day. Here was their unforgettable initial reaction when Mom opened the 'YOU HAVE A NEW GRANDCHILD' card:














and then the tears began...













and then of course the celebration...



























and you know we couldn't forget our girl and new 'Big Sister', Frankie...

We had one unexpected last minute change that the Docs wanted to wait to tell us. We had to use our back-up surrogate. We had told them both from day one that we trust them 100% and whatever we have to do to have a family...make it happen. And so they did. Her name is confidential to protect her privacy, so we will call her KT for short.

Gerry has basically told every stranger in every store and anyone who will listen since he was sworn to secrecy until we told our loved ones first. We went to the electronics store this weekend and he tried to explain the concept of surrogacy to the store clerk, a teenage kid. We had to laugh as all the clerk could relate it too was, 'that movie, Baby Mama?' So in honor of how many of the strangers of the world will see our journey, here is one of our favorite clips:

YouTube - Baby Mama "Bun" - TV Spot

Another update on our parcels that arrived 1 month after dropping them off at the post office here in Arizona. We had meticulously wrapped and packed everything with such care only to find out that the customs folks in India had rummaged through the entire thing. The Doctors called up on the web cam and unpacked it all in front of us as all the gifts were unwrapped and all the names were no longer legible. But happily we were able to figure out what gifts were sent for each person and especially to see the joy on their faces as we watched from afar. Note to self...Do not send wrapped gifts to India if you want them to arrive in one piece!

We will certainly keep you updated as the days, weeks and months progress. Please keep saying those prayers for our surrogate (aka Baby Mama) KT and our little one or ones to remain healthy and strong along the way, and also continue with all of the positive comments that you have been leaving on our blog.

No news is good news, ...Right?

As I look back at all that Rhonda and I have been through during our journey to having a child, I honestly would not change a thing. We have been there together, side by side, throughout the many highs and the lows. Sharing the laughter with each other during the happy times and shedding many tears and being a shoulder to lean on during the sad times. We never chose to suffer from infertility issues, but thankfully we have each other and we will not give up on our dream of having our child, no matter what happens. We are anxiously awaiting our results, as I am sure that others are as well, who have been following our blog and leaving very inspirational comments, thank you so much. We should be hearing in the next couple of days, the blood work had to be sent out to a lab to be checked and there are a few other couples with Surrogacy India who are waiting for results also.

Today though we did receive great news from Dr. Sudhir, our 2 parcels that were MIA finally arrived, YAY!!! I can't believe that it took 15 days to go from the US to India and then 15 more days to be delivered. I guess the main thing is that they arrived!! Getting gifts after Christmas is always a good thing, right?

I really love this picture of Rhonda, I took it on Saturday while we were out enjoying the beautiful winter weather (75 degrees and sunny!) outdoors around the house. The top she is wearing was actually supposed to be mine, Dr.Sudhir picked it up for me on our first trip to Mumbai. No such luck on me being able to wear it. For those of you that have been to India there wasn't many 6 foot, 230 pound guys that we saw, so their largest size is a medium. It does look great on her, so I guess it worked out in the end.

Well that's the latest. I will be at the fire house tomorrow which helps to take my mind off of the waiting, who am I kidding, nothing can take your mind of the waiting!!

As soon as we know anything, we will be sure to let you all know.

RING darnit RING!!!

Gosh, can time pass any more slowly??? We both decided we wouldn't narrow down the exact date or time we thought the Docs would call us this time, as it would drive us even more crazy and cause even more sleepless nights than it did the last 2 attempts.

We chatted with both of the Docs tonight on the web cam, as they were in the office hard at work and gave us a call. It is wonderful to talk with them and to see their smiling faces. It really makes it feel like we are right there with them. We miss them dearly. Rekha is doing well and is probably just as anxious as we are to get the results, as she wants this baby for us too. She told the Docs again how terrible she felt that the last pregnancy didn't take. We wish we could make her understand that it wasn't anything that she did or didn't do, and we certainly don't think that in any way.

Our parcel still remains MIA, however, we know it cleared Indian customs and is somewhere in Mumbai. It seems to be taking just as long to get to Dr. Sudhir's place as it did to travel across the ocean. We are hoping and praying it hasn't been lost.

So...here we sit and wait and wonder when we will hear our results. Keep saying those prayers.