Sorry, I am figuring this out as I go...

Just a note to say that I edited/updated and added some posts please check out the changes:

April 3, 2008 (why I hesitated)
April 12, 2008 (photos of Sindhudurg)
Doctor meet Doctor's slide show
STATS (side bar) *note: a work in progress
WHAT A LONG JOURNEY WE HAVE HAD... (side bar) *I think I covered it all*

Thanks for your patience while I figure this BLOG stuff out.

Again, thanks for visiting and please leave a comment we love to know you are interested and/or thinking of us.

Back Home Sweet Home

We made it back home safe and sound. I really don't care to see another plane again, at least for 9 months anyway. What a long trip! Our flight was late leaving Mumbai what an experience that was, I have never been frisked so much in my life! We made it into JFK and it was a complete mess; our bags took forever to arrive and then we had to put them through customs again. We had to run through the airport at mach speed and almost missed our flight but, we made it JUST in time. We arrived in Phoenix on time, but all of our baggage didn't. The remainder of our bags arrived later this evening around 10pm and were delivered to the house. We called our family to let them know that we made it back and also received a call from Dr. Sudhir who was 'just checking in.' We are now patiently waiting and nail biting in our 2 week wait and trying to get back in the swing of things here at home. It was wonderful to see our baby Frankie and do some much needed snuggling. Glad to be home, but missing our new second home, Mumbai.

Our AMAZING trip is coming to an end...for now!

Well, we leave tomorrow night, Sunday April 20th at 1220 am India time and arrive back in Arizona, Sunday April 20th at 1120 am (MST). We are very sad to leave as we have become really attached to our Docs and Henry (Mel's Dad) but we are excited and really looking forward to seeing our 4 legged baby, Frankie. It has definitely been both an emotional and cultural eye opening experience for the both of us. We truly cannot say a negative thing about our entire experience. Today we spent the afternoon visiting Henry's home and had lunch with the whole family and a few friends. Christine (their servant of 25 yrs) prepared an amazing spread of Indian food. I asked her if she wanted to come home with us. Henry and Lorna (Mel's Mom) presented me with a gorgeous gold bracelet as a memento of our visit. I was overwhelmingly touched with their sentiment and will hold this dear gift close to my heart. Melanie is a lucky girl to be surrounded by such a lovely family (as we do). Tonight we see our Docs again for a night out before preparing for our final day in Mumbai tomorrow.

We cannot begin to think of the words to describe how extremely blessed and special we both feel. The love and support we have received by everyone here in India and all of our friends and family back home praying for us and sending continuous emails and comments, is so very touching.

Don't worry we will continue to write after we arrive home until we receive the good news (positive thoughts!) We plan on including some pointers, tips and useful information for others who may want to embark on their own journey of surrogacy in India. We want to help others see that there is a ray of hope for them as well and that SurrogacyIndia and it's amazing doctors will be able to help. Just know that while struggling with infertility you are not alone.

The SEED(S) have been planted!

What a whirlwind of emotions! Today was the embryo transfer. We arrived at Lilavati Hospital and had a bit of a wait. Our surrogate arrived and we had some time to chat. They prepared her in the IVF suite before calling me in. Dr. Yashodhara, Dr. Pai and Dr. Palshetkar were all there for the procedure. Dr. Pai did laser assisted hatching before drawing up the embryos and Dr. Palshetkar did the actual transfer. I stood at Asha's (our surrogate) shoulder and watched on the ultrasound screen. I placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her and when the procedure concluded I leaned over and placed my cheek next to hers and gave her a kiss and whispered 'Shukria' (thank you in Hindi) into her ear. Gerry and I are both overwhelmed with gratitude for this very special woman. She had to lay for a while before her caretaker Dr. Meenakshi took her back to the surrogate home where she will stay for the 15 days until we receive confirmation of pregnancy. She will be joined by 2 other surrogates next week after their transfers. Once a positive pregnancy test is confirmed she will then transfer to her own place with her family. Dr. Meenakshi will check on her frequently over the next couple of weeks and ensure she gets lots of rest while the maid attends to all of her needs. Directly after the procedure both Dr. Pai and Dr. Palshetkar walked out into the hall where Gerry was waiting patiently. He said, 'Boy that was quick!' Both Dr.'s replied very adamantly, 'Well, we are the BEST!' We met with Dr. Pai and he discussed everything with us: 5 embryos were transferred. 2 were grade 1 quality with 8 cell division, 1 was a grade 2 quality with 6 cell division and the remaining 2 were 2-3 grade quality with 6 cell division. Dr. Pai said he normally only transfers 3 embryo's into surrogates but decided on transferring all 5 embryos. He truly believes that the success rate is based on technique and said that all his surrogates last month had a positive pregnancy. Now we wait and pray for success.

Thinking happy and positive thoughts...Dr. Yashodhara's orders!!!!

A day off to enjoy.

We finally took a day to do some shopping and ventured out on our own. We took the auto rickshaw to Linking Road, Bandra, where there are miles of shoes, clothes and purses for the eyes to see. We took a short break for lunch at the local KFC and spent the rest of the time shaking our heads 'No thank you, just looking' and kept walking along the uneven and congested roads. Its a very unique shopping experience with shop keepers constantly coming out and wanting you to come into their huts as well as the child beggars tugging on your clothes and tapping you for any small bit of money. The heat and humidity are almost unbearable and Gerry carries around a hand towel everywhere we go, so the funniest site to see was the locals trying to sell us these tiny little handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat off. Its like sensory overload, but we managed to last 3 hours before heading back for a dip in the indoor hotel pool.

We are dying to find out what is happening on our favorite TV shows, Lost, Survivor and Big Brother as we pretty much just get Hindi channels in the evening. We dearly miss our girl Frankie but we were able to hear her howl to us on the speaker phone this weekend while my best friend Jackie was over at our house for a visit.

Thursday's embryo transfer can't come quick enough for us.