It been a while

Hello,

I know it's been a while but I figured I would post when I new the results of our latest process.

Kiran clinic was able to extract 24 eggs from our egg donor on October 21st out of which 18 fertilized! Pretty impressive.

We found out last tuesday November 8th that the eggs didn't implant so we will try again in 30 days... or so.

Other then that not much to report just getting ready for winter.

Kathryn

Two down, two to go..... I think????

Bad news... we aren't pregnant.

We emailed Anjani on day 19 to find out our results but unfortunately it wasn't what we were hoping to hear.

We have decided to go with an egg donor for our next round to better our chances. I now understand the saying "Good things come to those who wait". I guess it took me 30 years to find Dan and we're pretty great!

We should have an update in about 45 days till then we will remain hopeful.

Kathryn

I have learnt to be even more patient

Egg transfer - July 25
Today - August 10
What does that equal - 16 days!!!!!!

What I'm getting at is we received an email from Anjani on July 26 saying that we would hear in 12 days if we have a successful pregnancy and...........we haven't heard anything yet. I understand I need to be patient but these pass two day have felt like forever.(yes I'm 34 and used "like" as a vocalized pause). Don't get me wrong I have nothing but great things to say about Anjani and the Kiran Clinic team. They have been so great and I know one thing is for sure, they are doing everything in their power to help make our dreams come true. I continue to stay optimistic and hope again that now is our time.

I just want to send out a congrats to Monica and Brain who welcomed baby boy Aiden into the world on August 5th at the Kiran Fertility Clinic.

Kathryn

Update

So I made it back safe and sound. It was a pretty uneventful journey which is a good thing!

As my dad says "I laid 12 eggs" lol, meaning the clinic retrieved 12 eggs and from that were able to produce 3 grade "B" embryos. The transfer was done yesterday so we will find out the results in 12 days. Lets hope those three little nuggets nuzzle into our surrogates cushy uterine lining.

I have a book recommendation, "The Secret Daughter". I started it last night and I'm hooked! For all of you going through this process I would highly recommend it. The story is about motherhood and identity from two sides of the world. The story begins with Kavita, in rural India, giving birth on her own to a baby girl. The baby, who unfortunately is born into a society that prefers males, is promptly taken away from her and is never seen again. At the same time, on the other side of the world in San Francisco, Somer is at the hospital experiencing yet another emotionally gripping miscarriage. I think everyone will relate to these two mothers emotional journeys.

Kathryn

Last few days

Well my time in India is again coming to a close. The egg retrieval will take place on Friday July 22nd in the morning and then I fly out Friday evening at 8:00 pm. It was a very relaxing trip as I didn't venture out to much except for the occasional walk and shopping trip.

I want to send out a congrats to Rhonda, Gerry and Blaze (who was also born via surrogacy in India) from the US on the birth of their twins Dylan and Jett!

Also born this week at the Kiran Clinic was a baby girls who's proud parents are Reggy and Terry again from the US. I'm sure you will be wrapped around her little finger in no time.

There are also many other couples currently pregnant and or trying for a miracle just like us. We understand your high and lows, you are all in our thoughts as we all navigate through this uncertainty together.


Kathryn

Day 5

Greetings,

No to much to report. I had my second scan and everything looks good and on schedule. They plan to do the egg retrieval on either Wednesday or Thursday. Then I make the long trek home on Friday.

I've been kinda lonely here without my partner in crime, however I've been getting braver and braver everyday by taking long and longer walks by myself. It's not that it's unsafe here and the people are very friendly but us whities stand out like white bird poop on a black shoe or Snookies puff, which generates a lot of attention.

I've come to realize that what I love most about the culture is how relaxed everyone is. The phrase " Patients is a Virtue" must of been coined here. However if they do need to get somewhere they are sure efficient in line-ups and traffic jams!

My next scan is on Monday so I will post then.

Kathryn

Back in India

Hello,

I arrived last night into Hyderabad at around 8:45 pm after 27 hours of travel. I'm still finding it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that not only have I been to India once but twice in a 3 month span. Who would of thought!

I had my first appointment this morning at the clinic and things seem to be progressing a lot better this time. Last time my follicles didn't grow as fast as they would of like to see but this time they are right on schedule. My next appointment is on saturday.

In the mean time I will pass the time studying for my pharmacology exam. I am staying at the clinics service apartment which is not far from the hotel Dan and I stayed at the first time we were here so I'm familiar with the area. Saly is the name of the lady that runs the house and is very friendly and likes to go for walks so she will be good company.

The weather is much better this time around. It's the monsoon season so it's not as hot and dry and my skin is loving the humidity.

Kathryn

July already

Well I'm officially less then a week away from making the long journey back to India. I have to admit I'm feeling a bit anxious about doing it alone. It seems the older I get the more nervous I am about flying. Usually I have someone there to keep me company so going it alone will be different. I just need to keep reminding myself how rewarding this is all going to be in the end.
I have decided to stay at the Clinics service apartments, that way I will be surrounded by others going through the same process. Let’s hope for a more successful egg retrieval this time so we can have some for back-up for our next try…… if necessary.

Kathryn

One down three to go......

Well we got some not so great news this morning and that is our surrogate is not pregnant. We both are pretty disappointed but optimistic. We have 3 more tries so we will remain positive and hope for the best in our next go around. I'm not sure how long we must wait between IVF cycles but I'm hoping to make the trip back in early July.

On the bright side of things we got our garden planted and dock and boat in the lake so we are ready for summer.

Kathryn and Dan

The Rotten 2 week Wait

The egg retrieval was done on May 20th so we are officially half way through the 2 week wait. However the anxiety, stress and anticipation has only intensified. I have been through this before but like getting a needle it never gets easier. I am weary of getting to exited and realize that the initial positive is just a stepping stone in a 40 week journey

We also realize that there is a very brave lady/surrogate in India also hoping for success and I can't help but think of her during this time.

We will accept whatever may be may be, put can't help and hope this is our time!

Home sweet home

After many hours we have finally made it home safe and sound.

We received an email from doctor Samit yesterday letting us know that they were able to get four embyos fertilized, one grade A, two grade B and one grade C. Now we wait to see if they implant into the uterus of our surrogate.

I will update everyone as soon as we hear anything.

Kathryn and Dan

The Big Day at last

Hello from Hyderabad,

Kathryn felt I should write today and considering the few shots she's taking at me I thought it was a wise idea. As I write Kathryn's eggs and my guys (aka my sperm) are being combined to form embryos. Kathryn had 10 healthy eggs removed this morning and Dr. Samit figures they will create 7 or 8 good embryos.

Four embryos will be transfered to the surrogate on wednesday, which is very exciting! If everything goes as planned we'll be parents next March, maybe the baby/babies will have the same birthday as Auntie Colette. (Haven't really done the Math I'll let the women figure that out!) Either way Kathryn and I will have to keep busy to keep are minds off it because our minds are already racing! (Keep those eyes crossed!)

Yesterday we got room service to order us pizza hut, we've enjoyed the food here, but after my 2 day poop fest we decided to get something familiar in our stomachs, man we wolfed that sucker down in no time! We enjoyed it so much we went there today on are way back from the clinic. Having no idea where in Hyderbad the pizza hut was we got the driver to make sure he picked us up to bring us back to the hotel. When our driver picked us up and turned the first corner, to our surprise we saw our hotel.
We kinda feel like morons, but it was pretty funny.

Tomorrow we're off to the beachs of Coa!!

P.S. Dr.Samit told Kathryn she's getting OLD! HA!HA!

Dan and kathryn

Day 8

Hello everyone....

So the clinic has scheduled us for Monday to do the egg retrieval, which will be Sunday back home. Christine make sure you fill our weekly spot at church and pray for our success;). Once they retrieve the eggs it will take a couple days to fertilize them. They have five days from the time of retrieval to the time they must implant them into the surrogate. This means we could have the pregnancy results by the first week of June... fingers, arms, legs toes and eyes crossed.

If it isn't successful the first time they will implant the remaining embryos into the surrogate. Then if that doesn't work I will have to come back to do the process all over, up to four time.

As for Dan well he got a little Dan sick...... and I'm sure Christine, Laurier and Colette knows what that means.... the end of the world.(he wanted me to let everyone know he had to poop....alot). He did however survive the plague and is back to being a pain in my a@#. Currently he is reviewing the room charge bill and one things for sure he didn't poop out his cheapnest.

Our tickets are book for Tuesday morning to fly south. We will be renting a hut on the beaches in Goa were I plan to work on my tan because I hear summer is upon us back home.... yay! I love summer in B'ville.

Sonya, does McKenna ask about me more or Dan? Just want to make sure I'm still in the top spot.

Take care and I will update everyone after the egg retrieval.
Kathryn and Dan

Day 5

Hello, sorry for not posting sooner but Dan and I have really grown accustome to relaxing over here. The hotel makes it easy to just be lazy as the service is incredible. However every day we take on a new adventure and check out the sights but it can get overwehlming at times because there are just so many people and it's quite hot here. All in all we are enjoying our time here in Hyderabad. We kind of feel like celebrities because the locals like to take their picture with us. (warning it's going to Dan's head!).

As for the surrogacy I continue to take daily injections to stimulate my eggs and they hope to do the extraction either sunday or monday. I'm not sure if they are not growing as fast as expected or what but I'm confident the Clinic is taking their time and doing everything possible to increase our chances of success. There have been 4 babies born at the clinic since our arrival.

Hope everyone's good back home and can't wait to share more funny stories of our adventures when we return.


Kathryn and Dan

Greetings from India

Well we made it, luggage and all. It was a very long tiresome flight finally arriving at our hotel in Hyderabad yesterday (Friday) at 3:00pm which is 3:30am back home. We are slowly recovering from the jet leg. One things for sure the food here is amazing.

We had our first appointment with the clinic this morning. Getting there was quite interesting(the driving here is crazy!!!). It was great to finally meet everyone at the clinic and we were not disappointed, the people there are very friendly. We also met a couple from Quebec that are here to pick up there recently born baby boy.... They also decided to start another surrogacy process at the same time. They had nothing but good things to say about their experience this far which was reassuring. We will know more about the process and hopefully have a chance to meet the surrogate at our next appointment on Monday.

According to the clinic we will be here another 6 days then we will be heading south.

We will post again on Monday,

Take care,

Kathryn and Dan

Crazy train

We received the package from India yesterday containing the medication I need to take before we arrive in Hyderabad. It got here just in time because I had to start some of the medication today. The package included: 42 tablets of Duolution-L (birth control)to regulate my cycle with the surrogate(very cool).I'm to take these twice a day for 14 days finishing one week before we arrive at the clinic and 2400IU's of Gonal-F to be self injected @ 450IU once a day. This is to stimulate my ovaries to make more eggs so they can be extracted, fertilized and implanted in the surrogates womb.

Word of caution to all my friends and family... I may be back on the Crazy Train for a couple weeks because one of the recorded side effects of the Duolution-L is "mood change".

Again we have decided to start the medication here so that it will free up some of our time in India so we can go and explore the country. So if anyone has any idea's of were we should go please let us know but keep in mind we will be there during the hottest time of the year.

P.S.- I had some people inquire about what I meant about the "two week wait" in my last post. This is the period between the time the egg is implanted into the surrogates womb and the pregnancy test. This period can be emotionally draining and a challenging time for assisted reproduction patients due to the suspense and uncertainty of a cycle outcome. Hope that helps>

Till next time,
Kathryn

Another step closer

We're another step closer to fulfill our dream of become parents, we wired our deposit to the clinic today. Everything is falling into place and we are very exited!

We will be traveling to India in 4 weeks with plans to stay for 3. We have decided to start the shots in Canada because we plan to explore the country for two weeks after. This will hopefully keep us occupied during the 2 week wait!

So far we have told our immediate family as well as a couple close friends. The response has been surprisingly positive which was just a reminder of how fortunate we are to be surrounded by such great family and friends.

Kathryn

Results are in

So we received my Pelvic Ultrasound results as well as my FSH and TSH blood lab results. According to Dr. Samit my FSH are slightly high at 8.9 which is normal given my age. As for the pelvic ultrasound they found a cyst which they don't seem to concerned with. According to the Dr. they should be able to extract 6-8 good quality eggs.

As for the contract we have hired Sherry Levitan who specializes in Third Party Reproductive Law here in Canada. She has had some great feedback so I'm confident we are in good hands.

Next week we will be applying for our Multiple Entry Medical Visa to India. We are actually going down to the office to apply because I don't want to screw this up!

Then it's just a matter of getting our vaccinations, booking our tickets and making the 30+ hour journey to Hyderabad. We have chosen to do the whole cycle in India so we will be there for 12-14 days. I'm a little nervous given the fact that we are going down during the "warmest" time of the year with an average temperature of 36 Celsius. It's not so much the 36 that scares me it the high of 45 Celsius. Our hotel better have a nice pool!

India it is

So after much deliberation we have decided to go with surrogacy in India. We ran the numbers and analyzed the pro and cons for both country's and in the end India just had more to offer.

I am really looking forward to this adventure. We are hoping to go down at the end of April which should be interesting because it's the hottest time of the year!

All we have left to do is get our vaccinations, Visa's and fork over the deposit.

Oh ya we also told our parents.... which went over surprisingly well. So thank you Grace, Frank, Paula and Leo for supporting us in the decision, it's not a guarantee but it's a step closer to getting you another grandchild or two.

xoxo
Kathryn and Dan

A rock and a hard, far away place

Well we are still getting all our ducks in a row concerning surrogacy in Canada and I have to say so far my gut says India, especially since the clinic in Hyderabad is ready for us. All we have to do is say when.

Now is this just me being impatient?

I will give it till next Friday and if we haven't even got a consultation lined up with a clinic here, I'm going to push for India.

I'm so confused

Well we had an interesting day today. We had a meeting with our lawyer here in Canada to review the clinics contract. Our lawyer specializes in reproductive law so she knows a lot about surrogacy. After going over all the logistics she asked us why we have chosen India over Canada to do the procedure. We explained to her cost and the wait times were our two biggest issues.

So after much debate she has convinced us to explore the possibility of give Canada another try. I have a meeting with a couple surrogacy agencies tomorrow so hopefully we will know by the end of the week what we are going to do.

I would love to do surrogacy in Canada because obviously it would be a lot more convenient. So I will give it one more chance just to be sure we are making the right choice in going to the other side of the world to make our dreams come true.

Why India

I'm going to be honest.... We choose India over Canada because its quite inexpensive, has shorter wait times and lets face it they know what they're doing. Currently in Canada surrogacy itself is not banned, but payment of consideration or the offer of payment to a surrogate is a prohibited act. Also it is quite a long process here and there is a long waiting list.

We did have one amazing friend offer to carry a child for us and I can't express to her enough how honored we were. If we ever do decided to try in Canada she is our number one choice.

So after much research we have decided to go with the Kiran Clinic. There are so many great clinics to choose from but in the end we went with our intuition. There was just something that drew us to Dr. Samit and his Case Manager Anjani Kumar and the package they offer.

Dan and I have so much to give so follow us on this amazing journey.

And now we begin

Our journey to pursuing Gestational Surrogacy in India has just started. After much research and many questions we have chosen a clinic in Hyderabad India. We have yet to make the 11,000 km trek to the other side of the world, but we know that day is not far away.

Currently we are waiting for some Ultrasound and blood lab results so the clinic can put together a program that is right for our situation.

A little background...

We suffer from repeat miscarriages due to an immunological issue and after many many many tests, medications and failed attempted we have decided to give my body a much needed break.

We created this blog in the hopes of connecting with others who are going through this journey. It will also be a place where we can relive some stress and at times vent but most importantly reflect back on how far we've come.