Single Mom trying to bring the perfection of a child into someone else's life by being a surrogate (gestational carrier)

Add The Progesterone

Christina — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:08:53 +0000

I’ve been taking 12 estrogen pills now for a few weeks and so far there haven’t been any side effects. I generally do pretty well on the estrogen with the exception of a headache. This time my head feels just fine!

Today I got the task of an intramuscular progesterone injection. Once a day at 8pm. This is all fine and wonderful because generally I have someone around that will assist with the injection. When I go to Toronto I will be there alone and not have anyone to assist. I will then be forced to stand in front of the bathroom mirror looking at my backside to determine a 90 degree angle in hopes that I can get the injection right on the first poke. The needle is 1 1/2 inches in length so after I break the skin, I need to hold my breath and jab it through an inch and a half of muscle. Yep, it’s just a bit uncomfortable. Once injected, I need to retract the plunger just a bit to determine if there is any blood drawback. Anyone that’s been in a hotel knows that the bathroom counter is quite large which makes the distance from my backside to the mirror quite far. This distance makes it rather difficult to determine if there is any blood drawback! I’ve even resorted to standing on the bathroom counter so that I can be a bit “closer” to the mirror. Maybe it’s a good thing that I will be alone so that no one else can laugh at me trying to inject a needle at 90 degrees while standing on the bathroom counter whining because I don’t want to take the huge needle and jam it through my skin/muscle.

I am also taking aspirin this cycle so it makes my blood just a bit thin. So when I pull the needle out, the now thinner blood is running down the back of my leg. It’s crazy at what a little aspirin will do. I also bruise rather easily so after my first shot, I’ve got a massive bruise on my backside. It’s going to make for uncomfortable sitting and laying in bed but thankfully this isn’t for the entire pregnancy (if the implant is successful). Only 96 more injections to go!

That Shipping Company….

Christina — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:01:07 +0000

A few posts back I was talking about how some shipping company (I’ve been asked not to name names) charged me a few dollars when it should have been over $150 to ship a package to Ronen and Gadi. I was contacted by a “supervisor” and they were immediately apologetic and told me they would get it taken care of “right away!”

I was hopeful. I figured if they contacted me and I hadn’t contacted them that they would end up charging me the accurate amount. That’s all I wanted….I just wanted to get charged what I should have been charged.

The following day, I checked my bank account and they had CREDITED me an additional $150. So now I owe the shipping company $300! How is it that they just can’t take my money? I am so disappointed that they just won’t charge me (seriously). I’m half tempted to put $300 in an envelope, seal it, not put any notifying information of mine in or on the envelope and take it back to the shipping company and just leave it on the counter.

So…shipping company, please stop crediting me and please, please TAKE my money!

Merry Christmas Everyone…

Christina — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:51:36 +0000

I’ve scaled way back on sending Christmas Cards. Maybe not so much because of the cost but because I’ve come to accept the fact that not EVERYONE I know really wants to see pictures of Jayde and I. I’m pretty sure that they end up in most garbage cans shortly after the holidays too. After all, it’s what I do.

Here is our card this year. I keep saying that every year I need to make our cards better than last year and pretty soon I will just be sending out envelopes of cash because I will soon run out of ideas.

Jayde chose our plaid this year and when she told me what she wanted us to wear, I just cringed! Plaid…really? At least we were able to find plaid that wasn’t so “lumberjack” and it actually looks OK.

And the back side of our card…..

The Eleventh and Twelfth days of Christmas….

Christina — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 23:33:51 +0000

This year’s gifts ended much like many years past. Jayde said she got EVERYTHING she never knew she wanted. She told me that she can’t believe how I can predict what she wants before she even knows she wants it. I told her it was simple; it’s called “Being a Mom.”

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my Honey Bunny got me more Friends DVDs. She got a HomeStuck necklace. I don’t know a whole lot about HomeStuck but it’s an online comic that she is obsessed with. I listen to her go on and on about this comic and smile politely and nod when she asks me “doesn’t it sound so awesome?” Most things she is interested in, I just politely smile and act like I’m interested or that I care when in reality it just sounds like Charlie Brown’s Teacher talking to me and all I hear is “whah whah whahn”

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Jayde got me….I bet you can never guess….yep more Friends DVDs. She got a video camera! Something she has been asking for since the first time we were in Toronto with Zohra and Khelifa and she lost hers. I had gotten her a flip camera a few years back for her birthday but something about it not being the same as her other camera and something about the format not being in the proper format for the video creating program she uses. Now I hope I got the right camera for her and she can continue to make videos as she loves to do so much!

That was our holiday’s. We spent so much time over the past 12 days laughing and eating and then laughing some more. She was in awe at everything she got (except the cereal that she calls a “drug”) and I am just thankful that I have my Honey Bunny to spend every holiday with. She is the best gift I could ever ask for.

On The Ninth and Tenth Days of Christmas…..

Christina — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:18:44 +0000

The Ninth Day of Christmas…and Jayde is still sick. I feel that I’m also catching a cold! I hate being sick during the holidays, I guess I should rephrase that. I hate being sick in general. Jayde was in bed sleeping when I got home from work and rather than waking her, I just let her sleep so we didn’t exchange gifts on the Ninth Day.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas Jayde got two different gifts because the Ninth Day was skipped. Today Jayde got a Hello Kitty Eye Mask and Hello Kitty Post-It notes. Both items, she’s asked for previously. Who would have guessed something so simple would have her stating “best gift EVER” yet again today. I was able to snap a picture of her today but it wasn’t a great image. I think it’s rather funny that she decided to use the eye mask as a head band though. The Post-It notes will soon be plastered over everything with little notes for me or drawings.

I got two more seasons of Friends on DVD from Jayde. Again not my first choice but it makes her happy so that makes me happy.

On The Eighth Day of Christmas….

Christina — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:01:12 +0000

Jayde is still sick so no photos again today. Jayde feels that she got me the perfect gift but I think it’s one of those things that she wanted a little more than I wanted, but then again getting her things that she wants is exactly what I really want. She got me Friends on DVD, Season 10. I can only assume that the remainder of my gifts will be Friends on DVD which is something she’s been asking me for a few years now. I just didn’t want to purchase the box set that is nearly $200. I just can’t justify $200 for a series of DVDs.

Jayde got more useless Hello Kitty items today and more Nestea. Today’s Hello Kitty item was four refrigerator magnets. She once again said “Best Gift EVER!” Who knew that a 14-year-old would like such simple things? I must admit, that I’ve really got the best kid ever. With how materialistic society has made us, it’s so refreshing that I have a kid that would much rather have time than gifts, she’d much rather play board games at home with her mommy than to do mind-numbing useless things that most teens choose to do. I hope that ten years from now, she still holds the same values and appreciates the little things.

On The Seventh Day of Christmas….

Christina — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:43:45 +0000

Jayde is sick so she refused to let me take a picture of her for today’s post and since she is sick, I figured you didn’t need to see an image of me either.

On The Seventh Day of Christmas, my Honey Bunny gave to me…A green travel mug to take chunky orange juice to work. I feel this is a “sippy cup” but it’s labeled as a “travel mug.” The label on the cup states it’s “spill proof” because you need to push a button in order to drink from the cup. Jayde said to me she knew I had many different travel mugs, but this one will help with my coordination! So now, rather than spilling on my desk daily because I’m just a klutz, I need to remember to push a button while trying to drink and not obsess on whether or not I’m going to spill. I thought she put so much thought into this gift…really, who thinks ahead far enough to know that if it were just to be another common travel mug, I would spill and wouldn’t get any help with coordination. After she made the statement about my coordination, all I could say was “you’re so my kid!”

Today Jayde got a Hello Kitty hair dryer. Jayde will NEVER dry her hair so I knew this was going to be a gift that doesn’t get any use but she had told me that she wanted the largest collection of useless Hello Kitty items. Pretty useless in my opinion. She loved it and told me once again “the best gift EVER!” This will be very similar to the Hello Kitty toaster I got her a few years back, it will either sit on her desk or in her closet never to be used, but it made her so happy.

On The Sixth Day of Christmas….

Christina — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:22:22 +0000

I know I’m a bit behind but this time of year seems to just fly by and I can’t keep up with everything that’s going on. On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my Honey Bunny gave to me…. a new frame for my desk at work. I’ve already added the image Jayde chose and it’s ready to be taken to work. Jayde convinced me that I needed to wear a hat, her hat specifically for pictures this year and I’ve gotten so many compliments on the image. I think I need to listen to Jayde’s advice more often. I tend to take clothes out of her closet after she’s convinced me that she needed something while we go shopping and it ends up staying in my closet from the first time I wear it. I suppose I could just buy one of everything I get for her, for me and all would be good. Or I could just stop wearing clothes a 14-year-old chooses and try choosing clothes more suited for someone my age…..Nah! I’ll just continue wearing her clothes!

Jayde received what I thought was going to be the perfect gift yet again but there was a bit of controversy surrounding her gift. I got her a box of Fruity Pebbles because EVERY time I go to the grocery store and ask her if there is anything she would like or anything she needs, she answers with “Fruity Pebbles….if they are on sale.” Anyone that buys sugar laden cereal knows it’s NEVER on sale. So I only get them for her a few times a year because who needs all that sugar anyway? Jayde was a bit disappointed when she opened the gift and indicated she would need to go through withdrawals again. I didn’t know that she feels she has an “addiction” to Fruity Pebbles. When we have them in the house, she will choose to eat them over eating dinner with me. I guess that should have been my indicator not to bring her “drug” into the house again. I know for next year not to buy them because who want’s to buy something that your kid feels is a drug and will need to go through the 12 steps? Sorry Honey Bunny!

The Sixth day of Christmas also brought one additional surprise. I was told that I get to start taking 12 estrogen pills a day so that my uterine lining can get prepped for my next implant. I’ve not yet received the actual implant date, I just know it will be in the next few weeks. As I downed 12 pills, I hoped, wished and prayed that my hormones would stay somewhat stable so that those around me this holiday season would still want my company next year.

On The Fifth Day Of Christmas….

Christina — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:12:50 +0000

The Fifth day is a bit boring but I think DELICIOUS! Every year I know that on the fifth day I’m going to get Ferrer Rocher. Since Jen started shopping with Jayde it’s a container of 48 instead of the measly 12 I had gotten the years prior. I’m so glad that Jen has a Sams Club membership! The only problem with the package of 48 is that I tend to eat them far to fast. So as I sit here and write this, I feel nauseated because I’ve eaten 24 of the 48….in about 9 hours! I’m miserable but it’s was heavenly.

Jayde told me again “this was the best gift ever!” when she opened the bag of Hershey Kisses. I tend to give her a food item on the Fifth Day of Christmas because I know that she is going to be giving me candy. It works well and it makes her happy. I think she has a bit more self-control when it comes to the chocolate though. When I last looked she had a majority of her bag left. Now if it were tea, it would be a totally different conversation. I could give her a gallon and walk out of the room, walk back in and it would be half gone. I guess we all have our vices.

On The Fourth Day Of Christmas….

Christina — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:21:05 +0000

Jayde was like any other kid on Christmas. First thing in the morning….come on Mommy, get up, it’s the Fourth Day of Christmas! Get up, get up, get up!!! So I dragged myself out of my nice warm bed and down stairs for my Fourth Day of Christmas gift. Lucky for all of you, you get to see what I look like mere seconds after I drag myself out of bed.

On The Fourth Day of Christmas my Honey Bunny gave to me….a frame to hold more images of….well what else…her. Generally the only thing I place on my wall are images of her. What else could be more beautiful?

Today Jayde’s gift is surely the essence of her. She talks about her sock monkey footie pajamas on a DAILY basis. Over and over again, telling me how they are her favorite things to wear and that she can’t believe she ONLY has one pair of them blah blah blah. I find it a bit odd that a fourteen year old loves to wear pajamas intended for a fourteen month old but far be it from me to judge what someone else loves. So on the Fourth Day of Christmas my Honey Bunny got from me….penguin footie pajamas so that I don’t need to proposition her to take them off so I can wash them on a daily basis, dry them really fast and bring them back to her all warm and cozy. Now at least I’ve got two days between laundry……maybe I should have gotten a few more pair? As on the other days, Jayde exclaimed “this is the best gift ever!” Today though she was jumping up and down and spinning in circles with her pajamas. I think it’s only going to get better for her and she doesn’t even know it yet…..