Stork Arrival

We arrived to Denver earlier this afternoon where Jillian and Anthony eagerly welcomed us.

My travel buddy is my best friend, Kylie - a fellow labor and delivery nurse. When offered a support person to accompany me on this trip - I originally declined. However, the suggestions made during the psychological evaluation encouraged me to have a steady anchor with me during this process. Someone that grounds me - someone that's compassionate - and someone that will distract me. What better person to join me on this adventure?

Tomorrow is a busy day. First is a confirmatory blood draw about 1.5 hours prior to procedure. Embryo transfer will take place promptly at 1:00pm. For those curious cats out there... there will only be one embryo transferred. Sorry -- no tabloid story here. Just doing what's best for the embryo (and my uterus...oh yeah and my overall well-being). I've been highly blessed with parents that understand the risks of multiple gestation pregnancies and value quality over quantity. I have not been so fortunate with patients in my life that have chosen the latter and have ended up in compromising positions. I feel like those stories give IVF a bad rap -- it's what makes Surrogacy somewhat taboo -- and has made IVF a topic of great controversy.

**For the record -- most REI docs (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) DO NOT want complicated pregnancies. A twin or triplet pregnancy is HIGHLY complicated. Therefore avoiding one is of utmost importance. Anyone planning on pursuing IVF or surrogacy should be weary of a doctor that doesn't have a tight limit of how many embryos can/will be transferred at one time. Bonus -- Anthony and Jillian pre-screened their embryos for chromosomal abnormalities. This testing reduces the likelihood of a failed implantation - due to the fact that most failed implantations, early miscarriages, and fetal losses are due to chromosomal abnormalities.

I'm sharing all of this because I'm getting a lot of worried feedback. Worries that are based on what is read in newspapers and what is all over the media. As long ago that it was...stories like Octomom are still haunting the IVF community almost 10 years later. There is a lot of good work out there done by REIs -- and it's a shame that it's overshadowed by the greed and misfortune of others.

This is not their story though -- This is a story of hope and the love of two people going through all costs to realize their dream of making their family whole.