Slow and steady wins the race.

This whole process can feel painfully slow at times but bit by bit we are moving forwards! Niki and I have had our various tests done and now have an appointment booked with the consultant to discuss the next steps. I think we might get an idea of our treatment timeline which is really exciting!

Niki and I both had to have scans, I've had my blood work done, and Niki had to have an HSG, which I was quite worried about her having to have. From what I had read it's slightly more invasive/less pleasant than a normal scan and if I could possibly have had it for her I would have! The feeling of watching someone go through various medical procedures for you is quite hard, even though I know she's doing so willingly. As ever I'm just in awe really that this awesome lady (not forgetting her rather fab husband who holds the fort at home whilst Niki is in London being prodded and poked) is doing all this for us. It's incredible beyond words.

As well as the appointment with the consultant, we have to have our SUK agreement session (we're currently still in a mandatory 3 month "getting to know you" period) which we're hoping to do at the end of July. This will make us officially a team however I think I can safely say that all parties concerned already feel that we are. Making it official will mean we can start treatment though so it is a  very exciting landmark!

Niki's first post

Niki here. Thought it was about time I bit the bullet and wrote my first contribution to our surrogacy blog.

I was most definitely as nervous as Em when meeting for that first coffee on Friday 13th however, as Em has already said it was very relaxed and the chat and laughter flowed without any effort at all. So much so before we knew it nearly 2 hours had passed and I was going to be late for work!
I couldn't wait to tell Steve all about it and although it was a little longer before I made it official, I just knew I'd met the couple I wanted to offer to help have a child. Endless chit chat in the days following (and pretty much every day since) and a genuine emerging friendship confirmed this for me and here we are today, in our exciting journey as 'Cheese Teamcake'.

We are already in June and time is flying by. It's so hard to believe we were all complete strangers just a few months ago.We've had lots of fun teamie meet ups and of course our first appointment in Harley St. I have my first 2 scans very soon - complete with mandatory girly London jaunt afterwards!- and then hopefully our next meeting with Dr.C will give us some treatment dates to get excited about.

I am both extremely excited and extremely nervous to be entering into the unknown world of IVF. I'm learning things I thought I already knew every single day of the journey and coming across emotions I didn't even know existed. Thanks to Google I can now recite the names of all the drugs I need to take,what they do and the possible side effects, and coming from the girl who has a headache for a week before taking painkillers, this is good!

One thing Google can't answer for me though is the question I am faced with most often when telling people about our surrogacy journey... Why?
If they could only see the joy I see in Emily and Adam at just being given another shot at this, then they wouldn't even need to ask. I feel very lucky to be teamed with such a wonderful couple and I truly hope we have lots of positive news to blog about in the near future.
Signing off for now.
Niki

The beginning...

Em here, plucking up the courage to make the first post! This is (at present) a private place for Niki and I (and the boys should they be able to get a word in edgeways want to) to share our thoughts and feelings about the journey that lies ahead. At some point we may open it up to more readers, but we'll see...

Back in April (Friday 13th - lucky for some clearly) Adam and I wandered up a little riverside path in Warwick to meet Niki for a cup of coffee for the first time. I was very nervous about saying/doing all the right things, but I needn't have worried, as the conversation and laughter flowed freely whilst we scoffed tea and cake in the sunshine. This appears to have set a precedent as all our meet ups appear to feature food, drink, chatter and laughter in various quantities, as well as an awful lot of childish behaviour. We're having a wonderful time in this "getting to know you" period and loving every teamie get together. 

We had an exciting step forwards on Thursday as Niki and I went to Harley Street for our first appointment with Dr C. This was really just a preliminary one, to get various details and discuss the necessary tests that needed to be done before we start talking about treatment. We both went away clutching test request forms, a little dazed from the large quantity of information. 

Even though I've already "been there", it felt pretty much as new/exciting/confusing as it did in 2010! I need to look at getting my IVF done over the summer (so it doesn't impact on work) and whilst I'm a little nervous, I just want to get it done so we can get some embryos in the freezer and know what we're working with. I was so excited to introduce Niki to Dr C, as it made it all feel a lot more real. Timing wise, I suspect things will suddenly move quite quickly - the last few months seem to have have flown by so it will be July/August before we know it....

                                  Post appointment, in the sunshine, with well earned cold drinks.