This is getting REAL!

A few things have happened in the past week. I finished the Letter to IPs. I had to go get a Glucose Tolerance Test because my BMI is over 30. It was a fasting 2 hour and the 2 I did during my pregnancy were 1 hr, no fasting. Luckily, the lab was a pretty busy place and there were some interesting people to talk to.
Saturday, I went to a GG Meet and Greet. There were a few surrogates in different stages of their journeys and the psychologist from GG (Dr. Kim Bergman). It was really nice to have the time to sit with the women and pick their brains about what they have been through and what advice they have. Since Dr. Bergman will be doing the psych part of my screening, it was awesome to be able to sit and chat with her in this casual setting. It made me feel a lot less nervous about the screening:o)
Monday, I got the results of my GTT, which I passed, YAY!
Then, we scheduled my screening! David and I will fly to LA on April 9th. That is 2 weeks from yesterday! I pretty much got to pick the day within that week, so the 9th is pretty perfect for us:o) My mom will be off work from one of her jobs, which makes me feel a little better, since she will be watching Little Miss Haley for the day. It will be a long day. We will leave super early in the morning and get back pretty late. I don't know the exact times yet because we are still waiting for the insurance pre-authorization before they will schedule the flights. I do know that the psych part will be 10 am and the appt with the RE will be at 1:30 pm.YAY!

Moving Forward

Friday, we sat down and completed all of the paperwork and e-mailed it off to GG! This is getting kinda real (she says with excitement and a couple of nerves)! We should have our pre- authorization for the life and secondary medical insurance in the next week. I have to finish my letter to the IPs, which I am pretty much done with. I just want to get some second, third and fourth opinions, clean it up and ponder a bit more. Then, we wait for dear AF, then off to LA for the screening! This will probably be the second week of April. Then we will start the cycle of hurry-up and wait:o) OMG, I love progress!

Me

I have seen this on a few other blogs and thought it would be fun to do while I am in the holding pattern.

Name: Andrea
Birthday: October 15
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Where were you born: Sacramento, CA
Where do you live now: Suburb of Sacramento, CA
How many times have you moved: 1 house from birth until age 21, then 3 apartments and a house, so 4

Hair Color: Dirty blonde/brown.
Eye Color: Blue
Tattoos: none

Piercings: Just one hole in each ear, though I rarely wear earrings

*Favorites*

Color: Purple
Food: Mexican food and potatoes
Candy: Milky Way or 3 Musketeers if I have to choose a candy bar or something chocolate, but I prefer fruity candies- sour patch kids, starburst jelly beans, skittles.
Movie: My guilty pleasure is From Justin to Kelly, but I like pretty much any romantic comedy including Sweet Home Alabama, Save the Last Dance, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Prince and Me, A Cinderella Story.

TV Show: I watch a little too much TV;o) lol. My current faves would be Hart of Dixie, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, One Tree Hill, So You Think You Can Dance, Survivor, House, Big Bang Theory

Actor: Tom Cruise, Matt Damon
Actress: Julia Stiles, Jennifer Aniston, Katherine Heigl, Reese Whitherspoon
Favorite Author: I LOVE to read. I tend to go for Romances, but some of my other faves include J.K. Rowling, Sophie Kinsella, Stephanie Meyer, Nora Roberts, Suzanne Collins
Band or Singer: Kelly Clarkson, O-Town, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, MJ, Kris Allen, David Archuletta, 98 Degrees, Britney Spears, One Republic, Clay Aiken (1st album), Phil Collins
Song: I have many. I wouldn't even know where to start. See above for an idea.
Holiday: Thanksgiving
Season: Fall
Day of the week: Friday
Store: New York & Company, Carter's, Costco
Restaurant: Carmelita's, BJ's

Sport: to do? Hiking and Kayaking, to watch? Gymnastics
Animal: Dolphin
Flower: Sweet Peas

*Have you ever*

Danced in the rain: no
Tripped and had an embarrassing fall: Not that I can remember
Smoked: Never
Got drunk: Once

Gone skinny dipping: No
Been in a car accident: 4 minor ones- 2 when I was driving, 1 was deemed my fault (though it was really more like 50/50)

Been in love: Yes
Met the President: No
Met a celebrity: A couple of NBA players and I helped deliver flowers to Eddie Murphy's house
Cried over a movie: Yes
Laughed so hard you cried: many many times
Cried for no reason at all: yes, a couple of times when I was pregnant/post partem

*The last*

Thing you said: No, you are going to add it to your signature (helping my sister add Lilypie ticker to her e-mail

Thing you ate: Raisen Bran Crunch
Song you heard: Two World by Phil Collins

Movie you saw: In the theater? Breaking Dawn Part 1 

Music you bought: Kelly Clarkson's newest album
Book you read: just finished Sherlock Holmes and started Finding the Dream by Nora Roberts

Phone call: My sister

IM: I am pretty sure I was in Junior High the last time I IM'ed somebody

Person you yelled at: probably my husband

*This or that*

Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi, but I prefer Dr. Pepper or Rootbeer
McDonald's or Burger King: Burger King
Chocolate or Vanilla: Vanilla
TV or Movies: Both
Colored pencils or Markers: Markers
Sun or Moon: Moon
Day or Night: Day
Pants or Shorts: Pants
Long sleeved or Short sleeved: Short Sleeved
N'Sync or Backstreet Boys: Bacstreet Boys

Burgers or Hot dogs: Burgers
Rock or Rap: neither
Txt or Phone: Txt
Romantic comedy or Thriller: Romantic Comedy
Waffles or Pancakes: Waffles
Peanut butter or Jelly: Peanut butter

*Others*

Do you believe in love at first sight: no (lust, yes)
Have you ever wished upon a star: yes

What other language (s) do you speak: Spanish (kinda)
If you dyed your hair, what color would you dye it: lighter highlites
If you could change your name, what would you change it to: To something that doesn't have a boy's name as a common nickname and that people would pronounce correctly the first time, every time
What's the weather like right now: Sunny and warm for this time of year
What instruments do you play: I play piano (with the aptitude of a 5 year old) and I played flute in elementary school.
Do you talk to yourself a lot: Occassionally

Best place you have visited: Maui
Best day of your life: My daughter's birth day
Worst day of your life: The day my grandma M died
Pet peeves: smokers
What are you most proud of: My hubby and my daughter (and if I have to pick something about me) my patience
What is your goal for this year: Become a surrogate and help a wonderful family grow:o)

Next Steps. . .

About a week ago, David (DH) and I had a conference call with the Surrogate Coordinator at GG to discuss our questions about all of the paperwork. She said that David's questions were the most detailed questions she has ever seen. He is an engineer with a business degree, what was she expecting:o) We got all of our questions answered satisfactorily. She said that she is worried how we will handle unexpected things as they arise since we have so many questions now. What she doesn't know about us is that we research things pretty thoroughly before we make decisions. Once we decide, we jump in and don't look back.
David is concerned that a lot of the GG paperwork puts the responsibility on the surrogate for a lot of things, but what it doesn't say is that through the contract, that responsibility gets legally passed to the IPs. GG doesn't deal with the contract, so basically, they want the surrogate to know that there are a lot of things that she (I) need to make sure are taken care of and included in the contract and to realease themselves from liability. I figured all of this, but David needed to hear it from them.
Yesterday, we went to Kaiser to request my medical records for my pregnancy, labor and delivery. It was actually easier than I expected. They will be ready for me to pick up tomorrow. Gotta love digital medical records! We also talked to a member services person to check on how Kaiser would handle this whole surrogacy thing. One of the reasons, I choose GG is because they seem to do things right by the book, as far as the medical insurance is concerned, but I want to make sure that Kaiser told me the same thing GG did. The lady we talked to had never dealt with this in her almost 30 years with Kaiser, but she was able to find the answers for us after a couple of phone calls. What she said agreed with what GG told us, so that was great!
Last night, I was able to talk to my next door neighbor who has an in-home daycare. She doesn't really have any room for a full-time baby, but said some drop-in stuff was no problem. She also said that she thinks a spot will open by summer, so if, by some chance, I end up on bed rest, that would be an option. I am really excited because it is so close and we kinda know them, since we have been neighbors for several years. If I were on bed rest, I could still check-in on her occassionally:o)
Now, I can keep working on my surrogate profile. That letter is started, but I am still feeling a little stumped. I am glad I have some time to work on it and it will come together. Now we wait until I am ready to wean the little monkey (probably another month), then we go to LA for the screenings (I am thinking this might be end of March/beg. of April) since it has to be timed with my cycle)!

Phone Consultation

Yesterday, I had my phone consultation with GG. They asked me some questions about my health and pregnancy and gave me some info about GG and the process moving forward. I filled out the rest of the application and they unlocked all of the paperwork. There are a lot of things I need to fill out and gather. I can't turn any of it in until Haley is weaned, but I can read through it and ask any questions that we have. I also need to request my medical records which could be a feat in and of itself. I also looked at the profile I will have to put together and I am already feeling overwhelmed about what to put in my letter to IPs. I am hoping I can get some examples or further guidance from GG. I am hoping that we will be able to go to LA for our screenings in April. Until then I have a lot of homework:o)

A Response

So, someone called me from GG Wednesday, but it was a restricted number and they left no message, so I didn't know what to do (or if it was them). Thursday afternoon, since I still hadn't heard anything, I emailed them and got a response within the hour! She said that she had tried to call me and had a question about me still breast feeding. She said that they like their surrogates to not be breastfeeding. I told them that made sense, but I was hoping that we could start the process of filling out paperwork and getting medical records, so when I do stop breast feeding, in a couple of months, we can hit the ground running. I also clarified about my insurance, since there was a question about whether my insurance excluded surrogacy and I put yes because I didn't know and I had to put yes or no. She replied back early Friday morning that we could proceed to the phone interview! and that my insurance is favorable for surrogacy- double yay:o) So, as of now, I have my phone interview scheduled for Tuesday at 11 am. Hopefully, Haley will cooperate and be napping at that time:o) I am a little nervous, but mostly excited to see how this all goes.

The Beginning

It all started several months ago on a weekly walk with my friend, Anne, I mentioned that I was thinking about becoming a GS. We talked about it at length and she and I were very excited about it. I then discussed it with my husband, David, and he was on-board.
Then I started the research. It was VERY, VERY, VERY overwhelming. I figured out that I needed to find an agency, but how do I know which one to choose, there are sooooo many?! Anne found a vlog by an IM and a blog by a GS which were very helpful. I looked at several agencies online, but wasn't thrilled by any of them. The blogger finally mentioned the agency that she is using (Growing Generations- GG) and I looked into it and really liked it. From their website, I found another blog and from that blog lots of other blogs, many of which used GG. Tuesday, I filled out the initial application, and I am waiting for the response which is supposed to be in 1 business day. If I don't hear something today, I will email the lady, this afternoon. All of the blogs have made me very excited, though I am in no hurry since I am still breast feeding, David is taking a super-important test in October and we have a celebration vacation scheduled for October. I am hoping to get rolling in March or April and pregnant no sooner than this summer. We will see!