S is for: Surrogate

While I am not sure Dr. Phil is even a real doctor, nor am I completely sure I care - today's episode caught my attention this evening as I flip...flip...flipped for something to watch. The Enquirer-esque caption exploited "Criminal, Kidnapper and 100% Wrong - Surrogate Mom Faces Her Critics".
Well, THIS I gotta hear!

I should have kept flipping.

I say this, because it was truly the first time I had put any serious thought into the matter. The practice of a surrogacy is; however, quite literally as old as the hills. The original "Baby Mama" can be found nowhere else but in the Bible itself! I think they skipped over that part in Sunday school.

Wikipedia describes it as a "method of reproduction". I had to stop and think about that one. Not because I didn't understand the words, but there was no adjective describing the method as being "alternative". It struck me as an unfamiliar and uncomfortable realty. How very sheltered and naive of me.

Wiki goes on to describe the different kinds of surrogacy. Dr. Phil's lucky guest of honor was a gestational surrogate whereas she was not the biological mother. Egg and sperm were both from a 3rd party donation service. Again, I had to stop and think; putting two and two together just wasn't adding up for me.

I get why a person (an intended parent) would want to share the entire journey from conception to birth with and/or through another (a surrogate parent) as the closest thing to their own experience when the hope of that is gone. Believe me, I get it so much. I get why sometimes one of the intended may not physically be able to be a part of either the conception or the birth - in which case the intended's partner could at least be a part in the conception of a surrogate. I have no problem with that. What I don't get is having zero biological connection for either intended parent in the case where one of them IS physically capable regardless of how desperately one or the other wants the experience. It is selfish to the world. There are just way too many children who simply need a loving home.

There are just too many legal and moral debate topics brought up in the show to cover in one sitting. My brain stopped at the above and is now hurting from the rest. What I did get from the drama was some of my own insight, albeit personal and some good resources for more information.

Now on to some REAL reality: High School Reunion on TV Land!

Sources:
The Dr. Phil Show
Wikipedia
Center for Surrogate Parenting

BB and Babies...

...doesn't get much better than this! :)

S is for Schedule

I was reading one of those very sophisticated woman's magazines this evening and stumbled across one of their equally as compelling quizzes aimed at helping readers like me expand our horizons and grow within ourselves; it was titled "What Sexual Position Fits Your Personality".

Inquiring minds had to know.

Instead of just getting my OWN take on it, I enlisted the help of my husband to answer the questions with me...knowing my results would have to be spot-on utilizing this strategy.

Question #1: How would you describe your sex live?

Without letting me list out the multiple choice answers, Todd volunteered from across the room, "SCHEDULED!" (in a tone that would have you believe he just blurted out the million dollar response to Regis himself)

I think I was better off not knowing.

M is for Mucinex

What does Mucinex have to do with makin' babies? Funny you should ask!

Since my diagnosis of producing concrete, the remedy has been prescribed as Mucinex (not the DM) taken twice daily. It thins out the mucus when you have a head cold - why not your cervix I suppose!

The outcome? Holy rubber wet suit, Batman!

I have to admit I was skeptical. But I have now been shown the light. Given the issues post intercourse I described in yesterday's post, I was just under the impression THAT was the normal. I have been loving this! No more problems before or after the deed. Does it sound weird that I FEEL more fertile? LOL. And no more do I seem to feel 'not in the mood'. I may be forming a serious addiction to this new found over-the-counter miracle drug. It's the best little blue pill ever!

My job is easy now. I purchase a daily ovulation kit and take it from there. My witch doctor described optimal positions and methods to encourage our little swimmers to find the end of the rainbow. It could get quite hilarious on the home front this month.

C is for Cervical Concrete!

While nothing has been found to explain our infertility, the outcome of my last visit to Dr. Mooney-Smith was more voodoo than science.

I was ordered to have intercourse (presumably with my husband) no more then two hours before my appointment with the good doctor. Not a morning person in the last bit, this meant I had to wake up two hours earlier than normal while trying to look and feel sexy to fit it all in before 'poor Todd' had to leave for work. He of course did not feel put out in the least and so the sun rose with a smile for one of us!

This was all in preparation for a Postcoital Test; done as a last ditch effort to figure out what our big holdup has been. It is not a test that is often performed and is basically the only thing left when everything else checks out normal with both partners. The idea is to check my cervical mucus (CM) after sex to make sure there are sperm present and moving normally. Swabs are taken from several different places both in the vagina and cervix for comparison.

So I was mopped up while slides were prepared for the microscope and taken back to the lab. My doctor gave me a pat on the back for "my" terrific stretchiness (as if it was something i controlled). She quickly ran back to my room within a few minutes beaming - so ecstatic, in fact, that she wanted me to see for myself what she had discovered!

I felt important as I followed her back to the lab, but a bit like a voyeur spying on the little guys. There they were! I was relieved to see so many swimmers in one little area. She counted over 25 with 80% of those being viable! But as hard as they tried to move, they just couldn't....forever stuck in the quicksand that my body produces. What she found was that my CM is more like CC (cervical concrete)!

While this may sound odd to most, I always suspected something awry. It's not something you discuss with your girlfriends - comparing post intercourse messes, that is...and I guess that is why it was easy to believe the first doctor who told us that it was Todd who had 'lazy sperm'. But I 'secretly' knew better. Unfortunately, I did not meet my husband as a virgin and I had experienced that same 'mess' with others after sex. It's like my body not only physically rejected any outside fluids..lol...but made efforts to push it right back out!

So what voodoo do my doc do tell for me to do? Take medicine - have intercourse on my head and do a little dance afterwards. Seriously....

Straight To Dessert

Snippet from my first newsletter update for work:

After a family event this evening, we wanted to spend more time together by going out to a local 24-hour diner. Conversation turned silly with the kids 'arguing' whether it was their dinner, snack, breakfast - or dinsnackfast as they all finally agreed.

Whether you are a breakfast for dinner eater or skip the entree altogether and go straight for the dessert - let Rextopia satisfy your appetite with this week's YUMMY updates!

..........

M.I.A.

I know I have been MIA for some time now. I have LOTS of updates!!! The first is a new job position that has been eating up a ton of time away from blogging. But I'm having a great time and learning new things.

Each week, I am tasked to get out a newsletter to keep clients current on things they need to know. While these updates have nothing to do with making babies - they are sometimes entertaining and short in their intro. At the very least, I can keep you laughing!