Reflections - Transferring Hannah

It was hard to sleep the night before our transfer but somehow I managed to fall asleep just after midnight. When I awoke the morning of our transfer I was filled with excitement, disbelief, and anxiety. I knew it would be an incredible day!!! The alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. Darin and I rushed to get ready and headed out the door. We drove an hour to pick up our friend and surrogate, Lisa and then had to drive another hour to get to our clinic in San Francisco. Darin, Lisa and I nervously talked in the car. We mainly had “what if” conversations…positive and negative. We arrived at the clinic around 7:30a.m. and were immediately taken back to the pre-op waiting area. Darin stayed in the waiting area while Lisa and I headed back to the operating room. I waited just outside the door while Lisa undressed from the waist down and covered up with a blanket. The embryologist stopped by our room and gave us our embryo report. They all looked beautiful so we decided to transfer 3 grade A, 3 day fresh embryos. The embryologist also let us know that we’d be freezing 8 for sure and keeping an eye on 2 (the two never made it to freezing). It was nice to know that we had 8 beautiful embryos left…just in case. I was given a picture of our embryos (one is now Hannah) that we were transferring. It was a magical moment! But it’s even more magical for me today. I sometimes sit and stare at that picture of those little embryos and wonder which one is Hannah.
Our three little embryos on July 3, 2004.

Dr. Ryan came in the room and got set up for our transfer. The nurse set up the ultrasound machine so we could see inside Lisa’s uterus. The embryologist brought in the catheter containing the three embryos and Dr. Ryan placed it into Lisa’s uterus. Lisa and I stared in amazement as my little embryos entered her uterus. We could actually see all three little embryos on the ultrasound screen as they were inserted. It was an overwhelming moment for me. I remember feeling so hopeful! I was willing and begging one or all of those embryos to grow! After our transfer Lisa had to sit for 15 minutes and relax. We all went out to lunch and back home! Now we would have to wait 11 days to find out if Lisa was pregnant.
The day before our beta (blood pregnancy test) I called Lisa. I was crying and so upset because I was feeling bad, I was scared that our transfer didn’t work. She just started laughing and said “Oh I’m pretty sure it worked, I feel nauseous and gross.” She offered to go get a pregnancy test and to call me with the results. She called about 30 minutes later with our good news! The rest is history! Lisa and I shared some really great moments, she’s a very laid back woman with an amazing heart. I will always be eternally grateful to her!

Hannah at 7 weeks! Hannah at 9 weeks! Me, Lisa and Darin. Lisa was 6 months pregnant with Hannah!
Happy Birthday Hannah! March 14, 2005 This is Hannah today! She's a beautiful 3 year old!