Today's the day. I haven't been able to sleep. Alcy woke me up at 6:00 am and then went back to sleep while I tossed and turned until finally deciding to get up and this has gone on for the past few nights. So typical! I'm so jealous of Alcy's ability to sleep, but I have a surprise for him - he will be the one to get up in the middle of the night for feedings and changings.
Tonight I will get to sleep in a plane with a tiny little pillow wrapped around my neck...but it is all so exciting because we will be in Bombay at the end of the flight! It will likely be 1:30 or 2:00 am when we get to our hotel, so hopefully we will get some sleep then.
Right now I can't stop fretting about whether everything is packed that needs to be packed....better go check.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Three more sleeps...
Well, we hope we're ready. Suitcases are open on the bedroom floor - mostly packed. We're both very excited and very nervous. I spoke to Amit from Explore India and arranged our hotel. We will be staying at the Courtyard Marriott. I thought it was a bit over our budget, but Amit managed to get us a good rate. I'm trying to keep the travel expenses down to under $5000.00 - so far, so good.
I'm definitely not looking forward to the actual travel. We leave at 6:15 pm on the 11th and arrive at 12:30 am on the 13th. It is almost exactly 12 hours between leaving Montreal and arriving in London. I'm not sure how much of that is travel time and how much is time difference. It is even longer between London and Mumbai. The main concern will be comfort!
I wish we had more time to see some sites while in India, but I don't think we'll have much time to do anything apart from a little shopping and maybe check out Juhu Beach. Perhaps an extra day to see the Gateway to India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. If everything works out we will be back for a longer stay and will try to see the actual Taj Mahal and Goa.
I'm just soooo excited to start this incredible journey!
I'm definitely not looking forward to the actual travel. We leave at 6:15 pm on the 11th and arrive at 12:30 am on the 13th. It is almost exactly 12 hours between leaving Montreal and arriving in London. I'm not sure how much of that is travel time and how much is time difference. It is even longer between London and Mumbai. The main concern will be comfort!
I wish we had more time to see some sites while in India, but I don't think we'll have much time to do anything apart from a little shopping and maybe check out Juhu Beach. Perhaps an extra day to see the Gateway to India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. If everything works out we will be back for a longer stay and will try to see the actual Taj Mahal and Goa.
I'm just soooo excited to start this incredible journey!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Just about on our way...
I haven't kept up with this very well, but things have been moving fast and the holidays are just over. I'm enjoying my last day off work, but only have a week of work and then we'll be off to Mumbai!
We had to change our ED again, which is disappointing, but hopefully this one will have very good eggs! We got an email from the clinic ( the day we were leaving for Christmas with my sister's family ) asking us if we could come to India for January 11 or 12 as they want to do the Egg retrieval on Jan 15th! I booked the flights and we leave on the 11th and return the 18th!
With the time differences and the holidays it has been difficult to arrange the hotel with Amit and I'm worried that we're running out of time as they're getting booked. There was a suggestion of some $200.00 +/ night hotels, but that is a little out of our range. Hopefully, we find something clean, comfortable and safe.
Also, my son, Justin, and his wife, Kristina, have agreed to stand in should, God forbid, anything happen to us, but Kristina has been away and we haven't been able to get her info. to send to the clinic. I tried sending Justin a message and calling last night but no answer. I think he is on a short holiday now, after working all Christmas.
I'm sure everything will get sorted out.
Really, I can't believe we are almost on our way and hopefully, PRAY, we will soon be pregnant.
I have to go through my clothes for the trip and wash and iron anything that needs it and get together all papers we will need. It is such a short time in India, only four days, so we don't need much. What a whirlwind trip!
We had to change our ED again, which is disappointing, but hopefully this one will have very good eggs! We got an email from the clinic ( the day we were leaving for Christmas with my sister's family ) asking us if we could come to India for January 11 or 12 as they want to do the Egg retrieval on Jan 15th! I booked the flights and we leave on the 11th and return the 18th!
With the time differences and the holidays it has been difficult to arrange the hotel with Amit and I'm worried that we're running out of time as they're getting booked. There was a suggestion of some $200.00 +/ night hotels, but that is a little out of our range. Hopefully, we find something clean, comfortable and safe.
Also, my son, Justin, and his wife, Kristina, have agreed to stand in should, God forbid, anything happen to us, but Kristina has been away and we haven't been able to get her info. to send to the clinic. I tried sending Justin a message and calling last night but no answer. I think he is on a short holiday now, after working all Christmas.
I'm sure everything will get sorted out.
Really, I can't believe we are almost on our way and hopefully, PRAY, we will soon be pregnant.
I have to go through my clothes for the trip and wash and iron anything that needs it and get together all papers we will need. It is such a short time in India, only four days, so we don't need much. What a whirlwind trip!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Well good news! After a few disappointments, we have finally chosen an Egg Donor who will be ready for us in January. We wait now to see if our chosen Surrogate will be available. Crossing our fingers and toes. I was disappointed about not being able to get our first choices for ED's, but our final choice has a trait that makes me feel especially good about her - she has my mother's smile. She was the first donor I saw and right away I thought how beautiful she was and how amazing she has my mothers mouth - The Hurley mouth I always called it and always wished I had it too. My mom said I did, but I don't think so. It would be amazing to see that smile in my and Alcy's child. A little bitter sweet too without my mother here to share it with us...but I know she will be here in our hearts and helping us all the way through this. I can't help but think she has already started to help.
So things are looking up and it looks like we will be in Mumbai in late January. I can hardly believe it. So exciting but so scary at the same time....
So things are looking up and it looks like we will be in Mumbai in late January. I can hardly believe it. So exciting but so scary at the same time....
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Backgrounder:
First, for my premier post, I want to make clear our reason's for embarking on this journey. This is a very personal decision for everyone who makes it and we are not any different. We have our own reasons for undertaking this journey and our own tribulations in taking this journey, which I am sure will lead to some controversy; some will sympathize and some will not. Such is life.
First, Alcy is 37, from Cuba and has never had children and as most will understand, this is his greatest desire at this time in his life. However, he chose to marry me, a Canadian, two and a half years ago and at 49 I am not able to have a child. ( As I said, there are controversies) We discussed this many times before we were married and Alcy always stuck to his belief that if God wanted him to have a child, he would have one. Coming from Cuba, Alcy knew nothing about Surrogacy and I never mentioned it to him until later in our marriage; of course he was interested. I tried to get him interested in adoption, but his response was always, "Okay, but after I have my own, biological, child first". I understood his reason, I have a son of my own, who is grown now, 30, and when you're able to reproduce your own genetic material, it is natural to want to do this.
For me, the decision to have a child, any child, at this point in my life was fraught with concerns. I have been there, done that, and although I really would have liked to have had more children, 10 or 15 years ago, I did not have a father in mind then. Having raised my son as a single, divorced, parent, even with a good and caring ex, I did not want to raise another child on my own. That is another decision, I know many women, and men, come to make at a certain age if they find themselves alone and if I didn't have my son, I know I would have chosen to have a child by myself, anyway.
As it was, the years ticked by and I didn't meet the man I really wanted to share my life with until I was 44, had a hysterectomy and was nearing menopause.
Having dealt with and gotten past, our age differences and cultural differences, including Alcy's immigration to Canada and all the adjustments, we felt we were ready to address the issue of having a child together.
Alcy, God Love him, has never thought that I was too old to raise another child. He does not see me as any different in age to him, as I'm sure, anyone who is married to someone of a much different age will understand. The fact remains, however, that a 37 year old parent of a newborn would be considered normal and hardly an eye would bat over it; a 49 year old parent of a newborn is a different story and we might not have decided to go through this if both of us were 49.
I do believe, however, that a 49 year old mother of a newborn is what most people would object to and few would object to a 49 year old father. I have never believed in gender stereotypes, however, so in the end, I decided that there was no reason not to go through with our desire to have a child.
So, after many conversations and many promises on Alcy's behalf to do more than his fare share after the birth in order to make this work, we are on our way to making our hearts desire a reality.
More about where that has led, later; I better go help Alcy with the Christmas decorations now.
First, Alcy is 37, from Cuba and has never had children and as most will understand, this is his greatest desire at this time in his life. However, he chose to marry me, a Canadian, two and a half years ago and at 49 I am not able to have a child. ( As I said, there are controversies) We discussed this many times before we were married and Alcy always stuck to his belief that if God wanted him to have a child, he would have one. Coming from Cuba, Alcy knew nothing about Surrogacy and I never mentioned it to him until later in our marriage; of course he was interested. I tried to get him interested in adoption, but his response was always, "Okay, but after I have my own, biological, child first". I understood his reason, I have a son of my own, who is grown now, 30, and when you're able to reproduce your own genetic material, it is natural to want to do this.
For me, the decision to have a child, any child, at this point in my life was fraught with concerns. I have been there, done that, and although I really would have liked to have had more children, 10 or 15 years ago, I did not have a father in mind then. Having raised my son as a single, divorced, parent, even with a good and caring ex, I did not want to raise another child on my own. That is another decision, I know many women, and men, come to make at a certain age if they find themselves alone and if I didn't have my son, I know I would have chosen to have a child by myself, anyway.
As it was, the years ticked by and I didn't meet the man I really wanted to share my life with until I was 44, had a hysterectomy and was nearing menopause.
Having dealt with and gotten past, our age differences and cultural differences, including Alcy's immigration to Canada and all the adjustments, we felt we were ready to address the issue of having a child together.
Alcy, God Love him, has never thought that I was too old to raise another child. He does not see me as any different in age to him, as I'm sure, anyone who is married to someone of a much different age will understand. The fact remains, however, that a 37 year old parent of a newborn would be considered normal and hardly an eye would bat over it; a 49 year old parent of a newborn is a different story and we might not have decided to go through this if both of us were 49.
I do believe, however, that a 49 year old mother of a newborn is what most people would object to and few would object to a 49 year old father. I have never believed in gender stereotypes, however, so in the end, I decided that there was no reason not to go through with our desire to have a child.
So, after many conversations and many promises on Alcy's behalf to do more than his fare share after the birth in order to make this work, we are on our way to making our hearts desire a reality.
More about where that has led, later; I better go help Alcy with the Christmas decorations now.
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