I thought it was about time for an update! Ive been twiddling my thumbs and trying to pick a good time to sit down and write, and it seems the time has finally come!
When I had my check up at the clinic I had a quick scan done to check my ovaries, and there was either a cyst or a follicle on my right ovary. I had a scan booked last week to check that it had gone - but unfortunately the crappy little bugger hasnt gone. So the current plan of attack is to stay on the pill for another 3 weeks, then scan again to see if it has packed its bags! So, in the meantime Im being as impatient and brassed off at my own body as always, actually no, I have to admit MORE so than usual, but my IPs rock and yet again they managed to turn it into a positive moment by pointing out I dont have any PCOS which apparently is quite common and is more of a PITA when it comes to donating! Wish me luck its GONE by my next scan!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
An interesting Article...
One of the girls on AED shared this article, and I wanted to share it with all of you because I think its fantastic!
Genes must be ‘expressed’ within an individual in order to have an
effect.
The same gene or genes can express in a number of different ways
depending upon the environment. A gene can remain ’silent’ or
unexpressed; it can be expressed strongly; it can be expressed weakly,
and so on. There is also an entire field of study called imprinting
having to do with which gene you ‘activate,’ the copy you received from
your mother, or the copy you received from your father.
In a donor egg pregnancy, the pregnant woman’s womb is the environment.
It is her genes, not the donor’s, that determine the expression of the
donor-egg baby’s genes.
A donor egg baby gets her genes from the donor; she gets the
‘instructions’ on the expression of those genes from the woman who
carries her to term.
This means that a donor egg baby has 3 biological parents: a father, the
egg donor, and the woman who carries the pregnancy.
The child who is born would have been a physically & no doubt
emotionally different person if carried by his genetic mother.
In horse breeding for example, it’s not uncommon to implant a pony
embryo into the womb of a horse.
The foals that result, are different from normal ponies.
They’re bigger. These animals’ genotype – their genes – are the same as a
pony’s, but their phenotype – what their genes actually look like in the
living animal – is different.
........
The implication of epigenetics is that the child inherits characteristics from the woman who carries the child even if the original DNA comes from a donor egg. In other words the birth mother influences what the child is like at a genetic level - it IS her child.
Cool huh!!!!
Genes must be ‘expressed’ within an individual in order to have an
effect.
The same gene or genes can express in a number of different ways
depending upon the environment. A gene can remain ’silent’ or
unexpressed; it can be expressed strongly; it can be expressed weakly,
and so on. There is also an entire field of study called imprinting
having to do with which gene you ‘activate,’ the copy you received from
your mother, or the copy you received from your father.
In a donor egg pregnancy, the pregnant woman’s womb is the environment.
It is her genes, not the donor’s, that determine the expression of the
donor-egg baby’s genes.
A donor egg baby gets her genes from the donor; she gets the
‘instructions’ on the expression of those genes from the woman who
carries her to term.
This means that a donor egg baby has 3 biological parents: a father, the
egg donor, and the woman who carries the pregnancy.
The child who is born would have been a physically & no doubt
emotionally different person if carried by his genetic mother.
In horse breeding for example, it’s not uncommon to implant a pony
embryo into the womb of a horse.
The foals that result, are different from normal ponies.
They’re bigger. These animals’ genotype – their genes – are the same as a
pony’s, but their phenotype – what their genes actually look like in the
living animal – is different.
........
The implication of epigenetics is that the child inherits characteristics from the woman who carries the child even if the original DNA comes from a donor egg. In other words the birth mother influences what the child is like at a genetic level - it IS her child.
Cool huh!!!!
Friday, February 4, 2011
I had an AMAZING day yesterday.
I think I managed to get about 2 hours sleep on Wednesday night, and woke up about 20 minutes before my alarm went off, about 4am, so just decided to get up and get ready. My nerves the night before had been so bad I thought I was going to pass out in the kitchen, so hubby sorted dinner, but luckily I was still a little sleepy in the morning so the nerves gave me an hour break. Once I was ready to go though, they kicked back in, and the drive to the airport was a very busy one for my butterfly farm. I checked in and boarded effortlessly, the new Gold Coast airport is great. The flight was reasonably quick (thank god I had my phone, I played games the whole way!) and as I exited the plane the nerves seem to settle, and seemed to morph into much more of an excitement. It was FINALLY time, and I scuttled so fast up that ramp! As I walked out of the gate I said goodbye to the girl I had been sitting with, and I could see two big smiling faces that I recognised. We greeted with a hug, a hug that felt like an "I missed you!" not a "nice to meet you!" I really felt like I was seeing old friends after a long period of time.
The whole day went without a hitch. Our appointments flowed exceptionally well, the doctors, nurses and counsellor were all lovely, and it was great to get all the good solid details of what will be happening and when. We chatted all day, and ate, and chatted, and ate! (And was it just me or did we all pee a lot?? hahaha) I loved the fact that they were both exactly like I expected. There were absolutely no surprises, and I felt so relaxed with them both. The hardest thing of the whole day was knowing it was coming to an end, and saying goodbye :(
I tried to sleep on the way home, but I was just so amped from how well the day went I couldnt, and then I didnt stop telling Hubby all about it when I got home till very late, so needless to say, today I am a walking Zombie! In fact for the first time in a very long time, I think I am going to put my head on my pillow while the little hand is still pointing at the 8!!
To my beautiful Donors: Thank you, so very much, for allowing me into your lives and allowing me to take part in this amazing journey. You are both such compassionate, gorgeous, down to earth people, and I feel honoured to be part of this. I really hope my body can perform well for us all, and if we achieve what we are hoping for, I have no doubt in my mind that this child (these children!!?!! hehe!) will be loved to the moon and back.
The whole day went without a hitch. Our appointments flowed exceptionally well, the doctors, nurses and counsellor were all lovely, and it was great to get all the good solid details of what will be happening and when. We chatted all day, and ate, and chatted, and ate! (And was it just me or did we all pee a lot?? hahaha) I loved the fact that they were both exactly like I expected. There were absolutely no surprises, and I felt so relaxed with them both. The hardest thing of the whole day was knowing it was coming to an end, and saying goodbye :(
I tried to sleep on the way home, but I was just so amped from how well the day went I couldnt, and then I didnt stop telling Hubby all about it when I got home till very late, so needless to say, today I am a walking Zombie! In fact for the first time in a very long time, I think I am going to put my head on my pillow while the little hand is still pointing at the 8!!
To my beautiful Donors: Thank you, so very much, for allowing me into your lives and allowing me to take part in this amazing journey. You are both such compassionate, gorgeous, down to earth people, and I feel honoured to be part of this. I really hope my body can perform well for us all, and if we achieve what we are hoping for, I have no doubt in my mind that this child (these children!!?!! hehe!) will be loved to the moon and back.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
One sleep!
What can I say other than Im pretty sure someone decided my stomach would make a great location for a butterfly farm, they just forgot to run it by me first. I eventually slept last night - after a lot of thinking and trying to get my mind to stop ticking over. The funny thing is, because I was trying NOT to think about it, so I could sleep, I ended up going over a whole heap of others things that have been playing on my mind. Nothing to do with egg donation. My mind certainly has its own agenda sometimes - Im not sure if thats a good or a bad thing!
Just to clarify, Im nervous and excited about meeting my IPs, Im not at all nervous about the procedure. Someone said to me "ooooh are you really that nervous!? Do you think you might back out!?" err, totally missed the boat there hunny....lol! I cant wait!
The next update you'll be getting from me will be letting you all know how it went, so wish me luck!!!!!!!! x x
Just to clarify, Im nervous and excited about meeting my IPs, Im not at all nervous about the procedure. Someone said to me "ooooh are you really that nervous!? Do you think you might back out!?" err, totally missed the boat there hunny....lol! I cant wait!
The next update you'll be getting from me will be letting you all know how it went, so wish me luck!!!!!!!! x x
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