And we have lift off!

15th November 2019 a single embryo transfer happened in San Diego California. The amazing Dr Daneshmand at San Diego Fertility Center transfered a single healthy embryo into our incredible surrogate. 4 days post a 5 day transfer we got our first positive pregnancy on a pee stick! By 9 days post 5 day transfer we had a very clear positive pregnancy. On November 25th our first Beta was 395 and 2 days later it had more than doubled to 1,079! The really exciting part was on December 11th when we had our first scan and got to hear his little heart beat for the first time! Next scan is scheduled for December 19th.... and then Covid-19 arrived! Just as we approached the 20 week scan the whole world started closing down. It was honestly a scary and anxious time, BUT working with such a reputable and supportive surrogacy agency as Circle made all the difference! The legal team helped us all (except my US born son) secure Covid 19 Travel Ban exemption visas. On June 29th 2020 we boarded an American Airlines flight from Heathrow to Dallas. The flight itself was uneventful and there was a air of relief that we were on our way and despite the virus' best efforts we would make it! Upon arrival we had to self quarentine for 14 days. Once we had past our 14 days we did as much as we could in Dallas while following all the social distancing and mask wearing rules. Our Air BnB had a gorgeous pool and we hung out watching Netflix and swimming and actually enjoying a bit of a vacation. We met up with our surrogate a couple times briefly outside. We didnt want to risk her health. My oldest son's surrogate travelled down from Denver, Colorado to see us which was lovely, but again we did our best to socially distance and maintain our covid negative status as we did not want to risk not being allowed in the hospital for the birth. In late July we were all allowed to attend our surrogates final scan and to meet the OBGYN in person which was wonderful. At this point our AMAZING surrogate Ronda had developed Gestational Diabetes which she managed brilliantly with diet, so the doctor discussed an induction and birth date with us. We all agreed on July 28th. We knew only Brett would be allowed into the hospital, so on July 28th with a packed bag in the car and an agreed arrival time of 3pm at the hospital, the Griffin-Young family spent their last day as a family of four having lunch and a stroll around the mall. at 3pm Brett arrived at the hospital and the nerves were building. The hospital staff could not have been more amazing if they tried. Brett was informed to start with he was not allowed in the delivery room, however they were pushing back on this as he was the legal father of the baby and despite Covid rules, had the right to be present at the birth of his son. At 9.15pm Brett got a text message to say come down to the delivery suite immediately. As he walked into the room, Ronda was in the last stages of labour. Frederick was about to crown for the first time! At 9.28pm Frederick was born and after cutting his umbilical cord, he was placed skin to skin on Brett's chest where he lay gazing into his daddy's eyes for 90 minutes... a truly magical moment. After two days in the hospital, Brett and Frederick were cleared to leave and baby got to meet his other daddy, his big brother and his big sister. Three weeks later the Griffin-Young family of five travelled home to England together. It was truly remarkable how many people assisted us in this amazing journey. More to come soon.

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