3, 2, 1!! 3 Babes, 2 Jens, 1 Cause- Embryo Adoption

Country Jen's Guest Post...

2011-12-19T12:33:00.000-08:00

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HELLO ALL! I’m Jen, BLESSED MOM TO 8. My blog is http://www.handsheartsquiverfull.com/

I was SO EXCITED when Adéye asked me to share our precious adoption story! Specifically our seventh adoption which is the miracle of EMBRYO ADOPTION!

There are currently over 500,000 frozen embryo babies just WAITING for a warm place to snuggle in and grow. These embryos are the result of couples who have done IVF and have “extra” embryos left over from their cycles. These embryos have 3 fates…DESTRUCTION, DONATION to Science for research and Donation to another couple.

We’ve always really wanted to experience the intimacy of pregnancy and child birth together as a couple. When we got married 10 years ago, we did not have good insurance or the finances to explore IVF or the like so we moved straight to traditional adoption. Adopting our 6 wonderful kids through foster care/private adoption.

In March of 2009, I was REALLY feeling the nudging by God I THOUGHT to do an international adoption but my husband was JUST NOT FEELING IT AT ALL. After deciding that we were NOT both being called to adopt internationally, we decided to give TTC (trying to conceive) one last shot.

In April and May we both went through many tests with our RE (reproductive endocrinologist) and it was discovered that we could do IVF BUT we had some problems that would lead us to either egg donation, sperm donation or BOTH. Embryo adoption/donation IS NOT IVF. It is simply a frozen embryo transfer.

After much discussion and prayer, we decided that we did not want to create embryos that were not "ALL US" meaning either 1/2 The Captain + 1/2 donor or 1/2 Me + 1/2 donor AND we did not want to be in the same predicament and create embryos only to have to decide where our "extra" embryos would go as we only desired ONE pregnancy.

Because of all these factors, we were led straight to embryo adoption. Focus on the Family and many other Christian organizations support and encourage embryo adoption. It obviously didn't matter to The Captain or I whether it was our biological child or not-we were actually thrilled that this child would be adopted just like our 6 littles! Many couples agonize over what to do with their remaining embryos after IVF. There are 3 choices. Donate them to another couple, destroy them or donate them for research.

We started doing research and found that embryo adoption can cost anywhere from $3,000 up to $20,000. There are basically 4 ways I know of to do embryo adoption. I will list them from most expensive to least expensive.

1.) You can adopt your embryos through an agency like Snowflakes which is the most expensive way but they are experienced and pioneered embryo adoption. You can choose either open or closed adoptions. Home study required $12,000-$16,000.

2.) You can go through an infertility clinics anonymous embryo donation program. No home study required. $5,000+

3.) You can go through NEDC (National Embryo Donation Center). You must travel to their clinic in Tennessee twice once before your transfer and once for the transfer and get your home study through Bethany Christian Services. Total Cost $4600-$7,000 with an extra $3,000 if you want an open adoption.

4.) Miracles Waiting. Which is what we did. For $100-you post a profile and perspective donors read through and email you if they are interested. Some donors are also listed and you can contact them. Although we got chosen in just 9 days-many people wait over a year or more. Our cost $3800.

After we were chosen by the donating couple, we had our attorney here in KS draw up a contract and both couples agreed to it & it was finalized. I began the process of preparing my body for the transfer and then our 6 adopted embryos were flown to my clinic in L.A. and waited for my arrival! On October 22, 2009, 2 precious embryos were implanted in my womb.

Here is the photo of one of our precious ones right before implantation!

I gave birth to our PRECIOUS MIRACLE. Ms. Blakely Laurel on June 14, 2010. GOD IS GOOD!!!

I am pleading with you today...If you are a Christian and you believe that life starts at conception and you have that desire to give birth to a child or desire to adopt another child. PLEASE PLEASE think about embryo adoption. It is just a BEAUTIFUL way to help out the 500,000 FROZEN ORPHANS that are waiting right now…FROZEN IN TIME.

Please email me at handsheartsquiverfull@gmail.com with any questions you may have as I LOVE to talk about Embryo Adoption. Here is a link to my embryo adoption blog which DETAILS EVERY SINGLE STEP I went through in the EA process. http://www.womb4onemore.blogspot.com/.

The Importance of Sibling Connections After Adoption

2011-10-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

City Jen has wanted to write this post for a long time... I have always known in my heart that it is extremely important for all children to have a connection with their siblings... this connection is especially important for adopted children... I have the research to back this up... I also have 1st hand accounts from many adult adoptees (Country Jen, included)... I have the 1st hand accounts of 5 of our adopted blessings who have contact with their siblings in Russia and the US...

Country Jen's post on her family blog sums it up best... Out of the mouth of babes... Please visit: Hands, Hearts, Quiver Full ...

I want to second Country Jen's statement:

If you are an adoptive parent out there and you are wondering whether or not you should be "open" or get together with your kids birth siblings... YOU SHOULD!

If you know they have birth siblings and you don't know where they are... LOOK FOR THEM!

You will not regret it...

Waiting to "allow" your child to search when they become adults significantly decreases the odds of being able to locate their siblings and birth parents... the time is NOW... please give your children and the genetic and birth families this gift... even if you find the genetic/birth families and they are not interested... YOU will have peace of mind that YOU can look your child in the eyes and say YOU did all you could to find their birth families and it was the birth family's choice not to have a relationship... YOU as the adoptive parent have positioned yourself so that your adoptive child cannot blame YOU from keeping them from their birth family... YOU did all you could... As an adoptive Mom with three Russian birth families, two genetic families, and one American birth family for our seven adopted blessings... I have tremendous peace of mind knowing that I have done all I could to locate and foster relationships with our genetic and birth families... the kids WILL ask about their heritage, it is human nature... it is just a matter of time... so be prepared and make sure you can say you did all you could... If City Jen can have 3 Russian birth families in closed Russian adoptions located, without speaking a word of Russian... surely, YOU can locate your child's genetic/birth families in the United States...

Just in case you think your child will not find out they were adopted... perhaps because they were adopted as an embryo and only you, your spouse, and clinic know the TRUTH... odds are EXTREMELY HIGH, in this day of technology... some day, some way... they WILL find out... and be devastated... and feel like their entire life has been a lie... and most likely loose all trust and faith in you... and yes, I have 1st hand accounts of this as well... PLEASE let your child know they are adopted...

Honestly is TRULY the best policy!!!

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters

2011-09-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

Embryo Adoption has blessed our families with 3 daughters... Sarah, Anna, and Blakely... and 4 fathers with daughters... two Donor Dads and two Birth Dads... we would like to encourage all Dads to enjoy the blessings of their daughters...

50 Rules for Dads of Daughters

1. Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.

2. Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.

3. Save the day. She’ll grow up looking for a hero. It might as well be you. She’ll need you to come through for her over and over again throughout her life. Rise to the occasion. Red cape and blue tights optional.

4. Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.

5. Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.

6. Buy her a glove and teach her to throw a baseball. Make her proud to throw like a girl… a girl with a wicked slider.

7. She will fight with her mother. Choose sides wisely.

8. Go ahead. Buy her those pearls.

9. Of course you look silly playing peek-a-boo. You should play anyway.

10. Enjoy the wonder of bath time.

11. There will come a day when she asks for a puppy. Don’t over think it. At least one time in her life, just say, “Yes.”

12. It’s never too early to start teaching her about money. She will still probably suck you dry as a teenager… and on her wedding day.

13. Make pancakes in the shape of her age for breakfast on her birthday. In a pinch, donuts with pink sprinkles and a candle will suffice.

14. Buy her a pair of Chucks as soon as she starts walking. She won’t always want to wear matching shoes with her old man.

15. Dance with her. Start when she’s a little girl or even when she’s a baby. Don’t wait ‘til her wedding day.

16. Take her fishing. She will probably squirm more than the worm on your hook. That’s OK.

17. Learn to say no. She may pitch a fit today, but someday you’ll both be glad you stuck to your guns.

18. Tell her she’s beautiful. Say it over and over again. Someday an animated movie or “beauty” magazine will try to convince her otherwise.

19. Teach her to change a flat. A tire without air need not be a major panic inducing event in her life. She’ll still call you crying the first time it happens.

20. Take her camping. Immerse her in the great outdoors. Watch her eyes fill with wonder the first time she sees the beauty of wide open spaces. Leave the iPod at home.

21. Let her hold the wheel. She will always remember when daddy let her drive.

22. She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.

23. When she learns to give kisses, she will want to plant them all over your face. Encourage this practice.

24. Knowing how to eat sunflower seeds correctly will not help her get into a good college. Teach her anyway.

25. Letting her ride on your shoulders is pure magic. Do it now while you have a strong back and she’s still tiny.

26. It is in her nature to make music. It’s up to you to introduce her to the joy of socks on a wooden floor.

27. If there’s a splash park near your home, take her there often. She will be drawn to the water like a duck to a puddle.

28. She will eagerly await your return home from work in the evenings. Don’t be late.

29. If her mom enrolls her in swim lessons, make sure you get in the pool too. Don’t be intimidated if there are no other dads there. It’s their loss.

30. Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.

31. Teach her to roller skate. Watch her confidence soar.

32. Let her roll around in the grass. It’s good for her soul. It’s not bad for yours either.

33. Take her swimsuit shopping. Don’t be afraid to veto some of her choices, but resist the urge to buy her full-body beach pajamas.

34. Somewhere between the time she turns three and her sixth birthday, the odds are good that she will ask you to marry her. Let her down gently.

35. She’ll probably want to crawl in bed with you after a nightmare. This is a good thing.

36. Few things in life are more comforting to a crying little girl than her father’s hand. Never forget this.

37. Introduce her to the swings at your local park. She’ll squeal for you to push her higher and faster. Her definition of “higher and faster” is probably not the same as yours. Keep that in mind.

38. When she’s a bit older, your definition of higher and faster will be a lot closer to hers. When that day comes, go ahead… give it all you’ve got.

39. Holding her upside down by the legs while she giggles and screams uncontrollably is great for your biceps. WARNING: She has no concept of muscle fatigue.

40. She might ask you to buy her a pony on her birthday. Unless you live on a farm, do not buy her a pony on her birthday. It’s OK to rent one though.

41. Take it easy on the presents for her birthday and Christmas. Instead, give her the gift of experiences you can share together.

42. Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.

43. Remember, just like a butterfly, she too will spread her wings and fly some day. Enjoy her caterpillar years.

44. Write her a handwritten letter every year on her birthday. Give them to her when she goes off to college, becomes a mother herself, or when you think she needs them most.

45. Learn to trust her. Gradually give her more freedom as she gets older. She will rise to the expectations you set for her.

46. When in doubt, trust your heart. She already does.

47. When your teenage daughter is upset, learning when to engage and when to back off will add years to YOUR life. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

48. Ice cream covers over a multitude of sins. Know her favorite flavor.

49. This day is coming soon. There’s nothing you can do to be ready for it. The sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be.

50. Today she’s walking down the driveway to get on the school bus. Tomorrow she’s going off to college. Don’t blink.

About Michael
Michael Mitchell is an (almost) thirty-something dad who blogs daily tips and life lessons for dads of daughters at lifetoheryears.com. He spends his days practicing the arts of fatherhood and husbandry, while attempting to be a man of God and a professional raiser of philanthropic funds. On the rare occasion he’s not tied up with the aforementioned and other pursuits of awesomeness, he enjoys fighting street gangs for local charities and drinking from a cup that’s half full.

So Many Blessings Thanks To Embryo Adoption

2011-03-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

The past two years, two months, and two weeks have brought so many blessings to City Jen's life... the most amazing and wonderful blessings are, of course Sarah and Anna, whom we adopted as embryos... They are so much fun and absolutely amazing... We can hardly believe they are our precious princesses... absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way... We love to watch their different personalities continue to develop as do their different physical features...

We are coming up on the two year anniversary of yet another amazing and life altering miracle... Country Jen and City Jen communicate for the first time thanks to the internet... Country Jen commented on City Jen's blog and the rest is history... Little did we realize, both families would be blessed with 7 children each through adoption... nor did we realize our Embryo Adoption Journeys would start so differently, yet end so similarly...

We know that God brought us- 2 Jens- together first- to provide support and comfort to each other... And now- after our husbands and 14 children have spent time together- it is obvious He brought the 18 of us together for fun, support, and comfort...

Just thinking about Pat, City Jen's husband, holding Baby Bakers- Country Jen's baby adopted as an embryo, then watching Country Jen's Husband holding City Jen's baby adopted as an embryo brings tears to City Jen's eyes... The entire scene was absolutely amazing to witness... Two couples blessed with 14 children not genetically related to their adoptive parents... the love in the room was overflowing... the stories were awe inspiring... Life is GREAT....

God is GREAT!!!

Our Donor Families...

2011-03-11T07:28:00.001-08:00

Without a doubt, it is extremely rare, if ever, that Jen and I exchange an email or have a conversation where our donor families are not mentioned...

We are so appreciative of the gifts of life that that have been given us... Sarah, Anna, and Blakely...

Our girls have brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and the lives of each of our family members...

Based on our experience with adoption- Country Jen, as an adoptee herself, and as the moms to 14 adopted blessings between us, we know that it is truly in our children's best interest to be involved with their genetic families- both parents and siblings...

Our hope and prayer is that one day, our children will have the opportunity to not only meet, but to grow up knowing and spending time with their genetic parents and siblings...

If you have the opportunity to have a relationship with your donor families, PLEASE enjoy every minute of it... even though it may be tough at times... research AND our life experiences tell us that the rewards for the children go above and beyond any "stress" it can cause the adults involved.... otherwise the children will always have doubts and questions in their minds- age appropriate truth and reality are always best for children- and adults for that matter-lol!!!

Santity of Life Week

2011-01-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

Please watch this amazing video: The Miracle of Life

The video reaffirms our desire to get as many of the 500,000+ frozen embryos out of the freezer and into waiting wombs as soon as possible... please contact us if you have suggestions of ways to do this...

Thanks!!!

What God Meant

2010-12-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

What God Meant
Author Unknown

What do I think God meant when He gave me infertility?

I think He meant for my husband and I to grow closer, become stronger, love deeper.

I think God meant for us to find the fortitude within ourselves to get up every time infertility knocks us down.

I think God meant for our medical community to discover medicines, invent medical equipment, create procedures and protocols.

I think God meant for us to find a cure for fertility.

No, God never meant for me to not have children.

That's not my destiny; that's just a fork in the road I'm on.

I've been placed on the road less traveled, and like it or not, I'm a better person for it.

Clearly, God meant for me to develop more compassion, deeper courage, and greater inner strength on this journey to resolution, and I haven't let Him down.

Frankly, if the truth be known, I think God singled me out for special treatment.

I think God meant for me to build a thirst for a child so strong and so deep that when that baby is finally placed in my arms, it will be the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I've ever known.

While I would never have chosen infertility, I cannot deny that a fertile woman could ever experience the joy that I know awaits me.

Yes, one way or another, I will have a baby of my own.

And the next time someone wants to offer me unsolicited advice, I'll say, "Don't tell me what God meant when He handed me infertility. I already know."

Frozen embryos thawed for KC families - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

2010-11-19T05:40:00.000-08:00

A Kansas City Reporter inspired by Country Jen's family did this story on embryo adoption!

Our Blog is featured at the bottom of the web article! HOW EXCITING!

Please take a moment to watch the video!

Frozen embryos thawed for KC families - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

Who Is The "Real" Biological Mother of Adopted Embryos???

2010-11-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a older blog post from City Jen's Family Blog:

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Will I be The Biological Mother of my Babies???

I have wondered quite a bit about this as I am carrying babies who were created from genetic material completely different from mine. While "playing" on the internet today- against doctors' orders and husband's-lol- I came across a very interesting blog: http://tpvedo.blogspot.com/. The post of complete interest to me was from July 20, 2009. The title is: Women Who give Birth To Egg Donor Babies Are Biological Moms.

Freedom Pharmacy published this great booklet about egg donation -- here an excerpt:

“Perhaps the greatest myth surrounds pregnancy. Many believe the uterus is simply an incubator. Nothing could be further from the truth. The most important aspect of all pregnancies- including egg donation pregnancies- is that as the fetus grows, every cell in the developing body is built out of the pregnant mother’s body. Tissue from her uterine lining will contribute to the formation of the placenta, which will link her and her child. The fetus will use her body’s protein, then she will replace it. The fetus uses her sugars, calcium, nitrates, and fluids, and she will replace them. So, if you think of your dream child as your dream house, the genes provide merely a basic blueprint, the biological mother takes care of all the materials and construction, from the foundation right on up to the light fixtures. So, although her husband’s aunt Sara or the donor’s grandfather may have genetically programmed the shape of the new baby’s earlobe, the earlobe itself is the pregnant woman’s “flesh and blood.” That means the earlobe, along with the baby herself, grew from the recipient’s body. That is why she is the child’s biological mother. That is why this child is her biological child.”

I really like the way this sums it all up!!! The post also discusses the role of nature in a child's development which I found fascinating as well. Please let me know what you think!!!

Looking For Guest Bloggers!!!

2010-11-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

We would like to highlight
Embryo Adoption/Donation Blogs
on Our Blog and on Our FaceBook Page.

We are looking for Embryo Donors AND Recipients!!!

If You Would Like For Us To Highlight Your Blog, Please Leave A Comment...

Also, If You Have Not Joined Us On FaceBook or Added Photos, Please Do So...

The Many Faces of

Embryo Adoption

Our Facebook Page: Please Join Us!!!

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

500,000+ Embryos are Frozen In Time...
There are MANY Waiting Wombs...
Help Us Spread The Word On Facebook...

The Many Faces of

Embryo Adoption

We want to literally put a "Face" on Embryos
and honor each Embryo
as the Miracle of Life that it is from Conception to Heaven.

Please "LIKE"
The Many Faces of Embryo Adoption

Feel free to post your photos in the Albums:

In remembrance and memorial of all embryos in Heaven.

Growing Bellies

Birth Announcements

Our embryo babies then and now!

Join in spreading the word about
Embryo Adoption and Donation...

This Page is for Donors and Recipients...

We appreciate ALL of your suggestions and ideas...

Grant Opportunities for Infertility Treatment

2010-10-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Finances of Fertility Treatment

Please Vote For Sarah and Anna

2010-10-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

City Jen's Miracle Twins Adopted As Embryos!!!

You can vote back to back up to 10 times a day!!!

Questions for Giuliana and Bill Rancic???

2010-10-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Please submit your questions by Tuesday night
as I will forward them to the Rancic's on Wednesday morning!!!

I am looking forward to sharing their replies!!!

Special Opportunity Just For Our READERS!!!!

2010-10-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

We have been contacted on behalf of Fertility LifeLines™ and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, asking us to join an initiative empowering couples to speak openly if they’re having trouble getting pregnant. We immediately responded that we are extremely interested in working together to reduce the stigma surrounding infertility by sharing this information with 3 Babes, 2 Jens, 1 Cause- Embryo Adoption readers.

News anchor Giuliana Rancic and her husband, entrepreneur and The Apprentice season one winner Bill Rancic, are no strangers to this difficulty and are urging couples to communicate about fertility issues with a fertility specialist. They are collaborating with RESOLVE and Fertility LifeLines™ in order to stress this fact and help couples who may be experiencing or may experience issues in the future.

A few things Giuliana and Bill want couples to keep in mind:

•See a fertility specialist as soon as possible to get evaluated, learn about fertility and determine potential treatment options.

•If you’re under the age of 35 and have been trying to conceive for a year or more, or are over the age of 35 and have been trying for six months, see a fertility specialist now in order to potentially reduce the chance of frustration later.

Want to see what Giuliana and Bill are saying first hand? Click here for their special online public service announcement. This online public service announcement and Fertility LifeLines™are provided by EMD Serono, Inc.

For more information about patient resources, visit http://www.resolve.org/.

Resolve's information pages about Embryo Adoption/Donation are located here.

Resolve also has a website specifically regarding Embryo Adoption/Donation @ www.MyDestinationFamily.org.

Now, for the Special Opportunity...

Do you have any questions for Giuliana and Bill???

Please leave a comment with your questions,

we will forward 5-7 questions to the Rancic's,

and we will post their answers soon!!!

Baby Born From Embryo Frozen For 20 Years

2010-10-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Another Embryo Adoption MIRACLE!!!!

Baby Born From Embryo Frozen For 20 Years

Updated: Sunday, 10 Oct 2010, 8:32 PM EDT
Published : Sunday, 10 Oct 2010, 7:30 PM EDT

(NewsCore) - A healthy baby boy was born from an embryo frozen for almost 20 years in what was hailed Sunday as scientific breakthrough that could allow women to start families much later in life.

The infant's mother, who is 42, underwent infertility treatment for 10 years before she was given the embryo last year. She gave birth to a baby boy in May this year.

News of the birth, reported in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility, comes as British lawmakers extend the period that embryos can be stored for up to 55 years.

The baby boy was born from a batch of five embryos frozen in 1990 in the U.S. by a couple who no longer needed them after they conceived their own child through IVF treatment.

That means the two children are siblings although born 20 years apart.

The woman's doctor, Sergio Oehninger, director of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at the Eastern Virginia medical school said, "She has been going through treatment for a long time. She was a patient here in 2000. She was a persistent lady."

The previous record was a baby boy born to a Spanish woman after having been frozen as an embryo for 13 years.

The success story gives hope to single women who want to postpone having children until they find a suitable partner or women who want to delay conceiving for health reasons. Critics argue the techniques could lead to an increase in elderly mothers.

City Jen adds: Actually, there is a Mom in the US who gave birth to twins in 2009 who were previously thawed, and refrozen for a total of 13.5 years!!!!

Click here the link to our post regarding this embryo adoption birth...

New Anonymous Embryo Donation Program in CA with GUARANTEE!!!

2010-10-06T07:14:00.001-07:00

This is the first I have read of a program with a guarantee of pregnancy with refund after 3 transfers if a pregnancy does not reach 12 weeks for $9,800!!! You can also choose the program without a guarantee for $6,800.

This price does NOT include required testing for the recipient couple or medications...

Please visit California Conceptions Donated Embryo Program for more details!!!

Welcome Everyone!!!!

2010-09-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

We are just 2 simple Jens brought together through the miracle of embryo adoption.

City Jen gave birth to her miracle twin daughters in January, 2010. City Jen has adopted 5 children after birth & 2 children adopted as embryos.

Country Jen gave birth to her miracle baby girl on June 14, 2010. Country Jen has 1 birth daughter, 6 adopted children & one child adopted as an embryo.

Between the 2 Jens, we have 15 children, 14 of which are adopted. Most of which we have an open adoption arrangement with the birth families.

Our goal is to help educate, encourage & give free advice both solicited and unsolicited on the miracle of embryo adoption.

Feel free to email either of us @ 3Babes2Jens1Cause@gmail.com.

Please visit City Jen's Family Blog: Jen's Seven From Heaven

City Jen's Girls who were adopted as embryos:
Sarah and Anna

Please visit Country Jen's Embryo Adoption Blog: Womb For One More

Country Jen and Blakely

To Our Donor Families...

2010-08-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

We want to thank you with all our hearts for the completely selfless act of giving us the opportunity for our dreams to come true!!!

For this, we will always be grateful!!!

Please know that your families are in our thoughts and prayers!!!

To read more about Country Jen's Embryo Adoption Miracle,
please visit: Womb For 1 More

To read more about City Jen's Embryo Adoption Miracles,
please visit: Jen's Seven From Heaven
Sarah and Anna born 1-8-10

We are here to support each family that is at any stage of the Embryo Adoption/Donation Journey.

Please email us @ 3Babes2Jens1Cause@gmail.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!!!!

We SURVIVED!!

2010-08-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

ALL 14 of our sweet ones together! WE DID IT!

Will blog more later after rest-HA!

2 Jens and 14 kids MERGE!!!

2010-08-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow... This family of 7 kids

and this family of 7 kids ...

Will be meeting under ONE ROOF at Country Jen's FARM!

CITY JEN AND COUNTRY JENwill be meeting IN PERSON for the first time as the 2 Jen's and 14 kids MERGE under 1 roof for a few days!

14 YUNG UNS ages 12 and under UNDER ONE ROOF!

We are SO EXCITED for our kids to meet ESPECIALLY our 3 girls we were blessed with through embryo adoption!

BUT SUPER EXCITED TO ALSO HUG AND MEET EACH OTHER!

YES, WE ARE NUTS!

Will report later IF we live through it :)

WE CAN'T WAIT to share pictures with you of our adventure!

Adopted Embryos, Frozen TWICE in 13+ Years...

2010-07-26T09:40:00.001-07:00

continue to develop into HEALTHY Boy/Girl TWINS!!!!

Live birth after anonymous donation of twice-cryopreserved embryos that had been stored in liquid nitrogen for a cumulative storage time of approximately 13.5 years.

Embryo Adoption VIDEO!

2010-07-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Great Video about couple doing EA!

City Jen's OB/Gyn's new clinic is in Newsweek!!!

2010-07-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Should IVF Be Affordable For All???

Embryo Adoption Program Update: We decided on a name and mission tonight- I think EVERYONE'S comments and suggestions were addressed positively and will be appropriately included!!!! Thanks SO, SO much!!! Last call for ideas and suggestions...

I AM SO EXCITED!!!! As soon as the name is secured, I'll post it!!!

Hugs to ALL!!!

TWO Clinics WITHOUT Waiting Lists!!!!!

2010-07-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Oak Brook Fertility Center in Oak Brook , IL

AND

Henry G. Bennett, Jr. Fertility Institute in Oklahoma City, OK

Fertility Grant for Embryo Adoption Recepients in North Carolina

2010-06-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

If you live in North Carolina, check out this Play It Forward link for details about the grant.

The deadline is October 1, 2010.

Best of Luck!!!!

NEW Embryo Donation & Adoption Forum!!!!

2010-06-23T11:42:00.001-07:00

Special thanks the mom who is blessed with a child through the miracle of Embryo Adoption AND took her personal time to create a forum for all who are interested in any and all aspects of Embryo Adoption and Donation.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the only Embryo Adoption & Donation Forum which is COMPLETELY run by volunteer moms blessed with children through the miracle of Embryo Adoption/Donation without sponsorship from a specific embryo program or the federal government.

Please take a moment to stop by Embryo Donation & Adoption Forum, sign up, and introduce yourself.

Word of mouth is the BEST way to get as many of the 500,000 babies out of the freezers as soon as possible!!!

Hugs!!!

New Embryo Adoption Program Opening SOON!!!

2010-05-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

I am THRILLED to announce that I will be working with Fertility Partnership to create a Not For Profit Embryo Adoption Program.

Our goal is to create an affordable Embryo Adoption Program that will be available for everyone, regardless of race, religion, and income.

Another goal is to create a program that meets the various needs of both Embryo Donors and Recipients. This is where I need your help...

I would LOVE to have everyone who has had experience with Embryo Adoption or hopes to experience Embryo Adoption email me their suggestions and ideas, pros and cons of the different programs currently available, etc.

Please help me create the "perfect" Embryo Adoption Program!!!

Feel free to share this post with everyone who would be interested in sharing suggestions with me.

Thanks so much for your help and support!!!

City Jen
JensAdoptionBlessings@gmail.com

365 Days Post Frozen Embryo Adoption Transfer

2010-05-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Anna on May 21, 2009
Sarah and Anna on May 21, 2010

What A Difference JUST 1 Year Makes...

God is GREAT!!!!

City Jen's New Blog...

2010-05-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 1 Year Anniversary of City Jen's Embryo Adoption Transfer, City Jen started a new blog. This blog will focus on her family blessings of seven adopted children.

City Jen hopes to encourage other families to never give up on their dreams!!! When God closes a door, look for a window... just be prepared for possible "Hell" in the hallway... The "hallway" just makes life more interesting and builds character...

City Jen's reoccurring motto in life is, "That with which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger..."

I hope you stop by soon!!!

Hugs!!!
City Jen
www.Jens7FromHeaven.Blogspot.com

Resolve's Embryo Adoption/Donation Website

2010-05-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

City Jen just discovered Resolve's website JUST for Embryo Adoption/Donation.

Please visit: www.mydestinationfamily.org for more details!!!

City Jen's Latest Article

2010-04-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

City Jen chose to remove this article in hopes that the final quote will one day be reality:

"I'm praying that at the end of the day, we can mend our fences,"
Jen said.
"I'm willing to forgive and forget."

Embryo Adoption/Donation Program-CANADA!

2010-04-10T06:27:00.001-07:00

Access to Thousands of Frozen Human Embryos now Possible Through Canada's First Open Embryo Donation Program
HAMILTON, ON, April 9 /CNW/ - Canada's first open embryo donation program has been launched by Beginnings Family Services, a not-for-profit registered charity providing compassionate pregnancy support services, infertility counseling, and adoption services to clients since 1985.

"Embryo donation addresses a major dilemma for many Canadians who have completed in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments," says Beginnings Executive Director, Kerry Vandergrift.

IVF has resulted in thousands of unused frozen embryos remaining stored in fertility clinics across Canada. Couples completing IVF treatment are faced with a dilemma - what to do with their remaining embryos. Until now, options were limited to having their embryos destroyed, leaving the embryos stored indefinitely, or donating their embryos for medical research.

"Now there's another option," says Ms Vandergrift. "Beginnings has launched an Embryo Donation Program giving couples the opportunity to donate their remaining embryos to infertile couples hoping to become parents. This altruistic donation offers embryos a chance for life, and hope for thousands of infertile Canadians.

Embryo donation is not adoption or surrogacy. The couple donating the embryo selects the recipient couple. The recipient female carries the embryo to term and becomes the delivered child's birth mother. Importantly, the Beginnings Embryo Donation Program is based on 'openness' which involves ongoing communication and contact between the donor parents and the recipients, including the child.

Beginnings believes openness is most beneficial for the child. Ms Vandergrift explains, "An open approach allows the children to maintain a relationship with people important in their lives. Parents and children have access to information regarding the child's cultural and genetic origins, as well as to any siblings they may have from the donor family."

Beginnings provides professional services for the Embryo Donation Program including: registration, comprehensive recipient assessment reports and screening, openness education, profiles and posting, consultation and inter family meetings, referrals for legal advice and fertility clinic embryo transfer service, administration and follow-up, covenant agreements, and support over a lifetime for children and families across the country. Costs are comparable to or less than most domestic private adoptions and parallel the rigorous recipient screening process, education, consultation, preparation and support for on going open relationships. Beginnings offers financial assistance to those in need.
Potential donors and recipients may learn more about the Embryo Donation Program by visiting the Beginnings website at www.beginnings.ca.

For further information: Media Contact: Peter Reesor, Public Relations Consultant, Beginnings Family Services, Work: (905) 648-9967; Inquiries: Beginnings Family Services, (905) 528-6665, Toll Free: 1-877-528-6665, Cell: (905) 512-9655

City Jen in the News

2010-04-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

City Jen's Latest Embryo Adoption Journey on CBS! Telling Jen's story and mentioning our BLOG!

City JEN-MAKES PRIMETIME TV!

2010-03-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE To see City Jen and her kids on the news ADVOCATING FOR EMBRYO ADOPTION!

Welcome To Our Blog!!!

2010-03-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

We created this blog to share information with others about Embryo Adoption in hopes of getting the 500,000 babies who are Frozen In Time out of the freezers and into properly prepared wombs.

We are interested in helping Embryo Donors and Embryo Recipients. Embryo Adoption has brought so much joy to both of our families that we would LOVE to help your family experience it as well!!!

Both of the founders have first hand experience with Embryo Adoption. "City Jen" recently gave birth to her Miracle Twin Girls. "Country Jen" is currently 23 weeks pregnant with her Miracle Girl.

City Jen's Embryo Adoption Story was front page news on Valentine's Day. Her family appeared on a local NBC Mom's Like Me prime time special on March 17, 2010.

Please let us know how we can help you along your Embryo Adoption Journey!!! Please feel free to leave us a comment or CLICK HERE TO EMAIL US.

We hope to hear from you soon!!!

Embryo Adoption T-SHIRT!!!

2010-03-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Here's my new maternity t-shirt that I designed at CUSTOMIZED GIRL I am both excited and a bit scared to wear it.

I know there will be lots of questions.

And I want to advocate for all those embies out there.

If you are an embryo adoption mom,

I encourage you to go design your own and raise awareness!

I love it!

What do you think?

Do you think people will think I am adopted (which I am)

OR that the bun in my oven is adopted?

IS IT CLEAR ENOUGH?

T-shirt-$27
SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT EMBRYO ADOPTION...
PRICELESS

-COUNTRY JEN

Embryo Adoption-donor perspective...

2010-03-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

Please check out Jamie at STICKY FEET who is in the process of donating her embryos to another couple.

It is wonderful to read about this from the donors perspective.

Are Embryos JUST balls of cells???

2010-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Here is City Jen's response to one of the Embryo Adoption Yahoo Groups we follow:

Wow- what a busy couple of days of posts!!!

I personally believe that the two blasts that I was blessed with on 2-28-09 and had transferred on 5-21-09 were at the time of transfer and are now, as they sleep behind me, babies. They were never "balls of cells". If one or both of them would not have survived, I would have mourned the loss. If our donor parents decide to donate Sarah and Anna's remaining sibling embryos to science or let them thaw without a properly prepared womb to be transferred into, I will consider this murder.

Unfortunately, many disagree and the laws of today do not support my beliefs.

I believe this is why God has blessed my family with Sarah and Anna. Specifically to put a names and faces on what others believe are JUST "balls of cells".

I have promised God that I will do what I can to increase awareness regarding this and to help rescue as many babies out of the freezers as possible as I believe they ARE babies that are frozen in time.

This promise has led me to:
-co create this blog: http://3babes2jens1cause-embryoadoption.blogspot.com/
-respond as often as possible on embryo adoption/donation blogs and groups
-offer to be a speaker for any group about EA
-have this article written about our family: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/FA773A43C3167F37862576C90013FFF8?OpenDocument
-create our personal blog: http://jensadoptionblessings.blogspot.com/

AND...
-work with my Infertility Specialist to create a not for profit program that will NOT take advantage of recipients of embryos financially

All of this will continue to take time and energy away from our 7 adopted blessings, and this is how important I feel it is to get the word out about Embryo Adoption and show others that our girls are living proof that embryos are more than "balls of cells", they are babies in need of a properly prepared womb to grow in.

Please visit either blog to see photos of my angels from Heaven!!!

Hugs!!!
Jen

Another Clinic's Info

2010-02-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

Embryo Adoption at NCCRM

Many people have considered adoption as a way to build their families. Whether you've exhausted your fertility treatments or you want to open your heart to raising a child that's not biologically yours, there are some options you may not have thought about.

In general, traditional adoption can cost anywhere from $5000 to $40,000, or more. Embryo adoption through NCCRM costs between $3000 and $5500 and you get to experience the bond of pregnancy and childbirth.

At NCCRM, we currently have embryos ready to be matched to couples who want to build their families. These embryos are cryopreserved and have been released to NCCRM by current and former NCCRM patients who have completed building their families but would like to help other couples who, for whatever reason, cannot use their own eggs and sperm. The pregnancy rates for embryo transfers is very good and the whole process is considerably more affordable and less complicated than traditional adoption. Also, with embryo adoption, you do not have to do a home study as is required by traditional adoption.

As a recipient couple of an embryo adoption, you also get to experience the miracle of pregnancy and the excitement of delivering a baby. In addition, you have confidence during your pregnancy because you would have the opportunity to make sure you are getting proper pre-natal care, good nutrition, exercise and rest.

The Process:
Adopting couples need to fill out an Embryo Adoption Application to help NCCRM's staff in the matching process. They should bring this application to their first consultation with our doctors.

Application - click here to download application
Initial Consultation
Saline Ultrsound
Psychological Evaluation
Bloodwork, including HIV testing to be done close to embryo transfer
Matching done by NCCRM staff
Transfer of frozen embryos
Monitoring visits
Pregnancy test

Pricing for Embryo Adoption at NCCRM:

Monitoring Visits:
(Expect 2 to 3 visits)

Ultrasound $155 each
Ultrasound & E2 $225 each

Frozen Embryo Transfer:

Thawing of embryos $250
Prep of embryos for transfer $250
Embryo transfer $825

Other Charges:

Medical Screening - $600 - $1000
Patient Education Class - $65 per couple (Tuesdays -10:30 am & Thursdays 1:30 pm)
Psychological Evaluation - $250 (Mondays & Thursdays)
Saline Ultrasound and Endometrial Biopsy - $500 - $1500
Coordination Fee - $750
Pregnancy Test - $78
Medications - price varies and is paid directly to pharmacy

Approximate Total: $3950 - $5075
**Many insurance companies will pay for some of the diagnostic tests. Please speak with our financial department to determine your exact costs.**

City Jen's Embryo Adoption Story

2010-02-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

Here is our story summarized by Nancy Cambria in the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper on the front page, lead article for Sunday, February 14, 2010. For more details, please visit my personal blog: Jens' Adoption Blessings and review previous posts.

Anna is in the blue outfit and Sarah is in the pink.

Embryo adoption plants a complex family tree

BY NANCY CAMBRIA

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Sunday, Feb. 14 2010

The big day had come.

Newborn twins Sarah Estelle & Anna Isabelle McLaughlin lay in bassinets beside their mom at St. John's Medical Center.

Anna slept. Sarah's wide, dark eyes took in the lights & shadows of the room. She was so little. So perfect. But her new life was already so very complicated.

Jen McLaughlin, of Kirkwood, snuck her daughter a tiny kiss.

"How can you just look at her & not think she could have been left on a shelf to perish or be handed over to stem cell research?" she asked.

An estimated 500,000 frozen embryo s are stored nationwide as the byproducts of advanced fertility treatments, commonly known as in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Although most who create the embryos will use all of them in an attempt to have a child, sometimes there are extras. Anna & Sarah were once two of them.

Last winter, McLaughlin & her husband, Pat, were given the twins' embryos from a couple in California who had successfully birthed a son. With 2 children already, their family was complete.

But the California couple never anticipated that four frozen embryos would remain-scant specks in glass pipettes, each about a hundred cells in all and visible only to a microscope.

The McLaughlins are among at least 260 families nationwide each year who successfully have babies after embryo donation, sometimes called embryo adoption.

In the process, the couple have plunged headlong into the dicey ethical, religious and medical debate over the creation and fate of frozen embryos.

It's a debate that Jen McLaughlin, who is Catholic, has tackled with total certainty, grounded in a belief that the embryos are moral equivalents of children.

The embryos, too, need a family.

Her conviction about the sanctity of family is also firm.

So much so that McLaughlin and the donors are pushing the bounds of simmering ethical debate on embryo donation even further by rethinking what "family" really means and just how far their children's genetic bonds should go.

Embryo donation sometimes is a n anonymous process, with donors and recipients engaging in a cloaked transaction through fertility labs that severs the likelihood of a future child's linking to a genetic past.

But these 2 couples insisted on an open process so the genetically related children--even the children who still may be born from the 2 remaining frozen embryos--would stay connected. They felt their children had a right to know their genetic heritage, no matter if their full and 1/2 siblings are raised by different parents in different circumstances and most did not come from the same womb.

"He's going to have the richness of knowing everybody's there, we all care about him and we all know him," said the embryo donor, who asked not to be identified to protect her son's privacy.

And the children's history is even more complicated, because their embryos were created using eggs from yet another donor. The egg donor, too, has her own tow children, linking the children born from the embryos to even more half siblings.

The branches of this high-tech family tree, germinated under a microscope, could potentially bear nine genetic full and half siblings living in tow states, if not more, 2,000 miles apart.

If all this sounds like untested waters in family dynamics, it is.

"It's a brave new world of assisted reproduction," said Paige Cunningham, executive director of the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, base in Chicago. "After all, we're just experimenting here, aren't we?"

ADOPTION OR DONATION

Jen McLaughlin had no luck carrying a pregnancy to term, and she and her husband wanted a big family. So they decided early in their infertility problems not to risk valuable time on uncertain treatments.

They embraced traditional adoption. By the time the McLaughlins learned about embryo donation in 2008, the couple had adopted 5 children, four of them from Russian orphanages and one from Missouri.

McLaughlin, however, never lost the intense desire to have a successful pregnancy of her own. When she read a short newspaper article on embryo adoption--where the embryo exchange is treated more like a traditional adoption--she knew she wanted to try.

In IVF, a woman's eggs are harvested and then fertilized by sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized eggs are allowed to divide into a tiny cluster of undifferentiated cells. Some are usually transferred to a womb that has been coaxed by a regime of fertility drugs to encourage implantation and a successful pregnancy.

Others are sometimes frozen instantly in liquid nitrogen to be thawed and used later for another try or more siblings down the line.

But sometimes viable extras remain. If cryopreserved correctly, they can theoretically exist forever.

The fate of those frozen embryo not only sparks intense ethical debates over when life begins, but overlaps with the polarizing issue of embryonic stem cell research, which proposes using embryo to find potential cures to disease, over the opposition of many abortion opponents.

The concept of donating embryos to other couples got a push eight years ago under President George W. Bush, who dedicated federal funding to promote, in his terms, embryo adoption. The federal funding has since increased to $4.2 million. Now, Georgia has passed the nation's first state law symbolically recognizing embryo adoption.

Yet, calling the process "adoption" raises intense debate. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine argues that such transactions should strictly be Called donations. Arthur Caplan, head of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said equating embryos with orphans or foster kids denied the grave needs of the world's existing children.

"If you have to make a moral choice between adopting a baby or an embryo, is it really possible to say there's no difference?" he asked.

Even the Catholic church, which believes the embryos are people, doesn't condone most assisted fertility treatments and has stated that it neither accepts or rejects embryo donation.

McLaughlin ultimately realized her decision wasn't going to please everyone, but she believed what she was doing was right for her and her embryos.

AN OPEN ADOPTION

From the moment McLaughlin decided to attempt embryo donation, she also knew we wanted to keep the process open.

She chose a donor exchange service called Miracles Waiting, one of the few places where donors and recipients can meet without predisposed religious principles or complicated adoption terms imposed on them, said the organization's Executive Director Kim Walton.

"Because this is such an emotional subject, it really takes them deeply into, or possibly away from, their religious beliefs," Walton said. "Everybody's having a hard time, there's no reason to judge them."

McLaughlin nearly jumped out of her seat when she first read the donors' posting. The couple had four embryos that had been conceived with donor eggs from a woman with a Russian heritage. That excited McLaughlin, given she and her husband had adopted four children from Russia.

After many conversations and a home study, the deal was struck last February through a property contract that included clauses requiring further contact between families. The McLaughlins covered legal costs and medical expenses as well as fees to keep the embryos frozen.

In May, when her hormone levels were just right, McLaughlin ducked out of town for the transfer to the embryos into her womb.

McLaughlin has never shied away from knowing her adopted children's pasts. She and her husband, a lawyer, had spent thousands of dollars on private investigators to track down the birth families of their adopted Russian children. They knew their kids would one day wonder about who they were.

The embryo donor, 46, was also a firm believer in open adoption. She had been adopted as a young child and had only recently reconnected with her birth family. "You're just completely cut off from a part of you, " she said of closed adoption.

So the embryo donor family invited McLaughlin to stay with them in California for the transfer.

It was the beginning, all of them hoped, of an important lifelong connection.

McLaughlin stayed with the donors for a week. The couple drove her to the fertility clinic and even helped with her needed hormone shots.

When McLaughlin returned from California, she was glowing. She was pregnant, and she had spent time with a blond, blue-eyed little boy who was her daughters' genetic sibling.

McLaughlin was also excited about a new connection.

The woman who donated the eggs used to create the embryos was now willing to have limited contact with her genetic offspring's families.

SMALL GESTURES

All of the adults involved know there are emotional hurdles ahead. Their children one day will deal with the knowledge that they have connections to at least a dozen full, half, and unrelated siblings, as well as distant genetic parents.

"It's impossible not to ask how these children will feel knowing we gave them away," the embryo donor said. "We had to ask, how would they feel knowing there's siblings we didn't keep?"

Social scientists also aren't sure what may come of this.

While research suggest open adoption is healthy in traditional circumstances, there is no research on how embryo adopted children may far in open arrangements. And some worry that parents are imposing sibling relationships on the children without first giving them a choice.

That concern is shared even by some conservative groups that encourage adopting embryos but condemn technology that made them.

"My concern always in these cases is the adults who are creating all of these confusing relationships, and the way they do it fairly nonchalantly," said Barbara Quigley, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Missouri.

McLaughlin says it's all very simple when you look into the sleeping faces of her twins.

"People are going to look at their photos and agree this is the right thing to do." she said.

All the studies in the world also aren't going to change the embryo donor's convictions about open adoption and donation.

"I think that most people who are researchers have never been adopted," she said. "If they haven't had that experience, they couldn't possibly know what it was like."

So, with tiny baby steps, everyone is moving ahead in this most modern of families, linked genetically and contractually, potentially for a lifetime.

Late last month, a small package arrived on the McLaughlin's doorstep. The package contained two polka-dotted bath towels embroidered with Sarah's and Anna's names.

They were gifts from the twins' original egg donor, whom McLaughlin has yet to meet.

"It felt like a miracle," McLaughlin said. "It felt like everything was coming full circle. These g girls are going to have a connection with all of their different mothers."

CNY Fertility Center-Embryo Donation Program

2010-02-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

HOW EXCITING!

Please CLICK HERE & go to their website as their clinic has NEW EMBRYO DONOR PROFILES available to look at!

The following is quoted from CNY Fertility Centers web page-

"We are happy to announce that we now have new Embryo Donor Profiles available to view. You will need a password to view the details of the male and/or female profiles, although basic information is viewable without the password.

To obtain the password, please call the Syracuse Office at this toll free number 800.539.9870or send an email to Patricia Breh at pbreh@cnyfertility.com"

We hope this helps someone out!

CLICK HERE for clinics that offer embryo donation!

Show us YOUR LIFE-MINISTRY...

2010-02-19T07:45:00.000-08:00

We are participating in SHOW US YOUR LIFE-Ministry at Kelly's Corner.

As we've said before, we BOTH promised one another and the good Lord that if our embryo adoptions "worked". We would advocate for the 400,000 embryos "FROZEN IN TIME" out there and waiting for a womb.

We would LOVE to help anyone with support through your embryo adoption journey whether you are just getting started, have had a loss, are pregnant, or are in the waiting stage.

We have both learned a TON through our journeys and have been able to lift each other up mentally and spiritually.

Please EMAIL US and let us know how we can help you. Whether it is just praying for you or trying to get you contacts for embryo adoption. WE ARE HERE FOR YOU....TO SERVE GOD AND YOU.

We would LOVE to have you experience the JOY we have experience in our 3 precious girls!

Costs & Types of Embryo Adoption/Donation

2010-02-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

WHY WE CHOSE Embryo Adoption....Country Jen style...

Embryo adoption/donation IS NOT IVF. It is simply a frozen embryo transfer.

After much discussion and prayer, we decided that we did not want to create embryos that were not "ALL US" meaning either 1/2 DH+ 1/2 donor or 1/2 Me + 1/2 donor AND we did not want to be in the same predicament and create embryos only to have to decide where our "extra" embryos would go as we only desired ONE pregnancy.

Because of all these factors, we were led straight to embryo adoption.

Focus on the Family and many other Christian organizations support and encourage embryo adoption. It obviously didn't matter to The Captain or I whether it was our biological child or not-we were actually thrilled that this child would be adopted just like our 6 littles! Many couples agonize over what to do with their remaining embryos after IVF. There are 3 choices. Donate them to another couple, destroy them or donate them for research.We started doing research and found that embryo adoption can cost anywhere from $3,000 up to $20,000.

There are basically 4 ways I know of to do embryo adoption. I will list them from most expensive to least expensive.

You can adopt your embryos through an agency like Snowflakes which is the most expensive way but they are experienced and pioneered embryo adoption. You can choose either open or closed adoptions. Home study required. $12,000-$16,000. According to Snowflakes website as of 2-15-10, their program fee is $8,000. Additional costs include your home study fee and frozen embryo transfer fees estimated at $4,000-$8,000 for a total of $12,000-$16,000.

You can go through NEDC (National Embryo Donation Center). You must travel to their clinic in Tennessee twice once before your transfer and once for the transfer and get your home study through Bethany Christian Services. Total Cost $4600-$7,000 with an extra $3,000 if you want an open adoption.

You can go through an infertility clinics anonymous donation program. Fees from $3,000++ No home study required. Click here for clinics that offer embryo adoption.

Miracles Waiting. Which is what we both Jen's did. For $150-you post a profile and perspective donors read through and email you if they are interested. Some donors are also listed and you can contact them. Although we got chosen in just 9 days-many people wait over a year or more. Our cost $3800

I hope this helps to clarify the costs of some of this. It is all in how God leads your family. ALL EMBRYOS ARE LIFE so no matter which way you go, you are saving a life!

Country Jens Embryo Adoption Journey..

2010-02-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

COUNTRY JEN'S Embryo Adoption Journey at a glance....

1990-DD born no complications

2002-Married DH & with my endo we went straight to RE & found zero sperm and adopted our 6 children

March 2009-decide to give TTC one last shot!

April 2009-DH testicular biposy

May 2009-DH azoospermia decide to move to Embryo Adoption

May 2009-discouraged & decided NOT to go with NEDC-can't get in til Feb 2010

May 2009-LMP start continuous BCP's

June 6, 2009-Signed up with Miracles Waiting

June 15, 2009-MATHCED! In just 9 days! With our 6 embies through MW GOD IS GOOD!

June 16, 2009-Phone consult with new RE

June 20, 2009-Donors consult with our RE

June 24, 2009-Saline ultarsound-GREAT UTERUS but 2 cysts on left ovary

July 7, 2009-started bi-weekly acupunctureJuly 16, 2009-LAST BCP!!!

July 17, 2009-Meds deliveredJuly 21, 2009-First U/S, blood work and delestrogen shot

July 28, 2009-2nd U/S looks perfect-9mm lining and trilamenar. POSSIBLE hydrosalpinx found. If hydrosalpinx-pregnancy decreases by 50%.

July 29, 2009-Up to .3 delestrogen injection.

August 4, 2009-U/S-hydrosalpinx increased in size

August 6, 2009-FET cycle cancelled until after surgery to remove left fallopian tube

August 10, 2009-surgery to remove "jacked up" fallopian tube.

September 6, 2009-AF ARRIVES!September 24-baseline u/s lab

September 25-last BCP

September 29 & October 2-.2 delestrogen

October 5-u/s lab 8mm lining estrogen 392

October 6 & 9- .25 delestrogenOctober 12-u/s lab 9.2mm lining progesterone 0.2

October 16-repeat u/s 12mm lining progesterone 0.4

Oct0ber 13 & 16-delestrogen

October 17- add 1 cc progesterone injection, docycycline, medrol, baby aspirin

October 18-2cc progesterone for the duration

OCTOBER 22, 2009-FET of 1 5AAA hatching blast and 1 4AAA expanded blast.

OCTOBER 27, 2009-first beta 14! I'm PREGNANT! EDD- July 10, 2010

November 2nd-2nd BETA 196!

November 4th-3rd BETA 331!

November 6th-4th BETA 920!!

November 16th-1st ultrasound-1 PERFECT HEART BEAT Seen & HEARD!

Total Cost $3,800

To check out my embryo adoption journey in more detail CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY PERSONAL BLOG!

Please feel free to email us with ANY QUESTIONS about embryo adoption! Our goal is to help anyone we can!

How Our Friendship Began...

2010-02-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

It all began with Country Jen's profound comment, "Wow-fun times!" left on my blog, JensAdoptionBlessings@Blogspot.com the fateful morning of April 27, 2009.

A few comments on my blog later, on May 13, 2009, I emailed Country Jen:

Hi,

Thanks so much for all of your comments. I would love to hear your story. Do you really have 7 blessings? I just LOVE your email address!!! My husband keeps trying to tell me his quiver is full, but he has been saying that as we added the last 3 lights of his life, so I do not put much faith in his comments-lol!!! I did ask God to make this a bit easier on me by softening his heart. That request did seem to work- Friends do tell me that there is a time when your hearts are full, so I am trusting that I will reach that point, probably after I deliver a baby or two.

Hope to hear from you soon!!!

Jen

After reading Country Jen's blog, I was so impressed that she had adopted six children- each whom was exposed to drugs before birth. I knew she was someone very special that I would like to get to know better.

Before long, we were emailing each other and talking on the phone all of the time. WE TALK EVERY DAY NOW & we both panic if we can't reach each other.

In fact, she was one of the first three people I called after finding out our Embryo Adoption Transfer was successful with BOTH embryos implanting and growing!!!

We both PROMISED and Vowed to one another and to God, that if our babies implanted, we would become the voice for the 400,000+ frozen embryos still waiting for a womb to call their own. Our dream is to advocate, tell our story and the world of the miracle of embryo adoption!

And the rest is history!!!!