Surrogacy Survival Kit

     Any of my friends know I over plan just about everything. This Surrogacy has been no different. I have joined a LOT of Surrogacy support groups on facebook, and through those I have met some amazing girls who have given me so much information that I never would have been able to find with a google search. So when I started getting all of this amazing information I knew I was going to have to make myself my very own little Surrogacy Survival Kit to make all of the shots and Medication as easy as possible.

     I posted a little bit about my surrogacy survival kit on a earlier post but I have and will be adding so much to it that I figured it deserved its own post! Because of that here is a pretty long list of my Surrogacy Survival Kit!
     My most over planner item I bought was my day planner. This is so I can keep track of all the appointments and know what medicines I need to take when and how much of each medicine to take!

     One of the first things I bought were hot and cold packs. I bought two of the TheraPearl Sports packs. I have one to keep in the freezer to ice before shots. The second pack to warm up in the microwave to heat the injection site so the medicine can distribute and not form a lump. These seem to be without any objections one of the most import things to get you through cycling. Even more so if you are like me and will have to be giving yourself the shots. (Yes Juan is a wimp and wont give me my shots)

     To go along with not wanting lumps from medication I have been told that massaging your injection site is VERY important and unless you and the husband want very sore hands to pick up some Tennis Balls. How do you massage with tennis balls you are probably wondering? Easy you put the ball between the injection site and the wall and move around like Baloo from Jungle book with a tree! I know that doing this is going to give my girls a few laughs, but hopefully will also keep me from some of the painful medicine bumps that can come along with the injections. 

     Bandaids I have two kinds of band aids. I have the sensable small round ones that are perfect for little injection site punctures. They are even for sensitive skin so they will probably wont leave as much of that gross sticky leftover band aid goo. Then I also have fun polka dotted and plaid band aids for those days when I need a little bit of color to brighten up having to do "yet another shot". I am hoping I don't have too many of the yet another shot days but with months of medication and injections you know there are bound to be a few.  

     To help get any left over band aid goo or goo left from any medication patches I may or may not have to take I have learned the baby oil trick a little bit of baby oil on a cotton ball (another thing in my kit) gets the band aid goo off with so much less work. I think anything that involves less scrubbing is more than worth it to me! I am looking into other oils though I do know that baby oil is not the best choice with being from a non renewable source so I will update this when I find the better oil. But I think I may have read something about sesame oil so I will be doing more research on that and on other oils.

     Next on my list is Prenatal pills. I have had such a hard time finding a prenatal  pill that works for me. I am trying yet another new brand after my current ones run out on Thursday so I will have yet another pill to add to The Prenatal Problem Post, So keep an eye out for that update! There are some very important things that I have picked when choosing a Prenatal pill. Folic Acid is a must, so are DHA and DEA, and even more so for me is Iron. I would also like to keep all of that to one pill if possible because as you can see above (and below) I am taking a good amount of pills already so the more I can cut it down the better. The picture to the right is the next brand I am trying. I also have a 30 day supply of  Premama Prenatal Vitamin Drink Mix on its way that I am excited to get to try out!

     I have it in the paperwork from the clinic that even know the only pain reliever I should be taking is Tylenol. So I have added Tylenol into my Surrogacy Survival kit and into my purse so that way if I get a headache or any other sort of ache I have a pain reliever that I can take! Plus it will be nice to already have on hand when I am pregnant and start getting those pregnancy aches and pains!

     As you can see above I clearly needed a pill box. All of my pills have to be taken after a meal so I have to be able to take them with me for those mornings I don't have a "big enough" breakfast. Trying to carry around all of those bottles would be insane. I know that I have a big purse but my purse is not that big... So I went to the store and grabbed one they are actually really cheap if you are doing a surrogacy, go to the store now and get a pill box you will thank me later.
     My lucky green Transfer socks! Of course superstition is not actually going to scientifically help but I like the idea of having lucky socks! Plus if they put me in a better more positive state of mind that is a win win right?

    One thing that the RE does is two full days of bed rest after the embryo transfer. I am literally only allowed to get up to pee and shower. so I knew that entertainment would be a very important thing to get me through those two days. My amazing husband bought me a Kindle paperwhite as a early mother's day present so I will have access to lots of books to read (I may already have 85 books loaded onto the kindle...). I also must say I was not 100% sure one getting a Ereader because I just love paper books but I could not be more happy with my Kindle, and yes I actually did get the hot pink polka dot case. I love it!

     One thing I love is a good chick flick so I figured in honor of the the surrogacy and as well wishing that those little Embies will stick I have gotten just about every pregnancy movie I could find Baby Mama (of course), Juno, What to expect when you're Expecting, Knocked up, For keeps, Shes having a baby, Nine months, Waitress, Where the heart is, The back up plan, Father of the bride part two, labor pains, and actually many many more. I may have gone a little overboard but having a good movie collection is never a bad thing right?
     For after the transfer I have a lot of pregnancy tests. How many is a lot? Well I have 50... Yes 50 that is not a typo. I bought a pack of Wondfo Pregnancy Tests. Yes pregnancy tests come in a pack of 50... I figured I am going to want to test like every time I pee so I might as well get the huge pack of tests even if I also have to buy little plastic cups too, and at Under $20 how could I resist? I have also heard good things about this brand from other surrogates so I knew that I was buying a quality product!
     Now for the genius idea on how I organize all of this crazy stuff (minus the kindle and movies of course), that will still give me room for the rest of my medication and shots. An over the door shoe organizer. I can not take credit for this amazing idea. A fellow surrogate told me that it is what she uses and how amazing it is. So I bought one and have been sticking all of my lovely items in there as I get them. It is very nice to have everything organized and in one place!

    If you are a Surrogate (or not) is there anything you would add to my Surrogacy Survival Kit?
    For you Non Surrogates what item do you use for a completely different reason then it was intended for? (Like my Tennis Balls or over the door shoe organizer for surrogacy)