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The Merchant of Venice

I cannot help but consider Shakespeare’s play as I review my thoughts about meeting with the urologist yesterday. He explained how he would extract the “pound of flesh” from me while under a local anesthetic. Further, like Bassanio, my doctor will have to select the correct box in order to win the prize. Fortunately, my doctor is not limited by choosing only one vessel.
 

Needlepoint

Last night, Kristina started her Lupron shots. She was rather sneaky about it, quieting disappearing after dinner to self-administer the shot. No screaming and resounding thud from fainting to the floor. Although I didn’t witness it, I’m sure she handled poking herself with a needle better than I would have.

Disclaimer

So a very dear friend cautioned me in regards to posting about IVF... Her concern was humbling, but I told her Dj and I had talked about it and decided the more people praying for us the better.  However, in that regard, I felt it necessary at this juncture to highlight one tiny important tidbit that may have been lost among the excitement of the ensuing journey:  this procedure is not a guarantee.  In fact, the success rate for IVF is about 50-60%, with a 15-50% miscarriage rate.  Of course, age, health, and environmental factors all play a part in these percentages, as well as fate and a little bit of luck :-) 

Our goals are to keep my stress levels low, and keep me healthy.  We both really appreciate your excitement but want to make sure you are all aware this is not a guarantee for success.

All that said, my current status is I'm usually always tired.  Add to that fact I'm trying to wean off caffeine and you get one tired girl who could probably sleep through the entire week.  I start Lupron shots on Wednesday and have my suppression check on the 5th.  So, we're trucking along having fun with this scary mess!

Love to all.

Adjusting The Sails

The purpose of this blog seems to change as more time passes. At first it was technical and details of the medical procedure. However, it has become a lot more about the emotional stress of life while going through the IVF process.
 

Not Exactly Serendipity

There has been a significant event that has potentially threatened our IVF process. For reasons of confidentiality, I cannot explain the problem here. But what I will say is that this is stressful and heart-breaking. At times when hurdles keep springing up before us, one cannot help but wonder in superstition. Is the universe trying to tell us something?
 

An Inconvenient Truth (Not for the Faint of Heart)

Not to be all 'gore-y' but I have now had 2 periods in the last 11 days.  And I'm grouchy a lot.   This. Sucks.

That is all.

Drowning in Dishwater

Stress comes from unmet expectations, I frequently say. I did not expect the vasectomy-reversal to fail. That has been stressful. I did not expect the IVF to be such a complex process. That has been stressful too. However, I really didn’t expect to have to buy a new dishwasher. (It’s peculiar how little inconveniences can create so much stress atop the other).

Dear Future Child

You do not yet exist, but already you are loved. Your mother and I are working hard, making sacrifices and literally giving of our own flesh to ensure your own survival. I know this will be more than you can understand for years to come, but I want you to know how important you are to us already.
 

Day Six: The Classroom

Today was an overwhelming day. On the schedule was the two-hour class on IVF from the Bennett Fertility Institute. Prior to that, Kristina had to have an ultrasound to measure the size of her uterus, and the doctor counted the number of potential eggs to be harvested. Eighteen, which is a bit above average; so we are optimistic on that count.
 

Easy Weekend – Busy Week

I implied in my last post that things would get busier on Day Three. Well, we swallowed a few pills (anti-biotics and hormones) but nothing that was too trying.

Day "Step" Two

So, today was less busy. I went to work. Kristina went to an interview for work. But we had no direct medical appointments or duties today. Tomorrow? Well, it gets busy. But before we get into that, I thought I would take advantage of this lull to give a little further explanation of the process, i.e., what all those acronyms I used yesterday really mean.

Step One

Kristina and I decided before we got married that we would have a child together. It’s probably an important discussion to have prior to one’s nuptials. However, there were some hurdles to overcome, and because of those obstacles we kept this decision secret from nearly everyone.