Picking Ms. Right!

Wow. It's kinda like internet dating. The funny thing is that we always picture having a baby girl, because we're spending so much time looking at these potentail donors as baby girls!

Do you pick smart? Ambition? Caring? Kind? What results from nature and what does nurture develop? If they're beautiful children, will they be beautiful adults? What if they can't string a sentence together in their profile?

Mock Cycle

Before we could be matched with a donor, I had to go through a "mock cycle". I called on day 1 of my cycle, then started with estradot patches on my lower abdomen every 2nd day, upping the number each time until I hit 4 patches. On May 3 I had a blood test to check my hormone levels, and then on May 10th another blood test with an internal ultrasound to make sure my lining was thick enough to support a pregnancy. I had a small cyst on my ovary, which the doc said to get checked in a month or two, but she said the lining was great. Good news, though I've always had good linings in all my previous cycles, whether it be drug-induced or plain ol' cycle monitorings.




As I tapered my patches, I started taking 7 days of progestin, and a few days after that was over, I called in with my day 1. Our Donor Coordinator told me I'd likely have a heavier period than normal, but it was actually shorter and lighter than normal. At this point, all the test results are in, and we were able to put our money down to hold a donor.





HOW DO YOU PICK THE GENETIC MATERIAL OF YOUR FUTURE CHILD????????????

FSH? Huh?

So, I took biology in high school, and had a vauge recollection of LH and FSH and the graphs we saw showing a surge and then how little egg travels out of the ovary and down the little tube and into the uterus...

What I didn't know, perhaps beyond the scope of Biology 11, is that as you (gasp!) age, your FSH levels increase, trying to give your ovaries some extra gas to mature and push those eggs out - or something like that! One doctor likened it to a car, you push the gas pedal down to give the car more gas, and it speeds up the car... but, as you get older, your FSH tries really hard to get the ovulation going, the pedal keeps going down, to the metal even, but due to diminished quantity, or quality, or both, not much happens... the car keeps trying to go though, which is why the FSH on day 3 is so elevated - it's TRYING SO HARD... alas, to no avail.

After the wedding, I had an appointment with my OB/GYN to talk about the miscarriage, etc.  She had very sad eyes when she told me my number. 
21.

That is a REALLY BAD NUMBER!

Normal is less than 10. Borderline where many clinics will try: 15. Me: 21.

She told me my chances with that number of a successful pregnancy was 1-2% but that if I wanted, she would refer me to an RE to discuss it from that perspective.  So, we discussed it, and decided that it couldn't hurt to know our options, and booked the appointment for September.  In the meantime, she suggested an Acupuncture clinic that specialises in fertility, so I booked an appointment there as well. 

Here we go...a little background

So, as we get going, I'll give a little context or history to set the stage...

My husband and I want a baby. Simple desire really, one would think. We did what seems to be somewhat common in our generation. We went to school... then we went back for more... graduated with masters degrees in our areas of interest. We started our careers, met one fateful day in our 30s, and married 3 years ago. So started the baby journey...

About 3 weeks before our wedding we discovered I was pregnant! HOLY S^&&%T! Exiciting and scary and all of the emotions I'm sure everyone feels when they discover that what they thought would take a year or so actually happened a whole lot faster! Plans for fake champagne at the wedding started (not for the guests, that would have just been mean!)

A week before the big event, looking for gifts for the women who were standing for me, I felt a big rush, and knew that was not a good sign. I left the store, picked up my fiance, and off to the hospital we went. After 8 hours in the waiting room, they confirmed what we knew; I had lost the baby at 7 weeks. Devestating, yes. Emotionally bruised we picked ourselves up off the floor and forged ahead to our wedding the next week.

The journey continues...