How to ride an exercise bike and blog at the same time....

First get a recumbent exercise bike. Then adjust the seat to a comfortable position. Then have your husband measure how tall a table you would need to go over the bike and pedal without being obstructed. Then have him build said table for you! I will try to attach a picture! The cost is less than $20. It is not pretty but it gets the job done!

Food glorious food!

I am so happy that I have a planned start date for my donor cycle. I have really been depressed and in a funk since we lost the pregnancy in February. As a result, via my normal way of dysfunctional coping, I have gained some weight.

Today as I write this, I am busy riding the exercise bicycle. I am back on the wagon..err at least the bike anyway. Fortunately I have never had a problem with drugs or alcohol, but I have definitely been known to abuse myself with a spoon and fork, if I am in the car, I do not even need to have those, I can eat chips right out of the bag.

So with my new found glee, I am going to put put my energies to good use.

Wish me luck and say prayers for me, I am going to need all the help I can get.

Out with the old.....

Here is great news, we very quickly found a new donor! The best news is she will be ready in 6 weeks...hooray!

She has cycled once previously: 30 eggs, 21 fertilized, 2 transferred, singleton pregnancy, 10 embryos were frozen.

She had such a great cycle that she has earned the coveted shared cycle title.
We have to make her available for 6 weeks, in case another couple would like to share, but if nobody claims her in 6 weeks, she is all ours. She is our new hero!



Woot...in 6 weeks we start Lupron!

sometimes you bite the bullet.....and sometimes

Well after much fretting over $$$, my husband and I decided to bite the bullet. pay the extra money, and move forward with a donation as a sole recipient and not a shared cycle.

Aside from some logistics to schedule timing with the donor, everything seemed to moving ahead according to plan. Then...the donor revealed to the coordinator that she had had a piercing 3 months ago. I personally do not care what she has pierced, but the FDA sure does. In fact she can not donate again for a year after she has the piercing. This restriction also applies to a tattoo.

Sigh, so now we are back to square 1.

Looking for a donor.

Someone is that 20%

I am a member of an online support group for mothers via egg donation. There is a lot of love and support found here, but sometimes things just hit me the wrong way. The leader of the group after years of infertility was one of the lucky ones and eight years ago had a son. There are those of us who have not yet been so lucky and are just trying to make it the best way we can. Those who have made it are full of advice for the rest of us, they tell us where to go, and what questions to ask, and who to talk to and what to read. I argue that at the end of the day, none of that really matters:

Even though clinics have great rates, all that matters in the end is your personal experience. At any clinic, even the best ones, people go home with no baby. If you are one of those unlucky people who goes home with no baby, 20% unsuccessful in the stats is 100% unsuccessful to you personally. On the other hand, if you spend $5K in Kenya and go home with a baby, it is 100% successful to you personally.

It is a gamble with very high stakes, some of us are winners the first time we "pull the handle" and some of us continue to feed every spare dollar and even those we do not have for a "chance" to make our dreams come true.

We can try to "learn the tables", and "count the cards", but in the end...how much control do any of us actually have? For those of you who have "hit the jackpot" congratulation are in order, but please do not judge the rest of us on how we decide to "play our hand"

The truth is, no matter what we do, and no matter which clinic we go to...someone is that 20%. We just all pray it is not us.

Theresa

13

Can you believe it, my baby Katie will be 13 this weekend?
No longer a child, not yet a woman.
She still climbs up in my lap for hugs and asks me to tell her stories.
She loves shoes and handbags of which she told her 8 year old cousin, you can never have enough.
She is still my little drama queen, but she has taken her talents to the stage as well.

I am so proud of her and I love her very much!

Names

While we are not so patiently waiting for a second donor, it is "fun" to re-address the topic of names. Although my co-workers have made fun of Juniper, I am sorry to let them know that it has not been entirely ruled out. We think it is kinda pretty. My husband does not like Junipero for a boy so yo can relax there.

Here are some other potential girl names

Lily

Elizabeth

Isabella

Chloe

Zoe

Julia

Anna

Grace

Juniper

unfortunately the boys are not fairing so well:

Nicholas

Zachary

Of course if you want to make a donation to:

The Nameless yet-to-be Conceived (because we do not yet have a second recipient) Child Relief Fund, we may consider naming our child after you,

That is unless you have a stupid name or a name similar to someone we hate. George's need not apply. And no we are not naming the baby girl or boy AnnBetsyRose (this is an example of a stupid name)

All suggestions will be considered or made fun of as the case may be,

Thanks for your support!

Theresa