Surviving the Ice Age

IVF has been one of those things in life where nobody likes to talk about the super difficult parts. Every appointment prior to starting injections was so hyper focused on the science behind it all, the hopes for our timeline, and the financial aspect. Here is how I would have loved the appointment to go:

Me: ”hi, I would like to pursue IVF to have a baby.”

Doctor: ”okay awesome, be prepared for the acne of a pubescent child, weight gain but only in the very lower front of your abdomen, crying lots of crying, weeks of healing after egg retrieval, oh and sex? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA try two baseballs in your pelvic area during sex.”

Me:

Doctor:

Me: “k.”

Now, would knowing ahead of time make me change my mind? No, absolutely not. But not knowing at all what to expect during this process was brutal. It was more than just a learning experience, but it was a bonding experience for Chuck and me. If you are going through infertility, make sure you allow it to bring you and your significant other closer together. Do not look at this as a job, as hard as that may be, look at it as a new way to see one another. I have always looked at my husband in admiration. I have always been in awe of who he is, but seeing him the care of me, take care of the meds, the money, putting the future of our child in his hands, that has shown me an entire different side of my husband that I could never describe adequately to you.

After enduring all that the first part of IVF has to offer, we got a break from needles and alcohol wipes for a while so my body can heal. Upon egg retrieval, we were blessed to have an ample amount of eggs retrieved. After deciding to have 20 of them inseminated, we ended up with 9 that were fully matured and up to standard. Nine of our embabies are now chillin (pun intended) in a freezer waiting for mama. Once my body is healthy enough, we will be thawing one out and proceeding with pregnancy. It is pretty neat ot think that all of our children were conceived on the same day but will be born years apart.

Healing so far has not been the easiest thing. My egg retrieval was May 30 and I am just starting to feel better. I am still a bit bloated and have a slight pain in one of my ovaries. On top of the pain and healing from IVF medications, I am catching a cold. I think my body has finally been able to stop and now everything from the past few weeks is hitting me. The exhaustion that comes with IVF is so much more than I expected it to be. It is so important to remember to take care of yourself during this, I feel like I possibly could have done better, but you live and you learn.

Stay tuned for some different blog post in the next couple of weeks. Due to the little pause in treatments, there is not much to update in regards to Baby D, but I have a few things written down that I think you will all enjoy.

Thank you all so much for the support and the constant love and prayers.

Keep praying Team D

xoxo, ALD

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Baby D IVF ttd: $11,500.38

Consultation: $124

Nurses Class & Procedure - $7,965

Medications - $1,644.38

Saline Ultrasound - $470

Medications pharm. 2 - $450

Monitor Visits - $750

OHSS Ultrasound - $97