First of all, if you haven’t heard yet, the ladies over at Puffer and the Baby Fish have a lot to celebrate! They just got legally married in CA and got a BFP!!! Congratulations to both of them. L and I could not be happier for them!
This morning we had a bright and early appt with the RE. Last week we were told to increase L’s gon.l-f dosage and I was afraid that we were going to have too many follicles (the RE said 3 would be the absolute limit before we cancelled this cycle). As it turns out, L has one dominant follicle (11.5), which is great! The RE told us to have the sperm delivered by Wednesday cuz we are doing an insem this week. L and I were both relieved and excited.
So this afternoon L called the bank to order and found out that our guy only has three (3!) vials left!!! We talked briefly a few weeks ago about whether we should switch it up, but after looking through the catalogue decided there was no one we liked as much, so decided to stick with him. L called me in a panic about what to do. We could order 2 vials and if L didn’t get pregnant we could switch next cycle when we had a little more time to pick someone. BUT, if we did that and she got pregnant there would be almost zero possibility that we could use the same donor for subsequent children, which we want to do. Argh!
In what was left of L’s lunch hour before she had to rush back to court, we both looked through the catalogue again. There were not too many people to choose from because of our requirements. We narrowed our possibilities to two donors. The one we liked more also had limited supply so I felt like maybe we shouldn’t go down that road again. But the other guy had some major issues, most importantly that he has straight hair. (A not-so-secret about L is that she is a curly girl and is wicked proud of it.) When deciding on the most important features in donors, long ago, they were my ethnicity and L’s curls. So, the thought of using the donor with straight hair was very upsetting. I know L would love a straight haired baby (she even said so in this conversation) it just made me sad to lose the trait that was most important to her. Well, L called the bank again was told that they have 18 vials of the wavy-haired gent, so we went for it. If she gets pregnant this time we will beg, borrow and steal to buy as many of the remaining vials as possible. If she doesn’t we will have some more time to think over a different donor.
Phew, I feel exhausted from the early morning appointment and then the mad-donor-dash. To make a painfully obvious statement, this process is so f*ing hard. One never knows what kind of drama each day may bring. It is amazing that you can go from pure excitement and hope over a dominant follicle to panic and uncertainty about not having a donor, all in a matter of hours. It reminds me of that tag line from the wide world of sports show that my brothers watched when I was little, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
Here’s to a lot of thrill from here on…
11 responses so far ↓
Olive // August 25, 2008 at 5:28 pm |
That kind of stress is totally exhausting! I hope you have to have a mad scramble to buy up this donor after you get your BFP this cycle. Yay for the dominant follicle.
I think it’s great that your hold-out criteria is curly hair
boombababy // August 25, 2008 at 6:06 pm |
don’t i know it! it’s so true, one day you are just crusin along and then the next your open donor is suddenly anonymous and sold out.
but WOOHOOO for a nice dominant follie!!!!
mulberry // August 25, 2008 at 10:08 pm |
here’s to the thrills! and i hope less agony.
they are crazy, the jigs and jags of sperm lack (never cared so much about dwindling supply of any item ever). it is so personal and insanely weird, the search for those little bits in a donor that we feel can represent us… and when we find one, we get so attached…. we found ONE donor that we felt *fit* dakota… one… if we run out, it is hard to imagine where we would begin, but of course, if that happens, we will just do as you did and start over.
routing for that dominant follicle!
Lizzie // August 26, 2008 at 9:41 am |
the same thing happened to us (donor retired, only a few vials, is it worth the risk) and we also learned that we were VERY attached to him when the thought of him being taken away happened. ugh. later, he had another ‘release’ so we bought a bunch on the credit card (not our plan) and stored it. sometimes i think we’ve lost our minds. anyway, i love that you guys want curly hair. xo
Lo // August 26, 2008 at 11:12 am |
Here’s hoping Curly Guy is the one!
Malea // August 26, 2008 at 1:35 pm |
Which bank are you using if you don’t mind me asking.And has your donor already produced children. This was something that was brought up on anothers blog that I and others hadn’t thought of when considering a donor.Actually on couple said they have been trying so long they wished someone had brought it to their attention to switch to a proven one.
yup, another sara // August 26, 2008 at 1:55 pm |
I can so relate– this stuff is tough and the ups and downs are so hard to navigate. We had to switch donors this month because our guy was temporarily sold out. I hope this switch is a good one for you!
mrsbluemont // August 26, 2008 at 3:28 pm |
You handle the drama so gracefully darling. I’m thrilled for your go this time around and am very hopeful for you both.
FWIW, both my parents have straight hair and I have mega curls. Sometimes those genes pop up even when you don’t expect it.
Lots of love. ox
j. k-c. // August 26, 2008 at 4:30 pm |
So glad it all worked out. I agree with Mrs. Bluemont…you NEVER KNOW what the kid will look like because there are always hidden genes.
As we went along in this process, our criteria for donor became a much shorter list….can he get me pregnant? And is he generally healthy?
dakota // August 27, 2008 at 6:52 pm |
Yes, so true. From lovely follicles to donor dashing–twenty-four little hours
stretch to megapack so many details, decisions, derailments, and emotions for all matters concerning ttc. Good for you for getting through. I think of this type of exhaustion as prelude to parenting.
Thanks so much for your supportive words on my blog. I have been trying to read up on yours and L’s story. I’m hoping mulberry and my vacation days next week gets me all caught up. For now I’d just like to say it is so very very nice to meet you both.
Travelher // October 12, 2008 at 1:23 pm |
We just made the mad dash to pick another donor, so re-reading this post, I completely understand.
We had 4 hours to make a decision and get the order in on time.
I’m so happy this guy worked for you–can’t wait to see both of you again!