Thursday, May 6, 2010

Ready, Set, Go!

Went to the fertility clinic today and we officially have all of our paperwork in order and approved for our IVF dossier (photos, ID, marriage certificate, consent forms, social security approval, etc.) - yippee! Sometimes there is so much red tape in France, however this was all fairly straightforward, thank goodness.

Here's the plan in a nutshell. On the 26 May 2010 I will start treatment with shots everyday for 28 days. If everything goes according to plan, around the 25 June, they will go in and retrieve my eggs (hopefully I'll have a lot of healthy ones). Then they will put the egg and sperm in a petri dish, hoping they will unite and make a strong and healthy embryo. This process takes around 3 days. They will then insert the embryo into me. If, and that's a big if, it all works out, I could be pregnant by July! I'm so excited. They say that the success rate is only about 20%, but they say that's about the same for fertile couples who are trying to conceive naturally. I know I've explained this in a very simple manner and complications can arise at any stage of this process, however I just want to stay positive for now and if complications arise, we'll deal with it at that time.

Now for the big decision - how many embryos to put into me for the first cycle? I certainly don't want to be like the Octomom! Actually, in France, the maximum number of embryos they can legally insert is 3. The biologist strongly suggested that we try 2 for the first time. The cat man (my hubby) is nervous about the possibility of having twins, so he prefers only 1 embryo, but I'm leaning towards 2, so that we have a better chance. Something for us to discuss and decide. Of course all of this is also depending on how many embryos we have. I hope my eggs and my hubby's sperm take a liking to each other and make a whole bunch of beautiful embryos, the more the merrier.

I'm so happy that this is all finally moving forward and with the help of science and the grace of God, I hope that this story can end with happily ever after.