MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas.  

The next update will be on the 26th when the results of the scan of our lovely egg donor come in (must come up with a better name than that).
Oh...and we leave for India in two short weeks - everything is in place - both of our Visas, flight, hotel, appointments with our clinic - check, check, and check.

The Spellings

Oh my lord - could the days go by any slower?  I truly don't think it's possible :-)

My VISA for India arrived today - so while a small milestone, it's still better than nothing.  Darren is still waiting for his as there was was some sort of mishap.  I can only imagine the (frustrating) hilarity that will ensue when we eventually have to go for "baby pickup".  I can picture D and I trying to navigating our way throughout the streets of Delhi with our newborn attempting to get passports and DNA tests, etc... Oh dear.  Again - it will all be more than worth it.  I can't even begin to express how excited I am to start a family with D.

After 14 Christmases of it being just the two of us...if we're blessed with a baby on our first attempt, we'll get to start a whole set of new traditions next year.  Wow!  I am trying so hard to not make any purchases for the yet to be conceived baby - but it's so difficult.  Let's see how much longer I can last.  And I will just have to pick up a trinket or two in Delhi to pass along as a keepsake ;-)

We have started the conversation, perhaps also a bit premature, of whether or not we should move.  We can certainly stay put for quite some time, even after the baby arrives, but I have to admit our house is not at all child friendly.  Lets begin with Exhibit A - our staircase (which is all decked out with bling for the Holidays)

There was a time that I thought this was our forever house...but with the help of SCI and a bit of luck - we'll likely need a house with a few less hazards and a bit more space...and I have always wanted a gift wrapping center just like Candy Spelling (yes, Tori's mom)... LOL.

3 weeks today and we'll be en route to Delhi, India.

Down Regulation

We received a confirmation e-mail that our egg donor has started the down regulation (‘switching off’ the woman’s natural cycle of egg production in the ovaries)

Up next:

• 24th December blood test and scan

• 26th December we'll receive a status on the development of the follicles
  

That's all for today - just wanted to share :-)

Thanks

On Sunday - a woman who lives half way around the world is going to start the "ovulation cycle" of the IVF process which will help in producing multiple viable eggs.  I can't believe that one of these eggs will one day be our baby. OMG!!!  I just got goosebumps typing that.  OMG!!!

Ever since D and I selected her as our egg donor, I have opened up her profile every day and without fail her pretty and happy face makes me smile.  While we'll never know her name and never get to meet her, she is going to play one of the biggest and most important roles in our lives and we are eternally grateful for the gift she is giving us.

Exciting times ahead folks :-)

Next stop...India

This time next month we'll be arriving in Delhi, India.  Not something we were planning on at all - but under the recommendation of our Dr., we've been advised that a fresh sample would be better than shipping the frozen goods.  All things considered we'll have a greater likelihood of success if we can be there in person. We're going through all of this to start a family after all, so we may as well do what's right.

In the end, I know there are going to be advantages to going to Delhi in person aside from the medical reasons.  We'll get to familiarize ourselves with Delhi, get to meet the Dr. and everyone else at the clinic, and get to squeeze in a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal (which is something we won't be able to do on our next trip to pick up the baby).  This will certainly take the stress out of our second and more important trip :-) 

Fortunately, Darren and I work for an amazing company that is accommodating our last minute need to travel.  We both have 6 weeks vacation per year and are carrying over 2 weeks, so vacation time is not going to be a concern.
So - the plane tickets have been purchased, the hotel has been booked, and everything is quickly coming together. Just need to get our VISAs and we'll be all set.

Leather chair - how fancy!

We made our first visit to the fertility clinic today.  First of all, I can't believe how huge it is - I expected a typical doctor's office size operation - but this was more like a hospital - the place is massive (and they're apparently building another wing).

There are so many stories I could share about the experience today - but in the interest of keeping this PG, I'll just say that mission accomplished.  That said, I'm so glad that I brought my own "material" with me - who wants to look at a magazine that a ton of other guys have held while doing you-know-what...ugh!?!  I can barely bring myself to look through the latest issue of Elle Decor at the Spa during flu season.

If you're curious...this is what the room looks like (I couldn't resist taking a pic):

Hannah and the sperm

I was watching Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters last night, which I had never seen, and there's a scene early on where Woody Allen's character finds out he's infertile...of course being the neurotic person that I am, I instantly thought "Hope this isn't a sign".  Side note - I had no idea Barbara Hershey, aka Hilary Whitney from Beaches, was in Hannah - I hardly recognized her without the collagen lips!

Bright and early Monday morning Darren and I are off to the fertility clinic to make a "deposit" to find out just how fertile we are.

In preparation for the test I've been sticking to a fairly restrictive (and boring) diet for the past two months - chicken and salad, virtually alcohol free, increased exercise, vitamins... and doing everything in my power to not get sick (worried that a high fever would not bode well for the little swimmers).
The last few nights I've been tossing and turning in anticipation of what the results will be...It's not entirely beyond the laws of the universe that both D and I are both infertile.  Of course there's no sense in over analyzing it...I've done what I could and now the rest is up to luck...or I suppose genes.

Monday is the test and Tuesday we're supposed to find out the results.  So every possible combination or finger and toes will be crossed for positive news.  If all goes well, there will be 3 more trips to the fertility clinic to make 3 more "deposits" to send to Delhi (the cost in shipping is exorbitant - more then the cost of one of us actually flying to India - so better safe than sorry and send as much as we can upfront).