FYI IVF

Before we started using infertility drugs, our doctor discussed with us, the possibility of multiples and told us that for the health of the babies and me, we should consider selective reduction if I were to become pregnant with more than two babies.

We could not afford IVF, it is not mandated that insurance cover fertility treatment in our state, so we were told one IVF cycle would cost between $25,000 and $40,000 (we saw a few doctors).

I know some of my readers don't know as much as me about IVF, so I thought I'd share.

just a thought

Before you are allowed to adopt, you have to go through an extensive Home Study, why not have something similar for people who want to have multiple embryos implanted.

2.27.09 - updated
For instance, we had to show that we had one bedroom to provide in order to qualify to adopt one child.

people keep asking

By now, everyone knows about Nadya Suleman and her crew. People keep asking me if we'd like to adopt one of her babies. I don't think they are available for adoption, and after all the press, I don't think we'd really want one of her babies because of the insanity of it all. We wouldn't want any part of that part.

I just keep thinking "those poor, poor babies, they have no idea what's going on." I hope they are safe and loved.

I do not understand Nadya and I doubt very much we would ever end up adopting one of her babies.

nothing much to report

Every "adoptive parents wanted" listing we get from our attorney is way out of our league (financially). Very frustrating. The waiting is terrible and the economy isn't helping. Very frustrating. I can't help but wonder if we picked the worst possible time to pursue adoption.

But as they say, there is no "right time" to get pregnant, so I'd say it's safe to assume there is no "right time" adopt.

A long, long, LONG time ago, a friend told me if you wait until you think you can afford children, you will never have children.

More recently, and after years of my infertility struggles, another friend told me she didn't want to give birth during hunting season because she knew she wouldn't get the much needed support of her hunter husband. I urged her not to plan her pregnancy around hunting season.

After nine years of battling infertility, I urge ALL my friends not to wait or try to plan their pregnancies for the "perfect" time. (Fertility peaks at age 27 for women, so it's only going to get more difficult to conceive after that whether you have infertility issues or not.)

And now I'm trying to remind myself of this too. If we are lucky enough to adopt soon, everything will work it's self out, even if the economy is not in our favor.

second "trimester" reflections

waiting


waiting


waiting


ugh

how much longer ? are we there yet?

Where is my baby?

I guess it's kind of like trying to find your soul mate. They are both out there some where. I can't help wondering if our baby is in PARIS!*



*For those who don't know, I met my English husband in Paris.

the DailyOM

February 5, 2009

As blessed as you want to be
The Power of Staying Positive

Our thoughts are not simply ethereal pieces of information that enter our minds and then disappear. The words and ideas that we think can shape our lives and drive us toward success and happiness or failure and distress. How you think and feel can have a profound effect on your ability to recognize opportunity, how well you perform, and the outcome of the goals that you’ve set for yourself. When you maintain an optimistic outlook and make an effort to harbor only positive thoughts, you begin to create the circumstances conducive to you achieving what you desire. You feel in control and few of life’s challenges seem truly overwhelming because it is in your nature to expect a positive conclusion. An optimistic mind is also an honest one. Staying positive does not mean that you ignore difficulties or disregard limitations. Instead, it means spending time focusing only on the thoughts that are conducive to your well-being and progress.

Positive thinking dramatically increases your chances of success in any endeavor. When you’re sure that you are worthy and that achievement is within your grasp, you start to relax and look for solutions rather than dwelling on problems. You are more likely to imagine positive situations or outcomes and disregard the thoughts related to giving up, failure, or roadblocks. What the mind expects, it finds. If you anticipate joy, good health, happiness, and accomplishment, then you will experience each one. Thinking positively may sound like a simple shift in attention – and it is – but it is a mind-set that must be developed. Whenever a negative thought enters your mind, try immediately replacing it with a constructive or optimistic one. With persistence, you can condition your mind to judge fleeting, self-defeating thoughts as inconsequential and dismiss them.

It is within your power to become as happy, content, or successful as you make up your mind to be. Staying positive may not have an immediate effect on your situation, but it will likely have a profound and instantaneous effect on your mood and the quality of your experiences. In order for positive thinking to change your life, it must become your predominant mind-set. Once you are committed to embracing positive thinking, you’ll start believing that everything that you want is within your grasp.

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I've subscribed to the DailyOM for sometime now, some days it's more relevant than others. And yes, I am trying to stay positive.

waiting waiting waiting

It's been five and a half months. I'm tired of waiting. Where's my baby!

That's how I've been feeling for days now.

25+ people have our profile, so it's out there, but that old saying "it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack" comes to mind.

I know, I know, we were told 12–24 months. I want nine, like a normal pregnancy.

After all, we have been waiting nearly nine years!