Making plans for babies (none of whom shall be called Nigel)

Not really much to report except to say that I am ok.  I haven’t collapsed in a heap, I’m feeling fine, and I’m getting on with things.  Mainly with tidying up and organising stuff for my upcoming party.  And gardening.  And planning for the next steps in the TTC saga.

I’ve started back at weight training (with very much reduced weights) and have found that my wrists can only just cope, but they are coping.  They haven’t enjoyed a couple of days of digging, shovelling and pruning, but I think they’ll survive.  I’m not sure how long it is going to take for the effects of lucrin to clear my system, but I think it won’t be any time soon.  Being as how I am leaning towards doing a fresh egg collection cycle for my own eggs come May.

This is my thinking: My surro angel has told me she will be ready to cycle come November. [Three cheers for THAT news!]  This is seventh months away.  I am currently of the belief that surro laws in WA state that embryos (that don’t contain the surrogate’s DNA) have to be frozen for a minimum of six months before being transferred to a surrogate.  This (along with all the other hoopla) I will have to check with the RTC in due course (sometime this week).  But say it is so, for the purposes of this argument.  Then it goes like this:

Donor cycle July.  I don’t get pregnant, and we try a FET a few months later?  Or I get pregnant, but miscarry six weeks later.  Time to try a different and more reliable uterus.  But it is now October at the earliest.  I’d  have to wait a couple of months to recover from either a miscarriage or the back to back IVF/FET, then start another fresh cycle to collect my own eggs in order to first try a bio embie in the surrogate.  We are now looking at January or February 2011 before transfer, and my eggs are almost 41.

However, if I sneak a cycle in before July, and freeze my embryos, [and I fail to carry the DE embie] these bio embies can be ready to go when our surro angel is done breastfeeding in November, and I can be done with the IVF treatments by the end of July.  (Then if my embies don’t work in the surrogate’s uterus, we can try the DE ones).  If I DO get pregnant [and carry to term] with a DE embie, (here comes total pie-in-the-sky thinking) then if I am ever crazy enough to try this all again in the future for a sibling, I could potentially give a bio embie a try (with 40 y/old eggs instead of 43 y/old eggs).

So, with nothing to lose but time, money, joint health, a few art and bridge lessons, two weeks in the garden and maybe my good nature (ha!), I will do my best to orchestrate a successful egg collection in late May.  If possible, I will let my inner organiser have free reign and make sure I know that the clinic knows what it is doing at all times.

Meanwhile, what I am waiting for now is my post cancelled-IVF cycle period, so I can (hooboy!) go back on the pill.  Yep.  It is indeed the year for fucking my body over with artificial hormones.  Better get this birthday party done while I still have some friends left…