Here We Go
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
So here’s some news. We’re ready to start this whole baby making business. We visited with our fertility specialist this morning, kind of a second “first time” appointment in which we discussed the schedule and procedures. I’ve been anticipating doing this in September 2009, but it looks like we’ll be doing their July/August cycle. All goes well and as planned, I should be pregnant this time next year!
The procedures that we’ll be using are ICSI, IVF, and MESA (microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration, a surgical procedure to retrieve sperm). We had a long and informative conversation with the clinic’s insurance coordinator. She walked us through each and every expense, and the total bill is $18,407. That’s Shelton’s entire MESA (about $4,000 cash), all of my medications/Rxs (about $3,500 cash), the IVF procedure ($8,000 cash), all the sonograms, hysterosalpingograms, blood work, IVF class, tests for hepatitis and HIV in both Shelton and I, lab work and freezing (about $3,000 cash).
All I can say is, this baby had BETTER love me! haha
We’re looking at doing the MESA in January, the class in the spring, I’ll start my cycle of birth control in June and then mid-July start taking my injections and then egg retrieval/IVF in early August. I know it’s going to come so quickly. I’ve been on the verge of happy and nervous tears all day long. So who knows, maybe on our seventh anniversary in August, we’ll find out we get to be parents.
The doctor was confident, given our health and young age, that we’ll have ample eggs and being able to transfer a single embryo successfully.
I know it’s been quiet around here for a while, but we’ve just been trying to decide the best time to try to start our family. We hope 2009 turns out to be that time for us and we’ll of course continue to update as things happen. It’s going to be one heck of a ride and we’re excited to take all of you along with us.
Fertility Treatments Linked With Birth Defects
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
We infertile couples have to face a lot of decisions that other couples don’t have to. So, if you knew that your assisted efforts to get pregnant would increase the likelihood of having a child with birth defects, would you still do it? A lot of parents-to-be are going to have to ask that question.
A study released by the CDC suggests that babies conceived via methods ”such as in vitro fertilization and the use of donor eggs—are two to four times more likely to be born with certain types of birth defects than infants conceived naturally.” What do they mean by “certain” birth defects? Their list includes septal heart defects, or a hole in the heart, cleft lip, cleft palate, and gastrointestinal defects.
“It is important for parents to realize that the individual risk for these birth defects remain low,” Reefhuis said, a member of the study. “It sounds like a lot to say ‘a two- to fourfold increased risk,’ but you have to keep in mind that the starting risk for these individual defects is actually pretty low.”
Meet MyFertilityPlan.com and Their Infertility Haiku Contest
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
This wasn’t supposed to be a last-minute announcement, but it has turned in to one. Entries are due no later than Mon. Nov. 24 at noon est. (Good thing those Haikus are so short!)
Some good friends of Baby Or Bust, My Fertility Plan, are hosting this first annual International Infertility Haiku Contest. Here are the contest details:
Why haiku? Anyone can do it. A haiku is a three line poem, made up of only 17 syllables. The first line has 5 syllables. The second line has 7 syllables. The third line has 5 syllables. That’s it.
Your haiku must relate in some way to your family-building journey and it must follow the haiku-syllable rules. There are 2 categories – Serious and Light-Hearted. Just make sure you label which category your poem falls in (even if you think it’s obvious). If your entry relates to medication, it will also be considered for the medication-related haiku award.
It is free to enter – and you can enter as many times as you want. Each haiku must be in a separate e-mail. Please include your name and email as well. The contest is open to international entrants, but the entry must include an English translation.
MyFertilityPlan.com just launched last month. They work with infertile couples to build a customized fertility plan, and introduce the best options that optimize their chances of conception. The company is owned by Angie Best-Boss and Evelina Weidman, two advocates for women’s health and infertile couples. They have a couple of books under their belts, and a new-release coming soon that we can’t wait to tell you about!
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Did you know one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer? I had no idea that the stats were that high.
I’m very fortunate that this is not a disease that runs in my family (we just have bad ovaries and diabetes!). Last summer my grandfather’s wife was diagnosed, underwent a double mastectomy, chemo, shaved her gorgeous blonde hair, got new boobs and new nipples and is alive and kickin’ today and up to her old rowdy self. It was the first time I’d ever personally known someone with breast cancer and I watched with admiration her strength, courage, and unwillingness to let this disease beat her. And it didn’t. Watching her survive breast cancer is something I will carry with me the rest of my life, and the lessons of her strength I will employ in times of my greatest need.
You can help support Breast Cancer Awareness month, and continue helping Susan G. Komen in their courageous fight against this disease, by publishing this button on your site.
DietsInReview.com will donate $5 to Susan G. Komen for every blog that publishes the ”This Blog Cares“ button during October; they’ll also donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for every new newsletter sign-up they receive in October.
Help DietsInReview.com help Susan G. Komen- and help millions of women, men and families continue to be strong, courageous survivors.
American Adoption Statistics
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
I thought this was a really interesting article- and one that really took me by surprise.
The CDC looked at recent adoption figures and says that men are two times as likely to adopt than women. The report says 2.3% of men and 1.1% of women in America have adopted. My initial thought was- men often marry women with children and adopt them as their own. And I love being right… that’s what the article says! Another trend that appears to be rising is adoption by same-sex couples. Since gay women have the option to carry their own children, gay men have no other choice but to adopt if they want a family.
Another statistic this article points out is that black Americans are more likely to adopt than white. The broad majority of both black and white adopters would accept a child of another race.
Here’s a snippet from the article about the “ideal” child women would like to adopt:
“The CDC survey asked women seeking to adopt what they wanted in a child. The preferred child is younger than 2 years old, free of disabilities, and is an only child. Women would prefer to adopt a girl rather than a boy.” That said, 90% would accept a child with minor disabilities, 79% would accept a child aged 2-5, 75% would accept siblings. More than 60% of women would not take a child over the age of 13, nor would they take a child with severe disabilities.
These are interesting facts. More so to me as the adoption conversation is one that has occurred more and more frequently. We agree that we want to be parents, so if we find our way to our baby through adoption or IVF, we’ll be parents either way. Adoption would possibly satisfy our urge to be parents much more quickly. Given the government rebates and employer reimbursement- the cost to us would be minimal. There’s still a lot of soul-searching to be done… it’s something we’ve always talked about doing even before the infertility. I think we’re set on a course now for actionable decisions though.
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