...and toes and eyes and whatever else we are able to cross....
The ELEVENTH day of DECEMBER TWO THOUSAND and EIGHT has turned out to be a very big day for us!! An historical day, if you will. A day which reiterates our commitment to one another and a day which emphasizes the fact that we want to build a future together… a family together. Yup, that’s right!! WE were inseminated!!!!! Ok, technically I was inseminated but I say “we” because we are doing this together as a team and as a family of two in hopes of a family of more-to-come!
Here is a summary of the events that lead up to this monumental day:
On Wednesday December 3rd I emailed our cryobank and requested that they send us one of the three “straws” to our huisarts (house doctor). A straw, as you likely have guessed, is what is holding the contents of little spermies! The cyrobank shipped the goods on Thursday which promptly arrived on Friday morning 5 December to our huisarts.
The next day, 6 December , Em and I picked up a new ovulation kit which helps predict the 24-ish or so hours before you ovulate. Note: December 6 was CD 10 (cycle day 10 – if you don’t know about what this mean feel free to google -- but essentially tracking your cycle days helps pinpoint the likelihood of when a woman may be about to ovulate). I started tracking around CD 10/11 and continued until we had to buy more predictors. The ovulation kit we were relying on most gives a big ‘ol smiley if you are about to ovulate otherwise you just get a blank face – technically, a big fat ZERO. Throughout these checks Em and I were getting more and more frustrated and worried about the possibility I may not actually ovulate. Worst case scenario would have been that I’m infertile! Every single time I’d gracefully pee on a stick we’d sit there and stare at the damn thing counting down and watching it tease us with its little blinking digital “processing” sign… one big fat zero after another. I felt worried and scared that the container down the street holding our possible hopes and dreams may be wasted. The container only had a two week life span. Em and I thought that it’s possible that my LH hormone (the Luteinizing Hormone) which helps predict the ovulation occurrence may be weak or we just missed it. We decided that we should inseminate on Thursday or Friday as those are the best days to try. Well, Thursday the 11th rolls around (CD15) - Em went to work and I decided to work from home before meeting Em at 1.30pm at our doctor’s office. I was worried because I tested again around 8.30am and another big fat zero was staring at us in the face. I decided to try one last time at 11.30am. There I am, in the bathroom, looking at the blinking stick as it processes my unassuming yet all-knowing urine. The 3-5 minute wait felt like forever so I began tidying up the bathroom as one does when waiting for urine to process… and lo and behold… my quick glance turned into a double take and then a triple take and then into an unbelieving stare… Holy Mary Mother of WOOHOO it’s a SMILEY!!! I cannot tell you how excited I was!!! I started running up and down the bathroom (keep in mind when I say run it really is a brisk walk two paces up and two paces back in our bathroom.) saying “oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!!” over and over. I immediately run to my phone and call Emily knowing she couldn’t answer the phone - I left a message.
At the Dr's office:
Dr H summons us from the waiting room to the backroom and she pulls out this humungo rubbage-bin lookalike container! It weighed at least 40lbs! After Dr H figured out how to open up the darn thing there was another container – it looked a bit like a stout helium container. Once the top was opened and the fog lifted (dry ice vapors) Dr H pulled out the contents. Our measly yet potent sperm filled straw was there before our very eyes. This is, of course, not the most romantic way to get this done but it’s the way that we felt (or thought) was right for this initial insemination. And there we all are – waiting for the straw to thaw in warm water for 5 minutes. So, I’m on the table, and Dr H is attempting to get the sperm out of the straw and into a syringe. Not a smooth process; as it turns out we (or the Dr) didn’t have all the right equipment to do the insemination as properly as it could have been or should have been. This wasn't our Dr's fault as she is not a fertility clinic Dr. Plus, we thought the syringe/catheter would have been included in the delivery. nope.
After squeezing out every little bit of spermies I stayed planted to the table with legs up in the air hoping that those little guys were making their way down the path and into, hopefully, the final home stretch. Once we came home Em was a star...she made sure I was back on my back, packing and fluffing up the pillows behind my head and making me as comfortable as possible. The day was very surreal and in some ways it still very much is for me! It’s hit me but it hasn’t! What I do know is that I am with the love of my life and that I want to have a family with Em… and thus, the road to that goal has begun. Now we just need to see if this first time will truly be a miracle.. and if not, we will continue to work our way to building that family together. Thank you Emily for your love and support and for being by my side and being my friend and, most of all, for being you; my love. -j.
