Video: Donor Egg Child

I've known about this video for a long time now. When I first watched it, I was so impressed with this teenager--she seemed so level-headed and mature (not that I didn't expect it), but I was happy to hear her thoughts on being a donor egg child. Hearing her makes me feel good about our decision to try an egg donor's eggs (probably why I've watched it like a dozen times now). I'm in the "tell" camp; I think it's important that a DE child knows that her genetics are different from the birth mother. And, I think it's important that the child knows this at an early age. (just my opinion)

Anyway, here's the link to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTgHRV8g1Fg

I think anyone who is considering egg donation (as a recipient) should view this video.

Getting in shape and eating well (not so often)

Wow, I can't believe how fast time goes...it's almost September! This past month I've really concentrated on being physically fit and can even boast that I completed 3 running races (two 5K's and one 5 miler) in the past 5 weeks! My first races since 2004! I'm definitely not as young as I used to be, but all the running has made feel great physically. I feel stronger even on those days where I have work on my feet for 10 hours straight. Somehow exercise always seems to bring a little happiness into my life, too. I'm all for making the mind and body happy.

Along with the running, I've tried to improve my diet. Unfortunately, I'm not so successful with that. I LOVE food--who doesn't? After my 5K race today, I had some delicious cheese fries with bacon and a huge turkey deli sandwich with coleslaw on it. I won't be eating like that once we start the protocol, I swear. When I was pregnant with our daughter, I remember eating pizza (my favorite food) like every other day. All that pizza was showing too--I gained around 45 pounds with her. I always told myself that if I ever got pregnant again, I was going to be a healthy pregnant woman who only showed in the belly (not the thighs, hips and face). Probably wishful thinking...but there's nothing wrong with that. :)

I'm ready for September though--I'm physically and mentally ready. Well almost ready...I am still uneasy about the progesterone shots (I'm a wuss!), but I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready for them. I'll just do them and hope they get easier.

Goodbye August, hello September...I am ready for you!

Nurse Teaching Appointment

Today's "nurse teaching" appointment went very well, thank goodness. Of course, it didn't calm my nerves about the progesterone oil injections, but DH was instructed on how to give an injection, which he feels confident about giving to me. However, when he is out of town for a couple days, I will have to find someone to give me the shots--that makes me nervous. There is no way I can give them to myself!

We went over our cycle calendar in detail--that gets me excited!!! I have my baseline ultrasound September 9th, and then I begin the protocol. The transfer date can't be set in stone until we know how our donor responds to her medications. It is possible that our transfer occurs at the very end of September or early October. September is just around the corner! :)

DH had one question today at our appointment. "Can I videotape the transfer?" Surprisingly (at least I was surprised), he was told he could! This will definitely be an unforgettable experience! Let's hope it's a successful one too!

Mixed Emotions

I was somewhat excited about receiving my medications in the mail today (how excited can one get about syringes and needles?) Receiving the drugs meant we were closer to our DE cycle, which definitely gets me excited. I opened the packaged and inspected everything...estradiol patches (which I currently take as my HRT), progesterone vials, syringes, and needles. Yikes, looking at the needles made me a little light-headed. I hate needles. Prior to conceiving our daughter 5 years ago, I did acupuncture, but those needles were nothing compared to what's to come with our DE cycle. Seriously, I can't look at the needles again until it's time to actually receive the progesterone injections, which will probably be in a month or so. Out of sight, out of mind...the medication and needles have been put away for now.

Excitement about our cycle continued through the day until...I got a call from our clinic. See, not only did I receive my DE medications today, but we were having our "nurse teaching" appointment tomorrow with our DE coordinator/nurse. It's 4:15 and a nurse calls saying that our nurse will not be available for tomorrow's appointment at 10:00 am but Friday would work better. (Just great, I found a sitter for our daughter--which she was looking forward to and Friday was busy for us). She then said that she could do the "nurse teachings" tomorrow with us, but she was the only nurse in the office tomorrow, meaning she might get interrupted throughout our appointment. (Fun, we love waiting around...NOT!) Then, she says, "can you hold, please?" "Sure." Fifteen minutes later...I just hung up! (Did she forget about me? No problem, I'll call back.) When I called back, I got the automatic message "please call back during normal office hours from 8am - 4 pm." Needless to say, I was irritated. This experience is not seating well with me. I might be over-reacting, but I feel like the clinic is very disorganized and I don't want them screwing up a "once in a lifetime" experience for us. Not to mention, I don't want to see our savings go down the drain. (by no means has this been pocket change for us)

Let's hope tomorrow's appointment goes better than today's communications.