FInally got to choose a Donor Family!

On Friday 2/11/12, our social worker informed us that she was going out of town for a week, but that on Monday she would have her office send out our home study. I was paranoid because I did not trust her office to do this. Well, on Monday, the NEDC had not received our home study and I almost called our social worker’s office, but I figured I would give them time. Well, late Tuesday the NEDC still had not received our study so I finally called our social worker’s office and it turns out that 1) the girl had tried to email the study but the address wouldn’t work (yet she never called me for an updated one) and 2) our worker never gave her office the fax number to send the study to (which I specifically gave her on that previous Friday) So it appeared that my paranoia was warranted! L So I gave the girl the correct information and TA DA! The NEDC received my study that day!! Praise the Lord!

            After all that, I find out that Bethany Services (the agency who reviews home studies for the NEDC) cannot review our study until they receive a check from us (they cannot take credit cards), but they could not tell me this until they received out study (What?) It seems to me like we could have sent in the money beforehand….well, God is so big and so good because He has a special lady working with us at Bethany who is reviewing our study and she agreed to go ahead and review our study as long as we got the check in the mail that day.

            She got our study reviewed and approved by that Friday, the 17^th. That same day, the program coordinator was able to get us the profiles of all the donated embryo’s that were available!!!!!!!! OMGoodness!!! We got them on a Friday, and couldn’t send our choices until Monday. And of course I received the files by email when Husband wasn’t home, so I couldn’t even look at them until he got home….that felt like such a long time ;)

            After going through the files we picked some families that we were interested in, and wanted more genetic info on. The plan was to send these in on Monday, and then we got an email that said another family was looking at them too and that the coordinator would give preference based on who got their choices in first (race anyone?) I intended to send the email Sunday so that the coordinator would get them first thing Monday morning, but of course I somehow forgot and I was on the way to the dentist when I remembered!! :o So there we were, in the car on the way to the dentist, going through all the family profiles again on my phone (thank you iPhone) trying to find our picks so that I could email them over the phone!

We managed to find them and email them via iPhone to the program coordinator. She got us the extended genetic history on the families we were interested in, but of course she ended the email with the message that she would be out of the office the next day!!! We narrowed it down to a #1 pick and a “back up donor” incase the 1^st choice didn’t survive the thaw. Monday night 2/20/2012, we emailed our FINAL selection to the coordinator so that she would receive it when she returned to the office.

            Of course it was not that simple; we received a reply email that Wednesday 2/22/12 saying that they had forgotten to mention that one of our choices would not allow for mixing with other families, meaning they could not be our back up. This threw a wrench in the whole plan and we had to revisit all of the profiles again (would this ever be done?) Finally, it came down to us choosing our original 1^st choice as our one and only shot; which is okay because they have 12 embryos!! This means that we can go back for subsequent transfers to have biological siblings for our children! (If any of this seems SyFy, and you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask).

            So as of today, 2/22/12, we have officially chosen our babies (embryos) and we have 12 children waiting to be born! Husband discovered this makes me a (dodecagon mom) Also, we are officially scheduled to receive a transfer of these embryos in May!!! J J The next step is to begin a medication regime that includes pills and shots L

Embryo Adoption Consult

This past Monday, 2/8/12, my husband and I went to TN to meet with Dr. Keenan and his team about our desire to adopt embryos. One of the main things they do at this first visit is “medically clear” the woman. This involves ultrasounds, some procedure where they check the womb, and various other types of exams where they are taking pictures of the ovaries and uterus, while also measuring the endometrium lining and checking for any scarring or cysts.

Dr. Keenan was great and made the whole process comfortable, although some of the exams themselves hurt. One of the hardest things was going into this with a full bladder! I drank 36oz of water, and apparently my little bladder was too full! Unfortunately, they did not do the procedures first, so I had to sit through my meeting with the Doctor with that painfully full bladder!  :o

The great news is that I AM MEDICALLY CLEARED!! And the Estrogen I have been taking gave me a great thickness to my uterine lining! We then met with the embryologist who explained the process of freezing and thawing embryos, the stages and different types, and the process of choosing the ones we want. There was sooo much information! But it is all so very fascinating! The NEDC has had over 400 successful births through Embryo Adoption J

The not so great news was that they still had not received our home study. I was really hoping they would, however, we cannot get into a transfer cycle until May anyways, so there really is not a rush (can’t believe I just wrote that!).

We did find out that we will not see photos of the donating family (because we are doing a closed adoption), but we do get to know their physical characteristics and bio. So once they receive our home study, we can begin the process of matching! We left the appointment with a lot of information and a lot of prescriptions. I was told to take Prometrium with my Estrogen to start a period, but it has not started yet. They also had me begin to take prenatal vitamins, which is so exciting to me just because it has to do with pregnancy J Between the Estrogen, Prometrium, and prenatal vitamins, I am nauseated, extremely tired, and irritable. Not so fun, even worse for my DH. I just tell him to remember that this is all for our future baby(ies)!

I was also assigned to find a fertility clinic to “monitor” me before and after our embryo transfer. The problem is many clinics will not see you after you have achieved pregnancy. I did find some, but they have mixed reviews. Also, most of it is self-pay so it will be expensive L

So here I am on Friday, preparing to take my midterms (yes already!) and making doctors’ appointments and calling pharmacies, etc…and I cannot stop feeling like May is so far away. I know that it really isn’t, but I am just so excited!!

So it’s Wednesday, and did I mention that I am a full time student in my last semester of college?

 I am currently trying to cram a weeks’ worth of school work (3 classes) into 4 days, while trying to ignore the fact that my embryo transfer consult appointment is in 5 days, 4 if you only count the days leading up to it! I am so excited that it is hard to focus on much else! My mind keeps racing ahead to the appointment and beyond, planning out the moths to come and what they will hold for our family.

No word on our home study yet. We know it has been approved by our worker and her boss, but we are still waiting on that 3^rd signature from the Heavens (okay, just somewhere high up in the government I guess). As it turns out, our agency just began using some new electronic system for home study reviews, instead of sending hard copies. And guess what? It stopped working before ours could be sent for review, and who knows when they will get the system working properly?

I once read that when we ask God to show us our circumstances through His eyes, our whole outlook will change. The situation will be the same, but we will see it differently. I am learning to do that with our home study process. I am annoyed that it has not been full reviewed yet and sent to the NEDC, however, God is showing me that this is a chance for me to just trust Him. That He has the timing worked out perfectly for us, and that I can relax and just wait on Him.

It’s kind of funny how God is always right. He always will be several (hundred) steps ahead of me, and as hard as it is for me to grasp, He does know better than me. God has over and over again proved Himself trustworthy to me…and every day I still have to make a conscious decision to let go, and let God.