Gearing Up to Cycle

We met with a nurse and a member of the financial department at our RE's office today.  I will start with the visit with the nurse first because it was more pleasant than the finance part:).

If I get my period as planned this weekend, I will start taking full estrogen birth control pills (rather than these low estrogen pills I've been taking which kind of suck).  I will then begin taking Lupron around the 30th.  Lupron is an injectable medication used to turn off your bodies natural ovarian stimulation.  In hearing, injection, I immediately asked about-gulp- the size of the needle.  Fortunately it is a small needle, about the size of the Ovridel I had to inject myself with for our IUIs.  I inject them into my belly where fortunately those extra pounds can do some good and cushion the blow!

I will stop the birth control during the week of July 4th and should have another period (2 in 3 weeks seems a bit excessive, but it's for a good cause, right?!?).  Somewhere in there is a trial/mock transfer to ensure there are minimal surprises on the big day.  Then I begin estrogen patches which will help to build up my lining to make my tiny friend(s) more comfortable and want to stay for a long time (or at least the next 9 months!).  Oh, this is also about the time, the big, scary progesterone shots begin:(

Our donor eggs will be thawed and fertilized (right now tentatively scheduled for July 22) and the lab will call with updates keeping us informed on their development.  Then, the optimal game plan is a 5 day transfer on the 26th.

The finance lady didn't hold too many surprises, but we are looking at several more thousand dollars than we had anticipated.  There is also an "guarantee" option provided by one of the egg banks, so we have that to consider.  We are very blessed to be in the position that this option is even financially feasible for us, and it is our greatest hope that this is what God envisioned for our savings and that He has a safety net for us should any other unforeseen financial needs arise.

So between all of this, running, yoga, (attempting to) publish(ing) an article, going to the beach, starting my second summer class, hosting friends from out of town (yay!), attempting to work here and there, these next six weeks are going to fly by (I hope!).