The Wait

Recipe for Invitro:

• Equal parts man and woman (preferably magnetically attracted and madly in love)


• Two ovaries containing viable eggs


• Two testicles with ambitions sperm


• One magical Petri dish


• One expert Lab Pathologist


• One Fertility Specialist


• One large some of money (preferably cash)


• One ounce of luck for good measure

Insert cash. Preheat female "oven" by injecting multiple hormone medications into the body. After about two weeks, the eggs in the ovaries will mature. Once eggs become mature, place female under light sedation and extract each individual egg from each ovary. Place the newly harvested eggs into Petri dish with newly "submitted" sperm and monitor for fertilization for about 4 days. At the precise moment replace the now Embryos back into uterus, add luck, and wait! another 11 days to take blood sample to check for success! Enjoy!

Prep time: About 4 Weeks Servings: Usually two

To even be able to attempt this recipe, I have to wait for the first day of my cycle. I don't know if I have ever anticipated an upcoming cycle as I have the one that is due any day. Who would of thought a woman could look forward to her period? This cycle is the marker that sets our rough timeline for invitro fertilization (IVF). Until then, Ian and I both have blood work to complete and an IVF class to attend, and the Jeopardy theme song runs through my head continuously...

St. Valentine's Holiday

Hello all! This being my first blog post, please bear with me as I figure this out :) While many of you I see/speak to daily, weekly or monthly, I have a large extended family spread across many states that is living the American dream (overworked with little free time) and this will be a great way to stay informed about my latest adventures.

As many know and many more do not, I (we) have been "working" towards growing my (our) humble little family (Ian - husband and our two boxers, Triton and Blu) for quite some time. After a process ranging from enjoying being newly weds ;), to remaining in various (not-so-comfortable) positions, to monotonous timing and rigorous data recording, to peeing on predictor kits and finally seeking medical attention - I am here, determined to grow a baby in MY uterus!

I won't bore you with the all the details leading up to this point, but I will tell you that for the last three months Ian has been on Clomid (as a last ditch effort to make this happen without invasive medical intervention). I know, I know, you are all thinking "isn't that a fertility treatment drug for women?" Well yes, but they use it to help men make more swimmers (in simple terms). So, after three LONG months on Clomid, we can laugh at me calling Ian green (referencing The Hulk) when his testosterone was taking over his body and my pseudo-pregnancy symptoms where I was convinced I was pregnant and say that we have reached the last step (drum roll please) -

In Vitro Fetilization....da.da.da.


I have scoured my nursing books and then the Internet in search of blogs, journals, studies, news feeds, anything for any little clue of what I could possibly be getting into. There is a vast ocean of information and personal experiences, but it just doesn't seem enough when it is YOU experiencing it! What I do know is that in the next few months we start this journey together and I promise to keep you all informed!