This is costing HOW MUCH?!?

Ya know...when you space the spending out you don't really get the big picture of just how much making a baby costs for the LGBT community. You also don't realize the enormous costs when you are using a KD and trying at home. Sophia was fairly inexpensive to make, basically just the cost of a hotel and if you want to throw in the OPKs and other incidentals to get the sperm to the egg...totalled less than $250.

I am going to break down what we have spent for this ONE cycle using the help of Dr. Fast talker. Excuse me while I pass out for a minute.

OK let's do this.

Femara - $4
Progesterone - $40
HCG Shot - $90
Bloodwork - we think the hospital Court works for covered these charges.
Sperm - $350
Overnight Shipping - $314
Ultrasounds - $470
IUI - $250
Dr. Fast Talker - $255
TOTAL - $1,773

All we can say is thank goodness we just got our tax refunds back, and we don't have to put these costs on a credit card...we are trying to make a baby, not go into more debt.

This is the main part that SUCKS TTC as a gay couple. But we want to grow our family, and this is what it takes to do that. So we will do it.

Let's hope this is a one and done go with the RE :)

Baby Dust!

CD12 - No Trigger

So Court was kind of bummed this morning to learn that her lead follie on her left ovary was only 17mm and the one on the right was 14mm, so we have to wait until tomorrow evening to trigger, and we will go in Thursday morning for the IUI. She was worried about work and getting someone to cover a few hours for her, but it is all going to work out. And we were both kind of worried about making sure the bank has enough time to get everything approved and delivered by Wednesday morning, I have to call in a little bit to make sure we are covered there.

Just wanted to give a quick update...looks like Thursday, (my favorite day) is going to be it for us!! If I don't update before then....wish us luck & baby dust :)

Reproductive Endocrinologist.

Sheesh...no wonder people just use RE. That is a mouthful. Who wants an update on babymaking 2.0?

Cool. I will give you a quick update!! We have decided to move on with some help of Dr. Fast-talker. We know Courtney has low progesterone, and we have an slight feeling that maybe we can't get the swimmers where they need to be by ourselves.

With this means we needed to choose a new donor from a sperm bank because our RE won't use our KD. If we were married, she would use fresh sperm...but we don't make sperms...sooo there's that!

We also decided that if we are investing so much in swimmers and the IUI at Dr. Fast-talkers, we should probably give ourselves the best chance of success as possible. For use that means adding ovulation medicines and a trigger shot. So, Courtney is currently taking Femara for CD3-7..today is CD5. We are going in for an ultrasound (added US at our insistence) Friday morning to check progress...that will be CD9. The reason we wanted her to do an extra ultrasound is because Court ovulated CD10 last cycle and we missed our chance. Our RE kept saying you know you will most likely need to have another one CD13, because CD9 will be too early. We understand, and we also know that if we didn't have this "peace of mind" ultrasound and we missed ovulation again (after the meds and sperm costs), we would be so pissed. 

Here is what our timeline for the next couple weeks looks like (as of now):

CD3-7 Femara
CD9 - US (we think they will want us to trigger soon after this US...)
CD13 - 2nd US - they let us know when to use the trigger shot.
CD14 or 15 - IUI
CD18 or 3DPO - start progesterone supplements
 HOPEFULLY 14DPO we have a BFREAKINGP!!!!!

 It is still SO STRANGE being the NGP - non-gestational parent - this go around. I try to be supportive and empathetic for Courtney, but I can't possibly feel exactly what she is feeling at this moment in time. I remember the anxiety and stress and sadness and feelings of hope from when it was my turn to try. Even though I have those memories, I handle stress and anxiety totally differently than she does. I like to make lists. and blog. and seek support of others going through the same thing as me. I made TONS of friends online through Baby Center and Blogland. I am ever so grateful for the support I received from all of my new friends. Some of you I keep active contact with on FB. Courtney has never truly felt comfortable blogging, or reaching out to strangers online. I get that. It can be intimidating or strange. I wish I knew the right words to comfort her more.

At this point we are taking it one day at a time...I think missing last cycle was kind of a blessing. It gave Courtney the opportunity to de-stress. She got a chance to breathe and not worry about temping for a few days and she didn't have to dread the start of her period because it was inevitable this time.

I am excited for March. I am more hopeful than I have been in months. I have faith that this magical mixture of science and nature will be just the ticket to knock my girl up.

We are going out for sushi tonight, sans Sophia. It will be nice to reconnect with my love for a few hours...and dream about our future some more together :)

Wish us luck. I hope to have more interesting things to blog about soon!!!!

BabyMaking is Hard

I thought making Sophia was a roller coaster.

Add in making a new baby while chasing after a very energetic toddler...oh and not to mention becoming the non-gestational parent. This is crazy. I am tracking or symptom stalking this go-round, but I definitely pay attention to the little things. Honestly having Sophia makes the TWW seem to fly by - at least for me. We just ended try #5 with a BFN. All tries have been at home with fresh swimmers, you'd think optimum conditions...other than the drive time home.

We are moving forward with an appointment with a fertility specialist next Monday the 8th.

At this point we are not sure what the hold up is. Our donor (while different than Sophia's) has reported success earlier this year. Our timing seems to be pretty spot on, and her temps/OPKs indicate she is ovulating like normal. Her cycles seem pretty consistent. We just can't catch the egg for some reason. My guess is she just has a tilted cervix and we just need a bit of help to get the swimmers to the right place. If anything, they will run a simple saline test to rule out any blockages and that may just clear everything up enough to let a baby implant!

This has to be so hard on Courtney, especially when her body is basically tricking her into thinking something is going on in there. She got a nasty cold this time (that was my tell-tell sign when I got preggo!) I am hoping we get some quick, easy, inexpensive answers. We are ready for baby #2!

I am glad we started trying when we did...some of our pals keep talking about having kids, but they are a little naive to the fact that it CAN take a long time to get a baby bean in one of their bellies.

Part of me wonders if it hasn't worked because we haven't been sharing with our blogland friends this time around. WE NEED THE BABY DUST!!!

Until Next Time.

Jamberry

Hi everyone in blogland :) I have recently decided to join the Jamberry Team!! "What is a Jamberry?..." you may be asking yourself. I will tell you :)

They are high quality, vinyl, heat and pressure activated nail wraps that last 7-14 days, at a fraction of the cost of a mani or pedi at the salon. They are non-toxic (and scent free!), won't chip like polish and do not damage your natural nail. There are over 350 styles to suit everyone's nail design preferences.

OH & one sheet of wraps will give you AT LEAST 2 manis and 2 pedis!!! I mean, if you do the math it comes out to less than $5 for a mani/pedi!! That is amazing :)

I really do love these wraps, mainly because I don't have to wait for them to dry...having a very mobile 10 month old #nobodygottimeforthat. & They really do last forever. My toes are going on 8 weeks (they still look brand new), I am going to change them just to change them soon. Also, you get paid for your commission every Friday, and on top of that you get bonuses every month! Gotta love that.

Jamberry just released a brand new Fall & Winter catalog, with TONS of new fun styles. They even have lots of junior wraps for the little ones in our lives, some made just to match momma too!

If you might be interested check out more HERE << that is my fancy schmancy website.

Jamberry also has AMAZING Hostess Rewards. I'd love to help you get lots of free stuff for hosting a party. We can even host it ALL online via Facebook if you want...super easy & SO fun. Really.

You can request a party here << my fancy schmancy party requesting tool.

Sooo, just had to put this shameless plug out there in the interwebs.

Oh, you wanted to know about Sophia?! haha She is walking. That's right...she started really getting the hang of it at the beginning of 9 months by 9.5 she was taking multiple consistent independent steps. I am amazed by this little girl. She is so stinkin smart. She is also tiny 17lbs at her 9mo appt.

Courtney and I have both started back to school this Fall. I am going full time to finish up my BS, and she is taking a few classes to finish up her degree. Things are busy around these parts...why not add some extra income with some fun nail wraps while we are at it?? We are saving the extra money to help pay for Sophia's adoption fees...I think it is a great plan!!

So check out my website, fall in love like I did & let me know how I can help you meet your own life goals!!

Freedom To Marry

We are getting closer and closer to gaining the Freedom to Marry.

As Courtney kind of mentioned in the previous post, we were recently featured on Freedom To Marry's site. I think the story turned out beautifully with our pictures.

I am so grateful that the times have changed so much that there are more positve comments than negative, and we do not personally know any of the people making the negative comments. I love that SO MANY people have had the opportunity to read our story and even share it. More people should see that we are just regular people living regular lives. We would just like the same right to be married as everyone else.

I think August 6th is going to be a fantastic day. The 6th Circuit Court will hear the vital TN cases and most likely rule in our favor. (At least that's what I'm thinking)

If you would like to take a look at our story over at Freedom To Marry please do :)

Our Story

You can also spread the word if you'd like, maybe if enough people see it, the lawmakers will have a change of heart with the super cute baby face staring at them!!

Maxed Out On Irony

I seriously cannot even comprehend what just happened. Jamie and I were featured on a story on Freedom to Marry. This story was shared by them on Facebook and, as a result, the masses were allowed to comment on it. Most of these comments have been nice and supportive and from complete strangers. I have also seen a few sweet comments from dear friends of ours. I have yet to see anything unkind from anyone I'm friends with, BUT I did see something from someone I know today. As I was scrolling through the comments, someone said something to the extent of.. I feel sorry for Sophia because she will never have a family with a mother and a father. I saw that there was a reply so I clicked on it to see what the person said. Someone nicely jumped to our defense, of course and I was grateful, but I couldn't help but notice that it said So And So likes this comment on the comment about Sophia not having a father. This So And So was somebody I went to school with. Somebody who claims to be an uber conservative. Ok, fine with me. Those are your opinions, but don't go "liking" comments like that on a story about someone who you know and have had a rivalry with when that person and others know that you have had your moments when you thought being gay was the cool thing to do. Also DO NOT EVER comment on something about my child's life when you have aborted a child before. Seriously how dare you?! My mind is exploding with the absolute irony and hypocrisy of this and I could say a million devastatingly hurtful things to this person right now. Really.. I just can't even comprehend this person's thought process.