Oh, so that's how it happens?

Well, we've checked off another milestone on our way to IVF. We had our mandatory seminar last night. It was everything I thought it would be. Actually, it was a little less than I thought it would be. I expected a presentation on the process and maybe some demonstrations of injections. But, what we were treated to was pretty much a sci-fi biology class.

The class was VERY basic. They started out by going over some IVF "buzz words" like IVF= In Vitro Fertilization, and Oocyte = egg... stuff that I hope everyone in there already knew. We also got to learn the history of IVF and that the first IVF baby was born in England in 1978. All very interesting stuff. Does sarcasm translate well over the Internet? We also got a lesson on the female anatomy before they moved on to the actual process. The whole presentation was very dumbed down and I felt like I already knew way more than they were telling me.

I was very surprised at the crowd we were surrounded by. Joe and I were probably one of the youngest couples there. There were many, many heads full of gray hair in the crowd. I would guess the average age of the crowd was somewhere between 36-40. There were mostly couples but some threesomes as well. One couple came with her mother in tow (don't get any ideas mom). There was one lesbian couple in attendance. They brought along an old man who I assume was the sperm donor but I can't be certain. Another group was comprised of two ladies and one man but I couldn't figure out their scenario. My best guess is that one of the women was an egg donor or a gestational surrogate. Another genius couple decided that it would be a good idea to bring their toddler to an IVF seminar. Yep, a talking, laughing, noise making toddler, to a seminar full of people who can not conceive. Talk about insensitive. It was really inappropriate and I'm honestly pretty surprised they weren't asked to leave. All in all there was probably close to a hundred people in attendance.

Now that we've got this hurdle out of the way, we're on to the next. Another bump in the road already. I've been on birth control pills since December. We thought it was the best way to make sure I get a regular period in a reasonable amount of time. Without birth control it could be months before my period shows on its own. And I have to wait for my next period so I can schedule my final IVF consult and get started with treatment. Well, now even that isn't reliable. I took my last pill last Thursday evening and expected a period by the weekend. Well, here I am, a week later, and still no sign of a period. I called my nurse to see what she thought I should do and she was so frustrated for me. She can't understand why my body won't do anything right either. But she wants me to give it until Monday and if I don't start by then, she'll have to prescribe me something to get it going. So, we're probably looking at least 10 days of medication so I can get a period. Then, I think its back on birth control to start out my treatment.

I'm telling ya, I never thought having a baby was this complicated. Well, I guess for some people it isn't. I think most of you would be amazed that anyone is able to get pregnant on their own if you saw everything it takes for it to happen. This is definitely a lot different from those sex-ed classes in high school. Back then there was no medication or anesthesia or embryologists or petrie dishes. Oh well, whatever it takes, right?!