Deciding to undergo IVF!

There is a lot to think about when deciding to undergo IVF. Not only is it ridiculously expensive but there is a lot that goes into it. IVF is scary, it involves A LOT of needles and procedures and bloodwork and time in general. I had a lot to think about, was I sure that I wanted to do this, was I sure that sticking needles in my body everyday is something I wanted or could do? I started praying about it and felt that I wasn't scared of it anymore that this is what we needed to do to have our baby. Next was getting Danny onboard. I believe men always look at the financial cost of things and not the outcome. Yes undergoing IVF is a gamble it is not guarenteed but my thinking was that it was worth a shot maybe our last shot at having our own kid(s) someday.

Going through infertility you realize you are not alone at all. Through tennis I had developed good friendships with 2 women that had undergone the struggles of infertility also. It is so reassuring to have someone who knows what you are going through to be there with you and I am so grateful for them. I hope that no one ever has to undergo this battle but when you do it is so great to have your support system in place. Through them it was recommended that Danny and I check out RBA which is the RE both of them used and had their kids through.

I made an appt for Danny and I to visit Dr. Slayden in June of 2011. Danny still wasn't sold on the idea so I said lets go in and talk to them and see what he has to say. Have you ever walked into a room or met someone and knew that this is where God had lead you too? Well this is how I felt about Dr. Slayden almost immediately upon meeting him. He used sporting terms and cars speeding down the highway to describe to Danny what exactly our bodies were doing and why we weren't getting pregnant. He told us that for as long as we had been trying that we really only had a 1% chance of getting pregnant on our own each month and that he thought that we probably would get pregnant one day but it might be years and years. He told us he thought IVF was our best and really only option. He said that we had about a 70% chance of getting pregnant the 1st time and if we had to do a frozen embryo transfer our chances were about 96% between the 2 cycles. I left that appt feeling great and knowing that this is exactly where we needed to be. After the appt, Danny and I talked and decided that this was the right thing for us to do.

Preparing for IVF involves a lot of different things. 1st we needed to decide how in the world we were going to pay for this. We decided the best thing to do was to liquidate my 401k and use that money to pay off Danny's truck. Then we decided to take a loan against our savings acct to pay for the cost of IVF. Next came a butt load of blood tests that both Danny and I needed to get done. I had to go in 2 times b/c they needed about 15 viles of blood and I have really bad veins so they couldn't get it all the 1st time. I also had to have an HSG which is basically putting water in your uterus to make sure there is no adhesions or fibroids. All came back clear including the bloodwork. Next came a meeting with the IVF nurse so Danny could learn how to properly give me shots. That was scary.... anyone that knows me knows that I was scared of needles so just seeing them made me feel really scared. Next step start the process!!