Nearly at the start line
The sperm has passed its quarantine period with the all clear. The consent forms have been received. My period has arrived – the last period for a long time that won’t mean anything. Our donors are modelling a perfect combination of being whole-heartedly detached and supportive at the same time. Despite some silent panic from our side about them getting blood tests done and consent forms organised, they provided everything on time, as requested and so happily. Dr Young and Funky called me to check in and said ’see you at the insemination!’ (that was a weird conversation to be having at my desk at work). We have spoken to Buffy the Sperm Nurse who wants us to come in for ‘Nurse Chat’ on Friday morning (this involves ticking a box called ‘Nurse Chat’ on a clipboard when we arrive in the waiting room, parting with a large sum of cash, being given a truckload of drugs and some advice on injecting.) I start the injectibles on Saturday morning and she expects we’ll start the blood tests and monitoring next Wednesday.
It sounds very perfect and it generally is. It was a tough few weeks in the lead-up, and Lo & I got really worried that things might fall through, for no apparent reason, except our donors don’t provide us with regular update emails – they just do what we ask of them. Lo thinks that the fact that they are complicit, but slightly non-communicant on the email, is exactly what we want from a donor. She would be worried about what it indicated about their emotional stake in the process if they were donors that were writing updates about each stage of the process with utter excitement. I think she’s right. They both wrote perfect things on the consent forms about their reason for donating being wanting to help us become parents because they thought that we’d be wonderful.
I’m pretty impressed that we have pulled this off. That we asked them and they said yes, that we’ve managed it in crazy timeframes and over a long and difficult distance. I was so pleased to see Lo’s face when all the forms and tests rolled into our inbox. She looked like the cat that got the cream and I know that the known donor arrangement, especially with them, makes a huge difference to how she feels. I am feeling really comfortable about our choice too and do feel such gratitude for our donors and the seemingly ultra-healthy dynamic we’ve got going with them.
We both freaked out that we’re about to start. It’s such a wild proposition that we could be pregnant in less than a month, or that we could be starting on a very long and emotionally draining rollercoaster of ttc efforts that will span many months. Sitting equally open to both eventualities is a tough ask. But we’re excited. In her phone conversation, Dr Young & Funky said ‘boy, six months is up already? that passed fast!’
It hasn’t from our perspective. Not at all. But it’s been very good to have a pre-ttc sabbatical imposed on us. So long to read, think, plan, prepare, become ready.
We’re ready. Let’s go.
