Getting Knocked Up By Accident Would Have Been So Much Easier

So much is involved with infertility treatments. Blood tests, appointments, and paperwork.

Lots of paperwork.

There's also phone calls, doctor's appointments, and staying organized......... I'm not always good at staying organized.

Add having to do half of this in the UK and half in the US and it gets very complicated. I'm trying my best to keep it all straight in my head. Appointments here, phone calls there. Coordinating things between clinics. Figuring out which tests I can have done through my GP (on the NHS so no cost to me) vs those that have to be done by the private clinics that we have to pay for. I suppose in a way it's better that insurance doesn't cover any of this so I don't have to deal with them as well.

Then there's the new patient paperwork that we have to fill out for both the UK and US clinics. Mountains of paper that has to be printed and filled out and brought with us to various appointments. Some of the info is the same and some is different.  Some for this doctor, some for that. By this point I have memorized my husband's medical history. I think I know it better than he does.

Over the course of our infertility journey we have both been tested for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, and Rubella more times that I can count. I have had more "internal" ultrasounds (think magic wand with condom on it) than any woman should ever have. I've learned to inject myself with needles. I've peed on sticks, in cups, and a few times all over the place trying to do one or the other. Who knew I'd get so comfortable carrying my pee around for other people to look at?

All of this in pursuit of a living, "take-home" baby. I know it will all be worth it if that's what I get. But sometimes I wonder why I couldn't have been one of those women who got knocked up and had to get married. Or who got pregnant on her honeymoon. Or "accidentally" got pregnant and didn't even realize at first.

Our first appointment with the Egg Donation clinic in the US is next Friday the 25th of March. I'm super excited about it. I'm also hoping that I remember to fill out all the paperwork, have all the tests, and don't forget to bring it all with me.

Pouring my heart out with Shell at Things I Can't Say