On Your Mark...Get Set...

Well, we're not getting our wish for a Christmas baby this year. Our round of injectable treatments were not successful, so we'll be moving forward with IVF after the holidays. While it's disappointing, it was expected.

I've talked with our IVF coordinator several times this week to get our ducks in a row for our January IVF cycle--and I must say, I'm getting excited! Here's what we know so far:

• I will take birth control this Saturday through January 8. 
• We will attend a mandatory IVF orientation meeting on January 10 with the other couples doing IVF this month. Our doctor will talk for about an hour about the process and we'll have a question/answer session at the end.
• We will start our injections on January 13. They will monitor my follicle growth every few days and that will determine how long I will take the injections. It will probably be about 8-12 days.
• I'll have my egg retrieval sometime the week of January 21-27 (depending on how quickly my follicles grow) and an embryo transfer 5 days later. 
• As soon as I send in our $100 deposit, our spot will be secured for next month's cycle. Then I'll get a packet of information that will include my personal protocol.

I'm glad to have a general idea about how the next six weeks are going to go. We both know there can be all kinds of hiccups and problems that could pop up along the way and change our course of action, but it's comforting to me to have a plan. (That would definitely be the J part of my ISFJ personality coming out, right Aunt Marilyn?)

January is going to be a whirlwind for sure. But for the next few weeks we get to enjoy the Christmas season, spend time with friends and family, and celebrate the arrival of a new year. Adios 2011. I'm not so sad to see you go. Cheers to baby making in 2012!