Most heterosexual couples do the "baby dance" to get preggers. Well, we'll be doing the "syringe" dance. I have enlisted the help of one of the best fertility clinics in Ontario--Astra Fertility Clinic to help us embark on the journey of motherhood. Well, to be honest, we're already quite prepared. We have already stocked up on a lot of stuff (who can resist Robeez booties and Roots Junior sweatpants??). It isn't our first time trying--but it is our first time trying the clinic route. We tried (unsuccessfully) to get impregnated via the "Turkey Baster Method" with a wonderful, reliable 'known' donor who is a very intelligent doctor and a kind man. Unfortunately, our hectic schedules made it impossible to keep a commitment so we decided to head on over to the FC (fertility clinic).
Our first appointment is in November, because there's a waiting list. We are pretty excited. I have made some steps to adjust to getting ready for baby. I quit drinking (ahem...today), and bought cute little pink prenatal pills. The world of motherhood is cutthroat. If you don't have Omega 3,6, 9 in your prenatal pills, mamas and mamas-to-be will think you're neglecting and abusing your unborn fetus (or in my case, my non-existent fetus). If you eat a burger, you're a monster. If you don't do prenatal yoga, you're a fat, lazy monster. It's quite competitive out there. But I'm ready. I'm armed with cloth baby diapers!
People often ask me how I "pick" my donor. Well we looked at the donor catalogue (kind of like shopping online at Holt's ) and put together some criteria. At least 6"0, Caucasian (preferably Icelandic, German, Croatian, Danish, Swedish, Nordic, Greek or Italian), blue eyes, blond hair, nice teeth (I don't want our kid to go through a horrible 4 year stint with braces like I did!) and high intelligence, good health history and no allergies. See? Simple. We could easily get more complicated like ear shape, etc but I think people who do that are a bit pyscho! My fiancee is European so I wanted a donor who would match her background, although ultimately it wouldn't matter. I'd be happy with a Chinese or Hawaiian donor!
Our planned route to parenthood is simple. We plan to do two rounds of IUI per cycle with a low dosage of Clomid (I don't want to end up another Kate+8 if you know what I mean). I understand our likelihood of conceiving twins are high because I am under the age of 25, but we are prepared for that. We ultimately want one healthy child, but two is a blessing! In Ontario, I believe the cost of IUI is covered by OHIP although we will have to pay for the sperm donor's sperm and the sperm-wash out of pocket plus the cost of the Clomid fertility medication. The estimated cost per month of TTC is between $650-$750. IUI is a relatively cheap fertility procedure, if we had to do something more complex like IVF or ICSI we'd be looking well into the thousands.
My approach to motherhood is simple and natural. Breastfeeding, reusable/cloth diapers, homemade baby food, co-sleeping and baby-wearing. I have such a natural approach because my grandmother is a nurse, and our home was filled with books and books of natural health care and homemade remedies. I am so used to taking ginger root when I have a queasy stomach or rubbing aloe on a cut to heal it, that the chemicals and synthetic products used in today's society just strikes me as absurd.
Jumping into this, I feel very hopeful and I'm extremely excited as is my fiancee. Starting a family means so much--having conversations at the dinner table, driving Junior to hockey games and bedtime stories and lots of cuddling. I get to teach Junior all the great pastimes of my own childhood--sleighing, skating and snowboarding before a cup of steaming hot chocolate and swimming up North in the summer (gotta teach him how to burn leeches off his feet too!) whilst my fiancee can teach him her laidback Mediterranean lifestyle--sunshine, patios, Turkish coffee and soccer (a.k.a football). Her family is so close--dinners together and conversation after with a glass of wine, I really feel our kids will have a very enriched life!
Read on to the next post to see some baby accessory candy I REALLY want to purchase (although in the eco-friendly manner of which I operate, I'll try to get everything as sustainably as I can). Which means, borrowed or second-hand or from a store that donates a percentage of their profits to charity.
No comments:
Post a Comment