"Oh twins." The ultrasound technician says oh-so-nonchalantly. To her it was an every day occurrence. To us, it was a complete shock! Let me back up...
Jenn, my partner of five years, and I decided about 18 months ago that the time to have kids was approaching. We were married in August 2008, in Toronto, my hometown. Jenn is originally from Connecticut. We met in Boston. I had recently finished university and was ready to leave the nest. I got a job down in Boston and off I went. Jenn, funny enough, was one of my roommates. The rest is history!
So, fast forward slightly to September 2009. We went to a fertility clinic in Toronto for our initial consultation. After filling out a very lengthy form, a half-hour chat with the doctor and about 12 vials of blood taken from my arm, we were almost ready to go! That November we did one month of cycle monitoring to make sure my body was doing exactly what it was supposed to and thankfully, it was. At that point, it was up to us to decide when we actually wanted to start trying to make a baby.
Before the baby makin can begin, the 'baby daddy pickin' needs to be done. The process of picking a sperm donor is initially very strange. Initially I felt like I was shopping for a sweater or a car online. If you'd like to give it a go, check out Xytex's site:
http://www.xytex.com/search_adv.cfm. Friends of ours told us to not get too crazy over the whole process. Inevitably, a donor will have a disease in his family or poor eyesight or hair that isn't quite right. If you're looking for perfection, you're not going to find it. Jenn and I picked a few things that we're important to us, mostly having a donor with similar characteristics as her. We picked our first (yes, first) donor quite easily.
After returning from a trip to CT and Boston in late December/early January 2010, we decided that we were ready to begin the process of trying to make a family! Our first insemination was in mid-February. Unfortunately, after a difficult "two week wait", we realized that it had not worked. I thought that I was going to be the exception, that it was going to work for us on the first time. One major issue that we ran into was the quality of 2686's sperm...read = very poor swimmers! We tried three more times, twice with 2686 and once with another donor. By May, I was feeling frustrated, exhausted and completely worn-down. I was positive that we'd get pregnant quickly. I was afterall, young, healthy and fertile. We decided to take the summer off regroup and relax. I had also become resentful of the fact that I'd given up my morning Americano and my wine!
As the end of the summer approached, Jenn and I were feeling rejuvenated and ready to start trying to make a family again. So in early September, we were back at the all too familiar clinic for my 7am blood test and ultrasound. As the follicle monitoring progressed, it was quickly shown that I had not one, but two dominant follicles this round. [Side note: A follicle holds the egg. At ovulation, the follicle bursts and the egg starts its journey to find a mate] By the time insemination day arrived, my veins made me look like a junkie. It was definitely well worth it though. After a grueling 11 days, I was convinced that it hadn't worked. On the Thursday night, I was in a terrible mood, thinking that we were going to have to start the process yet again.
We were planning on going to to the cottage that weekend for one last time before the season's end. On the Friday, I was running around getting packed up. The dogs and I were in the bathroom (they demand to come in with me) and for some reason I felt like I should take a pregnancy test. I had bought these no-frills tests online because pregnancy tests are damn expensive! I pull one out from under the sink and do the...you know, the test. I look down and see the strong red control line that I have gotten to know all too well. Next to it, I see a faint red line. Completely shocked, I show it to Riley for a second opinion. He agrees that I should go to the drug store and get a "real" test. Thankfully, I have a small bladder so by the time I got home, I had to go again. Sure enough, a "plus" sign shows up within 30 seconds. "I'm pregnant," I say to myself! Dying to call Jenn, I force myself to refrain. She's at a client in meetings all afternoon. I didn't want to tell her like that. Given that it was the 5 year anniversary of us being together, I put together a little card and a gift bag. I wrapped the test in about 5 sheets of tissue paper and drove up to her client. I sat in the parking lot waiting for at least 30 minutes. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she arrives at the car. "Ohhh you got me chocolates!" she says. I had used a bag from a chocolate shop. The bag was as light as air, so clearly not chocolates. She opens it up, realizing what was inside before she got to the test. A massive smile across her face, she looks at me. "You're pregnant?!" She says. We were both in shock but beyond excited for the two hour drive to the cottage.
Still in disbelief, I took one more test (my third!) early on Saturday morning. It confirmed, yet again, that I was indeed pregnant. We then told my parents that they were going to be "real" grandparents, as opposed to just grandparents to the dogs. Jenn called her parents as well who were beyond excited!
Our journey into parenthood begins!
