Cord Blood and other Black Holes

It is now one year ago that we had our phone consult with Dr. Minjarez at CCRM, and two years that my doctor sat me down in her office and told me Stef has azoospermia. I cannot believe that today, I am 21 weeks pregnant with the baby girl of my dreams and just finished a tour of the labour and delivery ward at the hospital. I do have to say that not only do I feel like the luckiest person in the world, I am stinking proud of myself for all that I've done to accomplish this. The end result was out of my hands, but getting there was all in my control and I worked like a one armed turkey farmer to get there. When I was on the phone with Dr. M one year ago, embarking on the journey to the land of a thousand needles and endless stress and work, I never would have guessed that this could really come true.

On a much different note...I stumbled upon something that will not work out and it actually upset me greatly. Anyone giving birth these days has the option of storing their child's cord ( for the stem cells ) for their future use, or to donate it to hopefully save the life of others. After some research on the probability of her needing her own stem cells in life, I decided to donate my daughter's cord blood so her stem cells can save the life of someone else. She was a gift from God and science and I really wanted to give back to them both. It was not easy finding a facility that actually allowed you to donate....but found plenty that would take your money to store your own. After finally finding one in Alberta and having them send me their paperwork, I was heart broken to find out that I am excluded from public donation. Anyone over 36 years of age is. Brutal. Don't know why....I guess genetic testing at CCRM only goes so far. Through my disappointment, I realized that her and I will have to find other ways of giving back and showing our gratitude.

Stef and I worked hard on the nursery this weekend. It's really coming along...I'll post a picture when we have it done. As for some of the things on my to do list...I'm not doing too bad. Hospital tour was done tonight, I've started prenatal aquasize, signing up for prenatal yoga and Hypnobirthing this weekend, started crotcheting her baby blanket, put our name on the waiting list of three child care facilities and am continuing to take my picture every week for my Belly Book, which I have yet to start. So lots of things to do still, including landing a name for her.

I have to admit, I never expected finding a name to be such a challenge. Stef and I agree on very few, and the few we agree on, I like for a week and then we're back to square one. I keep getting this feeling that her name has already been decided and if I listen carefully, I'll hear it. OK, I'm all ears.