On the road again...

The road is long and winding. What road, you ask? The road to family, reproduction.

I have officially set my first appointment with the reproductive specialist. Well, actually I have to see his nurse practitioner first. The anal retentive, OCD part of me will produce a spreadsheet showing IVF's 1, 2, & 3, with medicines taken, eggs retrieved, eggs fertilized, embryos transferred, and outcomes for all three cycles. While we did our previous cycles in D.C., Walter Reed, we will be trying out the locals for the first time and I am a bit nervous about it.

The plus side of doing it locally is that it is a far more personal program--they actually know your name and don't make you come in at ungodly hours for ultrasounds, etc. I would have the luxury of not having to travel very far and enjoying the company of my sister as she embarks on the same journey towards motherhood. The big downer is that everything will have to be paid out of pocket. At Walter Reed we paid a flat rate, a very reduced rate, and got our meds for free. Another downer to doing it locally is that the success rate is only around 35% whereas Walter Reed rates in the top ten clinics (near 50% success rate) in the U.S. consistently.

So, I'm going to go and feel out Dr. I-Get-You-Pregnant. I have tons of questions and factors to consider. I really want to try again, but I sigh heavily as I start down this road again. I love the outcome, when it is positive, its just the whole process that is stressful. But, as my Dr. Nerdy Professor pointed out so indelicately, I'm not getting any younger.

Maybe it will be different down here. I can only hope, hope for another precious babe that will be whole and healthy, the greatest miracle I can think of.