Easter "Eggs"

I just realized how much of a habit it is to respond to somebody on the phone with a nicety when they wish you well, wish you a good weekend, etc. For example:

Caller: Have a good weekend.  Me: You too.
Caller: Hope you have a Happy Easter.  Me: Hope you have a Happy Easter too.

Problem with that gut reaction is that I just got off the phone with the doc in India and he ended the call by saying the latter (...have a Happy Easter...) and I quickly responded "Hope you have a Happy Easter too.... err... ughhh.. just kidding...guess you probably aren't celebrating Easter." Duhhhh. Too funny. Ooops.

Speaking of Easter, how much more appropriate could it be that my conversation with India was about today's "egg retrieval" from our donor?!

The good news is that they retrieved 21....yes 21!!!! eggs. 18 of them were mature. We'll know how many viable embryos we have come Monday but probably between about 15-18! That's amazing. And 21 is a lucky number, right? We're very excited. The transfer will take place on Monday and the two-week waiting game will begin.

Our donor is doing OK. She took much, much longer to come out of the anaesthesia than is normal so it was a stressful afternoon for the doctor. She is resting now and all is good... and she heads back to her family in Thailand tomorrow. We're so thankful that she did this, and that all turned out well.

Hope everyone has a good Easter (if that's what you celebrate). And thanks to the Easter Bunny for bringing us the best eggs possible this weekend!

Thailand -----> India

It's a beautiful day in Puerto Vallarta. The temp is perfect and the breeze coming off the ocean is refreshing. I had to pop down here for two days to take care of some business stuff (see pic below) while C stayed home to hold down the fort and go to school.

Last week, before I left, we got the news that our donor's visa had been approved, she had started her meds and that she would be arriving in India on Sunday or Monday. Much to our surprise (and without our needing to hassle him for more info), we received an email from the doc on Monday that said our donor had arrived in India OK and that following her first visit to the office they confirmed that they could see 16 follicles that are 8mm in size. Scheduled retrieval is this coming Monday!

That's great news and it was very refreshing to get an update with details without having to hassle them for info. I think a new way of working has been established with the team in India and that's a huge positive.

I'm headed back to San Francisco today to get ready for a new job on Monday. Between that and our new donor, I think we may be in store for a very good 2011.

And they're off....

After much waiting, thinking and soul searching, we have decided to try again. Their were many challenges last time but this time, we're having a good feeling...

So we decided to give the Kiran Clinic in India another try. They know us so well now and we have a good relationship so I'm hoping that this time around it's a much smoother and ultimately more positive experience.

We decided to go with a donor from Thailand. Dr. Samit's team has done some really great screening and we have what we think is the perfect donor lined up! We love Thailand and think it can be really cool to have such an amazing country be a huge part of our new life. They are in the process of working with her now to get everything ready for the retrieval and transfer. We're estimating that it will take about 4-5 weeks for the transfer to happen, so early May.

It's hard to believe that almost one year ago to the day, we were doing this same thing, having these same thoughts and hoping to start a new family. So here we go again...We're both super excited and hope that this is the time.

Fingers crossed and we'll keep you updated along the way.