25. That was a fun year.

After a quick whirl-wind trip to Delhi, I made it back home and jumped into the madness that is work. Really love my job. But need to fit in some sleep and down time at some point!

For the first time in a really long time, I returned from my travels with an upset stomach. Something got to me. I probably shouldn't have drank the water out of the tap in Agra. Not a smart move. About Agra... Seeing the Taj Mahal was incredible. I can truly understand why it is such a wonder. What is also a wonder is the amount of time it takes to drive there. Don't get me wrong, there is a bunch of stuff to see, culture to soak in and everything from cows crossing the road, to monkeys hopping from roof to roof, to chaos at every intersection. Getting there was interesting. Getting home was a true test of patience.

I'm thinking that when we go back in nine months (hopeful thinking!), if somebody wants to see the Taj, I'm going to recommend the train. Surely can't be that much worse than the drive back, especially if you get carsick.

Back to baby stuff now... Today was the egg retrieval day. All went well and they were able to harvest an incredible 25 eggs. Will know more about the quality and how many are viable after Sunday. But 25 is a great start. We couldn't have asked for better news!

Now the fun starts. Learn more about the status of the embryos on Sunday/Monday. Wait a few days for the transfer to take place. Wait two weeks for a blood test. Wait a few more days after that for another one, hopefully. Then wait two weeks for the first scan.

I feel like we've been through this before. Oh, wait....

From London to Delhi

We're both really excited to say that we are off and running... again.

Last night, I fell asleep just after taking off from London and woke up this morning as we were descending into New Delhi. Between our recent move and work being super busy, we haven't had the time to really think about whether this time was going to be our time or not. Stepping onto the plane last night though, I felt really positive.

Landing in India, reality set in and it took me back nearly two years when we started this whole process for the first time. I was really nervous then. Not sure what I was walking into. This time though, I felt at ease. The ride to my hotel was pensive. I dazed out the window at the passers by and random cows on the side of the road. I was soaking in the vast differences between India and London and for some reason, thinking about how calm Delhi feels to me in comparison to Mumbai or even Hyderabad. Yes, it's chaotic. Yes, it's even shocking what you see at times. But not to the extent that it was in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

So I spent the afternoon catching up on work and hanging out by the pool for an hour or so. I grabbed a snack and then headed to meet our new doctor. I waited in a waiting room with about six other people in it. There is no doubt that she is busy and has a successful practice. But once she came out to introduce herself, the six other people in the room seemed to disappear as she was fully interested in getting to know me, hearing about things at home and our experience thus far.

I was given a tour, shown the very detailed medical records that they keep, explained the process of finding and then qualifying a surrogate and donor and then introduced to the many people that she has working for her. We sat down, went through the various surrogates and picked the wonderful woman that will give it a try for us in just a matter of weeks.

We're really excited and hoping that by mid-April, we have good news to share...

More to come from Delhi.

We're back in action.