Yes, here we are ready to embark on this voyage one more time. Never thought we'd be doing a 4th round, but here we are. Major difference this time: Donor eggs and donor sperm.
As Baby Daddy mentioned, we've spent the time since the last loss conferring with other docs and have had to overcome a few obstacles:
#1 - went in for routine mammogram and came out with a breast cancer scare! Had biopsy done that revealed no cause for concern. Whew!
#2 - Specialist in TN ordered more tests to rule out other conditions, most of which I don't even know what they are testing for at this point. All tests came back normal, but doctor suspected possible septum in the uterus.
#3 - went in for HSG to make sure no issues with my tubes. Test revealed something not as it should be so went in for more testing which revealed 2 polyps (but no septum) in the uterus. By this time, I'm thinking, "you have got to be kidding me! How can one person have so many issues?" Surgery one week later to remove polyps and doc says they went ahead and performed cosmetic surgery at same time to "optimize the shape of my uterus" by removing the area that was suspected to be septum. Have to say I am starting to really like anesthesia. Never had it before and have now had 4 surgeries this year!
So, finally greenlighted to proceed once again....next step: picking out our donors.
Never in a million years would I have guessed that I would be researching egg and sperm donors to be the genetic makeup for my baby. I thought it would be an overwhelming task, but all in all, it was actually fairly easy. We are using frozen eggs so not many choices once you filter for Caucasians with brown hair - maybe 30 at best. Narrowed it down to 6, but 1 stood out from the very beginning. It was the pic of her on a bike that stood out for Baby Daddy right away. Once I read her profile and noted so many similiarities between myself and her, I knew she was the one. But, just to be sure, I had to have my best friend read all 6 profiles independently and, of course, she picked the same one.
Now, as for the sperm, a little more difficult. First of all, 5 sperm banks to choose from, but 2-3 of them eliminated off the bat due to non user-friendly websites. Looking for sperm reminded me so much of searching dating websites. Many more profiles to search from and amazingly more information available from the male donors. Some have audio clips, which immediately helped eliminate a number of contenders. We had to spend a lot more time looking for the right donor, but then finally found the perfect match. There were 3 things that clenched it for me. The first two had to do with what he wrote in his profile. He told 2 stories that sounded amazingly similar to Baby Daddy. And thirdly, he had the most decent childhood picture - actually a really cute picture that just spoke to me.
Neither of our donors really look like either of us, but they both had qualities we see in each other and would want to pass on to our child. I feel amazingly content with our choices.
Lots of emotions in this process, but now that we are through it, it just seems right for some reason. Like it was meant to be that we are on this particular path.
