Normal Levels

Yesterday, Brittany had her second round of blood drawn to see if her levels are in the normal ranges.  Today, the clinic called with the results and it was good news.  Her TSH (thyroid) levels went from 5.2 to .034 which is considered excellent!  I think the meds worked!  The A1C levels went from 5.8 to 5.2 and that is within the normal range.  Her Vitamin D levels are also in the normal range.  

So what does all that mean?!  This means we are done with all the initial testing and we can start the actual insemination process.  Well, it means Brittany and I need to conclude the "extreme vetting" in the next few weeks and pick a donor.  

I can tell you the list of possible donors has been cut down to 11 candidates.  By the way, going through the donors feels a little bit like being on a dating site, including the clicking of the little heart to add a donor to the favorites list.  All joking aside, this is a stressful process.  We first decide what characteristics we would like the potential donor to have.  I can say that Brittany and I were on the same page when it came to the characteristics.  Brittany wants to find a donor that has a similar ethnic background as me.  This means we are looking for an ethnic background of Czech if possible and Eastern European to open the selection pool a little.  When picking characteristics you can get as detailed as you want from ethnic background, hair color, eye color, religion, education level, etc.  The first time we searched, we checked off all the characteristics we wished for and clicked search.  To our amazement, there were no exact matches.  We quickly realized we would have to be less detailed in our wish list and decided to focus on the ethnic background and go from there.  That lead to the 11 possible donors on our favorite list.

Brittany and I will now take a closer look at each of the 11 to determine who the finalist will be.  I have three on the list that I am partial too.  The funny thing is that two of the three would probably produce a baby that would look nothing like me.  Mixed with Brittany genes the baby would for sure have darker skin tone, brown eyes, and dark brown hair.  I would look like the nanny!  They do have the Czech ethnicity, but that is about the only characteristics I would have in common with my child.  We will have to see how it all shakes out and I will let you know when the decision has been made.  

Free Flowing

So, this post is a little late...ok it is a lot late and I know many have been looking forward to it.

Several weeks ago, we went in to see if Brittany's Fallopian tubes were open.  This required an hysterosalpingogram or HSG.  This is an x-ray that looks at the inside of the uterus and the Fallopian tubes.  From what I could make out, this is not a pleasant experience.  The procedure requires a dye to be put through a thin tube and then that tube is put through the vagina and into the uterus.  The dye then flows through the uterus and the Fallopian tubes.  Then a balloon is inflated to prevent the dye from flowing out while and x-ray is taken.

This test will show any abnormalities of the uterus and blockages in the Fallopian tubes.  As you can see from the picture, both of Brittany's tubes are flowing freely and there are no issues with the uterus.  This is great news!  We don't have to worry about the eggs not being able to move through the tubes and the sperm not being able to swim and meet them.

The HSG itself was, "uncomfortable" as described by Brittany.  She also experienced cramping for the rest of the day which is normal after this test.  She did not experience as much pain as some do, so we were grateful for that.

Since the test, Brittany has been taking her medication to regulate her thyroid and to lower her A1C.  We have also been working on eating better to help with the thyroid levels.  It has been a little over a month taking the meds and it is time to have more blood tests.  We are hopeful that her levels are where they need to be and if so, we will begin the actual insemination process in July.

I have always appreciated my wife, but that appreciation has grown throughout this process.  I am grateful she is willing to go through all the procedures to grow our family.  Thank you Baby and I love you more than you know.