IVF Update & Plan

Sorry for the delayed update! I've been spending any down time trying to figure all this IVF stuff out (it's a lot and so overwhelming!). Our phone call with Dr Kiltz went well. It was a ton of info in about 20mins. I feel like we've been processing it all and coming up with a plan ever since!  Most of it was stuff I had already learned from their website and several CNY Facebook groups I'm in (those ladies have been amazing with helping me figure things out!) but there was some new stuff too. 

Since then I've been in contact with my nurse through emails and phone calls and she's amazing! I got my whole medicine protocol (SO many meds!) and Ben and I have been researching the best places for me to get each one for the best price. Meds can easily cost over $4000 but we're figuring out ways to get them cheaper. Certain pharmacies offer different coupons and discounts. We applied to a program called Compassionate Care and got approved for a big discount with them. So thankful for that! I met with a new doctor this past Wednesday to talk about all the monitoring I'll need before we go to NY for my egg retrieval (probably 2-3 ultrasounds and blood work each time). Doing it with this new doctor instead of my current fertility doctor will save us about $500. Another big blessing! 

Because it takes a while to get meds (most you have to order from special pharmacies) and we wanted to shop around a little for the best price, we'll be skipping February and doing our IVF cycle in March. I'm sure it will be here before we know it! We are also moving in February so doing IVF the same month would have been stressful and I would have been pretty useless to help with anything! 

I'm starting to feel more excited and hopeful. I'm glad we aren't rushing in and have til March to figure out details. I'm still nervous about all the meds and side-effects and possible problems but I'm trying to stay positive and focused on hopefully getting some babies out of all this! The "what ifs" seem to be endless. But the hope for good things to come is greater than the fear (most days, I still cry my fair share of tears). 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and encouragement! Love you all! 

Moving Forward...

Wanted to give a quick update with where we are in both our foster and fertility journeys:


Foster care: I've been in contact with a DCS supervisor and she is looking over all of our old trainings and paperwork to get an idea of where we need to start with our re-licensing process. We're really hoping we don't have to start ALL over and some of it will carry over. We will probably have to do another home study since we moved from our last place that got approved. I'm not looking forward to having to get our little house foster care ready for just the last two months of our lease but will do it if I have to (we are planning a move mid/end of February). We know we'll have some trainings to do to get up to date again, just not sure which ones. We're hoping to hear back from them later this week.

Fertility: I've been doing a LOT of research over the past few days and even though we'd love to do the procedure that's new to the U.S., it's just not the best choice for us cost-wise. Although we like our current clinic and doctor ok (I've got some issues with how they do stuff, that's a whole other blog post though), we've decided to pursue IVF at an amazing clinic in Syracuse, New York. Even traveling there, the total cost will be around half of what we'd pay here. It's still very expensive but there are some added benefits with how they do things there that make it worth it. I set up a phone consult today for Jan 30th with the main doctor and founder of the clinic. He's an amazing man who has made it his goal to make infertility treatments affordable for everyone. His IVF costs are literally thousands of dollars less than what other clinics charge. He also is very into natural ways to help infertility (diets, supplements, Chinese medicine and practices to help with stress, etc.). Anyway, we're looking forward to talking to him and working with him after this cycle. I am finally starting to get a little more hopeful and excited about this new IVF journey. It's been a hard pill for me to swallow but I'm coming around.

Please be praying for us as we move forward in both of these areas. There are also some unspoken/typed things going on that we'd love prayers and good thoughts about too...2017 is looking like it might be a pretty great year for us! Thank you for continuing to walk life along side us.