TAKE MY PICTURE BY THE POOL

 'CAUSE I'M THE NEXT BIG THING!

A tiny Weezer fan is expected to join us in November! If you're thinking Wow I didn't know they liked Weezer that much, you'd be right. We're fans, sure, but really I've just had this goofy vision of using that line from "Beverly Hills" to announce a pregnancy for a ridiculously long time.

I fully intend to continue the transplant saga through to Joey's return home from the hospital post-surgery... eventually. 

Now, I want to write about a different piece of the story. Something that was happening concurrently but had to take a backseat, because, as Joey once said, "You can't be a good father if you're dead."

Quick note- If you wanna stop reading here for whatever reason, I get it. I've been on the other side of oh great another pregnancy announcement so if it reminds you of something difficult, feel free to ignore me for a while if you need to. Also, if you're like oh great another blog post with too much personal information, no hard feelings. But if you're like me and wish you could get all the details behind a vague social media update, have I got the post for you. 

Like it is with most stories, there's a long version and a short one. I'm going to try my hardest to stick to the short one, but YOU KNOW ME so no promises.

Around April 2021, we started infertility testing. And by we, I mean me since there's way more testing to be done on the partner with the uterus. Over the following three months, I had bloodwork done and several appointments and procedures scheduled. After my sonohysterogram, I had to get a bill corrected (dealing with insurance became an even more consistent theme in my life after this call) since they billed it to JOEY as if they filled his reproductive organs with saline and used an endocavity probe to get a good look inside (little did I know at the time that this too would become a relatively consistent occurrence). 

As you may recall, it was early July 2021 when we started noticing some troubling symptoms in Joey. All things fertility were put on hold. And many of you know the rest of the story (if you don't, I have a great, sporadically written blog about it called Toss a Coin for a Liver that you should check out).

Fast forward to July 2023. Joey has been healthy for a year and a half and we intend to pick up where we left off with the testing from two years before. I have gone over every bit of our insurance coverage (or at least it feels like I have) and I am confident that diagnostic testing regarding infertility should be covered. 

We get a bill. I get mad. After several calls and one formal appeal, I learned that testing was no longer covered and I was thinking of an outdated policy. 

But-- the benefits package now includes a recently added optional Fertility Insurance. I ask if it costs extra thinking that whatever it is would be worth paying for and the rep told me all we have to do is enroll, but it's built in coverage. No extra cost.

SIGN US UP, BAYBEE.

This call happened after days of despair. And I know I have a tendency to be dramatic, but there were three distinctly difficult days--in a row-- where I tried to envision how we could possibly bring a child (I had long let go of the idea of multiple since one was turning out to be so difficult) into our lives. I tried to realistically come to terms with the idea of being childfree.

What a freaking blessing to be given this opportunity.

I've mentioned before that we consider ourselves to be the luckiest members of the unluckiest clubs. May I remind you that this insurance benefit didn't exist for us in 2021? Assuming the current testing results would have been the same back then, we would have been stuck anyway. I don't share these details to brag about our privilege (though I do admit it likely plays a role), but rather to point out that this is the better timing. One might even say providential.  

We enrolled in the coverage and things moved quickly from there. 

In August, we had our initial appointment to discuss options. In September, we completed most of the preliminary testing requirements (bloodwork, genetic screening, sonograms, etc.). In October, we got our egg retrieval protocol calendar. In November, we had the egg retrieval. In December, we finally took the Disney trip originally planned for two years prior (briefly referenced here and here). In January, I reached out to the clinic about next steps. In February, I started meds to prepare for embryo transfer. In March, we transferred one embryo. Twelve days after, we learned she stuck. Last week, she did this.

"No pictures."

A lot happened in between all that- but I said I'd try to keep it short- so here's a few more photos to sum up.

You may be surprised to learn that it was much easier for me to inject myself with meds than it is for me to swallow a pill. 💉💊

I suppose this is our first family photo.

I actually kind of miss getting up early every morning with Joey to do my injections. 🍑 The shots in the butt continued for many weeks post-transfer.

Joey was actually hospitalized due to wonky bloodwork the weekend we graduated from the clinic, BUT he broke out in time to make it to this final appointment. 🎓

I have had a pretty easy pregnancy so far... physically. For this, I am incredibly grateful. Mentally, it's been a different story. The ups and downs of transplant life and infertility have not made it easy to believe any of this is really happening, but as someone who regularly comments on how attractive it is that Joey takes good care of his mental health, I'd be stupid not to reach out for additional care. So I have.

And I already feel a lot better.

And now, a word from our spoonzaddy: "I'm planning on wearing the khakis, belt, polo, and white crispy bois to bring her home from the hospital."