Page One of Our Family Fairy Tale

The follicle had grown to 15mm by the time of our Saturday appointment, so we were told to give D the trigger shot on Monday evening and schedule the IUI for Wednesday. At 12:45 tomorrow, D will be inseminated.

We're a little worried that the timing isn't right, but then again worrying seems to be old hat for us these days. We bought an ovulation predictor kit Sunday evening and have tested D practically every hour since. The box is supposed to be a one-month supply but I'm certain that it won't last us longer than Wednesday morning.

Monday (pre-shot) went something like this:

1. First, we panicked when we couldn't find the medicine, which over a month ago we had carefully placed behind the eggs in the refrigerator. I frantically threw yogurt containers around in what seemed to be a frenzied dance as D said over my shoulder "Where the hell is it?! What did you do with it?! I put it right there!" (We finally realized that it had somehow fallen to the first shelf).

2. We were all set to go -- washed hands, clean work surface, sterile gauze pad, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, pre-filled Ovidrel syringe -- check. We then read the instructions and realized we had to wait for the medicine to return to room temperature prior to administering it. Of course we then panicked about not knowing how long it takes for medicine that has been in the refrigerator to return to room temperature. And we had no idea how we would know when it was room temperature.

3. After waiting about twenty minutes, we then freaked out again over the brevity of the directions that came with the medicine and frantically searched for videos on YouTube to make sure we were properly clearing the air from the syringe and injecting it correctly. When in doubt, check YouTube. Who would think that we'd find one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A55hXymEXnQ

4. I watched D stand with the needle positioned at a 90 degree angle ready to stab it into her pinched abdominal flesh for what seemed like twenty minutes while she laughed and said things like "This just isn't natural [...]. I don't think I can do this [...]. I can't do this!" I offered to do it for her, but D was apparently more scared by that idea than stabbing herself.

She finally did do it (which is good because although I offered I didn't know if I could really do it), and after reporting our injection success to the soon-to-be grandmothers, we settled in for a night of catching up on recorded TV shows.

So, Wednesday is the day that we hope our son or daughter's life begins.

Once upon a time, on a Wednesday afternoon in July...