Update...

As you guys all know, we've been at this a while now and things have just not been going to plan.

Two weeks ago we decided to go back to see my wife's doctor to get referred for more tests etc. She had no problem doing it at all, we completely updated her on where things are with us not currently having a donor. We also told her that we're trying to get that situation sorted and we all had a laugh about it.

From her letter going out, it takes 3-4 weeks to get the appointment letter then around 3 months for the actual appointment. That puts us somewhere near Christmas which is about where we thought we'd be.

Since then, we've been talking to a couple of guys. One seemed to be really lovely, quite outgoing and generally what we're looking for. The other guy was incredibly shy and only 20 which initially made us nervous.

Outgoing guy was great to talk to on the phone and we all suggested that the following weekend would be a really good to meet up. He said that he wasn't 100% sure which day would be best for him but would text us to arrange with 48 hours. That time came and went. We emailed and text him over a few days and didn't hear back until a week later.

This worried us for all the same reasons that we've had issues before. We pretty much gave up with him after that.

Shy guy is actually awesome. We spoke to him and got the impression that he's got his head screwed on (a big bonus with him being so young) and is generally looking to help. We arranged to meet on Saturday last week after i had finished work. In the end, that didn't work out as he had something come up. This worried us yet again because it felt like he might be getting cold feet.

On Sunday he text asking if we were still up for getting together for a chat. Huge sigh of relief from the both of us. We got it all sorted and he came over to the city where we live and we went for a drink in Starbucks.

First impressions, he is beyond shy! My wife is a very shy sort of person but he eclipsed her. After a little while, he opened up a little more and he's lovely. He'd already gone to the clinic to get tested (without us having to ask) and was awaiting the results.

We're both really pleased with him, we left on good terms and discussed things on the way home. Both of us really like him, the only thing we were waiting for was his results.

They came though last night, he's all healthy! We decided that we're both really happy to go ahead and asked him if he is too, he said he is.

We're going to sort out the awkward stuff this weekend, you know, the "do you need any encouragement material?" the shoot and leave thing (more difficult because he doesn't drive).

Fingers crossed though, D4 is our lucky charm! We're hoping that his stuff is even more awesome than we've had before because of his age.

Time will tell!

Out of the blue

We're in a bit of shock at the minute.

On Monday evening D3 emailed us saying that he thinks we need more than one donation each time and thats not something he's able to do. He then goes on to say that he doesn't know of anyone that could help us then wishes us luck and best wishes.

We emailed him back asking if this meant that he didn't want to be our donor anymore or what because we're confused. On Tuesday morning we got a reply from him confirming that he didn't want to be our donor anymore.

We are completely shocked. He said that if he agrees to be our donor then he makes a lifelong commitment to donating to us and supporting us throughout. No where in that statement did he say, "so long as it happens in the first 3 attempts."

We really thought we'd found a really good guy who was in this with us until it worked. So shocked and feel completely let down by him and (even though this is about to sound completely melodramatic) life. There, i said it. Life is being a bit of a bitch when it comes to us trying to have a family.

So, it's now back to trawling through the websites trying to find the one guy who lives close enough who isn't a freak.

Ugh.

18 months on...

All of a sudden, I'm losing hope. Even with the new donor with super sperm, I just don't feel like it's ever going to work. 

No one tells you just what it means when they say that it can take years to conceive and no one explains the emotional toll it takes on you on, it's gut wrenching!

I just don't understand why it's not working, we're timing it perfectly, we're doing everything right before, during and after insemination. My wife is healthy. We're doing absolutely everything we possibly can and yet it still doesn't work & stick. We're pretty convinced that we've had as many as 3 chemical pregnancies on top of the miscarriage and that's starting to worry me. If conception is happening but something isn't working after that, how the hell do we improve things to make it work??

We could go for treatment but we really can't afford the thousands of pounds that it would cost and then the chances of it working are no greater than doing what we currently are. There's very limited access to stuff on the NHS too which is fair but we don't meet the criteria for it.

We sat up last night talking about it all, my wife is blaming herself for everything. That really upsets me because it's just not her fault, she's been so wonderful throughout this whole process and so strong. I couldn't be more proud of her through all of this.

The thought that it may never happen for us is going through my mind more and more at the minute, I know that it's only because we've had another disappointment but no matter how many times people tell us that we're meant to be parents and no matter how much we want it, that doesn't and won't ever make it happen.

Giving up really isn't an option for either of us but finding the strength to go on is near impossible to find at the minute.

Confusion

Last month ended in disappointment after we started getting our hopes up because we thought my wife was having implantation bleeding after starting to spot 4 days before her expected period which confused the crap out of us because she's never spotted that early before.

Now we're 5 days before her expected period and 11dpo and she's spotting again. More confusion, more questions, more stress.

Do not know what to think, half of me is hoping for the best, the other half is trying not to be too disappointed.


This bloody process is torture!!

To my future babies..

I'm your Mummy (not your tummy Mummy though). We haven't managed to conceive you yet but i thought it might be nice to write you a little letter than one day you might even get to read.

We've been trying to make you for a long time now with 3 different people trying to help us, it's been really hard and we have both been really upset about it not happening just yet but we are adamant that it will happen when the time is right and that you're going to be our perfect son or daughter.

I want you to know that i love you so much. I know that sounds weird because you're barely a twinkle  in our eyes at the moment but i do. I've dreamt about you since i was about 13, i've thought about what i'd like to call you (although that's changed a bit over the years), what sort of person you might be and how i'd like to raise you.

Your other Mummy is pretty amazing, she's beautiful and so funny and clever! She makes me so incredibly happy and the fact that she's going to be giving half of your genes makes my heart swell, you're one (or hopefully more) very lucky kid! I dream about what you'll look like all of the time, i hope you've got your Mummy's brilliant blue eyes and her beautiful smile with that cute little dimple that is just perfect.

I'm looking forward to the day we get that positive and we start making real plans for you, decorating the back bedroom, seeing you in the scans, preparing for your arrival. I dream of the day i watch you smile, walk and say your first word. I can't wait to watch you grow, give you a sibling or two or three, and show you as much of the world as possible.

I can't promise you that things will always be perfect or easy growing up, i'm sure at times you'll be furious with me, your other Mummy and/or the world. I can only promise that i'll be there as much as i can possibly be there, you'll always have me to talk to in one way or another and i hope that i always make easy for you to come to me.

I hope more than anything that we get to start preparing for you so very soon.

Mummy loves you, never ever forget that xxx

5am and i can't sleep

I haven't done a post like this in a very long time, today is 16 dpo and my wife is due her period today but we both feel more optimistic than we have done for a long time about the possibility of her being pregnant. 

Basically she's had early spotting, 2 days earlier in her cycle than it has EVER been and it was very light. We're hoping that it was implantation bleeding but we wont be sure until we get a positive test result and that may be another week away yet unless we decide to test earlier (a decision i'm leaving completely up to her). 

I don't know what to think. I don't want to get my hopes up and have them dashed again, i don't want to be too pessimistic, i'm worried in case she is and we get the same thing happen as last time again. 

But at the same time i'm excited....

This could be it!

Change....

The interesting guy got even more interesting. We sent emails back and forth for a few days then decided to have the phonecall.

We were nervous as hell but got our questions sorted and waited for the call. We asked everything we wanted to and more, he answered everything to our satisfaction and asked us lots of questions too. 

Before the phone call he sent us a donor contract to read over that we must agree to before he meets us. We read through it all and are really happy with it, he's been a donor at a clinic for a while (for medical research) and has undergone all of the relevant counselling etc that prepares him for being a donor. The contract basically states that we will not come after him for anything, we will have healthy lifestyles in order to promote a healthy pregnancy and raise our child/children with their wellbeing in mind. 

We're really happy with him and a few days later asked him to be our donor with a view to having a donation at some point within the next week. 

In the end, he could only do Thursday or Friday because he had a commitment to another couple who are trying for a sibling with him and he wont donate to more than one couple/person within 48 hours. This wasn't ideal for us as my wife was looking at ovulating on Wednesday but we it could have worked. When it came down to it, the only night i had off work was Thursday and my wifes ovulation delayed itself until Thursday so it was perfect!

We're now on 13dpo and there's weird stuff going on, fingers crossed it's good weird stuff but we just don't know.