Building a House, Master Card Baby!, Ovary Bootcamp and the Cryoshipper Has Left The Building

It's been almost two weeks since my last post and I feel like we've laid a lot of groundwork. Lately I've been saying that this is a lot like building a house, and we are the general contractors, with many subcontractors, suppliers, materials and laborers. Having experienced a home renovation a few years ago, the analogy seems to fit perfectly. Things have to be in sync or else everything that follows gets delayed. Along the way you are met with many frustrations and obstacles, but, as they say, you have to "keep your eyes on the prize" (thanks for that reminder, Mike). At this point there have been no major delays, but boy oh boy, there are times I feel like I'm working a second job. I'm guessing that the front-end legwork is the most intense as we have nothing really to do with the baking that goes on for 9 months. That will be an interesting journey totally separate from the preparation portion. And THEN getting to India for baby pick up will be a super adventure from what I've been reading based on other people's experiences. Oh what great fodder for this blog...

Communication with Rotunda has improved greatly now that we have direct contact instead of going through Planet Hospital. It's such a relief to email someone and actually receive a response in less than 24 hours. The other day we even got a schedule of all our appointments while in Mumbai (+- 1 day given that we ARE dealing with the human body here). I felt so hopeful knowing we were on target and had firm dates for all the procedures. Our tickets are very close to being booked! I also went online the other day to check travel visas to India -- we'll have to send our passports to the west coast to get them but that shouldn't be a problem. Other things on the list are booking the hotel, ordering fertility medications for KK, selecting a surrogate!, etc etc. In between all of this we've got my nephew Luke's wedding in L.A. on August 16th, where we will have another chance to see KK and several family members. It will be a nice reunion and a great time to touch base with everyone before we leave for India the following month.

Speaking of KK, I received a great email from her the other day that I have to share. She was getting back to us on her expenses incurred to date for the baby prep, and I think she knew it was going to end up on this blog as she wrote it...it was just waaaayyyy too classic...

Progesterone: $9

Birth Control: $30

Shuttles to and from SFO (LA Trip): $40

George's* Accessories: $20

Passport & Photo: $116

Total: $215

Little Baby: Priceless.

She seems to have the right attitude (LOVE HER), and thank goodness, because the last week before we leave and a few days while we are in Mumbai are going to be a little uncomfortable. When I sent her the schedule (which involves giving herself shots, going to the doctor for ultrasounds, traveling 20 hours on an airplane, more shots, ultrasounds, egg harvesting, fertilization and embryo transfer -- phew!), her response was

"sounds like bootcamp!"

More like ovary bootcamp, I said... but she's a tough girl and we'll be there to help her out. I can't imagine it being THAT bad...(oh stop saying famous last words...).

Finally, today was another momentous step forward as the cryoshipper that is going to transport Bill's goods from the clinic in San Francisco to Mumbai officially left India. In a few days it will arrive at the Pacific Fertility Center and they will move the 12 sample "straws" to the tank, and it will make it's journey back to Rotunda.

These shippers are vacuum-sealed tanks made of lightweight aluminum and are cooled to -150 degrees with liquid nitrogen. The good thing is that the tanks travel with someone the whole time. God forbid it goes through the x-ray machine (not good, I repeat, not good), gets left somewhere to thaw (another NOT GOOD), or washes away in a Mumbai monsoon! Another good thing is that each tank is charged for 21 days, though it doesn't take that long to get there. There's a lot of cushion for any kind of delays...I'm liking like that.

It's kinda neat to think that half of what we need to create this little miracle will precede us and be waiting patiently for our arrival on September 18th! I'm still amazed at what science can do. I'm thanking all those science geeks in high school right now. You guys rock!

Next Up: San Francisco - Cincinnati - London - Mumbai