21wks3days

Another week closer to viability and to baby. We (me) are in severe nesting mode, we've lived in our house for five years now and haven't done a whole lot to it. So now as the prospect of bringing home baby looms, we want to try to do as much as possible to improve the house. We made a big list about a month ago of things to get done and our original plan was to tackle one thing a weekend but that goal hasn't quiet been met. However this past week we moved forward with a few items. We bought ceiling fans to be installed in our bedroom and the future baby room and on Wednesday we got them installed. We have a painter coming Monday to paint our office (aka the third bedroom) and we're getting estimates now to have our kitchen cabinets and countertops replaced. Based on the first bid we may end up doing some of the installation ourselves. We've picked out the crib and mattress we want but I want to hold off buying it until 24 weeks, just in case. Oh and we found out we got in our #2 daycare pick, it's little further from our house but it's a great program. It feels like it was too easy, I thought we'd be waiting until after baby comes. Haven't heard anything from our #1 pick, but I know they cashed our waiting list check so we must be on the list.

I'm starting to more consistently feel something moving around. It's still not what I would describe as a kick or punch, but a weird sensation in my lower abdomen. My sleep is not great, but that's about it, some nights I just can't get comfortable. This week I think the fact that everything is in bloom and the weather has been so odd has given me a sore throat, running nose, and cough, blah. But everyone else seems to be experiencing the same issues, spring blooming came much earlier this year. 

I still haven't heard anything from the clinic regarding that extra amount they want us to pay, I'm trying not to worry too much about it. I did get an email this week from the sperm bank we used letting us know our donor has retired. There are still vials available for purchase but once those are gone that's it. So now we're faced with the dilemma of waiting or going ahead and buying a couple of vials (to the tune of $715 each, plus the yearly storage fee). On one hand we hate spending the money right now, but on the other hand we want to make sure we have the option of giving this baby a sibling. Although when I start thinking about trying for a second baby I start thinking about the chances of lighting striking again. We are so very lucky to have finally had IVF work and I'm worried we might not be so lucky again. We haven't really talked to other people about it much because I'm sure they'll think we're insane, but we want to start IVF again for a second child sometime around baby's 1st birthday (provided nothing catastrophic happens). Our reasoning is that it took us 7 years to get to this point and we don't want to wait that long again. Plus my egg reserve isn't going to magically replenish itself, and I'll be 32 by the time we hopefully celebrate baby's 1st birthday, which is three years away from advanced maternal age. And since my ovaries are already aging too quickly and Doug isn't getting younger, it feels like time is of the essence.