I ran across a very insensitive comment by someone who clearly wanted me to know that they did not believe that in vitro is an acceptable way to start a family for a Christian woman who believes in the sanctity of life.
My first inclination? To give this person a piece of my mind. To get angry, because I was angry. Words started swirling in my head, oh the things I was going to say! But even as my eyes began to gleam with the intensity of it all, God squashed the whole thing before it ever left my brain. It was like He was saying, “Chill, Mandy. Would you look through my eyes? I love this person! You are accountable to me, not anyone else.”
Ah, shoot. He was right, and I deflated.
So I thought about it. And the bottom line is I get it.
Not everyone agrees with the in vitro process. There are a lot of potential concerns. To answer them, we have worked with our team of doctors to implement constraints aimed at honoring each of our embryos as babies. If we lose an embryo, we will mourn the loss of our baby.
Even so, I get that this isn’t the path for everyone.
But this is our path. And what a tremendous opportunity we have been given to witness!! Already, God has given us amazing opportunities for discussion with the doctors and nurses we are working with, and my prayer is that He will continue to do so. God works in mysterious ways, and praise the Lord that He does. If this is the road He has laid out in order to bring our babies into the world, then amen and hallelujah.
That being said, I want to offer up an invitation: If you have questions for me about this process, I love a good discussion.
As we near the end of in vitro week 3, I have a lot of exciting updates!
......LIKE OUR PROTOCAL!!!
Today, we headed up to OHSU to meet with our IVF nurse coordinator to go over consent forms, learn how to give injections, and go over all the dates, times and drugs for my cycle (also known as a protocol)
Let me just say that our appointment was at 9, but we didn’t get there until 10, since it took us three hours to make the 40 minute drive to Portland. Why? A truck carrying hay bales dumped its load all over I5 in the middle of rush over. And as a result, every single stinking side road in Portland was a mess. A MESS. I do not jest when I say we went 1 mile in 40 minutes. I don’t deal well with traffic. I think I was hyperventilating.
When we finally got to OHSU, we were met with the bright smiles of the wonderful fertility clinic staff. I just love those people! What a gift that God has placed us in such a supportive and welcoming environment!!
The most exciting part of the visit came when our nurse coordinator busted out the drugs, needles and “dummy tummies” (little belly-shaped half moons that we practiced injecting the medicine into). I thought they were so cool, I tried to take a picture (so I could post it, of course!)….but Adam said no. Such a killjoy!
We learned how to measure out the different drugs Adam will be injecting into my belly, and went over when each should be taken. We have a lot of dates. For a couple weeks, I’ll be doing three injections a day—one in the morning, and two at night.
At the moment, we’re looking at an egg retrieval date on or near December 1, and an embryo transfer on or near the 9th. That puts our pregnancy test on December 19….one week before Christmas. There would be no greater present than the gift of a baby.
We left OHSU with a Lupron kit, which is the first drug we will be injecting. That starts on November 4th. Adam was actually pretty excited about the injections—my analytical, task-focused husband will undoubtedly be the best man for this job.
We’re feeling pretty excited to have this show on the road, and it feels SO good to have a timeline to look forward to. We ask for continued prayers for this process; that we might be used as God’s mouthpiece as He speaks through us, that we would feel God’s continued peace and assurance, and (of course) for a baby Breitenstein!
This whole thing reminds me of Isaiah, and tonight, my prayer is simple:
Here I am, Lord send me!
I want to live my life as an offering.
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