As I’ve mentioned before, the two weeks after trying for a baby before taking a pregnancy test are about the longest two weeks I’ve ever experienced, even worse than waiting for exam results.
I didn’t really expect our second try to be successful because I’d been so sick with a cold when we tried. Despite the evidence that says this shouldn’t affect getting pregnant, I couldn’t help but imagine my body shutting itself down for all but the most important bodily functions. Still, I endured the two weeks anyway, trying to keep positive in case it was successful. It was more difficult this time as I wasn’t able to chart my temperature or other symptoms since all I felt was sick with a cold.
In the meantime to prepare for the worst, we started looking at IVF clinics as this was the route we were going down should the ‘at home’ method not work. I was already seeing the specialist on the island who was giving me blood tests to determine if I was actually ovulating, a necessity since it’s possible I have polycystic ovaries which can affect your attempts to get pregnant. The test results all indicated I was ovulating which is a positive sign and mean that in theory I can get pregnant, if we get the timing right. In the meantime we continued to search across Europe for IVF clinics, comparing prices and trying to determine through reviews which ones we thought were most likely to be pro lesbian and suitable for us.
It felt good to be doing something pro-active, and although the clinic have an affiliation with a UK clinic, it proved to be extremely expensive, we had no choice in the donor we wanted, and there was likely to be a significant waiting list. Not content with having to go with that option, we managed to narrow our choices down to a clinic in Spain or one of three clinics in Denmark, should the impending pregnancy test be unsuccessful.
The day of the pregnancy test came around and I was still sick. We’d bought a couple of digital monitors to test on first thing in the morning and I dutifully POAS (pissed on a stick), taking it up to Abs, both of us settling in nervously to wait. The seconds ticked by with nothing happening while the stick was ‘thinking’ and analysing the results. We held our breaths, huddled together under the covers until letting out a deep breath as the ‘not pregnant’ flashed up again.
“Thought so.” I said, disappointment evident, despite our realistic expectations.
“IVF?” Abs said.
“Let’s go for it.” And there it was – our best chance now for getting pregnant was going to lie with us going on an adventure to Denmark and hoping they had more success than we’d had in our home attempts. All we needed to do was find thousands of pounds, hope my cycle would regulate itself, and be able to organise at least a week off work in the middle of teaching season! Oh well, we never thought this road would be easy…
Lizbian 