Vegas!

One of my favorite people in the world just turned 40 and decided to celebrate her birthday by getting a group of people together in Las Vegas. 

Mark and I have both been to Las Vegas before, but not together.  So we thought it would be fun to experience Vegas as a couple.  Also, a weekend of drinking, gambling, shows, lounging by the pool and not thinking about infertility was just what the doctor ordered.

Our first day/night was comprised of lunch with the group, a trip along the strip to the Stratosphere to see the top and ride the rides (that was fun).  We broke off for a romantic evening together just the two us.  Mark and I had dinner at The Venetian followed by a gondola ride and “O” at the Bellagio.  Mark thought it was hilarious that I insisted on a gondola ride since I had “real” gondola ride in the “real” Venice.  I said that I didn’t care and I wanted the full Vegas experience.

The only bad part of the evening was that we walked instead of cabbing it and I (of course) was wearing heels.  Ouch, ouch, ouch.  My poor feet.

Our second day/night we met up with the group for some gambling, dinner and a show at The Flamingo.  We actually saw an Elvis impersonator in Vegas.  I now feel like I have had the full experience.

Our third day/night we hung out by the pool for a few hours.  The drinks were ungodly expensive but totally worth it considering how hot it was.  Well, hot by comparison to Minnesota.

That evening we went downtown.  Neither Mark nor I had been to downtown on our previous trips, so that was a new experience for both of us.  It was a completely difference experience from the strip.  It wasn’t bad though.  We had dinner at Oscar’s and the steak was fantastic.  All along Fremont there were bands and entertainers.  The drinks were cheap and the slots were loose (I actually won on a slot machine for a change).

Our last day we were on our own again until our afternoon flight.  Everyone else left in the morning.  Our first stop was to have a hangover omelet complete with Bloody Mary (remember that the drinks were cheap last night).  We then went to Paris where I insisted on going up the Eiffel Tower, even though I have been to the top of the “real” Eiffel Tower in the “real” Paris.  Again, the full Vegas experience.  Our last stop was to the Bellagio to check out the conservatory.

All in all it was a nice trip J

The Consent Signing

This was our first trip back to our clinic in over a year.  Our last visit was our IVF follow up where they explained the grading of our day 3 embryos (3 grade 3 and 1 grade 4) and suggested that we may want to try yet another IVF cycle in the chance that it may yield better quality embryos.  Needless to say, it was not the most pleasant visit in the world.

This visit was occurring under much better circumstances.  We were getting ready to give those 4 “fair” embryos a chance, so now everyone is hopeful that they will work and that the quality won’t be an issue.

Our appointment started with the collection of my vitals (weight and blood pressure check).  I thought this was strange and completely unnecessary to sign a contract, but they said that they needed it.  The only good news was that after all that we have been through I am finally back to my pre-IVF weight.  Oh, in addition to being a costly, emotionally trying, invasive procedure, one of the often occurring side effects of fertility treatments is weight gain.  Talk about kicking you when you are down!

Our doctor came in with the paperwork and we got down to business.  Since we had been through this process once before already it went pretty quickly as we didn’t really have too many questions.  We talked about timing of a transfer based on 1) GCs cycle 2) the required 4-5 transfer drug protocol 3) clinic available timing and 4) our work schedules.  We are looking at a mid-June transfer.

Our last stop was with the financial counselor to “show them the money”.  Another large check written to our clinic……

Sign On The Dotted Line (Again).....

We should really learn to read the instructions.

We figured out on Tuesday that we need 3 original signed and notarized copies of the contract.  We have 1.  Oops.

So, coffee in hand (again), the four of us met (again), at the closest branch of our mutual bank to sign the GC contract (again).

Unfortunately this time did not go as smoothly as the last time.  GC and her husband had to drive separately as each had a child with them that needed to go to an appointment right after our signing appointment.  I do give my niece and nephew a lot of credit.  They were actually very good and very patient during our signing process.

We also got a different personal banker this time as our notary.  While our previous person was very professional, this person seemed to be phoning it in that day.  He almost forgot to have us sign the notary book.  He was obviously bored by the whole process and had better things to do.  Or at least that is the impression that he was giving us.

Oh well.  We NOW have the required 3 originally signed and notarized copies of the contract and hopefully did not inconvenience GC and her husband too greatly in the process.

Advocacy Alert - MN Residents Act Now!

I generally try to stay out of and avoid discussing politics as much as possible.  But, when there is a political agenda and possible legislative changes that could impact my ability and the ability of many others to build a family, then I will get involved.


If you live in Minnesota, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with proposed Bills SF 348 and HF 437.  This bills could create a legislative environment where not only would surrogacy not be legal in Minnesota, but IVF and egg and sperm donation could also become illegal.


Please also take a moment to write to local representative to ask them to oppose these bills.


Remember that if you don't fight for your rights, no one else will.


You can do so in minutes by following the link below.....




http://www.resolve.org/get-involved/the-center-for-infertility-justice/state-legislation/2015-resolve-state-legislative-efforts.html#MN


State: Minnesota Bill Numbers: SF 348 and HF 437
Updated: March 6, 2015

• Description of Bill: This bill would establish a Commission made up of state legislators to analyze surrogacy and IVF and review ethical considerations of allowing these to occur in Minnesota.
• Does RESOLVE support or oppose this Bill: RESOLVE opposes this bill.
• Analysis of Bill: On the surface this bill appears to be neutral in reviewing surrogacy in Minnesota and the public policy issues associated with surrogacy agreements. However, the bill is biased and slanted against surrogacy, which is not defined (gestational carrier vs. traditional surrogacy.)  The bill questions the ethics of conceiving children via surrogacy, IVF, egg and sperm donation. The bill tasks the commission with studying the business practices of fertility clinics, attorneys and brokers. This seems to be far outside the expertise of a Commission and does not serve the interests of Minnesota residents.
• Current status of the Bill in the legislative process: The bill has been introduced in the Minnesota Senate and referred to the State and Local Government Committee. The Senate Bill had a committee hearing on February 16, 2015. At that time, the bill was tabled. The House bill was introduced in the Minnesota House and referred to the Civil Law and Data Practices Committee. The bill has passed through the House Civil Law and Data Practices Committee and sent to the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee on a divided voice vote. 
• Link to Bill: SF 348; HF 437
• To read about the supporters of this bill, visit their website link here.
• Read "Legislators Taking Aim at Third-Party Reproduction" published by choiceMoms.org.
• Read "Surrogacy policies need more thoughtful development, committee votes" published in the Minnesota Session Daily.
• Local Volunteer Needs: Please send a letter opposing this bill to the Minnesota State Legislators here. If you want to testify against this bill or meeting directly with your state legislators on this issue, please contact RESOLVE at info@resolve.org.

Sign On The Dotted Line.....

We have a final contract.  Now all we need to do is sign it.  That should be easy right? 

Sort of.

The contract needs to be signed and notarized.  So, all parties need to find a notary and sign the contract together in front of said notary.

We decided that the easiest thing to do was for all four of us to meet at the closest branch of our mutual bank.  The bank offers notary services for free to customers and is open on Saturdays.  Score!

Coffee in hand we met up at the bank at 9 am on a Saturday morning.  We found a personal banker to notarize and away we went.  In addition to our notarized signatures at the end of the contract, each page had to be initialed by all four parties (all 42 of them).  There was also a page the GC had to write out in her own handwriting.  We decided to create an assembly line to make the process as fast as we could.

The personal banker was nice and very professional.  He went about checking our IDs and filling out his notary book and tried not to ask very many questions about the nature of the contract.

One more thing checked off the list.