Infertility Survey - New spin on the old "Get To Know Your Friends" Survey

1. Name of the future mommy to be?: Shannon

2. Name of the future daddy to be?: Rik

3. How long has the future parents been together/married?: 6 years together, 3 years married next week.

4. When did you start trying to conceive?: February 2009

5. What is the hardest part of T.T.C?:  The emotional rollercoaster ride. Hoping, hoping, hoping and then failing month after month.  Dealing with people asking us when we're going to have kids ALL the time.  People telling me to "relax" when I know all the relaxing in the world won't help.

6. What does the future mommy want to have?:  A healthy baby to hold, snuggle, love and raise.  

7. What does the future daddy want to have?: He just said he doesn't care at this point, he just wants a child.  

8. Is there a certain month or season you’d like to have the baby in?: I used to think winter so I wouldn't be hugely pregnant during the summer, but at this point, I'd be pregnant through three summers if that's what it took.  :)

9. What are you looking forward to most when you finally conceive? Seeing my husbands face when he meets our baby for the first time, little hands, little feet, knowing we're a family, snuggling and playing, tickle fights, vacations, all the firsts that come with having a baby, loving him/her,  being someone's everything just because, diaper booty, toddler giggles... everything. 

10. What has been the best thing about the T.T.C. process? overcoming my fears, knowing I have so much support from my husband, improved communication in our marriage, learning and appreciating what a miracle having a child really is.

11. Pick out any names yet, for when the big day comes?:  Boy names are easy but girl names are always hard for me.  We have a few narrowed down and we talk about this quite a bit.  We are always throwing out possibilities.

12. Any certain reason for choosing those names? With a last name like ours, it's been tough finding names that go with it.  Our boys middle name will be the same as Rik's best friend.  

13. Do you know what T.T.C. stands for?: Telephone The Chinese?  Duh...

14. What things do you do to check for when your fertile?: Pay attention to my body, Ovulation Predictor Kits, and on treatment months, scans and trigger shots take the guesswork out of it.

15.Do you use Ovulation Tests? Yep.  Some months we do. 

16. What does the future daddy do to help you with T.T.C. process: My husband is amazing.  He goes to every appointment with me.  He brings his own list of questions to the appointments, he researches things, is incredibly supportive and protective and honestly, I could never have made it through this without his love and support.  He truly is amazing.  We've had our downs like anyone else, but he has put his own disappointment aside so many times just to help me through mine.  I owe my sanity to him at this point.

17. How long do you plan on continuing the T.T.C process?: Originally, one more IUI but now that I've had surgery and a new RE backing us up, we may give it a few more tries.  The others were futile attempts, these next few wouldn't be in our opinion.  

18. Will you consider In-Vitro or any other type of Infertility medicine?: I do not believe we'll go through IVF.  We'll try it all up to that point and mostly have already, but we won't spend that kind of money on a "maybe".  We'll spend it on a sure thing and start the adoption process.  I'd be just as happy mothering an orphan and making a difference in their lives as I would be having my own.  I'll be sad not to experience pregnancy, but thrilled to be a mommy.  If this doesn't work, I'll have no "what if's" and I'll be ok with moving on.  We would have given it a good shot.

19. Have you had your pre-conceiving physical?: Yes.

20.How many children would you like to have?: Two or three.  Either naturally or via adoption.  That's still unchanged.

21.Have you started buying some baby stuff?: When I first found out I was pregnant in 2009, I bought a picture frame that was not only the colors I wanted to do a nursery in but also vintage baseball themed.  That's always been how I want to decorate my little boy's nursery.

22.Any books that you’ve read that have been helpful?: A Few Good Eggs for me, How To Make Love To A Plastic Cup & Daddy's Pregnant Too for Rik.

23.Is your family and friends supportive of deciding to T.T.C.?: Yes, very supportive.  I haven't told that many family members about our journey, but I've told several friends who have gone through this themselves or people I just really trust and rely on.  It's been invaluable having them around during the hard times.

24. Have you made any BIG changes in your life to help you conceive? We've cut back on our spending, tried to reduce the stress in our lives, I've cut back on the social drinking and we've eliminated vacations and things that aren't mandatory so that we could save money.  

25.Have you abstained from alcohol and drugs? I've never been a drug user but have almost eliminated drinking from my life entirely.  On occasion I'll have a glass of wine, but that's about it.

26.So if you unfortunately do not conceive, then what?: Adoption, all the way.

27.Are you healthy enough to be pregnant?: Depends on your definition.  I'm in good shape, healthy...but obviously something is wrong since we aren't conceiving.

28.Do you really think your ready to be a parent?: Without a doubt in my mind.  I have 9 nieces, nephews and god-children.  Tons of love to give and I think I'd be good at it.  As for Rik, he's going to make the most amazing Daddy and some kiddo is going to be insanely lucky to have him as their father.

29.Any advice for other woman out there T.T.C.?: Educate yourself.  Learn as much as you can about the process regardless of what it is.  If your doctor tells you something, ask questions until you understand completely. Make your own recommendations and don't settle for anything until you're satisfied.  Find a support group or develop your own support system.  I can't stress how important this is.  Pray.  Be considerate of your spouse and his/her feelings.  They are T.T.C as well.

Thank you to my new blogger friend, M for sharing this survey with us.  Check out her answers!  It's crazy how similar our answers to these questions are.  :)  I had to try and change mine up a little so it didn't sound like I plagiarized!