An Education

Thank god for required classes!  I will be the first to admit I thought the notion of "IVF Class" was both ridiculous and boring and I am happy to report that I was completely wrong.  Our program requires two classes, IVF 1 & 2.  Each class is available only once a month, and due to some scheduling issues we are taking our classes backwards.  IVF Class 2 was the Injection Class, and as it turned out, it couldn't have come at a better time.

The first and most important thing we learned in class is that WE DON'T HAVE TO USE THE 18 GAUGE NEEDLES!  I typed that all in caps because the moment I found that out I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.  When we got our meds the 18 gauge came included with the intramuscular shots and they were pretty much terrifying to both Brady and I.  We have done two subcontaneous (in the belly) shots before but those use little tiny insulin needles, the big needles were seriously frightening.  In class we learned those are for drawing the injection only, then we switch to a 21 gauge for the actual intramuscular shot itself.  I was so relieved I almost cried.

The second thing we learned in class was really more of a dissapointment.  We were kind of excited at the prospect of meeting people like us!  That is people going through IVF, and maybe even make some friends that we could go through the process with.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case.  Most of the couples were older and very serious.  I know that it's a class and that the subject matter is a little intense, but seriously, I think we were the only ones who smiled or laughed at all.  I know it's a hard process, I am going through it too, but if I can't laugh about it sometimes I think I'll go crazy and these people? They were not the laughing kind.  Hopefully we will meet some more lighthearted folks in the next class.


We also learned that we are starting to get a grip on this stuff, that it isn't as scary as we thought and that we are actually going to rock this shit.  I'm no genius but I think that means we get an A+ for our first class.