We did it—again!

Another cycle in the books. Now to let the embryos grow (hopefully)!

This cycle was our best so far—a full 25 follicles at my final monitoring appointment, no ovarian or breast pain, and frankly I walked in and out of today's retrieval feeling great. I didn't tear up even a little when getting my IV. In fact, I kept my eyes open during my last blood draw earlier this week, and even snuck a peek at the blood mid-flow late last week—talk about overcoming a phobia. To top things off, I had surprisingly productive afternoon in the office after the ritual post-retrieval coffee cocktail at The Royal in downtown Oakland.

That's not to say we got a drama-free cycle. There was an FDA test scare that required a last-minute re-run of the full panel (after much cajoling), and due to an inconveniently week-late ovulation, my retrieval timeline was pushed precisely to the day after Nicolas flew out to Europe. My battles with Cigna continue—although they now, for the most part, acknowledge that Nicolas isn't my sperm donor, I found myself yesterday filing my first complaint with the California Department of Insurance under Spring's guidance.

After all the highs and lows, here I am enjoying an injection-free evening while the fate of another 10 mature eggs lie in the hands of Spring's embryologists.

Even Lily got in on celebrating the end of my fourth cycle!

And guess what else? My parents send us their congratulations! That's right, now that we're done* making our embryos and our future surrogacy agency has acknowledged receipt of our retainer fee—yes, that also happened today—it was time to share the news, which went over pleasantly well. They even said I shouldn't feel guilty about the choice to use a gestational carrier. It'll be a secret from the rest of the Aloia/Repak clan for now—no need to jinx it or break the hearts of cousins whose dream we might be trying on for size—but getting my parents' approval about becoming a parent on my terms has lifted a weight that was bearing down heavy for the past 8 months. It's nice to have earned a night off.

*done: as in, we think we won't be making more, but life is complicated so I still took my vitamins tonight just in case.