Maryland was nice, but unseasonably cold. I didn't pack enough warm clothes, so I ended up borrowing from my mom and sister. I really should know better by now, I seem to do this every time. It did re-enforce that I'm much more comfortable living down South. It was great to see the mountains, everything was so green from the heavy rains. Quite a contrast to our drought and wild fires, but I'll take the warmth of FL any day. It's good to be home!
It was kind of fun celebrating our anniversary at my cousins wedding, everyone had a great time. (Thanks for the congrats btw!) We kept forgetting and then re-remembering through out the day since we were so focused on the wedding. I was reminded of the stress and chaos that goes into a wedding, I'm so happy to have that behind me. I had a beautiful wedding, but I wouldn't want to do it again!
I have to acknowledge how awesome my family is. Not one single person asked or mentioned having children in any way. They weren't tip-toeing around the subject either, it just wasn't an issue and never has been. My family has enough going on in their own lives to be overly concerned about ours. I don't mean that in a bad way, they really are great.
I feel like I'm still in vacation mode. I'm not ready to get back to reality, mostly IF reality. I came home to a few more info. packets from other clinics. I've looked them over briefly, but I'm not in any hurry to make decisions. Strange, because I was so impatient to make consultation appointments before I left. ...I'm pretty sure I'll snap out of it soon.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Going Home
Hi everyone. Thanks for all the advice and discussion about different clinics. I think I'm going to concentrate on the ones in the list from the previous post. M has added another clinic located on Long Island, Reproductive Specialists of NY so I guess we'll look into that as well. That's a whole other story in itself.
I'm going home to Maryland tomorrow! I haven't been home in nearly a year so I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone. My cousin is getting married on Saturday, May 17th(coincidentally, our anniversary) so it should be kinda neat. M is going to fly up on Thursday to be with us and put in his face time ;).
Obviously spending our anniversary at my parents house is less than ideal, but it'll be fine. We're going to plan a belated get away, hopefully to Savannah or some other fun destination later on. Last year we went to Captiva, FL which was beautiful. This is our 6th, so not all that "important". I can't believe how fast time is flying by, M and I have been together 10 years now!
Normally we are in Savannah for our anniversary (or close to it) and we get a small cake made from the same bakery (Savannah Rum Runners)that made our wedding cake. We had the most delicious butter cake with butter cream icing. This will be the first year without it because they don't like to ship it (for obvious reasons) but they will ship the Kahlua cake that we had as the grooms cake. So Kahlua it is!
Today, we're going up to the in-laws for Mothers Day, I have to put in my face time too. I hope it goes well without any unfortunate comments from the FIL. Wish me luck. :) Ha ha. I hope everyone has a good day, I know it's kinda hard.
I'm going home to Maryland tomorrow! I haven't been home in nearly a year so I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone. My cousin is getting married on Saturday, May 17th(coincidentally, our anniversary) so it should be kinda neat. M is going to fly up on Thursday to be with us and put in his face time ;).
Obviously spending our anniversary at my parents house is less than ideal, but it'll be fine. We're going to plan a belated get away, hopefully to Savannah or some other fun destination later on. Last year we went to Captiva, FL which was beautiful. This is our 6th, so not all that "important". I can't believe how fast time is flying by, M and I have been together 10 years now!
Normally we are in Savannah for our anniversary (or close to it) and we get a small cake made from the same bakery (Savannah Rum Runners)that made our wedding cake. We had the most delicious butter cake with butter cream icing. This will be the first year without it because they don't like to ship it (for obvious reasons) but they will ship the Kahlua cake that we had as the grooms cake. So Kahlua it is!
Today, we're going up to the in-laws for Mothers Day, I have to put in my face time too. I hope it goes well without any unfortunate comments from the FIL. Wish me luck. :) Ha ha. I hope everyone has a good day, I know it's kinda hard.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Best IVF Clinic
Thanks Mel for posting my RE/clinic search request on Lost and Found. I'm looking for recomendations of awesome IVF clinics, primarily on the East Coast. So far, this is what I’ve found doing my own google research…
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NY, NY -I’ve been told by a fellow blogger that uses Cornell that their embryology/andrology department is fantastic and their numbers are really good.
NYU Fertility Center, NY, NY -Also has fantastic numbers!
Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center, Rockville, MD -I don’t know much about this clinic, but they have good numbers and I'm from MD, so this would be easy to do.
Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, Englewood, CO -Not on the East Coast, but their numbers are so amazing, I couldn’t discount them, and they were ranked number one a few years ago!
The Reproductive Medicine Group, Tampa, FL -I don't know much about this one either, but they are in the neighborhood. I just took another look at them thanks to Fertilized and they have good stats as well.
If anyone has any additions or opinions about my list, please feel free to make suggestions or comments.
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NY, NY -I’ve been told by a fellow blogger that uses Cornell that their embryology/andrology department is fantastic and their numbers are really good.
NYU Fertility Center, NY, NY -Also has fantastic numbers!
Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center, Rockville, MD -I don’t know much about this clinic, but they have good numbers and I'm from MD, so this would be easy to do.
Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, Englewood, CO -Not on the East Coast, but their numbers are so amazing, I couldn’t discount them, and they were ranked number one a few years ago!
The Reproductive Medicine Group, Tampa, FL -I don't know much about this one either, but they are in the neighborhood. I just took another look at them thanks to Fertilized and they have good stats as well.
If anyone has any additions or opinions about my list, please feel free to make suggestions or comments.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Botanical Garden Field Trip
I met up with Barb today for an awesome field trip. She invited me to go with her to the botanical gardens here in Orlando and it was beautiful! She even pointed out some of the birds that are migrating through Florida this time of year. Very cool, because I'm oblivious . :)
I'm ashamed to admit that I've lived in Orlando for three years and I've never been to the gardens before. What's worse, I lovvvve plants, so I have no excuse. Thanks Barb, for getting me out of the house and showing me such an awesome place. Here are some pictures from our beautiful day...
I'm ashamed to admit that I've lived in Orlando for three years and I've never been to the gardens before. What's worse, I lovvvve plants, so I have no excuse. Thanks Barb, for getting me out of the house and showing me such an awesome place. Here are some pictures from our beautiful day...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Time For a New RE?
Yesterday I left another v-mail with the clinic making it clear that I am very unhappy with the way they are handling my money. I finally heard back from the Director of Finance just now.
She did apologize and explained that they have a new system, blah blah blah and this is not typical. But here's the kicker, I won't be seeing my $5,000+ for at least another week. I'll be lucky if I have it by next Friday.
She said that the clinic is now partners with Integra.med and they have to send all "claims" up to their corporate headquarters in NY for processing. Well, she hasn't even done that yet.
I am so angry with them right now. If that's the case, it will take nearly a full month to get my refund. What if I was planning on going to another clinic for treatment and needed the money? I'd be delayed just because their accounting department is a bunch of idiots.
I really wish there was something I could do about this, but I guess I have to sit back and take it. Thanks for letting me know that I'm not crazy for expecting better service.
M thinks we should consider other clinics, big surprise. For some reason he thinks a clinic up north might be the answer. Maybe he's right, I need to keep my options open and look around for the best treatment we can afford. So far no one locally has been able to help me in any significant way. I don't know if I've given them a proper chance or not though. It's *only* been 15 months since I first started with them and I haven't done a proper IVF.
Would you change RE's at this point?
I don't know much about it, but Cornell keeps popping up as one of the best. It seems to be a go-to clinic for difficult patients. That said, I have a suspicion that they are very pricey and may not be a real option for us.
I've tried looking up the rankings, but haven't had much luck, I found one but it seemed a little out of date (2004 maybe). Let me know if you've come across a good list or have any recommendations.
She did apologize and explained that they have a new system, blah blah blah and this is not typical. But here's the kicker, I won't be seeing my $5,000+ for at least another week. I'll be lucky if I have it by next Friday.
She said that the clinic is now partners with Integra.med and they have to send all "claims" up to their corporate headquarters in NY for processing. Well, she hasn't even done that yet.
I am so angry with them right now. If that's the case, it will take nearly a full month to get my refund. What if I was planning on going to another clinic for treatment and needed the money? I'd be delayed just because their accounting department is a bunch of idiots.
I really wish there was something I could do about this, but I guess I have to sit back and take it. Thanks for letting me know that I'm not crazy for expecting better service.
______________________________
M thinks we should consider other clinics, big surprise. For some reason he thinks a clinic up north might be the answer. Maybe he's right, I need to keep my options open and look around for the best treatment we can afford. So far no one locally has been able to help me in any significant way. I don't know if I've given them a proper chance or not though. It's *only* been 15 months since I first started with them and I haven't done a proper IVF.
Would you change RE's at this point?
I don't know much about it, but Cornell keeps popping up as one of the best. It seems to be a go-to clinic for difficult patients. That said, I have a suspicion that they are very pricey and may not be a real option for us.
I've tried looking up the rankings, but haven't had much luck, I found one but it seemed a little out of date (2004 maybe). Let me know if you've come across a good list or have any recommendations.
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