My husband just bought a small rototiller for our garden. I was telling my mom about it when she called me on Sunday. She asked me if it was going to be for Fathers' Day or for his birthday. I told her it was kind of a birthday present, but maybe just a fun thing to get since I'm spending money on a trip to Rhode Island. I totally ignored the fact that she had talked about it being a Fathers' Day present when my husband isn't even a father yet. I'm sure my mother wasn't really thinking. But it just shows me how people tend to think of Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day as holidays for husbands and wives, when that really isn't how it is.

I've read over half of the book about invitro-fertilization. It really convinced me that my doctor wasn't so crazy when he suggested that we wait for a year after completing fertility treatments before going on to IVF. I also got a better picture of the probability of getting pregnant. What I had never realized before is how in nature only around 15-20% of all embryos implant in the uterus. For women undergoing IVF, 10% of the embryos have been found to implant. This explains why doctors will transfer several embryos at once to give a better chance of pregnancy (and a better chance of multiples too). There wasn't too much in the book about ICSI, but it did say that it produces the same, if not better, birthrates as conventional IVF. Also, ICSI has fertilization rates of 70% and is used for sperm counts of less than 10 million per mL. ICSI is so promising that it in the future it may be used for all IVF procedures, not just those involving low sperm counts.

Yesterday I read a book about a woman who struggled with infertility as she neared the end of her child-bearing years. She evenually decided to not adopt, but to be childfree. Like many of the infertility stories I have read the last couple of weeks, she was a writer, and put her work first. It was only when she was older that she decided to become a mother. I think I need to find more books about regular people (not journalists or authors) who don't put their writing and career in front of their desire to have a baby.

These books have certainly reminded me that I really am young, and there is no reason to rush into things like IVF and adoption. I'll keep reading more books, keep an open mind, and continue praying for God's direction in my journey.

Tomorrow I'll be off on my vacation to Rhode Island. First I thought I would leave my basal thermometer at home, but now I think I will take it along in case I feel like using it. I'll will probably start spotting while I'm there, but thankfully my period isn't due until Monday, and I'll be home before then. Don't expect to hear from me until early next week. I'll try to take some good pictures to share with you:)