Got My Mind on My Money (And My Money On My Mind)

Money is weighing heavy on my mind right now.  How to afford to get S pregnant?  It’s already expensive to have a baby the ‘traditional’ way, but as a lesbian, there are so many hidden fees that you wouldn’t expect.  Here is a list of money that either has been or will be spent in this process:

$250 for access to the donor info on California Cryobank, good for 3 months

$465-685 price for donor sperm- price varies according to ‘type’ as in for IUI or ICI and is more if the donor is open vs. anonymous- also note that this is just for one IUI or ICI procedure and that a lot of people (if they can afford it) do this 2-3 times within a 48 hour time span just to make sure they don’t miss ovulation (or the big O as it is referred to on TTC websites).

$200 for Clear Blue Ovulation kit plus test strips and 3 pregnancy tests

$400 for IUI insemination at our doctor’s office

$30 co-pay for preconception visit and any subsequent visits to OB/GYN

$25 in books including The Ultimate Lesbian Guide to Pregnancy and What to Expect Before You’re Expecting

$125-275 for Sperm shipping, depending on the day of the week and how fast it needs to be sent i.e.- 5 day, 2 day, overnight etc.

$12 for one month of prenatal vitamins

$10 for Basal thermometer

$3 for Decaf Green Tea

$9 for Green Tea mug

And I’m sure that there are other costs that I’m forgetting, but what I have listed is enough to make your head spin!  The good news is that we aren’t starting this (probably) until our credit card debt is paid off.  And once we have that paid off we have about $1300 a month that we can budget towards these costs, so this is do-able, but costly.  

I’m including in this post a few pictures of S with some of our purchases- Basal thermometer, Prenatal Vitamins, Green Tea and mug.  Her face has been censored by her request due to her fear about work finding out about this.  S, unfortunately, works for a company that doesn’t really understand the whole work/life balance concept and frowns upon their employees getting pregnant.  Weird, eh?  Especially in this day and age.  So until she is too pregnant to hide it, we are doing all of this under a veil of secrecy.  That means that if you read this blog that you are either a.) a very dear and trusted friend/family member or b.) a total stranger who doesn’t know us and most importantly, where S works.

S is going to be such a good momma!  She has taken so many steps already to prepare herself for this process and today is no exception.  She scheduled a dentist appointment for this afternoon to get her teeth cleaned and checked out, that way if she does need any dental work done, they can do it now while they can still do x-rays on her and what not.  And she also has an appointment for next week with our general doctor to get a physical to make sure she is in the best shape she can be for this process.  Not to mention her healthy eating, walking, vitamins and whatnot.  Now I need to get on the bandwagon as well and start getting myself ready for this.  I want to be a fit, healthy, debt free momma!

-L