On Thawing an Embryo

My family has reached its maximum size. My spouse and I have shipped our frozen embryos off to some special spot -- some spot they visit when they're no longer in cryostorage.

The process was a human process, so it was comical. At one point, we discovered that we had been paying for a little vault of frozen sperm -- in addition to the frozen embryos. Frozen sperm? We were dismayed. Fifty dollars a month for that stuff? Those cells are truly a dime a dozen.

(I'm not always great at reading fine print.)

We also needed participation from a notary public, so we trekked over to my local librarian, a friendly older South Orange resident, and we hummed nervously as she read about our little swimmers.

Throughout the whole big process, certain questions were lobbed my way. Why have children? Why have two children so close together? If you must have children, why not adopt?

I've read other people who take on these questions--and I'm seeing that the best answer is this. It's personal.

Another thing I've learned from my reading, and from direct experience, these past two years. It's not great fun to be a child negotiating with the adult world. If you're a toddler, you have no say in which teachers you get, when certain activities end, even what you eat for a meal, what you wear, when you dress and undress, when you have to stop using a bottle, when the toys need to go away.

As someone with control issues, I can imagine--vividly imagine--how exasperating the toddler experience would be.

This doesn't mean I'm a notably patient parent!

But the reminder has been helpful to me.

Farewell, Little Embryos. Onward!

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