Friday 7 April 2017

#atozchallenge Letters to my Embryos: F is for Freezer

Welcome to Day 6 of the A to Z Challenge, an April blogging challenge where you aim post every day during the month following the letters of the alphabet (with every Sunday bar the last one off).

In the past I've used the challenge to blog about my infertility and the IVF process. I'm following a similar theme this year as we wait to begin the process for a Frozen Embryo Transfer, having completed a Freeze All IVF cycle in February.

We currently have nine embryos sitting on ice, my little bubbles, and this April I am blogging to them about the process of how they came to be.



Dear Bubbles,

For most people, their first bed, the place where they rest, is a comfortable crib. It might be of the hospital variety (kind of like a fish tank with see through sides) or it might be a traditional wooden cot (with bars, like a miniature prison). By the time you're reading this, you might have had several different beds, sleeping in all sorts of interesting places, but at the time I'm writing this you've only had one.

And it's a freezer.

I'm not sure whether going through the cryopreservation process is anything like falling asleep. I like to think it is. Certainly, being thawed out seems to be like waking up an embryo; some are a little sluggish afterwards and others hop straight back to what they were doing before.

And if that is the case then your first bed is definitely a freezer.

Now before you start thinking about reporting me to Social Services, it wasn't my freezer. It's a special sort of freezer for embryos in the hospital lab, where you're allowed to stay for up to ten years at a time. It's all very carefully controlled and it probably has a special name which sounds nothing like 'a freezer' but right now, you're frozen, so the best place for you is in the freezer.

Plus, I do have to admit, it's kind of fun to see people's reactions when you tell them you keep your kids in a freezer!

All my love,

Your Mum
(who will never keep you in the freezer ever again, I promise).

18 comments:

  1. This letter made me smile. People probably have hilarious reactions to being told that your kids are in the freezer.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Thank you. :-) My Mum got me an ice pack for Mother's Day, because what else do you give a Mum who keeps her kids in the freezer?!

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  2. Kids are usually pretty sluggish when you try and wake them up, so things might not change much for a while!

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    1. Hehe, hopefully mine will get a spurt on for a while once we defrost them. Then they can get on with being lazy once they're born. ;-)

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  3. Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog!! I love reading about your journey - thank you for sharing!!

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  4. A freezer! Whatever works, right?

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  5. lol Never keep them in the freezer again.

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    1. Hehe, hopefully they'll appreciate that.

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  6. I enjoyed reading this letter, and imagining little babies sleeping in a freezer.
    All the best,
    Ros from Fangirl Stitches

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  7. This was a cute letter. Humour is such an important gift to your kids. Hugs.

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  8. This letters are so sweet. I can't wait to hear the happy ending to the story of your "dear bubbles," but I'm sure you're waiting far more eagerly!

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    1. Thank you. I really hope I get to share a happy ending in the future. :-)

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  9. This is actually cute and I think they may be happy they won't remember they were in the freezer:)

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Let me know what you think. :-)