Paid for IVF #3

Tomorrow is our first appointment for ivf #3, which meant I needed to pay the bill today. She had asked us to pay $9,700 (which would cover assisted hatching, ICSI, and freezing). The last two times we "only" paid $8,200, and we still got a refund even though we did use ICSI both times (and freezing the first time) because our insurance paid for the bloodwork, ultrasounds, and initial testing (the stuff they'll be doing tomorrow). I questioned whether we really needed to pay $9,700, and she agreed to "only" charge us $8,200. I had to split it over two credit cards because our limit on one card isn't high enough to charge the whole thing on one card. We don't usually spend anywhere near that much in a month! We'll get 2% rebate through the one credit card and 1% through the other one. We'll get a refund in maybe February or March for the part the insurance does pay for. If I'm going to be teaching next semester then I'm going to enroll in a medical FSA, which means we'll save about $700 in money that normally would have gone to taxes and social security.

Even with all those "refunds," it's still expensive, but when I look at my kids it's hard to think of anything else I'd rather spend the money on. They are priceless!!! If I catch myself feeling jealous of those folks who can conceive without spending thousands of dollars, I remind myself that there are many couples who spend tens of thousands of dollars on fertility treatments and still never conceive. We are blessed.  We're going to meet Paul's parents at the McDonald's near the hospital. It has a playland. They're going to watch the kids there while we are at our appointment. I'm hoping the appointment will be shorter than 2 hours. That might be wishful thinking. I do feel excited about it, but I'm trying to keep my excitement in check because there's zero guarantee doing this will result in another child in our arms.

I spoke with my department chair today, and he said I should still request 50% childrearing leave because the President might approve my request. The suspense continues.......