its been over 2 weeks since

the extraction date. my period came just fine. it was healthy and average. not like the scanty spotty nonsense i had the past several months. it actually felt pretty good to have a normal cycle. my husband and I attempted sex, and at first it felt good, but then after a little bit, it felt a little tender and crampy, and we stopped. and then i felt a little emotional and depressed for a couple days.
after my cycle was completely over, like a half a week later, we tried again (gently) and it felt okay. and then we tried a third time a few days later and it felt good. so i feel better about myself now that my vagina works again. the tenderness has all gone away. no more nipple or breast tenderness. i can work out and get all sweaty without discomfort.
abstinence is really hard on a marriage.

i almost didn't donate a second time because of the affect the 1st donation had on my marriage. but then they called and told me a single gay man wanted a baby, and i support the gay community whole heartedly. i really really wanted to donate to a gay man. so i chose to donate the 2nd time. it feels really good to give like that.

So a week ago, the agency called me asking if i wanted to donate again, or how much time I wanted off. at first i told them 6 months to think about it. and then i decided, maybe only if another gay person wants a baby - i'll only donate to gay people.

and then i was contemplating the entire process, and its really not so bad. the hardest part is the abstinence. and the emotional disconnect that happens to a marriage when you take away healthy intimacy.

I did some research into the health effects on a donor. some studies have shown that long term repeat egg donors can go through menopause earlier, contract ovarian cancer, have fertility issues. Those are the most predominant risks. I'm not worried about those things as much. I welcome an early menopause. My diet is predominantly alkaline, and wont likely grow cancer. and worst case scenario, i adopt instead of conceiving my own baby. That wouldn't bum me out so much. the tiny bruises on my belly and thigh have long since healed. the one injection in the upper thigh was a blood vessel. or so says a friend who used to be a junky. she told me i probably tried to inject the medication in a blood vessel or capillary or whatever, and it burst it open and i had a little blood pocket bruise thing that took forever to go away. I need to remember to put pressure on the plunger and pull back a tiny bit, so see if theres blood in there. they told me to do that, but i didn't always do that.

i found a good website http://www.asrm.org/ its the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. they set guidelines for egg donors as far as how often they donate, and the IVF fertility hormones they can use and stuff. they have a list of egg donor agencies that abide by these guidelines. my agency is on the list: http://www.asrm.org/Patients/eggdonor_agencies.pdf

But the biggest news: I got a call today, from the agency. The intended parents from the first donation want a sibling. they asked if i was willing to donate again to give them a sibling. they want it from the same genetic mother. And i know I was thinking about only donating to gay intended parents, but I think this is the one exception i didn't think about.
they told me in the beginning that some infertile couples get donations, have the children and then want donations again from the same donor for siblings. So this isn't a huge surprise for me. The baby has been born, and they're all high on the new parent happy cloud. I kind of share their glee. I want to give them a sibling. I told them yes.

So i'm donating again. the donation wouldn't be happening until the holidays. they give at least 6 months in between. it takes time to find a surrogate, and arrange all the paperwork and screenings and stuff. That will give me plenty of time to drink alcohol and enjoy my intimacy.