Maybe Baby update

Well I gave an update on our new house a few weeks ago, maybe it's time to give an update on project "maybe baby" which is what I've nicknamed our journey to hopefully start a family on this blog. Several weeks ago after our second IVF cycle failed we decided to do extensive blood testing to see if there might be a reason for the two early miscarriages after a suggestion from our doctor. It took a few weeks to get things clarified with our health insurances but they agreed to contribute towards the costs (so we will only be charged a few hundred euros as opposed to a few thousand!). It ended up being about twelve vials of blood from me and about eight from the hubby. Timing wise since I knew we would be busy with the house, I liked the idea of getting the blood testing done since it can take about two months anyway.

So far we have only gotten some partial results back. Both our chromosome blood tests came back fine and it also showed that I don't have a blood clotting disorder. It's nice to be able to rule those issues out. The rest of the results will probably take another few weeks. I'll be tested for the MTHFR gene mutation which is where your body doesn't absorb folic acid properly unless it's in folate form and has been linked to miscarriages. And natural killer cells which your body produces to get rid off any foreign bodies like diseases but the theory is that in some women the antibodies work too well and can kill a growing fetus. There is treatment you can get apparently to help fight this problem. Hubby and I will also be checked for some vitamin and mineral levels. For instance I've read if you have a B12 deficiency it can cause infertility and miscarriages! Since I'm lactose intolerant and don't eat so much dairy and I'm also not a big meat eater then it is possible that my values are low.

Once we find out our test results we will be able to plan plan when to do IVF again, ideally before the end of this year. It's not that easy to plan though as over the next several months there'll be Christmas and several weddings of family and close friends that we would ideally like to travel back to Ireland for. During IVF I wouldn't be able to fly and afterwards if I get pregnant I would also be too nervous to fly in the first trimester. I suppose I should cross that bridge and figure that out *if* I manage to get pregnant. If that were to happen I would be so happy. I love travelling though and I already often feel like I miss out on so many big moments back in Ireland by living here in Germany so I would love to go back for the weddings, especially my brother's next Summer. It's less than a two hour flight to Ireland but apaprently IVF pregnancies are considered high risk.

We'll know more in a few weeks. If the blood tests come back with no issues then we could plan round three IVF quite soon but if there are any problems discovered then we would have to wait several months anyway probably to get treatment. So it's all quite up in the air still. I feel ready enough for the physical side of it all, the injections, egg retrieval etc, but I do worry about the emotional side which I always find really hard going. Especially if it were to fail again.



Having the house has been a great distraction for sure. We love the new place and are settling in well. We still have loads of boxes to unpack and lots of stuff to get done but we've been able to enjoy German Summer in our new garden now and then which has been great.

House Update #MicroblogMonday

Things with the house have all been moving very fast. We signed the contract and then got the keys just six weeks later. They say buying a house is one of the most stressful things you can do and the last few weeks have certainly been extremely busy!

First there was all the paperwork and sorting things out with our mortgage. Then all the bills started coming in (taxes, realtor, insurances...) which wasn’t fun! The next thing we had to do was get in touch with various people to get quotes for renovation work. Of course August is prime holiday season so it’s been difficult with limited availability. We also had to decide which work on the house we would consider urgent before we move in and what we can put off for now. Not to mention the huge task of all the boxes to pack.

This past week we got the keys and the renovations have started. Pretty much any spare moment we have spent at the house and we have also started bringing things over from our rental apartment so as to not leave everything for the moving day. We have even been able to eat meals in our new kitchen already and enjoy the garden.

It's all been quite overwhelming at times! It t feels a little surreal still that this will be our home. There's always so much to get done and becoming house owners is a major responsibility. But it is also exciting. And even though there is a lot of work involved, there is something very rewarding when you know you are helping improve your future home. I am really looking forward to the end of this month once we will have all our furniture moved over and can really start to settle in to the new place!

Good news in Baden Baden

Recently we both took some time off work and decided to spend a few relaxing days in Baden Baden in the Black Forest. It's a beautiful town where a lot of Germans go when they retire and it's not hard to see why. There are loads of thermal baths and spas there so it's a really nice place for some chilling. The weather was generally nice while we were there and it was a perfect few days after the stressful month we'd just had. We went to Caracalla spa one afternoon, got Thai back massages, ate lots of really good food and enjoyed some nice walks. 

However the best part of the trip was yet to come. We had made an offer on a house we viewed the previous week and while we were at the spa we had gotten a missed call from the realtor. We went and sat down on a bench overlooking the river feeling nervous and then had some trouble reaching the realtor as when we phoned her office we were told she had already gone home for the day! This was on Friday and we were worried that we might have to spend all weekend not knowing the outcome! Luckily we found her mobile number on her email and were finally able to get through...

And the great news is that our offer has been accepted!! It was so nice to receive a phone call with good news for a change. Hubby and I are feeling both extremely excited and quite overwhelmed at the moment! We went out that night to celebrate of course, and since we were in Baden Baden we did it in style by going out for dinner then to a nightclub and on to the casino! Actually the nightclub wasn't so great, the music was quite cheesy and it was pretty empty but we had fun anyway. I can't believe we are going to be house owners soon!

Could this be our dream house?

We have been house hunting for several years now. We even came close to buying last year. Recently we saw an ad for a nice big house in one of our desired areas. It was expensive and a little above our budget but we decided it was worth a look anyway. We weren't able to get a viewing immediately as the house was popular which is typical for any nice place for sale here but we managed to get an appointment for last Wednesday.

The house is lovely! It's the end terraced house with a nice little garden and it's spacious. It was built in the early 90s but it has a newish kitchen and bathroom and generally looks very modern. So now we've decided to make an offer. We are going to the bank early next week to figure out how much and to apply for mortgage pre approval. We will have to offer a little less than the asking price probably as it's just so much, especially once you add on the taxes here and the realtor fees.

The only problem is that the house owner is already in negotiations with another interested party so we will have to hurry with our offer. I was hoping we would have time for a second viewing, maybe with a surveyor. If our offer were to be accepted though we could then still get a surveyor just to make sure the place isn't about to fall down before we would sign anything official! Either party can back out here until the notary appointment.

I love this house and really want it to work out but if not then I hope we would find another equally great house soon. 

House hunting in Germany #microblogMonday

Last week we almost bought our dream house. We've been looking on and off for over two years at this stage and rarely has something come up that's right for us as normally anything we like is either well outside our price range or in a location we're not so mad about. However this time we saw a great house for sale in an area we love and we both knew we had to go view it. Unfortunately loads of other people also saw the ad and the realtor was inundated with calls and visits.

The viewing went great so we arranged a meeting with the bank to get mortgage pre-approval (the low interest rates at the moment means the timing is really good) and then we made an offer! After that all we could do was to wait and cross our fingers (or press our thumbs as the Germans would say- Daumen Drücken!). Sadly we heard back a few days later that we didn't get it.

It was so disappointing. We had both gotten really excited about the house and I had decorated all of the rooms in my head already! So that's where we're at now, back to square one with the house hunting again.