Frozen Babies

This week we got a letter in the mail stating:
"We are pleased to inform you that your 5 vials containing 5 cryopreserved embryos were safely transferred on November 15, 2012 and are now in long term storage"

It's still hard to believe, but we have five frozen babies! And I'm not really sure which is harder to believe:

1. That we were lucky enough to have such a successful IVF cycle to produce so many embryos
2. Also that we were lucky that five of those embryos successfully made it long enough to survive cryopreservation
3. The fact that technology is now so advanced that we're able to freeze these embryos for any amount of time and thaw them to use at a future time when we want to grow our family

This letter means it has been a year since our embryos were conceived and frozen, as they were transferred from our fertility clinic to a cryopreservation storage center where they will be safely stored for as long as we desire. (or as long as we want to continue to pay, because yes, those frozen babies have a storage fee!) And I truly mean that they can be frozen for 100 years if we wanted. Amazing!!

I've wondered what this storage center must be like. A giant walk-in cooler with racks of frozen vials and liquid nitrogen "steam" everywhere? Do you have to wear full rubber gear with a mask?
I knew these places existed but never really put much thought into it before this. This place holds the dreams of so many families who've struggled with fertility. It also holds the promises of those who weren't able to conceive but may be receiving a donated egg, sperm or embryo. I'm sure it's not a big freezer by any means, but it's definitely not a typical workplace.

I'm still amazed at how everything worked out for us and can't be more thankful to live in a time where all this is capable. Without it, we'd most likely still be trying to conceive and I cannot imagine being back to that place in our lives.

I'll gladly send my payment and put my trust in them, knowing our frozen babies are safe and sound.