The price of pregnancy

$10,278.90.

That's how much I've spent this year trying to have a baby. I have a strong stomach, but writing that makes me want to throw up.

That includes:
- $8,680 to my sperm bank for sperm, intrauterine inseminations (including about $1,800 for inseminations that my insurer should have paid for but wouldn't -- long story), ultrasounds I wasn't able to get otherwise, sperm storage fees for vials I bought before I got pregnant and then didn't need, and tank rental fees when I had the pleasure of schlepping a large nitrogen tank around town.
- $67.80 to the Web site that lets me do charting easily (I have my own Excel spreadsheet, but I like this site)
- $964.36 to Acupuncturist #1, for both treatments and Chinese herbs that I didn't always take
- $504 to Acupuncturist #2 (more on her another time)

That doesn't include:
- a number of $15 co-pays to the three doctors I've seen this year
- however much I've paid Walgreens for overpriced ovulation predictor kits
- the time I've spent dealing with insurance companies

When I started this process in November 2005, I envisioned myself spending a year and about $10,000 to get pregnant. That, I thought, was about what I was willing to handle. I'd hear about friends doing IVF, feel horrified at the cost ($12K-15K a try), and vow that I'd never do that. Now, a year later and $10,000 in the hole, with no intentions of stopping, I'm surprised that I didn't realize back then what a slippery slope this would be.