Our IVF Journey

The Least Expected Emotion

This round of IVF has been such an incredible journey, with lots of highs and lows.  At the end of the day, we did not have the outcome that we were hoping for and are not pregnant - in fact, never really had the chance to become pregnant as we never got to the stage in IVF of doing the embryo transfer.  All of this I will come back and explain in further posts through this month, but for now, I'll just leave you with this...  

What has surprised both my husband and I the most is that we're really okay.  To be honest, we're really happy.  It's not at all the emotions either of us expected.  For sure, immediately after getting the news we had our moments of sadness, and I even had moments I'm really not proud of where I find myself judging pregnant friends, or other mothers, feeling like they don't appreciate what they have.  All totally normal for infertility, and even more so after a failed IVF...  But, I keep waiting for that really big cry.  And it just isn't happening.  To be honest, I don't really feel like I have that much to cry over.  Through everything, we've held our heads high, been able to keep smiling... and frankly...  I am so damn proud of us!!

Honestly, what I credit this to entirely is the fact that my husband and I truly are a team.  I feel so beyond blessed to have him by my side and encouraging me on through this, and always knowing exactly what I need.  I am proud of both of us for being so strong and really allowing ourselves to learn from the process, and the journey itself.  It always breaks my heart when I hear of other women suffering through infertility, who say they feel like they're the only ones suffering.  This journey has been 100% shared between us, in different ways of course, and experienced differently, but shared none the less.   I am so incredibly grateful for it.  I don't have a single doubt in my mind that when we do have our little one in our arms, we will still be a team, handling each bed time, each bath time, each tantrum and each dinner time melt down together.  We'll also share in the "i love yous", the cuddles, snuggles, eskimo kisses...  and what keeps me going is that I know we'll cherish every single one of these moments.  The good the bad and the ugly...  Because we have gone through hell and back... multiple times, to get to that dream.

The fact is that we're really happy because for the first time in a LONG time, we're both allowing ourselves to be very selfish and I have to admit... it feels freakin' fantastic.  We've taken "breaks" from trying before, but never in this way.  Before it was always in 1/2 my head still keeping track of ovulation, still thinking about temperatures, still wondering if what we're doing is affecting our fertility.  It's always been in that "Maybe if we don't try, it'll happen..." kind of way.  I can honestly say, I feel like we've given it everything we've got and we're really happy with not only how things have been going, but also who we are as people, and who we are as a couple.  It's something that I know for a fact not everyone can handle, and without sounding conceited, certainly not as well as we've been rocking it.  It is a deliriously good feeling.  The other thing that allows me to revel in this happiness is that I know we will not be one of those couples who tries and tries for ever.  It just won't happen.  We may or may not attempt another round of IVF in the New Year.  But at the end of the day - neither my husband or I want to have children just to have them.  It is not at all just a "maternal desire" for me, like it is for so many women.  We want to have children because we want to raise a family together... and whether that comes to us through a successful next attempt at IVF, or adoption, or surrogacy or some other route I know without a doubt within a few years we will be parents.  Frankly though, right now isn't about that.  I can honestly say this is the first time I'm not thinking "maybe it'll happen now that we're not thinking about it."  Right now it's about us and not giving a damn about anything else but us and having fun.  I do want more than anything to raise a child with my husband - and when our baby is ready to come to us he or she will, and we'll be over the moon.  But I'm not wasting any more time thinking about a person that doesn't even exist yet.  It's been a hellish year, and with all of this behind us, feeling stronger than ever we're going to do what WE want.  Right now we are planning trip to Ireland and France in September, and have a relative's wedding in India next April that we are hoping to attend as well.  We're also just enjoying being selfish on little every day things... more to come on this next week!  ;)  

Just as a quick moment of reflection to share with all of you...  I thought it would be a while before I would be able to look back on these photos fondly, but I already love these pictures that we took just three weeks ago from our egg retrieval.  We made a gamble in the later parts of our IVF cycle to take a chance to learn a little more about our infertility.  It meant risking loosing the cycle - which we did.  But we also gained SO much from it, which gives us great hope for the future.  Perhaps that's why I already love these pictures so much.  When we took them my hubby said to me "This is the start of our family!"  And you know what... He's right.  Even still, he's so right.  

 

Me, pre egg retrieval... Although, already had some "relaxing drugs" so was starting to feel a bit loopy.

Me and hubby, immediately post egg retrieval.  I was SO cold, and SO drugged.

I cannot say enough about VFC.  I freakin' LOVE them!!  Amazing RE and Amazing Nurses!

We decided that since my eggs and hub's swimmers had a date in the lab that night, we would have a date of our own.  This is about 10 hours after egg retrieval.  We went out for Indian food, and Hubs had an Irish Beer to celebrate the joining of our cultures.  Looking back the idea is cute, but we were both so so sick.  If we do a next round we'll be doing something much lighter for a dinner date post egg retrieval.

Top 10 Reasons IVF is Like Pregnancy

For those following along on The FaceBook Page of the blog, you may know we've hit a small bump in the road along our IVF journey.  This past monday I had another bloodwork and ultrasound check up to make sure that all was going well with the stimulation meds.  Unfortunately, all was not going well...  As I had mentioned previously, there are two stages of an IVF Cycle - Suppression and then Stimulation.  During the suppression phase I responded really well.  So well in fact, that now, during the stimulation phase my ovaries are still a little bit sleepy and haven't made as many follicles as we were hoping.  In reality, this is not the huge blow it at first seemed like.  All this really means is that my stimulation meds dose has been increased, and we'll be postponing our egg retrieval by one week.  (Update:  I'm responding great to the new dose!!  ER is THIS week!! Yea!!)  Having waited already almost four years, you would think that one extra week is nothing, but it was heart breaking news to hear at first.  This whole process I have been preparing myself for the fact that I may not get pregnant.  It never once even crossed my mind that I may not make enough eggs - as this has never been a factor in our infertility.  Luckily, our doctor is not worried in the slightest and even hopes that with the little extra time we may have more than plenty of lovely ripe eggs once my ovaries do get with the program.  This is great news not only for this cycle, but also subsequent pregnancies.  To remind myself of how very close we are, I bring you this list.  :)  Enjoy!  

1) Blood Tests and Ultrasounds.  I have seen my ovaries and the inside of my uterus more in the last 6 weeks than most women do their entire pregnancies.  

2) Cravings for things I never cared for before.  Chocolate is not safe in my house.  Nutella doesn't make it on to anything except the spoon.

3) Food Aversions.  Normally I don't have a problem with meat.  However at the moment even the thought of anything other than a very light fish or chicken is nauseating.  Luckily for me, I've been falling more and more in love with quinoa for my protein!  

4) The Heat Bill.  Even though we're spending thousands on IVF, at least we're saving a few bucks on our heat bill, as overnight I have turned into a small self contained little inferno.  

5) IVF Bump.  Everyone knows what a baby bump is.  Insiders tip: I've been in maternity jeans for the last two weeks because my belly is too sore and swollen from injections to fit in to my regular jeans.

6)  I Miss My Sofa.  I spend more time in the bathroom having to pee than actually relaxing on the sofa.

7) Hormonal Insomnia.  Going to bed at 9pm is staying up late.  And waking every few hours is totally normal.  This one is quite closely to do with #4 and #6.

8) IVF Brain.  Similar to pregnancy brain.  Between remembering what dose of injections to take and when, keeping track of ultrasound stats, RE appointments, acupuncture appointments and more... remembering simple things like 'Did you remember to feed to cat?' slip off the radar.  

9) The IVF Club.  It's a really crappy club - yes.  But the members are awesome...  And just like pregnancy it will change you forever.  

10) All About The Baby.  Literally, every move you make during IVF you're thinking about if this is safe for the eggs/ embryos / your womb that will hopefully soon house your baby.  It's an all out, non-stop obsession about a person that doesn't even exist yet.  

This exact scene may or may not have played out in our house recently... bloated belly and all...  

Since my IVF brain did take over during this post and I went blank around #6, this list is a collaboration with a fellow IVFer, Lani of Boobie Time Blog who is now a beautiful mama to her son B.  Check her out, she rocks!!  

Side Effects ~ Wordless Wednesday

Saw something similar on My Pinterest, spit our my tea laughing, and obviously had to make one for IVF.

In all fairness the injectable hormones have been enhancing my breasts, and giving me stronger nails and hair!  

Not too shabby!  ;-)

Signs You're Stimming ~ Wordless Wednesday

In case you didn't know that we are half way through our IVF Cycle, with stimulation meds just under way...  Here's the proof!  

Ohhh, double chocolate brownies

In case you missed that, here's another shot.

 

Oh I guess there is the whole "Stimulation Meds" aspect of it too...  

And yes, I have ALOT more than three needles and syringes.  I just hauled out three for the pic.  

 

The really crazy thing to me is this is 11 days worth of meds... With some missing.

Repronex, I'll be honest, you scare me.

The needles look scarier than they are.  It's honestly not that bad at all.

 

 But just for good measure, let's take a look at those brownies again!

 

You know, this stimming stuff isn't so bad after all...  ;)  

This Wasn't In The Pamphlet ~ Part 2

Last week I wrote about the things no one tells you about IVF before starting the cycle.  While there are definitely a few really crummy things that no one tells you about IVF, there is also a ton of stuff that is pretty incredible about IVF as well.  Before starting this process, I had braced myself for the worst.  Truth be told, we are still doing all we can to protect our hearts.  I remind myself daily that there is only a 30% chance of success... which statistically means more often than not an IVF Cycle will fail.  From day 1 my husband and I have both said "We'll be able to handle a negative pregnancy result and are just hoping and praying for multiple embryos to be able to try a FET Cycle instead of having to go through IVF from scratch again."  The fact is almost no one comes to attempting IVF without a very long road of heartache and disappointment preceding it.  We're very used to being heartbroken and let down.  What continuously amazes me however, is the little glimpses of hope and magic hiding in tiny corners.  There have been so SO many times during this road that my husband and I have literally just turned to look at each other and just laugh at the absurdity of it all.

We're actually having a lot of fun together with the IVF.  I never in a million years thought we'd enjoy doing injections, but it has become one of our favorite parts of the day.  I'm lucky that I've had practically no negative side effects to the injections.  I'm a bit of a wimp about injecting myself so my husband does the injections for me, and luckily I haven't had any bruising from the needles, as I've read can be quite common.  The time at the end of the day to stop and think about our baby, and be hopeful about the potential of welcoming our child into our family very soon has been a true blessing in disguise.  There really is so much hopefulness in every injection.  While we are doing our best to remain realistic - we are also very much allowing ourselves to revel in and enjoy the little things that give us hope.  As with TTC (trying to conceive) there is a whole new set of abbreviations you need to learn when you venture in to IVF.  One example of these abbreviations is PUPO - Pregnant Until Proven Otherwise.  When you are trying to conceive prior to IVF, whether it is with Clomid, IUI or just naturally on your own you just hope and pray that egg and sperm met and your little baby if forming inside you.  You might be "sure" that this time you are pregnant....  But the truth is, you really have no way of knowing until it's time to test, or when your period shows up.  With IVF, the term PUPO is used after the embryo transfer when you are 100% certain that you do have your baby inside you.  Yes, you are still hoping and praying that your sweet little baby will nestle in make its home for 9 months.  But even still you are, without a doubt, Pregnant.  It's an unmatched hopefulness that neither of us have experienced before this - not even those months I was "sure" I was pregnant.  Of course, we are well aware not all IVF Cycles do result in embryos being created - but with our age and medical histories there is no reason to think we'll be in this boat at all.  

One aspect of this that has surprised us both is that over 3.5 years into trying to start our family we once again, feel like it's our first month off birth control.  Well, to be fair, in some aspects it is our first month off birth control again.  It's fun, exciting and we're SO full of hope again!!  A few days ago I started what will hopefully be my last period for a very long time.  Of course, I've had this thought many times before over the years...  But there is something so much more concrete about it this time.  I took the opportunity to celebrate this "last period" with a new stash of cloth LunaPads that I'm currently reviewing and will be hosting a Gift Certificate GiveAway to Luna Pads on the blog in April!!  (Yay!)  I had thought about doing a cloth pad Review/ Give Away in the past but have always steered clear since I never really wanted to revel in it being the "last" cycle before, for fear of jinxing ourselves.  This time, whether it's my last for a while or not - as I mentioned before - it is my last period before I will most certainly have a child in my tummy.  In a few short weeks, I will (most likely) be "PUPO", and that is reason to celebrate!

I have to admit, when we were first planning out IVF Cycle, I was a little uneasy knowing that my birthday would fall during our IVF Cycle.  I was not expecting it to be a great day and really just wanted the day to come and go without notice.  Lucky for me, my friends family and husband would have none of it!  I was beyond spoiled on my birthday this year beforehand with time in New Jersey with my family, and then a lovely dinner with my honey on the actual day.  What really took me back and will always stay with me is the sweet sentiments from my hubby on the day. 

 

This lovely birds nest with pearl eggs moved me to tears the second I saw it.  The mama bird sparrow is flying back to her babes on the necklace, with two more nests as earrings.  When my husband told me why he chose to give this to me this particular birthday I was beside myself.  His sentiments were that I am already an amazing mama bird, and our babies already feel my love and will hatch when they are strong enough to, but for now we will keep on loving them just as they are, wherever they are in the universe.  Throughout our infertility struggles, and especially though this IVF I have been reminded at how truly blessed I am to have my husband to be 100% my partner in this journey.  He's an incredible man, who keeps me strong through this and going through this struggle with him has been nothing short of a blessing.  As painful as it's been at times, this road has shown us both aspects of each other that we never would have seen otherwise.  We truly feel that through these struggles, we know each other better now and are more connected and in-tune with each other than most people are in their lifetime.  

At the end of the day, it is a tough road but there is also a lot of wonder, magic and hope in it at every turn.  What keeps my husband and I going is that one day, some day in the future, our child will be a teenage or young adult and will face a hard time.  He or she might turn to us in despair and we'll be able to remind them that yes, they are strong enough to keep pushing through because we were able to keep pushing through.  We fought through hell and back to bring them in to this world, and that strength and determination is in them, even if they don't feel like it is.  Above all else, we'll be able to also remind them, that while it's incredibly hard and unfair, don't ever be so beaten down that you're unable to find the humour in situations.  That's the true silver lining on the IVF Experience.  

An IVF Disclaimer

We are just over two weeks in to our IVF Cycle and have 1 full week of injections down, and the Hubby and I have been so moved by the amount of love and support that we have received from friends and family.  It's truly inspiring to share our story and we are thrilled that so many people are pulling for us.  We truly could not feel more blessed.   

We know that this time is a really exciting one, and that everyone who knows and us and loves us wants only the best for us.  We absolutely understand the eagerness of all of our friends, family and even blog followers for this IVF to be successful.  That being said, we are doing our best to remain realistic with the fact that there is a 30% chance of success.  And even if we are in that 30% and have news of a positive pregnancy result, having suffered multiple miscarriages already we will be cautiously over-joyed while we wait for the weeks to pass by to a point where we can really celebrate without fear.  

So while we love and appreciate all of your sentiments we will not be sharing any news - either good or bad - until we are comfortable.  I understand it's a bit of a tease since we are involving you all so much in the process.  But we hope you'll understand that if we are successful we'll need time to be in peace, revel in the news ourselves for a bit, and cautiously wait to be 'out of the woods'.  And of course, if it is not successful, we will need time alone to grieve until we are able to share the news.  

If asked how things are going towards the end of the cycle there is a very real possibility we will just send you the link to this page and we hope you understand - it's just the last little bit of self-preservation that we must hold on to.  We are happy to share our infertility story - town crier style at times - as it is something that we as a society need to speak more openly about and be able to be there for one another for.  I truly believe that the silence must be broken around infertility to make it a less painful experience - and that is the main drive behind writing my blog.  However, just for this short time, we'll take a few moments of solitude.  

We appreciate the love and support none the less, and truly, it warms our heart and gives us courage to continue on.  From the bottom of our hearts, Thank you.

This Wasn't In The Pamphlet ~ Part I

You know how people always say that there are certain things no one ever tells you about having kids, or being pregnant?  Yeah, infertility is like that too.  There are countless things that happen along this road that no one ever tells you!!  I honestly think that most of the reason is that when something like that happens it normally slaps you in the face and leaves you wondering "What the f*ck was that??!?"  And you just try to put it out of your mind and never think about it again.  

You know what's a weird conversation?  Trying to decide if "hypothetically speaking" you are okay with your widowed husband using your embryos to have a child with his new wife after your death.  In case you're wondering the answer there is "No, No I am not."  These are the things you have to not only think about- but sign off on in legal papers when starting out IVF.  At second glance it does make perfect sense that when speaking about creating embryos, knowing that you will not implant all of them that there is a LOT of legal situations and life situations that you just need to take in to account.  Mixed in to our 96 page "orientation packet" was a whole array of scenarios that literally had never crossed our minds.  It's the ugly stuff that no one wants to think about or talk about.  What if something happens to my husband?  To me?  To both of us?  To our relationship?  It's horrible... 

Granted, these are all decisions that normal adults should and do make.  It's not too different than drafting a will, and putting these things in to place to protect your children.  It does change the game a little however, to think about how you want your embryos - your babies - to be treated, in the event of all of these situations while knowing that most of them you will never meet.  I refuse to let any part of our IVF journey become a debate on ethics, religion or politics, and will not tolerate any form of the such - but will just say, and leave it with my husband and I do both believe that life begins at conception.  Therefore regardless of how many embryos are implanted, and we get to meet in this life we do believe that every single one of the embryos that are created through this IVF are our babies.  It's bizarre to make these decisions, and put them down in black and white and take all of this in to account when you're not even pregnant and have no guarantee that you will be any time soon.

The other thing that people don't tell you about IVF?  Your bed-side table will be transformed and have things on it that you never in a million years imagined you'd keep on your bedside table.  Item #1 never imagined on your bedside table, a sharps container.  I'll leave you with a few pictures of the transformation.  

 

The sheet on the wall is my protocol so I know which injections to take when. 

This is just the first week of injections, needles,  and syringes.  

March 28th we move from one injection a night to three.

Looking over the packet for our stim meds starting March 28th.  

No meds here yet, just needles, syringes and swabs with instructions.  

 

Looking over the packet for our stim meds starting March 28th. 

 

Thank God for the inspirational messages on the packaging or this would be too much...

The Silk Road Tea House Bag on the wall actually has my meds, needles, syringes, and alcohol swabs in it.  

The green bag is just for all the waste wrapping that comes with each individual needle, syringe and swabs.

The good news?  There's a whole lot of really amazing stuff that comes from IVF that isn't in the pamphlets either.  Check out Part II for the wonderful things no one tells you!  

One Week In...

So here we are.  One week in to one of the more aggressive fertility treatments available...  We're one week in to our IVF Cycle.  Most people who follow this blog may know this by now.  What you may not know is that when starting IVF for the first time most RE's will start this rigorous fertility treatment with 3 weeks on the birth control pill.  ....   Yeah, I'll say that again, cause it took me a double take too.  We're starting our IVF Cycle on Birth Control.  

This is a mind trip that took me quite a little while to wrap my head around.  Honestly, it's the main reason that we have put this off as long as we have.  I just couldn't get my head around that being the best option.  Even while I understood the science and biology behind it, and it made good sense to me, the emotional burden of being back on birth control while desperately wanting a baby to start your family is a very odd feeling.  I still remember the mini-celebration that my hubby and I had three and a half years ago when we ditched the pill.  Literally, it was an event we celebrated.  Luckily, on all of our protocol sheets that tell me when to take which drugs the doctors have listed the pill as "BCP".  Obviously, Hubs and I have re-dubbed this to now mean Baby Care Pill.  I'm taking a pill to ensure that our baby will have the most cared for womb possible, before he or she takes up residence there for approximately 9 months.  Yeah, that works for us.   

Honestly, the medical science behind it does make total sense to us.  The two phases of the IVF Cycle are first "Suppression" and then "Stimulation".  When doing your first IVF Cycle the birth control pill "levels out" your hormones and will get rid of any spikes that you might have, bringing things to a nice even base line that the doctors can more easily manipulate and control without any surprises - and that's what this whole game is about.  Surrendering control to our {amazing!!!} doctor - he gets people pregnant literally on a daily basis.

The other important thing that being on the pill does is prevent me from ovulating.  Now, at first this goes against everything that seems necessary to get pregnant.  But we're playing a different game with different rules now.  Now, we want to stop me from ovulating this month so that there is a "backlog of eggs" of sorts so that we can get as many embryos as we can.  We are going through this process hoping to have as many embryos as possible to be able to freeze.  The two main reasons are this.  First, IVF only has a 30% chance of resulting in a successful pregnancy.  However, if we are unsuccessful but have frozen embryos as a result of the IVF we can attempt the process again with FET - Frozen Embryo Transfer - which is much less invasive, involves hardly any drugs, skips the painful egg retrieval and is significantly more cost effective than starting a brand new IVF Cycle.  The second reason of course, is to avoid this roller coaster in the future.  This way, even if we are successful right away {cross your fingers!} Then when we're wanting to give our munchkin a little brother or sister we won't have another 3.5 year wait, and instead can move to FET.

Tomorrow we have another appointment with our RE.  This is where we will sign off on more legal paperwork.  {Does the legal stuff ever end??!}  We will also learn how to do the injections.  And by that I mean, Hubby will learn how to do the injections for me because I am WAY too much of a wimp to be able to be able to inject myself with anything.  I will also be starting my first non-BCP drug.  Suprefact - which will further suppress things.  Luckily, it's just in nasal spray form so we don't have to jump right into injections just yet.  

I have to admit, I'm both excited and nervous for the Suprefact.  It's exciting because it is the first "real" IVF med that I'm taking so it feels like we're actually moving forward and doing this now after almost a year of deliberating.  I'm also nervous because I know what a crazy mind-trip Clomid was for me and I can only imagine the crazy roller-coaster of emotions and hormones this is going to be.  

And lucky for all of you, I'm taking you on the ride with me!!  ;)  Sincerely, thank you for sharing the journey.  Here we go.... 

The Fair is Exciting, But Tea Cups Still Make Me Sick

10 days ago we finally met with the RE {Reproductive Endocrinologist} and put everything down on paper to move forward with IVF.  We now have an official start date for the IVF Cycle (well as official as we can be going based on Natural CD 1) which will be within a day or two of March 6th.  Less than two weeks away.  You might be wondering why I've taken 10 days to write this post.  The truth?  I've been flat out miserable.  I so badly want to document the ups and downs of this process, but the last week has literally clobbered me that the thought of getting on the computer to do anything that requires more than flicking through Pinterest, was just a ludicrous proposition.  This shit is hard.  

In the last 10 days I have read and re-read Glennon Melton's Don't Carpe Diem about 1000 times.  It is a must read for all parents and anyone on the TTC Journey.  If you haven't read it, do.  Seriously, I just stopped writing this post to re-read it again.  In the past few weeks I have had countless people message me or come to me to tell me (not ask me, tell me) How excited I must be to be starting the IVF Process.  Excited?  Why yes, I am delighted that we are about to spend a not-so-small fortune on a 30% chance of starting our family.  I'm delighted that my body has been failing me for the last three and a half years.  Yes.  Nail on the head on that one.  Who *are* these people??!!  

To be fair, I am grateful.  So so grateful that we have this opportunity, the means and the ability to take advantage of the science and technology that is available to us.  I know there are thousands of women and couples who are not as fortunate and truly, I am so thankful and grateful that we are able to have the wonderful doctors that we do, and to be able to afford the procedure.  That being said, there is a huge difference between being grateful and being excited.  

What's really been clobbering me over the last few weeks is I had been feeling terribly terribly guilty.  All I kept thinking is "Why am I not more excited about this!!  We could have a baby this time next year!"  The problem is that I've been thinking that.  For three years straight, and then some.  On Valentine's Day (for those doing the math, that was just the day after we met with the RE) while I was waiting for Hubby to come home for our date night I was chatting with a friend back East who has gone through this process successfully and she asked me how I was feeling.  I told her, in all honesty, I feel like I'm on the Tea Cups, spinning out of control, about to vomit, but still have to pretend that I had fun at the fair.  Her response was "It's okay to not love it, you know.  You can love the product, without loving the process."  It's taken me a few days to process this but honestly I feel like I was almost afraid to say "This is effing brutal", because on some level I felt like if I say it's brutal it's like saying it's not worth it.  The fact is that's just not true.  There isn't a price we wouldn't pay.  We would go through anything we had to, in order to start our family.  The last 3.5 years are testament to that.  Anyone who really knows my husband and I knows that's the truth.  

And that's where we are.  I hate this.  It's insanely harder than anyone could have ever prepared me for: and I haven't even really started yet.  What's my saving grace?  I'm going to be a damn amazing mother for it.  Somehow the thought of being up at 2, 4 and 6am because of a crying and desperately hungry baby seems a helluva lot more manageable when you have 3.5 years of crying and your own desperation immediately preceding it.  We got this.  

And truly, one day, we will have this.  

What Makes A Baby??

When I started this IVF page on the blog I really wanted to keep it less informational and more "diary" like.  Meaning, there are thousands upon thousands of websites that are resources with information on What IVF is, how it happens etc...  I wanted this to be about how it feels emotionally, since literally only someone who's going through it can write that story. (PS - there are actually lots of these websites too, if you're on the hunt for some more contact me I can email a few to you!)  Anywhoo, even though this breaks from my diary format a little bit, I couldn't NOT share this!!  I came across this link from the lovely Jorje of Momma Jorje and am thrilled to share it with you!  One of the things Hubby and I have talk about lots through this journey is how and when we'll tell future our baby about how much we wanted him or her and everything we've been through to welcome them in to our lives.   This certainly will help...  And not at all just for IVF Babies, either!  I hope you'll enjoy this!  

 

 

PS - You may have noticed there's a widget on the right hand side right over there...  Yeah, I'm keeping it there because I just love this project.  Although they have already reached the original goal (and did it in the first day!! WooHoo!!!)  The more they raise, the more books that will be able to be printed, and the more they will be offer to communities that cannot afford it.  Such an amazing group of people working in this project, I simply can't support it enough!!  Please share, share and then share some more!