IVF is one major life disruptor. One cycle with one transfer can involve 5-6 bloodwork appointments, 4-8 internal ultrasounds, getting pumped with liquids for external ultrasounds, timed and temperature controlled injections daily or multiple times daily for two weeks or more, popping 20+ supplements a day, going to the clinic sometimes 2-3 early mornings in…
At this point we had been working on growing our family for 15 months. Not a super long time, as some people go through years and years struggling with infertility. When you have repeat failure to conceive there are lots of weird things that start to become triggers – and now that I’ve been through…
— Skip this one if you’re squeamish. — Since going through this I have become a FIERCE advocate for women’s rights and abortion rights. I always was pro-choice, because I truly believe women aren’t out there in droves trying to abort babies late in pregnancy. I never thought I’d have an “abortion”, but that’s what…
Our transfer day. There’s so much build up to these “major” moments that are catalysts for possible life changing events. It’s wild how lacklustre the experience is and how uneventful it is after the fact. More waiting. The hardest part of IVF is the waiting game. The complete unknown and it feels like every appointment…
Christmas. This can bring challenges when it comes to fertility treatment as many clinics go into a slowdown of sorts over the holidays (if you’re undergoing treatment now – it’s October as I write this, it’s worth asking about clinic closures and how they might impact your cycle). My period came on Dec 20, right…
Day 4-5 is interesting after an egg retrieval. They give you an update, and it could mean absolutely nothing. From day 4-6 everything can change for the better or the worst. For us, it was luckily for the better. On day 6 the clinic called to tell us that they had biopsied and frozen 6…
Nobody tells you what to expect when you go into an Egg Retrieval procedure. You are told to show up at a given time, and to have a ride home. That’s all they told me. I reached out to someone I knew from Instagram who had gone through the process a year before, and got…
11 months. We tried ‘naturally’ for 11 months with one chemical pregnancy. When it came time for us to start IVF the feelings were bittersweet. On one hand we both felt so defeated and mad that we had waited so long to make the decision we had to try at all, and then angry that…
The summer after my chemical pregnancy came in hot. If you don’t know me personally, I am a wedding photographer and it’s my full time job. Mid-may to mid-October I tend to go completely MIA due to wedding season and portrait season. My friends have grown to expect this. We kept on trying through the…
I was. I was pregnant. (Trigger warning, emphasis on ‘was’) I was in absolute bliss for 5 days. Happy as a pig in shit if you will. Before all of this started I had seen a walk-in clinic doctor to get some blood work done, just to make sure my nutrients were in order. Nothing…