I’ve just been sorting through my Pinterest boards (my life is WILD). I’ve been cleaning them up and deleting all the weird arsed things I thought seemed like a good idea once. I came across a secret board I’d kept while we tried so hard to conceive the Little Miss (now 6 months old – our gorgeous IVF miracle). It was called, “Planning for Baby #2”. I was able to pin articles on infertility in there and birth announcement ideas etc. It was this little spot on the internet where I could save things I didn’t feel comfortable sharing and occasionally where I could let myself dream just a little.…
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Our IVF story: Part 4 – Transfer day (when they put the embryo in).
25 May 2017 (about two months after my egg retrieval) I was so nervous on transfer day. I’d already been driving myself insane with the craziest thoughts leading up to it. We were to drop the Little Mister off at school and then make our way to the clinic (an hour’s drive from our home). We were going to be a bit early for our midday appointment so we tried to take our time. We weaved our way through Fremantle and found weird ways to stall without actually stopping in public (because I felt like the hottest emotional mess there ever was). I was also trying to stay fresh ‘down…
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Our IVF Story Part 3: Egg retrieval.
March 2017 I had survived the hardest part of IVF – all of the injections and scans and tests leading up to my egg retrieval. Here is how it went… As you can imagine, I was bloody nervous. Not so much about being put under general anaesthetic (I figured I’d survived my first experience with that the year before) but about how many good eggs they’d be able to retrieve. I was also a bit worried about something going wrong and I had to really really try to put the actual mechanics of the procedure out of my mind. Nobody wants to think about a big needle going up your…
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Our IVF story Part 2: Before egg retrieval.
March 2017 I decided to keep a diary of my first experience with IVF. Partly so I can remember everything in this chapter of our fertility journey, partly for therapy (writing is what keeps me sane) and partly to educate. I know that even I went into this without knowing all of the ins and outs and timelines. If you’ve been through it, I wonder if you can relate. If you haven’t, I urge you to read this anyway. Chances are, someone in your life will struggle with infertility and you may be a much better support if you have an insight into what a person might be going through.…
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Our IVF story – Part 1: Deciding what to share about our IVF experience.
I wrote this in February 2017. Mr Unprepared and I had just started seeing a doctor at a specialised fertility clinic. We had been given an information overload at our first appointment, after being told by the doctor (a real straight shooter with a quirky sense of humour) that he could send us for more medicated cycles but if pregnancy hadn’t happened by now, it probably wasn’t going to. He suggested IVF and said we could decide to wait another couple of cycles before seeing him or just sign ourselves up and get it moving after waiting so long for some kind of definitive progress. We were so ready to move…
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Our secondary infertility story: Part 11 – A typical cycle on fertility medication.
This is part 11 of my secondary infertility experience. I’ve been documenting it throughout – since 2015. After we finally received the news that we are finally expecting a little one in early 2018, I feel ready to share the stories that I had kept inside for so long. I hope that they will help others to feel not so alone. I also hope to give family and friends some insight into what was happening at the time, as it was hard to talk about (or just seemed like a shit topic at social gatherings). You can catch up on the first 10(!) instalments here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3…
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Our secondary infertility story: Part 10 – Feelings before a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.
May 2016 You can catch up on the rest of the story so far, here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 I am only a few days out from having a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. Where the doctor looks to remove the endometrioma cyst on my ovary, search around for any obvious causes for my inability to get pregnant, and scrape out any other endometriosis from anywhere it should not be. I am also sick with a cold and my period is supposed to be due any minute. I am in a foul mood and I am struggling to…
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Our secondary infertility journey: Part 9 – Stop telling infertile people to ‘relax’.
When I wrote this in March 2016, I was in a tough place. I kind of got my ranty pants on. But reading it back, I don’t regret it and I don’t have any problem with sharing it now. I hope it doesn’t ruffle anyone’s feathers or make anyone feel defensive – that’s not my intent. I know people mean well. I’m just trying to shed some light on what it’s like when you’re struggling. You can catch up on the rest of my story so far here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Mr Unprepared and I are going through…
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Our secondary infertility story: Part 8 – After the first round of Clomid
This post was written in March 2016 – after my first medicated cycle. Let’s just say it didn’t exactly go ‘to plan’. You can catch up on previous instalments of my story here… Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 So…I was cautiously optimistic about starting Clomid during my last cycle. I didn’t expect it to help me become miraculously pregnant first time around, but I did hope that perhaps something promising would appear in my ultrasound. Something to tell me that I was going to ovulate up a storm etc. I was nervous before my scan, but hopeful. I’d had a strong…
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Our secondary infertility story: Part 7 – Clomid
This was written in February 2016. It hadn’t been published yet as I just wasn’t ready. In hindsight I can see that I was clearly more hopeful than I let myself believe. I actually feel quite sad for the February 2016 me because I know she had a lot more to go through before any good news was to be received. This was the beginning of a really rough year. You can catch up on anything you may have missed here… Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 In our continued efforts to get me knocked up (we’re hitting the 18 month mark of trying to conceive),…
