I first joined this forum in 2016! Which was the start of my journey. I am so lucky that my journey is now at an end and my family is complete, to write that is surreal as I never imagined it would happen. I hope with all my heart that you all find this peace and can be relieved of never having to think about TTC again.
It felt wrong to bow out of this forum without saying a heartfelt thank you to every person who has offered their support, in dark moments it really did make all the difference, having accesses to a wonderful online community who just ‘get it’ gave me so much comfort and hope. So thank you so much.
I just want to briefly share my story for anyone that may find it useful and to give them hope, especially for anyone contemplating IVF for a second child whilst still breastfeeding their first.
After TTC for 2.5 years IVF was needed for low AMH and male factor.
2017- my first IVF cycle was cancelled prior to stimms as they couldn’t locate my ovaries on uss. Had to have laporoscopy they found my left ovary was abdominal and I had no left fallopian tube. The only way they would be able to retrieve eggs would be abdominally. Very challenging to find a clinic willing to do this procedure!
Sep 2017- BFP! Natural pregnancy and miscarriage at 10 weeks the most heartbreaking experience of my life.
2018- I had 2 egg collections and 4 embryo transfers before I got a BFP. I always got very low eggs 3-4
August 2019- Birthed a beautiful baby boy 💙💙💙💙
January 2021- TTC sibling
June 2021- BFP natural pregnancy miscarriage at 9 weeks 😭
November 2021-Natural FET with last frozen embryo BFN
Early 2022 I had 2 rounds of IVF that turned out a complete disaster as no eggs collected on each round. It was at this point that I had to except that our journey with our own eggs had ended and I started the process of grieving this loss and fully focused on moving forward with DE and was on a waiting list waiting for a donor.
Then bam out of nowhere against all the odds a natural pregnancy after an agonising first 12 weeks we made it to the scan and I am now holding my 3 weeks old baby in my arms.
The whole experience of infertility has been the biggest challenge of my life, it burst me open and made me raw with anger, jealousy, anxiety and just about every other feeling.
For anyone trying for a sibling and still breastfeeding I breastfed my son throughout and only stopped in the second trimester. Breastfeeding gave me so much comfort and healing through miscarriage, IVF and pregnancy. If I had experienced this after weaning which my clinic had advised I’m sure it would have broke me, maintaining that connection with my son was essential to mental health at the time. If you are faced with a clinic telling you to stop, rest assured that there is no evidence that BF during treatment ( if baby over 12 months and your cycle has returned) will affect the outcome. Join the Facebook group breastfeeding mums undergoing fertility treatment to access a brilliant community of information and support.
I am beyond grateful for what I have and proud of myself for what I have endured to get here.
You are all warriors, fighting so hard and it’s exhausting. Take it day by day and it is my heart felt hope that you will all have your baby/ babies in your arms soon ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you and good bye xxx