i haven’t updated this site in 4(!) years, but figured it’s as good a place as any to record my latest adventures.
So I am officially announcing to the world (via a post to be published at a later date), that I have begun the adventure of trying to make a baby! 👶🏻 🍼 ❤️
Wait, what?! You may be asking...
I’ve been vaguely toying with the idea of turning to single motherhood (SMBC or Single Mom by Choice as it’s known around the interwebs) for about a year and a half. I’ve been flirting with the world of online dating for AGES with nearly no success - that’s its own looong story - basically I’ve dated here and there including a 6 month relationship about 3 years ago, but no one I could see a future with, a LOT of losers, a LOOOOOTTT of men in my age bracket not looking to expand their family (my main dealbreaker).
SO, this past January I decided if still single by my birthday I would look into sperm donors. And the second I let that thought take root, it grabbed onto my heart and still hasn’t let go. I knew this felt right from the getgo. Yes, it would mean putting dating in the back burner for a bit, but since my success rate was essentially nil anyway, no big loss there. I figured my soulmate would still be waiting for me at the other side.
I made an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist which was set for mid-March (so soon! And so far!)
I let my mom and sisters know of my thoughts at Valentines Day - I think they were surprised, but supportive, but didn’t take it very seriously (when I brought it up again before my first appt they had all basically forgotten!) 😂
I met with the RE, Dr Houmard, a very nice lady who assured me that despite my age (37 and closing in on 38 quickly) I should have no problems getting pregnant. I did a bunch of bloodwork, found a sperm donor I liked, and waited for my next period to show up - I did my first IUI (intrauterine insemination) in April, my second in May - both unsuccessful. However, as I have found through my extensive research, IUI has about a 15% success rate with each attempt, so not overly surprised that they didn’t work.
I could have kept going with IUIs as many months in a row as I wanted. But, I had now passed the 38 year mark, and statistically I knew that my fertility would only be going downhill from there. So I met again with Dr H to ask her about other options. My main questions: which option was most likely to work, and which option might increase my chances for a sibling in the future (god willing). The answer? IVF with freezing any embryos that might make it to be transferred at a future date.
This is the expensive option, but multiple studies have shown that going to IVF earlier is actually cheaper in the long run compared to doing numerous IUIs...
A slight hiccup in all of this: I am spending half of August in Ireland, which means I could either try to do egg retrieval in July and freeze any embryos I got for a future cycle, or wait and do the egg retrieval in Aug/September after I get back, with the option to either freeze or do a fresh embryo transfer.
That’s my current plan, and I’m spending the summer taking as many vitamins to help with egg health and fertility as I can stomach, eating healthy, keeping my weight down, and trying to enjoy freedom in the hopes that come next summer I’ll be blessed to be overwhelmed with a baby! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
I’ll write more in the future, on the details and the meds and everything else to go on this crazy ride...
Xoxo
Kate
So I am officially announcing to the world (via a post to be published at a later date), that I have begun the adventure of trying to make a baby! 👶🏻 🍼 ❤️
Wait, what?! You may be asking...
I’ve been vaguely toying with the idea of turning to single motherhood (SMBC or Single Mom by Choice as it’s known around the interwebs) for about a year and a half. I’ve been flirting with the world of online dating for AGES with nearly no success - that’s its own looong story - basically I’ve dated here and there including a 6 month relationship about 3 years ago, but no one I could see a future with, a LOT of losers, a LOOOOOTTT of men in my age bracket not looking to expand their family (my main dealbreaker).
SO, this past January I decided if still single by my birthday I would look into sperm donors. And the second I let that thought take root, it grabbed onto my heart and still hasn’t let go. I knew this felt right from the getgo. Yes, it would mean putting dating in the back burner for a bit, but since my success rate was essentially nil anyway, no big loss there. I figured my soulmate would still be waiting for me at the other side.
I made an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist which was set for mid-March (so soon! And so far!)
I let my mom and sisters know of my thoughts at Valentines Day - I think they were surprised, but supportive, but didn’t take it very seriously (when I brought it up again before my first appt they had all basically forgotten!) 😂
I met with the RE, Dr Houmard, a very nice lady who assured me that despite my age (37 and closing in on 38 quickly) I should have no problems getting pregnant. I did a bunch of bloodwork, found a sperm donor I liked, and waited for my next period to show up - I did my first IUI (intrauterine insemination) in April, my second in May - both unsuccessful. However, as I have found through my extensive research, IUI has about a 15% success rate with each attempt, so not overly surprised that they didn’t work.
I could have kept going with IUIs as many months in a row as I wanted. But, I had now passed the 38 year mark, and statistically I knew that my fertility would only be going downhill from there. So I met again with Dr H to ask her about other options. My main questions: which option was most likely to work, and which option might increase my chances for a sibling in the future (god willing). The answer? IVF with freezing any embryos that might make it to be transferred at a future date.
This is the expensive option, but multiple studies have shown that going to IVF earlier is actually cheaper in the long run compared to doing numerous IUIs...
A slight hiccup in all of this: I am spending half of August in Ireland, which means I could either try to do egg retrieval in July and freeze any embryos I got for a future cycle, or wait and do the egg retrieval in Aug/September after I get back, with the option to either freeze or do a fresh embryo transfer.
That’s my current plan, and I’m spending the summer taking as many vitamins to help with egg health and fertility as I can stomach, eating healthy, keeping my weight down, and trying to enjoy freedom in the hopes that come next summer I’ll be blessed to be overwhelmed with a baby! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
I’ll write more in the future, on the details and the meds and everything else to go on this crazy ride...
Xoxo
Kate
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