You are not alone

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. I may only have a few family members and friends that know about our troubles to get pregnant, but the more people I open up to over the years, the less alone I have felt.

I always had an inkling that it would be tough for me to get pregnant. My crazy heavy periods were my clue, but every GYN I spoke to about them didn't think that it was worth investigating. After a year of trying on our own, CP and I started to get some tests done and we found out that we have both male and female factor infertility.

Three years of timed intercourse, doctors visits, major surgery to remove fibroids and endometriosis, getting violated by the dildo cam more times than I can count, 3 unsuccessful IUIs, lots of expensive drugs, and one IVF cycle has led to my amazing daughter Izzy and a recent miscarriage. Unfortunately I'm sure I will continue to add to this list as we try to complete our family with a second child.

I may not talk about infertility quite as much these days because of Izzy but it doesn't mean that I never think about it and others that are going through similar hardships in an effort to get pregnant. The best thing I ever did was to find other infertiles on the internet. Reading about their journey, even if it was quite different than mine, and being able to write about my journey has helped me feel less alone.

If you feel comfortable, reach out to a few close friends or family to talk about what you are going through. See if there is a Resolve group near you and attend a meeting- meeting other ladies in my area that could validate my feelings and understand what I was going through was also very helpful.

Unfortunately because 1 out of 8 couples these days has trouble getting pregnant, there are many of us out there even if we are not completely open about it. I have been shocked with the number of people in my life that I have learned are also infertile.

Please know that you are not alone.