From Infertility to a Childless Life…
When we were married in 2000, I did not understand what our vows would really look like. “For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health….” How was I to know that the worse, the bad, the sickness would involve infertility? Our 17 year marriage has included a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns, highs and lows, joys and sorrows. And our path did not lead where I expected. But as I breathe in this moment, I know that I am exactly where I am meant to be. Here is a glimpse into how I got here…
2000 Got married; Bought a house; Adopted our first puppy, Valentine
May 2001 My Daddy passed away
Nov 2001 Adopted our second puppy, Prancer
June 2003 Our first niece was born
Nov 2003 Started trying to have our first baby
Dec 2003 Received my Master’s Degree
June 2004 Told our family that we were ttc
Jan 2005 Our second niece was born
2005 Started tracking ovulation with a fertility monitor
Jan 2006 Our first nephew was born
2006 Met with our first fertility specialist
May 2006 My endometriosis surgery; Our third niece was born
May – Oct 2006 Medical Menopause; Started building our dream family home
April 2007 First IUI – found out it failed the day before my 30th birthday
May 2007 Second IUI – failed
June 2007 Third IUI – failed; Diagnosed with severe infertility
End of 2007 Began adoption research
Summer 2008 Moved to OKC
Nov 2008 Prancer passed away
Spring 2009 Trip to MO to meet a second fertility specialist about mini-IVF, but we weren’t viable candidates
Summer 2009 Began “Special Days” with our nieces
2010 More ttc; More adoption research
2011 Met 3rd & 4th fertility specialists; Recommended clinical trial; 4 more failed IUIs;
2011 And… My two best girlfriends had their littles
2012 More adoption research; Still hoping…
March 2013 Valentine passed away
Summer 2013 My hubby earned his Bachelor’s; We moved to SC and adopted our third puppy, Maddie
Dec 2013 My hubby told me he didn’t want to keep trying…
2014 Year one of accepting my childless life
Oct 2014 The cooking class that changed my life…
Jan – June 2015 Hosted our Brazilian foreign exchange student, Bruna
Nov 2015 Donated 12 inches of my hair to Wigs for Kids in honor of our “starting to try” anniversary
Dec 2015 Bruna visited for Christmas
Feb 2016 Bought a fixer-upper to create a home just for us…
Oct 2016 Bruna visited for Fall Break
Apr 2017 We visited Brazil for my 40th birthday
July 2017 Bruna visited and we took a road trip to Okla; After 17 years, I resigned from teaching
Aug 2017 Not So Mommy… blog up & running!
Sept 2017 Participated in the first ever World Childless Week; Posted first ever “Good Things Story”
Oct 2017 Not dreading the November Anniversary of us “starting to try” anymore.
Nov 2017 Donated my wedding dress to Kennedy’s Angel Gowns
Dec 2017 Childless Holidays Series: Joy; Featured on “Our Stories” on Life Without Baby; I had a wobble
Jan 2018 Featured Blogger in The Childless Not By Choice Magazine
Feb 2018 Featured on Childless Island Disks; 100th blog posted on Not So Mommy…
Inspire others by telling part of your journey through Our Stories…
Read more about Our Journey on the Blog…
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