Bye Bye Babies and Royal Baby

Good afternoon my dears. 

I've been missing in action these past few weeks. We've had a few of the busiest weeks in a long, long, time. Then so much happens that it can get overwhelming to know where to start. Sometimes, you just have to start to start, so here goes. 

During the months of January, February, March and April I was undergoing the process of IVF with ICSI. As many of you know, we've had unexplained infertility for almost four years, yet every test hasn't found the reason why we haven't been able to conceive.

Everyone takes this journey differently. At first we were extremely private, but over time I've made many, many friends who have a story about infertility to share. This week, is national infertility awareness week and the numbers are staggering. 1 in 8. That means that someone you sit beside in church, someone you see in the post office line, in the grocery store line, etc. has had some sort of experience with infertility.

Almost all the woman I sit besides at the fertility clinic say; "Our family and friends don't know". Not everyone has family, or friends who can empathize and be supportive. Yet these women are some of the strongest I've ever met. Encouraging, caring, and thoughtful about how they discuss and share their stories. Lending and ear and validating each others experiences is especially important.

Thankfully, the medications (Lupron, Gonal F, Menopur, HCG, Progesterone) didn't cause any unwanted side effects. Mostly bruising and muscle aches if I stood or walked for too long. Here are a few blurry cell phone snaps I took along our journey:

Waiting 

Vaginal Ultrasounds (Yep! Its reality)

Not everyone shares their numbers, but I'm an open book, as I hope it makes someone else who is going through this realize we're all different. Plus reading forums can sometimes make things seem a little more complicated than they really need to. 

IVF

15 follicles

10 eggs retrieved

9 viable

7 fertilized

6 8-cell embryos

3 blastocyst embryos

EMBIES

Every day we got a call from our RE (reproductive endocrinologist) with how many embies (embryos) made it to the next day, along with a picture of their development. I remember we were having brunch at First Watch when we learned that 6 embies made it to 8-cell embryos. That was a joyful day. 

We had 2 embryos (fraternal twins) implanted, but sadly we lost them at 4 weeks into their development. We have one more waiting on us, but decided to take a break until this summer, so my bruises would have a chance to heal. 

Thankfully, we're patient, we're at peace, and we have hope. 

In much happier news, we are delighted with the arrival of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby boy.  Goodness gracious me, I have a lot of congratulations cards to write with all the happy royal news of late. 

Kiki Nakita

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or Bloglovin'