National Infertility Awareness Week! - You are NOT alone...

For our new blog viewers:
We have been struggling for 8 years to start a family, and recently experienced our first pregnancy (via Embryo Adoption), which resulted in a Silent Miscarriage at 10.5 weeks. We are beyond heart broken, but are so very grateful for our wonderful family, friends, and donor couple. We have sadly still had to endure all the heartache, embarrassment, and annoying/offensive questions and comments that come with infertility though: 

“Just relax, it’ll happen!”

“Why don’t you JUST adopt?!"

“You can have my kids!"

“Quit stressing, everything will work out when it’s SUPPOSED to!”

“It took us a whole four months to get pregnant, we know EXACTLY how you feel!”

“Maybe if you just lost some MORE weight you could get pregnant?”

“Well which one of you is the PROBLEM?”

And our all-time favorite, make you want to punch someone in the throat comment...

“I only WISH I had your problem, my kids drive me nuts!”

We are so grateful to have been guided to our donor embryos by our Heavenly Father. It’s amazing that it all started from a dream! Even though our first embryo transfer resulted in heart ache, we are still hopeful that a future transfer will be the answer to our many years of prayer. We are NOT giving up! We have received SO MUCH support by sharing our story via blog. I encourage those out there who are suffering in the dark, to finally speak out! Don’t keep this trial and burden to yourself. It will consume you. We know this from experience. We didn’t tell many about our IVF treatment in 2008, and it ended up failing. No embryos to transfer. We spent many years afterward struggling with depression, were full of anger, and felt so alone. This is why we decided to get it ALL out there this time around, in hopes of getting the support we need. It was SO worth it, so therapeutic, and so uplifting. Even though you may hear the annoying comments above by sharing your infertility struggles, I promise that you will receive much more support, love, empathy, and prayers on your behalf, if you will just be brave enough to share. It makes the insensitive comments seem minuscule in comparison to the weight lifted off of your shoulders from voicing your pain, and bonding with others who share your sadness. 

We have cried many happy tears over the last few months while reading tender messages of gratitude, hope, and empathy from family, friends, and strangers, for sharing our story. Thank you!!! Hang in there! Though times may seem dark, your day WILL come, and so will ours! Whether it be adoption, a miracle pregnancy, successful IVF or IUI, embryo donation, donor egg, donor sperm, surrogacy, a combination of these, or something else...something great will happen for you. You WILL have children in your life, whether it be yours after much struggling, or that you are "childfull" and love and bond with children of family and friends. Trust in the Lord, as hard as that may be at times. His plan may hurt along the way (A LOT), but he knows us and knows what is best, even though we may not see it at the time, or understand it for many years to come. We are stronger than we think! I promise.

So grateful for organizations like this, wish I would have found out about it sooner! So, I hope you will share this, in hopes of it reaching others who so badly need the support. Even though I was going to take a posting break until next treatment, I thought this week was a great exception!

Happy National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) to all of my fellow infertile-ites! 

Take advantage of these wonderful resources! ♥

http://www.resolve.org/national-infertility-awareness-week/home-page.html