Acceptance

Recently, I was at a neighbor’s house for a birthday party. (Happy Birthday, Tiff!) While there, I was chatting with some friends about our IVF experience and plans to try again soon. One of them commented that I appear much less stressed about this round than I did the first time around. 

I hadn’t really thought about it too much, but when I considered for a moment, I had to agree. 

It’s not that a second round is going to be easier. In fact, if anything, it’ll be more uncomfortable than the first round. (Higher doses of meds, more injections, etc.) And when I really thought about it, I think there’s a couple of reasons I’m less stressed. 

The biggest is acceptance. 

Back when we tried our first round of IVF in the summer of 2022, Nick and I both assumed this was our one shot to have a family. We didn’t really even consider that it could fail. 

When it did fail, we thought that was it. Our one shot didn’t work. We were heartbroken, and we grieved for that loss of our potential family. 

This time around, we know how hard it’s going to be, and we know it might not work again. It doesn’t mean we won’t be heartbroken again if we have another failed cycle, but we have a level of acceptance that we didn’t have before. 

If it fails, we will grieve again, but we have accepted that ending this journey without kids is a possibility. 

The other reason has to do with cost and insurance. 

In 2022, we thought our IVF cycle was going to be covered by insurance. Finding out it wasn’t was a shock, and fighting with the insurance provider added another layer of stress. 

This time, it definitely will be covered. I don’t know how much the full cost will be with medicine, but it’s very likely we have enough saved to cover the total. If a third or fourth round of IVF is needed, we will need help to make that happen.

If you’d like to help us in our journey–whether thats sending thoughts, good vibes, or prayers; donating money; or sharing our fundraising info, visit our GoFundMe page.