Taking Control of Your Situation: A Journey Through Adoption and Surrogacy
Our path to parenthood began in a defined way similar to most couples, in that we knew our first step. Unlike others, however, our first step was IVF/ICSI due to male factor infertility caused by an illness my husband battled in his early twenties. Despite starting IVF in my mid twenties with good health history and no preexisting conditions, the first two years of IVF proved unsuccessful. After switching fertility clinics, I finally became pregnant with twins, only to lose them at 17 weeks. I fell into an abyss of heartache and withdrawal for many months after our tragic loss. During this time, I finally allowed myself the space to fully feel all of the emotions that I had carefully kept under wrap all those years. It was frightening to give myself the permission to be vulnerable, but I knew it was a key step if I were to continue on my quest to become a mother. After years of back-to-back IVF cycles, it was time to pause and heal.