I recently read a story about a designer who made cards that she wished she would have received when she was battling cancer. People mean well, but often don’t know what to say. It made me think of the kinds of things I wish friends would have said to me when I was struggling with infertility. So, here are some free printables that you can turn into cards to give someone who is having trouble TTC (trying to conceive).
When I was invited to write a post for Astroglide TTC Trying to Conceive about infertility, my knee jerk reaction was “heck no!!” I am a pretty private person, and even as my husband and I were struggling with infertility I told very few people about what was going on. But then I remembered all the solace I found online. Community boards and blog posts became not only my information sources, but also places where I found friendship and women who understood what I was going through. There is a lot of comfort in knowing that you are not the only person who is struggling to get pregnant. Since I have 4 kids, most people have no idea how long it took me to finally become a mother. So I’ve decided to share my story, with the hope that it will help someone else who can make everything except for babies. Even if you haven’t experienced infertility, hopefully you can use these printable cards to help a friend who is struggling with this all too common issue.
In a nutshell, my story is this:
Like most people, you just assume that when you’re ready to start a family, it will happen. How hard can it be, right? After one year with no positive pregnancy test, I turned to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. After a bazillion invasive tests we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Basically, everything looked normal, and we were assured that we’d be pregnant in no time. After SIX failed intrauterine inseminations (IUIs) and one failed IVF (in vitro fertilization), my husband and I were emotionally and financially spent. We took a break and started looking at international adoption.
In 2002 we adopted our first son. Our dreams of becoming parents had finally come true! While it was such a joy to finally be a mother, I still held onto the dream of experiencing a pregnancy someday. We still had a diagnosis of unexplained infertility so, in spite of all our failed medical attempts, I held on to a sliver of hope that I might become pregnant someday.
In 2004, my wish was granted. I was overjoyed to find out that I was pregnant! Son #2 was born in October, and we were the proud parents of two beautiful boys. Life was great. I enjoyed every minute of my pregnancy, and hoped that I might get to experience it one more time.
After two years of TTC I finally got pregnant again naturally. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, and I lost twins at 11 weeks. I still held on to hope that I might add one more child to our family, and in 2009 we were overjoyed with the birth of our daughter. Our long awaited rainbow baby was a third dream come true. I was so grateful for our good fortune!
Life had one last surprise in store for us, and in 2011 our youngest child was born. My husband and I still marvel at the fact that it took us YEARS to become parents…there were days we thought we would never even have ONE child…and now here we are with 4 amazing kids. I often say that I cried a million tears, and in turn I have since smiled a million smiles. I don’t take a single day for granted, and I give thanks everyday for our four children.
I learned lots of things during those tumultuous years of TTC, but I’ll save those for another post. For now, I hope you’ll enjoy this printable cards, and if you are struggling to TTC that my story brings you some hope. Hang in there….
This post is sponsored by Astroglide TTC, a unique lubricant that is specially designed for couples trying to conceive. It a water based formula that does not impede sperm motility like other lubricants do, thus increasing your chances of achieving pregnancy.
Astroglide TTC™ sponsored this blog post. The opinions and text are all mine
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[…] recently shared my struggle with infertility with some free printable cards you can give your friend who is TTC (trying to conceive). As a continuation of that story, […]