Mommy's World and Beyond

I remember while growing up of hearing the phrase "test tube baby".  This phrase was derogatory, insulting and used commonly as a joke.  Never did I think that I would need science to conceive.  Fertility, in the minds of most couples. is an intimate and private subject.  Once we began the doctor appointments and realized just how costly IVF would be for us, we decided to go public with our journey.  Crowdfunding is very common for raising funds for various things.  We created a GoFundMe page and started the Our Little Cannonball campaign. Unfortunately, we did not raise any substantial funds towards our procedures but we did gain supporters and a small amount of money was raised which helped with meals and gas while on the go.  I was browsing the internet one day and decided to randomly apply for a personal loan.  To my surprise, we were immediately approved for a substantial amount that would allow us to afford the procedure.  Our IVF cyc...

When I got married in March of 2012 I had no idea that our next chapter of starting a family would be our first obstacle to overcome together.  As an African American woman, I have since found it common that we do not make it a priority within our culture to consider pre-family planning education.  I had regular gynecological check-ups, but had no idea of even where to start with trying to conceive. I immediately stopped birth control and we started trying.  This is when I learned about ovulation, the many phases of our menstrual cycle and other very interesting things that our amazing body is capable of.  As I started to track my cycles I found the Trying To Conceive (TTC) community on Youtube.  I watched and listened and finally something began to happen.  About 2 months into TTC, I got a positive pregnancy test on a cheap dollar tree test.  By this time, I had tracked ovulation with test strips and knew when I should have been expected my period....