After being diagnosed with endometriosis nearly 8 years prior, we began trying to conceive. After an early miscarriage, we never saw those two pink lines again. It was devastating month after month not knowing why we weren’t able to get and stay pregnant. Our insurance required us to try for 24 cycles before we could get reproductive assistance. But what did that even mean?

After endless doctors appointments, procedures, blood tests, and ultrasounds it became clear we weren’t going to get pregnant on our own. We then began what felt like a master’s program amount of research to discover what our options were, decoding acronyms, finding resources, and calling our insurance company to find out what was covered. It was a very lonely time filled with frustration from our many unanswered questions.

Eventually we found ourselves exploring donor conception. Even though one in eight couples battles infertility, there was NO ONE talking about donor conception. We spent so much time researching our options. Eventually we found our daughter’s genetic parents, and quickly fell into the world of IVF: calling different pharmacies to find medication, learning how to give injections, scheduling appointments on specific cycle days. It was intense. The only support we found was through Instagram, but nobody seemed to be doing IVF for embryo adoption.

Unfortunately, we lost our first two embryos, and had to wean off the hormones. We made the decision to ship the final two embryos to our clinic and immediately prepare for a second FET. Nobody could understand why we were doing back to back cycles. They didn’t understand the deep grief we were submerged in. We lost one more embryo, and our very last donated embryo was implanted and became our rainbow baby. That’s when I decided to become reproductive health certified, so no one would have to go this journey alone.