After 3 years and 3 months of trying.. I could finally say, I’m pregnant! We are adding a member to the family…finally!

In my last life update post in January, I mentioned that we had done previous rounds of IVF that hadn’t yielded any pregnancies and that we were just starting to work with a different clinic after moving to South Carolina. At the end of January I did a third round of IVF and after a failed transfer in March, we decided to take a little break from all the fertility meds and appointments. We ate ramen and BeaverTails in Toronto, and saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Sweeney Todd in NYC. We just needed some time to have fun and not think about fertility, which was so nice. 

In the middle of May we did another embryo transfer and got our first positive pregnancy test 9 days later. We had our first ultrasound and heard the heartbeat at 6 weeks, which was fun! Over the next month following that ultrasound, we proceeded to tell our friends and family (I filmed a few of the reactions and will post them on my IG soon). 

When is my due date?

I’m currently 18 weeks pregnant and am due early February 2025. It honestly couldn’t have been more perfect timing with my photography business and the holidays. I coincidentally had my whole first trimester free of weddings, which was great because there were definitely many days where I wasn’t feeling my best. And then by the time my last trimester rolls around, I’ll be done with my weddings for the year and can enjoy all the holidays with the anticipation of a baby in February.

How is pregnancy going so far?

Good! Nausea started around 7 weeks and it started becoming less frequent when I hit 16 weeks. And when I do have nausea, it’s mostly at night. It’s not bad enough that I throw up, but I just feel kinda ick and want to lay down and not do anything. I’m soooo grateful that I didn’t have any major work things going on this summer during that first trimester because my energy levels were ZERO. I didn’t have the drive to accomplish anything, which is weird for me because I’m used to making lists every day and enjoy crossing items off as I finish them. That kinda went out the window for a period of time. 

Some things I’ve learned in pregnancy so far…

Nausea medicine is HEAVEN. It’s made a huge difference for me. I think this is why I’ve been feeling pretty good this pregnancy and haven’t gotten so sick that I’ve thrown up.

Exercise of any kind is great. Most weeks I try to do strength training 3 days a week and steady cardio 2 times a week. If I’m not feeling great energy-wise, just going out for a walk or walking on the treadmill makes me feel better. 

Some things I’m really enjoying during pregnancy…

I’ve loved all the planning, preparing, and organizational aspects of pregnancy. Researching baby items for our registry, making checklists of house projects, scheduling maternity and newborn sessions, and making a nursery inspiration pinterest board are just a few things that I’ve been up to. It’s been so fun! I thrive with this type of stuff. When the baby actually gets here, that might be a different story. Only time will tell!

Some things I don’t love about pregnancy…

The question I get asked the most is “how are you feeling”, and I’ve come to hate it.. Don’t take offense if you’ve asked me that in the past! I’ve just been asked the question so much that I feel like people expect a certain answer. Like “well I’m tired” or “I’m feeling sick” or “I’m feeling good today”. Then they either feel sorry for me (which I hate and don’t want) or I feel guilty. I’m probably one of the few that feel this way. 

Do we know the gender of the baby?

After this third round of IVF, we got our embryos genetically tested to make sure they didn’t have any issues prior to implantation, which included information about gender. Some people opt to keep that a surprise, but we decided to find out ahead of time. I don’t really like surprises anyways. I look forward to sharing more on that in the future!

That’s all for now! When we start having baby showers and finish the nursery I’ll post more updates. In the meantime, any questions you have for me? Leave me a comment down below and I’d be happy to answer!

I’m so grateful for all your support through our infertility!