I’ve been here before. Let’s hope I’m wiser this time around with fertility resolutions

On the docket in the Allen family for this year: another baby. That means re-entering fertility treatment at Texas Fertility Center. This stirs up a great deal of excitement within me, laced with just a touch of anxiety. My nervousness is not about the actual treatment. I know I’m in good hands. My one-year-old serves as a daily reminder of that fact. My concern is about how I’ll deal in the meantime. This is where my fertility resolutions come in.

Confession: I (nearly) worried my way to a pregnancy.

Before I became pregnant with Tommy, I was a nervous wreck. Name it, and I guarantee I worried enough about it for you, me, and the ten other strangers in Texas Fertility Center’s waiting room. Follicle growth, hormone calendars, finances, missing work … all of it.

Guess what happened when I reached my limit and stopped worrying? Cliché alert… I got pregnant. We had a successful embryo transfer in January of 2014, and my son was born nine months later.

So, how do I stay clear of the worry-zone this time around? With fertility resolutions

Here is what I’m resolving to do during our next fertility treatment cycle. Hold me to it, folks.

I’m going to trust the process. Infertility is a curable medical condition. Most patients who follow through with treatment will have a baby – view video here>. Plus, Texas Fertility Center is worthy of our family’s trust. Their physicians are world-class leaders in reproductive medicine. They are the only fertility specialists in Austin consistently named on the Best Doctors list. I’ve spoken with patients at Texas Fertility Center who have flown in from around the country and the world. Suffice to say, I’m pretty sure I’m getting the Cadillac of fertility treatment.

I’m going to remain flexible. I hate change. Like, it incites a violent rage within me. During our last frozen embryo transfer (FET), I had my treatment calendar memorized. I had childcare lined up and cleared my schedule. But when I went in for an ultrasound checkup a week before the transfer, my uterine lining measured 6.9 mm. The optimal conditions for an FET would have my lining measuring 7 mm. So TFC pushed my transfer back by a week. This meant I had to—wait for it—get a whole new calendar. But after I took a few deep breaths and talked with Phillip, I saw it as evidence of how much the team at Texas Fertility Center cares about our success. They would not transfer one of our precious embryos until the conditions were exquisitely perfect. That is worth sacrificing my rigidity.

I’m going to remember that I’m not just a fertility patient. It is so easy to live and die by the aforementioned calendar. Hormones affect my moods. Waiting for results can be so draining. I have lost myself to this process in the past. The funny thing is that after I had Tommy, I realized it didn’t stop: I could lose myself in motherhood, too. If I didn’t put up some barriers, before I knew it I’d forget how much I love to write, or cook, or try new restaurants, travel, go for runs, have date nights and girls nights. It is vitally important to hold onto these things that we love, that make us us, both during motherhood and in the pursuit of getting there.

So let’s see if I can stick with these fertility resolutions. My hunch is that sometimes I’ll strike the right chord, and sometimes not. And if you see me in the Texas Fertility Center waiting room – don’t be a stranger. I’m curious to know your own resolutions. Let’s chat.

Otherwise, there’s a slight chance I might be sitting there worrying about you.

Contact Texas Fertility Center for information on how to get started on your fertility journey.