List of the most popular hashtags for theme #IAM1IN8

Fuck This! Yep, I said it! Well, actually I spelled it (using negative pregnancy tests, positive ovulation tests and tampons). Every month I get my hopes up and every month I am let down. . . But this month (just like many in the past) we did everything right. How are we still not pregnant? I took my vitamins, my husband took his, I took my hypothyroid medication, I watched my cervical mucus, I used ovulation tests (which informed me I was “ovulating”) and we got busy during all the crucial times (and even before and after just to be sure). . . But how did this month still end with a negative pregnancy test and my period following shortly after like a punch in the gut? You think I would be used to this feeling or even expect it after 3 years of infertility. But it still hurts. Every single month. . . So today I’m saying Fuck This! Fuck infertility. Fuck getting my hopes up only to be let down. Fuck our perfect timing that didn’t work. Fuck feeling like a failure. Fuck being sad. Today I’m choosing to be happy anyway and live life unapologetically. Happy Wednesday! . . . #unapologeticallyinfertile #nonmom #thisiswhatinfertilitylookslike #fuckthis #pcoswarrior #pcos #pregnancyenvy #infertility #1in8 #infertilityawareness #infertilitywarrior #notamotheryet #infertilitysucks #infertilitysupport #infertilityjourney #iam1in8 #ttc #infertilitycommunity #infertilityblog #fuckinfertility #infertilemyrtle #infertilecouple #fertility #ttctribe #infertilitytribe #1in8couple #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttccouple #3yearsttc

Had the BEST night seeing Hugh Jackman last night! Couldn't help feeling a bit sad afterwards as I remember booking the tickets back at the start of December, not long after my miscarriage and thinking at least I have something to look forward to, even if it's ages away, and making it some kind of weird deadline in my head to be pregnant by, as it felt so far in the future . Things have got a whole lot worse fertility /health wise since then, so I'm really trying not to make these deadlines as I doubt I will ever be pregnant again but yeah...sad that I didn't make my deadline and sad it's over. Now I just need to book something else to look forward to right!? . (unrelated picture, just because I'm lucky to have her .. And also trying to look past the fact my thighs look huge) . . . . #infertilitysucks #infertilityawareness #secondaryinfertility #infertility #pcos #iam1in4 #iam1in8 #oneandonly #onlychild #mumsxo #adayinmylife #xmumshine #ttccommunity #ttc #youarenotalone #littlestoriesofmylife #lifeafterloss #motherhood #motherhoodthroughinstagram #ttcsisters #ttccommunity #motherhood

Will I not be a good mother? Am I doing something wrong? Is my body broken? Is it not meant to be? Am I being punished? . . After 34 months of infertility, I catch myself asking God these questions more and more often. Hopefully I won’t have to ask these questions for much longer. Praying our IUI works next month. . . . #dearGod #whycantihaveababy #pregnancyenvy #infertility #1in8 #infertilityawareness #infertilitywarrior #notamotheryet #realmarriage #babydust #thisiswhatinfertilitylookslike #thisisinfertility #infertilitysucks #infertilitysupport #infertilityjourney #iam1in8 #unapologeticallyinfertile #infertilitycommunity #infertilityblog #unexplainedinfertility #infertilemyrtle #infertilecouple #fertility #ttctribe #infertilitytribe #1in8couple #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttccouple #3yearsttc

Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one struggling with this...

Nearly 5.5 years. 64 months of a seemingly never-ending cycle of hope and disappointment. In God’s perfect timing, Ryan and I are so excited to announce that we are expecting identical twins in November! After years of infertility testing, doctors told us we have ‘unexplained infertility’ and that IVF was our next step. We initially disregarded the suggestion because it felt forced. I knew that God could make us pregnant in an instant and if biological children weren’t in His plan for us, then I didn’t want to force my plan on Him. However, after about two years of prayer, my heart was finally softened to the idea of IVF. We began the intense process at the beginning of this year and I’m so thankful to have seen the Lord’s hand in this every step of the way. From the day we met our doctors to transfer day, we felt that the Lord was walking with us all along, which brought peace and comfort that’s hard to even explain. Doctors transferred one embryo that day. So you can imagine our surprise when we went back for our 7 week ultrasound and saw two babies on the screen. Identical twins. The embryo had split all on it’s own, I think there is a 2% chance of that happening. God was showing us yet again how much He loved us and that He was in control. So far, our IVF story has been a happy one. We’ve been blessed with healthy embryos and so far, have two healthy babies. But we’ve grown in our faith so much in the past 5.5 years. We had to come to a place where we were ok with not ever having a baby. I found my identity in Christ, not in being a mom or even being Ryan’s wife. We started dreaming of a family in high school and had to grieve every future plan we had ever made. We had to come to a place where Christ was enough. Where we believed that His plan was better than ours, even though we didn’t know what that looked like. We had to let Him write our story, instead of trying to write it ourselves. Two babies. Wow. Glory be to God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

as i looked at what seemed to be the millionth negative pregnancy test, i thought about life and how sometimes it has a way of making it seem as if we are unloved, alone, and forgotten beings. the constant negatives can cloud our every thought and bring about seeds of lies, doubt, and deep pain to control our every move. the distractions only add on to the wound making us feel trapped with no way out. today i chose to turn away from those lies. im choosing gratitude and to enjoy the rain. and well, while i can’t promise what tomorrow will bring, i will continue clinging to the hope that my rainbow will come. to the mamas with empty arms to the childless without a choice to the motherless and hurting you alone, are loved. seen. and remembered. . . #enespañol Al mirar lo que parecía ser la prueba de embarazo negativa número mil, pensé en la vida y cómo a veces tiene una forma de parecer como que somos seres no amados, solos, y olvidados. las distracciones y negatividad nos hacen sentir atrapados sin salida. Hoy opté por alejarme de esas mentiras. y bueno, aunque no puedo prometer lo que traerá el mañana, me aferraré a la esperanza de que mi arco iris venga. a las mamas con los brazos vacíos a los sin hijos sin elección a los huérfanos y dolientes tú, eres amado. visto. y recordado. #rememberingbabysanders

A year ago (tomorrow) Getting ready for our Round 2 IVF transfer . I remember the exhaustion. I can see it on our faces. I was hopeful because I had to be. Self preservation. I thought this season of grief and heartache and uncertainty would never end. But it did . I sit here a year later on the other side. The side I honestly thought we’d never get to - baby boy in hand . The many brutal years on this journey grew me. They shaped me. I’m proud of who I am today because of this . Unfortunately I know too many of you are walking this grueling journey now. I see you. You’re SO strong and SO brave. When this season will end for you, I don’t know. I wish I did. But I do know you’ll be better for it... I promise . .

In honor of Infertility Awareness Week, my husband and I wanted to help spread awareness by sharing our story. I will share it in a 3 part series over the next few days. You can read Part 1 below . . After our July wedding in 2016, we eagerly started trying to get pregnant and begin our family. I honestly thought it would only be a few short months before we would be announcing our pregnancy with some cute Facebook post like everyone else. I envisioned at least 20 different ways in which we would do it (most of them involving our favorite sports team). But as the Packer’s season came and went (and the Bucks and Brewers too), we soon discovered that conceiving a baby would be much more difficult than either of us had imagined. . . Growing up, I didn’t even realize that there was such a thing as “infertility.” Being one of ten children, I assumed pregnancy came easy--that just because a couple wanted a baby, they had a baby. And for some people, I guess that is how it goes. But for others, the journey to parenthood is a lot harder, a lot more expensive and a lot more painful (physically and emotionally). . . During our first year of marriage, my doctor assured me that most couples get pregnant within a year and to keep trying. Trying is the fun part anyway, right? Well let me assure you, there comes a point when “trying” is not so fun anymore. Especially when it is on a strict time schedule. And the advice of “just relax and it will happen” was about as helpful as a raincoat during a hurricane. But the storm that was on the horizon for us was about to put our baby dreams on hold for a while. . . Catch Part 2 tomorrow . . . #infertilityawareness #NIAW #infertilityuncovered #infertilityawarenessweek #packers #infertility #1in8 #infertilitywarrior #notamotheryet #brewers #infertileaf #infertilitysucks #infertilitysupport #infertilityjourney #iam1in8 #ttc #infertilitycommunity #infertilityblog #unapologeticallyinfertile #weare1in8 #part1 #milwaukeebucks #infertilecouple #fertility #ttctribe #1in8couple #ttccommunity #ttcjourney #ttccouple

⠀ Today is my birthday. My 36th birthday to be exact. The number has never mattered as much as it does now (not entirely sure that it matters to me but somehow still it matters). ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ In the world of fertility…it matters to them, to the drs. They have labels for it, as in geriatric pregnancy. Even your insurance company starts to treat you differently after age 35. It is hard to not get caught up in the game. In the energy of it all. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ So on this 36th birthday I will make a wish, a wish to become a mother. I will let go of the labels and the statistics. I will choose to live in alignment with my beliefs. I will choose faith. I do not believe that I would be given this dream, this vision, this spiritual download if it was not possible for me. I believe it is happening, all in divine timing. So today I will celebrate that I am that much closer to my birthday wish coming true. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ Photo Cred: @alicegpatterson⠀ ⠀ #sweetpraxis #cnyfertility #fertilityjourney #empoweredfertility #faithandfertility #fertilityretreat #unexplainedinfertility #infertilityawareness #ttc #iam1in8 #ivfjourney #iamfertile #faithinmiracles #yogaforfertility #faiththroughinfertility #kundaliniforfertility⠀