#natural infertility treatment

[candorivf]

Optimal hygiene is one of the most important pregnancy tips to follow. 

Keeping a few monsoon pregnancy care tips in mind can make sure you stay safe at all times, and enjoy the weather and the beautiful rains with your little one inside you!

Sticking to a well-balanced, Nutritious diet

Maintain the usual Fluid intake

Make dressing choices as per the Weather

Sanitization of surroundings

Get consult with best Gynecologist at Candor IVF Center for Pregnancy

[garbhavidya]

Discover the hidden power of positive mindset in getting pregnancy naturally - Dr. Andal Bhaskar

[ms-demeanor]

I understand that vaccines are proven to work and are a great advancement in our medicine, and also that homeopathic remedies don't work, but don't they work on the same principal? Why does one work and the other doesnt?

They do not work on the same principle.

I can see how vaccines look like a "like treats like" situation, but in homeopathy "like treats like" is a kind of magical thinking.

Let's take an example from Chicken Pox, a virus for which there is an effective vaccine and for which there is a common homeopathic treatment.

Chicken pox infects people once, and it is extremely rare to get a second case because once you have had it, your body forms persistent antibodies against the varicella-zoster virus. When I was a kid, they didn't have a vaccine for this, so kids mostly got chicken pox once and it ran around whole schools and that was it. It's a virus that is fairly minor in children, though it can cause dangerously high fevers. Adults who get chicken pox typically get much sicker than children who get it, and it can lead to permanent harms like infertility in adults who get it. Because it can be so dangerous, we don't want people to risk getting it, so we vaccinate.

The way the vaccine works is that it takes a weakened form of the virus and introduces that into the body of a person with a healthy immune system. The immune system responds and the person who got the vaccine may get some minor symptoms, like a headache or a slight fever, but it will be nowhere near as severe as getting actual chicken pox would be. Because the immune system was exposed to the virus and responded, it now has antibodies against the virus that recognize the virus and respond immediately before it can start replicating in the body. If a person who has either previously had chicken pox or who has been vaccinated against it is exposed to the chicken pox virus, their body uses those antibodies to react to the virus and protect against a systemic infection.

Are you familiar with Star Trek? It's kind of like the Borg. You can't use the same attack pattern against the Borg multiple times because if you do, they'll recognize the pattern and will be able to defend against it. The virus is the attacker, and your immune system is the Borg. It knows what it's looking for and won't let anything get through its defenses.

Homeopathic remedies don't seek to prevent illness or provoke an immune response, they seek to cancel out something that is happening in the body.

For chicken pox, which produces itchy red bumps, homeopaths use Rhus Tox - a dilution of poison ivy, a plant that causes itchy red bumps if you encounter it in nature. The Rhus Tox didn't cause the chicken pox, it's not given to prevent the virus, it's from a plant that is completely unrelated to the virus that happens to produce some of the same symptoms as the virus when you touch it.

They don't even think that the Rhus Tox will provoke an immune response from your body like actually touching poison ivy would, they're attempting to use an unrelated compound (that is so diluted that it isn't even present in the preparation) in place of your immune system to attack the itchy red bumps.

So I'm going to go over this in a few brief points:

Vaccines are preventative ONLY, they are not a treatment for illness or symptoms of an illness

Vaccines work by introducing your immune system to a partial, weakened, or dead virus so that your immune system can form antibodies against that virus and prevent that virus from replicating in your body when it is later exposed to a whole/strong/live virus.

Different vaccines have different levels of effectiveness and produce different lengths of immunity; this is for a number of reasons, but if you get a measles shot as a kid you may only ever need one booster, while you need a flu shot every year and a tetanus shot every decade. All of them work the same way, though: they show your immune system what a virus looks like so that your immune system can kill the virus.

That is why immune compromised people sometimes can't be vaccinated, or why vaccines don't work as well for them or may need higher doses or more boosters. Because they don't have a healthy immune system, weakened viruses like the ones in the chickenpox virus might be too strong for their immune system to fight, and even if it doesn't get them sick, their bodies may not be able to produce enough effective antibodies to protect them from the virus in the future. That's part of why it's important for as many people to be vaccinated as possible; the more people who are vaccinated, the harder it is for viruses to spread, and vulnerable people like immune compromised people or babies too young for vaccination won't be exposed to deadly viruses.

Homeopathy, on the other hand, aims to treat symptoms of an illness that a person is already experiencing.

Homeopathic treatments do not aim to provoke an immune response, they aim to cancel out a symptom with a cure.

Dilution is a very important part of homeopathy, with homeopaths claiming that the more diluted a preparation is the stronger it is. This is simply incorrect; I don't know how to make a more logical explanation of that, it is just wrong that less of a substance causes more of a response.

Homeopathy says "like treats like" and that may seem like using a vaccine with a weak virus to prevent infection from a strong virus, but their version of "like" is different - Rhus Tox (poison ivy) is supposed to be "like" chicken pox because both cause itching. Rhus tox is also supposed to treat PCOS, erectile dysfunction, uterine prolapse, sunken eyes, nausea, and backache. "Like" can have an extremely broad meaning in homeopathy, which should be cause for suspicion.

Here's a paper that compared the immune response of college students given homeopathic "vaccines" against a control group and against a group of students who were given standard medical vaccines. The control group and the homeopathic group both did not have an immune response in titer tests, while the vaccination group did have an immune response, demonstrating that they had protection from the vaccinated viruses. It's a pretty good demonstration both of how effective homeopathy is (not at all) as well as how to set up a fair and ethical study to look at the effectiveness of different kinds of treatments.

[arogyamcentre]

[drerandes]

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[gofitnesspro]

Demystifying PCOD and PCOS: Spotting the Variances

PCOD (Polycystic Ovary Disease) and PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) are related conditions, but they have some differences: Definition: PCOD: Primarily refers to the presence of multiple cysts in the ovaries along with irregular menstrual cycles and elevated androgen levels. It may or may not present with symptoms like acne, hirsutism (excessive hair growth), and weight gain. PCOS: Involves a…

[sweetstarcollector]

So phrases like "people with uteruses" or "people who have periods" never really bothered me as much as more overtly dehumanizing phrases like "bleeders" or "birthing bodies", but I saw a post today talking about the abnormal symptoms women experienced after getting tear gassed protesting, that ended with something like "we don't know the full effects of tear gas on people with uteruses". And what struck me about that is that's not really correct, because female people without uteruses (either bc they were born without one or bc they had a hysterectomy) will still experience different symptoms after being tear gassed than male people. Women metabolize substances differently than men, our immune systems are different, our hormonal cycles are different, our skin has different thicknesses, etc. All of those things have potential effects on tear gas reactions, and are not dependent on whether or not we have a uterus. They're dependent on whether or not we're female. So saying "people with uteruses" when what is meant is "female people" is not really accurate. And I realized that a lot of times when people use those kinds of phrases, they aren't being accurate.

For example, I'm sure we've all seen people say things about how the repeal of Roe v Wade will harm people with uteruses/people who can get pregnant/etc. And while yes, it definitely harms those people, the full truth is that abortion bans harm *female* people, *regardless of if they can get pregnant or have a uterus.* Because female people who don't have uteruses can still get pregnant, and in those rare cases will 100% of the time need an abortion. Female people who deal with infertility and can't carry a fetus to term can still be jailed for miscarrying. Female people who are completely sterile (for whatever reason) can still be denied medications/medical treatment on the grounds that the treatment could theoretically harm a fetus. Female people who may currently have no uterus/no longer be able to get pregnant but who have had an abortion in the past will face increased stigma.

Here's another example:

It seems pretty straightforward- menstruation stigma is experienced by people who menstruate. But again, that's only half true. Period stigma is experienced by all female people, regardless of if they menstruate. Think about the fact that we are told female people should not hold political leadership because "what if a female president has PMS and starts a war", despite the fact that almost all female presidential candidates are old enough that they would have experienced menopause. Female people have their feelings dismissed because "it must be that time of the month", regardless of if they're too young to menstruate or too old or if they have a condition causing amenorrhea. Female children grow up seeing periods- a natural function of their bodies- portrayed as disgusting, dirty and gross, as making them unclean, as something to dread and fear. This affects them before they experience menarche, this affects them even if they never experience menarche. It affects all female people.

I could come up with more examples, but you get the idea. Reducing female people to singular body parts and organs inherently denies the reality of femaleness. All parts of us (both biological and social) interact with all other parts of us to form an experience that can't be understood by chopping us up and putting our individual functions under the microscope. In order to get an accurate picture you need to look at the whole (female) human.

[doberbutts]

I was typing a big long thing about the changes I've experienced in a year on testosterone and how it's affected me and all that and then tumblr ate it and I really don't feel like retyping that whole thing but I am kinda salty about it so tldr:

Starting testosterone has been the best thing for my health that I've done. Ever. Better than getting a service dog. Better than restructuring my life to cater to my disabilities. Better than any procedure or medication or otherwise that I've tried. Simply rubbing a pack of gel on my arm once a day has done more for me than anything else.

When I went to my endo to start T, I went with a suspicion that I am intersex. She confirmed it via blood test and told me that with my variation I could try two different things: estrogen to control my high levels of natural androgens, or testosterone to lower my estrogen further and make it stop arguing with my androgens about whether I'm supposed to be a boy or a girl, as it's that argument that was causing a significant portion of my health problems. Estrogen has been tried in the past and only made things worse. She told me it was my choice, and only I could choose my path forward, as I knew my body the best.

When TERFs have a fit about gender affirming care, they usually leave out people like me, or they brush my story aside by saying that I'm just an anomaly, or they claim for me and my demographic that we don't want to be part of this discussion. But I don't fit their definition of a woman- I have a testicle, and my natural testosterone was within normal range on the low end for a cisgender, perisex man, and enough male sexual partners have commented on what's in my pants to tell me that it's far from the picturesque womanly pussy, especially considering I can- and have- use it to penetrate with the help of devices designed for cis men who are a little lacking in length.

When TERFs have a fit about gender affirming care, they scaremonger about side effects and changes. But, I was already hairy. I was already growing facial hair. I already had atrophied- and by 30 to the point that it's not really possible to fix without significant medical intervention. I was already infertile. I already had an adam's apple and a deep voice. I already had belly fat and blood pressure problems. My menstrual cycle was already hellish and had interfered with my school and work schedules. A popped ovarian cyst sent me to the ER.

I'd tried no treatment. I'd tried estrogen-based solutions. These not only did not work but actively made things worse. I was fainting at school. I was calling out of work. I couldn't drive without my service dog. I couldn't go out and have fun with my friends. I spent days at a time laying in bed in too much pain to move.

TERFs say, gender affirming care turns you into a forever patient.

I already was one of those. I almost died when I was a baby strictly because of lack of access to care that accepts children who are born who are both and also neither from the womb, before anyone has a chance to develop a personality or understand the difference between a boy and a girl.

Testosterone has turned me into a "once every 3 months" patient instead of a "twice a month minimum" patient. I pay less than $15/month for my prescription and it's mailed to my house in three-month increments. Stopping my wildly irregular and incredibly painful menstrual cycle has increased my quality of life so much. My body doesn't ache for no reason anymore. I don't faint anymore. I can go out and do things and not be punished for it for days on end by fevers and chills and vertigo.

Don't let a handful of transphobic assholes scare you. If this is your way forward, then live your life to its fullest.

My only regret is that I didn't have the chance to do this sooner.

[candorivf]

Pregnancy is a very special and beautiful time period for every woman. This is the time when women need more attention and care.

Anemia in pregnancy is a major public health problem in India leading to health issues in the mother and the baby (fetus).

Foods that improve your Hemoglobin during Pregnancy :

Green leafy vegetables

Nuts & Dry Fruits

Beetroot

Jaggery

Pomegranate

Cereals

Non- Veg Sources : Chicken, fish, beef, eggs etc.

If have any doubts regarding Pregnancy, consult with best Gynecologist in Gujarat at Candorivf.com

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

In 2017 I interviewed Bernadette Wren, then head of psychology at the Tavistock Gids clinic, and asked what effect puberty blocking drugs have on the adolescent brain. Looking highly uncomfortable, she replied that the evidence so far was only anecdotal but that the clinic would study its patients “well into their adult lives so that we can see”.

Even back then, before whistleblowers had exposed the rush to medically transition children, it was alarming to hear that heavy-duty GnRH agonists such as triptorelin — used to treat advanced prostate cancer and “chemically castrate” sex offenders — were being prescribed to arrest puberty in hundreds of children as young as 11.

Moreover, they were being used “off-label” before any clinical trials. And the long-term study Wren promised never materialised: Gids (the Gender Identity Development Service) routinely lost touch with patients, and the 44 it did follow reported little long-term mental health improvement.

This shocking chapter in medical history, where the ideological objectives of trans rights campaigners trumped the welfare of disturbed children, is coming to an end worldwide. The decision by NHS England effectively to ban the prescription of puberty blockers comes after the Cass review noted these drugs could “permanently disrupt” brain development, reduce bone density and lock children into a regime of cross-sex hormones requiring life-long patienthood.

NHS England unites with other national health services including those in Finland, France, Sweden and, most notably, the Netherlands — where the “Dutch protocol”, a regime of early blockers then hormones, was devised in 1998 — in pulling back from prescribing them.

Even in the United States, where a toxic combination of extreme activism and medical capitalism has pushed child gender medicine to grotesque extremes, with double mastectomies performed on 14-year-old girls, there is some retrenchment.

Leaks from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the body which formulates guidance on “trans healthcare”, reveal doctors perplexed at how they should explain to an 11-year-old child that drugs will render them infertile. Crucially, liberal media such as The New York Times are now reporting grave medical misgivings about child transition, once dismissed as a culture-war issue for the Republican right.

Yet the question remains: how was this ever allowed to happen? For years, puberty blockers were cheerily billed as a mere “pause button”. In 2014, Dr Polly Carmichael, the last head of Gids before the Cass review ordered its closure, went on CBBC in a show called I Am Leo, saying of blockers: “The good thing is, if you stop the injections, it’s like pressing ‘start’ and the body carries on developing as it would if you hadn’t started.”

The BBC permitted her to make this unevidenced claim to an impressionable audience of six to 12-year-olds. Imagine hearing this as a developing girl, freaked out by your new breasts and periods. No wonder Gids referrals subsequently rocketed.

Carmichael failed to mention that she did not know if pressing “restart” on puberty is always medically possible — it is not — and in fact, almost every child Gids put on blockers went on to irreversible cross-sex hormones.

After years in a Peter Pan state while their peers developed, they understandably felt there was no way back and forged on with treatment. Yet if allowed to experience natural puberty, almost 85 per cent of gender dysphoria cases resolve themselves.

Nor did Carmichael tell CBBC kids that the blockers-hormones combination, if taken early enough, not only results in sterility but kills the libido so that a young person will never experience an orgasm.

At the 2020 judicial review brought by a former Tavistock clinician and Keira Bell, the brave young detransitioner rushed onto hormones by Gids, judges expressed astonishment at Gids’s lack of an evidence base.

Reporting on this issue for seven years, I too have been struck by a complete clinical incuriosity. Not only was data not collected, but those who queried treatments or pressed for evidence faced angry condemnation. Perhaps activists knew what research might find because one long-term Finnish study, recently reported in the BMJ, destroyed the myth used to justify blockers: that a child will commit suicide if denied them.

The Finns found that “gender-affirming care” does not make a dysphoric child less suicidal. Rather, such children had the same suicide risk as others with severe psychiatric issues. In other words, changing bodies does not fix troubled minds.

Yet even after NHS England’s announcement, activists refuse to heed the now-overwhelming evidence. In its response, Stonewall persists with the myth that puberty blockers “give a young person extra time to evaluate their next steps”.

Many questions remain unanswered: will private clinics still be permitted to prescribe puberty blockers; and is Scotland’s Sandyford child gender clinic still determined to close its ears to all evidence? Plus, we have few details on how the NHS’s new “holistic” treatment for gender-questioning children will operate when it opens next month.

This repellent experiment — in which girls who like trucks or little boys who dress as princesses, and who invariably grow up to be gay, are corralled inexorably down a road towards life-changing treatments — belongs in the book of medical disgraces. As do the cheerleaders who raised money for Mermaids and those who persecuted whistleblowers or damned journalists asking questions as transphobic.

In 50 years, chemically freezing the puberty of healthy children with troubled minds will be regarded with the same horrified fascination as lobotomies — which, never forget, won the Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz the 1949 Nobel prize.

--------------------

{Article source (behind paywall)}

[twopoppies]

Hello Gina!

Going on anon because I don't wanna get bbg hate on my main. So I can't attach media to my message as well.

But basically, if you go to the HRC Encino website (which is where the ultrasound is from), they say that they do ultrasounds from monday to friday. People interpret this as walk in ultrasounds and that's why they say anyone can go in. I tried to dig deeper and request an appointment. So basically if you want to book anything, you need to book one of their "packages". These might be complete packages (like IVF, Egg freezing, surrogacy, some combination of all three, etc). In any case, I do not see any option for standard check ups and ultrasounds. Since you are from California, maybe you could call them and confirm this.

Also, I find it highly unlikely that they went for an ultrasound to a fertility center. I live in another country, so things might be different, but basically my mother is a gynecologist. She does regular stuff + obstetrics (C-sections, deliveries, hysterectomies etc) and also gives tips for conceiving (I'm not sure how better to phrase it, but it is not a center specializing in infertility or fertility treatment). People who conceive naturally visit clinics like this (or scan centers, which have trained sonologists) to get their ultrasounds done. The only reason why anyone would go to a fertility center for an ultrasound is if they availed the services there (for example, IVF, ICSI, embryo transfer etc). There is zero reason why anyone who didn't avail fertility treatments would go to a center specializing in infertility for their ultrasound. Sorry for the english, I tend to translate from my mother tongue to english while writing.

Your English is perfect, darling. And you’re completely right. She lived in Calabasas, CA. There’s probably at least ten OB/GYNs a stones throw from where she lived. She was a sexually active woman in her 20s. She certainly had a gynecologist of her own. There’s absolutely no reason for her to be a patient at, or go to, a fertility center to get an ultrasound. The argument is nonsensical.

[omegaversetheory]

Assuming that the A/B/O labels are based in genetics, I Wonder if you have any headcannons for genetic disorders?

In my AU, I like to imagine that some people usually believe that persons who have an "extra alpha chromosome" or an "extra omega chromosome" are blessed because they would be like "super alphas" or "super omegas" due their increased capacities when it comes to strenght, size, fertilitie...when in reality they are only partially true.

Sure, those "super alphas and omegas" are more "powerful" when it comes to these característics, but overall, they arent sacred individuals nor super heroes or nothing like that, they are chronically ill people that usually present a lot of health complications that in most cases overcomplicates their daily lives or even can shorten their lifespans (for example, said "super omegas" would be way smaller than the average omega, which usualy leads to frequent bone pains due the incorrect development and consequent malformation of their bones) I also imagine said "super alphas and omegas" being very prone to suffer mental illnesses since the massive amount of hormones they segregate would make them turn into very problematic individuals in general (for example making omegas to be extremely volatile and emotionally irrational individuals, or alphas to have a weird mix between a higly stoic nature and maximized protection instincts, causing them to either become toxic/ manipulative or directly psychopats)

Hi!

What an interesting idea. In my au, well I've never thought about it, but I'd also say that they would be ill, if not extremely chronically ill, people. Depending which age you're writing in, I'd venture to guess there just may not be many of these people around - they would've died very young without the proper medication and constant treatment. That also leads into a larger scientific question about how many chromosomes people in omegaverse have and how exactly their genetics operate. A conversation I'd need a much better grasp of biology and genetics to answer! So I leave it "behind the curtain" in my au, and in fact it's never come up. But if it does, I'll be sure to post.

My notion that having extra chromosomes may result in chronic illness is based on the idea that they probably have more chromosomal pairs or some other genetic system - one that would make the extra material very unlike the human world. Here we see trisomy - which leads to conditions like Down Syndrome. People with DS can now live very fulfilling and rich lives, but it wasn't always that way and it still isn't smooth sailing for many.

I don't use the "super powered" "ultra alpha/omega" headcanons in my au but let's see what we can whip up for you.

It gives the bearer a stronger scent and a better ability to interpret other people's scents.

Decreases fertility and ability to reproduce

Longer heats/ruts that are more intense emotionally/mentally and may cause pain like cramping, migraines, and nose bleeds.

May cause allergic reactions to foods, natural products, etc... This is a common sign (besides infertility) of the condition. Common allergies include - dairy, wheat, some meat products, and nightshades. Some bearers may also have allergic reactions to biological fluids and substances that are not their own including saliva and other natural lubricants.

Have a slightly higher endurance.

[hiiragi7]

What’s wrong with people who take HRT describing themselves as chemically intersex? If your body is different after treatment that does make you technically chemically intersex does it not?

It does not.

And, to be very blunt with you, simplifying us down to our sex characteristics is intersexist.

Being intersex is not only about your sex characteristics. It's also about lived experience, and the differences in sex characteristics must be something inherent to your body, not induced medically.

A lot of intersex advocacy revolves around getting people to recognize us as a natural variation of human sex. (This is not to say that people transitioning through HRT are "not natural", but rather placing emphasis that being intersex is something inherent and unchangeable about your body which happens on its own without external influence - A perisex person can't become intersex, and an intersex person can't become perisex)

Because people on HRT have their effects induced through medication, also, it is not the same as an intersex person whose body works like that without external influences. If a trans woman were to take puberty blockers and take E, she would be able to stop HRT at any time and resume T production and would see the masculinizing effects of that. However, someone with CAIS cannot ever use T even though their body produces it.

Or, as another example, no amount of HRT will give you a 3-beta enzyme deficiency, so your experiences are inherently different from mine, who has 3-beta deficient CAH.

Being intersex also commonly comes with health issues, and is not just about our sex characteristics. For me, I have problems across my entire body due to my CAH, because I have a problem with my hormone production.

Additionally, being intersex comes with community trauma and struggles that perisex people broadly do not experience in the same way.

Perisex people generally (Though I'm sure there are exceptions) do not have to worry so much about their doctors hiding medical records about their birth sex or infant sex surgeries from them, or coerced hormones, or growing up with forced sex reassignment surgeries with multiple surgical corrections and scarring and chronic pain, or your entire family hiding things about you being born intersex from you, or the bullying that comes from being 'visibly' intersex, or the confusion and self-hate and anxiety that often comes when you realize you are not developing the same way your peers are, or people pressuring you to shave your facial hair to hide your intersex features, or being teased about your intersex features, or being sexualized for them, or realizing you may be/are infertile, or the feelings and identity confusion that often come with finding out you're intersex, or feeling isolated in spaces you should feel welcomed in because of how intersexist they are.

There's also the longer-term trauma from growing up in an intersexist society and knowing about what they do to people like you even if you managed to scrape by without a lot of the above mentioned things happening to you directly.

Not every intersex person will call themselves traumatized due to intersexist trauma, but it is so prevalent in the community that I feel a need to mention it. Intersex people experience unique types of discrimination and have unique life experiences that perisex transgender people simply do not experience in the same way.

Finally, people calling themselves intersex due to HRT makes it much harder for intersex people to speak about their issues when they are drowned out by trans people using our language for their own purposes. How are we meant to talk about things intersex people specifically experience or talk about intersexism if every trans person who is medically transitioning is now considered intersex?

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.116 What if

One morning, I got up, determined to ease back into the SimTube game. I wasn't quite ready to make another video, so I opted to read and respond to comments, mostly apologizing for my absence. Scrolling and reading through them, I began to understand why my one video performed so well. The comments were predominantly from thirsty girls shooting their shots. It was kinda weird knowing women drooling over me fueled my success, but it got me paid, so... Sophia would have a field day with that one.

I heard her march downstairs, enter the bathroom, and turn on the tub. Minutes later, the toilet flushed. Then, the crying started. Though I loved and admired her tenacity, I couldn't take much more of her heartbreak. The treatments should have worked already. Was the doctor wrong? It felt like we were dealing with infertility, not low fertility. Suddenly, a heaviness accompanied by a random yet à propos thought fell on me. What if she wasn't the only one with a problem? What if I was the reason she hadn't gotten pregnant yet? As chilling as that thought was, it gave me a weird sense of hope. If I had a problem, maybe a doctor could fix it. I got up immediately and left the house as quietly as I could because I didn't want to Sophia hear me leaving while she was in there bawling her eyes out. I went to the hospital to get my fertility checked, and it turned out I too had low fertility. Of course I did. Nothing in my life was ever easy. The doctor gave me the same schpiel: try the treatments blah blah blah...artificial insemination yada yada yada...adoption and surrogacy womp womp womp. We were painfully aware of our options, but of course he didn't know that. I hadn't given up hope that we could birth our own child, but I knew Sophia wouldn't want us spending more time and money on those treatments, especially since we both needed them now. I told the doctor we would probably want to do IVF and asked if I could go ahead and leave a sample, and he said yes.

When I got home, Sophia was entertaining Chris Michaelson. We lived next door to them now, and he came to welcome us.

"Luca! Where'd you go?" she asked.

"Uhhh...I'll tell you later."

Seeing him under these circumstances reminded me Celeste had mentioned their children were adopted. I chatted and caught up with him for a bit, but when Sophia was out of earshot, I got down to business and asked him about his experience with adopting children. I hadn't realized Celeste was a trans woman, so they had always planned to adopt. Though their experience differed greatly from ours, I still enjoyed hearing about his life and the joy his children brought him. Time had flown by crazy fast, though. When I first met them, Orion, their daughter, was just a baby. Now she was in high school! And their son, Atlas, was married. I still felt as young as I was back then, but my birthday came barreling around the corner right behind Sophia's. Mama used to look at Less and I and jokingly ask us to stop growing. I totally understood what she meant now.

Speaking of Less, she texted me, inviting us to bar hop with her and some friends. First of all, since when did she have friends? Secondly, weren't we too old to be bar hopping like university students? Third, I didn't feel like being social. I had some potentially devastating news to share with my wife, and who knew if she would be up for it. Unfortunately for me, Sophia was nearby when my notification chime went off, and I made the mistake of groaning after reading the message. Naturally, she asked what was wrong, and I told her of the invite. She was in a good mood at the time and insisted I accept.

"Maybe that guy she was swooning about will be there," she said.

I did want to meet that schmuck and see what kind of spell he put on my sister. I also didn't want to ruin Sophia's good mood with my news, so I replied and told Less we'd be there. The tears could wait until tomorrow.