#preparing for ttc

[singleroad]

The balancing act of deciding timing

When I post about my plan to start TTC in a few years I get people who advice me to start NOW because it can take a while. This is absolutely valid, you don't know until you start what your fertility is like. For some this kicks off a years long struggle to get pregnant, and for some it just never comes to fruition.

It does get frustrating because I'd love to be in the place where I could just jump in and get it going, but I can't. I'm just starting my career, I'm in a precarious financial situation that I'm going to work diligently to get out of ASAP.

I literally can't and it hurts my heart when people beg me to start now. Even if I had the money to buy straws and pay for the IUI, which I don't, just because some people struggle that doesn't mean I will. And just because it's easy for some doesn't mean it'll be easy for me.

It's a balancing act, and what I can do is start when I am not in a shitty situation and in a better one where I can handle a pregnancy, birth, and child. I can't plan on being one of the ones who do struggle, because if I do and immediately get pregnant... what then? It's just not a good or responsible choice, and I have to be responsible with this, y'know?

Talking to these people reminded me that I can't wait for the best time, but I need to wait for a time where I can be a good mom and provide for my child. So maybe I won't wait until I'm 34, maybe I can get things in good order and start spring 2025 when I'm still 32? That would be nice, and feels better than 2026/2027 that is foreeeeverrrr away.

I can't take my fertility for granted.

Balancing act.

[karkatbug]

Looks like mumbling his thoughts out loud finally benefited Dave

Day 7 of @davekatweek: Fluff

page 1/2-3/4/5/6/7-8/9-10

[Thanks for reading! Hopefully Dave wins Karkat a cute plushy or something on their first date.]

[jasongracesenthusiast]

PRINCESS OF THE GODS !

PARING(s), percy jackson x daughter of HERA reader

WARNING(s), basically just marriage

AUTHOR’S NOTE, yeah i listened to juno while doing this, what about it

౨ৎ percy met you a little while after he arrived at camp. you were the only demigod child of hera, the queen of the gods. he was surprised at the thought that zeus would even allow you to live, but in fairness, he wasn’t dead yet either

౨ৎ you two didn’t actually consider yourselves friends until after ttc, when you were kidnapped (yes you’re taking annie’s place IM SORRYYY)

౨ৎ after the events of all that, percy found himself…drifting towards you, in a way

౨ৎ like, before everything happened, even if you weren’t necessarily friends, he did know you, like your existence mattered so much to him, he just didn’t know why at the time

౨ৎ but you, on the other hand, somehow did

౨ৎ when you were saved by percy and friends, you were very optimistic that it was him saving you and not somebody else, cause that just wouldn’t be as fun

౨ৎ anyways from the moment you met him, you were like “oh yeah that’s my future boyfriend right there”

౨ৎ and yeah calm down just a little bit, but you also just knew, and you thanked your mother everyday for giving you this knowledge

౨ৎ but you were also pissed because holy shit, it took percy a while to come to terms with how he felt about you, even after saving you and becoming friends

౨ৎ but when i tell you how many times you made a move until he realized

౨ৎ you were very clear about your feelings, like you genuinely had nothing to hide

౨ৎ percy was extremely confused about the fact that you never dated anybody at all

౨ৎ and loads of people at camp clearly find you attractive and percy does, too, so when you were like “oh yeah i’ve never had a boyfriend before” he was as shocked as possible

౨ৎ because like, it’s you

౨ৎ and you’d think that would make it click that he had feelings for you

౨ৎ unfortunately. it did the opposite.

౨ৎ and that was kind of your last straw. you literally sat him down and explained your feelings to him and how you liked him ever since he saved you

౨ৎ THAT’S when he fully realized it

౨ৎ and it’s not cause he’s stupid (mischaracterized percy jackson they could never make me like you), it’s because it’s YOU. the pretty daughter of hera who a lot of people crushed on

౨ৎ you were practically a princess and percy took that so seriously, he found it so hard to believe that you liked him

౨ৎ after insisting that you really did like him, yippie that’s when y’all started dating !!

౨ৎ and when i tell you how much of a power couple you are. you two just radiate that kind of energy, even if someone didn’t know you were together

౨ৎ like you didn’t even need to tell anyone, everybody just. knew, and percy was stunned and he was like, they knew??? did you tell everyone???

౨ৎ and you were like no that’s just the power couple energy

౨ৎ when i tell you he worships the very ground you walk on I FUCKING MEAN IT. you know that one thing where a girl is singing on stage and her boyfriend is sobbing? that’s you two

౨ৎ if i or anyone else had to describe your relationship, it would be that

౨ৎ since your mother is the goddess of marriage, you were very clear about the fact that percy was the man you were to marry, and everybody just like. accepted it

౨ৎ even people who had current or previous crushes on you accepted that, mostly because you often referred to him as your husband like it was a regular thing

౨ৎ percy lets you do it every time and never corrects you, even calling you his wife sometimes.

౨ৎ listen you had your entire future with him planned. from the proposal (if he didn’t do it by age 22, you fucking would), to the wedding, to having kids, all that. he knew he could not stop you like he knew you were prepared

౨ৎ but percy still loved every minute of it, because the thought of marrying you, the love of his life, was just astonishing. he loves you just as much as he loves the thought of making you his wife, because it was you he would be marrying.

[xoxochb]

⋆·˚ ༘ * please, please, please

warnings: set during that one scene from ttc, reader is a minor goddess of music/singing (to fit the sabrina carpenter vibe ykwim?), a bunch of quotes are not mine they are direct from the book so credits to uncle rick!! there’s also a lorelai gilmore reference at the end

pairing: apollo x goddess! daughter of aphrodite and ares

“absolutely not”

you give the sun god a look of pleading and he laughs at your desperation

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”

you hit his head “yes you do”

“she’s my dear old sister-” apollo begins

“exactly. along with her hunters and others”

“I don’t see the problem”

“the problem is that you can’t control yourself”

“well when I’m around you…”

“oh my gods!” you hit him twice this time “this is what I’m talking about. you’re an idiot”

apollo ignores your comment and drives (??) the sun chariot to the snowy ground

“I beg you do not embarrass motherfucker” you warn

when you step out onto the wet grass and before you have the chance to greet everyone apollo speaks,

"little sister!" he calls "what's up? you never call. you never write. I was getting worried!"

artemis sighs "I'm fine, apollo. and I am not your little sister"

"hey, I was born first."

"we're twins! how many millennia do we have to argue?"

"so what's up?" he interrupted. "got the girls with you, I see. you all need some tips on archery?”

“I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to camp half-blood”

"sure, sis" he then raised his hands in a stop everything gesture “I feel a haiku coming”

the hunters groaned but nonetheless he held up a dramatic hand and began to speak,

‘green grass breaks through snow

artemis pleads for my help

I am so cool’

he grinned waiting for an applause

“last line was four syllables” you point out

apollo frowns "was it?"

"yes” artemis agrees “what about I am so big-headed?"

"no, no, that's six syllables” he starts to mutter to himself but you ignore it, you could be here for days

one of the hunters, zoe you recognized turned to the demigods and explained how apollo had been into haikus since he got back from japan, and said god interrupted her soon after

"I've got it!" he announced "I am so awesome. that's five syllables!" he bowed feeling pleased with himself

"and now, sis” he continues “transportation for the hunters, you say? good timing. I was just about ready to roll”

"these demigods will also need a ride," artemis points to them

"no problem!" apollo checked them out "let's see... thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

thalia blushes "hi, lord apollo"

‘isn’t that his sister?’ you think

"zeus's girl, yes? makes you my half sister. used to be a tree, didn't you? glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. man, I remember one time-”

you cut him off with an elbow to his stomach, he winces in pain. a black haired demigod- with sea green eyes to differentiate him from the others, he must be poseidon’s- eyes you before asking,

“are you a goddess? how come I don’t recognize you?”

“minor goddess” you confirm “of music. my parents are ares and aphrodite, and unfortunately I am married to this idiot” you give apollo an angry look but he throws an arm around your shoulder

the daughter of zeus chokes on nearly nothing “married?!”

you nod “twelve years”

artemis speaks again “how she can put up with him is a mystery”

“well we should get going” apollo interrupts

“yes, I agree” you say and pull the sun god’s arm off of you, he frowns at the loss of contact

the hunters and demigods pack up their belongings and you pull apollo to the side, he prepares himself for whatever you’re going to say, which he’s sure will be a scolding because he ignored the one thing you asked of him

“listen-” he starts

“how about I talk you listen?” you cross your arms

this was going to be a long scolding…

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

I Said I Would Wait But I Can't, Soooo

Artemis Angst fic: based on this post by @worlds-oldest-teenager! Missing scene from The Secrets That Bind Us, aka What Was Artemis Doing in The Waiting Room While Hermes and Apollo Had Their Heart-To-Heart? Having a Breakdown That's What :)

Bloody Memories: who remembers my "Hyacinthus is Cabin 7's ghost" post a while back? Well here's the fic!

Branchus fic: fluuuuuffy. seriously. look up Branchus and read the story of him and apollo. it's so darn CUTE.

From Dusk to Dawn: Little more flesh out now this one! Apollo during TTC, from Phoebe getting poisoned to just how he knew Artemis was in danger

Swarms and Swears: Apollo & Athena time, ya'll

Triumvirate V Koios: yes he's back I lied hehe. Who will win: a power triad of god-emperors with lots of political and economic backing or one (1) grandpa who's grandkid they're targeting

A Titan's Demise: do I need to say anything else? HELIOS ANGST

Marsyas fic: hehe... @amiti-art here's your ask :) and I have a little twist prepared here...it'll make sense, trust me.

Leto & Asteria fic: Basically the prequel of the prequels. Leto's pre-curse days, her cursed days, Asteria running for her life, ect. the Delphic Family fic of all time. We have Koios name dropped. We have Phoebe. We have Lelantos. We have Perses. Aura is probably there too. The whole family's here to experience DRAMA

Koios Solo Fic: In mythology, Koios is driven mad and attempts to escape Tartarus - that is this fic :)

So yeah. Pick your fighter. Make propaganda for what you want to win. do whatever - we shall see who will win :)

[posallys]

okay so i'm in the process of rereading pjo and i just got to botl and i want to talk about my girl annabeth. i feel like a good majority of the fandom mischaracterization of annabeth comes from botl, specifically because she was rude to rachel throughout the book, and then everyone just assumed that because she wasn't nice to rachel she must be a bitch inherently, on top of being this fucking emotionless shell of a person, which is wild to me because i don't know how her being rude to one (1) girl automatically discredits everything she's done in the past three books. i feel like it stems from a complete misunderstanding of why she was rude to rachel. let's make this clear: she wasn't rude to rachel because rachel was a potential love interest; she was rude to rachel because she was scared.

everyone she's ever loved has been taken from her in some way: her mom being absent because she's a goddess and not really wanting anything to do with annabeth; her feeling like her dad and stepmom didn't want her around (losing her real family); thalia, her found sister, sacrificing her life to save annabeth, and then leaving her again to join the hunters; luke betraying the camp, but more importantly betraying annabeth on a much deeper level because he was her only family. he promised her that he would be there for her, no matter what, and then he leaves her, just like everyone else. even grover left her, in a way, because he went out to search for pan and wasn't around. the only close person who hasn't left her at the point of botl? percy.

but she knows about the prophecy at that point, so she's spent the better part of three years resigning herself to the fact that her best friend is going to die when he turns sixteen and there's absolutely nothing she can do to stop that. she's spent the better part of three years trying not to fall in love with him because it would only hurt worse when the time comes. if i had to bet on it, the reason she was thinking about joining the hunters in ttc is because if she isn't around him (and also can't because she's a hunter), she won't become more attached to him than she already is. if she separated herself from him, it would hurt less. except here's the thing: by that point, she couldn't make herself do that. she couldn't make herself willingly give up percy yet, because it might not have been him. if i had to guess, when thalia came back, annabeth stopped worrying about percy dying---just for a little while---because she thought that thalia was going to be the child of the prophecy after all. so when thalia became a hunter, she was mentally prepared to lose thalia again. but that means that every fear she had about percy being the prophecy kid before thalia came back to life resurfaced full force, and now suddenly annabeth has a year and a half left with him when she thought that she might have longer. so despite the thought of her joining the hunters to prevent herself from getting too attached, she hadn't metnally come to the point where she was ready to give up the small hope that he would live.

which bring us now to botl. like i said, i'm just now rereading the book (and i'm only on chapter 1 but i started thinking about annabeth and here i am). annabeth is mean to rachel because she's terrified of losing percy too soon. sure, at this point she knows the prophecy is his, she knows come next summer she probably won't have him anymore---but that's just it: next summer. she's preparing herself to lose him in a year, not immediately. so when someone comes along that presents a way for her to lose percy, of course she gets scared, and she gets defensive about it. it's not even the fact that rachel was a potential love interest, it's more so the fact that rachel was a mortal, and not part of their world. if percy was with rachel, there's a good chance he'd try to leave the magical world behind, and, more importantly, leave annabeth behind, which she wasn't ready for yet.

hell, that's exactly what ended up happening in the beginning of tlo! annabeth wasn't upset because he was spending time with rachel, she was upset because he was spending time in the mortal world rather than her world and, in her mind because of all of her past experiences being abandoned, that translates to "percy is leaving her," and it was way earlier than she thought, and she wasn't ready. so what does she do? she tries to protect herself. she puts walls up and tries to act cold and distant because she's coming to terms with the fact that she's already lost him. she's already lost him.

and like, was she jealous of the fact that rachel was a love interest? probably, yeah. but i think it's also just important to know that there's something way deeper to it. annabeth isn't being a bitch for the sake of being a bitch, and she's not just jealous of rachel because she was a girl that liked percy. she was upset because he was getting further and further away right in front of her. he was leaving way quicker than she was prepared for, so a lot of the stuff she said to rachel came from a place of fear of losing percy, and anger at rachel for trying to pull him into the mortal world, effectively leaving her behind and adding another person to the list of people she loves that have left her.

[cambridgefan11]

Harkles are definitely trying to come back with or without charles support cant be sure but I don’t believe him. Invictus games in 2027, this year service at st pauls cathedral (probably will take the children to do their debut as prince and princess), hiring a pr guru for uk popularity etc, all of these preparations are for them to make a smooth comeback. I have 0 doubt now. Even if charles isn’t involved in this (which I don’t believe) he still does nothing to stop it because all what matters to him is to give constitutional job to camilla that she shouldn’t be doing. When has queen mother done something on behalf of the king? A much younger then william, then Princess Elizabeth in 1951 lead the ttc because the king was ill, not his consort but his heir.

[juniorig0327]

Mostly just a brainstorming post tbh.

Thinking about the different Demigod factions in the random AUs pushed all into one verse AU lol ( I don’t have a name for it, oops)

Cuz like obviously we have Camp Half-Blood, which I feel like for the sake of having no mist would have to be more professional as I think demigod discrimination is real so they’d have their own specialized schools, CHB and CJ would just be the big Greco-Roman ones (kinda like how there are other wizarding schools in HP?) but they’re pretty minor I’d say.

Like CHB would be the equivalent of a public school for Demigods so most people in the area go there I’d say because there’s no extra things required. And I also feel like CHB would be faced with a lot more discrimination as basically they aren’t CJ lol. They’re not military coded and training them to be soldiers, not really. Chiron’s just preparing them for battle using things similar to the mortal world activities just like in canon.

Then there’s CJ. CJ is basically a private military school and is where everyone would LIKE demigods to be sent to but because they’re so prestigious that’s obviously not the case.

Anyways, I think that demigod quests have to be approved by some sort of government officials otherwise it would be considered an act of vigilantism.

Law authorities wouldn’t like demigods that much but I feel like they would have mythical related weapons through magic. (Although uou can’t tell me that they didn’t try to experiment on demigods AND MONSTERS probably when the mist first lifted)

I feel like goddess like Apollo, Hestia, Hecate, Hera, Artemis, and Hermes would be more worshipped by society as they’re important aspects. Hecate specifically because through magic is a way for mortals to defend themselves although not everyone can just casually learn it.

Then there’s the TA which kinda has two branches, the main Greek branch and the Roman branch who’s kinda allowed to do their own thing unless given direct orders from Luke or Saturn/Kronos. They’d be considered vigilantes but it would be like, cops vs any superhero’s villains type situation.

Would cops have a demigod unit? Probably but I don’t think they’d like to bring them out, simply because the overall consensus is that demigods are inferior (not to mention them having learning disabilities which would make this worse) and society probably molding them for battle once they’re claiming or found.

So the TA isn’t JUST going for the gods, they want to take out the mortals that’s been oppressing them for so long. So like not only cycle of abuse, but oppression too, fun!

So yeah, definitely planning on making other factions and camps for other parts of the world because the mist dropped for the WHOLE world. Also not to mention government definitely trying to breed and make weapons from different pantheons because once a gods blood in engraved within a bloodline, you just have to pull it out of them.

Yeah I definitely think from unit 731 did/is going on with demigods and that will also play a role.

Also thinking about when Percy would go to camp and I think maybe around TTC. Maybe he has his first encounter with CHB in SoM. And the camps in this AU know of each other but they don’t really interact cuz they have a really bitter rivalry.

I also can’t wait for finish writing the prologue because I feel like the situation I made with Percy and Sally is really interesting and makes his parallels w Luke in this AU that much stronger.

[fake-protagonist]

I found myself caressing my tummy while I was watching a video of a fetus, sambil usap perut, telling it, that I am waiting for it appearance in the near future, but perhaps, mama need to improve with bettering myself and my financial, before Allah could send your baba to me.

Just so that I could prepare myself better for the both of you, and if Allah is saying “otherwise” may I welcome every of Allah trials to me with an open loving arms. Even if it means only to be able to hold your baba’s hands and to carry you in my arms in the hereafter.

It’s the day of Arafah today, and I am solely praying that Allah would blesses us with prayers that were meant to find us, though it was made “million” years ago.

And to every ttc parents, I pray may Allah grants you, your du’a, dan moga berbahagia selamanya, dengan yang kau sayang.

[johnconstantinesdick]

Op your post and tags about Artemis doing damage control is absolutely delightful.

I mean, from Titan's curse we know Artemis was trying to get the council to prepare for the war, recognizing what was happening, even before the war gods actively acted.

Also Apollo getting a ping when a new possible child of the prophecy gets born actually makes sense. He knew how old Thalia was, he's also a god of truth besides just prophecy and during the years of the Hunt functioning I doubt the only big three kids to join are Bianca and Thalia. The chances are really small for that to happen.

It could also be Roman demigods, since literally anyone can join and it's better to be safe than sorry. And since it was 'child of the eldest gods' and not specifically the big three, she might have even counted in children of Demeter, since Hestia and Hera don't have (in Hera's case demigod) children.

About anon that Artemis acted predatory: bestie do you want the prophecy to happen? Do you want to risk Olympus falling?

And the average life expectancy of a Greek demigod is like 13 years old, were it not for them, the squad at Westover would have little chances of survival at the age they were at. Also statistically, the Hunt even helps to get demigods the chance to reach the camp by killing the monsters.

In conclusion: was it sketchy? Sure. Was she lying tho? Not at all.

From the few Hunters we got the chance to meet, sure, Bianca was really young when she died, but Phoebe and Zoë were thousands of years old. Let's do the math. If Zoë had been with the Hunt for let's say 3 000 years, and Phoebe for 2 500. Bianca died at 13 I think? Even these three on their own puts the average life expectancy of a Hunter to 1 838 years. And that's a bit higher than the chances of Greek demigods.

Artemis literally is doing the absolute most of a damage control.

(also personal headcanon that Artemis sends the Hunters to the camp instead of being on their own so they were safe from Orion since he usually targets them when they're alone, and being without Artemis who even got stolen and physically cannot help would be quite a chance to miss)

I love your username!

It always interests me how out of all of the gods Artemis is the most involved in the everyday lives of demigods. Mr. D helps run the camp, but she spends her time with her hunters, fighting with them and forging relationships. She’s notable in TTC because when the gang is fighting Atlas with her, she feels like a comrade more than a capricious god.

She’s not above criticism, but even taking my Great Prophecy Damage Control read out of the situation, she does more to directly help demigods than like. Any other god. So when I see wild criticism of her like “if Artemis hadn’t recruited the girl who admitted she might have destroyed Olympus if allowed to age then Hera wouldn’t have targeted Thalia so much. She was really just mad Thalia foreswore her only family in Jason. Isn’t Artemis so bad and evil???” It’s kind of like. Why are you bending over backwards to vilify one of the only gods consistently fighting and advocating for our heroes.

(Btw yes that is an actual take I saw in a fic.)

And you’re right on the Hunters ages!! Like we have several girls that have been around for thousands of years!!!! We have like five named Greek demigods that have lived to the age of eighteen in the original series, and over half of them proceeded to die anyway. Artemis is obviously doing something right to keep her girls alive this long.

With the fic idea… I may just have to write it when I get a chance. If I remember right, I don’t think the Romans were in line for the first Great Prophecy anyway, but it would be so funny if Artemis was like… fuck that. If I have to keep cleaning up my dad and uncle’s messes then I’m going to clean up all of them and get more hunters out of it.

Anyway thank you for the ask! I had fun making the post but then the anons I got kind of soured it :\ so I’m glad you like my thoughts!

[ikeasharksss]

taking a study break to say this. i think one of the reasons the stakes in hoo feel less high than in pjo is bc of the pacing of the giant war.

let's compare it to pjo's titan war. the pjo series lasts roughly 3 years, & we see the conflict grow across all 3 years. for the sake of my argument i'll use the publishing year for tlt (though we all know time doesnt exist in the rrverse): tlt begins in summer 2005 and we see luke start the conflict & introduce it to the reader at the very end (like, the last chapter). then we see luke's forces in the next book in summer 2006 (tsom). then we see his alliances w/ titans in december 2006 (ttc.) then war begins in summer 2007 w/ the literal battle of the labyrinth. it jump starts war preparations that we see in the beginning of tlo, which is set summer 2008. that's 3 years of watching the conflict grow into a war.

hoo doesn't take that much time. based off the dates from pjo: tlh begins in december 2008, & the giant war is won in august 2009. that's nine months. nine months for a whole war to grow & end. compared to pjo, it doesn't make sense. it took 3 years for kronos to throw a wide scale war w/ godly allies, titan allies, & a monster + demigod army. but gaea can do all that in less than 9 months? while asleep? literally how does that happen. & chb had a whole year to prepare for the titan war, how could they have won the giant war in less than 9 months (considering the time it would have taken to heal & rebuild from the titan war)?

additionally, we only see the 7 for like 2 months. that's a fraction of the time we see percy & chb prepare for the titan war. so it's hard for pjo rereaders (both ppl who read before hoo & after) to fully comprehend the stakes of the giant war. k thx

[singleroad]

Hello! SMBC journey starts here

This is my introduction post because... this will be a long journey that will take a few years, but it involves a lot of introspection, choices, and stops along the way.

Short facts:

I'm 30 years old (1992)

Chronically single and queer

A librarian

Planning on TTC in 2026

Primarily want to do IUI but might do IVF

Doing ID-release donor

Longer story

My name is Rebecca, and I'm a 30 year old Swede who realized a long time ago that the only way I wanted to have a child was doing it on my own. There's a lot of reasons why I came to this conclusion was that I never came across anyone that I both felt that I wanted to spend my life with and shared my central ideologies and thoughts on child rearing.

Then, a few years later, I realized that I'm aromantic and asexual (closer to demisexual but not quite)... and that put a damper on things. I realized that the partner I would want was a unicorn! There's a laundry list of things in a partner that would make me feel comfortable with them, and then to have some form of attraction to (which is complicated as an aroace person bc once in a blue moon it kind of happens?) plus all these other things. Through so many dating apps and trying, and introspection of the fact that I am probably not an ideal partner for anyone either. If it happens, it happens, I just doubt it.

After this I spent a few years working with myself. I wanted to be sure I wanted children, if I would be okay with a life without children, how to bring a child to the world in the most ethical way, and how to go about it realistically. I had doubts, because I developed chronic migraines, I had a severe burnout, and was diagnosed with ADHD and autism earlier this year. At first when I was diagnosed I thought becoming a mom was off the table, but after working on myself and finding resources that will work for me, I know I can do it, and I can make these thinsg my strengths. Except the chronic migraines, but I have a very good treatment for that right now and am down to 2-4 migraines a month which is amazing, and I'm trying new medications to get the best combo.

Finally, I decided that this is what I want to do. I had this idea that when I was 33 I would go through it, because 33 seemed like this perfect age. As I'm nearing 31, though, this timeline seems a bit tight. I'm just now graduating, with my second degree, as a librarian, and I'm starting my career in august with severe debt and a horrible credit score. So, you know, need to work on that to provide a stable home for a child. I also need to move to a bigger place.

There's quite a few things I can do prior to all this. I'm building financial and housing security, I'm working on myself and creating healthy and mind boosting routines which will enable me to provide a good mom to my child. There's a lot to work on here, because there always is.

I'm listening to donor concieved children and adopted children and their experiences and desires in all of this. I am aware that there are plenty of donor concieved children who are against what I'm doing, and I do appreciate them, I cannot assume what my future child will/would think about it. I am doing this research because I want to meet the needs my child may have.

I'm doing research on evidence based child rearing, child psychology/physiology and how to best support them through different developmental phases. At some point I will also decide on media policy, which is the thing I'm most undecided on (I'm leaning towards yes pictures on closed social media with curated and known followers and pictures that take the child's current and future dignity in mind, and maybe non-face pictures on open social media after 8 weeks - before 8 weeks all babies basically look the same). So much to think about!

Then finally, financial and housing, as I've touched on before. I have a plan to get mostly debt free before I start the process. My current apartment is small, and I could live in it until the child reaches about 3, but ideally I'd already be living in a bigger place by this point.

The practical

So uh... what am I doing?

I'm planning on doing an IUI with a donor where the ID will be released when the child is 18 (and I'm going to offer to pay for all the DNA services available if that is what my child would want).

There's a few questions I have prior to this about my fertility. This month I'm going to be removing my IUD (if all goes well) and test to see how I do without it. In the autumn I'm going to take a few months to track my cycles with ovulation strips to see if I'm ovulating regularly or not. Then I'm booking an appointment to check my ovarian ducts and to see about my fertility levels like ovarian reserves etc.

I want to know that an IUI is a good choice for me because the pregnancy rate isn't very high, and I have endometriosis. IUI is cheaper, but if I have to spend many cycles going through it... it will get more expensive than IVF. So, I want to go through this as soon as possible so if I need to I can do an egg retrieval before I get "too old". There are more complications as you age, as everyone knows, and doing an egg retrieval earlier may mitigate things like chromosomal abnormalities.

While I know my family is very fertile, this is not a guarantee that I am. Prior gynecological exams have shown that I do have healthy ovaries so... but information is good, IMO.

IUI for my profile, as I know it, has a success rate of up to 15-20% (and after about 3 tries you go to IVF anyway where I'm looking), the higher end being assisted cycles with hormones. IUI does have an increased risk of twins/multiples and this... is not what I'd want. If it happens it does, but there's so many risks and it's way more difficult. IVF has a roughly 50% success rate if you have no known problems, so getting pregnant within 3 tries is highly likely.

3 cyles of IVF excluding donor sperm and medication is €6400

3 cycles of IUI excluding donor sperm and potential medication is €2400

The bonus of IVF: one retrieval round and one donor sample, but each IUI you have to buy donor sperm which can range from €800 to €3000 (highest I've seen), and with IUI you need the more expensive sample (higher sperm count and better motility) whereas with IVF you can get the lower rated. However, there's more medications that can increase the costs of IVF, and possible complications to both me and the fetus (IVF conception for some reason increases risks like heart defects).

This is why you have to take time to decide.

Long story short: this is the start of a multi year process, and this is my journey there

[sassyfrassboss]

I am seeing them going finally to balmoral this year, or even at Christmas.

The royal community should be prepare for the worst PR nightmare from the Harkles and the palace believing that the ‘popular thing to do’ is to act as if everything is forgiven and forgotten.

I really hope that at least 1-2 staff/members of the family are wise enough to see the full picture and not fall for the ‘desperation’ such illness bring to all the family and fall for the forgiving PR

So last year I was surprised that there was ZERO PR about H&M and their kids on the TTC balcony. Or any PR of them attending for that matter. This year I do predict it will be different.

I can see them starting to come back for the publicized events. They won't go to Balmoral because Meghan hates the country and that is not her cup of tea. Christmas I can see but she will be bitter because they don't have an estate on Sandringham so they will have to rent or stay with KCIII which she doesn't like. Plus it will cause her to half to walk back the reasons she didn't go in 2019 because the kids are kept apart from the adults.

[longing-rainbow]

TTC my Rainbow after a missed miscarriage

So here I am, aged thirty three years old, one living child. I recently suffered the utterly devastating impact of a Missed Miscarriage.

Oddly, a part of me still feels that this can not have happened to me. That they have me mixed up with someone else. This could not have possibly happened to me. Things like this don't happen to me.

I remember me and my husband joking to each other on our way to the scan about how it could be twins. Nothing prepared us. NOTHING. for the heartache of hearing them words "I'm sorry, but I think you're baby has died".

Fast forward to three months later.

Trying to conceive

Tracking Ovulation

A living child whom was conceived first time without trying, my pregnancy which resulted in miscarriage was also conceived first time without trying.

Now I am struggling to conceive. Now my body feels all over the place. I am ovulating a week early. I'm spotting throughout my cycle. I feel nauseous constantly. My boobs hurt on and off. Cruelly. Almost taunting me that I am pregnant and then reminding me that I am not.

So many thoughts going through my mind?; Did my surgery affect me? - a D&C after failed medical management. Is my body ok? Are my hormones balanced? what caused my miscarriage in the first place? Why aren't I conceiving now? Am I too old? Am i infertile? Why is this happening to me?

So many questions, and absolutely no answers.

[jackhues]

mitch will talk and talk and talk about absolutely anything, so like you've got to be prepared for it - esp after a practice or game

omg, i agree. like the leafs just had their outdoor practice today, so you're mentally preparing yourself for mitch coming home and when he does, you think you're ready for it.

and like always, he'll come home and talk about absolutely everything, how many people came up to him to grab some pictures, how the team was smushed together in the ttc, how some little kid got excited after he signed his jersey, just everything.

and as he talks, you start to realize that you don't have to always mentally prepare yourself. you like hearing him talk about this just because he's so passionate about it. like you can't help but smile to yourself as he rambles on and on.

and mitch knows you well enough to realize when you're not in the mood to hear him talk. if you've had a long day, or aren't feeling well, he'll tone it down without you needing to ask him.

send in soft thoughts about any nhl player!

[thatpcoslossmama]

Hello Friends 💙

I'm Shay and I'm 20 ❤️

I made this blog to help me talk about my struggles whilst trying to conceive my second child with PCOS.

I was diagnosed when I was 16 and was warned I would have trouble conceiving children in the future, this devistated me because all I have ever wanted to be in with world is a mother.

When I was 19, I met my soulmate. And 2 months into our relationship we found out I was pregnant.

It was a complete accident but we were still over the moon and so excited to be parents. I loved being pregnant and I was very prepared to be a mum.

At 20 weeks, my waters broke. We were assured there was still a chance we could make it to viability but unfortunately 3 days later my sons cord fell through my cervix, which sealed our fate.

Our son, Aspyn, was born 3 days later at 21 weeks. He passed during birth.

TTC after losing a child is hard, but its a hell of a lot harder with PCOS. It's been 6 months since my son passed and I have only had 1 period in that time.

I'm here to lose some weight, impliment more positive changes for my body and kick PCOS's ass so my partner and I can finally give birth to a child who can cry when they're born.

Everything I do is with my son in my heart, he can never be replaced or forgotten 💙