After four years of trying to get pregnant, a miscarriage and five failed IVF cycles, Anita had basically given up. In this episode, Anita tells us about all the things she tried and did to get pregnant for years. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out what ended up working for her, not once, but twice!*

Something exciting about this episode is that Anita is my first INTERNATIONAL guest! How cool is that?! She’s got an awesome accent.

Anita and her husband got married in December 2009. They wanted to wait one year before trying to get pregnant. After they got back from a holiday (vacation, I’m assuming is what she means in US terms) in January 2011, they decided to start trying. Anita began tracking her body temp. She had also been on the pill for 10 years, so when she came off, her period was super out of whack. Anita then began acupuncture to try and help regulate her cycle. Towards the end of 2011, she began working with a company to track her ovulation. After none of that worked, Anita began seeing a fertility specialist.

February 2012, Anita finally got a positive pregnancy test! Unfortunately, at 11 weeks 6 days, Anita started bleeding. An ultrasound the next day confirmed their was no heartbeat. Anita was given several options, from the hospital, of ways to pass the baby. She decided to try acupuncture and “a bunch of horrible Chinese herbs” to let her come out naturally. Two weeks had passed and the baby had still not passed, so she had a D&C.

October 2012, Anita began seeing the fertility specialist again. Shortly after, Anita thought she was pregnant again. She was at work one day and just needed to lay down. The first aid teacher came in and asked what was wrong, then called her an ambulance. It turns out, Anita actually had a kidney infection. It stemmed from a UTI, which was caused by having too much sex trying to get pregnant.

January 2013, after two years of trying, Anita was placed on Clomid. After two failed cycles and some major frustrations with the doctor they were seeing, they went to a new fertility specialist. From there, they decided to do IVF. That was in August of 2013. They did a couple rounds and they both failed. Anita was super disappointed, of course. She had also pretty much changed up her whole lifestyle. She was eating a very healthy diet, no alcohol, exercising, etc.

January 2014 gave them another failed IVF round. They, once again, switched specialists. They tried another IVF cycle in March 2014 and it failed. Anita and her husband decided to hold off for a couple of months because the emotional and physical roller coaster was really catching up. In September 2014, they did their last IVF cycle, which again, failed.

When Anita got home from a trip, she began an intro meditation class. She loved it and signed up immediately. She began meditating twice a day for 20 minutes. Two months later, Anita had a positive pregnancy test! That test turned into her now 4 year old daughter.

Listen to the full episode for all the details.

*Please note: this is the guest’s story. Their story is how they perceive it. It is not my judgement or responsibility to determine whether or not this story and the things said are true. Please be open minded when listening to/reading these stories.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
-Telling someone to “not stress” is not helpful and will likely cause them to stress more.
-If you’ve been on the pill (or any form of birth control, I would guess??) for a long period of time (in Anita’s case, it was 10 years), it can take up to 5 years for your pituitary gland to tell your body to actually ovulate.

LINKS TO THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
-You can find Anita on Facebook and Instagram and on her website.
-Anita’s favorite book: Stress Less, Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher
-Anita’s song recommendation: Long Time Sun (listen on the Hard Knocks guest list on Spotify)
-My ending song recommendation: 747 by Lady Antebellum (listen on the Hard Knocks playlist on Spotify)

“That’s the thing about infertility: from the outside, I look fine. It comes in waves. Some days, I smile and mean it; some days, I just can’t. It’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do and I am still in the process of fighting. Be patient with me, support me. I am doing the best I can and that has to be enough.”

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