why

*Finally, I decided to start a blog about my journey with infertility. This blog is from my perspective - the woman's perspective - and it is a straight-forward and honest account of what I'm going through. My husband is all things wonderful and loving and supportive and we talk about our fertility journey all the time, however I wanted to tell my story. After all, our struggles stem from female-factor infertility, not male-factor, and I cannot begin to try to put his thoughts in writing or project what he is feeling. So you will not hear as much about him. Please don't take this to mean he is not involved or does not care because that is simply not true.*

I have a number of reasons for wanting to write this blog that have been nagging me for quite some time. For one, I am just plain tired. I'm tired of the secrets surrounding infertility and what each couple must face, whether they decide to persue treatment or not. I'm tired of fighting this battle and having no one in my life who can relate to it - at least not that I am aware of and not to the extent that I have struggled in the last eight years. And I'm tired of not having an outlet for all the ups and downs I've experienced along the way.

Secondly, I want to give a voice to women's health issues. Because of my mother's death from breast cancer, I have been a passionate supporter of breast health, education, research, and fundraising. Now I am speaking up and giving a voice to the silent suffering of women who struggle with infertility. By doing this, I hope to open up conversations with others who have similar stories. I want others to know that it's ok to talk about the big, fat, white elephant in the room - INFERTILITY - and that I'm ok to talk about this. (I just don't want your pity or for you to feel sorry for me or to constantly tell me 'it will happen; just be patient and don't stress out.')

I also want this blog to serve as my journal for my experiences throughout my fertility treatments. Should God choose to bless me and my husband with our own bundle of joy, I want her/him to know how very much s/he was loved and wanted long before s/he came into this world.

I've looked for support groups, joined online forums, read about what others are going through, etc., etc., but nothing has seemed to help. My voice was still lost and I kept hearing the same discussions over and over again so I thought I'd try something new. Some of you who already know me may learn a few things about me along the way that may come as a surprise. Consider yourself warned. ; ) Your comments and questions are welome (as long as they aren't rude or offensive - in which case, they will most likely be deleted). So here goes! I hope you enjoy reading about my journey, and please, please pray that my hubby and I will be seeing a BFP on our next pregnancy test! (A fertility acronym guide is coming soon.)