Meet the face
behind the posts

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes... 

16 months of tears, negative tests, hope crushed, painful doctor's visits, prayers, jealousy, anger, prescription drugs and needles... and no baby in the baby carriage. 

 

I'm Courtney. I'm an elementary school teacher and online boutique owner in Dallas, TX. My husband Bradford and I were matched on Match.com in 2012, engaged in 2014, and married in 2015. We're obsessed with the paranormal and Disney World. So much so that we honeymooned in Disney (& have already been back), and we pick places to visit based on how haunted they are (no lie). We always said "we'll enjoy being married first, then start our family in 3-5 years." So, we did just that. We've purchased two homes, lived in two states, traveled the country, hunted many a ghost, and rode Space Mountain too many times to count. & we loved every second. 

 

When year 5 came, and we stopped preventing pregnancy we simply assumed that starting our family would, well... happen. After 11 months of trying we sought the help of my OBGYN. After 5 months with her, we decided it was time to move along to a specialist. In February 2021, 1 day after we celebrated 6 years of marriage, we received the results of our tests. Drastically low egg count. Too low for egg retrieval to freeze my eggs. Too low for IVF. All of our other tests were completely normal. We were told we could give it 4 IUI cycles, then it would be recommended to move along to donor eggs. The news was crushing and debilitating- and totally not what I expected to hear. I was, and am, angry for the fact that a simple blood test can signify how high, low, or average your egg count is. A test that should be offered to all women in their 20s. After all, knowledge is power. 

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That night I shared my story on social media. I shared my news. I shared the information about the test in hopes I could help someone else before their egg count was too low, too. Telling my story was both terrifying and freeing all at once. Immediately I was flooded with so much kindness, support, well wishes, prayers, and stories of hope. It was through me sharing my story that I began to have others tell me I should start a blog... so here we are!

 

If you've walked this journey before me, or are on it with me now, I know you know how difficult this is. I also know and respect that no two journeys are the exact same. For those here reading that haven't been in our shoes before, I was once in yours, and I know how difficult it is to want to be there for a friend going through this and not know what to say or do to take their pain away. It is my hope that my honesty helps those who are here with me now, connects me to those who have been here before, and gives the incredibly important support system some tools to help their loved ones through this, or simply, some perspective (& hopefully some laughs and smiles). 

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Thank you for being here. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your kindness. The world needs more of you.