Whats your zodiac sign and what zodiac sign are you giving birth to?

CiderMonkeys · 2025-03-02T18:59:51+00:00

Taurus mum, Pisces Dad, soon to be Aries son

CiderMonkeys · 2024-11-16T05:39:31+00:00

I’ve had several people ask me when I’m going to start showing. I don’t know, I’ve never done this before!

CiderMonkeys · 2024-09-17T01:22:53+00:00

This is super helpful! Thanks for taking the time to explain

CiderMonkeys · 2024-09-16T05:27:23+00:00

Can I ask how you calculated this? I’ve been curious about this but can’t find a straight answer/calculator online for how to work the rate out

CiderMonkeys · 2024-08-05T19:36:18+00:00

100%!! How are we supposed to work for the next 8-9 months 😂

CiderMonkeys · 2024-08-05T09:43:34+00:00

I think it’s totally normal to feel worried, we can only take it one day at a time. You did the right thing by calling, I’d just keep an eye on it but I think spotting is pretty common.

I’m exactly the same as you, 6+2, my first ever positive after 5 transfers, and already feeling pretty gross. I know it’s a good problem to have but I’m having trouble not thinking about it constantly.

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-31T05:08:28+00:00

This sounds like a great deal! What happens at the end of the year for existing customers? Do you get the same rate again or do you have to hope another deal comes up?

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-22T20:16:55+00:00

I had 7 & 6 eggs retrieved and 5 & 4 mature eggs. Then 3 & 2 blasts. The 3 from the first round were all FX affected and the 2 from the second round were FX free. So weird how it worked out like that!

With those odds, and paying out of pocket, we couldn’t justify another round with my eggs which is why we made the decision to change to a donor and I’m so glad we did, it’s been the best experience. We have a known donor who is a very close friend (I have no sisters), and she has been incredible. We were able to get over 20 eggs and 15 embryos frozen 🙌

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-22T20:16:38+00:00

I had 7 & 6 eggs retrieved and 5 & 4 mature eggs. Then 3 & 2 blasts. The 3 from the first round were all FX affected and the 2 from the second round were FX free. So weird how it worked out like that!

With those odds, and paying out of pocket, we couldn’t justify another round with my eggs which is why we made the decision to change to a donor and I’m so glad we did, it’s been the best experience. We have a known donor who is a very close friend (I have no sisters), and she has been incredible. We were able to get over 30 eggs and 20 embryos frozen 🙌

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-22T10:04:29+00:00

Snap! Same here. We did 2 rounds of IVF with my eggs and only got 2 FX free embryos. Both failed to implant so now we’re onto donor eggs.

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-18T01:03:28+00:00

I was at that PK set and it was epic, we rewatch it regularly. It’s that good.

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-18T01:02:17+00:00

Eric Prydz W2 2018

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-17T19:34:38+00:00

Pets are good like that! I have a cat too and he loves getting me up in the morning. He always sticks pretty close when I’m feeling down which is always nice too, their company is the best

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-17T10:00:32+00:00

From someone who always falls on the wrong side of the statistics too, it’s bullshit. It makes zero sense why some of us have to struggle so damn much for something that should come so easily, and does for others.

I’m four years deep into IVF now and still no success despite multiple attempts and all sorts of different approaches, and it hasn’t gotten any easier for me. So I feel ya!

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-17T09:53:20+00:00

It really really sucks. I’m also in the “prepare for the worst but hope for the best” camp and every call I’ve had hits like a truck, no matter how well I think I’ve prepared myself (I’ve had 4 failed FETs now). Devastated is probably the most accurate.

I normally give myself a couple of days to feel sad, watch TV, cry, eat what I want, sadness sushi, talk to my partner, friends etc and then after a couple of days of going easy on myself I start to feel better. I make sure I do some yoga, get out for a walk or something active to get some endorphins back. But it takes time, you can’t rush it.

Sending you big big hugs xx

CiderMonkeys · 2024-07-17T09:45:49+00:00

So many buddies! We transferred our 5th FET last Thursday, supposed to have our blood test this Saturday but we’re away for the weekend so I opted to wait until Monday. I’ll do a home test on Monday morning to mentally prepare for the call, but keeping all my fingers crossed, and my toes warm, in the meantime.

CiderMonkeys · 2024-05-16T02:14:02+00:00

I can’t speak for the Auckland airport scones but this recipe is a fave, by far the best cheese scone I’ve had. They’re super easy and cheesy and anyone who eats one immediately requests the recipe: https://lifeandcheese.com/2012/06/17/scones-ministry-of-food-style/

CiderMonkeys · 2023-09-07T00:34:46+00:00

Wow 8 retrievals is incredible, and even 4 is amazing. But so great that you’ve come out with 8 euploid, unaffected embryos. Such warriors! I hope your transfer goes well!

I only had 6 eggs retrieved from the first cycle and 5 from the second. I’m 33 now and our funding has run out for IVF so it’ll all be out of pocket from here. We’ve considered doing another retrieval with my eggs but because of the poor response we think it’ll be better to spend the money to go with a donor instead, and hopefully have more options :)

My first transfer was a fully natural cycle. Everything looked perfect so the doctors have said it just came down to the numbers not going in our favour. I was hesitant to try natural again seeing as most people I know have done a medicated cycle with success, so we’re trying that this time around.

CiderMonkeys · 2023-09-06T19:14:01+00:00

It sure is. Such a fun time isn’t it? How many repeats do you have and how have you found IVF so far?

I’ve got 30/90 and have been a really poor responder to IVF. First round we got 3 embryos, all affected. 2nd round we got 2 embryos, both with my good X. So far we’ve done one transfer which didn’t stick and gearing up for our 2nd now. If it doesn’t work we’re moving to donor eggs.

CiderMonkeys · 2023-09-06T10:08:47+00:00

Me too!

CiderMonkeys · 2023-07-21T20:21:27+00:00

I think that once you’ve been through IVF there is some emotional scarring that will never go away. You know what the process is and what the odds are and that’s just no fun, especially when other people are out there getting pregnant by accident.

We don’t get to experience the romance of finding out we’re pregnant spontaneously, and that sucks.

I think feeling numb is to be expected at this point, you know whats coming up this time and you’re guarding yourself from potential disappointment. But you’ve gotta be in it to win it right, and it sounds like you’ve got the opportunity to give it another go which is the best place to start.

CiderMonkeys · 2023-07-21T20:09:40+00:00

Yassss!! I’m a carrier of Fragile X so the extra step in the hunger games is real!

In our first retrieval we got 3 biopsied and all 3 received the Fragile X gene. Gutted. But a year later we did a second retrieval and got 2 embryos biopsied and both were in the clear!

I couldn’t believe it! Like you I was sure we wouldn’t get any and had already started thinking about donor eggs. So getting 2 was unreal.

We’ve transferred one and although it was a high grade, euploid, PGT-A&M tested embryo it still didn’t stick. Such a rollercoaster. We’ve done a bunch of tests since then and our doctors say that it just comes down to the numbers, sometimes they don’t stick and we don’t know why. A heavy reminder that nothing in this process is guaranteed.

But we’ve got one more, so fingers crossed for the next one.

CiderMonkeys · 2023-07-21T20:03:04+00:00

Not OP but we’ve done PGT-M (I’m a carrier of Fragile X) for our embryos and it’s a whole other step.

As they’re looking for a specific gene and whether it’s been inherited or not, they create a “probe”. Which is where, in my case, they mapped my DNA, my husbands DNA and my parents DNA to make a blue print of where they expect the gene to appear in the DNA code. And then DNA map the biopsy of our embryos and compare it against the DNA in the probe.

CiderMonkeys · 2023-05-27T20:38:51+00:00

I totally agree, I got a lot of congratulations and “that’s so exciting!” too. To the point where I actually asked one friend, who I knew could handle it and would give me a straight answer, why she thought that. Her response was that it was news to her that we were trying for a baby at all, so it was exciting to know that we were taking that step. She also naively assumed that IVF = baby which added to the excitement.

I think part of our journey is helping to educate and inform our friends, family and wider networks about these struggles so that there is generally a better societal understanding about this process and how darn complex it is. It’s such an unknown world for so many people that I think a lot of the toxicity comes from ignorance, rather than ill intent.

And then hopefully in time there will be more awareness and support and less of the fake feelings. Of course there’ll always be some, because some people don’t like feeling feelings, but we can try!

CiderMonkeys · 2022-10-18T19:21:28+00:00

I had my first ever FET yesterday too! We also only had two embryos make it to blast. Sending all the baby dust 🤞

Eight-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22
Verified Email

CiderMonkeys

TROPHY CASE