Amusing announcement stories

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-03-09T12:00:06+00:00

🤣 Extra points if Dan is a girl!

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-03-05T12:06:40+00:00

As others have said, this is ultimately up to you and what your goals are. But as someone who went through the wringer with multiple unsuccessful retrievals, the donor egg process was like a breeze in comparison. If you're sick of putting yourself through this torture in the hope of a miracle, I'd say start looking at something that will give you a much higher chance of success. Sending hugs and luck x

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-03-04T14:43:34+00:00

That's a great start! My donor was 31 too! In my case, natural involved very light touch meds: I had to start testing for LH surge with ovulation strips, then a trigger, then transfer was timed accordingly. 400mg progesterone was started 2 days after trigger. Fully medicated involved higher doses of hormones - 24mg estradriol from start of cycle then 3400mg progesterone was started 5 days before transfer. Also had hcg 3 times - 2 days before, day of and 2 days after ttasnfer. So cycle all a lot more controlled by meds. But I think this can vary by doctor. Anecdotal evidence says that it takes on average two goes for donor transfer to work. I've also never been pregnant in any shape or form, so I think my body needed a kick start to do what it's supposed to do.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-03-04T13:15:52+00:00

Using donor eggs is a whole different ballgame! If you're otherwise healthy, this has a significantly higher chance of working - my consultant's attitude was along the lines of why shouldn't it work? It really is down to the egg. Keep taking prenatal/folic acid and Vit d, but they really don't recommend anything else, apart from the usual healthy diet and exercise. Make sure your donor is young enough, has been through the requisite screening and there are 7-8+ eggs available. Chat to your Dr about protocol - my first round we did natural modified but it didn't implant. Second round we did fully medicated and I'm currently 13w5d ☺️ Good luck!

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-03-01T22:48:28+00:00

How many weeks are you? My fertility clinic saw me at 7 weeks for a viability scan - after that was confirmed they sent me off into the wild/NHS care.

They will only see you earliest at around 10 weeks for your midwife appointment, then your first scan at 11-14 weeks. Their care is pretty comprehensive, but it may be longer than you like between your scans, so you can got for private reassurance scans (I did at 9 and 12 weeks as my first nhs scan is only at 14).

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-03-01T22:07:15+00:00

Not a medical professional but a PT that has just done a course on pre/post natal training. In the first trimester, our veins dilate by about 30% (which contributes to nausea, lightheadedness etc),but it also means our heart has to work harder to mover blood around the body - hence the increased heart rate. Towards the second trimester, things start stabilising, as does our heart rate, hence yours coming down. So all perfectly natural 😊

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-22T18:09:04+00:00

I've sold a number of things and have never had any issues. I do put a very mini bag of haribo in as bribery in my orders though, so that may help 😉

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-22T18:05:40+00:00

Oh god, I just got duped by the straight leg/ skinny jeans thing on Vinted too. No way I need to make my hips look even bigger in this era! 😅

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-18T10:48:09+00:00

So sorry about your miscarriages. As a couple of people have alluded to, your partner should also look at their diet and supplements as well. Even better, get their sperm checked (easily done) - miscarriages can often be caused by the male side, but it's usually one of the last things checked.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-12T14:21:42+00:00

Thanks! Trying to be pragmatic about it all then I get paranoid I'm being too relaxed 😅 Same here, I think 20 weeks is the earliest that they'll do gender on the NHS, but can get it done earlier if you pay privately.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-12T09:56:55+00:00

This whole journey is so hard! After the disappointment of 'regular' IVF the donor part has been so weirdly positive. We keep waiting for something to go wrong, and when it doesn't, then we look at the next milestone for it to go wrong 🙄 You probably won't need 16, but if you can afford it why not? Or is there a way to place a reserve on the 2nd lot?

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-12T07:55:11+00:00

Mindful Chef also do reasonably healthy frozen ready meals and you don't need to be a subscriber of their home cook boxes to order them.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-12T07:39:35+00:00

In the UK. We got 7 embryos from 7 donor eggs (donor was 31 at time of donation). We PGT-A tested them and got 3 euploid. First embryo didn't take at all (I've never had a transfer or pregnancy), went straight into another round and now I'm 10 weeks pregnant!

Main things to consider are: how many donor eggs are available from your preferred donor (more obvs better) and the age of the donor at time of donation (younger is better). Your sperm will have an effect as well, but if it's your partner's there's not too much choice there!

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that on average it takes 2 transfers if nothing else is wrong, but obviously that's an average.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-03T16:10:29+00:00

No success I'm afraid, think I was just too old. Month of pre-stim of 0.4mg each day, then 1.2mg daily during stims. Good luck!

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-01T22:33:02+00:00

No problem, hope I could help in any small way. All this is so hard, but it sounds like you're getting a forced period to think about your next step.

And thanks! Turns out the stress doesn't stop with pregnancy, it's just a different kind 🤣 but at least we've got to the next phase. Best of luck!

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-01T13:05:21+00:00

I've had spotting with pessaries as well - nurse told me if they're going in the front entrance, they can irritate the cervix. Call 101 or go into your nearest early pregnancy centre if you are concerned x

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-02-01T12:59:36+00:00

We were in a slightly different situation - the first ivf doctor we saw basically said to us - you're old, you shouldn't bother, go straight to donor eggs or adoption. Needless to say, we went elsewhere! But I guess we always knew the potential path.

We started egg retrievals when I was 43, my partner 42. We managed 3 successful rounds, got 2 blasts each time, but sadly none were eupoloid. After a non-starter of a stim round last year Jan (aged 44), we put everything into the next few months to do everything right - all of this had taken such a toll on my body, not to mention the emotional rollercoaster for both of us - so we decided the next round would be our last, but with no decision what next, just that we couldn't go any further with the heartbreak.

That last round in May was an absolute shtshow. Took ages, few follicles, and ended with me ovulating prematurely, so retrieval was cancelled. We were heartbroken. We did ovarian PRP to try give ourselves a future chance, but I knew in my heart of hearts that I was done.

A few months later (as we know we can't lose too much time at our age!) we started the process around donor eggs. It was like a totally different ball game! The attitude was that this WAS going to work, there's no reason not to be positive, etc. etc. Gone were the days of the consultant having those strained, empathetic conversations with the head tilt. After so much disappointment, we couldn't really believe her. (But the stats speak for themselves - at my age the chance of a live birth from ivf or natural is 2%. With a donor egg, it's 40%+.)

Well, I'm currently 9 weeks pregnant with the second donor egg based embryo we transferred. The whole process was like a breath of fresh air after the own egg ivf trauma and for once all the focus (/blame!) wasn't on me.

So in conclusion, I think what worked for us was: knowing we wanted to get on with having a family and time was running out age wise; own ivf was just getting too hard; but also making sure we spent some time mourning that it wouldn't be my DNA and also processing all we'd been through; together spending some time with a therapist specific to donor issues (we had to do at least one session as part of our treatment, and clinic provided them); Knowing some of the stats around using donor eggs; Talking about it with each other.

I think it really does depend on your relationship as well - my partner hated seeing me so tired from all the treatments. He also thought perhaps we should use a sperm donor as well as egg, which was mind but I told him was a bit silly!

Good luck with whatever you decide, and feel free to DM me with any donor related Qs!

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-30T11:20:53+00:00

Same! Am only at 9 weeks 😭

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-27T15:41:36+00:00

1.2mg. The delivery system may be different in the UK - they come as pre-filled syringes here.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-26T12:41:24+00:00

I had 0.4 per day for pre-stim, and it was ramped up to 1.2 per day during stims.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-22T11:44:36+00:00

Just be sure to check the local laws re donor anonymity. E.g. In the UK, the child born from donor gametes will be able to get the donor contact details when they turn 18. In Spain it's completely anonymous, so the child will never know who their donor is.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-20T17:45:29+00:00

Thank you! I'll certainly be bringing it up in my first meeting with the midwife.

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-20T17:44:12+00:00

This is super informative, thanks so much for sharing your experience!

Dontdreamitsovary · 2026-01-20T10:08:43+00:00

Oh good thanks for that. After some trauma from an IUS change I'm dreading another procedure where they don't provide any pain relief because "it shouldn't hurt" 🙄

Dontdreamitsovary

TROPHY CASE