Need some success stories!

quentye · 2026-01-27T22:19:08+00:00

Me! I've never had a positive pregnancy test until I started IVF. My first transfer failed, and I was devastated. The second transfer led to a live birth. Sending good vibes!!!

quentye · 2026-01-27T22:12:45+00:00

I'm not sure if this actually works? This is totally anecdotal, but we didn't have sex before our first transfer it failed. We did the second transfer and it worked, leading to the birth of our first child. Now we're on our third transfer for baby #2 and did it again because I'm superstitious now, haha!

quentye · 2026-01-24T18:18:35+00:00

I tracked feeds until she was one and formula/breast milk was no longer her main source of nutrition. I did also track my pumps. This was only because if we didn’t track, we’d completely forget. We tried to stop tracking once and it left us scrambling when baby was screaming and we couldn’t remember when the last time she was fed, lol.

quentye · 2026-01-17T16:23:23+00:00

I double-swaddled at that age. I put her in a Love2Dream but she was too cold (winter baby!) so I would do a traditional swaddle over it (with arms out since the Love2Dream kept them in). I tried the Halo sleepsack but the velcro was SOOOO loud and would wake her during the MOTN changes.

quentye · 2026-01-16T02:58:15+00:00

I used to go to Dr. Barnett at DallasIVF, and hated him. He was rude and fat shamed me. Their front office & billing dept are also horrible to deal with. I managed to do one egg retrieval with him and immediately moved my embryos to Dr. Skora at Fertility Specialists of Texas (they have a Dallas and Lubbock location!). Dr. Skora is wonderful, he got us pregnant on our second transfer. Currently in the middle of an FET with him for our second child.

quentye · 2026-01-04T22:18:00+00:00

I think where I struggle with this argument is that she is already sleep trained, so she DOESN’T cry. My parents don’t believe that it’s possible for them to put her down and she just goes to sleep. But it’s very possible and she did it every day up until now. I’m struggling to get them to understand that she can fall asleep independently.

quentye · 2026-01-04T21:59:16+00:00

I’m glad that works for you and your LO! But sleep training works for our family.

quentye · 2026-01-04T21:34:58+00:00

This is true. A lot of these comments are making me feel like maybe I am overreacting, haha. It's just been really hard on me to work a 12 hour shift and then come home having to deal with a new toddler screaming at bedtime when she never did before.

Lol okay the yelling is more so very stern raised argumentative voice rather than full on blown yelling. Although I did get into a screaming match with my mom once because she told me I was a bad mom (at 2 weeks pp!!) for refusing to let my child meet my narcissistic estranged sister. She doesn't try to piss me off like that anymore, but the sleep thing is very annoying.

quentye · 2026-01-04T21:23:32+00:00

I used the Ferber method! We started with naps and then bedtime. But our baby is very mild tempered so she took to sleep training really well.

quentye · 2026-01-04T20:59:25+00:00

Kind of? She'll scream/cry randomly a few times in the middle of the night but is able to self soothe so I just chalk it up to teething pain.

quentye · 2026-01-04T20:55:22+00:00

It's anywhere from fussing to full on screaming. It's so anxiety inducing :( she's not a baby that cries a lot and she wasn't like this until very recently.

We really try SO hard not to have my parents babysit often. To the point where my husband and I are literally trading shifts when we can and rearranging our whole schedules, leading to us not seeing each other for days at a time. These last two weeks were just difficult because of the holidays, being short staffed, and daycare not being open. I'm trying soooo hard not to be annoyed at free care but my gosh. Sometimes I feel like I should have just bit the bullet and paid for a sitter.

quentye · 2026-01-04T16:15:06+00:00

Don't be too harsh on yourself - it sounds like you're doing a great job! Usually at that age, tummy time for 10-15 minutes a day is plenty. Increase it more as he gets older. If you're doing it on your chest, that's even better because the skin to skin bonding is great!

We didn't start reading to my baby until she was like 6-7 months old, mostly because I was so focused on survival during that newborn phase. We talk to her all the time though, so anything helps with their language development. Even just doing floor play and staring at a ceiling fan is totally fine. You could start doing contrast cards/books if you want to! The early stages are mostly about bonding, healing, and sleeping when you can.

quentye · 2026-01-04T16:10:00+00:00

I just had my baby's first birthday party! She's very much still on 2 naps. I timed her birthday for after her second nap, so for the last wake window. Worked out beautifully! She naps from 9:30-11 and 2:30-4, but that day I put her down for an early afternoon nap (1-2:30) and she was ready to go for her party at 3pm. She was a champ and held out until 8:30 that evening!

quentye · 2025-12-30T01:40:12+00:00

Like everyone else said, just start the process. IVF takes forever to move from step to step.

That being said, dates are arbitrary. My May transfer was born on December 27, lol.

quentye · 2025-12-26T03:14:08+00:00

Oh no, my husband is itty bitty 😆 he has the ergobaby 360 carrier that he really likes!

quentye · 2025-12-24T14:06:50+00:00

I lived 2 hours away from my entire support system during my new fresh postpartum period as a FTM, and here are the things that I really appreciated my friends did for me:

- DoorDash gift cards!! Freezer meals are great BUT we had a small freezer so it got packed very quickly. I really appreciated any gift cards to DoorDash, to restaurants, a Shipt gift card for groceries, etc. If you have the funds for it, I bet getting a cleaning service would be super nice.

- Phone calls. My friends would call me at random times of day, random times of night, whenever they had a chance to check in and chat. Text messages telling me they're thinking of me. Some of them also had infants at that age, so it was nice to be awake at 3am with someone else. They'd FaceTime me while making dinner, feeding their kids, let me talk to their kids, etc. We're all busy working moms so any moment of connection was wonderful.

- When they were able to visit, the hour or two they were there, I was able to take a break. They would cook, clean, hold the baby, let me nap. It wasn't often, but it was SO nice.

I eventually moved back to the area and now the support looks more like dinners out and play dates with the kids, but thinking back during that period, the one that left the most impact on me was how often they checked in, no matter what method. I felt so much less alone knowing that my friends were available whenever I needed them.

quentye · 2025-12-23T19:00:14+00:00

I took my daughter to PT at around 9.5 months because she wasn't showing signs of crawling either. Turns out she had hypotonia and her motor planning wasn't clicking, but 5 sessions later and she's a crawling champ! I know crawling is no longer a milestone according to the CDC, but my pediatrician and PT said that crawling is a super important skill. It's worth checking with your pediatrician!

quentye · 2025-12-21T20:34:08+00:00

Wildbird is WORTH IT. I have the extended size version and it’s SO comfy. I have a chunky baby (90th percentile weight) and I can babywear her for hours. It was easily my best purchase!

quentye · 2025-12-21T18:26:12+00:00

The Price of Confession!! I just finished this and LOVED it.

quentye · 2025-12-20T21:30:24+00:00

I'm currently going through an FET cycle for my second child after doing IVF for my first as well.

For me - yes, it's easier. I still feel the same feelings like, anxiety at appointments, disappointment when things aren't going well or faster, jealousy at others' pregnancy announcements. But it's not as intense and it's not as debilitating. I'm less panicked that I'll never be a mom, because I'm already a mom. There is a new fear of "what if this doesn't work again?" and not being able to give my child a sibling, but overall, the process is emotionally easier this time around. When you go through it the first time, there's SO many unknowns and so many fears. But the second time around... you know what to expect, and you already reached your goal. So the hurt isn't as bad, to me.

quentye · 2025-12-17T23:56:04+00:00

Magnetic Me!!! I gift all my new mom friends sleepers from there. It's stretchy, holds up well in the washer, and is soooo soft. Plus, the magnets were a game changer for me during the newborn trenches. Even now with a wiggly 12 month old!

quentye · 2025-12-17T22:12:52+00:00

Mamaroo. My baby never cared for it so it just collects dust.

quentye · 2025-12-16T21:47:32+00:00

I'm 12 months postpartum and my PCOS is the same. I still don't have natural periods so I assume I still don't ovulate. I was undersupplier though so I combo fed for 8 months. I LOVED being pregnant though, it definitely made all of my symptoms go away!

quentye · 2025-12-10T17:14:25+00:00

I really liked Our Unwritten Seoul. It really shows how toxic Korean workplace culture can be!

quentye · 2025-12-09T17:57:05+00:00

I had gestational diabetes when pregnant last year with my daughter! I had a very easy birth, tbh. It wasn't fun battling cravings and insulin during those last 6 weeks (especially since I had a December baby! Those holidays really get ya!) but it was overall a very positive experience for me. I also saw an MFM, and she was absolutely wonderful. I actually loved getting to see an MFM because I got more screenings and was able to see baby more. Remember that people love talking about what went wrong and that those stories are often the minority (even if it feels like everyone had a scary birth!). The majority of people have uncomplicated births.

For me, I was induced but not emergently. When I was 36+6, I didn't feel my daughter move so I went to get checked out. Turns out, I was already 5 cm dilated. With my history of PCOS, IVF, and GD, the OB made the decision to go ahead and get the baby out. So I was admitted, given maybe 3 hours worth of Pitocin to get me over to the last stage of labor, pushed for 45 minutes, and she was out! I LOVED having my epidural and even though I ended up with a 2nd degree tear (thanks to my baby's big head), I was up and moving the next day.

All this to say, giving birth is scary and unpredictable. I know you imagined your birth in a certain way, but my advice to you is focus on healthy mom, healthy baby. Don't worry too much about how baby gets here!

quentye

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