sutton016

To be public and say, “I’m the one in eight that has been diagnosed with infertility.” is powerful. Well, for some, it may be easier than others but for me, it was a period (no pun intended) of time before I could get to that point of being open about my fertility issues. Here is the quick overview of me and what brought me here to writing this post on April 26 th , 2017. If you go to what I wrote on April 26 th , 2010 , which was during a two week wait after my very first IVF, I was definitely in a different place emotionally, physically, career wise, and literally every other place I can think of. Hell, I was even thinner back then and had blonde highlights. Cade Foundation Event My story really isn’t all that amazing or terribly different from most. I worked at a corporate job by day, performed stand-up comedy at night (thank god for my humor) and my husband (who is also a comedian) started trying to conceive pretty much right after we got married. Months went by and nothing happene...

When I first read the theme of this year’s NIAW, Listen Up, my first-not-thinking-just-react-reaction was, “ Wait. Shouldn’t it be speak up???? ” I mean haven’t us infertiles been hiding in the shadows quietly listening long enough??? We’re the ones who attend baby showers after our latest IVF failure listening to the “Oooos” and “Ahhhs” while someone else opens up baby gifts. We’re the ones who politely listen and ignore ignorant comments like, “I had a cousin who was trying to get pregnant for years and then she went to a hypnotist and got pregnant the next day! Have you tried that???” We’re the ones who nod and listen when we hear a fertile friend talk about how bummed she is that her third unplanned pregnancy is going to be another girl when she really wanted a boy. Especially now, we’re listening while more people in power talk about what they think should be done with embryos or whether or not children born through assisted reproductive technology should be considered ‘legitimate...