After 2 years of trying, we have 10 little toes and 10 little fingers will be taking over our world.

Our story-

2 years of trying to get pregnant have been a struggle. If you are trying to get pregnant, you know the let-downs each month. The pain is unbearable, an image you created and the hope along with it shatters.

The first few months of trying, we did not expect to get a positive immediately, however, after 8 months of trying, we started getting anxious. My husband and I visited a doctor and described the problem we were facing.

The doctor prescribed a few basic medications to boost my ovulation and said that this is quite common for people of my age and occupation. This was a difficult step for us to take, considering the social stigma that people are subjected to. Over the next few months, the doctor tried multiple courses of treatments. We began tracking ovulation using strips and temperature to isolate the days of ovulation.

After a year or so, my husband and I got ourselves tested, surprisingly (and thankfully) we were declared healthy. This brought on more worry, the initial set of tests were basic, if we have cleared that and still have not been able to conceive, that would mean we had something more complicated in hand.

Our doctor is an eternal optimist, she assured us that things will fall into place and we will keep trying till we have a baby in our hands. Over the new few months, we went through a roller coaster of emotions that can be only understood by couples in the same state.

The month before we got pregnant, we gave up. We decided that if it’s meant to be, it will happen. We cannot be pulled down or defined by this for the rest of our lives, we will have to move on. We decided to take a trip to a coffee estate in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. We went hiking, sightseeing, and evenings under the stars. We felt the stress fade away and the weight on our shoulders lifted.

The next month, I barely noted a delay in my cycle. I was extremely moody, had heat flashes, and was hungry most of the time. About a week later, I suddenly remembered that I had missed my period, so we took a test, and voila it was a positive (yay!).

I believe we have been lucky in this journey of two years and are extremely grateful. Some couples try for decades to no avail. They go through emotional and physical turmoil that will leave them exhausted and scarred.

My only hope with this story is to be able to give you hope and show support. Please know that you are not alone, there are plenty of others in this world who are in the same boat as you and you can always lean on them for support. There are success stories thanks to modern medicine.

A few learnings of mine-

1. Reduce stress: Stress causes delayed or irregular ovulation. It makes the entire process clinical which, honestly, is very off-putting. So a big “No” to stress, try not to overthink about it.
   
2. Be optimistic: Think positive, the happy hormones are welcome. Start your day with positive thoughts and self-affirmation.
   
3. Eat healthy: Maintain a healthy diet with greens, antioxidant-rich berries, and proteins. Food that contains more folic acid/folate has higher rates of implantation.
   
4. Keep fit: Have a schedule to focus on your physical and mental fitness. Exercise boosts endorphins which are happy hormones, they also help keep stress at bay. Meditation is best for your mental health.
   
5. Keep the romance alive: Making the entire process into a military schedule can kill all the fun and make the process boring/clinical.
   Spend time together, go out on an adventure and keep the romance alive!
   
6. Travel when and where you can: Considering the current times, traveling might be difficult but when things open up, traveling can help you with setting the right mood, new places, new activities can spice things up.
   It also helps you get away from the day-to-day stress that might be because of your surroundings.
   
7. This is not the end: A negative each month can break your heart, but it is not the end. There are plenty of other ways to welcome a tiny new member into the family with modern medicine and adoption.