Wednesday, January 11, 2012

A different sort of desperation

Here I am again.

I was pondering this morning how I'm desperate to multiply again, but more of a play on words and not a need to expand our family.

The multiply in question is the magazine that me and Mr G are pinning our hopes of a financial future on. Having spent an inordinate amount of money building our family, we find ourselves in a bit of a spot financially. Our IVF spend was worth every last penny and in no way regretted, not even for a millisecond. It's not fair that we had to spend that money to achieve what others do gratis, but there it is. A part of our history and actually something i'm sort of proud of now. Weird but true. We made it through hell and came out the other side. We were one of the lucky couples and many many more weren't and aren't.

Anyway, I digress. We now have two more mouths to feed and a whole lot less money to play with. We have also been hit by the recession and are bringing in a tiny fraction of what we need, leaving me desperate for Multiply, our new webmag on fertility, to survive.

I'm pretty sure i would have pored over something that gave me that much information, but maybe i'm not indicative of those out there still struggling to build their family? Who knows.

If you do read this, please do look us up - www.multiplymagazine.com - and give us a whirl. Tell your friends. Tell the girls at the clinic. The more people who sign up and chat on the forums the more useful it will be as a place to go for information, both formal and informal - from others in the same boat.

That's all for now. Oh, except to say, if you do read this and do look us up. Let me know, and don't be afraid of feeding back exactly what you think. Thank you.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Desperate to Multiply

I can't believe it has been more than 6 months since i posted.

Actually, I can.

My timetable of life with a 3 year old, a 1 year old and a part-time job doesn't leave me much room for posting. In any event, i'm not sure what i have to say would be of much interest to those who used to read my posts. I'm also not sure that those of you who did read are still doing much blogging or reading. I feel like i've somehow let people down. I'm not sure who, but I got so much from my blog and its readers at one point and i've no idea where everyone ended up.

It's a weird place as IF is still a huge part of my life and of who I am. I have several strong friendships both in real life and in the ether, made as a result of IF. Girls who may or may not built their families either through IVF, donor or otherwise or by adoption. Every time I look at my children i'm reminded of where they came from. The candid nature of my struggles to multiply meant that everyone who knew me was aware of our struggles. That has meant that I have become a sort of IVF mentor to several friends.

I spent years sharing my deepest, darkest stuff with my hairdresser (a cliche, I know) so that when she found herself in the same boat - several failed IVF's in and advice to give it up looming - she turned to me. I advised her to try my old clinic (the one that worked for me) and she's 19 weeks pg. (Fingers crossed) I have also talked to several others. Friends, friends of friends, mums struggling with secondary fertility issues and more.

The last way in which infertility remains a huge part of my life is that Mr G and I have set up a website aimed at helping those struggling to start their families. Multiply Magazine is an online magazine packed with articles, up to date news items and a huge glossary of info for those starting out in the scary world of infertility and those already finding their way. We launched - well Mr G launched, as my time has been too limited to allow me to be of much use to him - about a couple of months ago. Take a look - it's full of useful information you might like to pass on to friends in need. As usual, Mrs Techno Twit can't manage to post a link in. The web address is www.multiplymagazine.com. Please please send it on to those who may be interested. There's also a weekly newsletter so they'll be bang up to date with all things to do with fertility.

We're slightly at a loss as to how to direct folk our way. Any suggestions would be helpfully received along with news of how you're doing if you were one of my ladies once upon a time.

Is Stirrup-Queens still the place to go share info?