Have you ever really thought about it???

Have you ever really thought about what *you* would do if you couldn't have kids? I mean, really thought about it??,

Of course, there are many worse things to have happen in life, but being told by a doctor that it is not possible to have children does pretty much suck. When the doctor gave us our "diagnosis", my mind kicked into gear. I'm a problem solver...what are we going to do and how are we going to get our family. Not having kids wasn't an option for us. We both had hoped for a large family and having kids was a top priority. I know that I am far from alone when I say that being a mom and wife was the only thing that I ever really wanted to be when I "grew up". I needed a plan!

If you look into your "options" for having kids when you can't have them the traiditional way, you will find that all of they are all complicated, scary, risky and expensive!! "It's not fair" doesn't even begin to describe it. We were very fortunate to have a relatively "easy" journey. Our diagnosis was straight forward, we decided to do IVF, we could afford it, it worked, we had an instant family with our 3 healthy boys. Obviously, other people are not as luckly. Most people have to do many other treatments before IVF, most people aren't as successful with IVF, most people aren't able to really "afford" the $15k-$18k to do IVF...especially if they have been paying a lot of money for other treatments leading up to this point. It's very sad and really not fair.

I heard a story last week that really struck me. It is a story of a couple that struggled with infertility for 3 years before they became pregnant. Sadly, the little boy had a birth defect that didn't allow life outside the womb. Last November, the sweet little boy was born at 21 weeks gestation and passed away.

I cannot imagine the heartbreak and devistation that this couple must be feeling. After their loss, they decided to resume treatments in the hope of having a healthy baby to bring home. A couple of weeks ago, they found out that their last treatment did not work. At this point, they cannot afford to continue treatments. Seriously, this is just not right!

I read about this family on another blog and it broke my heart. Here is a LINK to that post, if you are interested. I wanted to post this today because the mother is an illustrator for a children's book that was recently published.



I don't know these people, but I want them to be able to continue with their journey and be able to bring home a baby....plus, a childrens book always gets plenty of use in our house. I ordered a couple of the books and received them over the weekend. It is a very cute book and I think Charlie is really going to enjoy it...as well as whoever the next baby that I have to buy a gift for is. ;)

So, if you are in the market for a new children's book, please consider purchasing this one. The lady is selling them herself for $12+shipping costs. If you are interested in buying one directly from her, for the discounted price, you can email her at theabcsofit@live.com .

Thanks!