Hi! This is so exciting!

 

I have always dreamed of having two children, a boy and a girl (hopefully), and I am looking forward to turning that hope into my present reality. When I was married, my husband and I were unable to get pregnant (unexplained infertility), so tried all the things, finally going through a cycle of IVF. C (my son) was our only viable embryo, and I was SO hopeful that he would become our child. He did, and he has been loved beyond measure. We tried to have more children almost immediately, and actually got pregnant naturally when C was two. Unfortunately, we lost that child to miscarriage. I suspect that may have been what allowed me to move forward with a divorce, recognizing that our marriage wasn't the relationship I needed, and maybe not the family that baby needed to be born into.

 

I divorced in 2021, and have 50/50 custody of C with my ex-husband. He lives a few miles away, and we are effective co-parents. He hears my feedback about nutrition, screen time, discipline, etc., and so C has some relative consistency between houses.

 

My parents live 15 minutes away, and we usually see them on a weekly basis, whether it's for a family meal/outing, a soccer game, or so they can babysit him for an evening. He loves his grandparents, and they adore him. I have two brothers (and sisters-in-law) in the area, and three nephews. C is particularly close to his 9-year-old cousin, and in the summer they do "Cousin Tuesdays" with their grandparents.

 

I'm a clinical psychologist and own/operate a group practice one mile from our house. I see a few clients a week, do ADHD testing, and manage the 20-ish clinicians who work at the practice. I love my job, and it gives me lots of flexibility to work when I need to. Training as a psychologist also gave me a lot of insight into human development and behaviorism, which has helped guide my parenting.

 

We live in a suburb with excellent schools (it's why we moved here when C was 2), and our neighborhood is quiet, with huge old trees and big yards. C has a nice big room, and there's an office just waiting to be turned into a nursery next door to it. Baby Sister will have Mama and Big Brother nearby all night. Our house is a rambler, so almost everything happens on one story. The kitchen is big, and C often sits at the island while I prepare meals and tells me about WWII battles and the latest hijinx of DogMan and Petey.

 

Because our house is spacious and open, we host all family holidays here, so my siblings, parents, nephews, and a few extras gather here for major and minor events. I love baking, so C usually helps me pick out a cake that I bake for each birthday (and samples the frosting, AND the batter).

 

In the winter, we go to our time share in Mexico (usually with my parents), and in the summer we do road trips. This year is our first BIG road trip. We're flying to Connecticut and then driving around the Northeast for twelve days, hitting some WWII museums and spending three days in Acadia National Park.

 

It's important to me to be outside a lot, and to move our bodies, so C and I ride our bikes together, go for walks, swing, and hang out while I garden. When I step back from my life, I can see that we have it pretty good. BUT I have always thought I would have a daughter. When C was born, I swear (and this has never happened to me before or since) I heard God tell me "You'll get your daughter." At this point, most every other option has been closed to me, and I think this is the path I was meant to be on.

 

I picture a family of three, and maybe there will be a partner for me in there someday, but this feels right. I can't wait to carry my daughter in my body, meet her, and raise her. Thank you, thank you for trusting me with your precious embryo--I'm going to give her the most wonderful life I can.

 

All my love and gratitude,