Let me know if you have asked this question before: “Hey honey, did I give you all your shots today?” If you have, chances are, you have gone through the rigors of IVF. From stimulation to retrieval to implantation to the dreaded 2 week wait, you can easily get overwhelmed with all of the different medications, different time lines, and different things to worry about. “If only there was a place to keep all of this stuff straight” the nervous couple says after leaving the IVF clinic with a box full of syringes and equally daunting list of instructions. Well hypothetical couple, your wish is our command … or actually it is Stephanie Fry’s command. She has introduced a tool called “The IVF Journal” that is sure to help anyone going through IVF to keep their head on straight, or as straight as can be expected-come on, it is IVF after all! And you know what is the best part, Stephanie has been gracious enough to give us one to give away. We love to give free fert-stuff to our readers!!! But, you have to keep reading to get the details for that.
So, what is “The IVF Journal?” Something Candace and I used a previous version of during our last 2 IVF transfers. This version though, the one we are giving away, is the next edition. In this journal, there is a ton of information for each step of the process and lots of advice. The journal is split into 7 different sections each focused on a different aspect of IVF in rough chronological order. It is great because it really helped Candace and I chop down this crazy world of IVF into nearly bite-sized pieces. For example, when you are in your stimulation phase, your doctor probably has talked to you about what medications you will be taking all the way from stimulation to trigger to post-implantation. It’s a lot to digest, think 24 hour marathon at Golden Corral. That is where the IVF journal can be so helpful. In each section, there are places to record what medications you will be taking at what phase and tracking sheets for you to record when you took your medication and how much you took.
If IVF is anything, it is all consuming. It impacts your health, obviously, your lifestyle, your finances, and your mindset. Stephanie does a great job of preparing you for all of these influences through the different sections of “The IVF Journal.” For finances, there are worksheets to record your insurance information, track your IVF costs, and even determine if you qualify for any tax deductions. Hooray for that right?! IVF is costly enough to adversely impact your taxable income. Well, at least Stephanie has made it easy to see if you can take advantage of this cost. There are sections to track your mood, your support system, even alternative practices to help retain your emotional center. Yep, I think Stephanie has covered everything, almost… I didn’t see a section for guys to track the days each week they come home in fear of what emotional wreckage the hormones have done to their formerly happy home. For me, it was about 8 days a week.
Got your attention yet? Will this book be everything you need? Nope. Will it help you keep the bajillion things that will go on during your journey through the treacherous land of IVF straight? Yep. This book won’t make you a millionaire, won’t help you with your hording, and definitely will do nothing to instruct you on changing a water pump on a 1989 Pontiac Bonneville (inside joke). It will enable you to maintain your sanity, collect your thoughts, and prevent the #1 that I hate seeing in other couples … allowing fertility issues to drive wedges in what were great relationships. You and your partnered entered into this scary world hand in hand. This journal will help you leave it the same way, if not stronger. So, how do you get this handy guide/journal? Well, you can order it from several different places, but Amazon seems to be the most familiar one so here is the link.
Wait a minute Chris! You said there was a give-away! Clever bunch here huh? Alright, so, as you know, with any give away, we always make you do something. Want this journal … here is what you do. Go to their website and tell us how many people are under the sheet in the picture. The way to get your answer out is to follow both us and Stephanie on Twitter (@rmisconception and @theIVFjournal). Send your answer along with #ivfjournalgiveaway.
Please check out Stephanie’s blog and don’t despair if you don’t win the giveaway, in addition to the Amazon site, you can purchase her journal at Random House and Barnes and Noble websites as well.
HEY YOU! Yes you!
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If you like our blog, how about showing us some serious bloglovin’ and follow us? You can subscribe to our blog via email and can receive our posts as soon as we click send! (See right sidebar for how to sign-up) If you REALLY like us, we are also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest!
Candace & Chris
Love the blog! I’ve been checking in infrequently for a couple months. I found you in my endless hours of research into IF and surrogacy. I’m Kate and my SL (Sweet Love) and I have recently been making decisions on our IF journey that are most likely leading to using a gestational carrier. What a crazy journey it has been already – and will continue to be! It’s so helpful and comforting to know that you are out there, doing this GC/surro thing for real. Even though we are just at the very beginning, there are days I feel like I’m charting uncharted waters. To know there are others – to see your story. It’s just powerful! I will be following your blog and praying for you. I invite you to follow me back and pray for us as well. You can find our story at http://www.kateslifeswords.blogspot.com. (The archives are mostly just my life – on a blog. The 2013- current entries have IF theme.)
Be Blessed. Be hopeful, always.