Sure, everyone’s baby and/or child is “extra” special in the eyes of their doting parents. Not to ever compare someone else’s mini-human over the next. I’ll be real here, ALL kids are miracles and all kids can be sweet angelic a-holes. Not-so-pro-tip: when your mini asks you to smell their hand, don’t. Just don’t, trust me on this one folks. I digress. —Extra. That’s what is just a little different. There is a special club that we “extra” parents are part of. One of great sacrifice, determination, and a stupid amount of wine, you know, for coping purposes.
We lost sleep.
Our sleepless nights came well before a child entered our home. We spent many long nights of filling out adoption paperwork. There were also nights spent on heating pads to help get some kind of reprieve from months of constant back to back intramuscular injections. There were those nights where I would wake up because my pillow was soaked from both falling asleep crying and waking up crying because the uncertainty of our future family was all too overwhelming.
We spent a lot of money on baby stuff.
It wasn’t on a crib or car seat or even one of those snot sucker things (EWWWWIE). We spent money on the baby stuff before the baby was even conceived. Medications, appointments, and vitamins, those were all of the simple expenses. The real baby money was spent once we dove into 6 IUIs, 7 IVFs, adoption agency costs, and two surrogacys (where one failed miserably). To the sum of well over $100k out of pocket… we THINK? It’s all a hazy blur once you hit the $100K mark.
The labor was excruciating.
Incited by love for a child that was yet to be. The mental fortitude was much like a salmon run. Against all odds, swimming up a stream against a current that wants to bring you back to the start line time after time. I watched another selfless woman labor my daughter. I wanted to take her physical pain from her all while feeling the emotional pain of my body’s failure with every single contraction.
There is a special class of child out there, the ones that took extra. They took extra paperwork, they took another woman to carry them, they took medical intervention like IUI or IVF, some took an aunt who was childless to make their lives just a little more extra special. These babies came from prayers, they came from broken and restored hope.
Discussing your conception story with your mini human will probably be one of the many things that make you as queasy as the morning after a late night Taco Bell run… oh you know that feeling. Which brings me to telling you all about a dear friend and fellow blogger, Kaeleigh MacDonald from Unpregnant Chicken who also happens to be Canadian. I thought it was important for me to mention that because who doesn’t love Canadians? I mean they are the unicorns of North America—magical, mystical and they fart glitter. OK, she probably doesn’t fart glitter, BUT she just wrote a children’s book titled EXTRA. (ah-ha! now you see the tie-in of this post!) I remember reading the first proof a few months ago and how excited I was after reading it. Although there are a few other children’s books floating out there that explain the birds and the bees from an infertility lens, I commend her efforts to be as inclusive as possible and really explain things in such a way that a child can innocently understand. There’s no illustrations of Kama Sutra positions or diagrams of what goes into plastic cups, the story line is both captivating and is relate-able to the mindset of a curious mini human. I can’t wait to add it to Jellybean’s library. Because Kaeleigh rocks, she gave me a copy to give away to you! If you want one…here’s how to enter
Hop over to our Instagram page @Ourmisconception
- Follow us
- Comment with your own #MyFamilyTookExtra story. (even if you are still on your journey, your family is taking “extra” to build)
- Tag a friend for bonus entries in each separate comment
**Giveaway Open to US only**
OK, feeling unlucky? I get it, some people are born with a lucky horse shoe up there butt. I, happen to NOT be one of those people. Here is where you can buy your own copy.
You like-y? For those who want to keep insta-tabs on our regular shenanigans check out @Ourmisconception on Instagram. If you have comments, witty quips to share or need some encouragement feels, drop by our Facebook page.
