Welcome.
As I write this, my now 8 month old daughter Ellie is bouncing in her Bjorn chair on the floor playing with a host of hanging characters and making sounds I can only compare to a high-stakes negotiation between her and an invisible Minion. I’m enjoying a cup of coffee after a few long nights and have left her for the next 15 min to be raised by my new favorite virtual babysitter, the Fireplace In Your Home on Netflix.
If you trend on the judgy side and just found yourself thinking it is too early for screen time, then please exit this site and go do something else with your life because I can assure you, I am not your people.
For those who feel I might be your people, welcome. Sorry to disappoint, but I am not an expert on parenting or fertility or really anything for that matter. This is just the story of how I decided to become a single mom on my own, how I got knocked up with science and an anonymous sperm donor from the internet, how my little muppet came into the world and how we are doing it, day by day, just the two of us and how it is nothing short of a billion times better than I ever thought possible.
ABOUT ME
I do not have a trust fund or make a million dollars a year. I do not have family nearby. I do not have a live-in nanny or a night nurse. I live in a small 2BD condo, I work for myself as a brand strategist and a realtor. I’m not sure if I hate dating apps or dating apps hate me but I really tried. I used all of my savings, credit cards and my 401K to pay for IVF. Other than a few small grants, all of my costs were out of pocket. Out of 3 egg retrievals, 4 IUIs and 1 round of IVF, I got one embryo and that is my daughter. My bank account and marriage status are not at all what I thought they would be when I had children, but none of that matters. I let the fear that other people had for how hard they thought this would be for me scare me into waiting a long time to have a baby. I wish I hadn’t. You can do this regardless of where you live, what your house looks like, if you have family to help or any other coulda, shoulda, woulda nonsense.
Your baby needs love, food, sleep and you. That is all.
YOU also need love, food, sleep and maybe also margaritas…and donuts.
