It was supposed to be a lovely day. With expectations like that I guess it can only go wrong. We were having a day out – me, the boy and nanny. As always, it started with us running for the bus. We were going to see a ‘first ballet show’, I wanted my son to…
Solo mum by choice
Planning Fertility Treatment: The Wobble
I guess everyone has it when you go down this solo mum by choice path. The wobble. Am I really sure this is the right decision for me? Can I really do this? That pause between one failed cycle and the wait to start the next. It let’s all sorts of emotions out of the…
Trying Again: Donor Conception
So it didn’t work. It was a long shot after all. Wanting to be one of the lucky few. Oh, what I would give to have been one of those. I really believed it was going to happen. That positive outlook and hope that is supposed to help us, proving to be my own worst enemy…
Take The Damn Pregnancy Test
So much for saying I wasn’t going to bother doing a test, let alone an early one. After all, they cost a fortune. I’m all about the pound shop tests £1 for three tests that work as good as any expensive brand, what’s there not to love about them? Yet somehow, exactly one week since the IUI,…
Implications Counselling For Fertility Treatment
I woke up this morning with my heart in my mouth. I’m probably over thinking it (as usual) but today I’ll be seeing the counsellor. Today they will be saying yay or neigh to my decision to change my live irreversibly in one of the most excruciating, demanding and wonderful ways possible. Today I go for…
Another Reading of the Single Mum Research
You might have seen in the news recently that a study has just been released about the long term effects of growing up with a single parent (read mum). It’s the usual kind of gumpf – single parents are useless, blah, blah, blah. Only this one claimed to have long term data to prove it,…
Becoming A Single Mum By Choice: The Process
Today it started. The process – my process – of becoming a single mum by choice. I’ve no idea how long it will take but I know it’s started. I cycled to the clinic through rush hour in central London… not a good idea as it turns out. At one point a cab driver rolled down…
Single Mum By Choice: Choosing a Fertility Clinic
It’s an intimidating decision, choosing a fertility clinic, especially on your own. I’ve been researching various clinics for a few weeks. Last night I visited the first one on my short-list. No one knew I was going there. As I got nearer the excitement started to turn to nerves. As I walked inside I steeled myself…
Deciding To Be A Single Mum By Choice
The idea of becoming a single mum by choice has been circling around in my brain for some time. It’s felt near on impossible to reach a final decision though. After all, deciding to have a(nother) child can’t be answered with a pros and cons list. Such a list would collapse under the weight of all the cons (screaming, lack of…
Single Parent Support
Like most, I found becomming a single parent isolating and challenging. The best advice I received was to find a single-mum-best-friend locally. But how? I was going through a divorce – my most important connection had failed – the idea of making new ones felt impossible. I wish I’d known how to connect with the single…