117: Kimberly Lapides on Infertility Awareness: The Heartache and Hope of Failure and Success with IVF

Kimberly Lapides of Eat Sleep Wear is a fashion blogger, graphic designer, wife, and mother who has bravely shared her journey with infertility and IVF on her blog and social platforms for the past several years.  A mother of one darling little boy, Otis, who was born in 2018, Kimberly is expecting a second baby boy this summer. But these pregnancies didn't come easily. In fact, she and her husband endured multiple failed rounds of IVF before both babies were conceived successfully.  Today, Kimberly shares with me some of her most raw and tender moments, the heartache and joy that have come from bringing rainbow babies into this world, and her passion for bringing awareness and hope to other parents going through infertility.  It's hard to keep your heart hopeful when you keep getting knocked down. And listening to Kimberly’s story gives us that glimmer of inspiration. Towards the end of our conversation, Kimberly also gives her heartwarming piece of advice to other women dealing with infertility to just hold on, never give up, know that you're not alone – and always choose love. Also, learn how you can show compassion for people going through this very challenging process and how you can be there for them and acknowledge them without having to say a word. In this episode, you will hear: Kimberly and her husband Blake decided to do insemination after a year of trying to get pregnant. It was an experience she described as a nightmare. They tried other less invasive ways to get pregnant but they still found themselves at square one. Kimberly describes exploring fertility as being hit by a bus, with so much uncertainty that it can be very overwhelming and scary.  Everyone's fertility experience is different so it's not to be belittled, even if you just had to do one of the hormone pills or you just had to do an IUD. It's all a very big experience on each of its own. Kimberly gives us a picture of how it felt like going through the IVF process. The IVF process doesn’t always work. They only got one healthy embryo from their first egg retrieval. It was much better than none, but they were still devastated.  Having support from your family, friends, and the community, no matter how small the gesture, is truly encouraging as you're going through this process.  Getting the worst news that the one chance they had to get pregnant failed, she realized that you could do everything possible, but the outcome you want still could not happen. On their second attempt, they got one embryo and on their third attempt, they got three, which doubled their odds. So after the third retrieval, they had four healthy embryos. And they were ready. After the second embryo transfer, they got Otis. They did another embryo transfer to get pregnant again, using the same protocol of medications and medical strategy they used that worked with Otis. Then the pandemic happened, and everything she had prepared for got canceled. The process for the next transfer pushed through but it failed again. Now, all they have left is one last embryo. Don't push people out just because you don't know how to talk to them about it.  Having her blog platform, she's able to share her story to also inspire other people going through infertility issues. Supporting Resources: Eat Sleep Wear Blog https://www.eatsleepwear.com/   Kimberly’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eatsleepwear/   Eat Sleep Wear Facebook https://www.facebook.com/eatsleepwear   Eat Sleep Wear Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/eatsleepwear/   Subscribe and Review Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Episode Credits Produced by Emerald City Productions