One Mother's Journey
()
About this ebook
A story about a woman who always wanted a family but knew at a young age that "normal" conception was not an option. She lived her life with the knowledge that one day she would become a Mother just not through the traditional method. Now, as she is ready to start her family through Invitro Fertilization -
Jennifer Reilly
Jennifer Reilly grew up in the Bronx to an Italian American single mom. Jennifer has recently remarried and has a wonderful, blended family of six children, ranging in age from 25-14. She received her Life Coaching certificate from The Life Purpose Institute, and she is a Life Transitions/Personal Development Coach, and she continues to pay it forward by utilizing her life experiences to help others. Jennifer received her BS BME degree from Empire State University. She is a marketing professional that has worked in the music business, publishing, and television industry over the span of 20 years. Jennifer is highly involved with her children, their school and the community, and writing remains a passion of hers. Jennifer Reilly is a mother, daughter, friend, co-worker -- she is just like you and her story could be anyone's.
Related to One Mother's Journey
Related ebooks
One Mother’S Journey: Creating My Family Through in Vitro Fertilization Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Childless Revolution Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Pregnant AF: The Miserable Joys of Pregnancy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Gifted Choice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPregnancy for the Skeptical Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoing From Homeless to CEO: The No Excuse Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Boy Named Vinny Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCarry Me: Stories of Pregnancy Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClose Contact: Memoir of a Determined Pandemic Cancer Survivor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn-vitro Fertilization: The Ultimate Reality Game Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Top 12 Reasons Why You Should Get an Abortion Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Life... Before and After Cerebral Palsy: We are Their Voices... Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOh Sis, You’re Pregnant!: The Ultimate Guide to Black Pregnancy & Motherhood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiscarriage Mom: The Unspoken Realities of Miscarriage and How to Cope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInstant Mom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Embracing the Storm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReady or Not ... Out I Come!: A Journey from Conception to Parenthood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAfter Miscarriage: A Journey to Healing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLet's Talk About It: Letters to Other Women on The Difficulty of Becoming & Staying Pregnant Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Loss to Enlightenment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Butterfly Gland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrozen Hope: My IVF Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJust Every Day: Journal of a Mother's Grief Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSingle Motherhood Unplugged Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow I Kept My Head When I Lost My Breasts: A Breast Cancer Survivors Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFull of Life: Mom-to-Mom Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was Pregnant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More Than Enough: My Breast Cancer Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMary Magdalene: The Lord's Wife Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Relationships For You
The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dumbing Us Down - 25th Anniversary Edition: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist: The Narcissism Series, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Codependence and the Power of Detachment: How to Set Boundaries and Make Your Life Your Own Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for One Mother's Journey
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
One Mother's Journey - Jennifer Reilly
Prologue
My journey to give birth to my beautiful twins Michael and Sophia was one characterized by multiple setbacks, steely determination, mind numbing disappointments and inimitable joy, so in other words – an eventful one. Obviously, I did not conform to the typical course of baby making and it is imperative that I provide you with some background about the events that led me to the point of having to embark on this journey in the first instance.
Every woman has a unique story to tell about their voyage to motherhood. My hope is that by relaying some of these intimate details that people generally do not share, that you the reader, can take note of pitfalls you can avoid that may eliminate your need for IVF in your future or at the very least prepare you for demands that this journey will elicit from you if you do decide to take this route. I feel that for me to speak honestly and completely about my journey, it is important that I start from the very beginning of my process. So here is some insight into the multitude of decisions and consequent results that launched my rite of passage into motherhood.
I grew up in the Bronx, Throggs Neck to be exact, as the only child in a single parent household. I could never remember being miserable during my childhood, but I could also always recall the feeling that there was a void in my life that I could never fill, and it came down to not having a dad in my life. I can only imagine the heartache my mother felt when every Christmas at the top of my list to Santa I always had daddy written in all caps. No other toys held as much importance to me as getting a daddy. This is not to say that I did not adore my mother and had a very happy childhood with her, and I know that some kids are just fine being an only child with just one parent, but I always missed having that father figure in my life, even though my grandpa was always around, it is different.
So, it would come as no surprise that I developed some major daddy issues
like so many other girls out there. This in turn led me to seek out approval and love from every boy that I dated. In my mind every boy was the one
and every relationship was going to inevitably lead to marriage. At age 14, I could clearly envision being married by twenty-two and having a child by twenty-four, along with the house and white picket fence – you know, the whole nine yards. Wow, what a reality check I was in store for…
I had sex at a young but average age, which I think was average for my time, my neighborhood and most of the girls in the neighborhood. Do not get me wrong, some of my closest friends did not have sex until much older and some of them even married those guys (and are still married!). That is not my story…
For me, sex was a way to get the boy
and I guess you could say I was promiscuous (this is the part where people that really know me may chuckle). In addition, when I was young, protection was not something that I really thought too much about, and therefore was not something I employed on a consistent basis. Well, at 17, I got pregnant, and it was not by a boy that I was dating but rather a boy that I had thrown myself at. For me at that age, keeping it was not even an option, nor was I going to attend school while pregnant and then give the baby up for adoption. So, I made the momentous decision to have an abortion, and even worse, to keep this decision a secret from my mom – an unfortunate lapse in judgment that I would later come to regret.
I went to a Planned Parenthood clinic in a Bronx hospital which did not require parental permission and I distinctly remember it being one of the worse days of my life. First, Papa Don’t Preach
by Madonna must have played in the waiting area about twenty-five times during the six hours I was there. You could look around the room and see the twisted torture you felt reflected on each girl’s face, it was just terrible.
The procedure itself was quick and then I was on my way, with a follow-up appointment scheduled for the next two weeks.
Of course, real life soon intervened in the form of a graduation present from my mom - a trip to California and Hawaii, which meant that I never made my follow-up visit within the two-week period. I was able to make my follow-up visit four weeks later. It was a routine visit with no issues being raised by the doctor who saw me. I went on my merry way thinking that this ordeal was fully behind me. Unfortunately, I was not so lucky. Not even two months later did I begin experiencing excruciating cramps and incredibly heavy bleeding. My mom was of course genuinely concerned and immediately took me to the emergency room. Of course, I had no choice by that point but to finally come clean and let her know what had occurred, since I had to relay this information to the admitting nurse. My mom was devastated, not by the fact that I had become pregnant or had elected to have an abortion, but because I had not shared with her the ordeal, and I had gone through by myself.
From this experience I learned that I had contracted Chlamydia (curable but with ensuing damage) from the boy who had impregnated me. This in turn had messed up my fallopian tubes quite badly. Not only were they severely infected, but they were blocked as well. At this point, my mother took me to see her doctor, whom I will call Dr. Joe, the man who would later deliver my beautiful twins Michael & Sophia. Dr. Joe informed me that at this juncture with the damage that had been done to my tubes, with one being completely closed off and the other severely blocked, I had a 1% percent chance of ever becoming pregnant in the future. While this certainly sounded daunting, becoming pregnant was not something that I was concerned about at that time so I could not fathom the full implications of this diagnosis.
Fast forward a few years into the future and I am in a serious