Spork in her lucky Wildcat bathing suit ripping it up on game day at GWL. Thanks Chris!
We are back from Great Wolf Lodge.
We played. We loved. We healed. Not completely healed, but we are on our way.
Unfortunately, Blob didn’t make it. I broke down Friday night and took a pregnancy test. It was stark white. Saturday evening we received the official results. We aren’t pregnant anymore. Blob didn’t stick.
Blob’s embryo transfer was very disappointing for a number of reasons, but one important one is that it is the first time we have been public when we received the tough news it didn’t work. Personally, I far prefer it this way. This way everyone we care about knows what we are experiencing. This way we can accept the love, support, and prayers of a community of amazing friends and family members.
However talking through the public aspect of this cycle Friday night and how it accentuated our pain caused a decision regarding the blog. We are continuing it, but are no longer posting updates to Facebook or Twitter. Anyone who wants to receive regular updates is welcome to follow the blog. You can do so by logging into laughterthroughtearsblog.com through your computer and selecting the blue “Follow Us Via Email” Button on the right hand side of the page (under the photo of the three of us). The option to follow us via email is also available on your mobile device if you scroll nearly all the way to the bottom of your phone or tablet. I will still be posting to Twitter via the Laughter Through Tears account under @laughthrutears.
Approaching it this way will give accessibility to what is happening in the process to only those who are interested in following us versus our social network at large having daily updates shoved in their face. We will also continue to reach other infertile couples who may need our support and experience for their journey. These are two primary motivators for starting the blog, to keep people in the loop and to help others.
Our next step is to take a couple of months off to eat healthy, take supplements to prepare my eggs for another retrieval, and just grab some needed time off from treatment. We have decided to return to our old clinic in Michigan for our next cycle. By going out west we learned that over 25% of our embryos are chromosomaly normal. This gives us the confidence we need to continue with a clinic we always loved. A clinic that boasts the added benefits of being closer to home and substantially less expensive. In fact its about a third of the cost.
My posting frequency will likely die down for awhile. I plan to post two to three times a week during our waiting period versus five to six times a week.
In some ways, this new chapter we are entering is already exciting for me despite the fact we are still processing the disappointing news that our last embryo didn’t make it. We love the clinic that gave us Spork and connected with them in a way we couldn’t with the new clinic. I feel like we are coming home.
I will add more detail on what happened and what comes next later, but this will be the last post we put on social media. Please feel free to follow us if you are interested and never hesitate to talk to either of us about how things are going or how we are feeling. We want to share with those that care about us and want to know.
Thank you all for your support. Keep the prayers and positive intentions coming. We aren’t done fighting.
Alisa, Bill, and Spork
Laughter Through Tears 
You both are so brave and have some huge hearts!! I will continue to pray for your journey, thank you sharing:)
Much love,
Lisa xo
Thank you Lisa! That’s so sweet of you… no braver than anyone else dealing with this junk…but thank you. 😉
I saw the picture and knew. I’m so sorry. I really, really hate this but I am so impressed with you. You are one tough cookie and I’m glad that you’re looking to the future. It will be nice to be at a clinic close to home. Hug Spork tight and keep your chin up. Thoughts and prayers for you, love.
Thanks Mama. You are very sweet! We just deal with whatever life gives us. Nothing heroic or special in that. All I have to do is look at Spork and I know its all worth it.
I am so sorry Alissa. I was hoping and praying for all of you. I’ll be thinking of you as you prepare for another IVF. ❤
My heart is totally broken for you. Hang in there, sweetie!
Oh my gosh. No. I’m so sorry. Truly, my heart is breaking for you. I pray you continue to heal…
You are a strong family and I truly appreciate your openess more than you may ever know. I feel like we are having a conversation when I read your blogs. And it helps me get another perspective. Thank you. Thoughts and prayers for you.
Elizabeth, that means a lot to me. Being open has been terrific for me and its good to know its helpful for others as well.
My heart goes out to you, I’m so sorry. You inspire me with your outlook and you strength, but I know how hard this is. Hang in there, we’re all here for you!
Sending love and healing thoughts to you and your family!
Thanks so much Jenna.
I’m so sorry Blob didn’t stick. Hugs and support coming your way.
Thanks Holly.
I’m so, so sorry for you guys. I’m glad you have next steps planned out, and hope you are gentle with yourselves while you grieve. xo
Thanks- we are forging ahead but also recognize we are grieving and need to be compassionate with ourselves.
You have such a great attitude, but this is still a terrible disappointment. Well, here’s to prepping your body to make a big crop of genetically perfect, high-quality embryos on the next round.
Thanks Jessica. Prepping away! Time to take an acai supplement… 🙂