We’ve been on our baby journey for about 2 years now. Navigating fertility as a same-sex couple has been quite the journey. Physically, emotionally and financially. It’s even created somewhat unique experiences such as purchasing sperm. We went from a known donor through our ICI journey that unfortunately resulted in a miscarriage to now picking someone based off of a baby photo. We aren’t the only ones who find that both crazy and humorous right? And on top of that sperm by the vial, the costs sure adds up quickly - to covering medications, travel, treatment, testings - it’s a lot. Overwhelming. We’ve chosen to travel to Mexico to make treatment more affordable, but that has brought its own challenges—coordinating last minute international travel, finding time away from work, and managing treatment around both our jobs and daily lives. Tovah (my wife who will carry and has been receiving treatment) will be turning 40 next year, and that’s also created this weight of a ticking clock towards the desire to become parents while we still have the opportunity. After the challenges of our first IVF cycle, the thought of starting again is hopeful but daunting. The first egg retrieval consisted of 31 eggs, 19 that matured into embryos and 5 blastocysts, however after genetic testing, all 5 showed abnormalities which couldn’t be used for transfer. I think there was such a sense of naivety initially felt, thinking that IVF would be a straightforward solution for us being two women, but the reality has been filled with unexpected hurdles. We never anticipated how many hurdles would come with building our family, and we’ve gotten to this place where all we can do is ask for help. Receiving any support slowly ease’s some of the financial pressure and allows us to focus less on the cost and logistics of IVF and more on what truly matters: supporting each other and growing our family. We are simply just asking for help. We are doing everything we can to make this dream possible (trust me, Tov would roll her eyes is she were writing this to share about how I’ve even shifted what I can through her supplements, the foods we are eating, our household products, etc. lol just to truly do all that we can), and this support would bring us one step closer to becoming the moms we have dreamed of being. How we'll use the funds: It would help pay for some peace of mind. Helping take some of the financial pressure off of us with having to go through this a second time - the expenses of our next IVF round - medications, travel, another PGTA test and the additional sperm we’ve had to purchase.