Mom Documents Entire IVF Journey With Humor And Honesty In Amazing Photos

These photos offer an inside look at the emotionally exhausting journey of IVF

The road to in vitro fertilization is usually a long, emotionally fraught one. According to mom Tiffany Rex, IVF is typically considered a “last resort” to pregnancy via fertility treatment. A treatment Rex is intimately familiar with, as she recently shared her entire IVF journey in a Facebook photo album.

Currently pregnant and expecting her first baby, Avery, next month, Rex says in her Facebook post that her impending arrival inspired her to share the journey.

“So many people have confided their journeys to me after our announcement, and I wanted to share more detail on the long road we faced to help give hope and strength to others. I added detailed captions on the photos for those interested in the process,” Rex writes.

Her husband baked her an “I’m Sorry I Have To Poke You” cake, as one does, to kick off their IVF process.

“..and this was only the ones that weren’t in the fridge. Wrapping our heads around how to work them all and when to inject was so overwhelming.” The photo shows just some of the medications she needed for treatment.

And of course, the painful site of injection. Repeated injections, that is.

“We were extremely nervous beginning IVF because if this failed, there was no other option to have our own biological children,” Rex tells Scary Mommy. “Although you know in your head that everything else you tried had a much smaller chance of success, you only know disappointment up until this point, and you just expect more disappointment.”

Rex’s photos are honest, open, and, at times, humorous (see above “poke” cake). Because you have to have something to fall back on when you’re scared and frustrated.

“That is the needle!”

“Very excited to hear we actually had 17 follicules (which ended up being 13 eggs)!”

While they handled their experience with grace, it wasn’t always easy for Rex and her husband Mark. “We were excited to begin the process with the most chance of success, but cautious to get our hopes up,” she says. “It was the most anxious and terrified that I had ever been in my life. I could not even let myself imagine hearing the news that IVF had failed.”

Luckily for them, it did not fail.

“The embryo incubator. Mark got to see Avery with his own eyes for the first time in there!”

“6 days later. I needed to be really sure!!!!”

They found out Rex was pregnant with baby Avery, and the joy they felt is palpable through their photos. “I cannot say enough how grateful I am that I found my doctor and nurses,” Rex says.

“Last progesterone injection! Bye Bye needles!”

As for offering advice to anyone who thinks their fertility may need to be tested, Rex urges people to not wait and waste time. “Most doctors will try and wait until you have been trying a year until they begin testing. I, personally, thought this was silly and insisted on testing earlier,” she says.

Personally, I agree as I requested the exact same thing. I was quickly diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and began treatment within two weeks of my diagnosis. I was very lucky to find myself pregnant not long after.

Rex ended her Facebook post with a note of thanks. “I am so grateful to be where we are today, and pray every day for those still on their journey,” she writes. “It is not easy, but it is is doable.”