Every Christmas I try and think of all the things I’m thankful for, and at New Years I try and think of all the things I look forward to. They’re not something I have made myself do over the years, they’re just something I find myself thinking about or doing when S is finally home for Christmas and the festivities truly begin. Other years, it’s usually been around 3pm when I’m crammed full with Turkey, had a few glasses of Vino, and I’m cuddled on the sofa with S watching Home Alone/White Christmas/Hook/All of the above.

Over the past few years however, although I am always eternally thankful for all the things we have; a beautiful home, an amazing family, wonderful friends, and, of course, each other, it was always difficult to think of new things to be thankful for over the year as the only thing we had wanted and worked hard for throughout that year was a baby. Sure, we still enjoyed Christmas but there was always something missing.

This year, however, it’s all change. Beansprout isn’t even here yet and they’ve sure as hell already made a difference to the Christmas festivities! Not that I’m complaining, but this year I will be without the following:-

But as much as I jest about what I’m missing out on, I really couldn’t care less. I’d give up all the Smoked Salmon in the world (and I frickin’ LOVE Smoked Salmon) if it meant gaining a Beansprout. Likewise, all my Smoked Salmon in the world is not enough to say thank you to those that have been there throughout our journey – some even making this journey possible! So without further ado; trying not to sound like an Oscar’s speech, I have made a very small but thorough list of all the things I am thankful for:-

Our Donor
Quite a big one here – without them we literally wouldn’t be where we are right now. We’ve had our fair share of rubbish Donors and seen several who we’ve been thankful for NOT getting involved with. Over time we thought we’d never reach our goal, we thought “The Perfect Donor” didn’t exist, but then this one came along! They’ve been with us through ever necessary step, making the journey a whole lot easier and certainly a lot less stressful – again, something we didn’t think was possible. We are so very lucky to have found them. We probably won’t ever be able to repay him the gift that he’s given us.

Our Kinesiologist
Some say that they were just doing their job, but for us they opened up doors we didn’t even know were locked and bolted shut! We went in blind when we went to see Kate, we really had no idea what a good Kinesiologist was and what a bad one was – we didn’t even know whether I was fixable! On top of this, I cannot emphasise enough how little we could afford if TTC didn’t work for me – it probably would have been the end of the road – IUI/IVF was not an option financially so getting in touch with Kate was our last hope – and are we glad we did! She really did fix me and 3 tries later we have a Beansprout. For this we are thankful for the recommendation given to us, and of course to Kate.

Our TTC Community
Our TTC journey really wouldn’t have been the same if we didn’t have this wonderful community around us, and we are so very very thankful for being welcomed into it with open arms. It really does give you hope knowing that you’re not alone in this harsh journey.  To those that have given us advice, who have given us virtual hugs when we were at our lowest, and to those who have just listened – Thank you.

If you’re just starting out in the TTC journey, I urge you to communicate with others in the same boat – whether it’s via a forum, a blog, or even via Twitter/Facebook. The community is not only a wealth of knowledge and experience, it’s a shoulder to cry on if it doesn’t work the first, second, or even fifth time – these guys will understand wholeheartedly when others may not.

So there we have it. Only three things, I know, but to us these three MASSIVE things are what we are thankful for this year.

K