So today is the day. Or is it? I’m sat here waiting for the bus to work (cycling was a bit much after yesterday and the joys I have in store for me today). Anyway, here I am, worrying that I’ve got the day wrong, maybe they meant yesterday at 1.30pm. I checked my email and…
Single Motherhood
Solo Mum By Choice: Booking My Insemination Appointment
I (finally) got my positive ovulation test yesterday morning. I’d been expecting it today or tomorrow but it still came as a surprise. Or perhaps it was just the nerves disguised as surprise. I had to wait over two hours before the clinic was open to call them though. I felt pretty tense. I tried about ten…
Single Mum by Choice: Starting Fertility Treatment
For those of you who are up to date on my brilliant but bonkers baby plan you will know that I’ve passed the counselling test and secured my donor. After the counselling appointment I met with the doctor. It was a short meeting just to agree the treatment plan. I wanted to try this cycle…
Choosing A Sperm Donor – Solo Mum By Choice
There was a time when I was more interested in the person producing the sperm, than the junk he produced. Then life happened and now, as they say, that’s history. Since deciding to go down this path, undoubtedly the biggest decision I’ve had to make is choosing a sperm donor. Once I had decided I…
I Want To Be A Mum: Raising A Boy As A Solo Mum
“You be the baby, I be the mummy”, my son tells me for the seventeenth time today. It’s his favourite game. “You could be daddy”, I suggest. “No, I want to be mummy”. “Daddies look after babies too you know”, “no, mummies look after babies”. As a self-proclaimed feminist I feel I’m somewhat failing at…
Implications Counselling For Fertility Treatment
I woke up this morning with my heart in my mouth. I’m probably over thinking it (as usual) but today I’ll be seeing the counsellor. Today they will be saying yay or neigh to my decision to change my live irreversibly in one of the most excruciating, demanding and wonderful ways possible. Today I go for…
Another Reading of the Single Mum Research
You might have seen in the news recently that a study has just been released about the long term effects of growing up with a single parent (read mum). It’s the usual kind of gumpf – single parents are useless, blah, blah, blah. Only this one claimed to have long term data to prove it,…
Becoming A Single Mum By Choice: The Process
Today it started. The process – my process – of becoming a single mum by choice. I’ve no idea how long it will take but I know it’s started. I cycled to the clinic through rush hour in central London… not a good idea as it turns out. At one point a cab driver rolled down…
Moving House – Memories: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
I slump; slowly, into the sofa. It’s not the physical exhaustion of packing that’s getting to me. I can handle placing crap into a box. It’s the crap which is escaping that I’m struggling to deal with. They say moving home is stressful, but I hadn’t bargained for the emotions to come out faster than I could tape…
Single Mum By Choice: Choosing a Fertility Clinic
It’s an intimidating decision, choosing a fertility clinic, especially on your own. I’ve been researching various clinics for a few weeks. Last night I visited the first one on my short-list. No one knew I was going there. As I got nearer the excitement started to turn to nerves. As I walked inside I steeled myself…