Meet Mel Anderson, SMBC

I did everything I was supposed to do. And yet, when I was finally ready to start a family, I found myself single and 35 years old. How had this happened? I'd been a serial monogamist since I was 15, with plenty of serious relationships under my belt. But, none of them stuck. 

After a few tough years of soul searching and hiking every mountain in Southern California, I realized something: I thrive when I'm single! And I became even more grounded in my desire to become a mom. 

So I started fertility treatment when I was 38, and it wasn't easy. I had less than favorable AMH levels and was diagnosed with low ovarian reserve (LOR). In total, I did 3 egg retrievals. While preparing for my first frozen embryo transfer (FET), I was diagnosed with adenomyosis, which meant canceling the transfer and going into a 3-month-long estrogen suppression (read: menopause!). Luckily, those months of hot flashes allowed me space to breathe and an opportunity to re-center myself (with many hours on my yoga mat!) and my next scheduled FET was a success.  

I was pregnant at age 40! And that's when the really hard part started. During my first trimester, I wound up in the ER after four days of intense nausea that rendered me unable to eat, drink, or get out of bed. The rest of my pregnancy wasn't any easier. I was diagnosed with hyperemesis. I spent days on my bathroom floor vomiting for hours and was house-bound for months. I couldn't perform basic human functions like taking out the trash or brushing my teeth. Not surprisingly, I also suffered from prenatal depression. I completely lost myself.