12 Ways I Am Preparing For Our Frozen Embryo Transfer

I genuinely didn’t think this moment would come. Every time we’ve gotten close to a major milestone, it’s felt like something pushed us ten steps back instead.

In March, I went in for a saline ultrasound—one final check before transfer, especially being about a month out from surgery. This was supposed to be it. The last step. But if IVF has taught me anything, it’s this: stay hopeful, but don’t let your expectations get too far ahead of you.

The ultrasound came back abnormal. A possible polyp.Which meant another procedure. More healing. Another layer of grief I didn’t quite have space for. Another diagnosis added to the list—chronic endometritis, a polyp, and now navigating the reality that I’m not ovulating.

I’ve been on a high dose of antibiotics for a little over a week now and will be leading up to transfer, hoping to calm the inflammation and give my body the best chance possible.

I don’t have an exact transfer date yet. And honestly, that uncertainty feels familiar at this point.

But what I can control is how I’m showing up for myself right now—mentally and physically.

I've been laser focused on these 12 things...and here’s why! click to shop a few of my favorites

• Back on my prenatals, a non-negotiable at this point. I use Needed because I find they don't upset my stomach and are as clean as ingredients as I was searching for. My diet between type 1 diabetes and factor 2 can limit me on bad days so making sure I have all the nutrients me and baby need is important.

  
  

• Walking daily on my mini treadmill, even for 20 minutes and watching Gossip Girl reruns. The reruns is for my own enjoyment and it makes time move faster, but I have been told… multiple times by all my doctors walking every single day, purposefully is now considered medicine. I have a very high clot risk between all my diagnoses and again… type 1 diabetes can slow down circulation on top of that.

  
  

• Ice face baths, trying to reduce inflammation where I can. I’ve also read this is a good reset button on the nervous system. I have been sooo inconsistent with doing this after I tried it a year ago and no idea why. My skin looked fab.

  
  

• Taking care of my skin, hair, and nails— getting my routines down now will help me (because of who I am) continue to do so even when I may not be feeling too hot. No more Botox, so I’ve been really focused on face masks, massages, clean nails, and deep moisturizing my hair. It’s a lowkey way to feel my best.

  
  

• Being intentional about lowering stress. Literally the hardest thing of my entire life… I am a naturally high stressed girly but I am trying so hard to be as unbothered as possible. I have been leaning into my crosswords more, playing my cozy games, and journaling (or blogging) because they keep my brain occupied.

  
  

• Cutting out alcohol and limiting caffeine… trying to get into my tea era.

  
  

• Prioritizing sleep, which my sweet husband has been helping with. I try to get an extra 15-20 in the AMs no matter what time we go to bed because the past few months I’ve been so fatigued and brain fogged, I notice a slower morning helps my day get started a lot more calm. Both my husband and pup are up early AM guys, and they get breakfast ready so Incan get those extra zz’s.

  
  

• Adding in light stretching, weights, yoga poses. Another way to move my body and support what is about to happen. Being super careful not to aggravate my inflammation!

  
  

• Putting extra extra attention on my marriage and our quality time. IVF and being chronically ill takes away from intimacy in a lot of ways. Not in an alarming way, but I missed my husband. We’d only ever talk about medical things we lost a little bit of our fun side there for awhile. This is going to be the winding down of just the two of us for a while and I want to soak up every second, because this journey has been wild and we have so much to celebrate.

  
  

• Eating in a way that supports me, not restricts me. I’ve been loving trying new recipes, making things from scratch, and embracing warm foods. My goal is simple: eat simple. I have been taking lots of inspo from Chinese medicine and recipes to support the womb.

  
  

• Limiting what I consume online—protecting my peace and my privacy. Doom scrolling is something I want to eliminate because I know there are so many other great things I could be doing instead. Don’t get me wrong, I need a little IG reel action in my life…. But posting, consuming negative energy, and junk? Not for me.

  
  

• Letting myself feel disappointment, grief, fear without trying to rush past it. With my health and our family history I find myself grieving a lot harder than ever before. I used to try and push it down because I thought I was bringing in negative energy to what we were doing, but it’s also become part of the beauty of the journey. We’ve grown a lot and have had a lot of hard conversations. Feeling the negative has majorly impacted my mindset in a surprisingly positive way.

This season has NOT been easy. It’s been heavy, unpredictable, and at times, really discouraging.

But I’m still here. Still showing up. Still preparing—just in a quieter, more grounded way than I imagined.

Hoping the next time I share, it’s with a transfer date attached🤍

To Me Love Me,

Lauren

p.s. link to my mega list for self care essentials that I truly couldn't live a day without