I’m Dawne – a 36 year old Youth Worker, living and working in British Columbia with my husband Matt, our daughter Zoe (4) and our chihuahua Tank.
Matt and I were married in 2010 and immediately started trying for a baby. After struggling with infertility (caused by PCOS), 3 failed IUIs we finally conceived Zoe by IVF in 2014.
Zoe was born premature at 28 weeks and spent 4 months in our local NICU fighting for her life. During her stay my mental health struggled and I found reprieve from what was happening in the hospital room online through blogs, Facebook groups and online shopping.
Just before Zoe was discharged she was identified as hard of hearing. As a family we are learning American Sign Language and enjoy participating in Deaf community events.
I learned a lot from our stay in the hospital about parenting, self-care and not being afraid or embarrassed to ask for help when you are struggling emotionally.
Our journey to and through parenthood has not been easy, but easy isn’t fun is it?
