How soon did you try for baby #2 after IVF

[OhPeanuts]

Hi everyone, after many years of infertility we finally had a baby with IVF. It has been a year now since baby was born and I am wondering if I should go through it all again for a second child. Does anyone know how soon after a birth (c section) a clinic will let me have another embryo transfer? I want to wait a bit longer so it’ll be over 18 months which I think should be ok? I know I can just ask my clinic but I’m only just starting to think about it so I’m not ready to approach them yet because it becomes too real

for anyone still trying for your first - hugs and best wishes. I know how hard it is to see things like this asking about a second or subsequent when you’re still trying for #1

Hi @OhPeanuts

First of all congratulations on your baby. I am in a similar situation (having had a baby after infertility and ivf, who has just turned 2). We also decided to try again via ivf to conceive a sibling.

We waited 18 months and I have to say the clinic made no remark at all about the time frame - I have friends who started ivf again a year after giving birth and no advice was given against that, but that might have been driven by age and the fact that I and them do not have age on our side!

After waiting for 18 months we had a few false starts where I wasn’t able to get going due to cysts on my ovaries - they took months and months to shift so I only did my first (post baby) ivf round last month just before my little one turned 2. Currently in the TWW with our only day 5 embryo.

i had naively thought it would be so much easier second time round because - as you say - when you’re trying for your first it is so incredibly difficult and you think of people with a baby already as so lucky. But I have to say I have still found it tough. I won’t be as disappointed if we don’t conceive as I was before my first pregnancy - I have a wonderful little one who I never thought I would have - but the ache never leaves. As soon as you start imagining your family growing (and as all your friends with babies start growing their families) the loss becomes very real.

Wishing you all the best for the future xxx

hi @OhPeanuts I have a 5 month old after 6 rounds of IVF and over 5 years TTC. I am 36. We are planning to start prep for a FET when baby is 6 months old. Plan is to stop breastfeeding then and hope periods return and then have a number of natural cycles. Go back on fertility diet and supplements etc in case we end up having to do another egg collection and for me lose the pregnancy and ivf weight. Then planning to do a mock FET cycle to check if my lining is ok and to do a biopsy for ERA/EMMA/ALICE and also get a hysteroscopy to check if there’s any damage or scar tissue from the c-section. Then all going well do an embryo transfer in September when baby is 14 months.

I am dreading it to be honest. Don’t want to disappear down the rabbit hole again - even though it’s very different having a child I know people who have had a very long and sad road hoping for a second. I would be happy to just leave it at one but I think I owe it to the baby to try for a sibling and also that I may change my mind when baby is older and it could be too late especially if more egg collections are needed so need to suck it up.

I've not personally been in this position, but if I was I would probably start as soon as feasible. Guesstimate: 6 months.

@Blacksheep33 Thank you for your help, how is your TWW going? Of course only share if you feel like it! I hope you’re doing well and on the way to a positive 🤞.

you make a good point in that even though we have frozen embryos I could have some new issues popping up like your cysts to delay us or the embryos may not be viable anyway. I’m not sure how I feel about a fresh round but I suppose the longer I wait the older I’ll be for another round which is always a difficulty. I did say never again but I suppose it depends on how desperate I feel for another child…

absolutely, most of our friends and family are onto second kids by now so that feeling of always been left behind is still there. Less so than primary infertility but it is still hard hearing all of my new mum friends planning baby 2 with such ease and knowing they can just have a baby any time they like and I know my journey won’t be anything like that again.

Hi @WillandLyra thank you for replying! We are a similar age then. It’s great to hear you’re being allowed to try again after just over a year and that you had a c section too. I hope that’ll be the same for me then. I also have a hysteroscopy booked so I’m hoping they can clear out anything that’s not meant to be there and then I will know the state of it too. I hope yours goes well.

emotionally I feel the same as you. I don’t want to regret not trying to give my child a sibling later. Even if it doesn’t work I can say I tried my best. It is so hard opening up to this process again. Even being active on here is giving me that anxious feeling!

Thank you, you’re probably right to try sooner rather than later

@OhPeanuts it is such a difficult decision when to get on the ivf treadmill again (and whether to even do it at all) because there’s so much to consider.

I have just turned 37 and wanted to start a fresh cycle in the summer (when I was 36) in the knowledge that I definitely needed a fresh cycle and age wasn’t on my side, along with diminished ovarian reserve. We didn’t make a decision in advance about when we would stop - we decided to do one fresh round and then from there take a view as to whether we should try again but also knowing that we are unlikely to keep going beyond me turning 38 (not saying that is any sort of cut off, just in our minds we felt that we didn’t want to put a limit on number of rounds/transfers but at some point we will have to close the door).

I know exactly what you mean about people planning baby number 2 - it’s a luxury my husband and I can’t even begin to imagine. It feels so alien to me to be able to choose a time and not just be completely in the hands of luck.

i woke up at 2am this morning and was sick after a couple of days of horrible nausea. I’m only 6dp5dt so thought it was too early but I tested and got a (very) positive test. Obviously so grateful but now comes the next stage of anxiously analysing every symptom worried that I’m about to lose the pregnancy 😢

A tentative congratulations 😊. I had that early nausea with my pregnancy as well. It’s tough but I hope it’s a good sign that your hcg is rising and things are heading in the right direction!

I agree with you in having a personal age limit. I don’t think my body can handle pregnancy for much longer. It was hard enough in my early thirties so if we were lucky enough to get a second go I think it’ll be even more tough. Plus with a child to look after now too so I couldn’t just spend all day in bed with sickness again.

so much to consider!

keep me up to date on your pregnancy and congratulations again!

Hello 👋 so hard isn’t it. I’m currently waiting for OTD from an ET last week which would be a sibling to DS 18 months if it works.
We had years of infertility- discovered I had endo; one tube blocked, then had to have another surgery to sort before any transfer could take place. 4 rounds of treatment that didn’t work - only one ET in that time that didn’t take - then had to move to a donor egg….then FET - so really feel like we went though it to get DS here. I was very fearful of getting back on the “treatment treadmill” but we only had one embryo left and so decided we’d give it a go now and see what fate decides. I’m 44 so we won’t be doing anything else in the future other than this. Probably main reason for doing so was to not have any regrets in the future about not trying, esp given my age - and to know we had done all we could.
I’m 7dp5dt and this wait is still as bad as the others!! Though does make the whole situation a bit easier with having DS.
good luck with whatever you decide to do - there are no easy options with any of this!

I did a transfer 9 months after a c section, it didn't work and in the end it was another 6 months and a couple of collections before another pregnancy did stick. But my clinic checked my scar had healed well and was happy to go ahead after 9

Hi @TheGlitterFairy thank you for your reply.

You've certainly been through an awful lot! I know what you mean about not wanting any regrets so just trying to throw everything back into it one more time just in case it takes again. How are you feeling? I hope you got the result you were hoping for 🤞

Thanks @Hanna86 that’s so helpful to learn your clinic checked your scar and we’re happy to go ahead. Another thing for me to consider as well is further cycles if the FETs don’t work as you say. It’s an awful lot to juggle as I cant prioritise myself with a young child and work to think about if we try it again !