Today, Ali is talking to her good friend and the very FIRST Fertility Rally member, Maiclaire Smith, about the long and winding road she took to get to her baby son, Isaac. "Having Isaac doesn’t erase what we went through," she says. "The pain, the loss, the sacrifices that went along with three years of hell to get us our miracle baby. This is just a small part of what infertility looked like for us. This is $152,000 of medical intervention not covered by insurance to get us our precious boy. It’s been two years since I wrote my book, which just scratches the surface of our journey." In addition to all this, Maclaire talks about her diminished ovarian reserve, her multiple miscarriages, her 2 IUIs, her 2IVF cycle that yielded nothing, financial difficulties, literally putting all of her "eggs in one basket," doctors who didn't pay attention, switching clinics, facing what felt like discrimination as a bi-racial couple, and what it was like to go through IVF in her 40s. She also talks about how Isaac was a Day 7 embryo, and how rare it is for doctors to transfer Day 7 embryos these days. "So many clinics would have thrown him in the garbage, they never would've even let him have a chance to grow, and he is the most perfect child on the planet," she says. Check out her book, "Prequel to Parenthood."TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; IUIs; IVF; DOR; failed cycles; anxiety; Day 7 embryos; switching clinics; financial difficulties; the anxiety of pregnancy after infertility. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer support groups, private Facebook groups, curated events, and an entire of more than 300 women available to support you, no matter where you are in your journey. Doors open the 1st of every month. See more on our IG @fertilityrallyBELI @beli.babyBeli is formulated with the right nutrients to help boost your fertility, increase egg quality and support IVF to increase your chances of conception and a healthy pregnancy. To get started with Beli, go to belibaby.com and use code ALI15 for 15% off your first month of either Beli Women or Beli Men.Support this podcast at:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/infertileafhttps://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacySupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af-infertility-and-modern-family-building-through-art/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy