Happy Wednesday, friends. I have such a fun post today, and am excited to share with you.

Two years ago, I interviewed the amazing Jamie Blicher on her art, and finding her why in the midst of her struggles with infertility. She is incredibly inspiring, and you can read the original post here.

Today, I am circling back up with Jamie to catch up with her sweet family, how she continues to be a voice within the infertility community, and about her newly launched website!!!

I think a lot of times women can let infertility and miscarriage define who they are. We tend to slap a smile on our faces, hide our struggles, and soldier on. I may never know the why behind my journey, but I had to create one. That is why I created this blog. My goal of this blog was to somehow make beauty come from ashes. To use my story to help others and allow infertility and loss not to be a taboo subject.

So, today, I am SO VERY HONORED to get to chat with Jamie again! Jamie struggled with infertility and loss, and she has used her heartbreak to create beauty. To give a voice to those quietly suffering, and to share their stories in times of trial. I would love to share her journey with you. I hope that she is just as inspiring to you as she is to me.

Jamie met her husband while living in New York City, and they got married in May of 2014. They moved home to Maryland to be near their families and friends, and started trying to have their own children. After trying to get pregnant naturally for a year, they started at Shady Grove Fertility Center in Rockville, Maryland. What followed were failed infertility attempts, miscarriages, and loss. Through this struggle, Jamie found a way to survive. And, not only survive, but to create something beautiful. 

LB: As a reminder, tell me a little a bit about your infertility journey. Whatever you feel comfortable with.
JKB: Family has always been so important to Brian and me, and we really wanted to grow our family. When we started at Shady Grove Fertility Center, we started with IUI. Unfortunately, we had three failed IUIs, and moved onto IVF. We had our first retrieval in January of 2017 and got five embryos. The first transfer worked, but we miscarried twin boys at 8 weeks. It was heartbreaking. The short version: during 2017, I miscarried twin boys, had a failed implantation, miscarried another baby, had a second retrieval, and had a hysteroscopy to remove endometrial polyps. Basically, 2017 was rough! BUT, now we have two beautiful twin boys. 

LB: Isn’t it crazy to see how far you have come in the two years since we spoke?!
JKB: YES! My little guys are growing, thriving, and so much fun!

LB: Remind me how you started painting.
JKB: I have always been a creative person, and I have always loved to paint. In February 2017, I was going through a rough time emotionally. I decided to paint as a way to distract myself, and went looking for my paintbrushes. I randomly found some unused IVF needles in the toolbox where I kept my brushes, and thought I would try something different. I put ink and alcohol in one of the needles and just tried it on canvas. I loved how it looked, and I thought how amazing it was that this was the tool I was using that was making me so happy. An IVF needle? And then also gauze pads! Painting was an escape for me. It made me feel important during a very hard time, and it was therapeutic for me.

LB: How have you become a voice for the infertility community?
JKB: I have posted about our two year journey of infertility and miscarriages on Facebook. I also talked about how I have used art to heal myself and others. There are so many other women that have experienced infertility, and I realized how common this was. I started wondering why we all aren’t talking about it more. I am now a fertility mentor in a few different groups, and am able to walk with 3 – 4 women on their road and give them advice and love along the way. It has just been amazing what a community this is. It’s like a sisterhood. I have also gotten very involved with the embryo adoption community, and working to make that a more normalized option for couples struggling with infertility. This has all been so rewarding.

LB: Besides your art, how did you mentally and emotionally survive this journey?
JKB: Meditation. Therapy. Infertility can ruin you if you let it define you. I just knew that somehow I was going to be a mom, and I was not walking away from this dream. I did a ton of positive self talk. I knew that at some point, I would be on the other side of my journey and be a mom. It was very hopeful for me. 

LB: Congrats on the new website! What is your goal with your art?
JKB: I just want to be real. I feel like Facebook and Instagram are just a person’s snapshot on a good day. But, I feel like more and more people are being real and I want to be like that. Our story is not over yet, and I hope that I can be a role model for other women that are dealing with infertility.

You can follow Jamie on her Glitter Enthusiast Instagram page. And, please go check out her newly launched website! Thanks again to Jamie for being so open during this interview! She has such a gift!

XO