Wednesday, January 15, 2020

The Awkward Infertile




Hello, Bitchy Readers! 

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Casey, aka The Awkward Infertile, as our first guest blogger. Read her wonderful post below! 






Sometimes the choice to be childfree isn’t a direct path. I know most of the readers in the Bitchy Bookkeeper community have never had the desire to have kids and I commend you for knowing that. I’m here for a slightly different demographic today. Those that thought they wanted kids but ended up without (and those sitting on the fence might appreciate this too). Often we refer to ourselves as “childfree not by choice.”

That’s the category I fit in. My husband and I went through a ton of failed fertility treatments and after 3+ years, 4 losses, and an obscene amount of money we decided to move on in life childfree not by choice. It’s been just shy of 2 years since we made that decision and I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.

First, I want to take a second and talk about the “childfree not by choice” label. 


You see this term a lot in the infertility communities as a way to acknowledge we can’t have kids. I recently started an Instagram community called The Awkward Infertile. In one of my posts I mentioned, I’m childfree not by choice and immediately got a commenter saying that’s not a thing, I’m just childless. Which is also true, I am childless just like ya’ll. We use this term to show that it’s ok to end treatments without a kid. That maybe we didn’t choose to be childfree, but we’re ok with it. 

Childless implies loss and sadness. 

Childfree implies freedom and fun. 

Childfree not be choice implies I didn’t outright pick this but I’m gonna love life despite it.

I found Bitchy Bookkeeper on Instagram when we were getting near the end of our treatment options and I was rapidly facing a life without kids. I found humor and reassurance that life would be just fine without kids. I know I’m not the only infertile that follows her either.

As I followed her and others in the childfree community something clicked for me:


Having kids vs not having kids isn’t an equation of a better vs worse life. They are just two completely different paths.








Once that really settled into my brain I became so much more at ease, and dare I say, excited about not having kids. Sure, I still grieve my miscarriages and wonder about the life we’d planned. But now we have 2 amazing dogs, I run 2 businesses I love, and we’re looking at doing a cross-country move simply because we can.

There are different freedoms and life options that come from not deciding things with tiny humans to consider.

The house we currently live in was picked thinking we’d have 3 kids and we wanted to raise them in this town. I doubt we would have bought this house if we knew we were never having kids. The freedom for me to build my businesses, nap and play with my dogs as I work from home, and for us to pick a new city to move to all would not be possible if infertility treatments had worked for us.


The grand point I’m trying to make is life will be ok no matter the outcome. If you’re still on the fence about having kids, or if you’re neck-deep in infertility treatments looking for hope when treatment options run out, I’m here to tell you: life without kids is good. 


As I have learned to embrace our childfree life, I realize there are not a lot of resources for those in the infertility world that either doesn’t end up with a baby or that mostly focused on the grief.

I want to create a space and voice for those women who made the choice to be childfree after having had other plans. I want to create a space where we can also celebrate and enjoy the perks of a childfree life. That’s my hope and plans for The Awkward Infertile

I know myself and my community don’t straight up fit in around here, but I’m so thankful to LeNora for letting me write this post. Sometimes the choice to be childfree isn’t a clear-cut decision we’ve known our whole lives, and that’s ok. Even if it took you a while to find yourself here it’s still gonna be a great life. 

 If you’ve struggled with infertility, are now childfree not by choice, or nearing the end of treatment options, please follow me over at instagram.com/theawkwardinfertile. I’m just a DM away.

Cheers to being childfree.

Casey
aka The Awkward Infertile


The Bitchy Bookkeeper Journal Vol 1 - available on Amazon now!
Thank you, Casey, for sharing your story. I'm humbled that you found some inspiration from The Bitchy Bookkeeper during a challenging time. 

Let's keep the conversation going, Bitchy Readers. Share this post on social and connect with The Awkward Infertile.

Chat soon, 

LeNora Faye
The Bitchy Bookkeeper
Co-host of Childfree Girls
Author of Childfree Journals

Guest childfree blog posts are always welcome.

Contact us at:  info at lenorafaye dot com









Monday, January 13, 2020

Seeking Childfree Voices




HAPPY 2020, Bitchy Readers! 


I feel a deep sense of relief. 2019 was the most emotionally challenging year I've had in a long time. By comparison, 2020 already feels like the best party ever. Ha! 

I've received a lot of emails from mommy bloggers who obviously have no idea what this blog is about. They keep pitching me ideas like "how to survive the holidays with young children without going batshit crazy!"

One mom pitched me ideas on what to do when you have two or three hours away from your kids. (This is what being childfree means to parents.)

I now have a ready-made email that I send in response to such requests:


 " Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately, your content is not relevant to my readers as they have chosen NOT to have children."

Each mom responds: "Thank you for letting me know."

I suppose they see the word "child" in "childfree" and assume my blog is about motherhood???

Anyhow, all of this got me to thinking about opening up my platform to others who wish to speak about their childfree experience. Not everyone wants to have their own blog and writing can feel intimidating. 




The Bitchy Bookkeeper Journal Vol 2 available on Amazon! 

It only feels right, as I build The Bitchy Bookkeeper into a recognized childfree brand, that I give space to other voices.

I also extend the invitation to anyone who has wanted children but cannot have them or has changed their mind about wanting them. Uplifting stories of how you are designing your life without children.

Perhaps you are a parent who felt pressured into having kids.

Posts can be anonymous or not. No need to be a professional writer.  The intent is to open the doors of expression. 

Contrary to the name, the Bitchy Bookkeeper isn't a mean brand. The point is to be entertaining and bring positive awareness to the childfree community. 

If you are happily childfree, on the fence, an antinatalist with heart, or turning tragedy into triumph, your submissions are welcome. 

I'm not looking for hate speech against children or parents. 

I mean yes, I detest the sound of crying babies. I rarely believe the fluffy, smiling social media posts of picture-perfect families. But, there are plenty of places on the internet for you to complain about that. This blog isn't one of them. 

The end game: content that demonstrates living a satisfying life without birthing/raising children. 


Submissions can be emailed to 

info at lenorafaye dot com   

Up next, the first guest post! 

Chat soon, 


LeNora Faye
The Bitchy Bookkeeper
Co-host of Childfree Girls
Author of Childfree Journals