Hi. My name is Jen. I wanted to share my story about my journey to motherhood in the hope that it might help others out there who may also have difficulty having a baby. I was 40 when I got the devastating news that I was in premature ovarian failure – early menopause – and that my only option if I wanted to carry my own child was egg donation. The news was unquestionably shattering as I had been trying for a baby for over a year but I found a lot of the networks and forums I read were (understandably) full of despair when I needed hope and wanted to read positive stories. So, I decided to document my journey as a record for me, but also to try and help others who may be in the same situation. I can’t promise that every post will be 100% positive, and there is a fair amount of despair in there along the way but I can say whole-heartedly that overall this experience has been massively positive and I wouldn’t change it for the world now we have our beautiful little girl (EDIT: and a second baby on the way!). I don’t profess to have all (any) of the answers and I know people will have different views on how to have children. These are just my thoughts as I’ve gone through my own process. I know not everyone will have a positive outcome and it can be an extremely difficult and heart-breaking time but it’s worth all the heartache along the way if you’re lucky like we were. It also made me realise that families come in all shapes and sizes nowadays and (hopefully) there is always a way.