Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Batty.
Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband and I were married on May 31, 2014. We decided to take the plunge and start trying to start our family in January 2017. I had struggled with my hormones since I was a teenager and knew it wasn’t going to be quick, but I didn’t realize just how long we’d be waiting.
I was diagnosed with Polycystic-Ovarian Syndrome later that year. We tried for several years, and after several rounds of various fertility medications, injections, and treatments, we decided to put a pause for just a time to take care of my mental health. During that break we took a leap of faith and moved from my husband’s small-town home in the Uintah Basin to Salt Lake City, into the neighborhood I grew up in. We did this so my husband could go to school and we could maybe one day afford to adopt or pursue other medical interventions to help with trying to bring our baby home. We moved in November of 2021, he started school and got an apprenticeship, and I started working a full-time job.
On June 6, 2022, I became ill and thought I had Covid after a recent exposure at work. I took a test and it was negative, so I decided to take a pregnancy test on a whim the next day. I didn’t think there was any chance it would be positive. I was so sure it wouldn’t be, that my husband had left for work 5 minutes before I took it and I didn’t even mention that I was going to. I took a very cheap strip test and left it to keep getting ready for work. I came back a few minutes later to throw it away when to my surprise I saw two little lines. That was the moment everything changed. We found out we were expecting a baby girl.
We have known she was waiting for us, we’d had her name picked out for almost three years. Our sweet Bryce FINALLY joined us in February 2023 during the middle of the massive blizzard that put down two feet of snow. As soon as my baby was placed on my chest, I let out a deep breath I had not known I was holding for so long. All those years of crying and praying and wishing were worth it. I would go through those five and half years all over again, just to have her here with us.
I started documenting our fertility struggles and my health journey on Instagram in October 2017. I am so grateful for the amazing community that has surrounded me through all those years and hardships. This community has allowed me to have a voice and to connect with so many strong and inspiring people who are also going through similar situations. It is a bittersweet feeling to see you are not alone, but also see others who are fighting too.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has been bumpy! From health struggles to Covid shutting the world down, including a lot of elective medical procedures. That put the breaks on a lot of things in the fertility world.
My husband also was let go from his job in January 2020 when he found out he required back surgery. I had to work two jobs to afford our needs because my job at the time was in education and Covid also sent me home.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am proud to be a voice for those that are also struggling.
I also keep things very real, I have been honest about my struggle with my mental health, particularly postpartum anxiety and depression. I think that it’s important people see that it’s okay not always be okay, and there is always tomorrow to try again.
How do you define success?
My definition of success when it comes to my platform is when someone contacts me saying thank you because they are going through the same thing and they feel less alone.
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