Hey! Did you know red hair only occurs in about 2% of the population?
And I’m not really helping the situation because I don’t have any baby making plans in the near future. Which got me thinking – I need to start a KickStarter to Save the Redheads!!!
But by “Kickstarter to save the redheads” I mean…
save this redhead’s …. eggs? Maybe.
Recently I got the idea to look into freezing my eggs. There were a couple of different things that happened to put this idea in my head. But I really knew nothing about this. The other night I randomly decided to research places that offer egg freezing or ‘fertility preservation’ in Orange County.
This is all just initial research. I am not saying that I’m doing this.
But I know it’s better to have all the information on my options before deciding whether or not to do something huge like this. So, I looked up what the process is, how much it costs, what are the odds of it ‘working’ and other questions I had.
I ended up filling out a form on one of the OC fertility specialists’ website and they called me the next day. Since I had not looked into this at all until very recently I had a ton of questions and just wanted to talk to someone about it. The nice lady on the phone suggested I come in for a consultation to talk with the nurse practioner and she’d go over everything with me.
I didn’t expect to actually to act on any of this for a while, but I couldn’t find the answers to all my questions online. And I couldn’t find a lot of blogs or personal stories of women who have frozen their eggs. And I really wanted to connect with people who have done this and read or hear their stories on the process and experience.
So, I went for an initial consultation. I got a TON of information and an exam to check out my follicles.
I snapped a pic in the bathroom of the fertility place. I was super overwhelmed at the time…
And I was so nervous I would have guessed my blood pressure would have been through the roof! It’s usually in the high 90s, so this is basically me having a panic attack 
Now I have more information on the process ( it’s complicated!), the cost (!!!) and vague ideas on odds of success/egg retrieval numbers etc.
It’s A LOT to think about.
Again, I have no idea if I’m going to pursue this but I wanted to share because it might take me 6 months to decide (or sell a kidney to be able to afford it). But I want to share because it’s a really big deal and it’s personal – but it’s also something we should be able to talk about. This isn’t embarrassing or weird – it’s just where my life is at the same time that science is in a place that can possibly be helpful.
I made a video just to let ya know where I am right now. I don’t know where I’m going, but this is where I am right now this second.
And all the questions and research and prayers and pros/cons… are part of the process. So this video isn’t bullet points of facts on how to freeze your eggs – this is me just talking it out.
As with most things on blogs/social media please remember: take what is helpful, leave what is not / double check the information you find is correct / do what’s best for YOU, not what’s best for someone else / realize that everyone is on their own life journey / something that’s a good or bad idea for someone else has nothing to do with you.
And even though I share a lot of myself – it doesn’t mean I’m obligated to share everything. So if I don’t feel comfortable talking about certain things, that’s okay and I appreciate your respect of my boundaries. Thank you for reading (and running and eating and repeating).
Nice.
my mom is a red head as are many of her siblings (in a family of 11 kids!) and some of my cousins…so it’s definitely in the fam. i LOVE RED HEADS! i’d totally contribute to that kick starter. and i’ve considered having children just for the sheer chance they’d be a ging. (ok thats a joke 😉
also, super interested, very cool post!
Thanks for posting this! I’m in the process of getting a divorce and this is something I’ve explored a bit too. Did a little internet research and talked to my OBGYN and decided to wait…if I don’t have any realistic baby-making plans when I’m 35 (I’m 32) I’ll reassess. Like you said, it’s a lot of money! And that’s without the cost of the in vitro to fertilize and implant the eggs! Plus I’m not 100% sure I want kids “no matter what”…though that’s hard too because you don’t want to look back and regret that decision because now you want them but can’t get pregnant. SO, thanks for posting your thoughts! Please let us know what else you learn/decide. xo
I’m a red head! I’m actually a left handed red head which makes me super rare 😉 I have three children, but none with red hair. It tends to skip a generation in my family so we’ll see what happens!
I am married to a red head. All 3 of his siblings have red hair too. All 3 of our boys have blonde hair (like me). I was kind of hoping for a red headed little girl. Of my 8 nieces and nephews, only 2 have red hair.
Interesting! I’m always curious if other redheads have lil reddys.
I think it is a wonderful option for many women to freeze their eggs.
I am a natural redhead and my daughter is a redhead but my son came out as a blonde. I tell my husband ALL THE TIME that only 2% of the populations are really redheaded so I am like a magical unicorn.
I’m a red head, and my brother (brown hair) married a red head…but no one has kids with red hair. My sons hair looks dark red/auburn in the sun but he’s only 6 months old so time will tell.
I think it is great that you are talking about this. Please share your journey in persuing it, whatever decision you make.
And I would contribute to that kickstarter fund!!! I love love love redheads (or “gingers” as my friends and I affectionately say). I wanted my daughter to be a redhead so bad (there was a slight chance since my granddad on my mom’s side had red hair), but alas she came out the spitting image of my husband. Jerk. 😉
I have no experience with egg freezing, however I am a 6x egg donor with 6 babies born due to my donations (so far). This is something that not a lot of people talk about, so thank you for sharing!
That is really awesome. It’s really special to give that to others. Thank you for sharing 🙂
My husband had bright red hair when he was younger, but it has faded to a reddish brown now that we are older. My oldest daughter was born with a thick head of read hair as well, but went completely bald at about 3 months and then grew a tick head of blonde hair, which is super odd since we don’t have any blondes in our family. I guess you just never know what you will end up when in the ol’ genetic lottery!
EXCELLENT POST!! definitely something no one is talking about on the interweb. thanks for always letting us in your world so we can learn. i gotta get back on the wagon and start talking about how i’m going through the phase in life where you realize your parents really did f everything up and how you have to go fix it all now. le sigh. xox
I actually know quite a few redheads! For starters my dad and aunts on his side are all redheads! However I am also half Korean, so it did not extend to myself or my siblings and one of my aunts adopted 2 kids and another aunt married someone with very dark hair so her 2 kids also aren’t red headed. So I think the red head gene might’ve ended in the family. But I also have several friends that are red headed and one even married another red head, so they’ll keep those genes going for the next generation! Also a friend of mine just gave birth to a red headed boy even though neither her or her husband are red heads!
A good friend of mine, her sister works at a highly ranked fertility center in Chicago and she keeps telling my friend that she should freeze her eggs early! She had her 2 sons later in life and needed fertility treatment help bc she was older, so she highly encourages freezing your eggs! But yes… $$$
Actually, my best male friend is a redhead. His brother is also a redhead. I also graduated with a friend who’s redhead. So that makes it three people that I know, that are real redheads.
I’m a redhead as well as my best friend who I have known since second grade. We are both 39 now. I also just had a baby and it looks as though she is taking after momma with the redhair and curls! And btw I love your blogs and instagram page! And more power to you looking into your options and what’s best for you at the time!
My son is a red head. We joke that our family (mine and husbands) will keep the redheads going. About half on both sides are red’s.
My niece is a redhead!
And I am a sometimes unnatural redhead via clairol 😉
My daughter is a redhead! We were shocked when we first saw her. I have really dark brown hair, almost black and my husband has dirty blonde color!
Loving this Kickstarter idea. I’m a redhead too…gotta keep it going!
How many do I know? There’s me, my dad, sister, brother, grandfather, a few uncles, a couple of cousins….we’re basically the Weasleys.
haha! I love the Weasley drop-in!
So inspiring – thank you for sharing!
http://www.kolorshealthcare.com/
Love how you share your life on here. You are awesome and God will help you make the right choice.
PS your arms are goals
Thanks for sharing, very interesting post! I decided a long time ago that I didn’t want kids, and it’s also something I kind of want to go out and explain sometimes. 🙂 PS, your arms look awesome.
Such an interesting post!
I know quite a few redheads (living in the UK and having an Irish family helps!)
It’d be very sad to lose the colour, it’s so beautiful!
Coffee & Avocados
BEST decision I ever made. I highly recommend doing this. I went through the whole process if you’d ever like to chat. It an empowering decision. You do you:)
Funnily enough, I don’t think I know many redheads at all. I mean, I know OF a few in real life, but I’m not personally friends with them!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I definitely would consider freezing eggs! Why not.
I was LOLing at your blood pressure because I am the SAME way- I’ll feel totally stressed out and nervous and think omg I am going to have the highest blood pressure right now…and then it’s always about the same as it usually is. Funny how our bodies work! Anyway, I just wanted to say I think this is great! I don’t know anyone who has done this and I don’t think it would have ever even crossed my mind if I didn’t already have kids, so I think it’s super smart for you to look into it. Regardless of what you decide, it’s so good to go through the process of learning more about it so you can make an informed decision on what’s best for you. Good luck on your process to finding some clarity on this!