Hello, Generous People! 😃

Thank you so much for your interest in Baby Schoeman - an amazing human waiting to be made by two nutty nerds in their 30's. I'm Jani (on the left), a small business owner/online ESL teacher and on the right is my husband & best friend, Bertus, a digital marketing manager. We've been together for 9 years and married for 3.

We've always known that we wanted to have kids. In my 20's I worked as an au pair and tutor for a number of years, and later on Bertus and I ran a childcare service together over weekends. Today, I'm still teaching kids English online. We absolutely love interacting with babies and kids.

Our Story

After getting married in 2017, we were super excited to start trying for a family. We had been waiting a long time to make sure we are stable enough in our careers to be able to provide properly for a new little human. Within the first 3 months, we were ecstatic to find out that we were expecting, but sadly, we lost the baby two months later. I was hospitalised shortly after the D&C due to complications of the pregnancy loss, which is where we think my problems may have started. After this heartbreaking experience, we were eager to get pregnant again as soon as possible, but struggled for over two years and trying many fertility treatments along the way. We spent any and all available funds on doctors and fertility procedures. After much heartbreak, frustration and sadness, there was a glimmer of hope earlier this year (2020) when we finally managed to conceive, but again we lost the pregnancy shortly after. It has been extra difficult dealing with this latest loss because of so many other pregnancy announcements and new babies among our family and friends the past few months, as well as the pandemic.

A few doctors have been trying to help us find an explanation for our fertility problems. Our newest doctor has been great and last year he diagnosed me with adenomyosis - a condition that is similar to endometriosis, but instead of the problem being in the lining of the uterus, it lies much deeper in the muscular layer. The cause of this condition is poorly understood, but it may have originated because of complications with the first miscarriage. We also have some sperm issues (low count and very low morphology), and following the latest test results our doctor advised that our only hope for conception and a healthy pregnancy at this point is IVF with ICSI - this is the type where they look for a healthy sperm in the lab, then inject it straight into the egg (which would solve the sperm problem - thank goodness!). With IVF, they have much more control over everything and could also intervene on my uterine problem by down-regulating certain hormones during the process.

After a very difficult 3-year journey, Bertus and I are really excited and eager to take this next step. The only only thing standing in our way is the very hefty quote from our fertility clinic. After spending all our savings on tests and unsuccessful procedures over the past 3 years, we are really going to need some help. We are going to sell my car to kickstart this fund, but we will need much more to be able to afford the treatment.

How You Can Help

Bertus and I would be eternally grateful if you are able to help us by donating any amount - big or small! Seriously, no amount is too small. You could also help by sharing this GoFundMe with your friends. According to GoFundMe, this REALLY helps a lot to keep the campaign alive.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. ❤️❤️

Also...

We understand that some of you would like to remain anonymous, but for those of you who would like to get in touch with us, we would love to chat to you and find out more about who you are as well. We are also happy to answer any questions would like to ask us. We are going to be posting updates on the journey here and on my Instagram: @yarniloops (Yes, I like to make things with yarn).

Hugs and thank-you's! ☺️

Jani & Bertus