Abby Elliott Kennedy

Follow Abby on Instagram @lilcutieforever

Five sentences about me…

I live in Los Angeles, CA. I wear a lot of different hats— wife, mother, actress, dog mom, sister, fertility warrior, daughter, friend.

Five sentences about what I've endured in the fertility realm...

We tried for 2 years — A year of non-sexy, “I’m ovulating right now, I have to tilt my pelvis and keep my legs in the air after sex” before we saw a reproductive endocrinologist. It turned out I had a uterine fibroid and polyps, so I had a hysteroscopy. My husband’s sperm also had “two heads and swam in circles” (his words). So IVF/ICSI was our only option. We did one retrieval and we were lucky to get embryos, then life got hectic and the timing was off, so we ended up transferring a year later.

One thing I wish I knew going into my fertility journey...

I wish I knew how much waiting there is — you’re always playing catch up physically with your body — waiting to heal from surgery, waiting to ovulate, waiting until your follicles grow, etc.

One thing about me that is forever changed because of my fertility journey...

I feel more empathetic towards strangers — you really never know what someone is going through.

One funny moment or anecdote from my fertility journey...

While sedated, I asked the anesthesiologist if I could have a cocktail after my surgery. She said I should wait a day but then gave me a $20 bill and said to get margaritas.

One product, practice, or ritual I adopted during my fertility journey, which I have/have not kept a part of my life...

I love acupuncture. My acupuncturist gave me a diet plan for my blood type and was so supportive to me both mentally and physically. Taking an hour to myself to meet my body where it was felt amazing.