You Shouldn't
Have To Do
This Alone.
847 IVF cycles supported in 2025 — injection scheduling, retrieval-day logistics, meal prep, and the parts nobody talks about.
Tend pairs you with a trained caregiver who knows what retrieval day looks like, what the two-week wait does to a person, and what your partner needs but doesn't know how to ask for.
Nobody tells you that mixing Menopur at 9pm every night while your partner travels for work will break something in you.
The stimulation phase looks manageable on paper. Two injections a day, monitoring appointments every other morning, blood draws, ultrasounds. What it actually looks like: setting phone alarms at precise times, driving yourself to 7am appointments before work, Googling follicle counts at midnight, and doing all of this while telling exactly nobody at your office why you're leaving early on Thursdays.
"I had seventeen monitoring appointments in one cycle. I missed my best friend's birthday, two work deadlines, and a lot of dinners. My husband tried to help but he didn't know the protocol. He kept asking if I was okay. I stopped answering."
- Injection scheduling reminders synced to your protocol calendar
- A caregiver present for evening injections when your partner travels
- Appointment logistics — transportation, wait-time tracking, post-monitoring care
- Meal prep designed around the stimulation phase (anti-inflammatory, high protein, no alcohol)
Ice the injection site for 60 seconds before administering. For Menopur specifically: mix slowly, let bubbles settle for 90 seconds before drawing up. Room-temperature medication reduces sting by roughly 40% compared to refrigerator-cold.
The number they call with — the fertilization report — is the loneliest phone call you will ever take.
Retrieval is the day everything has been building toward, and it is also, somehow, completely unremarkable from the outside. You check in. You change into a gown. You wake up and someone tells you a number. Then you go home. That's it. Except you're bloated, cramping, emotionally raw, and about to spend the next 72 hours refreshing your phone waiting for the next call — the fertilization report, then the Day 3 update, then the Day 5 blastocyst count. Each call is a small verdict.
"My husband was in the waiting room the whole time. He didn't know what to do when I came out. He bought me a smoothie. I cried in the car. We didn't talk about why."
- Retrieval-day caregiver: present at check-in, available during recovery, drives you home
- Post-retrieval meal delivery for days 1–3 (warm, easy-digest, OHSS-conscious)
- Partner briefing: a 20-minute call to prepare your partner for what the next 72 hours will need
- Check-in calls timed around fertilization report windows so you're not waiting alone
Post-retrieval bloating peaks at 24–48 hours. High sodium worsens OHSS risk — electrolyte drinks (not sports drinks) and warm bone broth help. Avoid strenuous activity for 5 days minimum. Most clinics clear light walking by day 2.
The two-week wait is not waiting. It is an active, exhausting performance of normalcy that nobody asked you to give.
You are supposed to go back to your life. Go to work. Exercise normally. Don't obsess. Eat well. Manage your stress — as if stress is something you manage rather than something that is happening to you. Meanwhile you're taking progesterone suppositories three times a day, tracking every twinge, Googling "9dp5dt cramping success stories" at 2am, and trying to have a normal conversation with your mother-in-law over dinner without saying anything.
"I took seven pregnancy tests before beta day. My husband found them. We didn't talk about it. There was nothing to say. We were both just trying to survive the week."
- Daily check-in texts from your caregiver coordinator — not asking if you're pregnant, just asking if you need anything
- Progesterone schedule tracking and suppository supply coordination
- Beta day logistics: transportation, a caregiver available for the hours after the call
- Post-beta support regardless of result — a plan for the afternoon, not just the morning
Progesterone causes nearly identical symptoms to early pregnancy — breast tenderness, fatigue, bloating, nausea. Testing before beta day adds anxiety without useful information. If you must test, 9–10 days past a 5-day transfer is the earliest reliable window for a home test.
Everything we give away before you ever contact us.
These are real documents we use with clients. Download them now. No form required.
What to say when you don't know what to say
A communication script for partners navigating stimulation, retrieval, and the two-week wait — written with input from couples who've been through 3+ cycles.
"I don't need you to fix this. I need you to sit with me."
"Tell me what you need right now — I'm not going anywhere."
"I looked up what today's appointment means. Can we talk about it?"
Transfer week meal plan
Seven days of anti-inflammatory, high-protein meals designed for the week of embryo transfer — easy to prepare or order, no alcohol, no raw fish, nothing that requires standing at a stove for an hour.
Day 1–2: Warm bone broth, lentil soup, soft-cooked eggs
Day 3–4: Baked salmon, roasted vegetables, brown rice
Day 5–7: Chicken and sweet potato, avocado toast, warm oatmeal
Processing a negative beta
Not a wellness guide. A practical document for the 48 hours after a negative result — who to call, what to cancel, how to talk to your clinic about next steps, and how to tell (or not tell) the people who knew.
You don't have to tell anyone today.
Ask your clinic: when can we debrief the cycle?
It's okay to not be okay for longer than feels reasonable.
A plan built around where you actually are right now.
Tell us your cycle phase and we'll send you a tailored support plan — injection scheduling templates, caregiver checklists, and a meal plan specific to your current stage.