ONE independent woman wasn't going to let any amount of money get in the way of her becoming a mother.
She might have been young and single, but no man didn't mean no baby.
At just 25 years old, Courtney Cecil was determined to become a mom.
She wound up going through five pricey rounds of IVF before finally giving birth to a healthy daughter, Daisy, in 2023.
Now 26, the Australian-born Cecil, who spent the equivalent of almost $50,000 on the treatments, doesn't regret any of her decisions.
"I don't care if I am single forever because I have proved that I don't need a man for anything - I have my own baby, car, and house. I make all the decisions, as I am mom and dad," she said.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," she continued.
After figuring out she had fertility issues at just 22 years old, Cecil decided to freeze her eggs, all while in the midst of the dissolution of an eight-year relationship.
After previously getting pregnant in 2019 with her partner at the time, she lost the baby due to Turner syndrome.
While she did have some luck after her first round of IVF with her ex-boyfriend, they could not complete the process as the transfer wound up failing.
After finally ending the relationship, she bought out the home they shared together.
With the remaining funds, Cecil purchased her own home and did another round of IVF.
While she was able to get seven eggs this time around, by day three they had all died.
To find out why she was struggling so much, she underwent genetic testing to get answers from the experts.
The results showed that she had a rare condition where the chromosomes grow on top of each other.
She was told that the odds of her having a successful pregnancy were not in her favor.
Though she was devastated about the fertility troubles she was facing at such a young age, she tried again.
Rather than waiting for Mr. Right, she decided that right now was the ideal time to start her own little family.
She forged ahead - but first, she needed a sperm donor.
Though she wasn't thrilled about the prospect of using a sperm donor, she discussed the idea with her parents who offered their support and eventually started the selection process in 2022.
"One day I just asked myself why was I freezing them and waiting until I meet someone to proceed when I can have this baby now?" she said.
"Even if I met someone, it wouldn't be his baby or related to him," she added.
"So, I decided to defrost the embryo and do the transfer.
"I was preparing for the worst after everything I had been through, but I tried to be positive."
After analyzing the baby photos of potential donors, she had found "the one."
Cecil settled on an Irish man with brown hair and blue eyes who underwent his own genetic testing to ensure he was a sustainable match.
The vial of sperm cost the equivalent of $910, but that was the least of the costs involved.
The first retrieval after selection collected seven eggs that were fertilized but by the third day there was only one left to freeze - and it wasn't even the best quality.
After spending over $30,000 with nothing to show for it yet, Cecil was starting to feel as if her journey was coming to an end.
Things started to turn around, however, on the fifth round of IVF.
She was able to get one embryo from the six eggs that were collected, and that was all she needed to make her dreams of motherhood come true.
"I had the transfer in January 2023, and three days after, I took a pregnancy test and it came up with the faintest line," she said.
"I was so shocked and couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"When I finally fell pregnant, I couldn't believe it. It was such a long hard journey. I couldn't stop crying when I finally held her."
She also knows she made the right decision for her and doesn't have to rely on anyone.
"Being a solo parent has its challenges, but I've never regretted it," she said.
She continued to be nervous throughout the pregnancy, continuously finding herself in the hospital to undergo additional ultrasounds to assuage her fears.
"At 26 weeks she stopped moving a lot and I was convinced she'd died," she said.
"I had Daisy at 35 weeks through a planned C-section because my anxiety was through the roof because it wasn't healthy for me or the baby."
Of course, all the worrying - and the money she spent - was worth it in the end once she was introduced to her daughter.
"I couldn't stop crying when I saw her and held her for the first time. I was actually scared to meet her in case she wouldn't like me, but it was the best thing ever," she said.
"We spent two weeks in hospital due to her being early, but I couldn't believe it when I was finally able to take her home."
"I was finally a mom. I just wanted to show my daughter off to the world.
"She's six months old now and I still can't believe she is mine.
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"Being a single mom by choice has its difficult days where I cry but it's the best thing I have ever done. She is my entire world and I don't care about anything else.
"Men are totally off my radar and I don't care if I never date again because I now know I literally don't need a man for anything."
