"So when are you going to have kids?" and other awkward questions

Before you start trying to conceive, questions like “When are you going to have kids?” probably seemed innocent enough- if nosy and annoying-  but certainly not intended to hurt anyone. As soon as my husband and I got married people started asking us. It didn't bother me until we were trying to conceive and it wasn't happening. I started with vague “Hopefully soon!” type answers. By the time I got a diagnosis of PCOS every social situation seemed like a minefield. At one point, I started avoiding meeting new people and even became more reluctant to meet up with friends just to avoid those stressful, awkward, and painful conversations. 

Since you can't just avoid people forever, eventually I came up with an arsenal of not-so nice-responses that I could use to get people to drop the subject, but I tried not to use them unless someone was really pushy. I usually stuck to lighter responses like “When my ovaries decide to participate.” or “When the RE finally cracks the code.”

In the end, it helps to remember that if a conversation gets awkward, that isn't on you. Even a simple, "that's personal," may remind people that they're treading into a sensitive issue. Give yourself permission to push back, and remember, TTC is a journey, not a race, and everyone's journey is different.