Victoria Nino

THANK YOU for your patience. 🙏🏼 In true fashion, it was a looooooong journey to get here. Lots of edits, reviews, and test copies to get it just right! I can’t thank you enough for believing in this story! Pre Orders are being shipped early next week and I’m signing every damn one of them. My carpal tunnel is in full swing but man its worth it✍🏼❤️ If you are local to Huntington Beach, CA and don’t want to wait, feel free to come by the Made to Wonder event tomorrow at Lake Park 10:30-11:30am hosted by @dccsupport and sponsored by @infertilityunfiltered . I’ll be there in a pop up tent signing more books! I’d LOVE to meet you!! Bring your fam! No one will be getting any online orders until pre-orders ship! THANK YOU for your support and love. I LOVE YOU 🦖🦕💜💚 #deivf #donoreggbook #embryodonationbook #kidsbook #donorconceptionfamilies

If you are needing support in your decision about Donor Conception, I just launched a completely online video course just for YOU. It’s call the “Donor Conception Decision” course (link in bio). I want you to know all the things that I learned the hard way. I know by experience, this road is not meant to be traveled alone, so I’ve pulled all my best learnings, resources and people together to provide you the best damn support in this decision possible. 16 Modules packed with education, emotional tools and support from people who have been there. From addressing genetic grief to the emotions around the decision, common fears and words of wisdom from other parents and donor conceived people, I’ve tried to pull together all the things I wish I had when I was first faced with this decision. Visit my Link in Bio to Learn More or check out @infertilityunfiltered 🧡 #donorconceptionsupport #deivfcommunity #donoreggivf #donoreggs #donoreggrecipient

There’s been a lot of loss lately. A lot of letting go… of things I thought I’d have forever. And a lot of starting over, even when I didn’t feel ready. But quietly, behind the scenes, I’ve also been rebuilding. Like… actually rebuilding. We’re getting ready to move into a small townhouse near the beach. And if I’m being honest, it’s a big shift. We’re going from a huge backyard and a pool to a tiny little patio. It’s not what I pictured. But somehow… it feels perfectly right. I was nervous to show the kids, but they both loved it instantly, even in its messy, dusty, renovating glory! Vaun’s only concern was - where the snacks were. He didn’t ask where the floors were. 😆 Flo picked her room, the one with the big hole in the wall and no closet doors. She even asked if she could keep the hole to be able to peek out. Man, I love kids. 🤩 It’s small, but small feels manageable. It feels calm. It feels safe in a way I didn’t even realize I needed. And yeah, it needs work. A lot of it. But so do most things in my life right now. And if there’s one thing about me, it’s that I show up and do the work… even when it’s hard, even when I’m exhausted, even when no one sees it. I work. And there’s something really humbling about starting over like this. Doing it all on my own. Picking designs that I created without other opinions. Some days it feels empowering. Some days it feels impossible. But it feels good to be in a space that doesn’t hold all the memories… the ones that hurt, and even the ones that don’t anymore. Just something new. Something that’s ours. We’re not fully there yet. But we’re getting closer 🤍 #divorce #rebuildingafterdivorce

Donor Conception Awareness Day 🤍 I didn’t take the traditional path to build my family, but the love, the chaos, the connection? It’s no different. That’s why awareness matters. Not just today, every day. Because the more we talk about donor conception, the more we normalize it. The more we normalize it, the less shame our children might one day carry. And they shouldn’t carry any. None of us should. I’m grateful to partner with @Donor.Nexus in helping bring more awareness, education, and openness to this space so more families feel seen, supported, and understood. Families are built in many ways. All of them are valid. All of them are equal. All of them matter. #DonorConceptionAwareness #FamilyIsFamily #InfertilityJourney #DCAD2026

What actually helps you feel informed and supported on a donor conception journey?⁠ ⁠ Victoria Nino @expectinganything joined me to share about her experience becoming a mother with donor eggs, and her answer was both practical and powerful.⁠ ⁠ Victoria shared that when she started this process 11–12 years ago, there was a lot less support available to families considering donor conception: fewer online support groups, not many podcasts, and it was hard to find community. She leaned heavily on her doctor at the time, but felt like the information she received was limited. The second time around, she came in educated, grounded, and asking all the right questions.⁠ ⁠ We talked about some of her favorite resources for people considering donor conception now. Her top resources now? Kids' books (yes, really, she recommends What Makes a Baby by Cory Silverberg as a great read before you even have a donor), and finding your specific donor conception community - not just general IVF groups, but people who truly get the unique emotional journey of donor conception.⁠ ⁠ She shares that the community around donor conceived families are "strangers essentially, but they become like your closest, most safest people." Because it takes a village to raise a family, and it helps to have people who truly understand your current path, and what it's to grow your family in this unique way.⁠ ⁠ This conversation is part of a longer interview with Victoria (a donor conception advocate and group facilitator) where we go deep on the emotional, practical, and deeply human side of building a family through egg donation.⁠ ⁠ 🎧Hear the full conversation at my site at draimee.org/blog⁠ ⁠ @infertilityunfiltered @donor.nexus

If you know our story, you know the remaining embryos from our first egg donor (the one who led us to our miracle girl, Flo) didn’t become babies. We were devastated in a way that’s hard to put into words. And slowly… we tried to make peace with being a one-child family. I told myself I could be okay. I tried to believe it. But deep down, I knew there was a boy out there waiting for me. I just didn’t know how I would find him. I was 42, with stage 3 endometriosis, and no eggs left. Starting over with a new donor felt overwhelming emotionally, financially, all of it. I talked openly with Flo about it. I told her how hard I tried… and that I was out of eggs. One night, she said something I’ll never forget: “Mama, you can do hard things. Go get new eggs… and go get me my baby brother.” Brother. She felt him too. So I listened. I explored frozen donor eggs but kept hitting the same wall…no openness, no connection, not even a name. Call after call, I asked: “Is there any way around this? If the donor is willing, can we have a relationship?” So many no’s. But I couldn’t let it go. I kept hearing Flo’s voice: you can do hard things. And then… I found @donor.nexus I asked the same question, holding my breath… and their answer was simple: “We can certainly ask.” Just like that… a door opened. I found a donor I felt drawn to and said, okay… can you ask her? Within hours, she said yes. Everything shifted in that moment. We matched with our donor, Chloe, who gave an egg that led me to the boy of my dreams. I never imagined I’d need one egg donor, let alone two, or that I’d become a single mom after fighting so hard to become one. Maybe I wasn’t meant to follow “a plan”, but I was meant to be a mom… To two children who completely, wholly, unexpectedly complete me. If you’re wondering what your family is meant to look like… it might not come together how you planned. But it can come together in ways more beautiful than you imagined. Forever grateful to @donor.nexus for opening a door when I was met with so many closed ones, and helping me find my way to him.🤍 #nationalinfertilityawarenessweek #niaw2026 #morethanmyjourney #morethan

Being a single mom in your mid-40s to little children is a unique place be, managing the hell of perimenopause in the midst of toddler tantrums and sibling fights, working full time all day to jump straight into dinner, bath, play time, homework, and bed time. Co sleeping with two kids. Zero downtime. A constant hamster wheel of chaos from the second my eye lids pop open to the second they close when the last kid falls asleep. But, I am happy here. Tired, but at peace. As women, the older we get the more pressure there is to “find someone” or “have a family”. But I’ve already done that. I found two people. I have my family. It may not look like yours, but that doesn’t mean it’s not complete. There is no time or energy left for anyone else anytime in the foreseeable future. My kids deserve me and all of me. I can date when I’m 60 🤣 Right now I just want to be right here. Protecting this. My soulmates ❤️❤️ #divorceinyour40s

We moved out of our “forever” home… and for now, we’re tucked into a temporary space, renting from sweet friends while they’re out of town. It’s not ours, it’s not permanent, but it’s “home” for now. I’m realizing more than ever… home was never the walls, the address, or the plans I thought would last forever. It’s the way we land together at the end of the day. It’s the chaos, the comfort, the love we carry with us wherever we go. Home is the friends and family who have shown up for us during this transition with more love than I could have ever dreamed of. This chapter is in-between, we are living out of boxes, making friends with temporary neighbors and “on an adventure” i say to them often! And there is a next adventure coming🤍 #homeisus #divorce

Closing the chapter on the “forever” house. The house where my kids grew up. The house where we hosted birthdays and holidays and regular Friday movie nights that felt like everything. The house that held so many versions of our life. And now… we have sold it. Divorce makes you do things that feel impossible. Things that are logical on paper but emotionally brutal in real life. Selling the home has been one of the hardest parts, not just for me, but for my kids too. There have been a lot of big feelings in this process. Grief. Confusion. Anger. Nostalgia. All of it. I’ve had moments where I walked through the rooms and just cried, thinking about the life we built here and the life we thought we’d still be living. But here’s what I keep reminding myself (and my kids): A home isn’t the walls. It isn’t the kitchen or the backyard or the address. Home is us. Where the three of us land next, we will build something safe and warm and ours again. It might look different than the life we imagined… but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be beautiful. We’re grieving what was. But we’re also making space for what’s next. And somehow, through all of this, we’re still okay. ❤️ #divorcesucks

It’s like being locked in a tiny room with little knives stabbing you randomly through the walls as you are fighting for your life to get out. No exit in sight. You are just stuck there “in the middle” bracing for the next stab. You know it’s coming. But in that room you are shrinking day by day. The room is closing in. Your nervous system is wrecked, living in constant fight or flight. What torture will today bring? Now picture being in that tiny room of knives holding two small children. Holding their worries, their big feelings, their needs and wants. Potty training. Homework. Orthodontist appts. Dr appts. Haircuts. Bath time. Showing up at all their events. Therapy. Sicknesses. Late nights. Holding a demanding job. A house. Growing finances. Taking inventory of every item in your house to split off, down to the damn forks. Taking Mediation calls as kids are piling on top of you. Fighting over toys. Someone gets hurt. Crying. Hitting. Biting. Something breaks, spills. Everybody is hungry. Including you. MAMA!!!! There is no escape. You look in the mirror to make sure you are still there, ok yes but barely. Your underwear don’t even fit anymore because there is no food available in this room. You just try not to disappear before you can get out. People ask “how’s it going?” It’s not. It’s not going. Nothing is going. That’s what it feels like. The middle of divorce. It’s brutal. You are stuck until further notice. Praying you get out this week, this month, this year. Nobody wins. You just gotta make it to the exit door when it finally appears and hope that you will still be you on the other side. 😩 #divorcesucks

There are people who change your life in ways you never fully get to explain. My children exist because of a decision two women made, two women who don’t really know me, but who changed my life forever. One donor relationship was completely anonymous. The donor who led me to my daughter doesn’t know us at all. With my son, I chose something different. Through Donor Nexus, I was able to use frozen donor eggs and have an open relationship with the donor (which is incredibly rare). I can email her questions when they come up. We don’t really “know” each other… but that small bridge of connection has meant more to me than I can put into words. I will always carry deep gratitude for the women who choose to help build families like mine. I’m so honored to be partnering with @donor.nexus this year. One of the things that sets them apart, and mattered so much to me personally, is how deeply they care. The way donors are supported, respected, and valued matters more than most people realize. And it’s part of what made my journey to my children possible. Being able to explore both fresh and frozen donor options, being guided so personally, and being supported every step of the way is something I don’t take lightly. If you’re starting this year with something you’re grateful for, I’d love to hear it in the comments 🤍 And if you have any questions about donor eggs or my experience with @Donor.Nexus , feel free to comment or DM me. Also, they are willing to offer $500 off towards services for anyone who mentions my name. #infertility #infertilityawareness #infertilitysupport #infertilitysucks #donoregg

This year asked more of me than I knew how to give. So I gave what I could. I chose my kids. I chose healing. I chose to let go of what was hurting me. 2025 wasn’t about winning. It was about surviving. And I’m a motherfucking survivor. #youreonyourownkid #2025theyearofsurvival