For Candice, 31, and her husband, 33, both White British, starting a family was a long-discussed dream. After getting married and settling into their home, they decided to officially start trying in January 2020. However, complications from a past IUD insertion meant Candice needed surgery, further delaying their plans. Four long years, countless ovulation tests and the crushing weight of disappointment every month. The pressure to conceive was almost unbearable, and the emotional toll was devastating.
Then, Candice stumbled upon a twoplus Applicator ad on Instagram. The idea of a less stressful approach just made sense to her. "I don't care how I get pregnant," Candice told her husband, "I just want us to have a baby." And after some research, they decided to give it a try.
Candice fell pregnant after just one cycle of using the twoplus Applicator, bringing an end to four years of trying and marking the start of a new chapter in their lives. Now, the couple is cautiously excited, still processing the reality of their Christmas Eve BFP.
Read on for the full story.
Responses were edited minimally for clarity.
The above is an AI-generated image modelled after our real users to ensure anonymity.
Q: Hi, Candice! Tell us a bit about yourself! How old are you and your partner, and what are your ethnicities? What do you both work as?
A: I’m 31, and my husband just turned 33. We’re both White British, and we also both work in tech. We actually met at work and worked together for 7 years before I decided to have a career change.
Q: Why did you start trying for a baby? How long have you been trying to conceive (TTC)?
A: We’d had a lot of conversations about having a child throughout our relationship. Initially, it was always, not yet not yet, but then at the start of 2020 we found ourselves married in our home and we agreed to start trying for a baby in January 2020. We knew that I would have to have surgery to remove my IUD as there had been complications with it following a car crash in 2016, and then well, 2020 was 2020 with the COVID pandemic worldwide. I managed to get my surgery in November 2020, and we'd been trying ever since. My last cycle was actually almost 4 years to the day!
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while trying for a baby?
A: What felt like constant testing for ovulation, and the pressure for "oh I am ovulating, but I've had a bad day", the self-hate every time I got distracted by life and realised we hadn't given ourselves a fighting chance at getting pregnant this month. Also, as a SA (sexual assault) survivor, sex to a schedule is just not happening.
Q: Were you diagnosed with any medical conditions relating to fertility by a licensed healthcare professional, and what tests did you do?
A: Originally, when my Dr had found out about the complications with my IUD, I was diagnosed with PCOS. We then went to a private specialist because we were convinced something wasn't right with one of us medically to be told “nope you're both completely fine, you don't have PCOS” - and then basically just “good luck with TTC”. It was quite disheartening.
Q: How did you first find out about the twoplus Applicator?
A: An Instagram advert! During my standard evening scroll I kept seeing the adverts and it just made sense.
Q: What made you decide to try it?
A: The logic of the Applicator just clicked for me - bypass the stress, give yourself a damn good chance, and as quite nerdy people my husband and I geeked out over the fact it kind of felt like a little science experiment.
Q: What were your initial thoughts or feelings about using the Applicator?
A: Initially I'll admit I did think I was going to struggle with the applicator, but it is so easy to work with and it is comfortable.
Q: How did twoplus Applicators help you achieve your family planning goals?
A: It made me feel more in control. It took away all of the stress of TTC.
Q: Were there any challenges or difficulties you faced during the process?
A: I mean given our luck of getting pregnant first time, I think the only challenge I've got is I purchased 5 cycles worth of kits!
Q: Did you involve your partner in the purchase decision? How did he feel about using the Applicator to try for a baby?
A: After 10 years together my husband knows that when I present him with a purchase I've already done a lot of research so it wasn't a hard sell at all. I think I basically said, "I don't care how I get pregnant I just want us to have a baby" - talk about being romantic! My husband was also of the opinion that if I was comfortable with using the applicator then he was more than willing for us to give this a go. After 4 years [of trying], and nothing medically wrong with you, you do get to a point of "what's the worst that could happen?"
Q: How many cycles did you use the Applicator?
A: Literally one! I ordered the kits and thought I would have to wait until January to use them. Then low and behold instead of getting my next period I started ovulating (the joys of irregular cycles).
Q: How many times within each cycle did you use the Applicator?
A: Because of the aforementioned surprise ovulation, we only used two applicators, the day of my LH peak and the day after.
Q: Apart from using the twoplus Applicator, did you make any lifestyle changes to prepare your body for conceiving?
A: I'd actually been slacking with my "prep" recently but you know the standard stuff, eat well, exercise, try to reduce stress.
Q: What else have you tried in your conception journey before using twoplus?
A: twoplus was actually the first outside help that we went for, besides some fertility tests that told us nothing.
Q: Would you recommend twoplus Applicators to other couples who are trying for a child? Why or why not?
A: Yes, absolutely. It's easy to use, it fits in with busy lives and TTC so well.
Q: What would you say to someone considering the use of twoplus Applicator in their fertility journey?
A: Give it a go - at best you become pregnant, at worst you've had a few chilled cycles of trying.
Q: If you could go back to the beginning of your conception journey, what would you have done differently?
A: Oddly, nothing. I think four years of trying has really helped my husband and I in terms of knowing we definitely, absolutely want this child - and also finding out you're pregnant on Christmas Eve was such a wonderful moment I wouldn't change it for anything.
Q: Exciting times (and sleepless nights) are ahead for you and your partner! How does it feel? How are you guys preparing for the arrival of your little one?
A: I'm still taking a test every week to see the positive result because it just doesn't feel real. We're making wishlists, trying out names with our surname, but also very much trying to stay calm. The joy of using twoplus is that you can test so soon after ovulating because you're looking for that ovulation so I found out I was pregnant at only 4 weeks which is quite early, so we're trying to stay calm and chilled and not rush anything because well we've got 35 weeks to go!
Disclaimer: Results may vary based on individual health, lifestyle, and adherence to product usage.
Work Toward Pregnancy Success With the Applicator
It’s understandably frustrating when you’ve trying for more years but still haven’t gotten the positive news you’ve been hoping for. At-home insemination kits like the twoplus Applicator bring new options for folks like Candice and her husband when trying to conceive.
If you resonate with Candice’s inspiring story, you might consider exploring the twoplus Applicator as a tool in your journey towards building your dream family.