When you are childless after infertility, the holiday season can feel like a spotlight you never asked for. Everyone has an opinion about your fertility decisions. Everyone has a suggestion about what you should have done. And somehow every gathering becomes an open invitation for people to ask about baby news, adoption, donor eggs, or why you stopped trying.

In this week's episode, you learn how to stay grounded, confident, and steady when holiday opinions collide with the decisions you made after IVF Failed. You discover how to trust your intuition again and how to walk into December without feeling like you owe anyone an explanation.

This episode is for you if
• you are childless after infertility
• you ended fertility treatments and people still question why
• you feel pressure during family gatherings
• you struggle with unsolicited advice about adoption, donor eggs, donor sperm, surrogacy, or "trying again"
• you want to feel connected to the holidays without feeling triggered
• you want to walk into gatherings feeling prepared instead of anxious

Inside the episode, you will learn
• why holiday comments land so hard for women who are childless not by choice
• how lifelong conditioning leads you to second guess your decisions
• why your inner knowing is wiser than outside opinions
• what to tell yourself when someone questions your fertility choices
• how to feel empowered about the decisions you made when your fertility journey ended without a baby
• how to walk into December feeling solid and sure of yourself

If you are already bracing for the questions and opinions, I have two things that will support you through this season.

These private sessions help you
• practice what you want to say
• stay grounded during conversations
• feel confident about your decisions
• handle family dynamics with clarity and calm

These are one on one coaching sessions at a discounted rate for December.

Book your Glow Up Session here!

Handling the Holidays: Managing Your Family, Traditions, and Celebrations Without Kids
Tuesday, December 16
11:30 AM Central

In this class you learn how to
• handle family gatherings when you are childless after infertility
• navigate traditions that feel painful because you do not have kids to pass them onto
• stay centered when everything around you feels kid focused
• make space for your own joy this holiday season

Register for the free class:
https://meet.google.com/occ-gnzy-sdt
(If you want a registration page link instead of a direct meet link, tell me and I will swap it.)

Download the Top 27 Things People Say When You Are Childless and How to Respond
https://lana-manikowski.com/thingspeoplesay

Connect With Me

Website
https://www.lanamanikowski.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lana.manikowski

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@lana.manikowski

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@lana.manikowski

Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. It helps other women who are childless after infertility discover this space and find the support they never received from their clinic once treatment ended.

Episode 192: How Childless Women Can Navigate the Holidays Ahead

The holiday season can feel emotionally heavy when you're childless after infertility. In this episode, Lana explains why Thanksgiving and Christmas can stir up overwhelm, anxiety, numbness, and confusion when you always imagined this season with a child of your own. You'll learn how your brain and nervous system respond during this time of year, why nothing about your reaction means you're doing anything wrong, and how to feel more grounded and supported as the holidays approach.

The holidays can feel complicated when you're childless after infertility. That knot in your stomach during Thanksgiving or Christmas is not your imagination. Whether you are done with fertility treatments, still navigating IVF or IUI, or childless by circumstance, this season can shine a spotlight on the life you thought you would be living by now.

In this episode, you learn why the holidays often stir up so much emotion and why nothing about your experience means you're doing anything wrong. You'll understand how your brain and nervous system interpret this season, why old neural pathways get activated, and why your reactions are very normal for women who are childless after infertility or childless not by choice.

Inside the episode, you'll learn:
• How neural pathways built during your fertility journey impact your holidays
• Why unpredictability around the holidays activates your nervous system
• Why numbness is normal when the season feels emotionally loaded
• Why family gatherings can trigger isolation even when you're loved
• How to stop blaming yourself for how you feel this time of year
• How to stay grounded when traditions center around children
• Why you don't have to sit out of Christmas just because you don't have kids

If you want real tools and support to help you feel more prepared and confident this year, join my free live class on Tuesday, December 16 at 11:30 AM Central:

Register here!

You deserve to feel grounded, steady, and in control of the rooms you walk into this season.

And if you want help responding to the comments people make when they don't understand your experience, download my free guide HERE!
The Top 27 Things People Say When You're Childless and How to Respond.

How to Feel Like You Belong Again When You Are Childless After Infertility

If you have ever walked into a room and instantly wondered where you fit, this episode is going to speak directly to you. When you are childless after infertility or you are still in the middle of your fertility journey, it can feel like everyone around you is living a chapter you hoped would be yours. Conversations about kids, family schedules and milestones can leave you feeling two inches outside the circle and unsure how to take your place in the room.

In this episode, you learn why this happens and how to reconnect with yourself so you can walk into any space with confidence and grounding. You will understand why your nervous system reacts before your mind catches up, why belonging feels harder when your story looks different, and how the lack of support after IVF failed can shape the way you show up socially. You will also hear how public conversations about infertility, including the reaction to Jennifer Aniston's story, influence the way you protect yourself in group settings.

This episode teaches you how to honor your own experience and how to show up without shrinking or pretending. You will learn four ways to lead with connection so you can feel steady and comfortable in rooms that once felt overwhelming. You will walk away knowing how to stay anchored in who you are becoming and how to trust your own voice so you can feel a sense of belonging again, even when the conversations around you do not reflect your life.

If you are ready to feel grounded in social spaces again and to rebuild a future beyond infertility that actually feels meaningful, this episode will support you every step of the way.

Resources mentioned in this episode

Thrive After Infertility - My 12 week coaching program for women who are childless after infertility and IVF

Book a Thrive Call - Ready to spend the best 45 minutes you've spent this year? Book a free Thrive Call woith me. We will get a plan together for what is next for you now that IVF is over.

Download your free guide The Top 27 Things People Say When You Are Childless (...and How to Respond)

Connect with me
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lana.manikowski
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lana.manikowski
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lana.manikowski

I hope this episode helps you feel more grounded and more seen as you walk into the rooms that matter to you.