Israeli illustrator Yehuda Adi Devir built a large online following by drawing everyday life with his wife, Maya: stolen blankets, kitchen squabbles and the small rituals of living together. At the end of 2018 the couple used that same comic world to share much bigger news. Maya was pregnant, and Yehuda told the story in eight drawings that move from longing, through a year of trying, to a positive test.
What made the series stand out was its honesty. Instead of jumping straight to the happy ending, the comics show the calendars, the monthly disappointments and the slightly ridiculous lengths a couple will go to when they badly want a baby. They are funny, but they also speak to anyone who has watched a pregnancy test come back negative month after month. Below, each comic is described panel by panel, followed by the real photo that accompanied the announcement, a short video, and a few of the many messages readers left for the couple.
A year of trying, in Yehuda's words
Speaking to Bored Panda, Yehuda explained that the couple had been trying to conceive for about a year before the news came. Over that time they came to see a family as, in his words, "the biggest creation we can hope for."
He was open about how hard the waiting had been. Each month ended with Maya's period and another reminder that it had not worked, and he described the feeling of repeated failure plainly: "Continuously dealing with lack of success makes you feel as if you aren't in control of your life."
What carried them through, he said, was a long relationship built on friendship, with the sense that they could manage almost anything as a team. His summary was short: "Challenges make us stronger."
Find more of their work here. Yehuda: yehudadevir.com | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon. Maya: Instagram.
The eight comics, one by one
1. I think she's ready. The series opens quietly on a park bench. Yehuda sits relaxed, while Maya cannot stop gazing at a mother cradling her newborn beside them. It sets up the whole story with one look: the wish comes first, before any plan.
2. Ovulation Operation. Maya appears as a drill sergeant in front of a wall calendar, pointer aimed at her fertile days and "No surrender!" scrawled across the month, while Yehuda salutes in camouflage shorts. The joke lands because tracking ovulation really can turn intimacy into a schedule, and many couples will recognise that mood.
3. That Art of Seduction. Maya, sprawled across an office chair and an exercise bike with chocolate sauce pouring over her, attempts a "seductive" pose as Yehuda watches from the sofa and asks whether she is trying to seduce him. Her answer, a coy "maybe", sums up how unglamorous trying for a baby can become.
4. The Period. A monstrous red-haired figure smashes through the bathroom door as the couple cling to each other in terror. The panel parodies the famous axe scene from The Shining, turning the monthly arrival of Maya's period into the horror-film villain of the story.
5. No Pain No Gain. Yehuda lies flattened on the bed, gulping water, while Maya cheerfully leafs through a book of positions and suggests yet another one they have not tried. It is a self-mocking look at how "trying" can stop feeling romantic and start feeling like a workout.
6. Baby potion. Dressed as a chef, Maya stirs a bubbling cauldron labelled "Baby Potion", surrounded by jars of supplements, including folic acid, while Yehuda eyes his breakfast nervously. Folic acid is the one detail here with a real medical basis: doctors commonly recommend it before and in early pregnancy, so anyone trying should ask their doctor about it.
7. Human mattress. In bed, Maya sprawls across Yehuda's side, and when he asks what is wrong with her own half she innocently replies that nothing is. It is a tender, playful image of a couple who still enjoy each other's company after months of pressure.
8. We're pregnant! The final comic is pure joy: Maya waves a positive pregnancy test in the air as Yehuda lifts her into a hug. After seven panels of effort and frustration, the payoff is simple and wordless apart from a short, excited speech bubble.
The real couple behind the drawings
Alongside the comics, the couple shared this mirror selfie, with Yehuda carrying Maya in a narrow hallway. Fans often compare the photos with the drawings, and the resemblance is part of the appeal: the cartoon characters are recognisably the same two people, just with more exaggerated expressions.
The announcement was also turned into a short video, which runs through the comics in sequence:
How readers responded
Within hours, the comments filled with congratulations from around the world. A selection of them appears below, and they show how personal the series felt to people who had followed the couple for years.
One of the first replies sent warm congratulations and hoped the baby would soon join the cast of the comics. That wish turned out to be widely shared, since many fans follow the Devirs precisely because their family life becomes the story.
Another reader looked forward to seeing the pregnancy and the baby drawn in Yehuda's style. Requests like this hint at why the couple kept documenting later stages of their journey in new comics.
A follower writing from South Africa joked that the ovulation calendar in the second comic had clearly done its job. The military-style planning panel was one of the most quoted images of the series.
One commenter said the comics were a mirror of her own experience with her husband the year before. Replies like this show how common the experience of trying for months really is, even though it is rarely discussed openly.
A reader who was expecting her second child sent an exuberant message and some gentle advice: pregnancy is both hard and enjoyable, and it does not last forever. It is the kind of peer encouragement that online communities can do well.
Another South African fan, from Cape Town, wished the couple a smooth pregnancy. The international spread of the comments reflects how widely Yehuda's work travels.
Some readers simply could not wait to see what Yehuda would draw next, and said so with a row of laughing emojis. Anticipation of future comics was a theme running through the whole thread.
The last comment shown here was kind in a practical way: it looked forward to new drawings but told the couple everyone would understand if a baby left little time for comics. A thoughtful note on which to end the thread.
Why comics about trying to conceive matter
Difficulty conceiving is far more common than social media usually suggests. The World Health Organization estimates that around 17.5% of adults, roughly one in six people worldwide, experience infertility at some point in their lives. Yet the subject is often wrapped in silence, which can leave couples feeling that everyone else gets pregnant easily.
Humour like Yehuda's does not make the experience lighter for everyone, and nobody's timeline should be measured against another couple's. What it can do is make the topic speakable. Seeing ovulation charts, periods and frustration drawn as ordinary parts of a loving relationship tells readers they are not strange or alone for feeling the same way. If you have been trying for a while without success, the most useful next step is a conversation with a doctor, who can explain the options for your situation.
For the Devirs, this announcement was only the start. Yehuda went on to draw the months of pregnancy that followed, continuing the same mix of comedy and honesty that made these eight comics so widely shared.
Sources: Bored Panda interview and comics; Yehuda Devir's website; Yehuda Devir on Instagram; Maya Devir on Instagram; WHO: 1 in 6 people globally affected by infertility (2023); Wikipedia: Infertility; Wikipedia: Here's Johnny!.
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