That summer we decided to stop using birth control and “see what happened.”

In the summer of 2002, my husband and I had just moved to Austin. We’d put off starting a family while I finished grad school. That summer we decided to stop using birth control and “see what happened.”

But nothing happened, and after two years, we decided to ask for help from my OB/GYN. After multiple tests, no cause for our infertility could be found, and so we started down a long path that led us through many different kinds of drugs and ultimately eight failed IUIs (Intra-Uterine Insemination).

At this point, we’d spent five years trying to have a baby, and the stress was taking a toll on my career, mental health, and our relationship. Anyone who’s been down this road knows well the emotional roller coaster of infertility: two weeks of cautious hope, followed by a week of devastation and another week of regrouping and raising your hopes. Repeat indefinitely.

After the eighth IUI failed, we realized needed to try something different, so we contacted Texas Fertility Center. At this point, we’d been trying to conceive for five years, and so IVF was basically the last option for us. The staff immediately made us feel welcome and at ease, and we were filled with a sense of hope we hadn’t felt in years.

The IVF cycle was much easier to complete than we’d expected, and before we knew it, it was embryo transfer day. Though I’d completed many “two week waits” in the past, this one seemed the longest! I will never forget the phone call from TFC during which the nurse on the other end of the line told me that I was pregnant, after more than 5 years of trying. I was in Book People at the time, and I started crying and created quite a scene!

My pregnancy was very smooth and easy for the first six months, and TFC took good care of me until I was ready to be released to my OB again. I developed severe pre-eclampsia at 29 weeks and my son was delivered via c-section, weighing less than two pounds. He did very well in the NICU, and after eight weeks we were finally able to bring him home (two weeks before his due date).

He is now a happy and completely healthy five-year-old who loves dinosaurs and the solar system and plans to be a scientist when he grows up. We feel incredibly blessed to have him in our lives!

 

Photo by Suzanne Reiss Photography