My Rose Among Thorns

A Journey to Parenthood...I

When I started this blog I wanted to capture my personal journey to building my family.  When I was surprised with this current, spontaneous, pregnancy, I quickly realized how my journey has changed-not only on a personal level, but also in regards to being infertile.  Although my previous paths to pregnancies were relatively easy, they were still assisted.  

My biggest fear with this pregnancy, was that I would be discounted within the infertile community.  I'm one of those...

Which is when I realized- it doesn't matter how new life is brought about-it's not about the medication, or the number of shots or the number of failed cycles.  

It's about love and desire to create a family.  

We all have a story.

When I first thought of this series, I knew my first request would be to Erin of Hoping for our own Peanut.  She is one of the blogs I've been reading the longest.  I don't remember exactly when I started, but I read through her journey to Trevor, her struggles to make him a big brother, and I cannot wait to cheer along as she welcomes their newest additions this coming summer/fall.  

Thanks Erin!

Hoping for Our Own Peanut

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Hello!! My name is Erin and I am excited to be the first person to share her story in Aaryn's new blog series! 

My journey began back in 2007. My husband and I were married about 8 months and we decided to start trying for a baby. Six months went by and somehow, I wasnt pregnant. I started to get nervous and went to my OB. She prescribed clomid and I officially started my research. That month I didnt get pregnant and knew it was time to get more attention with a RE. 

My first appointment with my RE was in April 2008. I was 20 years old. We had to have a lot of tests done..semen analysis, bloodwork, hsg, etc. Every test came back normal. We were officially diagnosed with unexplained infertility. 

We spent the next few months taking baby steps toward IVF. Our doctor had a 3 strikes rule. Try each treatment 3 times..and if there was no success, move onto the next step. We did clomid, moved to injectible IUIs and in January 2009 we started our first IVF cycle.

Our first IVF cycle went great. I responded well to the meds, they retrieved 12 eggs and we did a 5 day transfer of 2 embryos and froze 4 others! February 25th, for the first time in my entire life, I saw two pink lines. It will always be one of the best days of our life!

I had an amazing pregnancy and gave birth to our first son, Trevor Michael on November 11, 2009. He stole our hearts that day and we instantly wanted more. We never imagined the road to make him a big brother would be so difficult.

We started the cycle for our first FET on his 1st birthday. We were devastated when we found out it failed. We picked up the pieces and moved forward with a second FET, using our last 2 embryos. We were ecstatic to see two pink lines again! Unfortunately, our world came crashing down as my beta numbers were not rising correctly and I was told I would have a miscarriage. My betas fluctuated for weeks, which was beyond frustrating. I believe I had my blood drawn 8 times..each time telling me it was not a healthy pregnancy. 

When my beta went back to zero, we started a new IVF cycle. Again, my body responded beautifully and we got 13 eggs. We transferred 2 on day 5 and had 8 frozen! It was one of the best cycles my RE had ever seen! I was sure we would be pregnant days later! The cycle ended up being a chemical pregnancy. I had a positive test, but the numbers were so low, we know it would end soon.

There I sat, having endured a failed cycle, a miscarriage, and a chemical pregnancy..back to back to back. We were determined to keep fighting and make Trevor a big brother. In June 2011, we used our first 2 frozen embryos and were thrilled to be pregnant again. Perfect betas, perfect ultrasounds and a perfect pregnancy resulted in Gavin Thomas, born March 2, 2012.

We always wanted a big family and decided to start treatments a bit sooner this time around. It took so much time and effort to get Gavin, we were mentally preparing ourselves for a long road ahead. I prepped my body for a FET and transferred 2 embryos January 10, 2013. Four days later, I saw pregnant on a test. My earliest positive and highest betas yet. On February 4th, we saw two babies with two heartbeats! TWINS! On our first try! We are STILL shocked at this one..

Today, I am 12 weeks 5 days pregnant. I had my NT scan yesterday and the babies look great. Come September, I will have a 3 year old, an 18 month old and newborn twins. Take that, infertility!!

I have documented our journey on my blog terobertson.blogspot.com. I love sharing our story and giving hope to others. You can also contact me at TERobertson18@aol.com.

Thank you, Aaryn, for this opportunity!

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Thank YOU Erin.  I wish you a smooth and healthy pregnancy!  

Please consider being a participant in my monthly series, A Journey to Parenthood.  Comment or message me for details!