Genealogically.....I come from a long line of baby Mamas.......Both of my Grandmother's were fertile extraordinaire. One had 4 children in 4 years. The other had 7 children.
I think "the story" is that I was conceived in the backseat of a car when my parents were still in High School. My Mom was 18 and my Dad was 19. They married a few months before I was born. My brother was born 2 years later. When I was 5, they divorced. They both remarried 2 years later within 10 days of each other. Both are still married to that same spouse. My step-father gave me a step-brother and my Father and step-mother had two children, my half-brothers. It was a less than idyllic childhood......it was far from "Norman Rockwell-like".......
I married when I was 25. My new husband and I both wanted children right away.
That journey took longer than expected.
After 2 years of ovulation tests, having dye pumped through my female organs and my husband having to impregnate a hamster egg, we were still childless and desperate to be parents. We began several unsuccessful rounds of Artificial Insemination before we decided to try Invitro Fertilization.
We learned quickly that it would take a village and even another country before we could begin. The cost of hormones were much cheaper outside the U.S. and the cost of 1 cycle of Invitro was daunting and draining to our newly established married savings account. But we had to try to remain hopeful and give this new found medical technology our best shot.
We were successful our first round. We got the call the day after thanksgiving........the call I had always waited to hear.......we were pregnant.
The doctor also told us that my hormone levels were very high which meant we were probably carrying multiples. We both decided that whatever the number (we decided on transferring 5) that we would go as far as we could with all of them. We could not go this far and then have to selectively abort. We both decided this was not an option for us.
About a week later, the ultrasound confirmed twins. A few weeks later we saw two heartbeats!! It was heaven on earth and I felt like I won the lottery. I didn't have a care in the world. I had a wonderful husband and I was pregnant with twins!!
We were so blessed....
At 12 weeks I miscarried one of the babies.........but by the grace of God, my firstborn hung in there. I was on bed rest for awhile and considered high-risk the remainder of my pregnancy.
But from the moment I first saw my son's face, I knew how much I was loved and that this would be the most wonderful, valuable, gift I would ever receive.
When my firstborn was 18 months, we tried Invitro a second time. We got a call the day before Christmas Eve. It was negative.
There are so many shots, so many appointments, so much emotion.........then the doctor calls with the negative test result......and you never hear from them again. It feels like you were hit by a train and then left on the tracks like road kill!! Its really awful.
We both knew we wanted to have more children. But I was scared and apprehensive about another IVF.
We trudged on for round three.
On a Friday in June, 2 days before Father's Day, we had incredible news. Our firstborn would have a forever friend. A brother who would look to him with deep respect. A best friend, a hero.
We then had an heir and a spare!! But I knew someone was missing. There was one more who was not there yet.
Round four of IVF ended with a negative result.
I was devastated.
I was so sure that there was one more child.
There was someone missing.
But I could not keep going.
My heart ached and my body screamed for mercy. I just couldn't do anymore. I had to stop.
But my heart was wrestling for my missing child.......I kept telling my husband, "We are missing someone"...... But who? And how?
My husband traveled extensively in those early years and his frequent flyer days were filled with as many travel adventures.....He always had some colorful story to share about his adventures in the air.
One of those trips brought a "New Hope".....quite literally....
On a flight home my husband met a man who was either quite nervous or just quite talkative. He explained that he had adopted his children from an agency in Seattle called "New Hope".
He had 2 beautiful daughters from China.
He shared pictures with my husband.
We began our application process immediately!!!
In the interim, my husband ran into a business colleague who he hadn't seen for years. My husband caught up on current events and explained our newfound adoption proceedings. This colleague explained that he had 4 adopted children and that we must meet his adoption attorney.
Six weeks later we were introduced to our first birth mother. 5 months later, at 4:00 in the morning, my amazing daughter came into the world with her eyes wide open........and I was the first one she saw!!!
She was here!!
She wasn't missing anymore.......
and I knew when I held her for the first time....
that our family was complete.....
I married when I was 25. My new husband and I both wanted children right away.
That journey took longer than expected.
After 2 years of ovulation tests, having dye pumped through my female organs and my husband having to impregnate a hamster egg, we were still childless and desperate to be parents. We began several unsuccessful rounds of Artificial Insemination before we decided to try Invitro Fertilization.
We learned quickly that it would take a village and even another country before we could begin. The cost of hormones were much cheaper outside the U.S. and the cost of 1 cycle of Invitro was daunting and draining to our newly established married savings account. But we had to try to remain hopeful and give this new found medical technology our best shot.
We were successful our first round. We got the call the day after thanksgiving........the call I had always waited to hear.......we were pregnant.
The doctor also told us that my hormone levels were very high which meant we were probably carrying multiples. We both decided that whatever the number (we decided on transferring 5) that we would go as far as we could with all of them. We could not go this far and then have to selectively abort. We both decided this was not an option for us.
About a week later, the ultrasound confirmed twins. A few weeks later we saw two heartbeats!! It was heaven on earth and I felt like I won the lottery. I didn't have a care in the world. I had a wonderful husband and I was pregnant with twins!!
We were so blessed....
At 12 weeks I miscarried one of the babies.........but by the grace of God, my firstborn hung in there. I was on bed rest for awhile and considered high-risk the remainder of my pregnancy.
But from the moment I first saw my son's face, I knew how much I was loved and that this would be the most wonderful, valuable, gift I would ever receive.
When my firstborn was 18 months, we tried Invitro a second time. We got a call the day before Christmas Eve. It was negative.
There are so many shots, so many appointments, so much emotion.........then the doctor calls with the negative test result......and you never hear from them again. It feels like you were hit by a train and then left on the tracks like road kill!! Its really awful.
We both knew we wanted to have more children. But I was scared and apprehensive about another IVF.
We trudged on for round three.
On a Friday in June, 2 days before Father's Day, we had incredible news. Our firstborn would have a forever friend. A brother who would look to him with deep respect. A best friend, a hero.
We then had an heir and a spare!! But I knew someone was missing. There was one more who was not there yet.
Round four of IVF ended with a negative result.
I was devastated.
I was so sure that there was one more child.
There was someone missing.
But I could not keep going.
My heart ached and my body screamed for mercy. I just couldn't do anymore. I had to stop.
But my heart was wrestling for my missing child.......I kept telling my husband, "We are missing someone"...... But who? And how?
My husband traveled extensively in those early years and his frequent flyer days were filled with as many travel adventures.....He always had some colorful story to share about his adventures in the air.
One of those trips brought a "New Hope".....quite literally....
On a flight home my husband met a man who was either quite nervous or just quite talkative. He explained that he had adopted his children from an agency in Seattle called "New Hope".
He had 2 beautiful daughters from China.
He shared pictures with my husband.
We began our application process immediately!!!
In the interim, my husband ran into a business colleague who he hadn't seen for years. My husband caught up on current events and explained our newfound adoption proceedings. This colleague explained that he had 4 adopted children and that we must meet his adoption attorney.
Six weeks later we were introduced to our first birth mother. 5 months later, at 4:00 in the morning, my amazing daughter came into the world with her eyes wide open........and I was the first one she saw!!!
She was here!!
She wasn't missing anymore.......
and I knew when I held her for the first time....
that our family was complete.....
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