Saturday, August 23, 2008

Our Miracle Baby

I finally have decided to post about our life changing story. For anyone reading this post who has any questions about infertility, or any questions about our story, I am more than happy to help. We have been very open about our story all along.

I’m going to start from the very beginning…(sorry, it's kind of long)!





Brett and I were married July 2005. From the the moment we were married I wanted to start a family. Brett and I had two different plans and Brett's was to wait for a year before we added a little one. One year passed and Brett still wasn't convinced that we were ready. 6 months later he gave in and we started to try and get pregnant. For those of you who have had a hard time getting pregnant or it didn't happen right away, you know the pain that come every month when you are not. Month after month no success. Month after month more sadness.

April of this year, most of you know that Shane and Truly (Brett’s brother and his wife) went through a long procedure to allow them to have a child (they got the two for one special and are pregnant with twins!) She had one of her appointment with Dr. Richards- also know as Doc, and invited me to come along. At this time Brett and I had been trying for a baby for about 17 months with no success. She thought I could ask Doc a few questions after their appointment. This appointment was the start of a long road.

After talking with Dr. Richards he concluded that we needed to get some more testing done. We went through a long rigorous testing regimen. The way everything happened so quickly was scary but we knew that this was our chance. Within a few weeks we were told that we would need to proceed with IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). *To read more about IVF use this link; http://californiafertilitypartners.com/treatments-in-vitro-fertilization.html.

Doc informed us that because of our circumstances artificial insemination and fertility treatments would have a slim (less than a 5%) chance of working. Regular IVF “may” work so we would not only have to go through IVF but we would also have to go through an additional step called ICSI. *To read more about ICSI use this link; http://californiafertilitypartners.com/treatments-intracytoplasmic-sperm-injection.html. Because of this extra procedure we were told that the very best chance of success would be to travel to a world renowned doctor in Los Angeles California, Dr. Marrs. With a lot of praying we decided this would be our chance.

In Vitro is a long, 1-2 month process that requires strict injections of hormones and stimulation drugs. This allows and prepares my body for a surgery called the egg retrieval followed 3 days later by a transfer. With blood draws every other day, ultrasounds, injections of drugs and support of loved ones...hopefully pregnancy is achieved. The success rate of IVF varies due to age, male or female factors and the experience your doctor has. Dr. Marrs has 30+ years experience and defiantly knows just about everything there is to know about baby making!

Brett did such a great job drawing up the medications and comforting me!


I had the great opportunity of having two shots in my stomach daily! Please let me remind you that I am terrified of needles! The best medication of all made me feel like I was going through menopause. Yes…hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, nausea, mood swings and all.














I had numerous blood draws and ultrasounds. Brett’s birthday, July 11th, was on a Friday. This was the day that my nurse Kristin called from California Fertility Partners and told us to be there on Monday for an appointment. We would finally meet Dr. Marrs for the first time! We were so excited we left the next morning. We started the drive to LA.


We stopped off in Las Vegas and Ryan and Sarah McGiven were nice enough to let us stay the night. Brady and Easton were so adorable!

We arrived at our hotel in LA on Sunday afternoon. Comfy bed!


Our Monday appointment went very well with an ultrasound and meeting Dr. Marrs.



What we went through the next week in LA was stressful yet strengthening our relationship. We did find some time for some fun and relaxation.

The Beach, out to dinner and DISNEYLAND.











I was in a wheel chair because I was still in some pain from the egg retrieval the day before.


The Egg Retrieval- Thursday, July 24th.


Making sure my levels are all good. They gave us the go!

Brett's addition :)


Before I went in for surgery they let Brett come in and see me followed my Dr. Marrs letting be know they were going to get started soon. Because of the other patients privacy they weren't even going to let Brett come back, so I was very excited to see him. Once my IV was started and the drugs went in I was feeling the effects almost immediately. I just started laughing and then I was out...

Waking up from my surgery. They got 10 eggs out of my two ovaries. It was amazing because he predicted to retrieve 8. I had 13 eggs which was surprisingly low for my age. I should have had close to 20. It may have been due to the cyst I had on my ovary earlier in the cycle. Well we got 10 eggs and now it is time for my eggs to meet up with Brett's sperm. Dr. Stone (embryologist) performs ICSI and microscopically injects the sperm into my each of my eggs. Now the waiting game. They now become embryos and grow like crazy. Out of the ten eggs, three didn't make it right off the bat. The next day Dr. Stone called and told us that only 5 of the embryos made it and they would be transferring the embryos back into my uterus.


Sunday...The Transfer!

Sunday we arrive at California Fertility Partners.


I was given a Valium for the next procedure I would go through. We went into the room and they showed us that we had 3 good embryos. The goal was to get the embryos to an 8 cell count and a 7.0 grade. I had 8, 7 and 6 cell count embryos. Dr. Marrs showed us this picture!



This was the surgical room were I had to drink 3 water bottles!! After bottle 2 I almost through up and then had to keep chugging. That was the worst of all! This was to fill my bladder so they could get a better look with an ultra sound where they were going to place the little ones.


The great doctor that helped us through it all!


Dr. Marrs



Another Waiting Game


The embryos were in and we made the trip home. We had to wait until August 1st to find out whether this entire journey was successful. That was a LONG day!! I'm going to say the longest day of my life! I had a blood draw that morning and then we just had to wait and wait and WAIT.

We got a phone call from Doc which I was not expecting because I was supposed to be contacted by my nurse Kristin. I answered the phone not thinking anything of it. He said "I just got off the phone with Dr. Marrs and.......................................................................................YOUR PREGNANT!!!!!!"


This is the little one at our ultrasound on Tuesday, August 19th.



Thank you to everyone who fasted, prayed and held your breath for us!! We are so blessed and know that this child is a Miracle Baby!

26 comments:

K. Bitton said...

Emily, that was such a neat story for you to share with us! Congrats! I am so happy for you and we will keep you in our prayers! What a sacrifice for you guys to make. You will be so blessed for your hard work! I am so excited for you to join in on this journey=) Will you have to do this everytime you want to have a baby? I don't know much about any of what you have been going through! You are so amazing!! Good luck with everything!! Lots of love-kayci

Unknown said...

Emily & Brett,
I have been silently waiting for you to feel comfortable enough to post this miraculous story. Thank you so much for being so real and open to sharing! I'm so emotional... it's such a hard road to get through and I feel you're already going to be a better mom right off the bat because of the yearning and sacrificing you two have given to get that precious 'fuzzy'.
Its hard and too indepth to understand how and why everything thing works out the way it does, but whatever things Shane and I had to go through to help contribute to you getting to this point was worth it. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. How blessed we all are to dive in and follow our hearts!!
Your little baby will someday love reading this post! Now go get some Zofran already!

Truly and Shane said...

somehow the comment filed in under shane's name?? ...thats from us--

Love- Tru & Shane

McGiven Family.... said...

We love you and are so excited for you! I am sure you have figured that out by all my texts :) You guys are so amazing and have been so great through all of this. What an amazing story to be able to tell your child someday. It was so fun to have you stay here and to spend some time with you. We cannot wait to meet your miracle baby!

By the way, our friends had a dog and Brady and Easton pet it the other day. I think they are ready to come back and see Tea!!! We are coming up on September 12 and I will be there for a long time so I will call you so we can get together!

K. Crisler said...

We are so excited for you two. I love to watch you both with Taylor, you will be amazing parents!

Lindsay said...

I am so excited for you guys!!!! Em, you will be the best mom ever. Seeing how caring and sweet that you are to those around you will make you an amazing mother! Congrats. Love ya
Linds Clyde

Leslie said...

What a journey, but congratulations! You should know all the Sandgren's were hoping and praying that everything would work out right for you guys!

The Colvins said...

Brett and Emily,
We are so happy for you! What wonderful news!! (You found out on MY Birthday too!) I'm so glad to hear that everything went well--I never knew that IVF was such a long and big procedure! How are feeling? Do you have morning sickness? I hope you're feeling good, but if not feel free to complain to me anytime--seriously!!

Jill said...

I am so freakin' excited for you both!! I don't know that there is anything more frustrating than wanting to start a family and not being able to. So happy for you both! Emily has been ready for babies for years so I am sure it will just come natural!

Brooklyn said...

Congratulations, Emily and Brett! I loved reading the story of how your miracle baby came to be. It has truly been a long journey, but I'm so happy it paid off in the end. Much joy is in store, and you'll be great parents!

danny.des.jack.nora said...

Hey, it's Des. I found your blog through Kelli's. And, Wow! That is an amazing story. I have been getting bits and peices from Kelli and we have been hoping and praying for you guys! I am so excited for you guys. You guys are so strong and that is amazing to me, I can't even begin to imagine what you two have been through. We are so extremely happy for you guys and know that you two will make great parents. Good luck with everything and we look forward to meeting this little miracle baby! Love, Des and Danny too.

Keli said...

Congrats!!!!! I am so excited for you and I can't explain the joy that I feel when I hear about this stuff. Call me and we can get together sometime maybe come to my house late one evening and we can play on the cricket. My kids go to sleep at 8:00 8365022

Brittany said...

I of course couldn't be happier for you two!!! You are going to be awesome parents. I can't wait to see Brett with a baby of his own, I know it will be so sweet. Love you guys, sorry I missed you while I was there.

Nic & Trudi said...

Congrats you two!! Nic and I are so happy and excited that it worked out for you guys. We are so excited that baby Nixon is going to have someone to play with. :) Love ya tons!

Katie said...

Congrats! How exciting. I have been wondering how it all turned out after seeing you at Grandma White's. I seriously had no idea the effort involved with IVF.....amazing! Seriously a miracle!

Just letting you know that my blog is private so if you want to take a peek at our lives just email me ktkiddo(at)hotmail.(com)

Toni S. Cook said...

congratulations!! How fun to get the good news after such hard work. You are in our prayers! I agree I would love to see all you guys more often. lets make it happen.

Masters Of Disasters said...

Congratulations!!!!!! I have been wondering about you guys. The last time I saw Brett you were still waiting to find out. I am so excited for you both. You will be awesome parents. I know this because you treat your dog so dang good. Good luck with everything!!!

Linz and Kev

The Deans said...

Congratulations Brett and Emily! There is nothing harder than wanting a baby and it not happening! I know first hand from my infertility problem, but we were blessed with a sweet baby too! Again I am so happy for you 2!

Karly said...

emily, even though i have know what was going on all along, just to read your story and got me all moist eyed. we love you guys your going to be the best parents

lisa louise said...

we are sooooo happy for you. :) we need to get together soon and scrapbook. :)
~lisa

Sabrina and BJ said...

Emily I loved your story.. I'm glad through all that pain you got to at least go to disneyland and the beach.. That kinda make up for it.. I'm so happy for you guys.. I can't wait to see you get a cute little belly.. Good Luck!!

MVP Family said...

I am so excited for you guys. The second you have them in your life you wonder what you ever did without them. We wish you the best and hope you love every minute of pregnancy!

preston. shawnee. cohen. said...

Hey Emily!! I'm glad I found your blog, it's been so long! This story is AMAZING. You went through SUCH A PROCESS. After reading your entire post I was thrilled to find out at the end that it all worked and that you're pregnant, congratulations!!! I can't believe that doctors can do stuff like this, incredible. Definitely a miracle. Keep in touch :)

The Miller's said...

Hi Emily this is Tiffani Miller! I found your blog through Lindsay Clyde's blog! I am so excited for you and Brett you both are going to make great parents and I wish you the best with the rest of the pregnancy! I have a sister-in-law that may need to talk to you! I can't wait to see your cute pregnant belly grow and grow! Babies are the biggest blessing and sacrifice all in one! Congrats again! You two are such troopers for what you did! See you in church!

McKenna said...

Wow! How amazing. I love modern technology, it's such a miracle. My brother and sister in-law did the same thing twice and now have 3 healthy children. I've seen what a process it is to get pregnant but those babies are so worth it all. You are so brave! You will definately be so blessed for all that you have sacrificed and had to go through in order to get to this point.

Congratulations Emily and Brett! I am so excited for you.

Love
McKenna (ehat)

email me and I'll add you to my blog: mckenna.akebrand@gmail.com

Heather said...

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!! Jared & I are going to be doing that soon with the EXACT same Doctors. So that gave me an exact idea of what we will be going through. I just sent off my medical records to Dr. Marrs so next I will be having a consult over the phone. I am soooo happy for you guys! We may be calling you if we have any concerns just so ya know.