Our story is much different than most others, but nonetheless just as important and we feel worth sharing. My husband, Brian, and I got married a little over two years ago. I have a 13-year-old daughter and while he adores her, we had always hoped to have a child of our own together.
Coming to SGF
We had already been to two fertility practices prior to meeting Dr. Ryan Martin. We had been told due to my advanced age and very low egg count, we would need to go through IVF treatment using donor egg in order to bring a healthy child into the world. We previously had gone through seven rounds of fertility treatment, including IUI. All unsuccessful.
Starting treatment at SGF
The idea of using a donor egg was extremely difficult for me, but we ultimately decided to go for it! Shady Grove Fertility had the absolute best treatment plan for us. We met with Dr. Martin and he explained in detail how the process would go. We went through a few tests and began the process of choosing our donor. We were looking forward to starting our IVF cycle.
A big surprise
Meanwhile, I took it upon myself to take my last ovulation test, just for the heck of it. Lo and behold, the test read positive for the very first time in almost 2 years! We learned 2 weeks later, I was naturally PREGNANT! Shocked was an understatement. I reached out to Dr. Martin’s office and they had me come in for bloodwork. My beta numbers were great. Three rounds of bloodwork and all looked good. Then came our 6-week ultrasound. We went in so excited but found out minutes later that the sac was empty. No baby, no heartbeat. We were devastated.
We were to return two weeks later to make sure things didn’t change and possibly schedule a D&C. Brian and I arrived 2 weeks later and thought all hope was lost. However, we had the biggest surprise of our lives when the ultrasound revealed a baby and strong heartbeat! We were over the moon. We returned a week later to make sure our little bean was still growing, and he/she was!
We didn’t know if the baby was a boy or girl. We left it as a surprise because we were so happy to be pregnant, it didn’t matter to us. A healthy baby is all we wished for.
We welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Emerson Faith via C-section on March 22, 2019. She weighed 6lbs, 15 oz and measured 19 inches long. We count our lucky stars every single day for her!
Advice to future patients
To all of those who think the impossible is just that, please know miracles DO HAPPEN. I am 41 years old and my husband is 40. We were told we had a less than a 5% chance of getting pregnant on our own. We were thrilled and beyond blessed to overcome those HUGE odds!