Finally, My Miracle

After the devastating failure of the New Jersey IVF, we knew we still had the option to go back for our remaining four embryos. While this wasn't a terribly expensive procedure (think several thousand versus tens of thousands) we just didn't have enough money to go back. Fortunately I have a loving and supportive family and both my parents offered us money to get us back to New Jersey sooner rather than later. They were a bit eager for grandchildren.

With the gifts from my parents and some scrounging in savings and (unfortunately) our credit card, we were able to go back to New Jersey for a Frozen Embryo Transfer. In this procedure I would be given extra hormones to help make my uterus a hospitable place for an embryo to grow. The embryos would be thawed and monitored and two would be put in my uterus. It would be a quick trip down and back, so we booked a much nicer hotel this time.

Unfortunately my old Nemesis progesterone in oil was back in the mix. These are the MASSIVE injections in the butt that make you hobble around in pain. It was a long and uncomfortable trip to New Jersey. When we went in for the transfer I was very disappointed to learn that our embryos were a bit tinier than I had expected. The nine and ten cells I received the prior trip were replaced by 7 and 8 cell embryos. Better perhaps than the Boston IVF embryos, but not what I had hoped for. I was discouraged, but there was nothing I could do. The embryos were transferred and we drove home the next day.

It was another anxious two week wait for our test results. This time we told no one when the test was and we decided to test at home before we went in for the blood test. It was a Saturday morning so we didn't have to worry about giving anyone bad news. So I peed on the stick.

And we both agreed, there was only one line. Then a few seconds passed....was that a shadow? Another line? We busted out the expensive digital test I had kicking around. A few minutes later there it was: Pregnant

3 1/2 years of trying and we were finally going to have a baby! It was an amazing feeling. The positive result was confirmed by the blood test, and things looked great. We had a scare at our first ultrasound when all they could find was an empty gestational sac (they do very early ultrasounds on IVF patients because of an increased risk of tubal pregnancies, and because they transfer more than one embryo) but at our second appointment our little baby was there, with a beautifully strong heartbeat.

I remained on the HORRIBLE progesterone in oil for the entire first trimester and was finally tapered off it and the other hormones by my 5th month. That's a lot of stabs in the butt. I am happy to say I had a very smooth and uneventful pregnancy until my baby shower, six weeks before my due date, when my water broke. Oooops.

Benjamin was born 1/31/10 weighing 5 lbs 1 oz. He spent two weeks in the NICU growing and then came home, happy and healthy, and has been making me a very proud mommy ever since.

The moral of the story: Good Things Do Happen.