Ashley & Brendan

Ashley & Brendan's Story:

My husband and I were married in August 2010 and had planned to start a family within the first year of our marriage. We had both always dreamed of being parents. Once we started trying to conceive, we got pregnant fairly quickly. Little did we know this was just the beginning of our infertility struggles.

About 7 weeks into our first pregnancy, I started bleeding. So we went to the hospital to get things checked out. We had not had an ultrasound done yet to confirm the pregnancy, so that was the first thing the doctors wanted to do. After the ultrasound, we were told that we were actually pregnant with twins, but that it was also an ectopic pregnancy. Apparently, the first twin had not made it through the fallopian tube, causing the second to get stuck behind it. The doctors said that the pregnancy would have to be terminated, or it could be life-threatening to me. My husband and I were devastated.

After two months of healing, we continued to try to conceive. Over the next 4-5 years, we had numerous miscarriages and another ectopic pregnancy. No pregnancy went past 7 weeks. Finally, we were referred to a fertility clinic (not CNY) by my OBGYN. We went to this clinic for two years, had multiple procedures and tests done. We ended up being diagnosed with unexplained infertility. So we decided to try a round of IVF. After one egg retrieval and two failed frozen embryo transfers, we were so emotionally drained that we decided to take a break from trying.

A few years later, we had basically given up on trying to start a family. That is when we started hearing about CNY Fertility. We had both family and friends who knew people who had had success with CNY. So we decided to give it one last try. We had a consultation with them that went fantastically. We left there feeling a new spark of excitement and hope.

After minimal testing, it was determined that I have PCOS. We also found that one of my fallopian tubes was blocked, and the other one was damaged. We decided to have both of my tubes removed due to the high risk of another ectopic pregnancy and other concerns.

We then proceeded to do an egg retrieval and ended up with 3 day 5 embryos. On October 14, 2024, we transferred the first of our three embryos. Two weeks later, we got the blood work results back and confirmed that we were pregnant!

Those first few ultrasounds were amazing to see. We were so nervous through the first trimester after all of our losses, but the further along we got, the more excited we were. On June 14, 2025, at 1:44 AM, we welcomed our little miracle baby boy into this world. On that day, our dreams finally came true!

(Photos by Amy Cathleen Photography)

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Leigh Houghton and all of the nurses at the Rochester locations were amazing. I always felt like they genuinely cared about how I felt and what was going on with us. Every time I had an appointment with Leigh, I felt like she was just as invested in our journey as we were. We will definitely be working with them again when we try for our second child.

Helpful resources Ashley & Brendan found:

I found it very helpful to make sure I set aside time to do things that I enjoyed. Since this journey is a very stressful and long one, it is good to carve out time for yourself to decompress and relax.

The Moment:

During the entire pregnancy, it felt so surreal. There were so many times when I still couldn't believe I was pregnant and that we were going to be parents. Now that he is here, I feel like I have always known him. That he has always been with us. He was just waiting for the right time to join us.

My husband and I are over the moon in love with our little boy. He is absolute perfection and we are so glad that we did not give up. Everything we have gone through in our infertility struggles seem like a distant memory now that he is finally here.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

For anyone just starting their journey, I would tell them to have faith and make sure you have a good support system. I couldn't imagine having gotten through all of this without my husband. We have both been through the ringer over the past 15 years, but it has only made our bond stronger.

Just remember that anything is possible once you find the right people to help you make your dreams come true. I never would have thought it was possible to have our son after 2 ectopics and 13 miscarriages, but here we are. I would go through it all again if it meant I ended up with my sweet boy in the end.