Alexandria

Alexandria's Story:

For a very long time, I had no desire to have children. I was fine being an aunt to my then thirteen nieces and nephews. But we know how the story often goes. You find someone and fall in love. What better way to solidify your love than a child together. I met my now husband in 2019. He has a son from a previous marriage. We started discussing having a child. We tried, and nothing happened. Time was not on my side, and the uncertainty of COVID put a slight delay in our fertility plans.

In 2021, I did my first egg retrieval. I was excited. I did my monitoring at the CNY Fertility Atlanta office and then flew to CNY Albany, NY, for egg retrieval. I was 38 at the time with ten follicles that yielded ten eggs. Great! Right? Yes. But what was unexpected was the discovery of a heart condition.

During my egg retrieval, the medical team noticed my echo was abnormal. This discovery resulted in putting my fertility plans on hold until I could be medically cleared and determined heart-healthy for pregnancy.

In 2023, we were cleared and decided to proceed as planned. The RE suggested another round of egg retrieval and switched my protocol a bit. Egg retrieval yielded 30 eggs and OHSS, but we had plenty of eggs. 

My previous ten eggs were thawed. Of the 30 eggs, nineteen matured. In all, we had fifteen embryos. We opted out of genetic testing and proceeded with a fresh transfer. Unfortunately, it failed. I was devastated. I decided to rest my body and planned to wait until summer for a frozen transfer (FET). In the meantime, I continued with my regular routine.

In January 2024, I woke up and decided it was time. I contacted CNY on January 2nd, and on January 16th, I was in Albany for my frozen transfer. This didn't come without some challenges. The weather was horrible, and I got stuck in Baltimore, slept in the airport, and missed my morning appointment. CNY was very accommodating, and I was able to do acupuncture and my transfer, which was successful. 

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

All the staff at the Atlanta and Albany offices were amazing and very accomodating. I never felt like a number and always had my concerns addressed timely. Thank you CNY for making my dream of motherhood possible.

Helpful resources Alexandria found:

I enjoyed the online communities.

The Moment:

Since my first transfer didn't work, I decided to test early. I took my first test three days post transfer. It was negative. On the fourth day, I took another test and nothing so I threw the test in the trash. I went to work but all day at work I kept telling myself to check the test again. I came home and pulled the test out of the trash and there was a faint line. Not the one to get too excited, I text my sister and she confirmed it was a line. Still nervous, I took a pregnancy test every day until I received my beta results. If I'm being honest, I took a pregnancy test several times after my beta results.

I got the call while I was home in Arkansas for my uncle's funeral. The nurse called while I was sitting at the table with my mom. I was so relieved and so nervous. This was really happening. My mom was overjoyed. I called my husband and then I called my oldest sister. She cried. I didn't even cry. I was so excited but didn't want to be too excited. It was one of the best feelings ever.

All that was nothing compared to the moment that I held my baby boy for the first time. I held him so tight and said a prayer of thanks.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

I was lucky enough to have a support system. Find your support system. Sometimes, it may not be family and you may have to find your support system from one of the TTC communities.

The best advice I can offer is to advocate for yourself and never lose the faith. Just know nothing about this journey is easy and often times it seems very unfair. All these feelings are valid feelingsd but push through. I can attest the best feeling is holding your baby for the first time or watching all of their firsts. The best decision I ever made in life was to do a second transfer. He's the best of me and yet still so much more. Patience is key and the reward is amazing.