Nikki & Jon-David
Infertility Diagnosis
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Recurrent miscarriage
Treatment(s)
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
Location(s)
- Rochester
Physician(s)
- Robert Kiltz, MD
- Leigh Houghton, NP
Nikki & Jon-David's Story:
In January of 2013, six months after our wedding, we began trying for our first baby. We had dreams of a large family with three or four children. We were in our early twenties and never could have anticipated the years ahead.
After six months of trying, we became pregnant for the first time. We were elated! However, at eight weeks gestation, We lost the pregnancy. Two months later, we were pregnant again. To our devastation, we lost this baby at 7 weeks.
Another 8 months went by without success. We were confused, young, and hurting. That was when we were referred to CNY Rochester. The first meeting with Dr. Kiltz was enlightening! We jumped in with two feet and never looked back. It was at this time that I was diagnosed with PCOS and recurrent miscarriage. We began a fully medicated IUI, with great hope.
Over the next two years, we had 3 failed IUIs. But that October, we received our first bout of good news! Our 4th IUI worked, and we were pregnant with twins! We began protocol to help sustain the pregnancy with interlipids, progesterone, and a number of other tools. Unfortunately, after a few weeks, we lost both babies and had to have a D&C at the CNY in Syracuse.
While testing my blood HCG levels back down to zero, we had a very strange thing happen. All of a sudden our number started to go back up. We thought there was a fluke, but it turns out I was pregnant, yet again. This was our fourth pregnancy.
As expected at this point, we lost this baby too.
A few months later, we began the adoption process. The week before we were scheduled to take the classes for the adoption agency, I found out I was pregnant once again, after a natural cycle. We immediately went to CNY to begin our sustainability protocol. This time, we added in acupuncture through CNY. For the first time, our numbers went up! Nine months later, we gave birth to our rainbow son, Tobias.
When Tobias was 9 months old we decided to try again. After two natural cycles, we became pregnant with our second son, Finnick. We, again, spent the first few months at CNY working closely to monitor and sustain the pregnancy.
Three years later, we decided to try one more time, thinking we would have no trouble. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the same position as years previous. We had three miscarriages over the course of the beginning of 2020. At that point, we decided that losing a total of 8 babies was too many for us- and we decided to be done.
As we all know, things don’t usually go as planned, and we were surprised to find out we were pregnant one last time. We went back to CNY to work to sustain this pregnancy, and they followed us through one final time.
We now have three beautiful children, who we owe entirely to CNY, the diligence and attention the staff gave, and the protocols put in place to help with my PCOS and recurrent miscarriage. We are so thankful!
Photo Credit: the amazing Tina Marie in Rochester
Favorite Team Member at CNY:
Katie in Rochester was our FAVORITE nurse. She was comforting and loving when things were hard and through every loss, and celebrated with us after each positive test.
The receptionist, Kim Branch, from all of those years ago was also loving, compassionate, and comforting during every appointment.
Helpful resources Nikki & Jon-David found:
Journaling, Keto, and acupuncture were amazing tools to help me through this long journey.
Unique Moments:
My greatest high was the level of care given over the years. Each staff member knowing our names, our history, and our journey.
Our greatest high was when we found out we were pregnant with twins, and many of the nurses cried tears of happiness with us.
On that same note, the day we lost the twins, we received silent hugs of comfort.
It’s truly amazing how many losses one can go through, then to have two successful pregnancies, just to be followed by three more losses years later.
Hope, Inspiration and Advice:
My best advice is this: Don’t lose hope. More than anything, don’t lose hope. Loss after loss, we began feeling like it wasn’t possible for me to carry a baby- and here I am 9 years later with three beautiful children.
