Christina & Erin
Treatment(s)
- Donor sperm
- Embryo Freezing
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
- Hysteroscopy
- In vitro Fertilization (IVF)
- Ovulation induction
Location(s)
- Syracuse
Physician(s)
- Robert Kiltz, MD
- David Corley, MD
Christina & Erin's Story:
We met in college, started dating in 2012, and were married in 2020. I had always dreamed of having a family. So we started seriously planning for our family and future around 2015 once we were both out of college with steady jobs. When nothing else in our life was certain, our desire to become moms was our one constant.
On December 6, 2020, we chose our sperm donor (with qualities that would bring out both of us) and planned on reciprocal IVF with Erin's egg, donor sperm, and me carrying our baby.
After almost a year of struggling with insurance companies, Erin had a successful egg retrieval on 3/4/2022!
Twenty-four eggs, 16 injected, and 12 successfully fertilized, giving us eight healthy embryos, one of whom would become our Vivian James.
My pregnancy journey was briefly halted by a polyp that needed to be removed, which was successful in April 2022, and we finally scheduled our TRANSFER DAY!
I had two acupuncture sessions, one embryo transferred, and a million positive thoughts on 6/15/2022!!
After three positive at-home pregnancy tests and many happy tears, I officially got the positive blood test on 6/24/2022. The two of us, our family, and friends could not have been more excited!
Our Vivian James was born on 2/18/2023, and she is just the epitome of perfection!
We would not have been here without the amazing team at CNY.
(Beautiful photos by Rebecca Sheets)
Favorite Team Member at CNY:
All of the staff we worked with were amazing!
Helpful resources Christina & Erin found:
We documented our reciprocal IVF journey in a notebook during and after each doctor appointment so we can show our daughter how much she was prayed for and wanted.
The Moment:
Taking my first pregnancy test, I saw the two pinkest lines ever, and it was immediate tears for both of us.
I wound up having an unplanned C-section about two weeks early for Vivian and I just remember finally being able to see what she looked like. When they put her on my chest I just kept saying "hi baby" over and over through the tears.
Hope, Inspiration and Advice:
When we started TTC I guess I wish we knew how emotionally draining it can be, especially not having a ton of support.
We have so many friends and family who would have been amazing and supportive, but we really wanted to keep the journey a secret until we were pregnant so we could have the same surprise announcement that other couples get to have. It was completely worth the surprise for our families, but also very hard on the two of us during it all.
