Emily & Alex

Emily & Alex's Story:

My husband and I started trying in 2017, right after we got married. I had already been diagnosed with PCOS, and we knew it could be a struggle and wanted to start as soon as possible in case it took a while.

We bought supplements, made diet and lifestyle changes, and met with a nutritionist regularly. But my periods (and ovulation) were still completely absent, even though I was just 22 years old.

We moved to timed intercourse, then IUI, then IUI with stims, and after 9 of them failed we were quoted over $20,000 for ivf at our local clinic (not CNY).

That wasn't a possibility financially, especially after what we had already been through. It was through luck and research we found CNY.

We flew from MN to Buffalo in Feb 2020 for our consult and some diagnostic testing and had our retrieval at the Syracuse clinic in March.

We opted for a fresh transfer after yielding nine embryos from our retrieval. It, unfortunately, ended as an early loss/ chemical pregnancy. We were devastated. Seeing the positive result on a test was such a high, and having it end before it really even started, when that was the furthest we had gotten, was upsetting and frustrating.

We changed up our medication protocol but experienced two more early losses. We decided to schedule a diagnostic laparoscopy and do a transfer of one of our lower-quality embryos while we waited, adding the most intense medication protocol we could.

Getting the call that our beta way positive almost meant nothing to me, as I'd gotten that call before and then had a loss. But then we got the call that our fourth beta was still rising appropriately and we scheduled a first ultrasound. That was a new step, and the pregnancy felt so real! And it was!

Fast forward to April 2021, I gave birth via c-section to our daughter. She was (and still is) the sweetest angel, so full of love, everything we were hoping for, and so so much more.

But we knew we wanted her to have a sibling, so around eight months postpartum, we went for another transfer and tried to use a more natural approach instead of all the medications. Unfortunately, it was another loss, and we took a month off to process and grieve.

We went back in Feb 2022 for transfer #6, using the same protocol we used to have our daughter, and in October, I had our son via emergency c-section at 35 weeks due to my blood pressure and his lack of movement on ultrasound.

He ended up having an 8-day NICU stay, but no major complications and we could take him home!

We couldn't be more grateful to CNY for everything they've given us and a bonus gift that we couldn't have had without them. When my son was about 3.5 months old, I planned to start birth control to have regular periods again. My OB recommended I take a pregnancy test, which I laughed off given our history, but I took it anyway. It came back positive.

There was no way, with what we had been through, never having a natural pregnancy or even positive test, that it could be... but a week or so later, ultrasound confirmed what we had long given up hope of hearing,--we were pregnant naturally!

Our OB said it was likely due to a combination of my body resetting after the birth of my son and all the hormones still there that led to us being able to get pregnant. Without our other two babies, this wouldn't have been possible.

We are set to become a family of 5 in September, and we will have a 2.5-year-old daughter, an 11-month-old son, and, as we recently found out, a newborn baby girl!!!

We are so excited and so grateful to CNY! Thank you for making our dreams come true!

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Ashley the nurse who helped with most of our transfers.

The Moment:

Holding our daughter for the first time was absolutely surreal. She was everything I had dreamt of, and so much more.

I'll never forget laying her to sleep in the little plastic tray the first night in the hospital, and just looking at her while she slept, so peaceful and angelic. I actually took a photo of her that night and every now and again find myself pulling it up and it brings me right back to that moment.

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

Failure is an inevitable part of our journey, but it doesn't have to be the end of it.

After our 3d early loss, after so many failed treatments, we were so close to calling it quits. We were both frustrated, sad, alone, and telling ourselves it wasn't meant to be.

I had a small voice telling to me keep going, but it was hard to want to. Little did we know our next transfer would be successful!

I'd also say to give yourself grace, be honest with people about your feelings, and know that it's okay to take space for yourself. It's okay if you need to skip a baby shower or not be around a friend who is excepting. It's okay to let them know that while you're thrilled for them, you're kind of going through it, and it's hard. Don't feel guilty for protecting your heart.