Nicole & Nick

Nicole & Nick's Story:

We first began trying to conceive 7 years ago, after I graduated college and my husband returned from his first deployment. I had heard of infertility, but thought we were young and it would happen easily. I suspected I had endometriosis, however we tried for several years before I was officially diagnosed. 2 years into our journey, we saw a local reproductive endocrinologist, did some work-ups and tried 2 rounds of IUI. After some ups and downs during those cycles (neither working), IVF was recommended as our next treatment option. We took a 6-month break and then went through our first round of IVF just before my husband’s second deployment. Our results were not what we expected being I was only 25 years old, and we ended up with 3 pgs-tested embryos. Even though we had fewer embryos, we were so optimistic it would work. We waited for my husbands deployment to be over (another year) and did our first transfer, but it didn’t work. We decided to do the ERA biopsy and another transfer, but that transfer also did not work despite changing when my progesterone was given. With only one embryo left, knowing we wanted more than one child, we decided to do another round of ivf before my husbands 3rd deployment. Shortly after he left, we did our third embryo transfer (this time with two embryos), but the results were still the same. Our local clinic did not know why our transfers were not working, when everything seemed “perfect”. After our third failed FET, they recommended a gestational carrier. Not wanting to give up, we contacted CNY while my husband was still stateside for training. They got us in for a consult, sent a sperm shipping kit, and shortly there after we were preparing for our third round of IVF. I started keto and egg priming for a few months before traveling to New York October 208 for our 3rd egg retrieval and first fresh transfer. It was nerve racking with my husband deployed, but we were optimistic because CNY gave us hope where we had none. Our fresh transfer failed, so I scheduled my second laparoscopy with a plan to transfer the following month. We talked to the doctor and came up with a treatment plan and I was flying to New York again while my husband’s deployment wrapped up. With CNY’s treatment plan, our 5th embryo transfer was a success, and the best homecoming surprise my husband could have asked for. CNY gave us our miracle baby boy, who was born a year after my first visit to Syracuse!

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Dr. Corley praying with me following our embryo transfer. With my husband deployed and doing this all alone, it made me feel like I wasn’t so alone.

Helpful resources Nicole & Nick found:

CNY Facebook page and several CNY support groups on Facebook.

Unique Moments:

Some of our lows were our failed embryo transfers at our local clinic, which ultimately resulted in them recommending a gestational carrier—this was extremely difficult to find the strength to overcome and keep trying with a new clinic. It tested our marriage at a time when my husband was deployed and we could not be together.
Some of our highs were our egg retrieval with CNY where we got twice as many eggs as I had locally, as well as our first FET with CNY that was successful. My beta was scheduled for Presidents’ Day so I was told I would not get my results until the following business day. I hadn’t tested before, but wanted to grieve what I thought was another failed transfer (I had zero pregnancy symptoms) while I was off work, so I took a pregnancy test and was in disbelief when it instantly showed positive. The biggest high was surprising my husband at the airport when he returned from His 10-month deployment at 7 weeks with that positive pregnancy test—we were both so emotional!

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

I wish I knew that IVF does not always work, despite all the testing you may do to give yourself the best chance—sometimes the embryos just don’t stick. I wish I knew about CNY earlier in my journey. My biggest advice would be do not give up! We tried for 7 years to become pregnant and took a huge leap of faith by going to CNY (which is across the country from me), but it was the first time I felt like our fertility journey was in my hands, it felt right, and it was a success! I would also advise doing your own research and learning about the process and medications so you better know what to expect through your journey—this makes the process so much easier and less stressful!