Early on in life we are taught about std's, teen pregnancies, abortions, aids, and so much more. We picture a life where pregnancy is easily achieved and often times unwanted. In my home I was taught "first comes love, then comes marriage and then comes a baby in a baby carriage." So I always thought that I would grow up, find a man who would love me and I him. I thought that we would get married and bam... get pregnant whenever we wanted because hey, pregnancy is 'easy' to achieve. Love, marriage and pregnancy weren't easy for me though...
I fell in love with a boy when I was just 11 years old. I was on a missionary trip and he was older and thought I was just a pesky little girl. Yet as young as I was I told my mother and father that I was going to marry that boy! The summer after my 16th birthday I found myself face to face with the same young man on a vacation to Puerto Rico. I was no longer a pesky child and he longer saw that. For two weeks he came everyday to see me, don't laugh but he even took me to see Shriek at the movies, hahahaha I crack up even now! The point is that there was interest on both parts and on my last night of the vacation I was asked to stay the rest of my summer with his pastor's family and I gladly took up the offer! A month later we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Nothing was easy after that. The summer came to an end and I had to go back to Florida while he stayed in Puerto Rico. We dated long distance for an entire year! It was hard, challenging and frustrating. He would come to visit but that wasn't enough, I wanted to see him everyday. I wanted to go on dates. You know the usual. So a month before I went to Puerto Rico, after a year of long distance love, I told him "after my summer vacation in PR, my family and i are moving to New Jersey and the next time you come to visit me, it will be to stay." Turns out he was thinking the same. During my stay that summer he proposed, he packed his things and came to live in New Jersey with my family. Two years later, I only 19 and he only 25 got married on August 3rd, 2007!
So we fell in love, we married and the next step was supposed to be easy. According to my obgyn, pregnancy for the average couple should occur within 3 to 6 months of trying to conceive. We started 'trying' in February 2008. We prayed, we fasted and nothing. I started a medication called Clomid in August 2008 which was supposed to help us get pregnant. I did 50mg for three months... nothing. I did 75mg for another three months and nothing! At this point I cried myself to sleep every night. Six couples from my church were currently expecting, many on their first try of trying. I felt my hope, my faith fade away. But I'm not an easy quitter and my husband and I decided to try another round. I did 150mg for another three months and still nothing. So we tried 200mg, the highest dose aloud and still nothing! We took a break and decided to just focus on each other. During this time people kept telling us that now that we weren't trying it would happen. It never did. In September 2009, God used a mighty woman of His to speak a word over my husband and I. I remember as she placed her hand on my womb and declared healing over it. She stretched our arms out as far as they would go and said "further than you can see, you shall be blessed and multiplied." My husband and I took a few months to pray and seek the Lord and in April 2010 we walked into South Jersey Fertility and began the process of assisted conception. From April to October I had three IUI's but never fell pregnant. I became angry and bitter. I couldn't stand the sight of other pregnant women or babies. I literally felt my heart grow cold and hard towards the Lord and I knew that was just wrong. In November a close friend going through similar treatments recommended her doctor at Delaware Valley Institute of Fertility & Genetics. I made an appointment for April 2011.
From April 2011 to June 2012 I did no treatments... instead my new Fertility specialist dedicated the year to running test on me and my husband. I had everything you can think of done and tested. One blood test alone took 22 vials of blood! And every test came back normal. They couldn't find anything wrong. We were labeled "unexplained infertility." We tried to do three IUI cycles with the aid of Fertility injections, which by the way took my fear of needles away quickly! But I would over stimulate and the cycle would get cancelled. The last IUI cycle was in December 2012. I overstimulated so much that the center converted my treatment to In-Vitro. I transferred two embryos that month. But I was working, stressed, unprepared, tired, and submitting my finals for my Masters Degree. Sadly the cycle didn't work. My specialist wanted us to do another cycle in February 2013 but I asked for time.
On June 1, 2013 I started my injections for my official In-Vitro cycle. I was a text book patient. The medications were working and on June 13th I had my retrieval. I yielded 10 mature follicles!!!! On the 14th I got a call that all 10 follicles fertilized. I was told that if the embryos did well over night then I would have a 5 day transfer. Unfortunately, I got a call the following morning instructing my husband and I to go in on June 16th for a 3 day transfer. I was worried and scared. Would this work? We went in on the 16th at 2:00pm. The specialist suggested to transfer our top 3 embryos. My husband almost choked, "three!!!" The specialist left us alone to decide on one, two or three. I remember looking at my husband with glassed over eyes and saying, "I'm tired of trying and trying. Let's do the three, if this doesn't work then hopefully we'll have one or two frozen embryos to transfer in August and if that doesn't work then we are done. I can't do this anymore." So we agreed on three! The transfer was quick and easy and thankfully painless. We went home and I took a seat on the couch - my home for the next 5 days! I was so positive that it worked. Until Wednesday the 19th... I got a call from the center informing me that the remaining 7 embryos did not make it to freezing point. I remember crying so hard. My mother and cousin were home for lunch and those poor two didn't even know what to say or do. I cried, "if those didn't make it, of they didn't survive then what makes anyone think that the three embryos inside of me will stick?" My mother, being the all knowing mother that she is replied, "maybe God didn't want you to waste money on freezing embryos that you aren't going to need because the one or more of the three in you will stick and be your children." I moped around from Wednesday to Friday night. On Saturday the 22nd of June, I snuck out of bed and tested on a First Response test... POSITIVE!!!! I went to bed and woke up Tito. I put the test so close to his eyes that he didn't even know what I was showing him. I just kept yelling, "do you see it, do you see it, do you see the line?" I tested every morning from the 22nd to the 27th and everyday the test was darker! On the 27th I had a blood test to confirm and positive!!!!
On July 5th I had my first ultrasound and we saw two sacs... Twins!!! We were so happy and so shocked and so scared! Then I got sick and started bleeding. I was scared that I was losing the babies. I went on July 19th for an ultrasound and everything was fine, except the ultrasound tech started laughing and showed me that I was no longer having twins.... one of the embryos had split and there was a third baby hiding in the back... TRIPLETS!!!!! Two identical and one fraternal! Say what? I couldn't believe my eyes. Thank God my mother was there to keep me calm because I could feel the panic! None the less triplets it is for my husband and I... we look at it as one child for every two years that we tried to get pregnant. We never did the treatments with an expectation of having multiples, we did the treatments with hope and faith believing that God would grant us a child that we wanted so much, God just has bigger plans than what we planned.
It hasn't been easy getting here. It sure wasn't anything like we thought it would be. I've cried many tears even now during this pregnancy that hasn't den easy either. At times I lost my faith, hope and even desire to continue forward. But I thank God for the support, friends, family and co-workers that have been praying for my husband and I even before and during my In-Vitro and especially now during this pregnancy. I couldn't have asked for more love and kindness even from many who I don't know personally but have still taken it upon themselves pray for us.
Follow us here as we continue to document our journey...
With so much love,
Jackie
