Bplus: Katie Grace's story -- Day 22....

Our story starts a LONG time ago- way back in 1969, when I was a year old and my Mom snapped a picture of me "nursing" my doll. I was one of those little girls who loved babies and everything to do with them, and I couldn't wait until I was old enough to be a Mom myself. I loved taking care of my two younger brothers, especially when they were babies. One thing that really stands out in my mind is an informative speech I gave when I was in Jr High on the subject of Test Tube babies. At the time, IVF was making headlines in the news. I thought it was a fascinating topic, but I could NEVER have imagined just how well versed I would eventually become on that subject!

All my jobs growing up involved kids- I babysat for two large families, taught swimming lessons, worked at a pre-school- you get the picture. I was an elementary ed major in college, and became a 2nd grade teacher. I actually met my DH at college, but we didn't date until later, when my good friend Merideth (Myrt on INCIID) and her DH hooked us up. Pat and I were married on June 18th, 1994, and I went off the pill in January of 1995. We were ready to start our family! Luckily, I din't know what all we would have to go through to get that family. We were living in Kansas City at the time.

By Nov 1995, I was frustrated that we weren't pg, so I made an appt with my OB. He checked DH's sperm count, said it was fine (although later we would be told we have morphology issues), and had us try three rounds of clomid. No luck. He told us it was time to move on to a specialist in the spring of 1996. That was hard for me to do, but I'm glad he realized his limitations. We did to to an RE, but I wish I'd have known everything I know now- the clinic wasn't open on weekends which was ridiculous! They said they could control your cycle, but we ran into a problem almost every month we were treated there. The only reason I went to this Dr. was because he was the only one on my insurance plan. It covered u/s and blood draws, and 50% of drug costs, but no IVF. We tried 3 clomid inseminations- no luck. Then, in Sept 1996, I had a lap which revealed stage 3 endo. My left ovary was completely encased in it, and my left tube was bowed up in a strange position. I took depot lupron for 3 months, then we tried three inseminations with injectable drugs. Still no luck. In July 1997, we tried our very first IVF, a combo Gift/IVF. I was 28 at the time, and we put back 3 embryos and 4 eggs in my tubes. I thought FOR SURE this would be it- but I ended up with a Beta of 6, and no baby. I think I took that BFN the hardest of any - it just crushed me.

The school year started, and we tried 3 more inseminations with injectable drugs- still no luck. I was getting so stressed with trying to teach and keep all these appointments! Dh is an attorney, and he took a job in Wichita, partly so I could stay home. At that point, IVF became my "job", but the stress got a lot better. We moved in January '98, and did our first IVF there in February 1998- BFN. We did have a few embryos to freeze, and our quality had been good. I am not a great responder though- I think we had 7 eggs that cycle. Our clinic in Wichita "batched" their patients, so we could only try certain months. We tried again in May 1998 with another IVF/ICSI- another disappointment. Our DR decided to try something new in July 1998, and we put back 3 embryos in a ZIFT procedure. STILL no baby! I didn't know what else to try. I wish I had found INCIID, but we didn't have a computer at home yet. At this point, my DH described us as "Relentless" we weren't stopping until we had a baby! In October 1998, we tried a Frozen Embryo transfer,and put back 4 embryos. One of the funniest things of our whole IVF journey happened then- at the hospital there was a mistake on my ID bracelet- it had my birthdate as 9-2-08 instead of 9-2-68, and two nurses came running into my room looking for the 90 year old woman there for an embryo transfer. It made me laugh. Still no baby though. My Dh was so sweet through the whole ordeal- he would always thank me for going through this. I was just glad he would let me- I couldn't stop until there was a baby in our arms. My family was very helpful financially, since our insurance didn't cover IVF. I was very lucky to have that help, and I'll always be grateful for it.

Our RE said that I looked like the poster child for blastocysts, something his clinic was going to try in February 1999. We hoped and prayed this would be what would work! On that cycle, I only had 5 eggs, and with 3 embryos we didn't have enough to try a 5 day transfer. I was very disappointed. We put the 3 embryos in on a 3 day transfer, and on March 9, 1999, when I was 30 years old, I got the call I had been waiting for FOREVER! We were FINALLY pg! My RE called himself, and I'll never forget a word he said as long as I live. My # was 90 10dp3dt, and we were thrilled! My DH wouldn't let me move off the couch that afternoon, he was so afraid something would happen. I had a woderful pregnancy,and enjoyed every minute of it. Our friends were thrilled for us- we had 6 baby showers. On November 13, 1999, 2 days before his due date, our miracle son Brendan Patrick was born. When he was 3 months old, we got a home computer and I found INCIID, which had been a wonderful resource!

Finally we are to Katie's part of our LONG story! We moved back to Kansas City in March 2001. DH took a new job there partly because we would have 4 covered IVF cycles to try for a sibling. Also, KC was closer to our families, and we had lots of friends there. We were not going back to our old RE there, so we went to one who does only blastocyst transfers and has very good rates. Several of my friends had gone to him. Amazingly, we only had to do ONE cycle for Katie! In May, 2001 we did that cycle. We had 8 eggs, and 7 were determined injectable for ICSI. Four fertilized and one grew to an expanded blastocyst, and one grew to a compacting morula. These are the 2 we transferred on June 5, 2001. I looked for a long time at the screen- staring at the embryos I hoped would make Brendan a big brother. Elton John's "Blessed" had always been our inspirational song, and we listened to it on our way home. On June 13, 2001, we got the call that Brendan would in fact get to be a big brother! My HCG was 132 on 8dp5dt. You'd think I would have guessed that I was pg since I had been pg before, but I had no idea! I really didn't think it was possible that it could work on the first try for me. I was thrilled! Again, my pregnancy went beautifully, and I loved every minute of it- especially getting to partcipate on the Babies Born Feb board here. On February 22, 2002, Baby Katherine Grace was born at 7:37 am. It was her due date, and she weighed 7lb 14 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long. She looked so much like her Daddy and big brother! She was born about an hour after we got to the hospital, so I didn't get to have an epidural. That was very scary to me- I wasn't sure I could do it even though I knew I had to- but it has faded some now that she is 6 months old! Today is her 6 month birthday, and I can't believe we've had her that long! She is such a sweet baby. Thank you for reading such a long story. I know we are very blessed to have such a happy ending. It was a terrible 4 years, but I'd do it all over again to get my miracle babies. My favorite memory of both my deliveries is the moment where they placed tbe babies on my chest and they were finally in my arms. That's something I will carry with me until the day I die.

Becky and Katie Grace,2-22-02 (Our miracle girl!)

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