Utah County Family Pictures | Michelle & Dallin’s Infertility Survivor Story
Recently I traveled to Utah for my brother’s wedding. It was a really quick whirlwind of a trip over Labor Day weekend, but I’m so glad I had time to squeeze in this Infertility Survivor Stories photo session! (Click here if you’re unfamiliar with my Infertility Survivor Stories program.) Michelle and Dallin were winners of my ISS session giveaway during Infertility Awareness Week back in April, but since they live in Utah and I live in Arizona we knew we’d need to time it during one of my trips to visit family. Dallin and Michelle are the sweetest, most kind and genuine couple and it was so great to finally meet them in person! Their two kids–spunky little O and baby C are just darling, and both of them are IVF miracle babies. I had the best time getting to know them and photographing this cute family! I hope you enjoy reading their infertility story and that it brings hope and inspiration to anyone struggling with infertility.
Michelle and Dallin’s Infertility Survivor Story
written by Michelle
A little background about you as a couple
Dallin and I met through a blind date. My mom set us up, actually! I am 4 years older than him and he was a little bit concerned about the age difference, but now it seems like it doesn’t exist. Dallin knew he loved me when he asked himself the question, “Would I be okay if she was no longer in my life?” while we were out with his family over spring break, 5 years ago. I fell in love with him when I realized just how kind, loving and generous he was/is. There wasn’t a defining moment that I felt “in love” with him, but rather feelings I felt on each of our dates we went on. We were married on July 20, 2012 and that is when our infertility journey began.
Your infertility story
A year after we were married, we still had not conceived. I was worried because I was almost 29 and I feared infertility. My husband encouraged me to see a doctor. I was hesitant at first but I ended up seeing an OB who prescribed Clomid and we tried that for 3 cycles. It didn’t work. We decided to take a break and I wanted to work on our own health. We lost weight and became healthier and then in June of 2014 I finally got the courage to meet with an RE, who would eventually give us our miracle. I was diagnosed with PCOS and Dallin was diagnosed with low sperm count and morphology issues. Due to timing and an unforeseen surgery to remove polyps from my uterus we did one cycle with Femara and timed intercourse before we moved on to IUI’s. We did 3 cycles with Femara, a trigger shot and IUI. Nothing was successful. We were defeated and felt sad, but we knew we couldn’t give up. We quickly moved on to IVF and feel grateful that we were part of a study where we had our embryos genetically tested. We feel so fortunate that our first round of IVF gave us our miracle daughter, Olivia who came to us on November 30, 2015. After another surgery to remove polyps from my uterus, we are now expecting our miracle IVF baby #2, due in August. {And since Michelle wrote this, their cute baby boy has joined them, as you can see in the photos!}
What would you say is the hardest thing about infertility?
The hardest thing about infertility is everything! The emotional trauma, the unsolicited advice, the shots, the raging hormones, the undesired reminder that you are STILL not pregnant month after month. Watching others have children “on accident” when you are paying thousands of dollars just to TRY to get pregnant and then it doesn’t work. Everything is hard about infertility, but I would do all of it again and again just to have my babies. They are worth every penny, tear, struggle, heart ache and negative pregnancy test you can imagine.
Are there any resources that have helped you emotionally/spiritually through your infertility journey?
I started blogging about our infertility journey and then moved to documenting about it on Instagram and I have made a lot of “virtual” friends who were going through infertility as well. I now consider these people dear friends. We also lucked out and we have a close couple friend who did IVF at the exact same time, with the same doctor who was part of the same study as us. We definitely bonded and we will be life long friends. Making connections and having a support system of people who “get it” is what has helped me the most. We are also very religious, so we worshiped often and prayed daily that we would be able to have children. It was hard to remember at the time, but it helped to recognize that infertility was not a punishment, but an avenue for us to help others who are going through the same thing. We remained faithful that we would have a family, one way or another, and the Lord continues to watch over us in our trials.
Are there any ways you have grown stronger as a person or couple as a result of infertility?
We tried very hard to make the most of our “alone time” while we wanted our children. We traveled as much as we could, and even got to go to Hawaii for my 30th birthday. It was a wonderful time and we are so thankful we made those memories while we did. Our marriage was strengthened as we dealt with this trial. Unfortunately, this trial will always be a part of who we are and our story. While it does not define us, infertility has made us the couple that we are today, and that is stronger together.
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