Veterans Oasis Park Family Pictures | Jessi & Dan’s Infertility Survivor Story

Jessi and I connected through the IVF Arizona Facebook group, and it was so great to meet her in person when we got together at Veterans Oasis Park in Chandler for a mini session.  I loved getting to know Jessi, Dan, and their cute daughter, E as I took their pictures.  It’s clear that there is a lot of love and laughter in this family, and I hope and pray that they will have success with their efforts to bring another child into their home.  You’ll read about the exciting step that they’re taking very soon toward that goal in their infertility survivor story below.

Jessi and Dan’s Infertility Survivor Story
written by Jessi

A little background about you as a couple
We met at a meetup event and hit it off immediately. The funny part was that I had been dating him for weeks before I realized that my friends had known him before I did! Shortly after we started dating I bought a fixer upper on foreclosure. My new boyfriend, of just over a couple months, was such a trooper and worked hard to make the house perfect. Years later he told me, “We fell in love remodeling that house.”

Your infertility story
The first time I got pregnant, I did not think I could and then a miracle happened on our one year anniversary  – we conceived our amazing little girl. I had gone on an extreme weight loss program prior to pregnancy. Our doctor thinks that the weight loss is what helped me conceive her.  We have been trying for baby #2 since February 2015, before our daughter turned one. She is now three and a half. This time I knew I could get pregnant, and every failed month was a heartbreak. After a few months I started working with a homeopathic doctor who started me on clomid and acupuncture to no avail. Next step was a visit to the fertility specialist. He said the problem was my age, I was 40 at the time we started with him. I am now 42.5. He started me on IUI’s. After 3 times – success!! That pregnancy never felt right and I always knew something was wrong. We lost the pregnancy after 10 weeks. After two more IUI’s, the doctor suggested we try IVF. Due to my age, we did two egg retrievals. Out of 18 eggs, only 7 made it to day 5. Out of 7 embryos sent for PGS testing, only one was chromosomally normal. That was in January. We are now in November. Every month since January I have dutifully taken my injections and gone in to the doctor only to find out again and again that my uterine lining was not thick enough to be ideal for a transfer. Again and again my heart breaks. Then finally a few days ago, the doctor finally said it was time. We are scheduled for transfer in less than one week. I am trying so hard not to think about all the ways this could still fail us. I have to have hope and strength. I have been waiting to long to hold this little boy of ours. (We have nicknamed him “Olaf” since he’s a frozen boy embryo.)

What would you say is the hardest thing about infertility?
Practicing patience. Every month I have been told “not this month” has been excruciating.

Are there any resources that have helped you emotionally/spiritually through your infertility journey?
The Facebook group IVF Arizona has saved my sanity on more than one occasion.

What advice would you give to someone else who is currently going through infertility?
Practice patience and have a back up plan. Whenever I worry that this won’t work, my hubby is quick to remind me that plan B is adoption. It’s no longer my first choice, though it once was, but it does make me feel better knowing that there is not an end until we are parents of two children. Also, weight loss helped me both times. This time I have only lost 15 pounds, but it was enough to get things moving.

Thanks so much to Jessi and Dan for sharing their story!
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