Amanda & Brian

Brian and I met in 2013 on an online dating site and we hit it off right away. Our first date lasted six hours! A year and a half later, we got married in a comic-book-themed wedding and honeymooned at Disney World. We were both in our early thirties at the time we got married, so we didn’t want to wait too long to add to our family. We planned to just enjoy being newlyweds for a year and then we would start trying.

Coming to SGF

I had been diagnosed with endometriosis in the past and had two laparoscopies–one in 2011 where they found a growth and one in 2015 where they did not. My OB/GYN at the time said that it could be microscopic endometriosis. I figured we were in the clear for trying to conceive, but after nine months of trying, we decided to make our first appointment at Shady Grove Fertility.

Throughout our research of fertility clinics in the area, SGF seemed to have the best reputation and the Woodbridge office was closest to our house, although several other locations would’ve been easy to get to as well. We actually got a positive pregnancy test the day of our first appointment, but unfortunately miscarried the following week.

Starting treatment

Everyone at SGF was very supportive and helpful during that hard time and got us started with the testing we needed before doing fertility treatment. In the fall of 2016, we were ready to begin treatment and started with intrauterine insemination (IUI). Dr. Garde recommended only 3-4 rounds of IUI, before we would need to consider moving onto in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Our first try was unsuccessful, and our second ended in a chemical pregnancy. We did the recurrent miscarriage bloodwork, which came back normal.

We got the news of the second loss the week of Thanksgiving, which was an extra blow. We were so down, and we decided once we put the Christmas tree up, we would leave it up until we got a positive pregnancy test in honor of both our first baby’s due date, which would’ve been around Christmas 2016 and also as a beacon of hope to comfort us after the second loss. We made two donations to charity in honor of both of them, and plan to do the same every year.

Taking a break over the holidays, we started looking into grants for IVF in case we needed to go in that direction. We did new bloodwork in 2017, debated between ourselves whether to try a third IUI or just jump to IVF, and finally decided to give the last IUI a chance.

Third time’s the charm

We doubled the medication in an attempt to get more than one follicle to drop, in hopes that one would take. I did one main thing differently the day of the 3rd IUI. I took the day off work and just focused on being relaxed all day. I wore pink and blue to the procedure, and then binge-watched Netflix in bed the majority of the day. It was also a lucky day for us, May 9^th, and the 13^th day of the cycle (9/13 is our anniversary). None of that may have made a difference in actuality, but it’s neat to think about.

After our nurse, Ashley, called me with the news that we were successful, Brian was confused when I called at first because I was crying, so it took him a minute to get super excited with me. We were a little afraid to be excited since we’d had two disappointments before, but as the weeks went on and the pregnancy kept going well, it got easier to have hope that we were going to make it to the end. 

Our sweet girl, Molly Alexandria, was born on January 30^th at 8lbs 12oz. We had to do an induction, so she was actually born on her estimated due date. Our experience with Shady Grove Fertility was excellent. Dr. Garde, Ashley Urben, and everyone else at the Woodbridge office were so kind and helpful. When we went to the Fairfax office a couple of times, the staff there was also just as helpful. Treatment procedures were laid out very clearly and if we had any questions, we always got answers quickly.

Advice for my SGF sisters

I would tell other people going through infertility to stay hopeful and not give up on their goals. Be proactive with your treatment and be an active participant in the process because the more knowledge you have, the more comfortable you will feel. I don’t know if another child is in our future or not, but we will definitely go back to Shady Grove Fertility if we need help again.