Kristin & Bryce

I met my wonderful husband, Bryce, in my final year of college and after our first date, I knew he was the man I was going to marry. For the next two years, we were inseparable and before I knew it, we were engaged and planning our dream wedding. Bryce and I were eager to have children and because I was diagnosed with PCOS around the time we met, we didn’t spend a lot of time waiting. I stopped taking birth control and we started trying. I often went months without a cycle, so it was hard to track ovulation, let alone know if I was even ovulating.

I tried to focus on our marriage and my career as a teacher and not dwell on the sadness I felt about not getting pregnant. About six months after our wedding, a close coworker told me about the wonderful experience she had at Shady Grove Fertility and how they helped her conceive her daughter. After a month or two of contemplation, I finally called SGF to set up a consult.

Finally finding hope

We met with Dr. Jason Bromer in the Frederick office. Dr. Bromer was wonderfully kind and gave my husband and I hope for the first time in years. He let us know that PCOS is often easily treated and we could start with Clomid and timed intercourse. Bryce and I completed all of our fertility testing, which really didn’t take too much time. This allowed us to start our first round of Clomid shortly after our first wedding anniversary. Each round went by with a negative blood test and my hope slowly dwindled away. I was so afraid and ashamed to talk about what we were going through, which made it so much harder. After the third round, we met with Dr. Bromer, who was so wonderful, and reminded us that there are more options and not to give up. Leaving with my head held a little higher, Bryce and I discussed the right path for us. After much discussion, we decided to start our journey with IVF.

Starting IVF

The shots were not fun, but Bryce would always make silly jokes to keep me laughing. We did all our shots with an “I love you” before every prick. On the day of my retrieval I was nervous but also excited to see how many eggs we would be able to retrieve. We were delighted to walk away with four and I began to get ready for my transfer. After the longest two weeks of my life, we were met with our first positive. Bryce and I were so elated we could barely contain ourselves. It was with great sadness that a week later, we experienced our first miscarriage.

Although we were heartbroken, I was determined to not let it stop me and after a D&C, we proceeded with a frozen embryo transfer (FET). I spent the cycle feeling hopeful and happy knowing that I could at least get pregnant, but was met with disappointment and sadness when we got a negative test.

Trying again

I spent the next several months depressed, angry, and distant. Every chance he got, Bryce would take me on dates, to see my friends and kept busy. I finally started to feel like myself again and made peace with what happened in the past. We then decided to try again. Dr. Bromer suggested a few new medications and transferring our last two embryos. With all our hope and love, we transferred both embryos on October 10th, 2017. We anxiously waited for the results and were cautiously excited to get a positive. We spent the next several weeks holding in our excitement to make sure we’d made it past the first trimester. After about 16 weeks, we finally allowed ourselves to get excited and shared our news with all of our family and friends.

Rainbow babies

After the longest 38 weeks of my life, we were blessed with our son and daughter, Everett and Scarlett. I always heard other patients say it’s worth every tear, shot, and pain, but I didn’t know how true that really was until my twins came into this world. Scarlett and Everett were born on June 12, 2018. Scarlett weighed 6lb 8oz and 20 ½ inches long and Everett 7lbs 5oz, also 20 ½ inches long. Every time I look at them, everything I went through fades away and I am reminded of how lucky I truly am. They really are the very best babies and I love watching them grow every day.

My advice to others

Shady Grove Fertility was and will continue to be the single best experience I have ever had with any type of doctor’s office. Not only are the doctors phenomenal, our nurse Alison was there every step of the way, for every question I had. Each and every receptionist and nurse was always pleasant, kind, and so understanding of any emotion we brought into the office.

My biggest advice to couples who are trying to conceive is to talk about your experience. When I finally gained the courage to be open about my journey, I was able to connect with so many women who were going through similar struggles and it made me feel less alone during the process. Take time to be connected with your partner and don’t let your fertility treatments engulf your whole lives. Don’t be afraid to seek help, just sitting down with Dr. Bromer was always so reassuring and helpful. And to all families waiting for their miracles, please know that I’m hoping every single day that your baby will find you soon.