My IVF journey started in 2009.  We were newlyweds who wanted to immediately get pregnant.  I come from a long line of super fertile women and was sure it would only take us a month or two.  When 6 months had come and gone, I knew something was wrong.  I saw my gynecologist who assured me all was probably fine.  She advised trying for 6 more months and then seeing a reproductive endocrinologist if we were not pregnant by then.

Just before our 1 year anniversary we saw the specialist.  I had blood work and my husband got a semen analysis.  The results came in and I was completely devastated – my husband had a super low count and we had less than a 1% chance of conceiving without IVF.

For the next 6 months we saved money, researched other avenues of becoming parents, and ultimately decided to try IVF with ICSI.  After all was said and done we only had one good embryo, transferred it and had our precious daughter.  I always said she was my one good egg and I was very happy to have one child.  Obviously about a year later I changed my mind and desperately wanted her to have a sibling.  

In 2013 we did IVF again.  Our results were not as good, and by day 3 we had no blasts, only morulas (what is typically seen on day 4).  We transferred them and hoped for the best.  I was shocked and delighted to get a positive pregnancy test 6 days later!  Unfortunately about a  week later I began bleeding and was diagnosed with a chemical pregnancy / early miscarriage.  I was torn apart.  The money we had wasted on this IVF could have gone to my daughter.  I felt selfish and depressed.  To help me out of my funk I focused on change – this is what ultimately helped me decide to move to Dubai.  

My life in Dubai was amazing – finally I was a stay at home mom and made lots of friends.  My depression lifted.  However every time I saw siblings interact I ached for just one more baby.  I researched IVF in Dubai and was thrilled to find it was less expensive than in the USA.  I talked my husband into it and he agreed!  

 I started researching clinics and felt so lost – at the time there was no infertility support to be found in the UAE and I couldn’t believe it.  I picked a clinic at random (to be fair it was one of the “top” ones so I felt pretty good about my choice).  I had a fabulous experience there, and on day 5 we had 4 perfect embryos.  Two were transferred to me and all I could do was wait.  Day 6 I had a positive pregnancy test. They got darker every day and my first blood draw showed a good healthy HCG level.  I had spotting on and off the first few weeks which terrified me, but this was explained when we found out we were expecting twins.  Bleeding is much more common with multiple pregnancies.  

My twin boys came and our family was complete.  I joined a twin mom’s group and became great friends with Cassie who runs IVF Support UAE.  Thank goodness that women facing infertility challenges now have a place to get answers, hugs and support.