Brianna Karel’s IVF Journey

We started our IVF journey in the summer of 2016. We went through five long years of trying and no baby. I didn’t love the doctor we met with, but there was only one in the whole state. I left that appointment with my husband crying and feeling more defeated than ever. It wasn’t until the summer of 2017 that I decided I was ready to go back and really go for it this time. I couldn’t wait anymore. 6 years longing for a child was almost too much to bare. There was a new doctor in the practice, and he was AMAZING. He was such a better fit for us. God’s timing is always perfect. I think that’s why it took a year to feel ready to go back.

October 8, 2017 was our baseline ultrasound and the first day of shots. Holy moly was that nerve racking! The first shot was the worst to do, but then I felt like a pro. We had our egg retrieval a couple weeks later, and we ended up with 5 embryos. We sent them for PGS testing – we wanted to cover all our bases. After that it was more shots that were much more painful than the belly shots. My husband was such an amazing partner through all of it. Giving me the shots and going to every single appointment with me. He never missed one.

December 14th was our big day! That was the day for the embryo transfer. I have never felt so scared, yet so calm. I wanted to carry a baby so bad, and I was scared of it failing, but I also just felt it in my heart that it would work. It did. August 8, 2018 we welcomed the most perfect little piece of perfection, 4 weeks early. Beau Thane Davis Karel changed our lives forever.

While no one wants to go through infertility, I’m not sad that we did. I met so many amazing women who shared their stories with me while I did their hair. Women who knew how I was feeling, because they had been there before. Women who gave me hope. I also could never discount any mama’s love, but I know that even on the hard days I am so so grateful. It’s a different love when you’ve waited for so long. You learn patience you might not have had if it wasn’t for that wait. You learn to never take a single moment for granted. I also learned that being so open with our journey, that I wasn’t alone. There were so many women out there who were also on their own journey of infertility, or they already had been through IVF. That support was invaluable.

Going through infertility, and knowing that IVF is the only way to continue to grow our family was so hard. You can’t surprise your husband with the news. You can’t surprise your family if you’ve had their support through the process. But once someone finally utters the words “you’re pregnant,” none of that matters. However motherhood comes to you, you’re a mother. Infertility made me the mom that I am. Infertility made me Beau’s mama. And there is absolutely no other way I would want it.