We started trying to conceive in the summer of 2021. We tried for a year with no luck. At the beginning of summer 2022, we began some fertility testing. I distinctly remember Noah saying after church on Sunday, June 12th, that he felt God telling him that we needed to prepare ourselves because life was about to get a lot harder. I said, “Awesome, I thought things were already hard.”
Eleven days later, we received the news that we were, for all intents and purposes, infertile.
Even though this news was devastating, it was also relieving to have an answer. We were referred to a fertility specialist who ran more tests and referred us to a reproductive urologist. The urologist determined that Noah has male factor infertility. We have no chance of conceiving naturally.
After a few days of grieving together and processing the reality of our situation, we began to talk about our options. We have always been interested in adoption, and this situation gave us the kick we needed. We discussed foster care, domestic infant adoption, and international adoption. We realized that each of these options invited a lot of room for heartbreak with a significant drain on us financially and would require years’ commitment. While we certainly admire folks who choose this route and we think we would be able to do it later in our life, I knew my heart could not take the amount of risk involved.
I then remembered hearing about another route we could take–embryo adoption.
A couple at our church had gone with this option and now have a little girl and are currently pregnant with a second girl. I thought that this could be the perfect option for us. I would be able to carry the baby, it would be less of a financial hit, and no blood relatives would be able to appear suddenly and take our child back (we have heard so many devastating stories like this).
After much prayer, talking, and deliberation, we set up a consultation appointment with a local agency called Nightlight Christian Adoptions to discuss their Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program. Our consultation appointment went very well, we were received warmly, and got to meet everyone in the office. After this appointment, we felt more confident with our decision and submitted our application.
Once our Snowflakes Family Evaluation, including background checks, was completed, we were matched with a family within two weeks!
We were over the moon excited, but also anxious about the thought of being on hormones for six weeks only to have a transfer not work out. However, once the contract was signed, we were officially parents!
In May 2023, our fear became a reality when we had an unsuccessful transfer. After taking a couple of months to grieve and regroup, we tried again and got pregnant with our son! Jett was born in April 2024, and we are thrilled to have him in our family!