My Fertility Journey: Part 4

If you missed Part One or Part Two or Part Three you can read them HERE.

I truly loved teaching—my classroom was a space filled with creativity, connection, and purpose. But balancing the demands of IVF and supporting Justin through chemo made it clear I couldn’t give everything the attention it deserved. After a lot of thought, I made the decision to step away from the classroom and focus fully on our journey to grow our family.

It wasn’t an easy choice, but it felt right. I packed up my books and supplies, filled with gratitude for all the memories and students who shaped my life. This next chapter needed my energy—my whole heart—and I was finally in a place where I could give it.

By summer, I felt ready—mentally, emotionally, and physically—to try again. Coordinating long-distance IVF came with its challenges. I had to find a local clinic for ultrasounds and send results to Denver, while Justin continued his treatments. Even on the hard days, he was there every morning, giving me my progesterone shots without hesitation. It was quiet, steady love—and I felt it every single day.

When it was time for our second embryo transfer, we made the trip back to Colorado. This time, I carried both hope and a healthy sense of caution. When they showed us the tiny embryo under the microscope, I closed my eyes and whispered, “Please stick.”

We went back to Justin’s parents’ house, and I began the now-familiar bedrest routine. But the anxiety this time was heavier. I overanalyzed everything—every twinge, every movement—desperate to avoid anything that might cause the same outcome as before. I couldn’t help but wonder what I had done wrong last time, and how to do everything “right” now.

The two-week wait dragged on endlessly. I tried to stay busy, distract myself—but the fear crept in constantly. When it was finally time for the blood test, I was first in line at the lab the moment it opened. I went home and refreshed the patient portal every 30 minutes, heart pounding.

And then—I saw it.

HCG: 375.

I gasped. I screamed. I cried. I knew what that number meant. I was pregnant. Really, truly pregnant.

Tears came instantly. That number meant one thing—I was pregnant. For real.

I my cousins wife who had gone through IVF and who had guided me through so much of the process. When I told her the number, she immediately said, “Whoa, are you pregnant with twins?!” I laughed, telling her we’d only transferred one embryo. Little did I know…

Two days later, my HCG had doubled—another sign everything was progressing beautifully.

But then came a new kind of wait: the first ultrasound. For some reason, that stretch felt even harder than the two-week wait. I told myself, “If I can just hear the heartbeat, I’ll finally believe this is real.”

What I wasn’t prepared for… was the surprise that was waiting for us in that ultrasound room.

Continue reading about our TWIN surprise

I think a twin surprise will go down as the best surprise of my entire life. As many of you know I went through in-vitro fertilization to get pregnant because of Justin’s cancer. With in-vitro you have a lot more control on how you get pregnant and I knew twins wasn’t an option because we only put in one embryo. Continue reading below.

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