Our Journey to "Mommy and Mama"

Jamie and I have been together for 9 years and married since 2019. We always knew we wanted to become moms and we talked very early on about what that journey would look like. In 2019, after our wedding, we started our journey to motherhood. After searching multiple donor profiles, we had finally narrowed it down and chose a donor. Covid was in full swing, so I would drive J to the fertility clinic in Columbus; we would Facetime during inseminations because of doctors office restrictions. After each insemination, you are so hopeful that you will get those positive pregnancy results and be on your way to holding your precious babe. SIX TIMES. We completed 6 unsuccessful IUI’s before deciding to change things up. New doctor, new donor, new clinic. In 2021 we consulted with fertility specialist Dr. Nash, which ultimately resulted in the next approach: in vitro fertilization. Dr. Nash thoroughly covered lots of information we were unclear about. He ordered some genetic testing (optional) and the results would help narrow down the new donor. There are quite a few donor banks in the US and each donor profile consists of 35+ pages of information ranging from simple physical features to medical diagnosis's of family members. After receiving our results from genetic testing, we started the search and chose a donor for IVF. Shots, meds and crucial time frames would lead to our egg retrieval. 24 total eggs retrieved, 11 viable to be fertilized and 9 actually fertilizing. Of those 9, 4 grew into the final blastocyst stage and were of transferring quality. Another optional procedure is genetic testing on the embryos. Those results left us knowing that all 4 embryos were healthy, no abnormalities, no mixed up chromosomes, and the gender of each. 2 boys and 2 girls. Daily shots for the next two weeks to prepare Jamie’s body for the transfer. If little Artz embryo attaches to J’s uterine wall the next 11 weeks consist of daily shots. If not, the shots stop and then we prepare for transfer number 2. June 9th, 2021 is transfer day! We go back June 18th for the blood draw appt. This blood draw will count the hcg levels and will ultimately tell us if the transfer was successful or not. Talk about nerve wracking, now we wait for an e-mail update. I’ll never forget sitting at that stoplight, J telling me her phone just vibrated, it’s a message from Reproductive Gynecology, CONGRATULATIONS YOU ARE PREGNANT! Cue the tears, we are going to be moms, babe, you’re actually pregnant, it worked! J handled pregnancy like a champ, although she was considered a geriatric pregnancy with her advanced maternal age. Hurry up February 2022!!!!! Little BOY Artz we can’t wait to meet you! Baby boy’s head was measuring in the 95th percentile and with mommy’s narrow pelvis we decided that the least traumatic and safest delivery option was to go ahead and schedule a C-section. At 39 weeks on February 18th, 2022 we welcomed the most handsome little boy into the world. Ogden Tanix Artz is now a year old and is such a happy baby. He's been on lots of adventures already and we love watching him grow! As for future babies, we have three embryos(two girls, one boy) ready for transfer at our fertility clinic and hope to have another healthy addition in the future. All embryos are already inseminated with the same donor sperm that was used for Ogden, so our children will be 100% biological. As the non carrying mother, I am so grateful for the deep connection I have with Ogden and watching Jamie be a mother is an unexplainable type of love.
Thanks for following our journey! We love sharing our story!