March Baby of the Month: Meet Emma

It took six IUI’s, two egg extractions and six egg transfers for us to have our sweet girl, Emma Rose Avila. It is hard to even think about of what we have experienced to be where we are today, but with the perseverance of the Laurel Fertility Care team and the wonderful Dr. Collin Smikle, we were able to reach one of our life long dream — parenthood.

We had achieved a prior pregnancy, but sadly it did not stick around for us. We know this was not Dr. Smikle’s first encounter with a moment like this and he was able to put us at ease by letting us know that the fight was not over. On March 25, 2021 we got the call that we were pregnant. We were ecstatic, but also very cautious as this result was from the blood test and we had been here before. This time it felt different, though. This time was it, the moment we waited so long for. I laid on the table in hopes to finally hear that heart beat, and let me tell you— it was strong.
I proudly walk up to the desk to get my next appointment in the books and one of the long time nurses that had been by our side the entire time said, “Congratulations! This is where we part ways.” I was taken aback, as I wish we could finish this journey together.

Now the time came to have this baby. After 31 hours of labor our surprise miracle was born on November 24 at 11:11 p.m. We had chose to not know the gender, and it was one of the most magical experiences we have ever endured. As my husband stated, “ there aren’t very many surprises left in this world”. For future couples longing to grow their family, do not give up! It will be hard, it will be painful, it may not work the first, second, third, or fourth go around, but will happen. But do not give up and know that you are not alone. The only thing in this process that we can control is our will to persevere and not give up on the process, regardless of how strong it gets.

Every appointment, every shot, the countless pregnancy tests, and the days of wondering “when” and “why not us” finally came to an end. All for this special moment and it was completely worth it. We cannot thank this team enough for the dedication, commitment, and tenacity it took to make this happen for us, but because of Laurel Fertility Clinic, we did it. We absolutely did it!