Tiffany's Story

My husband and I met in 2004, at the age of 18. We had our beautiful and healthy daughter in 2007, the pregnancy had zero complications. As young parents we decided to wait a bit to have another child. Fast forward to September 2017. We had been trying for a while to conceive, but had no luck. The doctor’s thought it could be secondary infertility. On one of the last cycles we were trying, we conceived. We were ecstatic. The first few ultrasounds were going wonderfully, the baby was growing and healthy.

At the 20 week ultrasound we got the news we were having a baby boy. That was the last happy moment we had with our son we named Scott Edward. The ultrasound picked up multiple markers for a genetic disorder along with a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). The CDH meant his organs were pushing up into a hole in his diaphragm which would need immediate surgery upon delivery. Unfortunately, with the genetic markers they were seeing along with this diagnosis, it was recommended to do an amniocentesis to see what was going on so we could have the best surgical plan possible at birth. I didn’t know at the time what this would actually mean for our options.

Our baby Scott had Trisomy 18; a genetic disorder also known as Edwards’ Syndrome. He looked so happy on the ultrasound, just kicking away and active as any baby can be. With this diagnosis though, it caused a lot of medical doctors to refuse to provide the surgeries we would need at birth due to what they called the Trisomy 18 being “incompatible with life.” As I was searching for a hospital who is Trisomy friendly I ended up going into pre-term labor at 26 weeks and 3 days; baby Scott was born into our lives. He lived 3 hours and was surrounded by his loved ones.

We decided to wait a few months to try again. After 18 months of trying, the cycle before we were to start IVF treatments we found out we were having our son Colton. He was born healthy with no genetic issues in May of 2020. He was our first rainbow baby.

We decided we wanted one more child and started trying again. This time it took a bit but not quite as long to conceive. Unfortunately, this ended in a miscarriage on Easter weekend in 2021. Two cycles later we conceived again, but this one was another miscarriage on Father’s day weekend. We let my body heal and thought about if we were going to keep trying.

We are now pregnant with our healthy baby girl who is due March 28, 2022. Pregnancy and infant loss can come in so many forms and affect people in different ways. Unfortunately, as a family we’ve been through it three times total. I’m thankful for the healthy children we have and am excited to end our journey on a last positive note with the birth of our daughter. Many of us suffer from losses in silence, but just know if you are out there and have experienced loss you are not alone.