This post is about 1 year late! That’s what happens when you add a baby to the mix. About all the time I was spending on my photography hobby disappeared, but I don’t mind focusing all my attention on the little man in our lives.  

I know it’s a crappy iPhone picture in bad office light, but it means so much to me. I never thought I would get here. Never thought I would be so lucky to come back to this office with a baby in my hands. We’ve made so many trips to this office for three years and learned that we are stronger than we ever thought we could be.

At the beginning of 2018, I was putting together the broken pieces of my heart and tying them with a thin thread of hope. I was scared and cautious to get too excited and attached to this pregnancy because the last two did not go past week 7. I didn’t allow myself to think about this child or make any plans until well into the second trimester when I started to see the first signs of a rainbow after a very dark and stormy period of my life.

Our little miracle baby boy was 7 long years in the making. It took a lot of patience, heartache, pain, perseverance and hope, which made our first meeting so much sweeter. So thankful for advances in IVF and the opportunity it offers couples with fertility troubles, which are more common than you’d think. Behind these pictures are 7 years of heartache, 4 failed intrauterine insemination (IUIs), 1 IVF with 3 frozen embryo transfers (FET), 2 miscarriages, almost 500 intramuscular shots received by yours truly and administered by the hubs, and $40K. The end result, priceless! 

By the end of the second trimester we decided to work on the nursery (where he doesn’t really spend too much time at all). I wanted something gender neutral and nature themed. Here’s the result.

Finally, after being 5 days overdue, Stefan joined our family and changed our lives forever. My heart is so full of love for this little man. Having gone through this experience definitely gives me a different perspective on all the challenges that come with a newborn. Everything pales compared to not having this little soul in our lives. 

Our little Christmas gift

Birth announcement

Stefan is already one year old! He’s such a happy baby and he brings so much joy to our lives. He’s very active, always running around looking for trouble. I will have a post summarizing his first year… at some point 🙂