Around the time our twins turned one, I started thinking about having another baby. We already had a boy and a girl, so there was no pressure this time, just hope and excitement. After praying, we decided to go through IVF again. A week after the transfer, we found out I was pregnant. My hormone levels were higher than normal, so we thought it could be twins again.
At 5 weeks, while shopping at the mall, I suddenly had a heavy bleed. It reminded me of a scary bleed I had during my first pregnancy, but this felt worse. The doctors ran blood work, and my HCG had dropped. I thought I was carrying something wrong. During an ultrasound, we felt a baby’s heartbeat. The doctor said I may have lost a twin, but we could not be sure.
The rest of the pregnancy was mostly smooth until a 37-week scan showed our baby had IRA growth issue from the placenta not working right. I had hoped for a natural birth this time after my emergency c-section with the twins, but the doctor advised another c-section. At 38 weeks, we have our baby boy Elijah. During surgery, they found my placenta had broken apart. It took doctors an hour to clean it out. Recovery was painful, but we were thankful for a healthy baby.
With three little ones—three year-old twins and a 1-year-old we felt complete. But the baby fever came back. We had eight frozen embryos and did not want to discard them. We transferred two embryos and were shocked at our ultrasound; there were three heartbeats. The tech, who had done all our previous scans, laughed and said, “So far i have found three.”
We were stunned. We had only transferred two embryos, and one had split rare but possible. A few weeks later, it started to feel real. We had triplets. Then came a tough moment: our doctor asked if we had consider reducing the pregnancy for safety. That was never an option for us.
At 32 weeks, a regular scan showed that the identical twins had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. We were rushed to the hospital and told we needed to deliver immediately. Upon birth, the infants had weights of 2, 3, and 4 pounds.
We named them Eliana, Avea, and Josiah. They remained in NIUC for about a very long time, like 6 to 8 weeks. Life was exhausting, caring for toddlers and triplets, pumping, and constant back-and-forth from the hospital.
When the triplets turned one, we tried IVF again. We transferred two embryos and got pregnant with twins. This pregnancy was the easiest. I delivered two healthy boys, Abram and Levi. They went home with us right away.
Now we have eight astonishing kids. Life is loud, untidy, and full, but also full of love. People often comment on how busy we must be, and they are right. But we would not change a thing. We believe God guided every step. And no, we do not have a TV show… Yet!
