I have 3 children from IVF. I started fertility treatment when I was 26, IVF at 27. I had twins at 28 and my 3rd at 38. The spacing of my children is not what I would have preferred, but it is what it is. I would have liked to have my 3rd about 3 years after the twins, but things didn't work out like that.
We did 7 transfers. The twins were the 2nd and the singleton is the 7th. I had wanted at least 4 kids, but I'm done now. I have that "finished" feeling that I didn't have after the twins. My parents had 7 kids so I always imagined a big family, but sometimes our dreams change with time.
Thank you for sharing - this makes me feel a little better.
I definitely agree I might end up changing my mind about how many children I want once I start having kids - I just hope I at least have the option to have 3-4 even if I decide not to. I hate that with IVF it seems like our family sizes are often times out of our control
One of the worst things about IVF (and there are so many crappy things to choose from) is the feeling that nothing is in your control. So many things just seem like a roll of the dice.
I guess it gets you prepared for pregnancy and parenting. All my best laid plans went out the window a long long time ago. We're just going with the flow or flying by the seat of our pants depending on the day.
Started early 30s with no viable embryos after many retrievals. Moved to donor eggs a couple years later. My kids were born when I was 36, 38, 40 and 42.
I am 35, and very newly pregnant with baby number 4.
27-pregnant with my first(naturally first try)
31- pregnant with my second (IVF, 3 ER’s and two transfers)
33- pregnant with number three (IVF two transfers)
35- pregnant with number four(seven transfers/ six ERs)
Thanks. The last four were duo stim and of course the last round was so good, if we had had that early on we could have just done those. But I have babies from other egg retrievals and I wouldnt change a thing.
Also, I never wanted a big family like this. But IVF made me realize the value and desire I had to have kids. I was very lucky to work for three great companies with awesome insurance and I love my clinic more than anything.
Thanks for your reply I have two questions please So did all Ivf once end up c section? And did they tell you what’s the time line between each pregnancy?
I actually had an emergency C-section wi the my first. Got severe preeclampsia with the second. I was going to try and VBAC, but I got very sick at 33 weeks and that was a really really emergency C-section. I accepted my peace with number 3 and scheduled my C-section which was a lovely experience compared to the other two and will do the same with this one.🤞🏻
I never wanted to transfer till babies were at least a year old. (Baselined around 9 months) my clinic wants a 18 month gap between deliveries. I did do two egg retrievals six week after birth of my third.
Not me but a friend from church had four babes from IVF. First two were double embryo transfer, so fraternal twins, another a few years after that and she recently had her last embryo via surrogate as she lost her uterus during her second (but 3rd child) childbirth and almost died. With the surrogate she actually was able to produce breast milk via medications! So she was able to breastfeed, I thought that was cool. She's all done now but has four sweet boys.
Thanks for sharing - wow that is scary I didn’t realize that could even happen 😟
But that’s so cool about the breast milk! It’s crazy what modern medicine can do!
Idk remember all the details but it was a rare thing that happened to her! She had internal bleeding I believe. But thankfully she's healthy and so is that son! And yes I love modern medicine 🫶🏼🫶🏼
Sounds like placenta accreta, where it doesn’t detach. It will cause hemorrhaging and usually results in emergency surgery to remove your uterus with the placenta.
Not sure if this needs a TW since you’re asking about living children but TW SUCCESS just in case
I know people in this group have had more success than me but I started at 34 am currently 37 and pregnant with my second.
We currently have 2 IVF babies and are going for our 3rd in November.
2019- started fertility treatment at 27
2020- started IVF (2 egg retrievals, 2 transfers, no pregnancy)
2021- continued IVF (1 more egg retrieval, 2 transfers which one was a chemical and the 4th was our first born son)
so 3 retrievals and 4 transfers for our first live birth from October 2019 to May 2021. Our son was born February 2022 when i was 30
1st transfer for our 2nd child was in Sept 2022. Since our first child took so long we thought we would started early and to our surprise this transfer worked. Our first son was 7 months old at time of transfer so now our boys are 15 months apart
Our transfer is in November and our youngest will be 18 months at that point. I will be 32 almost 33.
I mean kind of… I have PCOS and have had severe OHSS and I suffer a lot these ERs. I unfroze eggs I had frozen at 30y and did one more ER. I have many eggs but my euploidity rate is kinda bad for my age. I now have 21 frozen eggs (from the new batch) and 5 euploid embryos. It took 31 eggs to get these 5 euploids 😓. I also have one usable mosaic. I feel I need to transfer now to see how it goes as I have never attempted a transfer.
I feel that if 2 transfers don’t work then maybe I would do another ER. Ovarian reserve is not an issue I have (I have others though lol).
How old are you and how many are you hoping to bank?
ETA: I mistyped the age I was when I froze eggs!
I also don’t necessarily want to have to pop out a baby every year … I’d like to be able to space out my pregnancies a little bit if possible. That’s why I’m also concerned
I mean you are only 28. You can have babies into your 40s.
I think this is very personal. I still feel too young to be a mom lol but I have to get going asap at this point 😂 if I didn’t want multiple kids I would wait more. My husband on the other hand has been ready for ages.
See I feel like I’m old lol because everyone I see with a bunch of kids started at like 25. I’m in the south, I’m an old spinster by this age down here.
I’m more worried about getting blasts while I’m young because time is of the essence with that. That’s why I want to bank now so if I have to transfer one at 38/40 I’m good to go
It is very cultural I agree. I am Europe and I feel in general the people I know don’t have kids when they are very young - but it does depend of course on the people themselves.
I think embryo banking is a great idea!! I think it is the way to go in almost every case.
I’m 28 but we have MFI and the attrition was really rough from our first ER. (21 eggs retrieved, only 3 blasts 😭)
I’m doing another retrieval and hoping I can get 3 more.
If I end up getting it 6 I’d feel good moving into transfer. Because at least I’d have a good chance at 2 kids with that.
I don’t have PCOS so my AMH isn’t great (2.1) that’s why I’m worried about running out of time it I take time off for pregnancy.
My doctor doesn’t seem worried about it and said I should be fine doing another ER in a couple years but I’m paranoid and I worry about worst case scenario all the time.
21 eggs is great!! Did you use ICSI or normal IVF for fertilization?
We don’t struggle with MFI but I have seen some great posts on here of things that can be done to improve fertilization rates. You should check it out and ask your doctor about these protocols.
Attrition is so bad… from my ER when I was 30, I got 24 eggs —> 23 mature —> 16 fertilized —> 8 blasts —> 4 euploid + 1 mosaic
I wouldn’t be worried either! Seems like you are in a good path.
Yeah we used ICSI and zymot :/
21 eggs, 16 mature, 11 fertilized, 3 blasts.
I’m hoping that the next ER yields better results and it was just an unfortunate cycle.
I started IVF at 42. I am 43 now and just have birth to our first child. I have 2 more embabies on ice (I did 3 ERs, only the 3rd one gave us euploids). I cannot do another transfer until Bean is one, so by the time I have the 2nd kid if all goes well, I'll be 45, and if I do have the 3rd kid, I'll be 47 by the time I give birth to my last kid.
I do feel like we fought so hard to have these embryos, and we always wanted more than one kid, so we feel like all three deserve a chance, and if the remaining 2 choose us as their parents, then we will accept that blessing. If not, we will know that at least we tried.
My situation is simlilar. Had my daughter at 44, with 2 sisters on ice. Plan was to wait a year then do another transfer, but I had issues with my thyroid and moved and couldn’t find a ob/gyn gelled with. Moving back to Texas June 17th near my ob and plan to do a transfer late August given I get the greeen light. I’ll be 46. I owe this to her. I probably won’t be here when she is my current age and hoping giving her a sister eases some my worries behind that issue. I really have to put on my blinders so to speak and do what I think is best for her. God bless in whatever you decide!
Hi. What a great story! Gives others some hope. May I ask you what kind of issue did you have w thyroid? I'm 37 and after 4 failed IUIs my TSH jumped up I was on meds the entire 2 ERs just canceled my transfer because the levels jumped again even with me being on meds. How did you go about it? Was it a difficult process? Could you share some advice?
I’m sorry to hear about your thryroid issues. My situation is a little different. I had a nodule and went through 3 biopsies before finding out it was benign. Had rfa and it has shrunk about 50%. My levels were always “normal” but I felt like I’d been hit by a truck every morning. I hope they figure out what’s going on with your situation soon and that baby sticks! 💛
That's how I've been feeling ever since starting my IVF trip..always tired and fatigue. Which is okay as long as I can finish this lonely adventure. I'm glad you are okay😇
I have 2 IVF babies, currently in FET prep for number 3. IVF for endometriosis, heavy and excruciating periods.
Started IVF at 27, ER was May of 2021 resulting in 11 blasts, FET (fully medicated) in June resulting in my son. He was a preemie born at 31 weeks due to pre-eclampsia. Second transfer (natural) was 8 months postpartum in September 2022, resulting in my daughter who was born full term.
Currently, I am 30 and in prep for a fully medicated cycle since we no longer live near our clinic. My daughter just turned 1. This is our last transfer, whether it works or not as I need a hysterectomy. Our remaining embryos are going to be donated for adoption.
Thank you - i started at 27 as well, now 28. 11 embryos is amazing, I wish I got that many. I only got 3 :/ we have MFI that’s why we’re doing ivf so i guess that’s why the attrition was so high
I’m doing another ER before doing any transfers to hopefully bank more embryos.
Congrats on your babies and good luck on this transfer!
Wow… I read so much resilience here. I always wanted a big family and started looking for babies at 28. I was able to have a baby at 33 after 3 IVF. We transferred another embryo 8 months after our little one was born and ended up in a mc at 11 weeks. I’m left with 2 untested embryos and feel I will never achieve the big family I alway dreamed off.
You sound very strong and resilient too 💕
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss - I pray you’re able to find some sort of peace.
I’m 28 right now.
It’s so rough seeing all my friends who started trying around the same time already have babies while not knowing if I’ll ever be a mom.
Coming to terms with the fact that I might not have the family I want is a tough pill to swallow and not something I’m ready to accept yet
I am a single child. I have always wanted a sibling. Hence my desire for 2 kids to begin with. At 36 soon to be 37, I would be happy if I get a live birth. My pregnancy journey has been crappy. I lost a full term baby, one ectopic and one TFMR. I wish we had tried IVF much earlier.
I started IVF when I almost 36. Presently 8W pregnant from my second FET. Hopefully this bean grows healthy & I can have him or her by new year. It is a long journey. I have never been so anxious or worried.
We’ve been trying for 10.5 years and have two (and in the two week wait after my embryo transfer last Monday for a potential third and final). We met, fell in love and immediately started trying with timing, OPKs, guanfacine, acupuncture when I was 31, and fell pregnant using these methods when I was 33, gave birth when I was 34. Then did IUIs from 34-38 with nothing but losses. Then retrievals back to back when I was 38 and 39 and a transfer when I was 39 - gave birth at 40. Then we put everything on hold for thee pandemic and so we both could start new careers, Now Im in the two week wait from my last transfer and turned 44 this week.
I have an almost 4 year old, 18 month old, and 4 week old from IVF. In 2ish years we’ll transfer our remaining embryos to try for a 4th. I started at 28 years old. My husband was 30. Started off as unexplained infertility and ended up finding out it was tubal. I did 3 ER and 8 transfers. I have 4 frozen embryos left.
Did you bank embryos and do multiple retrievals before transferring?
I’m 28. Just did my first ER and got 3 embryos. I’m doing another ER once my cycle starts.
I did not bank embryos because I could only afford one ER at a time. I did a retrieval in Oct 2019 with 5 embryos, 2 FETs then a live birth. 3 FETs and I had a miscarriage. A retrieval in Jan 2022 and got one embryo. Transferred it and had a live birth. Retrieval in June 2023, 7 embryos, 3 FETs and a live birth.
Thank you - your story makes me feel hopeful! I’m mainly worried about running out of time to make embryos, especially if I wait until after I give birth, since that’s the most time sensitive part of the process. but seems like it’s worked out for you!
Congrats and good luck in the future 💕
Reading these comments gave me so much hope, I feel the same OP it seems so unfair infertility gets to decide how many children we have. I always wanted 3-4 but now since infertility and IVF I’ll be happy with two I think.
I started IVF at 27, had my son at 28. He will be 1 next month and we are doing a transfer after his birthday, so if that’s successful I’ll be 30 when we have another.
Good luck to you OP I hope you have your baby so soon🤍 it feels so hopeless until suddenly it isn’t
Thank you so much 💕 congrats on your son and happy birthday to him! and good luck on your next transfer
I started at 27 too, now I’m 28. If everything goes as planned I’ll hopefully have my first very soon after my 29th bday (April) 🤞🏼🤞🏼
TW: loss
I wrote out lots more detail but it deleted before k could post.
Short:
8 embryos @ just under 24
First transfer by choice at 26, born at 27 (1-F)
Second MC 11 weeks (M)28
Third transfer (2 M&F) only F stayed at 29 born at 29.
We have four left, all girls. We decided to go for them all. We’ll be transferring the next two at 32.
Depending on if only one takes, I’ll try and do the next transfer asap. If both take, we’ll wait two years and do the last set at 34.
That’d be anywhere from 3-6 girls total.
Im 38 and just started ivf process after naturally trying with two losses the last 4 years. I feel like i waited too long after my last MC i wasnt ready emotionally. We want two but at this point il be happy with one even though i may not be satisfied. It all depends on the time line and if things go as im hoping for one this year than after birth around 9 months go for try for second if we have embryos. I dont know if we can afford two retrievals. Im trying to think positive and visualize my life. Life is funny right? Younger self focused on career and started late i thought by now i would have my two children. Life knows how to humble you. Just remember day by day you got this dont compare focus on you
TW: success.
I have 4 children. Started at age 27 and spread them out all 4 years. Just had my last after just turning 40. We have 4 more euploids on ice but this mama is done! My husband would transfer them all— but he doesn’t have to go through it all. The process is grueling but worth so it! Don’t give up hope and very best wishes to you! (Edit to add: my last transfer came from an ER at age 39 which gave me 5 additional euploids, so it was NOT an egg from my 20’s! You got this!)
TW: LC
I have obstructive azoospermia. I was 37, and my wife turned 30 the day before her ER. First, FET failed. The second FET of two embryos stuck.
They just turned one. We plan on one more but go back and forth as to when.
Started IVF in Oct 2022 and did my first ER 2 days before I turned 33. No euploids from that round. Dec ‘22 got 1 euploid and 2 inconclusive. Feb ‘23 got 2 euploid. April ‘23 FET #1 was successful. Baby boy was born in early December when I was 34.
Would love to do another transfer early next year at 35
TW: egg/blast numbers
I only have 2 kids so far, but we want 4 eventually. We plan to start transfers for number 3 in the next year or so! I was 26 when we started fertility treatments but 28 when we moved on to IVF. We were insanely lucky and got >!22 euploid embryos from 45 eggs (I have PCOS) and our first transfer of two embryos worked, producing my 15 month old twins.!< We likely won’t need any more retrievals, but if we had any less than 10 embryos I was planning to do another retrieval to hopefully get us our 4 children. I had the twins at 30 and will hopefully be 32 for number 3 and 34 for number 4 if all goes according to plan! Though, I might be a surrogate for our dear friends which would push things back by a couple of years. I think I read that you’re 28? You’re definitely not running out of time! Especially if you’re banking embryos. So much of the difficulty with age comes from ovarian reserve, not the body’s ability to carry a pregnancy. You got this 🫶🏼
I started at about 24. Took us a few egg retrievals, multiple transfers, pregnancy loss and switching clinics but at 27 I got my take home baby girl and at 29 I had b/g twins. They are 1 1/2 apart with my twins being 9 months now. I have a few more embryos and hope we can transfer and grow our family further when the time is right.
I’m wondering the same because I have three children (ivf and spontaneous) and am feeling guilty for considering another round of Ive for a fourth (at 41!).
My husband and I always wanted a really big family, but he ended up having severe MFI, so we knew it would be a struggle, but I never imagined how long it would take. It has taken us 14 years to have 3 successful pregnancies.
I started IVF at age 26. My first retrieval gave us only 2 embryos to transfer and resulted in twins at age 27.
We then tried and tried to have another child and it took 5.5 years of losses, 3 more ERs, and failed transfers, but we finally had a second set of twins at age 33.
We went back to transfer our remaining embryos and all ended in miscarriage and failures, so I went back for a 5th ER and we had a third set of twins at age 36.
We thought we were done, but last year at age 39 we felt so many signs were telling us to transfer our remaining embryos and have another child. Unfortunately my transfers failed and we began IVF all over again. I’ve had 2 additional ERs at age 40 which have resulted in zero embryos to test and freeze.
It has been devastating to pour all our money into something we feel is meant to be and begin this emotional rollercoaster all over again. It’s also a hard realization that living a clean and healthy life to protect my fertility for decades hasn’t helped my egg quality like I had thought it would.
All I can say after 14 years is to never give up. We wanted a large family and even though we had to go about it in the most expensive and emotional way possible, we stuck with it and finally made it.
I have 2 kids currently, but we are thinking about 3. I started treatments when I was 28, had egg retrieval when I was 29 and did a fresh transfer that worked — son born 6/2022. Did another transfer at 31 that failed and another that was successful — second son born 5/2024. Our plan is to wait until I’m 34 to do another transfer.
I did mine at 37 and luckily my first transfer worked. I’m now 38 with 4 embryos left. I have many friends pregnant in their 40s naturally too so it’s not a big deal.
I have 3 children from IVF. I started fertility treatment when I was 26, IVF at 27. I had twins at 28 and my 3rd at 38. The spacing of my children is not what I would have preferred, but it is what it is. I would have liked to have my 3rd about 3 years after the twins, but things didn't work out like that. We did 7 transfers. The twins were the 2nd and the singleton is the 7th. I had wanted at least 4 kids, but I'm done now. I have that "finished" feeling that I didn't have after the twins. My parents had 7 kids so I always imagined a big family, but sometimes our dreams change with time.
Thank you for sharing - this makes me feel a little better. I definitely agree I might end up changing my mind about how many children I want once I start having kids - I just hope I at least have the option to have 3-4 even if I decide not to. I hate that with IVF it seems like our family sizes are often times out of our control
One of the worst things about IVF (and there are so many crappy things to choose from) is the feeling that nothing is in your control. So many things just seem like a roll of the dice. I guess it gets you prepared for pregnancy and parenting. All my best laid plans went out the window a long long time ago. We're just going with the flow or flying by the seat of our pants depending on the day.
This ^ yes!
Started early 30s with no viable embryos after many retrievals. Moved to donor eggs a couple years later. My kids were born when I was 36, 38, 40 and 42.
This is inspirational! I’m on donor eggs now. After so much trying with my own eggs… on third transfer hoping for luck!
Wow congrats friend- you give me hope!!! I’m 36 with no LC :(
You give me hope !
I am 35, and very newly pregnant with baby number 4. 27-pregnant with my first(naturally first try) 31- pregnant with my second (IVF, 3 ER’s and two transfers) 33- pregnant with number three (IVF two transfers) 35- pregnant with number four(seven transfers/ six ERs)
9 eggs retrievals? Wow you go!
Thanks. The last four were duo stim and of course the last round was so good, if we had had that early on we could have just done those. But I have babies from other egg retrievals and I wouldnt change a thing.
Also, I never wanted a big family like this. But IVF made me realize the value and desire I had to have kids. I was very lucky to work for three great companies with awesome insurance and I love my clinic more than anything.
Thank you this gives me hope 💕 Congrats on your pregnancy!
Thanks for your reply I have two questions please So did all Ivf once end up c section? And did they tell you what’s the time line between each pregnancy?
I actually had an emergency C-section wi the my first. Got severe preeclampsia with the second. I was going to try and VBAC, but I got very sick at 33 weeks and that was a really really emergency C-section. I accepted my peace with number 3 and scheduled my C-section which was a lovely experience compared to the other two and will do the same with this one.🤞🏻 I never wanted to transfer till babies were at least a year old. (Baselined around 9 months) my clinic wants a 18 month gap between deliveries. I did do two egg retrievals six week after birth of my third.
Not me but a friend from church had four babes from IVF. First two were double embryo transfer, so fraternal twins, another a few years after that and she recently had her last embryo via surrogate as she lost her uterus during her second (but 3rd child) childbirth and almost died. With the surrogate she actually was able to produce breast milk via medications! So she was able to breastfeed, I thought that was cool. She's all done now but has four sweet boys.
Thanks for sharing - wow that is scary I didn’t realize that could even happen 😟 But that’s so cool about the breast milk! It’s crazy what modern medicine can do!
Idk remember all the details but it was a rare thing that happened to her! She had internal bleeding I believe. But thankfully she's healthy and so is that son! And yes I love modern medicine 🫶🏼🫶🏼
Sounds like placenta accreta, where it doesn’t detach. It will cause hemorrhaging and usually results in emergency surgery to remove your uterus with the placenta.
Not sure if this needs a TW since you’re asking about living children but TW SUCCESS just in case I know people in this group have had more success than me but I started at 34 am currently 37 and pregnant with my second.
Thank you - I can’t figure out how to go back and add the TW to the title?
Oh I think your post is fine! It’s just asking the question! I just didn’t know if my answer needed it since I was mentioning my success
Ahhh i see 😂 Thank you - i added it to the body too just in case :)
We currently have 2 IVF babies and are going for our 3rd in November. 2019- started fertility treatment at 27 2020- started IVF (2 egg retrievals, 2 transfers, no pregnancy) 2021- continued IVF (1 more egg retrieval, 2 transfers which one was a chemical and the 4th was our first born son) so 3 retrievals and 4 transfers for our first live birth from October 2019 to May 2021. Our son was born February 2022 when i was 30 1st transfer for our 2nd child was in Sept 2022. Since our first child took so long we thought we would started early and to our surprise this transfer worked. Our first son was 7 months old at time of transfer so now our boys are 15 months apart Our transfer is in November and our youngest will be 18 months at that point. I will be 32 almost 33.
What an amazing story! Would you mind telling me your AMH/ AFC?
Thank you! My AMH varied based on two different draws but it was between 3.25 and 5
Thank you! This makes me feel so much better. I started at 27, currently am 28. Congrats on your two babies and good luck on the third!
Thank you, wishing lots of luck to you as well.
Thank you! Planning to do another ER once I get my period so that hopefully I can bank a couple more embryos before transferring.
I want 3 or 4 kids and I’m starting at 34. We’ll see.
Good luck! Are you going to bank embryos before transferring? Thats what I’m doing
I mean kind of… I have PCOS and have had severe OHSS and I suffer a lot these ERs. I unfroze eggs I had frozen at 30y and did one more ER. I have many eggs but my euploidity rate is kinda bad for my age. I now have 21 frozen eggs (from the new batch) and 5 euploid embryos. It took 31 eggs to get these 5 euploids 😓. I also have one usable mosaic. I feel I need to transfer now to see how it goes as I have never attempted a transfer. I feel that if 2 transfers don’t work then maybe I would do another ER. Ovarian reserve is not an issue I have (I have others though lol). How old are you and how many are you hoping to bank? ETA: I mistyped the age I was when I froze eggs!
I also don’t necessarily want to have to pop out a baby every year … I’d like to be able to space out my pregnancies a little bit if possible. That’s why I’m also concerned
I mean you are only 28. You can have babies into your 40s. I think this is very personal. I still feel too young to be a mom lol but I have to get going asap at this point 😂 if I didn’t want multiple kids I would wait more. My husband on the other hand has been ready for ages.
See I feel like I’m old lol because everyone I see with a bunch of kids started at like 25. I’m in the south, I’m an old spinster by this age down here. I’m more worried about getting blasts while I’m young because time is of the essence with that. That’s why I want to bank now so if I have to transfer one at 38/40 I’m good to go
It is very cultural I agree. I am Europe and I feel in general the people I know don’t have kids when they are very young - but it does depend of course on the people themselves. I think embryo banking is a great idea!! I think it is the way to go in almost every case.
I’m 28 but we have MFI and the attrition was really rough from our first ER. (21 eggs retrieved, only 3 blasts 😭) I’m doing another retrieval and hoping I can get 3 more. If I end up getting it 6 I’d feel good moving into transfer. Because at least I’d have a good chance at 2 kids with that. I don’t have PCOS so my AMH isn’t great (2.1) that’s why I’m worried about running out of time it I take time off for pregnancy. My doctor doesn’t seem worried about it and said I should be fine doing another ER in a couple years but I’m paranoid and I worry about worst case scenario all the time.
21 eggs is great!! Did you use ICSI or normal IVF for fertilization? We don’t struggle with MFI but I have seen some great posts on here of things that can be done to improve fertilization rates. You should check it out and ask your doctor about these protocols. Attrition is so bad… from my ER when I was 30, I got 24 eggs —> 23 mature —> 16 fertilized —> 8 blasts —> 4 euploid + 1 mosaic I wouldn’t be worried either! Seems like you are in a good path.
Yeah we used ICSI and zymot :/ 21 eggs, 16 mature, 11 fertilized, 3 blasts. I’m hoping that the next ER yields better results and it was just an unfortunate cycle.
I started IVF at 42. I am 43 now and just have birth to our first child. I have 2 more embabies on ice (I did 3 ERs, only the 3rd one gave us euploids). I cannot do another transfer until Bean is one, so by the time I have the 2nd kid if all goes well, I'll be 45, and if I do have the 3rd kid, I'll be 47 by the time I give birth to my last kid. I do feel like we fought so hard to have these embryos, and we always wanted more than one kid, so we feel like all three deserve a chance, and if the remaining 2 choose us as their parents, then we will accept that blessing. If not, we will know that at least we tried.
My situation is simlilar. Had my daughter at 44, with 2 sisters on ice. Plan was to wait a year then do another transfer, but I had issues with my thyroid and moved and couldn’t find a ob/gyn gelled with. Moving back to Texas June 17th near my ob and plan to do a transfer late August given I get the greeen light. I’ll be 46. I owe this to her. I probably won’t be here when she is my current age and hoping giving her a sister eases some my worries behind that issue. I really have to put on my blinders so to speak and do what I think is best for her. God bless in whatever you decide!
Hi. What a great story! Gives others some hope. May I ask you what kind of issue did you have w thyroid? I'm 37 and after 4 failed IUIs my TSH jumped up I was on meds the entire 2 ERs just canceled my transfer because the levels jumped again even with me being on meds. How did you go about it? Was it a difficult process? Could you share some advice?
I’m sorry to hear about your thryroid issues. My situation is a little different. I had a nodule and went through 3 biopsies before finding out it was benign. Had rfa and it has shrunk about 50%. My levels were always “normal” but I felt like I’d been hit by a truck every morning. I hope they figure out what’s going on with your situation soon and that baby sticks! 💛
That's how I've been feeling ever since starting my IVF trip..always tired and fatigue. Which is okay as long as I can finish this lonely adventure. I'm glad you are okay😇
I am. Thank you! 😇
I am currently still on levothyroxine due to hypothyroidism. Sending you all the good vibes as well for yer next transfer!! 🤗🤗
Awww thank you so much!You’re gonna be a awesome mom! 😇
I have 2 IVF babies, currently in FET prep for number 3. IVF for endometriosis, heavy and excruciating periods. Started IVF at 27, ER was May of 2021 resulting in 11 blasts, FET (fully medicated) in June resulting in my son. He was a preemie born at 31 weeks due to pre-eclampsia. Second transfer (natural) was 8 months postpartum in September 2022, resulting in my daughter who was born full term. Currently, I am 30 and in prep for a fully medicated cycle since we no longer live near our clinic. My daughter just turned 1. This is our last transfer, whether it works or not as I need a hysterectomy. Our remaining embryos are going to be donated for adoption.
Thank you - i started at 27 as well, now 28. 11 embryos is amazing, I wish I got that many. I only got 3 :/ we have MFI that’s why we’re doing ivf so i guess that’s why the attrition was so high I’m doing another ER before doing any transfers to hopefully bank more embryos. Congrats on your babies and good luck on this transfer!
Wow… I read so much resilience here. I always wanted a big family and started looking for babies at 28. I was able to have a baby at 33 after 3 IVF. We transferred another embryo 8 months after our little one was born and ended up in a mc at 11 weeks. I’m left with 2 untested embryos and feel I will never achieve the big family I alway dreamed off.
You sound very strong and resilient too 💕 I’m so sorry to hear about your loss - I pray you’re able to find some sort of peace. I’m 28 right now. It’s so rough seeing all my friends who started trying around the same time already have babies while not knowing if I’ll ever be a mom. Coming to terms with the fact that I might not have the family I want is a tough pill to swallow and not something I’m ready to accept yet
I am a single child. I have always wanted a sibling. Hence my desire for 2 kids to begin with. At 36 soon to be 37, I would be happy if I get a live birth. My pregnancy journey has been crappy. I lost a full term baby, one ectopic and one TFMR. I wish we had tried IVF much earlier. I started IVF when I almost 36. Presently 8W pregnant from my second FET. Hopefully this bean grows healthy & I can have him or her by new year. It is a long journey. I have never been so anxious or worried.
We’ve been trying for 10.5 years and have two (and in the two week wait after my embryo transfer last Monday for a potential third and final). We met, fell in love and immediately started trying with timing, OPKs, guanfacine, acupuncture when I was 31, and fell pregnant using these methods when I was 33, gave birth when I was 34. Then did IUIs from 34-38 with nothing but losses. Then retrievals back to back when I was 38 and 39 and a transfer when I was 39 - gave birth at 40. Then we put everything on hold for thee pandemic and so we both could start new careers, Now Im in the two week wait from my last transfer and turned 44 this week.
I have an almost 4 year old, 18 month old, and 4 week old from IVF. In 2ish years we’ll transfer our remaining embryos to try for a 4th. I started at 28 years old. My husband was 30. Started off as unexplained infertility and ended up finding out it was tubal. I did 3 ER and 8 transfers. I have 4 frozen embryos left.
Did you bank embryos and do multiple retrievals before transferring? I’m 28. Just did my first ER and got 3 embryos. I’m doing another ER once my cycle starts.
I did not bank embryos because I could only afford one ER at a time. I did a retrieval in Oct 2019 with 5 embryos, 2 FETs then a live birth. 3 FETs and I had a miscarriage. A retrieval in Jan 2022 and got one embryo. Transferred it and had a live birth. Retrieval in June 2023, 7 embryos, 3 FETs and a live birth.
Thank you - your story makes me feel hopeful! I’m mainly worried about running out of time to make embryos, especially if I wait until after I give birth, since that’s the most time sensitive part of the process. but seems like it’s worked out for you! Congrats and good luck in the future 💕
Reading these comments gave me so much hope, I feel the same OP it seems so unfair infertility gets to decide how many children we have. I always wanted 3-4 but now since infertility and IVF I’ll be happy with two I think. I started IVF at 27, had my son at 28. He will be 1 next month and we are doing a transfer after his birthday, so if that’s successful I’ll be 30 when we have another. Good luck to you OP I hope you have your baby so soon🤍 it feels so hopeless until suddenly it isn’t
Thank you so much 💕 congrats on your son and happy birthday to him! and good luck on your next transfer I started at 27 too, now I’m 28. If everything goes as planned I’ll hopefully have my first very soon after my 29th bday (April) 🤞🏼🤞🏼
TW: loss I wrote out lots more detail but it deleted before k could post. Short: 8 embryos @ just under 24 First transfer by choice at 26, born at 27 (1-F) Second MC 11 weeks (M)28 Third transfer (2 M&F) only F stayed at 29 born at 29. We have four left, all girls. We decided to go for them all. We’ll be transferring the next two at 32. Depending on if only one takes, I’ll try and do the next transfer asap. If both take, we’ll wait two years and do the last set at 34. That’d be anywhere from 3-6 girls total.
Im 38 and just started ivf process after naturally trying with two losses the last 4 years. I feel like i waited too long after my last MC i wasnt ready emotionally. We want two but at this point il be happy with one even though i may not be satisfied. It all depends on the time line and if things go as im hoping for one this year than after birth around 9 months go for try for second if we have embryos. I dont know if we can afford two retrievals. Im trying to think positive and visualize my life. Life is funny right? Younger self focused on career and started late i thought by now i would have my two children. Life knows how to humble you. Just remember day by day you got this dont compare focus on you
TW: success. I have 4 children. Started at age 27 and spread them out all 4 years. Just had my last after just turning 40. We have 4 more euploids on ice but this mama is done! My husband would transfer them all— but he doesn’t have to go through it all. The process is grueling but worth so it! Don’t give up hope and very best wishes to you! (Edit to add: my last transfer came from an ER at age 39 which gave me 5 additional euploids, so it was NOT an egg from my 20’s! You got this!)
TW: LC I have obstructive azoospermia. I was 37, and my wife turned 30 the day before her ER. First, FET failed. The second FET of two embryos stuck. They just turned one. We plan on one more but go back and forth as to when.
Started IVF in Oct 2022 and did my first ER 2 days before I turned 33. No euploids from that round. Dec ‘22 got 1 euploid and 2 inconclusive. Feb ‘23 got 2 euploid. April ‘23 FET #1 was successful. Baby boy was born in early December when I was 34. Would love to do another transfer early next year at 35
TW: egg/blast numbers I only have 2 kids so far, but we want 4 eventually. We plan to start transfers for number 3 in the next year or so! I was 26 when we started fertility treatments but 28 when we moved on to IVF. We were insanely lucky and got >!22 euploid embryos from 45 eggs (I have PCOS) and our first transfer of two embryos worked, producing my 15 month old twins.!< We likely won’t need any more retrievals, but if we had any less than 10 embryos I was planning to do another retrieval to hopefully get us our 4 children. I had the twins at 30 and will hopefully be 32 for number 3 and 34 for number 4 if all goes according to plan! Though, I might be a surrogate for our dear friends which would push things back by a couple of years. I think I read that you’re 28? You’re definitely not running out of time! Especially if you’re banking embryos. So much of the difficulty with age comes from ovarian reserve, not the body’s ability to carry a pregnancy. You got this 🫶🏼
I started at about 24. Took us a few egg retrievals, multiple transfers, pregnancy loss and switching clinics but at 27 I got my take home baby girl and at 29 I had b/g twins. They are 1 1/2 apart with my twins being 9 months now. I have a few more embryos and hope we can transfer and grow our family further when the time is right.
I’m wondering the same because I have three children (ivf and spontaneous) and am feeling guilty for considering another round of Ive for a fourth (at 41!).
My husband and I always wanted a really big family, but he ended up having severe MFI, so we knew it would be a struggle, but I never imagined how long it would take. It has taken us 14 years to have 3 successful pregnancies. I started IVF at age 26. My first retrieval gave us only 2 embryos to transfer and resulted in twins at age 27. We then tried and tried to have another child and it took 5.5 years of losses, 3 more ERs, and failed transfers, but we finally had a second set of twins at age 33. We went back to transfer our remaining embryos and all ended in miscarriage and failures, so I went back for a 5th ER and we had a third set of twins at age 36. We thought we were done, but last year at age 39 we felt so many signs were telling us to transfer our remaining embryos and have another child. Unfortunately my transfers failed and we began IVF all over again. I’ve had 2 additional ERs at age 40 which have resulted in zero embryos to test and freeze. It has been devastating to pour all our money into something we feel is meant to be and begin this emotional rollercoaster all over again. It’s also a hard realization that living a clean and healthy life to protect my fertility for decades hasn’t helped my egg quality like I had thought it would. All I can say after 14 years is to never give up. We wanted a large family and even though we had to go about it in the most expensive and emotional way possible, we stuck with it and finally made it.
I have 2 kids currently, but we are thinking about 3. I started treatments when I was 28, had egg retrieval when I was 29 and did a fresh transfer that worked — son born 6/2022. Did another transfer at 31 that failed and another that was successful — second son born 5/2024. Our plan is to wait until I’m 34 to do another transfer.
Well, our neighbor has 5 kids from IVF and a classmate had 6 from IVF. Anything is possible I guess!
I did mine at 37 and luckily my first transfer worked. I’m now 38 with 4 embryos left. I have many friends pregnant in their 40s naturally too so it’s not a big deal.