A couple who previously had three heartbreaking miscarriages share how they met their twins after spending more than £82,000 on IVF.
Irish couple Amy and Gary O’Keeffe have been trying to conceive for some time, but have unfortunately had three miscarriages and nine failed IVF attempts.
Fortunately, just when they wanted it, her 10th round of IVF was successful, welcoming twins Mei and Jared.
“Gary and I are teachers. We love kids and couldn’t wait to start our own family,” Amy explains.
“11 years of dating, 6 years of marriage. We started looking for a baby after we got married and got pregnant during our honeymoon, unfortunately we ended up in our first miscarriage.
“We conceived easily and didn’t expect any problems in the future, but after 14 months of trying again, there was no joy.
A first miscarriage leaves Amy and Gary questioning fertility treatments.
“We never received a formal diagnosis and our struggles led to unexplained infertility,” says Amy.
Amy got pregnant in October 2018 and January 2020, but unfortunately they both ended in miscarriages.
“It was devastating to go through the same thing over and over again,” Amy remembers.
The couple also tried in vitro fertilization treatments, which are believed to have cost nearly €100,000 (£82,000) for ten rounds.
“If I didn’t get pregnant by round 10 of IVF, my chances were higher, so I agreed to decline,” says Amy.
“For the most part, we reconcile ourselves to the idea that we may not be able to have children of our own.
“We were both putting in extra hours at work to fund IVF. It became part of our family budget.
Sometimes you have to postpone the cycle until you have enough money to pay.
“Last November, I had my 10th embryo transfer and I transferred two embryos, but I didn’t expect them to transfer.
I can’t taste it for two weeks, but a week after the transplant I felt bad.
“This time I thought I was overdoing it and moving my body too much, but out of curiosity I decided to take a pregnancy test and I saw a strong line on the stick.
“We hadn’t missed the clinic, so we decided to ask the doctor if we could be twins, but given everything we’ve been through, I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky. I don’t think so.”
The couple’s first scan was done five days before Christmas last year, and they feared more bad news to come.
Amy says she couldn’t believe it when a nurse told her her heart was in her mouth and she could see the second baby.
“I cried a lot when I saw the two babies,” she adds. She was so scared that I thought she had to break the bad news to her before Christmas.
“It was very unexpected as the odds were against us.
“My family was very happy when we told them. I think they felt a great relief after five years of bad news. Although it was good news, it was bad news.
They were all happy, but they needed a little attention. bittersweet.
I was always worried about bringing home twins, so I was afraid of having too much baby stuff around the house until the end of my pregnancy.
Fortunately, the pregnancy was successful and Amy gave birth to two healthy babies.
“The pregnancy went smoothly,” she says. “I took my children at 37 weeks and had to take them out.
“I naturally delivered them on different days, but they are both different constellations.”
Macy, 5 pounds, was born before midnight on July 22 and is a Cancer, while her twin brother Jared, 5 pounds, 8 ounces, was born after midnight on July 23 and is a Leo.
Amy adds: It was a simple matter.
“We brought the baby home three days later and it was the best feeling in the world. It’s been a long time since we had a happy ending.”
Geminis are two little fighters. They thrive and certainly live up to their zodiac sign.
“We couldn’t be happier.”
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Source: Metro
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.