Andrea, 37, New York, USA

 

My story is long, so I'm going to try to sum it up in as few words as possible.

 

I've been living in New York City since I graduated college in 2005, and I've loved every second of living here. My 20s and very early 30s were spent with all of my best friends, who lived here as well, partying every weekend. I had no complaints, and I was never really interested in meeting someone at the time. I knew I'd find the right guy eventually. Fast forward to my mid 30s; I was still single, but very happy and content. I always felt very fulfilled in my life. I'm a kindergarten teacher on the upper east side, in a fabulous school with wonderful colleagues and families. Life was great. 

 

I was never great at the whole dating scene though, and it felt like so much work tackling the online world. Anytime I went on a date I hated every second of it. It felt fake and forced. One thing I did know, from the time I was a very little girl, was that I always wanted to be a mom. I have 6 nieces who I love and adore and share special bonds with. I babysat all through high school and college and would nanny in the summers during my college years and I've been teaching kindergarten for 13 years! I clearly love children. 

 

I started meeting and hearing about other women deciding to have children on their own, and it got me thinking. When I was 36, I went for my annual and my gynecologist referred me to an IVF specialist. I had my consultation appointment a few weeks later at the end of May and started the process in July. I did two egg retrievals over the summer (2019). The first retrieval I froze my eggs, and the second retrieval was to make and freeze embryos using a donor sperm. Unfortunately, the second retrieval didn't go as planned due to a rare occurrence, so I had to hit the pause button. I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained from all the hormones and needles; I needed a break. 

 

I decided to start the school year, get back to normal, and do a third retrieval in November. Right after Thanksgiving I had my third (and final!) retrieval, and it was successful!! I found out right before my birthday and Christmas that I had two healthy, genetically tested MALE embryos! I was so excited, but shocked! My whole plan from the start was to transfer a girl! I never thought in my wildest dreams that wouldn't be an option! Anyway, I moved on from that and had a successful transfer on January 30th! And here I am, 17 1/2 weeks pregnant with a baby boy! 

 

I'm due in October, and I couldn't be more excited about my decision. My whole belief through this whole process has been, I can get married at any age but window for having kids is getting smaller. I was born to be a mother, and I am so fortunate that I was able to make that dream come true!