NGUPLUS

I believe there is such a thing as a blessing in disguise. When we heard the news, though, "a blessing" was the furthest thing from our mind. Gut-wrenching, painful, "why us?", was more like it.

Several months ago we were told that we had a four percent chance of conceiving a baby naturally.

This information was a blessing. And once we realized it, we could prepare for our future. We could make a plan; we could ready ourselves for a tough road ahead. Most couples try to conceive for a year before receiving a referral to a fertility specialist. All of this information came our way before we even started trying to get pregnant. We were fortunate that a hunch led to a simple blood test which led to a diagnosis, that led to more testing, that led us to the fertility specialist who delivered the hard facts. The same fertility specialist who made our baby a reality. I never knew I could hate and then love a stranger so much.

So the blessing, undoubtedly, was knowledge. Knowledge that spared us from cycle after cycle of pain.

There were times when I could not tell whether infertility was breaking us down or building us up as a couple. The reality is, it did both. We shared some of our darkest, most angry, most vulnerable moments and also found deep strength in sharing our complete dedication to the process and the end result. A baby. OUR baby.

Sparing the exact details of our diagnosis and treatment, I will say that we were also blessed that we got pregnant very quickly. And for that, I couldnt feel more fortunate. It may not have been easy, but it is completely, overwhelmingly, wonderfully worth it.