[His name] and [Her name], and L

Hello. Thank you for considering us in our efforts to grow our family. We have come to the place of embryo adoption after many attempts at other means to have another child. Our first pregnancy happened quickly and was textbook, resulting in our healthy son. We unfortunately struggled with secondary infertility and had 2 first-trimester miscarriages when our son was 2 and 3. We went through medications to increase pregnancy chances with no luck. We moved to IUI cycles and made it through 4 unsuccessful cycles, and then COVID happened, shutting down our infertility clinic for a while.

During that time, we continued to try to conceive naturally. We did end up getting pregnant during that break. We held our breath through the first trimester, at 15 weeks we let our guard down and started preparing for a new addition. The same day we were packing up the new-to-us baby crib in our truck we received a call from our OBGYN informing us that our NIPT testing came back high risk for Trisomy 18. We were devastated and continued with testing to confirm the diagnosis and how it was impacting our baby. An amniocentesis confirmed Trisomy 18. We had a consult with a fetal cardiologist that also showed our daughter had Tetralogy of Fallot, and that due to the Trisomy 18 diagnosis they wouldn't ethically do surgery to fix her heart because T18 babies wouldn't survive due to their fragility and mortality rate. We said goodbye to our daughter at 20 weeks gestation.

We took time to grieve and deal with the trauma of losing a baby further along in pregnancy. I, and occasionally my husband, attended an infant grief and loss group and individual therapy. Once we felt ready to try again, we set up an appointment with our infertility clinic for an IVF consult. The week before we were to attend our IVF intake, we found out we were pregnant. We were over the moon and cautiously optimistic that this time we would have a healthy baby. We imagined that we had been through so much already that now was our time to make it to the finish line and meet another baby earth-side. This time we were working with a geneticist due to our history. We did early testing and again got the dreaded call that our baby was testing high risk for T21. Knowing that this diagnosis isn't a fetal-fatal one like T18, we wanted to do more testing to see how this diagnosis would impact our precious baby. I had a CVS, and tests came back showing our baby girl had mosaicism. All the cells in her body had either 1 or 2 extra copies of chromosome 21, so she had Trisomy 21 and Tetrasomy 21.

There is little known about how having 2 extra copies of chromosome 21 impacts a baby’s health. There are very few cases (16 known cases, with only 1 or 2 living babies), and not a lot of literature on this diagnosis. We consulted with our local Down Syndrome Association, and they consulted with their national geneticists who also couldn't give us much information. We said goodbye to our baby girl at 17 weeks gestation. Again, we took time to grieve and decide if we wanted to continue trying to conceive. We have such a strong desire for another child and for our son to experience the joy of having a sibling that we set up a consult with our infertility clinic for IVF. We completed genetic testing and did the basic labs for IVF and learned that we had about a 1-3% chance of having a healthy baby via IVF using our own egg and sperm. We decided to go the route of donor egg and sperm in hopes of giving us a better chance to create a healthy embryo. We were able to send off three 5-day old embryos for testing, and unfortunately all 3 tested abnormal. We had a low-level mosaic embryo, and after consulting with our infertility doctor and geneticist, decided to try and transfer the embryo this past October. My IVF cycle looked great, but the embryo did not take. We thought our chances to have another baby had ended with the failed transfer. I was determined to look at other options that were perhaps more affordable and came across Embryo Solutions, and here we are.

We met each other in our early 20's when we lived in a college town and worked part time at a local group home with adolescent boys with behavioral and mental health challenges. I graduated college with a degree in Applied Psychology, and my spouse wasn't sure yet where his career path was heading. I moved back home; he followed and eventually went off to get a certificate as a power lineman. Finding work in the local area was difficult for him, so he eventually decided to go to training through BNSF railway to become a railway engineer. He is a 3rd generation railroader. He's been working in that field now for over 17 years. I have been with our local county government as an adult mental health case manager. After 17 years in that department, I just recently switched to home and community care. I am still within the county and still able to meet and help people of all ages and backgrounds, but it's a much less emotionally taxing job. It’s a better fit for me with what I've been through in the last years, and as I hope to be the best version of myself for my son and family. My husband works nights, but can see us off each morning, and is up by the time we are done with school and work. This allows for us to eat dinner together, go to various activities together as a family, and complete the nightly routine of homework, PJ’s and snacks. I make my own schedule and work from home mostly. I have a lot of flexibility and great paid time off to allow me to be present for special occasions, illnesses, and to take family vacations. My husband also has a great vacation package and has some flexibility with his work. He is usually the back-up to manage things like illness, or school pick up if I am not able. I live 5 minutes from work, and my husband has an easy 35 minute commute. We both see ourselves retiring from our current positions with our current employers. We feel stable with our jobs.

We live in a suburb of our state’s capitol city. We are fortunate to have access to great schools, many parks, and all kinds of indoor and outdoor activities. We have lived in our home for almost 13 years, it's a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, two-story home with a finished basement. We have a fenced in back yard with a large playset inside a play area with a sand box. Our son enjoys having the neighbor kids over to play on the swings, in the fort, have a Nerf Gun battle, and of course play soccer. Our neighbors are great, and we have an annual block party at the end of each summer. We have a boat, Ice Castle RV Edition, portable icehouse, and lots of camping gear. We enjoy cruising around the local lake, fishing, camping in our tent, or taking the Ice Castle somewhere for a longer, comfier camp outing. Our home is close to where I grew up, and most of my family, mom, sister, brother, stepsister, and brother (aunts, uncles, and 25 first cousins) all live in the area. My sister has 3 kids, 15, 13, and 10 with her now ex-husband. My brother and his wife have 3 kids, 22, 19, and 15. My stepsister and her husband have 2 kids ages 8, and 5. My mom did daycare for all her grandkids. She lives in the country on a hobby farm that has a creek that runs through the back with a wildlife refuge divided by a set of train tracks. This place has been a special and favorite place for all of us. We have delighted in seeing our kids grow up where we did and have a special bond with their grandmother. Unfortunately, my stepfather (who was like my father) passed away the year before our son was born.

We enjoy playing outside at my mom’s home. Kids can ride their bikes, fly kites, catch butterflies in the fields, catch minnows in the creek, explore the woods, and build forts. In a world run by electronics, we feel thankful for a place our son can explore and connect with nature. Our family gets together for holidays, special occasions, frequent family dinner nights for no reason, and lots of cousin play dates.

My husband’s family is smaller. He has an older sister, a niece that's 27, and she has 2 kids ages 7 & 6. His parents come to stay with us frequently, as they are both retired and always up for seeing their grandson. They come for special events, sports, camping trips, fishing outings, and other adventures in the area. We like to sit out on the deck enjoying meals together and entertaining our son in the back yard. We get together for family holidays, birthdays, family vacations, and cabin getaways. We have a tradition of matching family pajamas at Christmas, summer cabin weekends, and renting a VRBO lake home for 7 wonderful days. My husband’s parents also have a time share, and we have visited other states. Or last family trip was to Cashiers, South Carolina. His parents waited 20 years between their first grandchild to having another, our son. Then they got 2 more great grandchildren soon after our son came into the world. They are excited and very ready to have another grandchild as they love nothing more than being with their kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. My husband has lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins they are just a bit more spread out. He gets along with all of them and has close relationships with a couple of them. Our son really likes getting together with his cousins as they are so close in age and have a lot of the same interests.

Beyond our families we are blessed with wonderful friends and coworkers who are like family. This just enriches an already deep roster of amazing people we get to experience many life adventures with.

We feel that we are a stable household with love for another child that extends beyond just our hearts & home, but they will be surrounded by love from our families and friends. They will have a chance to experience things they desire, be that the arts, STEM, sports, or other outlets. They will learn the values of loving all people, respecting nature, and the importance of being a good, kind, and generous person. They will learn about God in a non-denomination Christian setting, but also have the choice to explore what feels best for them from a religious/spiritual standpoint as they age and develop their own set of beliefs. If you feel we are a good match or not, we thank you for giving the opportunity to others to grow their families. This is an unbelievably huge and selfless gift. We are honored you’ve considered us.

Thanks,