Pregnancy announcements are all over Facebook these days, but this mom-to-be’s post focusing on her in vitro fertilization journey — and featuring hundreds of hypodermic needles —has resonated with thousands.
Lauren Walker’s post on Facebook last week announced that she and her husband, Garyt, were expecting twins — a boy and a girl — after praying for a child for 953 days. But Lauren didn’t shy away from their difficult road to get their two miracles. She took a picture of two onesies surrounded by 452 needles and empty drug bottles, used to give herself shots during her fertility treatments. Not pictured: “1000’s of tears.” The couple underwent four attempts with fertility drugs, two IVF rounds, three failed transfers and one corrective surgery, Lauren wrote in her post.
She described taking out the needles by the handful for the announcement as “surreal,” and said she started to cry when she thought about the last two-and-a-half years.
“There was a lot of pain, hope, and fear behind each of these needles. Each one represents a different day, a different path, a different emotion,” Lauren wrote. “After a good cry, the more I looked at it, the more the needles started to blur together. Now all I see are these tiny onesies that so perfectly sum up our journey: Worth the wait. And wait, and wait, and wait.”
Lauren said in the post that actually doing the IVF wasn’t the toughest part for her.
“My darkest hour was going through an entire cycle and losing embryo after embryo,” she wrote. “Coming so far only to miscarry. Getting to where all the hope, the money, all of what could have been your children were gone.”
But Lauren said her heart told her not to give up or give in, and now she can see how strong she — and Garyt — really are.
“I feel like I’ve won the life-lottery. I carry battle scars on my heart that will always remind me of what it took to receive these two precious blessings. And I would do this 2,000 times over and over, again and again,” she wrote.
Lauren shared their journey in hopes it may comfort and give hope to anyone else struggling. She also praised friends and family, and Garyt, her “devoted and steadfast” husband for being her support system.
“He’s my reason for being so strong. He’s my husband and the father of my children. He’s my everything,” Lauren wrote. “These babies don’t know how incredibly lucky they are to have him as a daddy. I love you so much. I cannot wait for this new adventure.”
Lauren and Garyt are expecting Diana and Duke to make their grand entrance into the world in
August 2017
. She finished out her post with, “Mommy and Daddy cannot wait to hold you in our arms, for we have carried you in our hearts for a lifetime.”
