Conrad is a gift; he is sweet and playful and drools a lot. He makes every day in our house better.
Conrad (2024)
When we got married in 2005 Jonathan and I weren’t sure whether we would have kids. We focused on our careers and invested time and energy into our relationship. When the time was right, we easily conceived our first child, the second was a different story. We tried for over two years without success. We were tired and depressed. Wanting in the deepest parts of our hearts to give our daughter a sibling, we watched close friends experience heartache in the adoption system and knew that with an impending relocation, we were not good candidates for being foster parents. Then we learned about Embryo Connections and hope was rekindled.
I didn’t know that embryo transfers were even an option, but once I did it fit perfectly. Even though I was experiencing infertility I was still healthy enough to carry a child. We discovered Embryo Connections which shared our values of creating families of all types and the flexibility of open relationships with the embryo donors. We were matched and received four embryos. The first was an unsuccessful transfer, but the second took root and flourished. In November of 2023 we had a healthy baby boy, Conrad Micah.
Conrad is a gift; he is sweet and playful and drools a lot. He makes every day in our house better. He’s given our daughter the chance to be a big sister, a role she relishes. It took almost a year for me to start to trust my body again after all the heartache, loss and failure of our pregnancy journey. I know not all fertility stories have happy endings, but for us, Embryo Connections, made possible the hopes and prayers that lay deep in our hearts, and we will be forever grateful.
We’ve been open about sharing our experiences with others, hoping to reduce the shame and stigma around reproduction. Our daughter knows we got “a seed” for mommy to grow, and we’ll be open with our son about his birth story. Families come together in all sorts of ways, ours would not have been possible without the generosity of our donors and the capacity and professionalism of Embryo Connections. We would not be the family we are today without this incredible organization.
Holly, Jonathan, Corrina and Conrad