Heather writes…
After nearly ten years of trying and so much heartache, they are finally here! We are so overjoyed to welcome Harper Claretta and Braxton Clayton to our home. Our family and friends are ecstatic and even our dog Duke seems to be happy to meet them. We are so thankful to the whole team at ORM who has helped us realise our dream of becoming parents!
My water broke at 3:45a.m. I called the hospital helpline and was told to head straight there. Brandon and I arrived less than thirty minutes later at the hospital and I was admitted.
A week prior to this, I had been diagnosed with preeclampsia and stayed in the hospital for four days. After being released, I was told not to return to work. My physician told me that I would be induced of the following Friday when I hit 37 weeks exactly.
Unfortunately, our daughter Harper had other plans. At one day shy of 37 weeks, we gave birth to our fraternal twins, who we affectionately call “the twincredibles!”
We had been utilising the services of a local doula in preparation for this day. She accompanied Brandon and I when we were admitted to the hospital. Our birth plan was intended to be a vaginal delivery.
I was given Pitocin, a drug used to induce labour, for almost 15 hours. However, my cervix did not open wide enough for a vaginal delivery. While taking Pitocin, my contractions were about 2 to 3 minutes apart. It was a long 15 hours!
Finally after more than ten years of waiting, and with some tugging and pulling from the doctor and nurses in the delivery room, Harper Claretta was born at 4:59 a.m. Braxton Clayton followed soon after at 5:02 a.m.
As the plan to induce a vaginal delivery wasn’t working, I was given an epidural and taken-off of Pitocin. This was to ease the burden of my contractions while I waited for the surgery room to become available for me to have a caesarian delivery.
Finally at 4:00 a.m., just over 24 hours after my water broke, Brandon and I were admitted into the surgery room. Only one guest was able to join me so of course, Brandon accompanied me.
Throughout my entire pregnancy, I had experienced morning sickness, all day. So why should today be any different! I vomited throughout my entire caesarian delivery. Brandon comforted me with one hand, and with the other held a small, plastic receptacle to my face to contain the vomit from my vomiting episodes.
Finally, after more than ten years of waiting, and with some tugging and pulling from the doctor and nurses in the delivery room, Harper Claretta was born at 4:59 a.m. Braxton Clayton followed soon after at 5:02 a.m.
Our beautiful little girl weighed in at a healthy 5 pounds and 8 ounces, and our handsome little boy was a similarly healthy 5 pounds and 11 ounces. They both were 18 1/2 inches long.
When Harper came out of my womb crying, she was instantly handed to Brandon and he hugged her, we kissed her and together we cried happy tears. We patiently awaited Braxton’s arrival.
Those next five minutes was the longest time in our lives.
Unfortunately, Braxton had moved into a breach position when Harper was delivered. The medical team grabbed him, pulled him out but we heard no cry. As soon as he was out the medical team quickly took Braxton to the back room. They said that he was in shock.
After another two minutes, he was brought out of the back room into the surgery room crying. We were elated!
My doula, mother, father, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and aunt were on video patiently waiting for us back in our hospital room. We arrived back in our room less than twenty minutes, later announcing our fraternal twins’ birth and their names to our loved ones. Our family members were overjoyed!
We were very fortunate that at just shy of 37 weeks our babies were big enough and in good enough health that they did not need to be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit.
They were held for some basic screenings and brought to our new room for hours upon hours of kangaroo care with me and Brandon.
We cannot begin to thank ORM enough for helping us make our dreams a reality, and for choosing us for this Fertility Journey! We are forever grateful to the selection team who choose us after conducting countless interviews from worthy couples needing help to build their families.
We are indebted to Christina, our treatment coordinator, for helping us navigate on a daily basis all of the prescriptions, injections and doctor’s appointments that we needed to accurately prepare for the IVF procedure.
We would also like to thank the communications team, Sarah, Megan and their colleague Aaron for helping us capture our journey and visiting us to intimately share our story of persistence and determination.
We are overjoyed that we had the opportunity to speak with Corby and Gena who helped us navigate our donor options and find the perfect match for our family.
Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Barbieri. From our first Skype interview, you made us feel important and heard.
You displayed empathy throughout our entire journey and assured us that our dream of having a child would become a reality. Little did we know, we would be blessed with two miracles, the twincredibles!
Thank you so much each of you, and to the everyone else on the ORM team who we know played a vital role in our journey but whose names we didn’t get the chance to learn. Truly, from the bottom of our hearts!
Dr Barbieri comments on Heather and Brandon’s journey
We were thrilled to get Heather and Brandon’s email announcing the birth of Harper and Braxton. It is such a privilege to be able to share their joy. Hearing our patients’ stories of the first moments that they got to meet their babies makes all our work at ORM worth it.
We have been truly honoured to have been able to help Heather and Brandon.
They’d had such a long journey by the time we got to meet them. And Heather’s pregnancy has certainly has its complications – remembering Heather’s severe morning sickness, concerns about Harper’s diagnosis of a single umbilical artery, and the onset of preeclampsia at end of her pregnancy. And even her delivery had it is challenges!
But now their long Fertility Journey is at its rightful finish – the birth of these beautiful babies, and their much longer Journey of Parenthood is just beginning!
We know that with all their family and friends who have been cheering them on and wishing them success,
Heather, Brandon, Harper and Braxton will be well-supported for this next phase as they grow as a family.
I and every member of the ORM team are wishing the Terry family every health and happiness!
Thank you again to Heather and Brandon for sharing their amazing journey with us and of course the amazing doctors at ORM Fertility who helped make this happy ending possible.
