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After 6 Miscarriages & 9 IVF Transfers, Couple Sobs as They Welcome Baby Through Surrogate

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Some people are very clear about what they want from life. There may be those who take time to wander and enjoy the sights along each detour, but there are also those who keep an eye on their goal and don’t turn back until they have what they came for.

Erin and Matt were married in 2012, and they knew right away that they wanted kids. “I grew up with a strong desire to become a mother,” Erin told Love What Matters, “and never could I have ever imagined the journey it would take for me to reach that dream.”

They tried for a year, but no baby. So they started to troubleshoot.

After Matt was checked out and given the all-clear, Erin had an ultrasound that revealed cysts on her ovaries — but when they went in to surgically remove them, they discovered it was actually her fallopian tube that had died.

Next, Erin found out she was dealing with polycystic ovarian syndrome and a thyroid condition. They began trying everything, including Clomid, intrauterine insemination, and in vitro fertilization.

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Erin and Matt experienced six miscarriages in total, before they turned to another possibility. That possibility was Rachel, a friend who’d had her own kids and had seen the struggle Erin and Matt had gone through.

In 2018, they took Rachel up on her offer to be a gestational surrogate, but it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to raise the money for the procedures and paperwork.



On January 21, nine days after transferring embryos to Rachel, they found out that Rachel was pregnant. They went through emotional ultrasound appointments, tons of planning and nesting, and had a gender reveal party: They were having a girl!

As the due date got closer and closer, nerves were high. At one point Rachel was experiencing contractions and went to the hospital, but they didn’t result in anything and the families went back to their respective homes, wondering when the baby girl would make her appearance.

“Matt and I went back home to Illinois to be with our pups — who were probably so confused we kept coming and going — each time we’d tell them MAYBE we’d come back with their little sister,” Erin wrote. “We went to a movie Tuesday night and Rachel was texting me during the movie about how she was having contractions — although nothing crazy yet.”

“We went to bed that night and Rachel had told me that in her previous births, she had gone to the hospital around midnight or 2 a.m. with contractions and had her children in the early morning hours.”



“For some reason that night, I woke up both at midnight and again at 2 a.m. and thought, ‘well, we aren’t having a baby today’ — until the phone rang at 3 a.m.! I had Rachel’s ringtone set to a certain one so we would know when it was her and it definitely startled both of us!”

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“She was beginning to have more consistent contractions about 11 minutes apart and given her birth history, the hospital wanted her to come in right away. Matt and I got in the shower, loaded up the car, and headed for Wisconsin at 4 a.m. on September 19th.”

“I called my mom around 5:40 a.m. to let her know this was happening and Rachel was in labor and we both cried. This was the last few moments of just my husband and I being alone.”

“Everything we had been through over the last 6 years — 5 egg retrievals, 9 IVF transfers, 6 miscarriages — and now our journey to 3 was almost over.”

“At 1:52 p.m. on September 19th, our miracle, rainbow baby arrived,” Erin continued. “There are absolutely NO words that will EVER even come close to describing the emotions I felt when she came out and was handed to me. I was absolutely sobbing — she is so incredibly beautiful and watching Rachel give birth was truly one of the most magical things I’ve ever witnessed in my life.”



One of the extra-special details was that their baby girl, “Scottie,” was named after Erin’s late father. Baby Scottie happened to be born on a very important date.

“I lost my dad suddenly 3 years ago,” Erin wrote. “I knew then I would name my baby after him. After all our struggles, our sweet Scottie finally arrived — of all the days — on my dad’s birthday. There was not a dry eye in the room.”



The couple is ecstatic to finally have made it to three, but they know that their current status would not have been possible without the sacrifice and generosity of their friend.

“We are incredibly blessed and grateful to have Rachel in our life and for her giving us this priceless gift — our daughter. She is selfless, noble, and unbelievably generous. We wouldn’t be here today with her, our family and friends, and our supporters that have stayed by our side throughout the years. We are forever indebted to all of them.”

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