I guess nothing good comes easy

My husband and I spent years trying to start our family. We’ve experienced two miscarriages, two failed rounds of IVF (in-vitro fertilization) and countless procedures.

In September, we implanted our only viable embryo from our second round of IVF. My digital test was negative, but then later looked positive. But when the next one was negative, I knew the test had just sat for too long and bled. We failed again and it was back to the drawing board.

We met with our fertility doctor after to discus what went wrong and what we could do next. We decided we wanted to go down the route of donated embryos since we were having so much trouble creating viable embryos. But first, we needed a break.

I spent nine months of 2024 doing IVF. I also had a miscarriage in 2024. My body was spent. We decided to spend a few months resting and maybe come back to regroup in February.

I spent a lot of time trying to come to terms with the fact that we were not actively trying to have a baby. It seemed so backward, but I knew I needed the break from the medicine and the needles.

Since my cycle was so out of wack from IVF, I downloaded a new app to track my period — something I’ve always done. It asked if I was trying to conceive and I clicked yes. In late October, I got a notification from the app. “If you don’t get your period tomorrow, take a pregnancy test.” I laughed at the app, but thought, OK. If I don’t get it tomorrow, I’ll take one the next day.

My husband was in the shower when I took the test. It immediately turned positive and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’m pretty sure my eloquent words were, “Uh, I’m pregnant.” He poked his head out and said. “Are you sure?” I showed him the test. “Pretty sure!”

So anyway, here I am now, 15 weeks pregnant. We’ve heard the heartbeat and watched our little baby stretch on the ultrasound. Our early chromosome testing came back all positive and we found out we are having a little girl. She’s our dream come true.

This would be a great place to end the column, happily ever after. But no, nothing good comes easy, and this pregnancy is no exception.

I think I’ve had every negative symptom one can have while pregnant. I’m basically useless every day until about 4 p.m. I’m exhausted and sick — always sick.

If you were wondering why we didn’t run Creston sports on Monday it’s because on Sunday, I was too busy running back and forth from the bathroom to write my basketball story.

I’m so incredibly fortunate and grateful to work for a flexible and understanding business. Some days, I work from home so I can be sick at my own house rather than in the shared office. Some days, I can’t get out of bed and roll in after 2 p.m.

I’m told there is light coming just over the horizon in a few weeks, but it’s still looking pretty dark from where I’m sitting.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m immensely thankful to have a healthy baby, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give myself permission to be grumpy about the symptoms.

So in the coming weeks and months, bear with me. I’m doing my best to be the same sportswriter I have been for the last two years, but sometimes, baby calls the shots.

I am due in late June, early July, so I should only miss part of baseball and softball season. From a sports perspective, I couldn’t have timed it better since there are no sports in most of August.

This does mean, with the heat and the long days, I won’t be able to cover state track this year. Fortunately, we have enough people to get fantastic photos and I can watch all the races online.

Sometimes it feels like baby can’t come soon enough, and sometimes I panic about what life will be like when I have to be attached to a tiny human 24/7. I think I got so focused on trying to get pregnant that I forgot a baby comes at the end of it.

I started a baby registry, and I barely have any idea what I need or what I need to be picky about. I’ve sent many a panicked message to my mom friends asking the stupidest questions.

Feel free to email me your favorite newborn products or the ones you felt were a waste of time. You can also comment your thoughts on the Facebook post.