After marrying her husband Lyn Rees, also 38, Emma Rees anticipated becoming pregnant quickly. However, the pair struggled for years to conceive. Each insemination, which cost the couple thousands of dollars in private IVF, regrettably resulted in a miscarriage or an unsuccessful effort to conceive. However, Emma ultimately became pregnant on her eighth try after taking a two-year break from IVF to concentrate on becoming an aunt. Sophie and Ollie, now one year old twins, were born to Emma and Lyn in May 2018, and they now feel like a whole family.
They exceed my expectations in every way. I had always imagined my children to have olive skin and dark hair, just like my husband, so when they started to resemble each other, I was shocked. I’ll never forget everything I went through to get here, but seeing my kids grow up in front of me is an experience I can’t even begin to describe. When we began our IVF adventure, we collected money to build a house, but without relatives nearby, who wants a large, luxurious house?
Now that everything is finished, Sophie and Ollie are the epitome of perfection. We are fortunate that we persisted because the dream has come true. In 2009, Emma started her arduous path into parenthood when she and her husband Lyn got married and decided to try for a baby.
The couple then realized they would have to wait for help from the NHS so decided to go private and Emma became pregnant in May 2013.
She said: ‘The feeling was indescribable, I couldn’t believe my luck. I became obsessed. I kept Google searching for my symptoms, and I must have taken 15 pregnancy tests – but they gave only faintly positive results. But sadly, Emma failed to keep the baby six weeks later.
In October of that year, we underwent our second cycle, and everything appeared to be going perfectly; nine eggs were fertilized. However, the test proved negative after the transplant, and I was no longer eligible. On paper, our embryo appears to be flawless, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason why it shouldn’t be accepted. I don’t understand it. Three months later, in January 2014, Emma made a third attempt, but the IVF again failed.
I questioned, “Why us?” She said, “I don’t understand why I’m not pregnant when everyone else is.”
It was fate that my sister Katy, who is two weeks older than me, was also pregnant when our fourth round of IVF finally worked. Since my sister and I have always been close, it seems wonderful to be going through this pregnancy together. Additionally, the 7th week scan showed that the baby still has a heartbeat, so everything appears to be good.
But a week following the ultrasound, Emma started to notice a reduction in her symptoms, including a decrease in her nausea and a disappearance of the sensitivity in her breasts.
At eight and a half weeks, she waited for a private ultrasound with the medical team that Lyn and she both knew well. When she went to the doctor, I told Lyn, “Here,” since I knew the instant I glanced at her.
Emma took a two-year sabbatical from the IVF procedure to enjoy being an aunt, learn how to replay her life, spend time with loved ones, and host entertaining musical evenings. Early in 2017, she finally went to a specialist at the London-based Zita West Clinic, which offers full support including direction and advice on nutrition. She had in vitro fertilization and had twins, however she miscarried them quite early on.
In September 2017, Emma decided to try one final time with her remaining eggs and transferred two embryos. “The doctor advised us to recommend one of the eggs since he thought it might be of inferior quality. To my astonishment, both took and I received the two that I made pregnant again,” she said.
I was extremely worried, always waiting for things to go wrong. I was mentally drained and I bled a lot for the first few weeks – it didn’t calm me down. I spent more time in the hospital than out!’
The couple decided not to buy any essentials for the baby until 24 weeks.
I almost dropped to the ground when they announced it was one of the girls because I know we have two children. We are ecstatic and grateful beyond words. On May 22, 2018, Emma gave birth to twins Sophie and Ollie by an emergency c-section, seven weeks before her due date. Both 4lb 7oz and 5lb 2oz babies are weighed.
For three days after they were born, Emma was locked in the highly dependent unit due to a reduction in her sodium levels and an increase in her potassium levels.
When Sophie was first born, I saw her and told her, “I’ve been waiting for you,” but I was too sick to see her because she and Ollie had been admitted to the NICU.After three days, I was finally able to see them clearly thanks to the iPad the nurses had given me so I could watch them.
To express her gratitude for the wonderful care and support she has received throughout her parenthood journey, the new mom submitted her midwife, Emma Thomas, for the Emma Diary of the Year 2019 Midwife of the Year Award.
