Going into the ultrasound that day, I remember feeling extremely anxious. Given everything we had been through, it was understandable. I've lived my entire life in Valparaiso, Indiana.
For the past eight years, I've also been lucky enough to have my beloved husband, Ryan, by my side. In 2022, we welcomed our daughter Nellie into the world. It should have been the happiest day of our lives.
When she was born, doctors told us she was healthy. We were discharged from the hospital and brought her home. That night, I put Nellie down for a nap and went to sleep around 2 a.m.
When I woke up at about 3:30 a.m., I found that she had died. After losing my daughter, my world felt like it was over. But we found a way to keep going, and in 2024 we began IVF.
It was an awful experience. We went through two egg retrievals and got zero eggs from either one. After those failed retrievals, I decided to take a break.
Then, out of the blue, in February 2025, I became pregnant naturally. Within five days, blood tests confirmed the reality I had feared: it was a chemical pregnancy. Though it was crushing, that loss wasn't devastating in the same way because I had already experienced losing my daughter.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
