From the beginning of our marriage we both wanted a lot of kids. Erik is a pediatric nurse and my degree is Elementary Education. So we have a passion for children. We waited about 3 years before we started trying to have a baby, only to find out, it wasn't going to be so easy for us to conceive. We tried for one year and then decided to seek help. We saw an infertility specialist and it was concluded that I had endometriosis. I had surgery and with the help of fertility medication we conceived quickly after the surgery. In total it took us 20 months to conceive our first child. It was a long process, but we were blessed to be able to conceive. My pregnancy went well. My baby progressed like normal and we were all prepared for a natural childbirth. I was 39 weeks along when I went into labor in the middle of the night. I labored at home for several hours before going to the hospital. It was at the hospital that we discovered our baby had died earlier that night when my water broke. There was an issue with the umbilical cord. We were devastated. Here I was in labor with my baby and the end was not something I was ready for. Instead of natural childbirth I chose the drugs, so I could sleep and get through the emotions. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl several hours later. Ivy Allison Bayer is our daughter, and she is so blessed to be with Jesus now in heaven. We rest in knowing that we will get to spend eternity with her when we join her in heaven.
Ivy has left an amazing legacy here on earth. There is an orphanage in Haiti dedicated to her, Ivy Bayer House of Hope. The orphanage houses over 90 orphan girls. Erik and I were blessed to visit this orphanage and see the amazing children that her life has affected. Erik and I have a heart for the people of Haiti and especially the orphans. Erik has been on several missions to Haiti and has been able to use his medical skills to help so many children. Ivy touched so many lives through her life and now her death. Erik and I are forever changed by her life. God has used her life and death to show himself to so many people. Erik and I are blessed to have an amazing church family who surrounded us with love during those hard times. They continue to pray for us and love us and still remember Ivy. We also joined a local support group for parents who have lost babies. It has been healing to us to go through the grief process with other parents who understand our pain. Not a day goes by that I don't look at her picture and think of her and dream of the day I will see her again.
After the loss of Ivy, Erik and I proceeded to think about our plans to expand our family once again. We knew it wasn't going to be easy to conceive, as it was hard the first time. We started to see our infertility specialist again and it was decided that I should have yet another surgery. So I had surgery and started treatments once again. This time it didn't happen so fast. It was 5 months after surgery that I became pregnant. We were thrilled. We were able to use the same fertility medication we used to get pregnant with Ivy and we were confident. However,this pregnancy didn't last long. I miscarried at 6 weeks. Another baby in heaven, not with us on earth. "Why Lord?" was all I could say. I laid in bed for a week and had the fear that we were never going to see a baby on earth. But Erik and I knew that it was not time to give up yet. All the while we were looking into adoption and came close to adopting two beautiful kids who were being raised by great-grandparents. The Lord, however, closed this door, as adoption was not his plan for us at this time. We continued with our fertility treatments for the next 8 months. It was really starting to wear on us. It was like we were robots, going through the motions of treatments, not knowing what else to do with ourselves. After praying and seeking advice from wise friends, we decided to go to another infertility specialist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (by the way we live in Missouri) The amazing doctors in Michigan are Christians and we trusted that the Lord was leading us to them and they could help us in some way. So we packed our bags and drove 10 hours to Michigan, always praying for the Lords guidance. We began a treatment right away and went back to Michigan a month later. We stayed for 8 days and came home to wait....oh the story of our lives. The longest few weeks ever, and I say this because this treatment was our last effort to conceive. We knew we couldn't do this forever and this season was going to end. Two weeks after returning home I went for the standard blood draw and waited by the phone. Four long hours later I got a call....the test was positive...I was pregnant!! I was elated, to say the least. Two weeks after that call I saw my doctor here for my first ultrasound. I was soooooo nervous, I can't even tell you how nervous I was. My heart was racing as I sat on the table to wait for the ultrasound. My doctor looked around in my uterus and finally spoke about a minute later. He said, "I see 3 sacks." I screamed with excitement. They were teeny tiny and heart beats were hard to see, so I knew we would need to wait for the next ultrasound to know for sure. So 2 weeks later we were back and my heart was racing again. This time the doctor said, "I see 3 heart beats, 3 viable babies." That was the best news I have ever heard in my life! I am pregnant with triplets. What a blessing. Praise you God for being the creator and author of life. All credit goes to God, my Lord, my Savior, my creator. He wanted these babies and we trust Him. It has been an amazing pregnancy, even in these last 12 weeks. It is hard to believe we are here. As I said before, Erik and I wanted a big family and God has blessed us with that.....all at the same time!
I can't forget to also mention our dog, our baby for the past 6 years, Mollie Sue. She brings a lot of joy and fun to our house and we hope the triplets love her as much as we do!
