" Two of a Kind "

I always knew I wanted to have children some day. About six years ago I had to undergo major abdominal surgery and I knew that the operation affected how I would be able to conceive. Thinking about what I went through then and sitting here with my twin sons now, I just feel very fortunate.

My husband and I met each other through friends and have been married for three years. We are both in the broadcast business, although I'm concentrating on being a full-time mom nowadays. We moved from New York City to Boston about a year ago. After the move, we felt ready to have children and since I knew that we would try In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), we were referred to a hospital in our area.

Going through the process can be mentally and physically challenging, but we were fortunate in so many ways. The nurses at the hospital told us that IVPCARE is the only way to go. They were right! The director of the program was fabulous and the medications I needed arrived instantaneously. It was the easiest part of the whole process. Whether I was dealing with the nurses or the billing department, IVPCARE was one aspect of the whole process that was hassle-free. Everyone was always extremely helpful and personable. My challenge was also eased by the amount of support I had from my husband, family, friends, doctors and nurses.

I was lucky to get pregnant after only the first round. After the IVF procedure, I was to wait two weeks to find out if I was pregnant or not. I just had to believe it would happen, or not, for a reason. Well, I couldn't wait two whole weeks for the blood work, so I ran out and bought a home pregnancy kit. When I came home, I took the test right away and it came out positive! I called the toll-free number on the package and was told the test was probably right. The next call I made was to my husband at work. He was thrilled. A few days later, I went to my doctor and the positive result was confirmed.

Everyone we told was ecstatic. We heard a lot of "hoorays", laughter and congratulations, although we remained feeling cautious. About a month later, I had a sonogram and we found out that I was carrying twins. We knew in advance that they were boys. Pregnancy was a pretty good experience for me and I did not have many of the typical "symptoms", other than minor heartburn during the last month. Although not originally planned, at 36 weeks it was determined that it was time for the babies to come out and I had a cesarean section.

In May, 1998, our two sons were born. One weighed over 6 pounds and the other was almost 5 pounds. They are fraternal twins and both healthy babies! With two babies, my days lately are more than a little crazy. I spend much of the time rocking, feeding and going on walks, but the smiles make it all worth it! For now, we have our hands full, but someday, we plan to try to have children again. When we do, we will definitely go with IVF and use IVPCARE's services again.

For anyone who is considering IVF, my only advice is to have faith. If you don't try, you'll never know what may happen. When faced with difficult challenges, I always think, "This too will pass." Not only did the challenge pass, it ended up being the best thing I have ever done.