Gimme five!
‘Infertile’ couple went from no babies to FIVE in just two years…but there were moments they nearly lost them all
Mallory Jo and Michael Williams now have their hands very full...
AN 'infertile' couple went from having no children to FIVE in just two years – after adopting two boys and falling pregnant with triplets following IVF.
Mallory Jo Williams, 27, and Michael Williams, 30, from Pennsylvania, USA, felt like their dream of having a family was doomed, until their adoption agency gave them two young boys to care for, and their IVF attempt gave them healthy triplet girls.
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Following two years of failing to conceive naturally, the couple were placed with Chase and Dylan in December 2016 while the boys’ biological mothers went through court proceedings to confirm whether they were fit to look after their sons.
Through the many court appearances and monitored visits, Mallory and Michael continued their IVF fight in July 2017 as Mallory had longed to carry her own children.
However, their fresh embryo transfer failed and so they were put on the list for a frozen embryo transfer, which took place in September 2017.
The frozen transfer was a success and Mallory and Michael were overjoyed at the possibility of extending their family, without realising they would be extending it by three more babies.
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“I was able to control every aspect in my life until getting pregnant,” Mallory said.
“Michael and I had always wanted to adopt since we began dating, so when we had trouble getting pregnant we figured it was destiny that we should go down that path.
“We chose the ‘foster to adopt’ route because we thought it would be great to help children in our immediate area.
“We had to wait approximately six months for our first placement which felt like forever.
“We were very surprised however to get a call in the middle of the afternoon saying the family services would be dropping off an eight-month-old boy named Chase in a couple of hours. We were beyond excited and had to rush to make sure we had everything.
“This was a shelter call which meant we were a temporary shelter until Chase went to court 48 hours later. He ended up going back to his biological mother after which crushed us."
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She continued: “Not even three days later we received a placement call for a six-week-old named Dylan. So, we went to visit him in hospital where he was detoxing from several substances and we fell in love with him instantly.
“As fate would have it, we got a call from the agency saying Chase’s court decision was overturned and he’d be re-entering the care system, so would we like to welcome him back? It was a unanimous yes.
“We were slightly overwhelmed to go from zero children to two in seven days.
“Fostering was the hardest thing I ever did. We treated Chase and Dylan like our own, but I was always terrified that someone would take my baby away. We lived from court date to court date.”
Mallory and Michael didn’t give up hope on the possibility of carrying their own child, so after trying all the natural remedies they could, they agreed to do IVF. Mallory put aside her fear of needles and blood to go through with the process.
Louise Brown - the world's first test tube baby
Tomorrow will mark the 40th birthday of Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby.
Louise was born at Oldham General Hospital on July 25, 1978 after her parents Lesley and John became the first people to successfully undergo IVF.
Her birth attracted controversy, with religious leaders expressing concern about the use of artificial intervention and some raising fears that science was creating "Frankenbabies", but also paved the way for around eight million IVF births across the world to date.
IVF treatment on the NHS is free for those who qualify but the numbers of the procedures performed have suffered cutbacks this year due to funding.
On average, 23 per cent of couples have a baby after a single attempt at IVF in the UK.
Mallory had 26 eggs retrieved, 13 of which were viable to use. So, initially they put in one of their seven embryos, which unfortunately wasn’t prosperous. Two months later, they agreed on putting two embryos in, figuring the most unlikely situation would be to have twins.
“Every month was so depressing when I got my period. I cut out caffeine and alcohol in the hope it would help,” added Mallory.
“I would feel really guilty that the one night out with my girlfriends would be the reason I wouldn’t get pregnant. I tried everything from natural herbs and vitamins, to asking my doctor for help.
“My doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with me or Michael, so we tried for three years before deciding to start IVF.
“We tried conceiving naturally from October 2014, and eventually tried IVF in July 2017, and finally got pregnant from a frozen embryo transfer in September 2017.
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“We said so many times that we didn’t care how many we had, we just wanted to get pregnant. But I thought I’d miscarried the night before our first ultrasound and I cried all day.
“The doctor told me to take it easy, she didn’t think I was miscarrying, but I would find out the next day, so I was prepared for the worst.
“We were in the waiting room before seeing the doctor, who then told us it was triplets. All we could do was laugh.
“My doctor took me out of work at 20 weeks and I had appointments every week, and ultrasounds every other week. I made it to 35 weeks with no complications before my scheduled C-section.
“The girls were born on May 7 this year, named Avery Jo Williams (5 lbs 1oz), Emery Jo Williams (4lbs 12oz) and Bradley Jo Williams (4lbs 8oz).”
After dreaming of a family for so many years, Mallory and Michael suddenly had their wish come true with five children under their roof. They officially adopted Dylan on June 29 and are currently finalising their adoption of Chase to complete their family.
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