A Difficult Journey

By now, it’s no secret that my sister and her husband Bo are expecting triplet girls to arrive any day now. (And we are so incredibly excited for them to get here!) But what’s not quite as well known, is the difficult journey it’s taken them to get to this point. I asked Megan if I could share their story, and she said she would love it if I would wrote about them. I know this is a story our family will cherish, having it all written down. And obviously other people are curious and just want to hear the “drama” of it all, but I know the majority of folks really, really love & care for them, and will appreciate hearing/knowing this as well.

Quick back story to catch up to “present day”… Megan and Bo were high school sweethearts! They started dating when they were only in 9th grade! They dated all through high school and college, and got married in May 2013, merely a week or two after Megan graduated from FSU. (Bo graduated the year after.) Like any relationship, there were typical ups & downs, good times & bad times, but these two sweethearts stuck it out.

They spent a few years by themselves (plus they’re three dogs!), just enjoying married life, and then decided in the spring of 2015 they were ready to start trying to get pregnant. Like most young couples, they assumed that once they were ready, things would just happen naturally and easily. However, that wasn’t God’s plan for them…

After a while, they started getting discouraged when month after month, Megan was not pregnant. Eventually, they went to the doctor for a few tests, and nothing abnormal was found in either of them that would obviously point to any difficulties getting pregnant.

In November 2016 (after only 5 months of “trying”), I found out I was pregnant. And that was the epitome of “bitter sweet.” Everyone was so happy for us, but also so sad it hadn’t happened yet for Megan and Bo. Honestly, I felt extremely guilty about this. It was so super easy for us, and it seemed so very unfair that it would happen this way. I don’t know exactly what Megan would say about this (it was hard for us to talk about it at the time), but I felt a strain on our relationship, just talking about pregnancy stuff. Eventually, we had a tear-filled conversation about the whole situation, and we both we were able to be comfortable about it together. She was very much looking forward to becoming an aunt, and she was going to make the most of it. Even before my Emerson was born, Megan was already becoming the best aunt ever.

Then in June 2017, Megan went to the OBGYN office for a regular well-check appointment, with some concerns about some bleeding. She went through the usual routine there (blood pressure, weight, pee-in-a-cup), and then the nurse rushed in the room, abruptly told her she was pregnant, and that the doctor would be right in. But there were still concerns, since she was pregnant, but bleeding.

The next week, in early July 2017 (the week before Emerson was born), she went in for an ultrasound, and they found out she had an ectopic pregnancy. That means the fertilized egg planted itself in her tubes, instead of her uterus, and would not survive. In easy terms, it was an “unviable pregnancy,” that couldn’t be left to continue. The baby literally can’t survive, and it could also cause life-threatening internal bleeding for the mother, so all ectopic pregnancies are terminated. (Please understand, there is no “choice” here.) So the same day of the ultrasound, they were sent to the Cancer Center to terminate the pregnancy via chemo shots.

The very next week, our sweet Emerson Secille arrived. And of course, Aunt Megan and Uncle Bo fell in love with her, just like the rest of us did.

In September 2017, over two and a half years since they had decided to try to get pregnant, they made the next step. They made appointments with The FIRM (Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine), and had some informal meetings with them. In November 2017, they had their first real appointment, and Megan started taking fertility medicines. In early 2018, they tried an IUI, which was ultimately unsuccessful. After that, they decided to start the process for IVF. On June 5, 2018, they had their first IVF transfer, and we were all very hopeful and excited about it. And you can see from their faces just how excited they were! They transferred two embryo’s, and were told everything went great.

Sadly though, it was ultimately unsuccessful, and they found out on June 15, that it hadn’t “taken,” and she was not pregnant. And that was devastating.

Then in July 2018, Emerson turned one-year-old, and yet Megan and Bo were still trying… And once again, I felt guilty. Not only had it been easy for me, but now enough time had passed that I carried her for 9 months, and now she was one year old, and they were still hoping & praying for their turn.

On August 2, 2018, they did their second IVF transfer, and once again transferred two embryo’s. And once again, we were all very hopeful and very excited, and praying very hard.

And then we finally got some good news! Two weeks later, on August 13, 2018, Megan went in for her bloodwork, and she tested positive! SHE WAS PREGNANT! And she had very high HCG levels (pregnancy hormone), which was a sign that it could be multiples in there.

After the first failed IVF transfer a few months back, the nurse had called Megan directly to tell her the news. This was the middle of the day, while she was at work, and when she got the devastating news, she could barely function. She was sent home early I believe, if I remember correctly. So after the second time, they decided the nurse should call Bo, and he could be the one to tell Megan once she got off work. But in the middle of the day, he showed up at her office & told her to meet him in the parking lot, and he was wearing this t-shirt he had secretly gotten made!

This was the first day of the new school year, and when I got to Growing Room to pick up Emerson, Megan walked back to the classroom with me (this wasn’t out of the ordinary, as she always wants to help with Emmie), and when we got to the empty classroom (the kids were on a giant buggy in the hallway), she told me the good news! And I almost exploded with excitement!

On August 29, 2018, they went for their first ultrasound, and found out they were expecting twins! But then they were surprised once again, when they went back again for another ultrasound on September 5, and found out it was actually TRIPLETS!

(Quick note about the triplets – since they had transferred only two embryo’s, but there are now three babies, this means that one of the embryo’s split into two. These two share an embryonic sac together {babies A & B}, and the third baby {Baby C} is in a sac by herself. And the two in the sac together are identical twins!)

They kept the triplets a secret for about a week and a half, and we finally had a family dinner where they surprised us with the news! (Well, my Mama knew…) But it was a shock to the rest of us! Then we all had to keep it a secret for another month, until they finally shared the news on Facebook, on October 9, in the midst of all the Hurricane Michael prep/chaos/anticipation.

I made them this rainbow sign during this hard journey, after the ectopic pregnancy, as a reminder that our God is a God of Miracles. And we were expecting Him to do mighty miracles in and through them, if we could only remember that. I also wrote this note on the back, about rainbow babies. It says, “After the turmoil and darkness of a storm, when light breaks through the clouds, sometimes we are blessed enough to see a rainbow. Like the miracle of a rainbow after a storm, babies born after the loss of another baby are referred to as rainbow babies. The rainbow doesn’t erase the storm, nor does the arrival of a new baby eclipse the previous tragedy of a loss. The rainbow sends a message of Beauty, Promise, and Hope.” They lost three babies (1 ectopic, and 2 from the failed IVF), and then God did a huge MIRACLE and blessed them with three rainbow babies all at once!!! (Also, I was so honored they used my sign as a part of their pregnancy announcement photos.)

And they received such a HUGE outpouring of love over this HUGE announcement! I mean, duh, obviously. People were commenting like crazy on Facebook, as well as texting us all individually, about how excited they were for them. And of course, news of upcoming triplets would be exciting for pretty much anyone. But when you know their whole story, and how long it took to get to this point, that’s what makes it even more spectacular.

Since they first found out, life has been a whirlwind for them, to say the least! They found out on August 13, that she was pregnant. Then on September 5, that it was triplets, and they listed their house for sale on September 18. (Their old house was in Midway, and yes they realized one day they would need more space, but more immediately, they needed to be closer to town/family). On November 5, they had an ultrasound and kind of guessed they would have two boys and one girl. On November 17, the ladies in my family threw them a baby shower. On November 21, Megan & Bo threw a huge party with all their friends and family, and shot off all PINK fireworks to signify the THREE TRIPLET GIRLS! On January 13, their church held a diaper drive, and threw another baby shower for them. The girls at Growing Room also threw a shower for them.

And finally, on February 20, they sold their old house and closed on a new one! (This is the new one below).

Megan was put on “light bed rest” on February 8, at just over 30 weeks pregnant, and overall has had a great pregnancy throughout. She had your typical sickness/food aversion in the very beginning, and actually lost a bunch of weight, because she just couldn’t eat. But she got over that around the second trimester, and has been good since then. We honestly thought she would get put on bed rest much sooner than this, for the simple fact that she’s carrying three babies, but she was continually healthy, and her doctors were very impressed with her, and with the babies. (Also, she has a “regular” OB at her normal office, but she also has a high-risk doctor as well.)

For her “light bed rest,” she isn’t allowed to work anymore, but she is not actually confined to her bed 24/7. She’s still allowed to go out & do things, like church or dinner, but she just has to make sure she spends at least three hours a day on her but, with her legs propped up. Her blood pressure has gotten just a little bit high these past few weeks, and her feet, ankles, and lower legs have started swelling. Her belly also looks like she’s full-term already (if there was only 1 in there), even though she’s currently 32 weeks pregnant (or 7 months). All-in-all, she’s still doing great, all the babies are looking good, and everything is going fine. She currently has her C-section scheduled for a couple of weeks from now, and we’re all praying so hard the babies stay in there until then, so they can grow & cook as long as possible! If she makes it that long, they will come at 34 weeks, which is really amazing for triplets!

Please keep Megan & Bo (plus Kensley Hope, Riley Lynn & Ellie Grace!), in your prayers over these next couple of weeks. They can use all the prayers they can get! Like I mentioned before, her doctors have been so impressed with her health during this pregnancy, and personally, I think some of that must come from the literal hundreds of people that have been praying for them throughout these last 32 weeks. God hears & answers prayers, people!

Megan & Bo – thank you so much for letting me write your story. I had to fight to not cry multiple times while I was working on it. I love you both so much, and I promise to love my three nieces, as much as you love Emerson!

It has certainly been a long, difficult journey, but it’s one that led to a God-sized miracle.