Marianne & Svein.

Ever since I was little I have had a wish: the wish to become a mother. Unfortunately, when the time finally came to get the wish fulfilled, this turned out not to be so easy. Going from thinking to looking forward to being a mother to thinking that maybe I should never experience it was incredibly difficult. Both mentally and physically. But we did not give up.

We get on the test tube carousel, which is a bit of a roller coaster. One day you get an upturn; the next day you can get a bad message and a real downturn. Unfortunately, there will be primarily downturns. But when the positive message came and I was pregnant with Eivind, a lot was forgotten.

The time came when Eivind was 1 year old, and the desire for a sibling was great! We started incredibly well with getting pregnant on the first freeze attempt, but unfortunately, it ended in miscarriage. After this, there has been an incredible number of downturns and many dozens of syringes. Should think one got used to putting syringes on oneself, that it becomes a habit, but it takes some time each time. Maybe it hurts this time? Sometimes it hurts a lot.

We are so incredibly grateful that we have had Eivind in this process. He has made everyday life much easier. Should not look away from the fact that I would not have been able to function at work without him because it is not easy peasy to work with test tubes. But he makes us have to fight for ourselves and him.

The hope of a sibling disappeared little by little. The thought of not being able to give Eivind a sibling has also been incredibly heavy. What if something happens to us? Then he will be completely alone. After one freezing attempt that ended in miscarriage, we went through overstimulation, three new freezing attempts and two new fresh attempts in the public sector .. None of these was successful.

We were still not quite willing to give up, so we contacted the private sector: Klinikk Hausken (after thinking a bit about whether the psyche can handle more). Due to my diagnosis, we were advised to buy a pack of 3 attempt - which is far from free. So then we jumped into it again. Prepared for the fact that now we had to go through a good number of rounds again.

We started with new medicines and new courage. At most, there were three syringes in one night, but what do you not do to have a child? The retrieval of eggs came, and we got a new record in the number of eggs released. Then come the incredibly long days. Days that feel like years…

Day 1: you get a phone call about how many eggs are being fertilised, this can be many, or few, ups or downs.

Day 2: you get to know how many eggs have been divided as they should and if any show promise.

Day 3 (possibly day 4 if it is a weekend): you will know if there will be insertion.

Hours feel like days, days feel like weeks.

We got to put in two perfect eggs! Dr Hausken himself was incredibly positive (which helped a lot). "If there is no pregnancy now, I do not understand anything"! Then comes the two longest weeks of life. The days leading up to the pregnancy test should be taken. You try to feel the symptoms, since you have to take medication three times a day, it also becomes difficult not to think about the situation. In addition, the side effects of this medicine are the same as signs of pregnancy.

I was very positive at first, but then the hope started to disappear. I felt sure it had not worked this time either. So I took a test the night before the test date. Two lines lit up: I was pregnant! I completely broke down. The extreme strain was gone. Should it finally be our turn again?

The ultrasound has shown a small body with a pounding heart, and all hearts rejoice. We sincerely hope it goes well this time! We are incredibly grateful to Haugesund Fertilitetsklinikk who helped us with the miracle Eivind and to Klinikk Hausken who helped us with the next miracle.

One thought: before you say to others something like: "now is the time to start having children", "I had 3 children when I was your age", "will not number 2 come soon?" or "I was waiting for it" when someone announces a pregnancy, think about it. Some choose not to have children, some choose to have 1 child, 2 children, 3 children, etc. But for some, it is not a choice, really for quite a few. Some never experience the joy of parenthood. It is by all means allowed to talk about having children. But think a little about the way it is said. There is an incredible number of people who are in the same situation as us. So pay attention to what you say.

Today's words of wisdom, and perhaps the world's longest testimonial. Now we look forward to the time ahead, where we can relax and enjoy what we have in store and hopefully be parents of two children in March.

- Marianne and Svein Erling

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