Angela and her husband got married in 2015. They always knew they wanted 2 children. She got pregnant easily on the first try in 2016. They felt so extremely lucky. Unfortunately, at 23 weeks they lost their sweet baby girl. They did genetic testing to find some answers on why there were such major abnormalities. Their baby had a rare heart defect, where the heart did not form properly. They also found out the baby had a rare chromosome deletion. After finding out Angela’s husband carries that gene, they decided to do IVF with PGD genetic testing. They wanted to avoid passing on the gene, as it was a 50/50 chance each pregnancy.

Angela had major complications from the D&E/D&C, which led to hemorrhaging. They started IVF in May 2017, and after 5 stim cycles, 4 egg retrievals and 4 failed transfers, they did not have any luck. They went to two doctors in two different states. Angela also underwent two hysteroscopies and many other minor procedures to see what was going on and why she wasn’t having any success. Her first doctor recommended surrogacy after her 3rd failed transfer because everything “looked good on paper”.

After her 5th IVF transfer with her new doctor was cancelled in March 2020 due to COVID, they decided to leave it up to chance and try again naturally. Shockingly, it worked the first try and she was pregnant. She had not seen a positive pregnancy test in 4 years. After undergoing a CVS (for genetics) and a fetal echo with an MFM following her whole pregnancy, all came back normal and they started to relax a bit more. Getting the phone call from the genetic counselor that the baby did not inherit the genetic condition was the best news of their lives. The rest of their pregnancy was “uneventful”, as they say…which is a good thing! The silver lining to being pregnant during the pandemic was getting to take more time off than she would normally have.

ttc story

Angela was due on December 28, 2020. On Christmas Eve, she started having contractions but they were irregular and far apart. They did not think the baby was coming soon since she had an appointment a few days earlier where her doctor said baby had not dropped and she wasn’t dilated at all.

Angela’s one wish was for the baby not to come on Christmas Day. But of course…her water broke at 1am in bed and water went everywhere! It was just like in the movies! She labored all night at the hospital and got an epidural at 10:30am on Christmas morning. Her doctor saw that baby was in distress and her heart rate was dropping so they recommend an emergency cesarean right away.

At 12:38pm, Aria was born. Angela didn’t get to meet her right away as Aria’s cord was wrapped around her neck and she wasn’t crying. Shortly after the team took her away, they heard Aria scream loud and clear. It was a huge sigh of relief. The rest of the 3 night hospital stay was a blur and then all of a sudden, they were clear to go home and start their new adventure. Life has been so busy for the new family of three but has been the best year of their lives. Aria has been the biggest blessing and joy in their lives. She is so smart, alert and is absolutely adorable. She is a constant reminder that miracles DO happen!

Angela Fong Bio 

Angela is a first time mom in Los Angeles. She is originally from Vancouver, BC, Canada. She has lived in the US for 12 years. She works in marketing. Once upon a time, she was a professional wrestler and traveled the world performing in front of thousands (but that is a whole different story for another time!) You can connect with Angela on Instagram: @missangelafong1

Owlet

Today’s episode is sponsored by Owlet. Meet the Owlet Pregnancy Band, an at-home pregnancy monitor using innovative, passive technology to give you daily insights into your pregnancy. You can track Mom’s sleep position, get manual kick count prompts, hear heartbeat recordings and see Baby’s trends through the night and over several days, plus read weekly pregnancy milestones all in the Owlet Pregnancy App. Right now get exclusive access to the Owlet Band in its beta program at owletcare.com/band.

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