Help the Tibbetts' Create Baby #2

Psalm 127:3 "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward."

November of 2011, my sister Ashlee left to Hawaii to fall in love with the man of her dreams. It was an instant connection. She knew almost immediately she was bound to marry this man. Brian was and still is one of the biggest blessings in her life. Ashlee and Brian got married in October of 2013. They knew right away that they weren't going to wait to start their big family. A month later, November of 2013, Ashlee announced that she was pregnant. The family was overjoyed. Every moment of Ashlee's pregnancy was magical. I will never forget going with her to one of her appointments and getting to see an ultrasound and hear the heartbeat of what would be the best human in my life. My Goddaughter, Baylee Christina Grace Tibbetts was born July 15, 2014. I was blessed enough to get to watch her take her first breath and at that moment I knew life for our family would forever be better. She has been the greatest joy to our family. From the moment Baylee was born, Ashlee has rarely left her side. She chose to be a stay at home mom and in my (biased) opinion she has been the best at it. Baylee is so smart and gifted at such a young age and I completely give that to Ashlee being such an excellent stay at home mom. She has read to her every night since she was born and makes sure she does every activity she can to help create a smart, gifted, and beautiful human. However, this is not where the story ends. When Baylee was born, Ashlee was 28. She knew that she wanted a big family and wanted to have all of her children by the time she was 35 due to abnormalities that could happen congenitally. Therefore, Brian and Ashlee started trying for baby #2 as soon as they could. In December of 2014, they both got the ball rolling and Ashlee started tracking her ovulation. Her pregnancy with Baylee happened so fast there shouldn't be a problem and they should have been pregnant within 6 months at most. December of 2015 came around and still no baby. Brian and Ashlee were confused and distraught. Ashlee made an appointment with her OBGYN because at that point she had been trying to conceive for a year with no luck. At that appointment the doctor ordered an HSG test to see if there were any blockages. There was a blockage, however it was cleared by the procedure itself. Next came the MRI. The MRI showed that Ashlee has whats called a Bicornuate uterus. The definition being: a "heart-shaped" uterus; a uterus composed of two "horns" separated by a septum. This finding is what has prevented her from getting pregnant. Since it had been a year of trying to conceive, the doctor prescribed Ashlee a drug named Clomid. Clomid works by stimulating an increase in the amount of hormones that support the growth and release of a mature egg. Ashlee did 5 rounds of Clomid and nothing worked. She was ovulating, but no luck. At this point, Ashlee had almost given up. She went back to her OBGYN with questions hoping to get answers. The best she could do for her was refer her to a specialist. Yesterday, November 16, 2016, Ashlee and Brian saw a Reproductive Endocrinologist who now wants to get them started on their IVF journey. He told them with her uterine anomaly it may never be possible again to have a natural pregnancy and that Baylee was indeed a miracle. That is why I am asking you, a family member, friend, or just a kind hearted person to help. Her doctor estimated the cost being anywhere from 15-18K. A number that has Brian and Ashlee worried. Therefore, if we can take any stress off this journey for them, that's exactly what I will try to do. If you find it in your heart to donate, thank you from the bottom of my heart. But at the very least, say a prayer for my sister and her husband. If anyone deserves another child, it's them.

Nicole Bonafede