Happiness. Excitement. Disbelief. Fear. For moms who have been trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, finding out that you're finally pregnant can be incredibly emotional.
Below, moms in the What to Expect community share the stories of how they felt when they finally got the call from the clinic that their embryo transfer had worked or when they looked at that pregnancy test to see two pink lines. After such an emotionally and physically exhausting process, the amazing news affected them all in different ways.
"I made my husband take the call from the clinic. I laid on our bed with a blanket over my head, clinging to a good luck bracelet my sister gave me and praying, ‘Please, God. Please, God.’ When I heard him running up the stairs I knew our test was positive. I threw off the covers. He swung open the door with tears in his eyes and just nodded. We held each other and cried. The feeling was unbelievable, such a mix of joy, relief and shock. We went to the pharmacy and bought a bunch of home pregnancy tests — just to make sure. And, finally, after two years of trying, saw those two pink lines." — MakingBabyC19
"We had been through several rounds of IVF. Our first frozen embryo transfer failed without explanation. The embryo had been genetically tested and was great quality; so, we weren't sure if the problem was with me and my body rejecting it. When we did the second embryo transfer we didn't know if it would work. I took two home pregnancy tests, and they were both negative. But I went to the hospital for the HCG test anyway. We got the phone call from the IVF clinic that my HCG levels were good, a signal that I was pregnant. My first thought was: 'Really? Is it really going to work this time?' To be honest, I couldn't summon feelings of happiness and celebration at the time because I doubted that it could really work. It took several weeks before I began to believe that this little embryo could survive inside me. Once I got past that though, I've had the happiest pregnancy, and I am so excited to meet our little man this spring!" — irishseoul
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"IVF is a rollercoaster... by nature and by hormone induction. After seeing countless negative ovulation and pregnancy tests over the last few years of trying, the sight of a POSITIVE test is beyond exciting! And yet, you're still skeptical, still testing day after day to make sure it wasn't a fake. I'm only 7 weeks, and while we saw a beautiful strong heartbeat at 6 weeks, it still doesn't feel real. We are cautiously optimistic until a 'safer' number of weeks is achieved." — cvick1130
"I’m 39. I’ve been trying for four years and have had three failed cycles of IVF. For the first time ever... BFP!! It’s a very cautious excitement really. For the first positive test, I had already seen a white line and put it on the side, upset, but consoling myself because maybe it was a day too soon to be accurate. I went back to pick it up and there was an obvious pink there! I sat looking at it with my mouth open for about 20 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. So I did another and another the next day... all BFP. It still doesn’t feel real now, to be honest." — Hooches
"After three years of trying, being diagnosed with unexplained infertility, five IUIs and an ectopic pregnancy, we decided to try IVF. I had amazing results from my retrieval: 34 eggs, ending up with 11 amazing embryos! We transferred a frozen 5-day blastocyst and prayed and prayed. I was still feeling disbelief when we got the call that I was pregnant! It didn’t seem real to me until I heard that little heart beating at 6 weeks… then I couldn’t stop from smiling. Now I am 15 weeks 1 day and am still amazed! Every single shot, round of tears, begging prayers were worth it." — kiriwillen
"I didn't find Prince Charming until I was in mid 40s. He was absolutely everything I'd prayed for, but he was a little younger and never had children. Fast forward three years: We started trying and it wasn't happening — we tried all sorts of things and nothing. After years of this, I’m now in my late 40s. We sought the advice of professionals and moved forward with IVF. We had a successful transfer. Waiting the two weeks was hard, and I did not test at home. I cried all the way to the clinic to do the blood test because I was sure it couldn't have worked on the first try, but an hour later, we got the call not only were we pregnant, but the numbers were extremely high! We both feel very blessed." — BabyBragg22
"We were unprotected for 10 years, and officially tried for the last 2.5 before starting the treatments. We did all the tests, did three rounds of failed IUI, then finally decided to spend all of our house equity on IVF. We were very lucky and made seven embryos, five chromosomally viable. We transferred ONE, and it worked! We are beyond over the moon, of course, since it took another 2.5 years for all this to finally work. It seemed like forever and a day, but then the pregnancy seemed to fly by... To be real honest, my affect has been really flat almost the whole pregnancy. I'm emotional, expecting the worst, hoping for the best, to protect myself. After so many fails for five years, you kind of doubt it will happen. So, I'm still almost in denial, feel super guilty that I don't feel super excited… I'm not sure what to think or feel so I guess it just comes out in tears, happy, emotional, overwhelmed, just exhausted, maybe. Also, I thought I'd love being pregnant and it actually sucks a lot or did for me… It is also a miracle, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It feels different than I expected. Although I'm not sure what I expected, just not this weird. There's an actual human in there wiggling, moving around, hearing his surroundings." — BabyGardinMommy
"It was an overwhelming, indescribable excitement! Getting the call from my doctor and hearing those words…’You’re pregnant’...The emotional and physical pain of the IVF process was suddenly worth every tear, every disappointment, every needle, every penny." — cmstig28
"After trying for five years, we did IVF. Prior, we had six failed IUIs. I never tested at home after our IVF cycle. I waited until my blood draw. When the nurse called me, I was so nervous. When we got the incredible news, I bawled happy tears. She said my numbers look promising. But I needed to wait the two to three days to see if my numbers doubled and that was THE worst weekend of my life! My numbers did double, and the nurse then said come in at 7 weeks so we can be sure it’s a viable pregnancy with a heartbeat... those three weeks were brutal. I honestly thought once we got a positive it would be sunshine and rainbows... it was a lot of worry (welcome to parenthood). I am a little over 32 weeks now. Worry still happens, I try not to let that steal the joy of this incredible journey of carrying our baby!" — sarardh
"After three years of unexplained infertility, my husband and I decided to go straight to IVF. We completed the cycle in October and had our frozen embryo transfer on November 26th. I couldn’t wait until the blood test at my fertility clinic to confirm pregnancy and took a test every day starting on day 5 after the transfer. After so many negative pregnancy tests, to finally see a positive is indescribable! I sat in silence staring at it in disbelief for an hour. Infertility takes over your life. It becomes an obsession, and I felt like I could finally let it go." — JEMartin08
"After multiple failed IUIs with very expensive donor sperm, we were hoping for another option. We failed the first two rounds of FETs, and I was starting to feel like something was wrong with me. I signed up for school midway into our third IVF medication cycle, completely convinced it was going to fail. Instead of focusing on the IVF and what I was eating and doing during the day, I was preoccupied with school, and I swear that’s why our third IVF attempt was the charm and led to our BFP! The nurse called me with the results of the pregnancy blood test, and I refused to answer another ‘I’m sorry, not this time’ call; so, I let it go to voicemail. I was fully expecting her to leave a message telling me to stop taking the meds and to call when I got my cycle, but instead, the message said, ‘Please call me back when you get this.’ Hopes higher, I called her back and the first words out of her mouth were, ‘How dare you not answer the phone when I finally have good news for you!’ I literally was half in shock and half elated! I started shaking all over and when we got off the phone we went to BuyBuyBaby to go look at the crib and furniture set I had my eyes on! It was truly the most blessed and happy moment of our lives so far! Maybe when he makes his appearance it will top it, but I literally could cry just writing this! I’m so happy and blessed!" — Kirlly
"I wasn't as immediately happy as I imagined I would be to get our BFP. It was more disbelief. I was cautious with letting myself feel joy because we had been through so many ups and downs already. We went through years of trying without success, a rollercoaster of anticipation and disappointment month after month after month. Then IVF was such a process, longer and more difficult than we expected, but it gave us hope to even have an option. Every checkup, every scan, every test I've felt a little more excitement build and the grief of infertility dissolve. The first time I saw our little guy wiggle on the ultrasound I had to hold back tears of pure fierce relief and overwhelming love." — Gumdrop79
"We had three failed attempts. This was our fourth. I tried not to stress during the two-week wait or read too much into any 'pregnancy signs.' The day of our blood draw, I woke up and decided I was going to take a test but not look at it and give the clinic until noon to call me back. So without telling my husband my plan, I peed on the stick, put the cap on, put it back in the wrapper and placed it in a drawer. I went to the clinic, came home and kept busy as much as I could. My husband stayed home from work because he knew I'd be devastated with another negative result as we decided this would be our last try; so, he was home at 12:01 when the clinic hadn't called, and I went into the bathroom to check the result. I had prepared myself mentally for a negative. When I opened the wrapper and the test said ‘Pregnant,’ a smile crept across my face and tears started streaming down my face. I squealed so loudly my husband came running ‘What?’ I just said ‘Baaaabe!’ and showed him the test. He gave me the biggest hug and called me a turd for taking the test without telling him. His smile matched the one from our wedding day." — CMT1227
"I actually cheated on my two-week wait! I took my first test five days past the transfer and had a very faint line! I didn’t know how reliable it was, but I still burst out in tears — laughing and crying at the same time! My husband didn’t believe the test until we had the actual beta test done. It’s still unreal and I thank God every day for this blessing growing inside me!" — Bhae
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