Valerie NIEMEYER

Updates

• Update 12

  

  FINNAL UPDATE,,,,,SHE IS HERE!

  September 30, 2024

  Hello friends and family,
  It is a buetifull day and I am sitting on my back porch trying to find the words to describe my feelings. And I am finding that I have no words to describe the past week and nine months.

  For the past nine months, God has been preparing my body, our home, and our hearts for us to welcome our beautiful and perfect miracle into our lives. On Tuesday, September 24, at 5:45 AM, Morgan Grace Niemeyer was welcomed into this world. Weighing in at a tiny 5.7 pounds, measuring 19 inches long. My Labor was long with a full day of taking Petocin for being induced, an epidural and ending with 3 hours of pushing. Followed by Mama spiking a fever from an infection and ending with an emergency C section due to Morgans heart rate dropping from being stuck near near my pelvic bone.

  The journey was long, the pregnancy was challenging, and Labor was traumatizing. But we are beyond thankful that our beautiful daughter is healthy and growing stronger every day. Mom is also doing well, and gaining more strength every day.

  We give God all the glory, we thank him for every little wiggle Morgan makes, every sleepless night, every yawn, and every dirty diaper. The song God is good does not do justice to this amazing gift. Man said no, science said maybe and God said YES! NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!

  We will cherish every moment we get to spend with our little miracle, her story and our journey will never be forgotten. It is our prayer that our story will continue to be used for God's glory. It does not stop here, God did a miracle and now it is time to spread God's good news! He made a big splash and now we need to keep the ripple moving.

  Therefore we ask that you share our story, help us keep God's wave moving and never forget that we serve an awesome God and that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!

  YES GOD CAN< YES HE DID

• Update 11

  NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD

  February 6, 2024

  Hello, family and friends it has been almost a year since we have had any adoption updates so I will start with our exciting news!

  On January 11, 2024, we had a second embryo transfer where we transferred 1 perfect embryo. On the 19th we found out the transfer was a success! WE GOT OUR MIRACLE! BABY NIEMEYER IS DUE SEPTEMBER 28 2024!

  Now let me back up and explain how hard this past year was. We lost our twin embryos last April and it broke our hearts. We were left feeling angry at God, deeply sad, and forced into survival mode of how to move forward thinking our dreams of having a family may never happen. We had several very hard months but we leaned on each other and focused on the blessings in our life. Our family did grow when we adopted our now almost one-year-old black lab Daisy. I went from preparing for baby to puppy mom and loved it. We spent the summer months camping in our knew to us camper with the dogs and made some amazing memories. We quickly fell in love with our home on wheels, but deep down we knew there was still one person missing from our family.

  As the summer was coming to an end we needed to make a decision, were we going to try again or accept that our journey had ended? In all honesty, I did not want to try again. My faith was weak and the church had become a hard place to be because we were so angry at God. ( and everywhere we looked were families with young children...so hard). We knew something had to change and that was when our church ( located in Zeeland) announced they were opening a new smaller campus in Holland, 5 minutes from our home. We knew this was God's plan and we came back, met some new friends, and started to rebuild our faith. We still had lots of pain and anger towards God. Many would say "God is Good" and all I wanted to scream was no he is not....he took my babies how is that good? But we had lots of family and friends encouraging us to keep going. We dug down deep and kept healing. In November we put the deposit down and started preparing for a transfer in January. As the holidays approached I was starting to feel more hopeful but still doubtful that another transfer would work. But everywhere around were signs of hope and encouragement.

  I remember my sister Ashley telling me several times to stay positive, and never give up. My parents were always encouraging and never let me listen to the devil's lies and most importantly Ethan would not let me give up. When I was at my lowest everyone around me carried me through and for that, I am extremely grateful! Many people have told me how strong I am for going through this journey, but the truth is I am not strong. I have an awesome God who sent me prayer warriors, friends, family, and even strangers who inspired me and at times carried both Ethan and me to the top of our mountain. We have found encouragement from cards, letters, and prayers from all over the country. From individuals we don't know, to old friends we lost contact with, and even strangers who heard our story. And it is all because of you. If I could name everyone one you by name I would...but no one wants to read a blog with a thousand names...lol.

  Therefore it is with a heart overflowing with gratefulness that I explain how you can keep praying for our family.
  My due date is September 28th, but due to my diagnosis of extremely low bone density/osteoporosis this pregnancy is high risk and I will have a scheduled C-section in mid-September to protect both myself and the baby. Please pray for our baby to be strong and healthy but specifically for my bones to stay strong and able to carry a baby to full term. And most importantly please join us in praising our lord and Savior over our little miracle

  I will end with this short memory of a hike with my dad. If you know my dad and I you know we love to hike and that a true hike is in the mountains...none of this dune climbing business. One hike my dad and I did together was to the highest point in the Green Mountains of Vermont. It was an all-day adventure that ended up with a view across the state into New York. It was breathtaking. As I think about this emotional mountain we have been climbing I think about that hike. The view was amazing and the endurance to complete the hike taught me to physically push myself. Our adoption mountain has been emotionally harder and higher than our hike up MNT Mansfield. It has tested my faith, taught me about grief, and strengthened our marriage in ways we never thought possible. At times we felt like we were falling and God caught us and pulled us up with a rope. But we did it, the view from the top of our adoption mountain will be one for the records books.

  Our journey to becoming a family is almost over, we made it through the worst. God used all of you to carry us the last few miles and we can see the top. On Monday febuary 5th we got to see our baby's heart beating at the first ultrasound... a true miracle that we have no words to describe.

  Thank you all for being on our team, for encouraging us, and for making this journey possible. And Remember, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!

  Love Ethan, Val, and our little growing nugget...... can't wait for you all to meet him or her!

• Update 10

  There are no words

  June 21, 2023

  Hello family and friends, I have been putting off posting this update because it is the hardest one to write about. There is no easy way of saying this but after an amazing Embryo Transfer Day where two embryos were transferred, and 10 days of feeling like I was pregnant. We went in for a pregnancy blood test on April 25th and a few hours later received the call that I was not pregnant. We lost both our babies, they are now in heaven being watched over by our lord and Savior.

  That day changed our lives forever, we knew that losing the babies was a possibility but were not prepared for the pain that it would bring. We went into survival mode and took our grief and processing one day at a time. The pain is still very real in our lives and will never go away. But we take comfort in knowing that our babies are in heaven with our grandparents who ( in our minds ) are holding them and telling them stories about their parents. And even though we are left with empty arms we know that one day we will get to hold our children and love them in an amazing reunion in heaven.

  This comfort does not mask the pain, and many people have asked what they can do. Well, there is no good answer for this, because there are no words that can make this pain and journey easy. There is nothing that can take away the pain of celebrating holidays like mothers Day, fathers Day, and gathering with family. knowing that our babies will never get to be at the table with the family. So I will share what has made the past several months a little easier. Showing up in our lives, cards, texts, gifts, and meals from our family and friends have brought encouragement to us. They have made us feel like we are not alone in this hard journey. Infertility and adoption is a very lonely journey and to everyone who has taken a moment to show up in our lives, to support us we say thank you. Thank you all for making this journey just a little less lonely.

  Many have also asked when we are doing another transfer ( a question we hate as the pain is so real that the thought of doing it again is just too emotional). Yes, we plan to do another transfer but need to feel emotionally ready. Right now I am not ready, I may never be emotionally ready. But I am working through my anger, fear, and grief so that one day I will be ready to try again. We also have to be financially ready. As with most medical procedures, there were costs that were not included in our original quote. And we used up all the money we raised. Therefore we have made some financial choices and reworked our budget in order to come up with the savings we need for the second transfer costing roughly $5000. We are choosing not to fundraise for this money but if you feel called to donate to our journey please donate the money directly to us allowing us to pay medical bills on time. If you donate to our blog it takes several months to receive the money. We hope to try again for a successful transfer this fall.

  Lastly, I want to give a shout-out to my husband. Ethan has been my rock these past few months. Even when I know it was hard for him to be strong he was there to pick me up and keep me going. We have cried together, grieved together, prayed together, and on the hard days, we rely on each other to get through the day. We have found things that bring us joy, specifically. The newest fur baby to our family, now 4-month-old Daisy ( puppy). and lots of camping trips. We enjoy traveling and spending time with the dogs in our home on wheels (new to us camper) Our lives do not end because we have two babies in heaven. We must continue on in life and in our journey. Our recent motto is "What does not kill you makes you stronger".....maybe not right away but we will be stronger, one day at a time.

  We continue to appreciate your prayers and support as we travel the hardest journey of our lives.
  Ethan and Valerie Niemeyer

• Update 9

  April 14th!

  March 25, 2023

  We are so excited that our Embryo transfer is scheduled for Friday, April 14th! Val will start taking hormonal medication this week including oral meds and injections. Transfer day is scheduled at our fertility clinic on the 14th followed by 48 hours of rest and relaxation. ( Gives Val an excuse to do nothing but watch TV, and read, which I don't get often...lol) Then comes the hardest part, waiting 12 days till we find out if we are pregnant! This will be a long 12 days, but we plan to keep ourselves busy with date nights and small projects around the house. Medications will continue after the transfer and if the transfer is successful Val will have to continue with all medications through the first trimester.

  Please do not expect to hear from us till we are safely through the first trimester. If our transfer is successful then Val will be monitored closely with lots of ultrasounds to ensure the baby is growing. At the end of the first trimester, we will be released from the fertility clinic to see our OBGYN. At this point, we will make a formal announcement about our pregnancy. We are choosing to go this route because if we lose the baby at any point during the first months it is going to be devastating and we will want time to mourn privately.

  The next several months are going to be an adventure and we are so excited. Several friends have asked how we are handling all of this, and the answer is easy. We are excited and putting it all in God's hands. Surprisingly Val has no anxiety over the treatment, we are both beyond thrilled to be parents and feel a sense of peace over the whole process. We are continually amazed by God and what he is doing in our lives. Going into the transfer we understand that it may not be successful resulting in a miscarriage. But that is not stopping us, we surrender our embryos and the whole process over to God and just have to sit back and watch to see what he does. We hope and pray that we get to meet our miracle baby through this journey but our moving cautiously, optimistically through the whole process.

  Please continue to pray for us during the following months as Val goes through treatment. Pray that Val's body will continue to be healthy and that it will accept the embryo. Pray for all our embryos and that God will give the doctors wisdom and guidance on how to best help Val and the baby! Pray for there to be little to no side effects from the medication and for Ethan as he supports Val as her body changes. And most importantly pray for both of us as we prepare to be parents!

  We appreciate you all and feel your prayers, please keep them coming.
  Ethan, and Val, the hopeful parents to be

• Update 8

  Still can;t believe this happening!

  February 22, 2023

  Hello Family and friends,
  February has been flying by in the Niemeyer home as we have been busy talking to the doctors, and completing tests and lab work. Therefore I am going to make this a short update with a few exciting updates!

  1. We matched with our anonymous miracle donor couple who blessed us with 8 embryo babies to treat as our own. We are beyond thrilled and even those these little babies are frozen little pinhole dots, they are still our babies. Right now it is our job to pray over them and keep trusting God that he will take care of each and every one of our embryos. Please join us in praying for them, for Gods will to be done with each one. And continued prayers for Val as I prepare my body for a baby.

  2. We have spent the last several Mondays at the clinic and lab for tests. So Far all tests results are normal and things are looking very good for a FET ( Frozen Embryo Transfer) We are so thankfull for this!

  Our next steps will happened next month sometime when I start taking hormones including injections to prepare for transfer day. Becouse my body has never had what it needs to have a baby naturaly I have to give my body what it needs to accept the embryo. We stil do not have a date for our transfer as it depends on my hormon level and body responses to the injections. We do know that I will be on bed rest for 24 hours after the transfer to give my body the best chance of a positive pregnancy. I also will be on normal/ daily activity for two weeks after the procedure with no heavy lifiting.

  Please pray for each of our embryos, and for Val as she prepares for my body to change physically and emotionally. Pray for Ethan as he walks beside Val during the coming months and for both of us as we prepare to be parents. As we look back on the last several weeks we have come to realize that God is making this happen. We have waited for over a year, we have been told "no" twice and now God is saying it is our time and he is making it all happen in his way and timing. We are still in shock at his timing, excited and overjoyed with what God is doing for us. We have been enjoying the song "Build a Boat" by Colton Dixion...God has called us to build our boat...our flood is coming and we are getting ready.

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