{The Turquoise Project Feature}

I’m so thankful I have gotten to meet the Elbert family and help share their trials and tribulations with infertility and adoption. I photographed a mommy and me session for The Turquoise Project in order to help other couples who struggle with infertility know they are not alone in their struggles. Here is Samantha’s story in her own words:

“We started our journey simple enough. Pregnancy was not happening and I had some irregularity so I went to my OB/GYN and got [a prescription] for Clomid with the promise that we would be pregnant in 6 months. This did not happen. We then just kind of let it go for a little while before connecting with the Pope Paul Institute. Training and 4 months of tracking so that they could get a feel for what may be the problem led to another month of ultrasounds and lab tests every other day. Then 3 months with hormone treatments. While they won’t confirm I was pregnant at any time I simply know that I miscarried very early once. They had no further answers other than laparoscopic surgery because I must have endometriosis because I got cramps (like almost every female I know). We told them no, that wasn’t a good enough reason to do a surgery and we did not want to go the IVF route. We didn’t want to spend any more money on maybe becoming parents and we were ready to know that we wouldn’t be parents. In December of 2013 we started interviewing adoption agencies to learn what each had to offer. By the end of March we were active with American Adoptions. Forty four days later we had our match call and then at the end of August our baby girl was born. We were present at the hospital and I was in the delivery room for her birth. Just over a year later we found out that I was pregnant much to our surprise! A healthy baby boy was born in July via c-section because, as it felt to me, again my body couldn’t do what it was supposed to do. Our kids are now approaching their 3rd and 5th birthdays and we are (not so patiently) awaiting our next adoption. We have been active with American Adoptions again since July 2018 with a 3 month inactive status while we moved to a different state.”

Samantha and Adam: While you patiently wait for your next adoption I hope you take in all these moments with Evie and Henry. Know your two babies are true gifts that not everyone is guaranteed. I pray you will receive news soon about your third baby that has always been destined to be apart of your family. And know that waiting only makes the end results so much more sweeter. You are a very strong mama for sharing your story and I commend you for staying brave in your journey!

The Turquoise Project is an inspired portrait series that focuses on women and partners who have struggled with TTC (trying to conceive). Visit their Facebook page for more information!

Much Love, Carissa