Another Round for Baby O

A Little About Us

My name is Cayla, and my husband's name is Zane. Right now, it's just the two of us and our three fur babies, Zoey, Sadie, and Nala. These girls are our whole world. They fill our home with love, bring smiles to our faces when we need them most, and keep us going even on the days when life feels especially heavy.

For now, they are our little family, and we are so grateful for them. But deep down, we have always dreamed of growing our family and welcoming a little one of our own.

Asking for help is not something that comes easily to either of us. We have always been the kind of people who try to figure things out on our own, work through the hard times, and make things happen without asking anyone for a handout. We have faced the good, the bad, and everything in between together, always trying to find a way forward.

But after years of heartbreak, loss, and financial challenges, we have reached a point where we are choosing to put our pride aside and share our story. We know there may be someone out there who understands what we are going through or who might be in a position to help us take one more step toward the family we have dreamed of for so long.

So, here we are, opening our hearts and sharing a piece of our lives with the hope that we might finally get the chance to bring our rainbow baby home.

Our Journey So Far

Our journey to parenthood has been far from the one we imagined when we got married. Like so many couples, we thought that when the time came, starting a family would be a natural next chapter in our lives. We never imagined how much heartache and uncertainty would come with something we had always hoped would be filled with happiness.

After about a year, I began realizing that something wasn't right with my body. What followed was a long and emotional road of trying to understand what was happening and why something that seemed to come so easily to others was becoming such a struggle for us.

Eventually, I was diagnosed with PCOS and silent endometriosis. Those diagnoses brought answers, but they also brought the realization that our journey to becoming parents might be much harder than we had ever expected.

We refused to give up on our dream.

We tried IUI multiple times, holding onto hope with every attempt, only to face disappointment when it didn't work. Eventually, we moved forward with IVF, believing it might be our best chance at having the baby we had prayed for.

We wanted to give ourselves every possible opportunity to become parents, even if it meant making sacrifices we never imagined we would have to make.

We sold our first home to help afford IVF and moved into an apartment. It was not an easy decision, but we believed the sacrifice would be worth it if it brought us closer to holding our baby in our arms. We poured so much of ourselves into this journey, both emotionally and financially, believing that one day we would look back and know that every difficult decision had led us to the moment we had been waiting for.

But the journey continued to break our hearts.

After unsuccessful attempts and the pain of multiple miscarriages, we found ourselves facing a kind of grief that is difficult to put into words. Each loss took a piece of our hearts, and each unsuccessful attempt made it harder to pick ourselves back up and find the strength to try again.

Infertility is not just a medical journey. It affects your marriage, your finances, your hopes for the future, and the way you see the world around you. It means celebrating other people's happiness while quietly carrying your own heartache. It means learning to live with uncertainty while trying desperately not to lose hope.

There have been moments when we have felt completely drained, emotionally and financially. Moments when we have wondered how much more we could handle.

But even through all the heartbreak, one thing has never completely disappeared: our dream of becoming parents.

Why We Are Asking for Help

Right now, we have just a few embryos remaining. Each one represents years of hope, countless sacrifices, tears, prayers, and the possibility of finally meeting the little person we have dreamed about for so long.

We know that no one can promise us that our next transfer will be successful. We have learned through experience that this journey comes with no guarantees, no matter how much you want something or how hard you fight for it.

But we still have a chance, and we want to give ourselves that chance.

Although we have already paid for our IVF treatment and have embryos ready for transfer, each frozen embryo transfer comes with its own additional costs. Unfortunately, our insurance does not cover IVF treatment or infertility-related expenses, leaving us responsible for costs that can quickly become overwhelming.

We have already sacrificed so much to get to this point. We have done everything we can to keep moving forward, but the financial burden has made it increasingly difficult to continue.

Any support we receive would go directly toward helping us cover the costs of our remaining frozen embryo transfer attempts and giving our remaining embryos the opportunity to become the baby we have been waiting for.

We are not asking for anyone to carry our entire burden. We are simply hoping that, with a little help, we might be able to take one more step toward making our dream a reality.

Even if you cannot contribute financially, sharing our story, keeping us in your thoughts, or simply taking the time to read about our journey means more than you may ever know.

What This Would Mean to Us

Honestly, I don't know if there are words big enough to explain what becoming parents would mean to Zane and me.

Every day, it sometimes feels as though our lives have been put on hold while the world around us keeps moving forward. We watch people announce pregnancies, welcome their babies, and experience all the beautiful milestones that we have spent years dreaming about ourselves.

We are genuinely happy for others, but there is also a quiet ache that comes with wondering when it will finally be our turn.

Infertility has a way of changing you. It teaches you patience you never wanted to learn, strength you never knew you needed, and how to keep going even when your heart is tired. It also makes you appreciate just how precious the things others may take for granted can be.

Sometimes, I find myself wondering what it would feel like to finally see a positive pregnancy test and not be afraid to get excited. To make plans for our future without the constant fear of another loss. To watch my husband become a dad. To decorate a nursery, hold our baby close, and experience all the little moments we have imagined a thousand times.

More than anything, I dream about finally getting to be someone's mom.

I have had moments when hope felt so far away that I wasn't sure how to find it again. But even on my hardest days, I have never completely lost my faith that one day, somehow, I might get to hold my own sweet baby in my arms.

That hope is what keeps us going.

We don't know what the future holds, and we know that nothing is guaranteed. But with a few embryos still waiting for their chance, we aren't ready to close this chapter of our lives just yet.

And if we are fortunate enough to welcome our rainbow baby into this world, there will never be enough words to describe the gratitude we will feel for everyone who helped us get there.

Sharing something so personal is difficult, especially when we have spent so much of our lives trying to handle everything privately. It is not easy to admit that we need help, but we are learning that sometimes, allowing others to be part of our journey is not a sign of weakness. Sometimes, it is simply another way of finding hope when the road has become too difficult to walk alone.

We know that not everyone will be in a position to help financially, and we completely understand. If you are able to donate, share our story, or send a little encouragement our way, please know that it would mean the world to us.

You would not simply be helping us pay for a medical procedure. You would be helping us hold onto a dream we have spent years trying to make possible. You would be helping us take another step toward the family we have prayed for, sacrificed for, and loved long before we have even had the chance to meet our baby.

Thank you for being part of our story and for helping us keep a little hope alive.

We are still dreaming of the day we get to bring our rainbow baby home.

With all our love and gratitude, The Ortego's