Couple welcome ‘miracle’ baby boy after 13 years of trying and eight miscarriagesCarissa Morris and her husband Dave are looking forward to their first Christmas with their ‘miracle’ baby, Oliver, who arrived on December 17, 2021, after 13 years of the couple trying for a child. Carissa, 33, went through eight miscarriages and the stillbirth of a daughter as part of a difficult journey of fertility struggles. Carissa, an engineering planner, said: ‘We tried for years and years naturally to have a baby. ‘We did originally conceive quite a few times, but we just had multiple miscarriages and never got past six weeks.
Carissa Morris and her husband Dave are looking forward to their first Christmas with their ‘miracle’ baby, Oliver, who arrived on December 17, 2021, after 13 years of the couple trying for a child.
Carissa, 33, went through eight miscarriages and the stillbirth of a daughter as part of a difficult journey of fertility struggles.
Carissa, an engineering planner, said: ‘We tried for years and years naturally to have a baby.
‘We did originally conceive quite a few times, but we just had multiple miscarriages and never got past six weeks.
‘We eventually had tests done and worked out that one of my tubes was blocked and the fluids were coming back into my uterus, and it was basically like poison.
‘I had my tube removed, and then we found out that we also had male factor fertility issues.
‘There was an issue with my husband’s fertility.’
Following this discovery, the couple were advised to go down the route of ICSI IVF, whereby the sperm is directly inserted into the embryo.
Their first round of IVF produced just one embryo for transfer – but two weeks later, Carissa, from Wickham, Australia, discovered she was pregnant.
‘When I found out I was pregnant it was probably the best feeling I had ever felt in the world, second to holding him for the first time,’ she remembers.
Little Oliver was born at St John of God Murdoch hospital, at a healthy 6lb 7oz.
The family will be spending their Christmas in hospital, as the baby boy experienced breathing problems shortly after birth.
Carissa said: ‘He was three weeks early and was born blue, his oxygen dropped to 20% for nine minutes and he was then immediately intubated.
‘He was worked on by nurses and doctors for three hours to stabilise him.
‘Once he was stabilised, they had the NETS team, which is the Neonatal Emergency Transport Service, come in and pop him in their neonatal ambulance.
‘Prior to when he left, all I was able to do was touch his chin with my finger so the fact I was able to hold him in my arms 30 hours later was nothing short of a miracle.
But in spite of all these challenges, the new parents are overjoyed, and can’t wait to take their son home when he’s strong enough.
‘Being able to hold Oliver for the first time was magical,’ added Carissa.
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‘He definitely has everybody wrapped around his finger.
‘He is currently being fed 45ml per feed through a nasal gastric tube as he doesn’t have a suck reflux currently.
‘He started with a gastric tube because they thought that he had an obstruction in his stomach and may have needed surgery.
‘We’ve had scans done and he doesn’t have that, which is great, but as a necessity to make sure that he doesn’t lose weight he will be gastric tube fed.
‘We’ll be spending Christmas day with him in the NICU, we’ll be celebrating Christmas once he comes out of hospital, and we’ll give him all his presents.
‘We were really hoping he’d be out before Christmas but it’s not to be and we know he’s in the best place possible to get the care he needs.
‘It was just the miracle of knowing that it had worked, it had actually worked for us.’
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