After a three-year IVF journey, San Antonio couple welcomes twins

San Antonio, Texas — Angel and Vanessa Rodriguez are proof that through trust and faith you can persevere. The couple embarked on an in vitro fertilization (IVF) journey in 2017. After an unsuccessful first round they received great news, they were expecting. Elated, they shared the news with their family and friends. Unfortunately, during the first prenatal appointment, their doctor could not find a heartbeat. “We were supposed to be 12 weeks, but the baby was measuring nine weeks,” Angel said. “I felt as if my body failed doing what our bodies are created to do.” The couple felt it was best to take a break from growing their family.

“The hardest part was trying so hard and praying things would go as planned and they didn’t,” Angel said.

With support from friends, family and one another, early last year, Angel and Vanessa felt comfortable and confident in resuming their journey toward having a child. But just as that confidence built, they were met with another setback. “When we started again, COVID hit. They stopped non-essential medical procedures,” Vanessa said. “It was really discouraging.”

Finally, in July 2020, shortly after that brief delay, the couple learned they had been blessed twice over with twins, a boy and a girl. They began searching for an OB/GYN and found Dr. Elizabeth de la Garza. “She talks to you like you’re a person, not just a patient. She gets to know you. Our original plan was to do a water birth, but once we fell in love with Dr. de la Garza, we knew we wanted to change our minds.”

Angel had a healthy pregnancy, but at 32 weeks she began to require a few brief stays on the Methodist Hospital Antepartum unit where her physician and the nurses monitored Angel’s and the twins’ health. Angel was induced at 37 weeks and Luck and Lennon were born March 1.

“The [labor and delivery] nurse was amazing. She helped me the whole way. She explained everything and really coached Vanessa,” Angel said.

The twins are thriving and keeping the couple busy. The two also have two sons, ages 16 and 10. They say Luck and Lennon have made their family of five complete. Although they were met with challenges and loss, they hope their story provides hope for others. “There is no perfect timing to have a baby, but the trials are all worth it,” Vanessa said.