From the beginning of their relationship, Sarah Stillman and Erick Wilcox knew they wanted children.
Erick, a 2007 graduate of Brookfield Central School, and Sarah, who graduated from BCS in 2011, married in 2015.
They live in the house Sarah’s grandmother Teddy Stillman had in South Brookfield, wanting to continue their families’ long tradition of attending Brookfield.
Their son, Brian Dean, turns a year old this month, so there’s some waiting before Sarah and Erick become BCS parents.
They don’t mind. They know what it’s like to be patient for what you want.
Brian’s birth last year ended an eight-year wait for the Wilcoxes to become parents.
Their story and their belief in their little miracle has them chosen as our 2024 Baby Family of the Year.
After getting married in 2015, Sarah and Erick thought they’d become parents soon after. “We thought we’d get pregnant right away,’’ Sarah said.
Except that every month, they weren’t. As the months turned into two, three years, they rode the roller coaster of emotions each time they thought maybe finally.
“We’d try not to get upset and stay positive,’’ Erick said. “It kept getting harder to do that.’’
In 2018, after three years without becoming pregnant, the couple visited CNY Fertility. They began the long medical process to analyze their situation.
“It takes so long because they have to rule out things,’’ Sarah said.
Erick had corrective surgery they had hopes would solve the matter. It didn’t.
The time came when the Wilcoxes were told the solution left was IVF, or in vitro fertilization.
Using help from a laboratory, an egg would be fertilized and the embryo or embryos returned to the uterus until birth.
Weighing that choice brought some concerns. “There’s no guarantee,’’ Erick said. “It’s also $25,000 not including medicines and doctor visits.’’
Over the eight years the struggle had brought them closer to each other and to their faith. They prayed on the decision.
“We knew we wanted a family,’’ Sarah said, “so maybe this was God’s way of saying this is the route.’’
Erick works for the Highway Department for the Town of Hamilton. At the time Sarah worked in Utica.
After telling CNY Fertility they wanted to do IVF, they were told to call in two weeks to make the appointment. After two weeks, Sarah called.
“We were told they had a delay and to call in two more weeks,’’ she said.
“It was here’s another delay,’’ Erick said.
A couple of days after she learned there would be another ...