tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36915241078242050722024-03-17T23:03:48.690-04:00Six Months (At A Time)This blog was originally called "Six Months" because I thought the infertility question in my life would be answered within six months of beginning my first IVF cycle. Little did I know it would take three IVF cycles over 14 months at two clinics on opposite sides of the country!Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-6210353069202724902012-01-15T00:09:00.000-05:002012-01-15T00:09:41.780-05:00News from an absentee bloggerSo it's been a while again! I've been checking in on some of my old blogging buddies tonight and I honestly don't know how you women do it... I just can't find the time to blog or even log in and read what's going on in other peoples' lives. I've missed out on a lot, I'm learning.
Well, and there's a lot I've held back, too. I suppose it's time to fess up.
I'm pregnant. 21 weeks pregnant. (Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-26930013742212594502011-07-11T15:35:00.000-04:002011-07-11T15:35:33.936-04:00Five months laterWell anyone who was reading my blog months ago has probably long stopped checking it! So much time has passed since my last post. Becoming a mom to twins at this point in my life has been quite a challenge. Something had to give in order for me to stay on top of things -- and actually several things had to give for me to hold onto even a shred of my sense of control over my life.
I have not beenSusiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-9687126569083133072011-02-11T00:23:00.000-05:002011-02-11T00:23:19.711-05:00It takes a villageWhile DH was out of town for three days this week, everything went well! I had lots of help -- a friend brought me lunch on Monday, another friend came over after work Monday and stayed through the babies' bedtime, a mother/daughter team came over Tuesday evening and even spent the night, and then on Wednesday, another friend came for the afternoon. DH was back home that night. The babies were Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-49689901408602470142011-02-05T15:04:00.000-05:002011-02-05T15:04:15.818-05:00Truly flying soloI found out today that DH has to travel out of town for work on Monday. He won't be home until the middle of the night on Tuesday or on Wednesday morning. I'm pretty much freaking out. Can't decide whether I should hire a night nurse to help me out or simply go with it and see how things work. I mean, how many women in the world have managed twins alone? Plenty, for sure. One of my best friends Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-15277382885659757012011-02-04T17:43:00.000-05:002011-02-04T17:43:35.377-05:00A big anniversary and an even bigger birthdayI just realized -- as I was going to write a bit about my very happy 40th birthday last weekend -- that yesterday was the one-year anniversary of our fantastic retrieval at CCRM -- the day my 11-week-old twins were conceived! The day came and went and I didn't think about it once. I think this means I've lost all concept of time, but there's a pretty good explanation for that!
I need to find Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-90527946951089291792011-01-22T00:41:00.000-05:002011-01-22T00:41:52.347-05:00Home alone and happyTonight is the third night that we are home ALONE with the twins. I am loving it. We are managing just fine, despite my mother's concerns that we couldn't do it. (I'm not sure if her concern wasn't a bit feigned in order to mask her desire to stay on and continue helping out -- she developed a strong, uh, "attachment" to the babies during her nearly two-month stay with us.... And yes, two Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-80188963799883254532011-01-15T19:17:00.000-05:002011-01-15T19:17:55.629-05:00Premature ParenthoodI've been thinking about how to summarize the past two months without too much or too little detail. I think I will break it down into topics such as:
-- when your pregnancy is cut short and you're not ready
-- when things don't go according to the birth plan
-- handling multiple weeks with a baby in the NICU
-- making it through the holidays under the above circumstances
-- figuring out Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-38589662708625249122011-01-13T14:38:00.000-05:002011-01-13T14:38:03.656-05:00I'm back, I'm back!I'm really excited. I'm back! I have missed this community so, so much over the past 7-8 weeks. I have much to share and much to catch up on with other bloggers. I have now caught up on a few of my bloggy friends and there's exciting stuff going on!
AuntieEm is transferring two embryos at CCRM this afternoon! Pie had her baby girl on Monday. AmyG is 35 weeks along and still playing gigs with herSusiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-91081944958867130682010-12-14T23:36:00.000-05:002010-12-14T23:36:21.551-05:00An update from the NICUI am enjoying a rare moment -- it's quiet, I'm alone, I'm NOT attached to a breast pump, and I'm warm, comfortable, and fairly awake. I'm not sure the last time this happened.... I've wanted to post for days on end -- and I've really NEEDED to post, for sanity's sake -- but the opportunity and energy just haven't been there until now.
The babies are 3 weeks, 4 days old today -- gestational Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-37234288545378560942010-11-25T01:41:00.000-05:002010-11-25T01:41:34.405-05:00Newsflash: I'm a preemie mom!Despite all my effort to prevent preterm labor, I crossed the threshhold from pregnancy to motherhood last Friday night -- just shy of 33 weeks. My delivery date goal had been 36 weeks. Friday morning, my OB all but put me on bed rest because he said he could tell I wasn't resting enough. He commanded me to rest more and I obliged, spending all afternoon on the couch. When I went to the Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-41790944944488066812010-10-30T11:50:00.000-04:002010-10-30T11:50:47.358-04:0030 weeks todayI can't believe that I am 30 weeks along. I learned this week that I may deliver in 4 weeks -- yikes! -- and that has brought all kinds of thoughts to mind. I think about the years it took to get to this point, feeling like pregnancy and parenthood might never, ever happen. Yet in some ways, those years seem so distant now. I still feel the burden of the unknowns of Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-36746332478583604292010-09-25T11:18:00.001-04:002011-07-14T21:58:14.299-04:00Belated UpdateWell, I'm back! I can't really explain my absence . . . As I've caught up on some blogs I've been following (but not reading much of lately) this morning, I've realized how entirely out of the loop I've been. And I have wondered why I haven't taken the time to log on, read, and comment. Everything since early August (and probably the few weeks before that) is kind of a blur. I'll try to recap Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-6907545625869041592010-08-28T10:53:00.000-04:002010-08-28T10:53:12.725-04:00Will get back on board soonI have been out of the loop, big time, for several weeks now. To those of you whose blogs I've been following and commenting on, I'm sorry.
I'm approaching my big transition to part-time at work and it has been so much work! I've been in my job for 8 years and will be the first to admit that I am not the best manager of paper. My desk is huge and always covered with stacks of folders and thingsSusiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-77651201540762882852010-08-15T20:12:00.001-04:002011-07-14T22:34:14.395-04:00Back from vacationWe are back from an eight day trip to see family, also referred to as our farewell tour, since we won't get home again for at least nine months. We spent four days with my family and four days with DH's family.
We had a great time visiting with everyone. I got to see my dad's brothers and their families as well as a very special great-aunt. We saw DH's whole family, which is Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-18577630692349893262010-07-31T11:14:00.001-04:002010-07-31T11:16:28.963-04:00It's a boy . . . and a girl!I have been largely absent from the blogosphere for the past week or two because work has been insanely busy. We had six important deadlines yesterday and we met them all. I am thinking I can now coast a little bit -- after working 10 and 11-hour days for at least a week and a half.
Yesterday we had back-to-back doctor's appointments, first with the OB and then with the perinattologist.
At theSusiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-60981801864623561782010-07-24T10:17:00.000-04:002010-07-24T10:17:37.009-04:0016 week updateI didn't mean for 2 weeks to pass between posts, but I've been busier lately. I'm feeling much, much better -- normal, even -- and it's a really good thing because work has gotten super-demanding the past few weeks. I think this week, I never left the office before 7 p.m. On Thursday and Friday I was there until 8 p.m. I have three major deadlines next Friday and am spending as much time as Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-63459733355216352112010-07-10T14:21:00.000-04:002010-07-10T14:21:34.613-04:00The TellingWhen we decided to tell our news freely after 13 weeks, I didn't realize the first trimester actually goes until 14 weeks, but we stayed with the plan because our ultrasound during week 12 went well.
Unexpectedly, telling has been a bag of mixed emotions and thoughts. I had imagined it as pure joy. I realize now that I had imagined it as if I had conceived naturally in a Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-44884480748194953402010-07-03T11:19:00.000-04:002010-07-03T11:19:54.869-04:0013 weeks today!Okay, I should have posted sooner with an update. Sorry about that. All is well. It was a pretty good week. I spent the time that I should have spent posting and commenting on peoples' blogs trying to set up a private blog for our families to follow our progress. Everyone lives out of state so we won't be seeing them much before the babies are born. (And this blog is a little more information Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-20414612324657925502010-06-27T23:37:00.000-04:002010-06-27T23:37:14.479-04:00Challenging weekendFriday night, I had some bleeding -- a pregnancy first. Of course I panicked, but after talking to the midwife on call at my OB's office both Friday night and Saturday morning, I was reassured. It was mainly one episode Friday night around 11 p.m. and then just a few drops of blood at about 3 a.m. Saturday. Since then, it has all been brown, which the midwife said is good because Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-17349914639450709682010-06-22T22:01:00.001-04:002010-06-22T22:03:16.360-04:00My shortest post everThis is going to be my shortest post ever, but it is a significant thing . . .
The past two days I have begun to feel like a normal person again! I actually ate some chicken for lunch today . . . yes, chicken! My first in at least a month. I think that I'm about to turn the corner on the nausea and food aversions. And my energy level is improving, too.
I am so excited!!Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-4701735508093568962010-06-19T11:38:00.001-04:002011-07-14T22:17:18.888-04:00Graduation!This post originally included information as follow up to a post that has been removed. Can we say TMI?? Following is the edited version.
I GRADUATED yesterday!! I went to the Atlanta clinic for my final blood draw (pending positive results) and CCRM called mid afternoon with the good news. My E2 shot up to 2,482 (from 1,671 on Monday!) after discontinuing the last patch on Tuesday. The E2 had Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-78426416138352409122010-06-14T19:34:00.001-04:002011-07-14T22:21:19.676-04:00I'm back and still punyI haven't had any time on anyone's blogs for the past 10 days or so... My mom came to stay with me while DH was out of town. He got home last night and she left this morning. I am so, so grateful that my mom did this for me. She is a retired nurse so she knows how to anticipate a person's needs when they are feeling puny, which I still am.
I can't say that we did much other than go to work eachSusiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-70890898206496725572010-06-05T08:26:00.000-04:002010-06-05T08:26:03.130-04:00What a week!This week has been my least active week on this blog (and other peoples' blogs) since January. We've pretty much had company at our house for a week now, and my mom just arrived last night for the next 10 days. DH has gone with kids from church on a spiritual pilgrimage in the UK. He left last night and when I dropped him off at the train station to go to the airport, I burst into tears. Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-74164839405487413292010-05-28T09:19:00.001-04:002011-07-14T22:06:52.882-04:00You Won't Believe ThisI'm not sure I have mentioned this before, but I learned a while back that my star staff member (let's call her Stacy) was also trying to conceive. She has known about my situation for a while. She knew about the brief pregnancy a year ago and she knows about our going to CCRM and everything. A couple of months ago I briefly became obsessed with the fear that we would get pregnant Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3691524107824205072.post-35969142907054045992010-05-20T21:18:00.001-04:002011-07-14T22:24:01.315-04:00A Big Sigh of Relief (or two or three)The first sigh of relief is for my Atlanta RE, who hugged me 4 times and was soooo excited for us. She said she'd been thinking about me. She could not have been nicer. (See yesterday's post for the back story on this.) I'm so glad I went out of my way to see her today for the ultrasound. She probably would have been disappointed if I had scheduled with one of her colleagues. And the Susiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15182042099766141281noreply@blogger.com12