I’m L. I’m a worker bee at a desk job and, on the side, I’m a trained birth doula working on my certification. I like to read, craft, watch movies with D, playing board games or video games, and take weekend trips to the beach. I was diagnosed with stage 1 endometriosis in November 2007.
D is my husband. He’s snuggly and warm-hearted. He’s a pop culture junkie – movies, music, comic books and graphic novels are his forté. We’ve been together since high school (1996) and married in 2003. He was diagnosed with obstructive azoospermia in November 2005.
Bubs is the little one that took from IVF#3, a baby girl born in July 2010. Cute and snuggly, she’s everything we’d imagined and more.
Larry, Darryl and Darryl are the three embryos transferred during IVF #3. We found out we were pregnant in November 2009 (what is it about Novembers in odd years?) with Bubs, and for some reason I think she probably was the second Darryl.
The Kittens, our two huge, fluffy Maine Coon Mix cats that I write about occasionally. They’re demanding yet lazy and leave cat hair on EVERYTHING.
Dr. B – Our Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) we dutifully followed from one clinic, to another, to another, from February 2006 until November 2009. Someone asked why we kept going with the same doctor since we weren’t having any success. We might have stuck with the same doctor, but we got a nice tour of the Southeast’s embryology labs. We also got the Family and Friends discount for the four cycles at his new clinic.
Dr. OB – My Ob-Gyn who so wonderfully helped out however she could to get as many tests and procedures covered through insurance as possible.*
The Bright Lights – Our lost embryos, named for the way they looked on the ultrasound machine as they were placed into my uterus. We had a total of five embyros transferred during our first IVF cycles (one fresh and two frozen). We hold these first five Bright Lights and any of Larry, Darryl and Darryl that don’t make it in our hearts.
*Yes, we have no insurance coverage for infertility treatments. Yes, we’ve spent a lot of money on our Someday Child. Yes, our child is as stubborn as we are.
Hi! I stumbled onto your blog and have been following ever since. I just read about your nephew Aiden (maybe how I found your blog). We also have a furry friend from 4 Paws! My daughter has a seizure alert dog, Blitzen. We were in the Jan 09 class. He is absolutely wonderful!!
Just wanted to say hi… Congratulations on your pregnancy! What a wonderful Christmas present!!!!
Marcia K
By: Marcia Kirchhofer on December 21, 2009
at 10:09 pm
Okay, I’ll admit that it was a vanity search that brought me here . . . I wrote the Newsweek article on which you commented nearly 4 years ago now. The title of that post was “There’s a Pregnancy at the End of This, Right?” And, yes, I want you to know that there have been two pregnancies since I wrote that piece — my son is 3 1/2 and my daughter is 14 months. And what happiness I felt when I saw that you are pregnant now too — and due very soon! I often think of that Newsweek article with frustration because of course no one who read it knows that I did get pregnant. So you’ve given me a chance to answer your questions — YES! There is a pregnancy at the end of it. I just wish so many women didn’t have to feel so desperate and misunderstood waiting for it. Congratulations!
By: Melissa Cole Essig on May 18, 2010
at 9:27 am