Pictures and Book

More pics on my flickr site - all of them from the daycare.

Also, I recently read a book called Embryo Culture. You can read about my "review" of the book here and here.

Baby Updates

In exciting news, Ella is getting even closer to crawling. She got up on her hands and knees several times over the weekend. She even got up on her hands and feet to have her butt sticking up in the air. We really need to get our act together now since it seems crawling for her is just around the corner. She first did it early Saturday morning and, of course, Jon was out the room both times she got herself up. However, he saw her do it later on that day. I still haven’t managed to get it onto film though. She keeps going down on her tummy each time I get the camera ready. She seems to know what the camera is for because several times when I brought it out, she started to smile. That reminded me of my niece, Morgan, who is all smiles and poses every time a camera is pointed at her. Funny!

Benjamin is getting really good at sitting on his own. He still takes a tumble now and then (but thanks to our new rug, it’s a bit of a softer landing). The other day, I was clapping and singing to them and Benjamin was looking at me clapping and he started to clap himself! I was so excited, but he wouldn’t do it again when Jon was in the room. He still loves to sing and talk loudly. I managed to get a little bit of it on film if I ever put anything on youtube again! Ella is even starting to get into the singing/talking.

We went over to a friend’s house on Saturday night with a couple other friends. The friend who invited us over is pregnant with her 4th child. I told her already that although I’m excited for her, I can’t help but be jealous of how quickly and easily (at least to me), not to mention without coughing up a bunch of money, she got pregnant. I wonder if that jealously will ever go away or is it something that will always be there because of having gone through infertility? I would love to have another child someday. I would love to be pregnant again – and this time, without as much worry as before…who am I kidding? I’d still be nervous that my body would fail me, and I’d lose the baby.

A 2007 Meme

Saw this on another blog and felt the need to do it too...

1) What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

Gave birth to 2 babies. Lived in a hospital for 5 weeks 2 days.

2) Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any for 2007.

3) Did anyone close to you give birth in 2007?
Yes. Me and most of my support group.

4)Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5) What countries did you visit?
I did not have a chance for any world travel in 2007, and most likely, not for a while to come.

6) What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Another car. A clean house.

7) What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Feb. 12 - the day we found out we were having a boy and a girl
May 9 - the day I entered the hospital for my 5 week stay
June 12 - the day the babies were born
June 15 - the day I finally got to come home and I got to come home with my babies
Sept. 24 - the day I started working again (it's also the same day my grandfather died in 2004)

8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Becoming a mother to two wonderful babies.

9) Did you suffer illness or injury?
Umm - just recovered from a C-section. That's all I can think of.

10) What was the best thing you bought?
Hmm. I can't think of anything I bought in 2007 that I can say was the best thing. Baby stuff maybe b/c it meant I was having babies!

11) Whose behavior merited celebration?
Anyone that came to help us out after the babies were born. Anyone who came to visit me in the hospital. Anyone who helped us put the nursery together. Anyone who brought us meals in the weeks after we came home from the hospital.

12) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I can't think of anyone.

13) What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Having the babies. Being able to go home after 5 weeks in the hospital. Seeing my babies on the ultrasound.

14) What song will always remind you of 2007?
Umbrella by Rihanna. I heard this song many times, but one time in particular I remember. Jon and I had selected our two girl names we were thinking of naming our daughter, but I wasn't sure which one to use (though, of course, she "chose" her own name). While in the hospital, I was watching The Today Show and Rihanna came on to sing this song and if you read the lyrics, you might understand why I took it as a sign that our daughter should be named Ella.

15) Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder, b) thinner or fatter, and c) richer or poorer?
a) Happier, but definitely more tired. Exhausted really.
b) Thinner in that I'm not carrying twins around.
c) I'm making more, but I feel poorer b/c we have to pay for daycare.

16) What do you wish you’d done more of?
Read more books while in the hospital.

17) What do you wish you’d done less of?
Watched less crap tv while in the hospital.

18) How did you spend Christmas?
With my husband, babies, kitties and Jon's parents and sister, Tanya. We were at my house.

19) Did you fall in love in 2007?
Yes, with our twins.

20) What was your favorite TV program?
Heroes

21) What was the best book you read?
The final Harry Potter book. I didn't read too much last year.

22) What was your greatest musical discovery this year?
Hmm. I don't know if I've made any.

23) What did you want and get?
Two wonderful babies.

24) What did you want and not get?
Another car. More time at home with Ella & Benjamin.

25) What was your favorite film of the year?
Hmm. I liked Stardust a lot. Harry Potter was good too.

26) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had some friends over and one day following my birthday, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to watch the twins so I could have a day to relax - I went and had a massage, lunch with Jon, and did some shopping. I turned 34.


27) What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Like the person whose blog I took this from, more time alone with my husband. An occassional date night would be good - but we need to find someone to watch the babies and I hate to ask.

At the same time, more time at home with my babies. Working part-time would be nice.

28) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Hmm, that's funny. I wore pregnancy clothes for the first half of 2007, along with some lovely hospital gowns. Then after that - whatever fit and was comfy.

29) What kept you sane?
My mother-in-law visiting every Wednesday when I was at home with the twins.

30) What political issue stirred you the most this year?
Hmm. I don't know. I can't say I kept up with politics too much last year. I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, especially since the presidential election is this year.

31) Who did you miss?
I guess I miss seeing my family more - we haven't gone to Spokane nearly as much as we used to. I haven't been there since April 2007 and before that, it had been a while, I think.

32) Who was the best new person you met in 2007?
Other than my children? I can't think of one specific person. Some great people I met in 2007 are: All the babies born to my support group buddies; all the couples in my childbirth classes; and, of course, it was great to meet Nickie and Carol (though I think I met Nickie in late 2006). I'd love to get together again sometime!


33) What valuable lesson have you learned in 2007?
Trust that you know what to do.

34) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
Is forever enough"

Lullaby by Dixie Chicks

Documentary

A while back in one of my posts, I wrote about a website that was all about natural childbirth - including childbirth at the home. Then a member of one of the multiple groups I'm involved in mentioned a movie called "The Business of Being Born" produced by Ricki Lake. I went to go look into it to see and apparently, it is the film version of the website I mention above. I probably will want to see this at some point just to see for myself though.

If anyone sees it, let me know how it is.

Even more pictures!

Even more pictures posted on my flickr site. Be sure to notice the progression of Benjamin have a book he's playing with to Ella stealing it...twice.

Pictures of Benjamin & Ella

I've added some pics to my flickr site that the daycare took as well as a few that Jon's friend took at her party we went to a few weeks ago. You'll notice that they typically wear sleepers to daycare. My husband takes them to the daycare in the morning and will not put them in other clothes. If I have a chance to dress them in the morning, I try to put them in clothes besides sleepers. Benjamin in a few of the shots is wearing something besides a sleeper - that would be me who dressed him. I didn't have a chance to dress Ella before my ride showed up.

What do others do? I'm curious. Do you keep them in their sleepers or do you dress them in shirts and pants when you take them to daycare?

I hope to get around to adding my own pictures soon.

More tidbits about Benjamin & Ella & friends

Just a few little tidbits...

Benjamin seems to really love bathtime. He was splashing so much in the water and would look up at me with a huge smile on his face. It was so cute!

Last night, I was holding Ella and Sophie came up to visit with us. Ella reached up her hand and Sophie did a little jump, but stayed put. Ella then lifted her hand again and with one finger kinda scratched Sophie under the chin. Her grandma and I were showing her that's what Sophie likes. Sophie enjoyed it for about 2 seconds and Ella thought that was fun and she gave a little giggle. SO cute!

Jon told me this morning that he went to go put Benjamin into the car first, then came back in for Ella. He walked in and Sophie was moving away from the mat that Ella was laying on, and Ella had a huge grin on her face. Perhaps Sophie was giving Ella some affection?

A friend from work will have her baby featured on Cos&tco's diaper and wipe products sometime in the next 3-4 months. She's definitely a cutie.

Another friend is expecting another child - congratulations to her!!!

What's happening with Ben & Ella...

Ben & Ella are doing a lot better. They don't look like they ever had pink eye. I'm so glad. Jon stayed at home with them on Thursday and Jon's mom watched them for us on Friday. I'm looking forward to the end of February when I'll finally have some vacation and sick time again...even though it won't be that much so I need to be careful how I use those days.

We got some rather cute pictures of them over the weekend, so I need to get around to adding them to flickr. I've already uploaded them onto my computer.

Ella has spoken some new words - it's so cute. I just wish I knew what she was trying to say. I think sometimes it sounds like she says hi - Benjamin too. And Benjamin still loves to sing/talk loudly. It's all very cute!

I don't think I've mentioned before Ella's fondness for tags (maybe I have). If she picks up a toy, she'll find a tag and put the tag into her mouth. Such a silly girl! She also wants whatever toy Benjamin has as clearly it is much better than the one she's playing with - so sometimes, we have a bit of a tug of war going on.

Lately, Ella will not sleep in her own bed at night. She'll start there, but a couple or so hours later, she's screaming for one of us. Sometimes, she goes back to sleep (for another couple hours), but sometimes, she'll scream until one of us picks her up. There's only so much of this we can take - we need to get some sleep too - so we bring her to our bed with us and what do you know, she falls right to sleep.

Some people say to me when I tell them this - oh, you shouldn't do that. She'll get so used to it. And all I can think is - wait until you have your own children and we'll see what you do. Do others have this issue?

I usually let her cry for a while and hope that she'll fall asleep - rarely does this work for Ella, but it does for Benjamin a good amount of the time (like last night). However, I don't want her to get too worked up that she won't go back to sleep or she'll wake up Benjamin! I just don't want two screaming babies in the middle of the night! I know, crazy me.

I just don't know what's going on with Ella. I've read that when babies are learning a new skill, they'll wake up repeatedly during the night, so maybe that's it? I thought they were teething, but nothing is popping through yet. She's not hungry as she'll fall asleep once with a parent. Perhaps separation anxiety? Anyone have any ideas?

In other news, Ella will stay up on her hands and knees for a good 5 seconds when we put her there. She's still trying to get to that position on her own. She's become really good at independent sitting.

Benjamin has gotten a lot better, but will still fall over. He had another fall over on the floor this weekend and he hit his head. Poor little guy. I really want to buy those foam squares like this so they have something soft to play on. I was all set to order them when my mother-in-law said she's going to try to find some. She said she also has a toy chest to give us - we really need one as the basket I'm holding their toys in is overflowing.

Well, that's what's going on here. I'm sure there are other things I should write about so I remember them later when I'm filling out the baby book, but I can't think of it now. Maybe later I will.

Eye Diagnosis

My babies have pink eye. :-(

They are supposed to be sleeping right now, but I hear Ella in there talking to the bears on her mobile. And now she's crying. I think because the mobile isn't turning and playing music.

Natural Childbirth & Baby Eye Issues

The other day, I asked for opinions on information on trustbirth’s website, then today, I found this article about a film on natural childbirth – meaning childbirth in the home, not just a birth without drugs.

I’m all for couples giving birth wherever they feel comfortable. I definitely feel like I needed to be in the hospital to have my babies – I don’t see how my babies would have come out on their own based on the positions they were in. I do wish I could have delivered them vaginally, but a c-section what was needed to get them out safely and that’s what is most important.


Speaking of my babies, both of them seem to have some sort of eye infection. The doctor, when speaking with Jon over the phone, thought it was probably a blocked tear duct, but because I would feel more comfortable if she actually saw the babies in person, Jon is taking them to the doctor this afternoon. Unfortunately, I can’t go because I have no way of getting there without a car. Hopefully, everything is o.k. Ella’s eyes looked so puffy and swollen this morning. My poor little girl. Benjamin’s eyes looked o.k. – maybe a little red – but mostly o.k. I’m anxious to hear what the doctor thinks after she sees them in person.

In other news, yet another person has asked me if my babies are identical after they learn they are a boy and a girl. This was from a person at my dentist’s office.

Tonight, I will be on my own with the babies – hopefully, they aren’t too cranky or cranky at all really. Jon is going to a friend’s daughter’s concert tonight.

Well, that’s all for now.

Weekend

Saturday morning, we gave the babies a new food to try - sweet potatoes. They seemed to like it o.k. I guess next week, they are going to get squash though I wanted to try applesauce. As soon as I can, I'll post new pics of them eating their solids!

A friend of mine posted some pics she took of the babies at the New Year's Eve party we went to - I have to point out a couple to everyone - this one and this one. Ella with her pouty lip and Benjamin with his silly smushed face!

We went to a party on Saturday night that one of Jon's friends from college was having - unfortunately, you have to have access to look at the pics she took. There were a couple cute ones of my babies! They were very well-behaved babies until it got closer to bedtime then Benjamin started to get cranky.

Yesterday, Ella said some new words - not sure what she was saying - but both Jon and I noticed! She also got to go to the store with her papa and I'm sure she just loved that. So many things to look at!

This morning, I was helping get the babies ready for daycare and my ride showed up, so I had to put Ella down (Jon was getting Benjamin ready). She did not like that at all. She wanted to be held and she was hungry. She gave me the saddest look with tears coming down. It was SO HARD to leave her like that. :-(

That reminds me. Over the weekend, Jon's mom was holding Benjamin and I was holding Ella. Benjamin looked over at me and started fussing and leaning toward me - he wanted me to hold him. Once we were able to make the switch, Benjamin was a happy little guy. That just made my heart melt! He wanted his mommy!

And sad that the Seahawks not only lost but played horribly. I'm sure the snow didn't help.

Tyra & Birth Website

I was reading a blog earlier and the writer mentioned a show that Tyra Banks taped yesterday (and will air in February (or so I hear)) – here is the info on the show…


DO YOU KNOW A WOMAN OBSESSED WITH BECOMING PREGNANT?
Do you know a woman who is obsessed with becoming a mom? Have you seen and heard her struggle for years, felt her unvoiced jealously and seen her desperation first hand? Have you watched silently for too long as she gets her hopes up only to be disappointed and heartbroken when she can't conceive? Has she tried extreme methods and spent a lot of money to get pregnant with no luck? Do you want to finally tell her she needs to stop the emotional and physical stress on her body and seriously consider adoption or a surrogate alternative?

WTH? Several blogs have already talked about this and I’m sure those of you who read this blog know exactly what is so offensive about the questions above, so I won’t go into this as much as I could have. Adoption and surrogacy are easy and inexpensive, didn’t you know? And they don’t have any emotional roller coasters that people go on unlike the “obsession” to get pregnant? Gah! There is so much more I could say. I already don’t like Tyra, but this definitely made my opinion of her worse. I’m sure she didn’t write the above, but she must have some say – isn’t she an executive producer of the show (I’m guessing as I really have no idea, but I think most hosts are of their shows). I would hope a true friend or a caring relative would not bring their friend/relative onto a nationally televised show to tell them their feelings aren’t worthy of being felt and he/she should just stop feeling that way. How incredibly insensitive. O.K. I wrote more than I was going to… I

On another topic, a while back I was driving home and in front of me was this car with the bumper sticker with trustbirth.com on it. I was just going through some stuff in my bag and came across an envelope I wrote the website on so I could remember to look at it. There was another bumper sticker with the woman’s website too – she’s apparently a doula so having the trustbirth bumper sticker makes sense.

Anyway, I’m curious what others think of what this organization says. They seem to want births to happen at home, not in the hospital because in the hospital, the woman isn’t in charge anymore. Plus, it isn’t a medical issue – it’s a natural event. They also seem to advocate for a natural birth – which is fine (I certainly wouldn’t want to do it without drugs – plus drugs kept my babies from coming way too early as did my doctor, so I’m glad she was in charge and not me). Anyway, let me know what you think.

More Baby Stories

One of the ladies at the daycare told me an amusing story yesterday - Ella and Benjamin were sitting down (probably in bouncy seats) drinking their milk. Ella finished hers and Benjamin was kinda holding his off to the side - the side Ella was on. Well, Ella grabbed Benjamin's bottle and started drinking it. Benjamin CRIED out (and this is usually the only time he cries - or if he's really tired or someone he doesn't know is holding him (sometimes on the last one). The lady wondered why Benjamin was crying and saw that Ella had his bottle. She pried it out of Ella's hands, gave it back to Benjamin and made Ella a couple more ounces to drink.

She also told me that Ella has been circling around when left on her tummy to get stuff. Benjamin just flips over onto his back and hangs out - content at just hanging out banging his toy like a tambourine.

In other news, I just had lunch with a friend who told me that her high school friend who had done some infertility treatments and who had been trying to get pregnant for around 15 years is now pregnant! And she got pregnant by having sex! That's just wonderful for her - it's good to hear stories like this.

Excited Babies!

Early this morning (around 1:30 a.m.), I heard Benjamin coughing so I went to go check on him and when I went into their room, he was wide awake! And he started to jump around - he was just so excited to see his mommy! I think he thought it was time to get up, but it wasn't so I gave him a pacifier to suck on and checked on Ella (she squirmed a little but was still asleep), then went back to bed.

This morning, I went into their rooms and they were both laying there wide awake - just hanging out in their beds waiting for their parents to come get them. Benjamin smiled at me, but Ella was the one this time that was all excited. When I went to go back to say hi to Benjamin she squirmed and made little noises that she wanted to get up now! Silly girl.

Why Go

Taken from bitterkat's blog that was taken from Average Jane's Blog.

I like doing these sort of things...I think I might have done one before this one and the one I did on my other blog.

Directions:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, iPod etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Jesus Walks (Kanye West)

2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Am I The Only One (Dixie Chicks)

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Everyday (Toby Lightman)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Smooth Rider (Dave Matthews Band)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Almost Grown (Chuck Berry)

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
L'Accord Parfait (Autour De Lucie)

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Sunday Morning (Maroon 5)

8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
In My Head (No Doubt)

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Forever and Always (Shania Twain)

10. WHAT IS 2 + 2?
I Hate Myself for Losing You (Kelly Clarkson)

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR EX?
Paper Bag (Anna Nalick)

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Stone (Dave Matthews Band)

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (Green Day)

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Next in Line (Johnny Cash)

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Way You Are (Tears for Fears)

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Unglued (Stone Temple Pilots)

17. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Keep Breathing (Ingrid Michaelson)

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
A Day in the Life (The Beatles)

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Stop (Matchbox Twenty)

20. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Drowning (Hootie & the Blowfish)

Now press Next one more time and use it as your title.

The title of the post (Pearl Jam)

Weekend, Names & Babies

So many things to talk about.

This past Saturday, we went to visit my in-laws to help celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. This was Benjamin & Ella's first trip to Tacoma and their longest car ride yet. We headed down south about a couple hours before the Seahawks game to avoid the traffic, and luckily, we did avoid the traffic (yay, the Seahawks won). We didn’t avoid the rain though. The ride back home was a lot better – no rain! I thought we were going down there for just a small thing with his parents, but Jon’s mom invited over all these people so they could meet Benjamin & Ella. One person, my sister-in-law’s biological grandmother, looks like one of the ladies in my vanpool. We had a good time talking to all these people. We occasionally checked on the score of the game. The babies did quite well on their first trip to Tacoma. Their first trip to Spokane might be around Easter weekend as I have Good Friday off, but it depends on whether Jon can get the time off and what the weather is like. I hope to take off that Monday too so we can have a little bit longer trip to be able to see everyone.

The next topic – baby names. I got an e-mail listing the top 100 baby names of 2007. I had looked at a list last week and it seems each list I’ve seen is different stats as Benjamin and Ella’s ranking in the top names are very different depending on what list you look at. In this one, Ella is #16 and Benjamin is #34 (in the other one I remember looking at – Ella was #21 and Benjamin was #24) – so they’re popular names, but not in the top 10, so yay! Another part of the e-mail was talking about celebrity baby names. Most seem o.k. to me, but Heaven and Princess and Alabama?

And now more on my own babies…

Ella LOVES to play with tags – they are just so yummy to gnaw on. Mmmm – tags. Silly Ella! Ella also loves to play with whatever toy Benjamin is playing with. It does not matter if she already has the same toy in her hands - she must have the toy Benjamin is having because it looks like a lot more fun. They are just (nearly) 7 months and it’s already starting. However, Ella can sometimes be easily distracted – you put a new toy in front of her that wasn’t there before, and she must put down the toy she has and play with that one you just put in front of her. Ella has been sleeping a lot with her hands underneath her head – as if she’s using her hands as a pillow. I wish I could give her a pillow to use, but that’s against the rules. At what point can they have a pillow? And speaking of things I’ve been meaning to look up – at what point can they have juice?

When Benjamin gets a toy, he likes to bang on his side like a tambourine. When I’ve put Benjamin on his tummy for tummy time, he just rolls over. He seems to have no interest in staying on his tummy for too long. When I’ve tried to get him to sit up (Ella is doing very well with sitting up on her own), he just leans forward and gets frustrated that he can’t get back up. He is still doing a lot of talking – he has so many stories to tell. Sometimes, he does sound like he’s singing – so cute. Jon was telling me that when Benjamin gets kisses sometimes, he’ll turn toward the kiss on his cheek, rolls his eyes and looks to the side, and gives a bashful grin. :-D

This morning, both babies were awake when I left. I got them changed and ready for their breakfast before I had to go to work. How I wish I didn’t have to go. They looked up at me with such cute little faces – it was so difficult to leave but the guy in my vanpool was waiting for me (I’ve got someone picking me up to take me to the vanpool when he’s in the vanpool – that has been so nice. It will suck when he’s on vacation and I have to go back to the bus during that time. It’s been nice having that extra time with the babies).

Funny

I was going through my old e-mails on hotmail to try to move all the e-mails I want to keep over to gmail, and I came across an e-mail that Jon had sent to me on 06/15/06. This was before we had even done the IVF cycle that would lead us to having twins.

Jon said to me, after I was talking about my coworker having her third child, that we'll have children someday, then he says...

"what if we have twins...the girl will be like 'it's time to go, we don't want to be late" and the boy will be like "uh...lemme do something first, then I'll start the process to get ready'......funny if they have different b-days."

It's funny because Ella is very interested in getting going on doing stuff - she wants to crawl already - in fact, even better, walking! Benjamin is so laid back but he seems to be our talker.

Welcome Koalton!

My sister-in-law and her husband welcomed into the world their son last night. His name is Koalton and he was born at 6 pounds 10 ounces (just an ounce heavier than Benjamin). Congratulations to them both!

They are in Arkansas so I won't be seeing him in person for a while. We're waiting for some pics to be sent our way!

MOOOOMMMMYYYYY

Benjamin totally just said Mommy - he was in the exercauser looking up at me crying as he said it. Jon heard it too. There have been a few times that it sounded like he said "MOOOOOMMMMMM", but this time it sounded like "Mooommmmyyyy" :-D

"Pandora's Baby" - Book "review"

I finished reading Pandora's" Baby by Robin Marantz Henig.

It was an interesting book into the history of how IVF became a treatment to help infertility patients have children. It's amazing how far science has come in just the 3 decades since the first IVF child was born in 1978. It's amazing how much it took to get to that point. There was a lot of opposition to IVF, and still is, from those claiming REs are playing God or those claiming, at least back in the 70s, that it would lead to deformed children. How lucky it was doctors figured out how to make this work.

Reading the book made me feel lucky that I am living at a time that IVF would be available to me. Otherwise, I would have had to try surgery to unblock my tubes (though my doctors didn't seem confident that would work), and it would have cost a lot more money and caused a lot more pain, I think, at least physically. While reading the book, it did make me think of the other embryos that we had. I had 10 eggs retrieved, but only 7 fertilized. Of those 7, only 2 made it to blastocyst (and eventually into my 2 babies). I sometimes wonder about those other 5 and am sad that they didn't make it. While at the same time, relieved that I don't have that decision to make on what we want to do with any frozen embryos.

The book also talked about health problems that some IVF children have...a lot due to multiple births because they have a higher chance of being born premature. The book said something about US clinics transferring (o.k. she used the word implant which irritates me) more than 2 embryos to boost the chances of the cycle working so their numbers look better. I don't think the clinic I went to will do more than 2 except in certain circumstances.
The book also talked about cloning and the controversy surrounding that being similar to what took place with IVF (though there are differences).
Overall, it was an interesting book even though it did go off on tangents I didn't think were necessary. I have another book from the library about IVF called Embryo Culture that I plan to read at some point.

2007 ends, 2008 begins

Unlike some others, 2007 was a great year for me. I spent the first 5 1/2 months pregnant with my wonderful twins - though the last 5 weeks of that pregnancy were in the hospital, but that's o.k., it made it so my babies stayed put for 5 more weeks than they might have otherwise.

A little after midnight on June 12, 2007, Ella Riley and Benjamin Harris were born (have I mentioned their middle names are my mom and my mother-in-law's maiden names respectively?). On June 15, 2007, we were able to take our babies home. I got to see my kitties again for the first time in a little over 5 weeks. It was also the first time I had been in a car in a little over 5 weeks - it was a bit of a weird experience. The first time I drove felt weird too.

Since then, I have been extremely sleep deprived, but I have two wonderful children. It still catches my breath and makes me take a pause when I refer to Benjamin as my *son* and Ella has my *daughter*. I have a son and a daughter? They are nearly 7 months old and it still amazes me.

I do wish sometimes that I could get the sleep that I need (notice I said need and not want), but it's all worth it. I would do it all over again.

Other than the birth of my children, this year, I celebrated my 9th wedding anniversary with Jon. I turned 34. I met some new people with our childbirth classes. And most of my infertility support group has had children of their own. The first birthday of one of the children was in December. The rest of the children were born in 2007. In my support group, there are 4 sets of twins and 3 singeleton babies. It's been a great year for that group. I look forward to watching all of these children grow!
As for resolutions, I don't really have any other than to try to read as many books as I can this year. I didn't read a lot last year (and you'd think with all that hospital time, I would have read a lot), but I plan to this year. I found when I read my first book after a long while, I missed reading!

As I write this, my sister-in-law is in labor giving birth to her first child. I'm so excited to learn the name of our new nephew! She was being induced on Monday - nothing was happening - so they broke her water today and she's now on her way to having a baby boy! Please send some good thoughts her way as they said the baby's kidneys weren't functioning properly which is why they induced (and the fact she was due on the 30th).

This new addition to our family will make it so Jon and I have 4 nephews and 3 nieces.

Happy New Year to everyone! May 2008 be a wonderful year for everyone!