tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17347088890819576052024-03-08T06:40:16.159-05:00Frum InfertilityTryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-82723971115804195612008-11-11T10:51:00.002-05:002008-11-11T10:53:45.916-05:00A long time comingI know I haven't written anything in a long time, I just haven't really had any time.<br />The kids are doing great - they're getting bigger, the doctor is really happy with their sizes.<br />This week, they finally started sleeping through most of the night - from midnight until around 6 or 7 in the morning. We can finally get some sleep now!Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-87515204444336521302008-08-14T20:49:00.001-04:002008-08-14T20:52:51.863-04:00BrisWe made the bris this morning for our son. In my speech, I spoke about Bonei Olam and how much they helped us, and encouraged people to support them.<br />Afterward, a friend came over to me. This friend is also going through fertility issues - except there isn't much hope in their case. They really don't have much chance of having their own biological children. Anyway, he said to me, "You know, most people wouldn't say such things in their speech. They'd be too ashamed of it. But you came out and said what many others wouldn't, and you spoke for many others when you did. I was really impressed."<br />It felt good to hear that. I really wasn't sure about saying it during the speech. I'm sure family and friends suspected about us going through fertility treatments, but now we confirmed it. I figured that if it gets the message across, and helps people support organizations like Bonei Olam, it's worth it.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-36275993299038584432008-08-10T12:45:00.002-04:002008-08-10T12:48:54.940-04:00Hectic days...Ok, so our daughter came home last Monday, and our son came home on Thursday. The doctor also gave clearance for his bris, so it will be on Thursday morning. We're trying to get things set up for it. Unfortunately, all the treatments affected our finances, so we;re not doing anything too fancy. I'd always wanted to do a fancy bris, since we went through hell to get to it, but we won't be able to. Luckiloy for us, there's a gemach which helps with the bris - they give you free food. We just have to pay for the place to do it, and probably pay for a waiter.<br />We're also not sure when we're making a kiddush for our daughter. We were thinking this coming Shabbos, but 3 days after the bris probably won't be a good idea.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-55949495814926275552008-08-03T09:16:00.003-04:002008-08-03T09:18:37.441-04:00Hi again!Sorry I haven't written in a long time, I've just been pretty busy.<br /><br />The kids are doing great - our daughter will probably be coming home this week! We don't have a time line for our son yet, but he's also doing really well.<br />Someone commented that the name of my blog isn't appropriate anymore. Well, the thing is that people read my blog and know the name as it is, so I can't really change it, can I? Also, these kids are the result of fertility treatments, so I think I'll leave it as is.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-1538965787112796892008-07-18T16:32:00.001-04:002008-07-18T16:34:40.077-04:00Shalom ZachorI'm staying home for Shabbos, as I have to make a Shalom Zachor for our son (it feels so weird to say that!!!) My wife is staying in the hospital over Shabbos, her sister is staying with her.<br />A neighbor said she'd come and help me set stuff up for it in half an hour. That was over an hour ago. Oh well. Most of it is set up, just the chips and stuff like that aren't. And of course the drinks aren't on the table, they're in the fridge.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-53556221292865952022008-07-17T03:03:00.001-04:002008-07-17T03:04:32.459-04:00MAZAL TOV!!!At 10:35 tonight. our son was delivered, weighing in at 3 lbs, 10 oz.<br />2 minutes later, his sister followed, weighing 4 lbs, 4 oz.<br />They're in the NICU for now, and likely will be there for a few weeks. My wife is doing ok.<br />I need to get some sleep.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-3234346187616044162008-07-14T06:03:00.000-04:002008-07-14T06:04:37.986-04:00Staying upWell, it looks like I spoke too soon. Last night, my wife didn't have to go downstairs to labor & delivery. We were both so happy for that!Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-45427651077671373612008-07-13T10:33:00.002-04:002008-07-13T10:37:15.692-04:00Every nightSo, after Thursdays events, we figured things were ok for a bit. Nope. Friday night, the contractions started again. Back down to labor and delivery. Monitor for a few hours, then back upstairs. Shabbos morning, her doctor came in, and said he wasn't surprised it happened, and that he wouldn't be surprised if it happened every night until she gets delivered. Sure enough, last night, again, she was sent downstairs. A few hours later, she was sent back upstairs.<br />This is going to be really nerve-racking for a while.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-39855502229939254692008-07-10T18:21:00.002-04:002008-07-10T18:23:20.857-04:00Getting closeYesterday, my wife started having some contractions. They faded after a bit, and the doctor wasn't worried. Today, they came again, and lasted longer. They moved her to labor and delivery to keep a closer watch on her. They didn't go into the full labor contractions, but they didn't ease. Eventually, they gave her some medication to stop the contractions, which worked. They sent her back to her room upstairs, but are keeping a much closer watch on her now. The doctor said it probably won't be too much longer.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-9354866163485599312008-06-29T01:11:00.001-04:002008-06-29T01:14:18.524-04:00Another week...Well, this Shabbos I was more prepared. I brought a thermos of hot soup, and it stayed steaming hot for our meal. My mother visited during the week, and she made chicken for us for Shabbos, and some kugel.<br />Overall, it wasn't a bad Shabbos. We had food, I slept ok, everything was fine.<br />During the week, they switched my wife's room. She had been on the labor/delivery floor, and they switched her to the regular post-partum floor. Her room is more comfortable, she gets a normal bed, and some closets now. She's pretty happy about the change.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-32558726654763668802008-06-22T00:31:00.002-04:002008-06-22T00:36:13.452-04:00Shabbos in the hospitalShabbos wasn't that bad. Easier than I thought it would be.<br />The only real issue I had was food. The bed I had in my wife's room (a chair that unfolds to a small bed) wasn't too bad, and davening was right down the block. The food, though, was a problem. The hospital gives food only for my wife, and she said it was pretty gross. The bikur cholim gave her food for shabbos - challah, fish, soup (in a thermos), some chicken, and some meat loaf. I also brought some chicken cutlets from home. I'm a picky eater, and don't like chicken on the bone - only cutlets.<br />Anyway, so Friday night, we have the fish, and then I pour the soup. It wasn't hot anymore, even with the thermos, and it didn't taste too great. I had 2 spoonfuls, and that was it for me. Then, I tried some of the potato kugel they gave (forgot to mention that before!) and it tasted pretty good. That is, until the aftertaste hit me. Yuck! Plus, it was cold, like everything else was.<br />I think next week, I'm going to get my own thermos or two, and bring my own soup, and maybe a thermos full of cholent. I'll buy a potato kugel that I know I like, and some side dishes. That way, I won't go hungry.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-1720613147344719412008-06-15T12:23:00.002-04:002008-06-15T12:29:50.562-04:00In the hospitalWell, we're in the hospital. For a while. The doctor says he's not letting her go past 35 weeks, so we have a maximum of 7 weeks to go.<br />My wife's cough is still pretty bad. The doctor from the practice who's on call now asked her if she took codeine. We told him nobody told us to take it, and his partner (our main doctor) told us to take Robitussin DM. He said, " Well, when he has a cough, he can take the Robitussin. It's worthless. When I have a cough, I'll take codeine."<br />He said he's going to order it now, because he doesn't like the sound of the cough.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-80454991521639210842008-06-11T10:04:00.002-04:002008-06-11T10:12:06.131-04:00ShavuosYom Tov can be hard sometimes. Especially dealing with my family. I don't recall if I've written it before, my family is Ultra-Orthodox. My wife and I consider ourselves Modern Orthodox, and aren't as stringent as my family is on a lot of things.<br />Anyway, over Yom Tov, my wife had on a dress with short sleeves. Not sleeveless, they ended just above her elbows. Anyway, we're sitting at the table, waiting for the meal to start. when my mom asks me to come outside for a minute. Basically, my father wasn't comfortable with my wife's short sleeves, and wouldn't come to the table if she was dressed like that. He wanted her to go change her outfit. He didn't care that she'd be very embarrassed by it, he just wanted her to change. We ended up skipping the meal, and eating on our own later that afternoon. My parents just don't understand that we don't live our lives the same way they do, and we see things very differently. My father is the definition of a chossid shoteh - the man who, if he saw a woman drowning, wouldn't save her, because he's not allowed to touch a woman. He doesn't care about embarrassing someone, he just knows that in his mind, elbows have to be covered.<br />Later on, he apologized for embarrassing her, but only after I pointed out to him how bad it was. He just didn't see it on his own. I'm not surprised.<br /><br />Anyway, last night, when we got home, we had no electricity, which meant no air conditioning. It was 87 degrees in our apartment. We both got no sleep last night. The power came back on at 5:30 this morning, so my wife got some sleep, but I had to get ready for work. Hopefully, I'll get to sleep early tonight.<br />Wife has a doctor's appointment today. We're going to find out if she's going to the hospital tomorrow, or on Sunday. Should be fun either way.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-43920155705625262472008-06-05T06:34:00.001-04:002008-06-05T06:35:50.949-04:00ColdMy wife got a pretty nasty cold. The doctor gave her some antibiotics yesterday, so hopefully it will clear up soon.<br />It looks like she's going to have to go into the hospital at 28 weeks in the end, which is the end of next week. I'm not looking forward to that.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-34595522374487283442008-05-22T20:23:00.001-04:002008-05-22T20:25:07.734-04:00NephewRemember I said both of my brothers' wives were expecting? My older brother's wife had a baby boy the other day!Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-44288052051452594722008-05-19T18:24:00.003-04:002008-05-19T18:26:57.621-04:00Stay in bed!My wife had some bad stomach pains last night, and we called the doctor at about 2 am or so. Of course, after I spoke to the service, the pain mostly subsided.<br />She had an appointment today anyway, so he told her to wait until she came in, unless it got really bad again, which it didn't. Anyway, the doctor said it happens sometimes after a cerclage, and it's just the uterus adjusting to it.<br />He also put her on total bed rest now - no walking around at all. Stay in bed, get up to use the bathroom, then back to bed.<br />He also ordered her a home monitor, to check for contractions. Someone is supposed to come and show her how to use it.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-62443578103036511602008-05-18T10:33:00.002-04:002008-05-18T10:35:36.753-04:00No steroids yetOne thing I forgot to mention the other day: they did an FFN test (fetal fibronectin), which basically can pretty much rule out the chance of going into labor over the following 2 weeks. It came back negative. based on that, they're pushing off the steroids, so my wife didn't start taking them yet.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-12425269849965889162008-05-13T06:38:00.001-04:002008-05-13T06:40:41.394-04:00A stitch in time saves... twoMy wife was feeling a bit nervous yesterday. She hadn't felt any movement from the babies at all for a few days. So, off to the doctor she went. Both babies were fine, but her cervical length wasn't.<br />They put in a curclage last night, a stitch in each side. Now she's on full bed rest, no more modified.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-51511211766252660772008-05-11T14:25:00.001-04:002008-05-11T14:26:45.622-04:00My wife, the baseball playerApparently, my wife will have what it takes to play professional baseball - she's going to be taking steroids starting this week. It helps the lungs of the babies develop faster, in case of a premature birth.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-60191358696755320622008-05-07T22:50:00.002-04:002008-05-07T22:54:02.050-04:00Does this ever end?So, my wife had an appointment today. I was supposed to meet her at the appointment, and we were going to a friend's birthday party afterwards. Anyway, I'm on my way from the office to get her, and she calls. The doctor saw her cervix moving a bit on its own, and thought she might be having contractions. Hospital time!<br />In the end, they hooked her up to a monitor, and watched her for 2 hours. I got there after a long time, due to crazy traffic. Nothing was going on, no contractions. She's fine. We missed the birthday party, which I was pretty upset about. Remember my early post about good friends? It was one of them, and I really wanted to go out and celebrate with them. Oh well. They're good friends, and they understand.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-26508344210114392072008-05-02T10:38:00.002-04:002008-05-02T10:40:08.167-04:00Hospital?Yesterday's ultrasound showed that the vessel stayed where it was. The doctor said my wife would probably need to be checked into the hospital at about 28 weeks, and stay there until the babies are born. Not gonna be fun...Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-16120039965964625392008-04-28T09:15:00.002-04:002008-04-28T09:27:12.938-04:00Over PesachYom Tov was pretty nice, overall. We had to go to my parents for the entire thing, because of the bed rest issue. We'd planned on going home for Chol Hamoed, until the doctor said no more cleaning.<br />All my siblings were there for the second days of Pesach. Now, as I've written before, both of my sisters-in-law are pregnant. One is due in about 2-3 weeks, the other in 5 weeks. The younger one, due in 5 weeks, told my wife that she'd been having some stomach pains, and was scared she'd go into premature labor. Excuse me? You're already at 35 weeks, and you're worried? What happens if you deliver tomorrow, do you know? Chances are, at 35 weeks, your baby wouldn't even have to go into a NICU at all! There's a 95% chance the baby wouldn't have any issues due to the "early" birth.<br />Here we are, at 21 weeks, with the doctor explaining to us the statistics about babies born at less than 29-30 weeks, because it's a real chance with us. We went on a tour of the NICU last Wednesday after our doctor visit, and let me tell you, it's scary. Seeing all those tiny babies is pretty scary, knowing your kids have a good chance of ending up there. So to hear my SIL complaining was a bit annoying. They really have no clue how lucky they are.<br />As for the older SIL (who is still younger than me), she already has 2 kids, this is their 3rd on the way. I don't see them in their house, but at my parents, they are pretty hands off. They dump everything relating to their kids onto other people if they can. For example, their kids made a huge mess on the living room floor. Lego pieces everywhere, and they just left it there. My mother walked into the room, and said she's embarrassed because she was expecting some guests, and they'd see her floor like that. My SIL just sat there, and didn't say a word. My younger sisters just sat there, and one of them said, "Well, I don't want to clean it up, they're just going to make a mess again tomorrow." I actually understand her, and it's not her kids, so why should she do it? Anyway, my wife, who's supposed to be on bed rest, was sitting on the couch. She can't stand seeing a mess, it just drives her crazy. So, she got up, and started gathering up the lego pieces. After a minute, she said, "You know, I'm supposed to be resting, all this bending isn't too good for me." So what does my SIL, the kids' mother, say? "Well, why don't you sit on the floor while you gather them up?" I wasn't there at the time, but if I was, I would have screamed at her. What kind of idiot is she? She takes no responsibility whatsoever for her children, and even has the nerve to tell my wife, who's supposed to be resting, how to clean up after the mess her kids made? That's just typical of my brother and his wife.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-76834703040279819552008-04-24T10:51:00.003-04:002008-04-24T10:53:36.867-04:00No stitch yet, but it's always somethingWe went to the doctor yesterday, and had an anatomy scan done. We even got a 3D ultrasound of one of the baby's faces! It's pretty cool.<br />Anyway, her cervical length yesterday was better, but they saw something else. It seems a blood vessel is at the bottom of her left uterus, between the baby and the cervix. This can be a big problem - the vessel can rupture if the baby tries to come out, and can be very harmful to the baby. There's a chance she'll have to be in the hospital for the last month or two of the pregnancy.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-80547482076702542662008-04-14T12:32:00.001-04:002008-04-14T12:34:07.294-04:00Today's doctor visitMy wife has been feeling mostly better the past week, but she still has a cough and some chest pain. The doctor today said it could be a post-nasal drip, and some Benadryl should clear it up. Why couldn't they tell us that last week? Anyway, she's still waiting for the ultrasound, but I guess it's good news so far.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1734708889081957605.post-59339153374381222442008-04-09T11:15:00.003-04:002008-04-09T11:17:16.031-04:00A stitch?My wife went in to the doctor today again. Both her cervixes are at 3 cm, and one is funneling. The doctor said he might want to put in a stitch next week as a preventative measure. He has to discuss it with his partners, and they'll let us know what the decision is. For now, it's bed rest for her.Tryinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07190727558595228188noreply@blogger.com5