The Telling

The Fonaholics asked "Who are you telling first?" Well, we've already told...the entire blogosphere, a handful of close friends, and my immediate family.

Now comes telling everyone else. I've really been looking forward to it, and I have to say, I'm enjoying it thoroughly.

The first person I told yesterday was my principal, NewBoss. I had just found out (via IM) that the nuchal results were in. And she's been very generous with me this year, letting me leave early for IUIs and ultrasounds without even asking why. She was very excited, hugged me and said "Mazel tov!" and told me some school gossip. (I teach in a K-8 school and I pretty much stay in my 7-8 middle school bubble, so I am often out of the school social gossip loop. Actual school-related gossip is another story.) Apparently 5 of the female teachers are currently trying to get pregnant or starting soon, and a 6th is trying to adopt, so they've been talking half-seriously about the competition for the five spaces in our school's on-site daycare. I imagine they didn't think of me, both because I don't really hang out with them -- because of the middle school thing, and because, honestly, they're the kind of women who carry cute expensive purses and straighten their hair, and I'm, uh, not -- and because I probably appear as reproductively challenged as my menopausal colleagues with grown children. Well, as it turns out, I lapped them ALL, and will easily snag one of the coveted spots in The Village (as in, "it takes a village"; how cute is that). One small step for a lesbian...

Then I saw my cousin D. on IM -- she moved to New York City a few years ago when she graduated from college and we've had the chance to get to know her better, and she has been privy to much of our journey. She responded thusly:

Lo (5:18:49 PM): I have something to tell yoU!
Cousin D. (5:19:11 PM): oh really!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!
Lo (5:19:13 PM): yes!!!!
Cousin D. (5:19:14 PM): WHAT?!
Cousin D. (5:19:16 PM): I'M EXCITED!
Lo (5:19:19 PM): Co is pregnant
Lo (5:19:24 PM): she is due December 5
Cousin D. (5:19:41 PM): OMIGOSH I WAS HOPING U'D SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say that was a feel-good reaction. Finally, we dropped by my friend's dad's house on our way out for celebratory Mexican food, and told him. (I fed his cats over the weekend so I was returning the key. I lived with him for two summers in college, my first adult time here in the Big Apple, and I've known him since I was four, so he is like family.)

Co and I sent email to our various friends and family last night, and the responses have moved me. These are really the times I have to force myself to remember when I'm feeling down....my family and community may be far-flung but their love is forceful. We've gotten two offers of free babysitting, an offer for a doggie therapist for Maggie, a request from my great-aunt to let her know what color the booties should be. We heard from our rabbi, the rabbi who married us, my beloved colleagues from three cities and three decades worth of radio shows, and relatives from three countries. Right now Co is on the phone telling a cousin of mine all about Nerdy Science Guy.

It's good. It's just really, really, really good.

The Ticker

OK, Co figured out how to put up the ticker, because she's brilliant like that. I am sure Flipper, being half Co and half Nerdy Science Guy, is in there rewiring her uterus.

Because we count the second trimester as beginning tomorrow, we have decided it is okay to put up the ticker. (FF agrees that the second tri starts tomorrow at week 13; The Pregnancy Bible gives us another week. No, thanks.)

We love this ticker because a) we love the ocean and b) Flipper started out as Yellow Fish. And the one fish available in ticker-land...is yellow. Bashert, I tell you.

Discovering Google Analytics

So Cali's post (and S too) encouraged me to sign up for this service. And Co and I used our long weekend to take a look at who stumbles upon us. A partial list:

Corgi sperm (none here, sorry)
Animal sniffing other animal's butt (there is a lot of that in our house, but our blog?)
Pics of lesbians with crew cuts (sorry,folks, nothing to see here)
How is amniotic fluid made (by the amniotic stork!)
Nuchal thingy (checking out baby thingy)
What does a Pokeno card look like (well, that we have!)
short stumpy thumb (I'm getting a complex)
Embryo-o's (oh my God it IS a cereal?)
late-blooming lesbian (welcome!)
giving dachshunds ibuprofen (don't)
intact hymen and 35 weeks pregnant (the moshiach is coming!)
Is IUI okay if man on antibiotics (we didn't ask Dr. Quick. I hope it is)
Chicory is going to give birth to a baby (yes, she is!!!)


This is great fun indeed...

So Far, So Good

Embryo-O's nuchal went well. The neck measured 1.4 cm and according to the doctor who did the scan, anything below 3cm is normal. The final results, which also take into account levels in Co's blood, will be in Friday or Tuesday.

The doctor who did the scan, Dr. Shy Guy, was an Asian man, which made us feel right at home since Dr. Quick is Chinese (as is most of the staff of the clinic). He prepped Co for her first tummy scan (as opposed to a wanding) and Embryo-O showed up right away, swimming around and heart beating strongly. He put the sound up when I asked about the heartbeat so we actually heard it for the first time! Exciting. He said it was beating 150-160 times per minute. Embryo-O lifted its arms above its head, stretched out its little legs, and even "walked" in Co's uterus.

And then proceeded to earn the Flipper moniker...it would not get into a position where Dr. Shy Guy could measure the neck. He jabbed Co in the abdomen. He asked her to cough. Co and I pleaded with Embryo-O to move. He left for a few minutes and checked again. No dice.

Finally, Dr. Shy Guy asked a woman, Random Tech, to come in. He said he was going to revert to the wand, but not to worry, because Random Tech would do it. We did not bother to explain Co's familiarity with Asian men and the dildo-cam. Flipper wouldn't cooperate for Random Tech, either. Finally Dr. Shy Guy took the wand in hand, though he told Random Tech to stay in the room. (Co said he was very conscious of keeping the sheet over her, hence his nickname.) He was a little rough with it, but finally, finally, got a view of Flip that allowed him to do the necessary measurements. When he checked in on the tummy again, Flipper was in an even better position and he said the measurements were very good.

Our Embryo-O is already as stubborn as Mommy (Co) and big sister Maggie. Good heavens.

Photo Friday (on Sunday): Water

So, vee, I made it before Fruesday!

A note first: there has been a lot of sadness and joy in the blogosphere of late. Our hearts break for our blog friends every time an unwanted period arrives; when a last IVF doesn't take; or a baby (in any stage of development) dies. We're hesitant to post specific links to those sad stories because, while we really enjoyed the attention we got from then-strangers when we got our BFP, we're less sure how we'd feel about the same attention for a more tragic turn. That's a personal choice, though. Anyway, please know our thoughts are with you in both joy and grief.

This is one of our favorite pictures of Maggie, and I know we've put it on the blog before. She loves the beach and has come with us on beach vacations to Fire Island, Topsail Island (North Carolina), and Cape May. I'm pretty sure this picture is from Topsail Island.

Maggie loves to dig in the sand, walk along the shoreline, and eat sand crabs (no photo of this; it is disgusting, if unavoidable). Her forays into the water are brief and few, but she enjoys chasing bubbles and wading. I saw her swim once, just once, in a lake in the Berkshires. In this shot she's running, rather than swimming.




This next photo was taken at a yearly festival we'll be attending again in just a few weeks! I (Lo) have been at this festival every year since 1984; this tradition has outlasted two hometowns and my parents' marriage. It's also a time to connect with family and friends. This year nephew S. will meet "nephew" Squeak! Co has been there with me every year since 2002, and we were married with a view of this same river.

7 Things About Lo

Oneofhismoms tagged me to do the "7 Things" meme, so here we go.

1. I spent my study abroad semester in Montreal. I am a Canadophile, and have thought seriously about immigrating (current U.S. politics have fueled this desire, but did not originate it). Montreal was closer to my parents' house than the U.S. college I graduated from. However, I really appreciated my time in Canada. It offered me a perspective from outside of the U.S., which is invaluable, and I did get a chance to use my French. Montreal is one of only two cities I've ever felt truly at home in (the other being the one I do live in).

2. In addition to Maggie, I have two pet hamsters. They live in my classroom, and because I let the children name them, they are Jellybean and Ray Ray. Jelly looked like a little licorice jellybean when he was a baby; I really don't know where they got Ray Ray. She nearly missed being named S*njaya, though.

3. I am shy about showing my toes. For years I searched out closed-toe, yet airy sandals. Frustratingly, these are mostly made for men (and men's shoes don't fit me well, believe me, I've tried!). Two summers ago I took a deep breath, and got some open-toed sandals and a pedicure. I feel less self-conscious when my toes are brightly painted (purple or blue or green, something outrageous).

4. I am a Boy Scout. This is because in high school I was an "Explorer Scout," a co-ed group that nonetheless is under the rubric of the Boy Scouts of America. My dad was delighted when I got my first piece of mail from the Boy Scouts...two daughters, but he finally got his Boy Scout.

5. I hate olives. I can detect their taste in most any dish, though in deference to my Italian wife I have gotten used to food that's been cooked in olive oil (always avoided it on my own). Adorably, olives are the one food I have ever seen Maggie actually spit out. That's my girl.

6. I watch much, much more T.V. now than I ever did as a kid. I watch all three Law & Orders, Scrubs, Degrassi, The Sopranos, The Simpsons, Jeopardy!...My child-self would be horrified. But adults need more downtime. And, I would argue self-servingly, T.V. has gotten better (except Jeopardy!; it rocks now, as it always has).

7. I have never been a patient in a hospital. (Excluding several E.R. visits, but I was never admitted.) When I was a kid we used to trick each other by pointing out that everyone was a patient in a hospital once, as a baby. But I was born at home. So was my sister, and our only cousin. Nephew S. was born in a hospital, though, and Embryo-O will be as well. Weird how the pendulum swings.

As I understand it, I am to tag seven people to go with the seven things. It's a challenge to find seven folks who haven't done it yet so apologies if this is a repeat for any of you...Jay and Vee, Mel, CD & SP, and Jude...you're it!

Photo Fruesday: It's Not Easy Being...

Green.

I just had to make that reference.

Before the photo, I must bring you the 7th grade quote of the day: "13 [as in turning the age] changes your life so much."

We live across the street from a beautiful park, which is in full splendourous greenery, but I've posted pictures of it before. So I bring you a photo my dad emailed me today, from the small town in Germany that bears our last name!



A few years ago the mayor of O-town sent out a call for people with the last name from all over the world to come visit for a "reunion" festival. (There was subtext about connecting with Jewish O's, since they were the most likely to have left the country, and indeed, my dad has become friendly with another Jewish O who lives in South Africa.) My dad was curious, so he and his wife went, and fell in love with O-town. They've gone back every year since and even talk about buying an apartment. I have yet to go myself but I am dying to. (Not least because I could hang with Sarah, BB, and Nicholas!)

(It's not clear if that side of my family actually came from O-town, despite the name, because as far as anyone knows our European roots are in Lithuania. But we may have emigrated there from Germany.)

I Am!

I've been tagged recently for two memes (so has Co). Here's my stab at the first, a list of "I Am" statements (or a poem if you will):

I am curious.
I am zaftig.*
I am stubborn.
I am what I am.
I am a teacher.
I am a wife, a daughter, and soon, a mother.
I am a dreamer.
I am an animal.

----------------------
I wrote this off the top of my head, on purpose. So, there it is.

I'm supposed to tag seven people. Up to now, I haven't done any tagging, because I thought the people who didn't get tagged would feel bad. (Yes, I am that insecure myself.) However, I think it might be fun, so I will use my blogroll to do some democratic tagging. So...I tag E. and A., Maeby, and Marci.


*Yiddish has a word for "fat" that has positive connotations. That's my language, people.

Oh. My. God.

You children of the '80s might remember the fine, Canadian show "You C*n't Do that on T.V.," aired here in the States on Nickelodeon. I was an enormous fan. And I had an enormous crush on Chr*st*ne. She was my first celebrity crush (I was ten years old). My mom used to get on my case because Nickelodeon showed the same episode twice a day...and I watched both. I knew I couldn't explain to her that it was because I needed to look at Chr*st*ne, but I wasn't exactly sure what that meant.

I still have many episodes of the show in my VHS archives, and I'm known among my friends for that early fandom. A friend emailed me recently that he found a website with a podcast by, gasp, Chr*st*ne. I checked it out, and presented with an email address, I couldn't help but write to her. That was a few months ago and I had forgotten all about it.

And then today I received this email:
----------------------

Dear Lo,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful email! It is shameful that it has
taken me this long to respond. I have started a blog, and I hope you
will bring your perspective and your smarts over to it, and
participate. It's at heymoose.christinemcglade.com.

Take care, and thanks again,

Christine
--------------------

My ten-year-old heart is beating madly. Positively amazing.

Amnesia

Dr. F-Head called just a few minutes ago. I left a message with her secretary asking for a call about my results (the real reason for my call was to get information about forwarding Co's results to the midwives. They're charging us. Is this normal?? I will definitely pay to get away from this woman, but is it?).

Dr. F-Head: Everything's normal. I told you I would call you if there was a problem.
Me: It is??
Dr. F-Head: Yes. Your FSH is 5.7, anything below 10 is fine for pregnancy.
Me: What about my estradiol?
Her: Oh, that's fine. Below 32.
Me: It is??
Her: Yes. That's all the tests, right?
Me: Uh-huh.


WTF?????

She apparently has no recollection that she called me a week ago to say that "pregnancy may not be an option for you."

But apparently she was wrong, too. I am grateful. But horrified that this woman possesses a medical license. And has seen my cootch.