19 Haziran 2012 Salı

Tune into MTV's "16 & Pregnant" Tonight!

To contact us Click HERE
Tonight, December 28, at 11:30 PM, MTV, in collaboration with Exhale, will be airing a new episode of their popular show, 16 & Pregnant featuring three young women who chose to have abortions, titled "No Easy Decision." This is the first time MTV has covered teens who choose abortion in the three years of the 16 & Pregnant series. 

Exhale is running a campaign to support the young women who are telling their stories on MTV called 16 & Loved.  It is an incredibly brave act for these three teens to talk about their experience with abortion on the national stage and, unfortunately, there are people and groups out there that attack women who speak out about abortion.  You can leave some love for the young women on the 16 & Loved website.  They are sponsoring a live-blog tonight at the 16 & Loved website featuring feminist superstar bloggers: Lynn Harris, Shelby Knox, Jamia Wilson, & Jessica Valenti. You can also join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #16andLoved.

We haven't seen the program yet, so don't know how the young womens' stories will be portrayed, but we are glad to see MTV is covering all options available for teens facing unintended pregnancy, including parenting, adoption and abortion.  Tune in tonight and post your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.

this is a marathon, not a sprint

To contact us Click HERE
One of our current favorite shows is Gavin and Stacy on BBC America.

Funnily enough, in a recent episode the couple found out they have a problem having children, after trying for over a year. Gavin has low sperm count. As they sit with the doctor who is telling them the news, she tells them to "remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint."

I wish someone had told us that 11 years ago (or even 6 years ago when our problem was finally given a name).

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

These will be my words of advice to anyone who wants to have children and is either waiting to adopt or having ART of some sort. This is a marathon, not a sprint. There is no rushing, pace yourself.

This is a marathon, not a sprint. It's what I now tell myself every morning when I get up.

update

To contact us Click HERE
Unfortunately, we have been told we've missed a July transfer. This has happened because someone dropped the ball and paperwork did not get where it needed to be in time for us to have a July transfer.

This is beyond frustrating for us.

We have done everything in our power to get things done as quickly as possible, but this is not as important to everyone else as it is to us and the donors.

Whether it is adoption or embryo donation, it has been a difficult lesson to learn that this process is not as important to anyone else as it is to us (except, in our case, we are extremely fortunate to have donors who done everything humanly possible to speed up this process. This process is extremely important to them as well).

I wish someone had told us at the start "you can expect the paperwork portion of this process to take 4–6 months" or something like that, but we were told in March that we'd be able to have an April transfer... then a May transfer.... then June...... then July....... and now August......... It's extremely frustrating to be dependent on other people to follow through.

I want to be here for my child(ren). So each month that slips away now means one less month later in life that I will be here for my kids. People keep saying we are closer to having kids than we've ever been before. But that doesn't comfort me. I want to be pregnant NOW so I can be here as far into the future as possible.

It's so frustrating to have your life and your child's life at the mercy of other people. And I know, it is difficult for people who have not walked in our shoes (tried to have a family for the past 11 years) to understand. I wish they could begin to understand how important this is to us.

And all this is assuming the first transfer works. It could be months before a transfer works and we are pregnant. Time is extremely precious . . . to us.

As with the adoption portion of this blog, it's been my hope that others can learn from our journey, and have a feeling for realistic time lines, among other things.

Time is not on my side.

ps to today's first update

To contact us Click HERE
I will say one thing, having to wait 4-5 months has given us plenty of time to think about this and talk about it. And we have. And we still feel this is the right thing for us. We feel so blessed to have such awesome donors.

I personally feel that I am getting everything I could have dreamed of. Two years ago I mourned the loss of ever carrying a pregnancy to full term. I will now be blessed with that opportunity and I still cannot believe it. When we turned to adoption, early on we decided we wanted an open adoption because we wanted our children to know where they came from, after talking to several adult adoptees, we realized and appreciated how important it is for people to know where they came from. So we will be able to give our child(ren) the gift of knowing where they came from.

We have had 4+ months to consider our child(ren)'s family tree that will have FOUR main branches, rather than just two.

I take comfort in knowing we are right where we are supposed to be, and I hope what we have been through over the past 11 years will help us to be the best parents we can be.

I do look forward to the day we meet the donors and their children, though I know I'll be a blubbering fool. I have had contact with the donors through email and text messaging and I find myself saying "thank you" A LOT and it just never seems adequate. How do we ever say thank you and convey our deep appreciation for this incredible gift we've been given.

Ok, I've succeeded in making myself cry now, time to go :)

eleven years

To contact us Click HERE
Eleven years. In August, it will be eleven years that we have been trying to have a family.

1 billion clomid cycles
2 IUIs
5 med-only cycles
3 miscarriages
2 years of trying to adopt

I can't help but think about how my life is about to change. Most of my friends have only known Julie-trying-to-have-a-family. They don't know me any other way.

I've forgotten what normal Julie is like. Eleven years is a long time.

And now I wonder what it will be like to live my life not trying to have a family.

What will it be like to actually have what I've waited eleven years for. What will I be like. I will have a child to totally focus my attention on, so I will have something to do with all the energy and time I've been spending trying to have a family.

There is big change ahead, and I'm excited. I'm ready to get on with my life!

18 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi

#RIP Author Erica Kennedy Dead At 42

To contact us Click HERE


Erica Kennedy, an author and blogger best known for popular novels "Feminista" and "Bling", has died. She resided in Miami Beach, Florida and was 42 years old at the time of her death, according to a family member. Additional details on the circumstances are not available yet.

A former fashion publicist, Kennedy started her writing career as a special correspondent for the New York Daily News. She went on to write about fashion and entertainment for magazines such as Vibe, In Style, Paper and Elle UK, according to her website.

In 2004 she published a satire on the high stakes world of hip-hop with her debut novel "Bling", which went on to become a New York Times best-seller. Five years later she released her second novel, "Feminista", a story about smart, modern women.

Ozzy Osbourne's Son Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis

To contact us Click HERE


Reality star Jack Osbourne, son of rocker Ozzy Osbourne and "America's Got Talent" judge Sharon Osbourne, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Jack was given the news of his diagnosis two weeks after his first daughter's birth.

"I was just angry and frustrated and kept thinking, 'Why now?'" Osbourne told People. "I've got a family and that's what's supposed to be the most important thing."

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system the brain and spinal cord and can affect muscle control, strength, vision, balance, thinking and feeling.

Jack who is the youngest of Ozzy and Sharon's three children, shot to fame as the rebellious teenager alongside his sister Kelly in the MTV reality TV show "The Osbournes" in 2002, a fly-on-the-wall series following Ozzy and his family on their day-to-day lives.

Get well Jack