11 months, another sweet spot

It's hard to believe that we are coming up on a year and I couldn't be more excited for my boys. This has been the best year of my life and I am so excited to continue this journey with you guys.  This past month was great and we have hit another sweet spot.  You recovered from all of our travelling and holiday madness and have slipped into our best routine yet! You are both happy and healthy little boys who love playing with each other.
Fynn
Mr. Blue eyes you have had a great month.  You are still my busy guy but once in a very rare while you will actually sit in my lap for a quick cuddle, and man does that melt my heart.  However, most of the time you pull on my leg for me to pick you up but it isn't to sit with momma it is because you want to get your hands on something. This month you have figured how to climb up on everything, including stairs. Daddy and I have the stairs blocked off at home so we were amazed that when visiting Uncle Greg's you and your brother were able to climb multiple stairs without a moments hesitation.  You love climbing onto the chair in the front room so you can watch out of the window. I always take you upstairs when daddy is coming home so you can welcome him home.
This month you guys are back to eating tons. The volume of food you consuming is actually amazing. You have tried every new food mommy can think of and with the exception of bananas and avacodo (which you used to love) you love everything.
Your sleep is what most amazes me this month. Holy cow little man you have made such a break through.  Most nights you sleep through the night (13 full hours) and you have gone from 3 naps to 2 longer naps. You still don't sleep well when you aren't at home in your own crib but hey that is to be expected because mommy has kept you pretty close to home

Hudson
You have also had a very busy and wonderful month.  You seem to be on the verge of walking and love to scoot around the basement with your walker.  It never seems sturdy to mommy but you sure get around and it is very rare for you to fall or even slow down. This month you also learned to wave and it is so adorable. You wave hello and goodbye with the biggest smile all over your face.  I think you might also have learned your first word but it also might be a coincidence. You often say "up" at the appropriate time but because it is such a short word it might just be mommy's imagination.
You also have been eating anything and everything this month. We call you the cheese monster because you literally could eat your weight in cheese. When mommy first introduces foods you make the funniest faces and it looks like you don't like them but after a few tries you seem to like everything.
Your sleeping has been much better this month too. You are down to 2 naps too and very easy to put down.  You also have been sleeing an average of 13 hours per night with one wake up around 11pm for a quick bottle.

 

Well next month is the big one my boys and we are going to celebrate!!!

Embryo Adoption (Australia)

So although I feel like a veteran on all things infertility related I don't know much about Embryo Adoption.  I have read other blogs about people pursuing adopting embryos and others where people have discussed generously donating them but I don't know the process. Are there embryo banks? Do you have to know the donors? Do the donors select you? What are the fees? To be honest I hadn't even heard of it before using my sister's eggs.  Anyways, I have a friend who has just found out that she can't have children the conventional way (well who can these day!) so I mentioned this might be an option for her but I have limited information to give her.
Also does anyone live in Australia? My girlfriend is living in Perth and  I feel like every country has slightly different rules and regulations when dealing with fertility. It would be great to hear some of the ins and outs of the Australian fertility system
Thanks in advance!

P.S. If anyone reads any blogs that are Infertility related and from Australia could you please leave the blog address
P.P.S If you read any blogs that are pursuing Embryo Adoption or Egg Donor could you all post their blog address, although I follow some it would be great to have as much possible support for my friend

Kim Kardashian needs Sensitivity training

So I am not really one to judge other peoples struggles with fertility, a struggle is a struggle and I am not in a position to say that one person's journey is worse than anothers.  I know how emotional it can be to try and not conceive for any length of time. Add that to a diagnosis of infertility and it is just devastating.  HOWEVER, when you get pregnant with someone you have only been dating for 6 months, in my books you are not struggling with infertility.  You might have had some things reducing your odds of getting pregnant and that sucks but don't minimize what we go through. You would think when she has a sister that is clearly struggling that she would be more sensitive to the issue.  I swear if I was her sister I would want to punch her in the throat (just a little bit!).

I'm pretty famous you know (well kind of)

I am sure you aren't aware that I am pretty important this month....lol. My sister and I are in this months issue of Glamour Magazine, well in a tiny blurb on the side of an artice, but that counts right!  Actually one of the editors of the magazine happens to read my blog (who knew) and contacted me over a year ago.  I did a phone interview, then my sister did a phone interview, and even hubby was interviewed. It probably sounds a lot more "glamour"ous than it really is.  The amount of time it took; including numerous emails going back and forth, verifying my medical history, the interviews themsleves, and fact checking all for a couple of quotes seems a bit ridiculous.  That just gives me a glimpse of what goes into making magazines, and it seems crazy.
I had to laugh when I saw the title of the article.  The premise is asking the reader if they would ever use their sister as an egg donor. Talk about trivializing the issue, like I woke up one day and thought hell why not.  Seriously unless someone is dealing with infertility it isn't something anyone can truly understand. Did I ever think that I would use my sister as an egg donor, 15, 20 or even 5 years ago, not a chance. Not that I was against it, it just wasn't in any plan I ever had. Honestly I don't really even want to read peoples opinions, I don't care what they think.  Maybe I am a skeptic but I just don't think it is possible for the general population to get "my journey" (or the journey of other infertile women). Actually come to think of it, I do care what they think.  I guess I didn't use to, but now that my boys are here they deserve the respect and dignity of any baby or person for that matter and I feel protective of what some people might say.  I really don't want to hear about it being creepy or about how I could have "just adopted" (like that is a simple and easy decision in itself ).  My point is that it was a personal choice that was right for me and my family and I don't really want to be criticized or even scrutinized for my decision. I don't know why I am assuming that there will be that kind of feedback but I just know some people out there aren't as open minded as I would like them to be.  Don't get me wrong for the most part people have been so supportive and kind about my journey.  They seem to understand the deep desire to be a mother and celebrate what a wonderful thing my sister did for us.  However, we all know how rude and judgmental people can be when hiding behind a computer.  Plus I have had the odd rude encounter. My boss for one, she said that me carrying my sister and husbands babies (they are my damn babies by the way) was like a Jerry Springer episode and then there was my pediatrician who continuously asked why my husband and sister just didn't get a hotel room instead of racking up all of our treatment bills. I guess it is just plain old ignorance and that's actually why I did the article, hoping I would shed some light on the issue and let people know difficult infertility is, how incredible science is, and most of all how amazing my sister is.
They also present egg donation as the latest trend, which is so ridiculous! I would describe it more of a huge medical marvel mixed with a pure act of altruism.  I didn't jump on some bandwagon to be cool.
I actually think that I am being a bit critical of the article because nothing could really ever descibe what it is like to make such a big decision and nobody really knows your journey until they walk in your shoes.  Just a thought but I think a new title for the article could be "The Difficult Journey of  an Infertile Women to Make her Dreams of  Motherhood Come True: A Story of an Extremely Generous Sister and Her Truly Grateful Sister".
Anyways if you happen to be a Glamour Magazine follower or in the grocery store checking out take a look at page 120 " Would You Have a Baby With Your Sister’s Egg?
A real-life story you’ll never forget—about a trend that’s on the rise"