The Empty Womb...

... Is Empty again. We gave birth to a healthy baby girl almost a week ago. Our struggle with infertility might not be over, but we have won the initial battle - we have a beautiful girl and could not wish for anything more. We are adjusting to this new phase of our lives - though ironically some things stay the same (the doctor's still view my arm as a pin cushion). We are extremely thankful to all the patience, support, guidance and direction provided to us by the fertility clinic, family and friends. We also bestow our highest thanks to G-d for giving us this blessing and we hope that it will continue and our daughter will be able to share her life with siblings in the future.

We have encountered people, who unfortunately, share the idea that if it worked out for me, it will work out for you. For everyone else out there who continues to struggle with infertility, I know that is not helpful advice, but I do hope with all my heart that you are speedily granted the opportunity we have received to have a healthy baby.

The Final Countdown

We are under the 10 week mark until the expected arrival of Baby Branda. Through all the trying and intervention, it is still sometimes hard to fathom how close we are now. Instead of coordinating our schedules around blood tests and other medical interventions, we are now scheduling around hospital tours and baby store hours (we made our first purchase last week of our stroller). Our path to how we got here is still fresh in our minds, though we appreciate and welcome all the new things and scheduling we have to learn.

Courage of the courageous

So we went to a lecture last night given by the author of the relatively recently released book Infertility in the Bible. All of us who go through infertility have a unique story to share and have faced challenges specific to our unique situation, but one thing that this lecture proved, and we must continually remind ourselves of, is that we are all courageous individuals. Whether it is the trauma we put ourselves through physically and/or emotionally, whether it is our smiling face for others happiness, or whether it was the ability to just get out of bed on any given morning - we are courageous. However, as the lecturer also pointed out - we do not need to face this alone - even if we are uncomfortable talking with individuals or attending support groups we have the ability to obtain immense levels of support from our matriarchs and patriarchs - how they dealt with infertility and how they dealt with suffering in general. May we all have the courage to continue our battles and see our prayers for children answered.

Kick-Kick

So I've known now for many weeks that there was something growing inside of me. I've gone through the initial stages of elation and gratitude that after the obstacles we faced we are across the street and continuing on the path. However, it was primarily an emotional shift (yes I dealt with some nausea and other limited changes, but nothing so extreme) until now. Now I am receiving a constant reminder that our lives our changing, that soon we will be privileged to have a child in our lives. The continuous movements on the baby remind me of this amazing milestone we are aiming to reach. It is not just about getting clothes that fit, or always feeling hungry, but their is a life there that we will soon be responsible for to protect, provide for and teach. We having been yearning for this opportunity for sometime and the constant kicks serve as a reminder to us that our task is just beginning. This baby is reaching out to us - Knock, Knock - don't forget about me, prepare yourselves and appreciate how incredibly lucky and thankful we are for this upcoming opportunity.

Shifting Roles

We generally become comfortable with our roles and prefer to stay in those roles, but sometimes we are looking for that shift, even though it might not be easy. This is a shift I've been waiting for - going from the infertile woman to the expecting mother-to-be. Its a role we've been spending our emotional strength, money and time working our way towards, and now that we are there how do we navigate. It is important to me that how I got to this point is a part of my identity, a part of who this baby will be. The excitement is there, but I know for many it is not there yet and I don't want to be the expecting mother who reminds them of that constantly. It is another balance I will work towards achieving in my life.

The Phone Call

It's the little things that change your life. Picking a college orientation date where you meet your future husband. Paying a dollar for some random numbers and winning the lottery (no that did not happen to us), or picking up your phone one day and hearing the words congratulations at the other end. Our last cycle led to these results and we are unbelievably joyful to announce the future birth of our first child. The name of this blog is The Empty Womb, and though I am privileged to have mine occupied for another 6, or so, months, the experiences that we have gone through will always be a part of us as we celebrate this milestone. We are extremely grateful for the support provided by family, friends and an amazing medical staff. Most importantly we thank Hashem for "remembering" us and continue to pray that all should be healthy.

Are we there yet?

The age old question that we would always ask our parents when traveling somewhere - Are we there yet? We were impatient, ready to get out of the car, plane or train, anxiously awaiting the next part of our adventure. We didn't comprehend how annoying this was to our parents, because all we knew, at that point, was we didn't want to be in our current location. With infertility you get to play the parent you dream of becoming. You are faced with various forms of the question are we there yet on a regular basis. The passed along comments - I'm surprised they don't have kids yet, haven't they been married long enough. The introductions - its just the two of them with a pause at the end, the general comments of everyone has a kid with the unspoken question why don't you. The hardest part is I'm sure I used to play this game also - the did you here who is pregnant know with the unspoken understanding that others are not, or wondering in surprise whether out-loud or silently what's the deal with this couple or that couple. We take for granted that our journeys will be short and always lead us directly to the great adventure at the end, whether it is a childhood trip to Disney or the welcoming of a baby in your family. However, for many, the road is much longer and fraught with so many more obstacles. We ask ourselves are we there yet and we are asked by others are you there yet. If only we could really see it through our parents eyes and recognize that they were making the best possible decisions they could to share with us a great adventure at the end. If we trusted them maybe our impatience would have been relieved, if we could see the road through there eyes, maybe we would have never questioned. We think we grow out of this habit, however, do we really? We might stop using the words are we there yet but we still look around and question other people's lives, question the road they are on, wondering when they might reach the end. We must strive to remember their road is different than ours, and just hope that everyone reaches there adventure.