Well I must say I am overwhelmed by the response this blog is getting - and by how many of you are stopping me to share your stories of heartache. It’s a funny thing about opening the flood gates a little…because you start to realize how many people are in the same boat as you. Is it pathetic that I find comfort in that?
Anyway, for those of you that have written to say that you too have found your path to parenthood - I congratulate you and wish you all the best with your children - whether they be newborn or grown with families of their own. (no matter the age…they’ll always be our babies!) For those of you that are still struggling to become parents - never give up the dream. And if it’s not meant to be biologically - there are so many children out there that need good homes. I have done several stories on adoption over the years and I promise you - for these parents, there is no love lost because they don’t share the same blood. If anything - they seem to appreciate the gift of a child even more because of the struggle they have endured.
By the way - this blog was not meant to be this serious. It was supposed to be an update on how many poopy diapers we had in a day or how many hours of sleep we managed to get. We’ll get to that I’m sure - but I kind of like that we have found a little support group of sorts in each other.
I wanted to answer a few questions that people have been asking me.
First, we do not know if we are having a boy or a girl. There are so few really good surprises in life and I didn’t want to spoil this one. (although I totally get why people do find out. I have so much “pink” stuff from my daughter that I could have gotten rid of months ago if we knew we were having a boy. And of course we have NO boys stuff, so we’ll be making frequent clothing runs if a boy pops out!)
We have not settled on names yet. We’ve got it narrowed down to about three for each. I guess we’ll wait to see what the baby looks like before we finally decide. (I always think it’s funny when people say that because every baby looks pretty much the same, like an exhausted, wrinkled little raisin. )
Several of you that are still struggling with fertility have asked what finally worked for us. I wish I had the answer for you, but as I explained in my last post - sometimes there is no explanation. We tried several drugs and I had surgery for endometriosis. But the thing that I think really made the difference is some big long word for a procedure that basically means flushing out my fallopian tubes. It’s one of the first things they tried and we got pregnant twice right after that. Then a year later they did it again - and again we got pregnant right away. With this current pregnancy, we also threw progestrone supplements into the mix. There’s not a lot of evidence to support that it really works - but some women swear by it and my doctor was willing to give it a shot. Whether that is what prevented a miscarriage this time around - we’ll never know. But just remember that what worked for us might not necessarily be what works for you.
I finished my last day at work today. My maternity leave officially starts on Monday. We’ll be posting pictures of the little guy/gal here as soon as they decide to make their grand entrance so please check back often. Thanks again for all the amazing, supportive comments - the people in this community really warm my heart.
Jennifer
on Jan 3rd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Thanks for taking the time to make this blog and update it. Even though we don’t know you in person, so many of us feel like we do and want to invade your personal space a little bit. Thanks for letting us through this blog! Have fun on maternity leave and be sure to get a pedicure before you go to the hospital! Jennifer not Mike!
on Jan 3rd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Best of luck to you and your little family. Enjoy your time off with the new baby. We’ll all miss seeing you in the morning!
on Jan 4th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Hi Jen & Mike!
No baby yet? Well, I’m not a psychic, but I think it would be fun to predict when baby Thompson/Livingston will be welcomed to the world!
My prediction is January 8th.
Best Wishes on your delivery,
Tori
on Jan 4th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Miss ya, Jen. Best of luck and God bless all of you.
on Jan 5th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
cant wait to see your baby when you have it good luck
on Jan 5th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Congratulations Mike and Jennifer on your new little girl. Can’t wait to see pictures of her and to hear about how she is doing along with how her parents are doing. Love the family pictures you have posted.
on Jan 5th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Congratulations Mike and Jen and Big Sister Katlein,
So happy to hear the news that you have a new addition to your family this morning after a long awaited time. Glad she is healthy and beautiful. Can’t wait to see the pictures on your blog.
After reading your stories I have to tell you how touched I was. You are so upbeat and smiling and always happy. Never would believe you were going thru so much. You are truly a strong and professional couple. I admire your strength and so glad you chose to share your difficult journey.
New baby is so lucky to have a wonderful big sister waiting to help with her and teach her all the things little girls need to learn.
God bless you family.
Joyce
on Jan 6th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Thank you both so much for sharing your story. As many other couples have we have also had our share of troubles. An ectopic (tubal pregnancy) 2 years ago and the inabiity to get pregnant since has been hard on both of us. I think of the stories that Jennifer does about adoption and then hearing your story gives me some hope that someday we will be parents. Congratulations to you both and thank you for sharing your story.
on Jan 6th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Congratulations!!! I am so Happy for you all… Mike you are just like Brett Farve…..out numbered by Women in the household!!! lol….. You will do a great job…
Jen….. I absolutely adore you… I have not been so impressed by a news anchor since the 90’s…. There was a gal from weau t.v. named Cindy Schott, she could make a person feel like you were part of the family. and you do the same thing!!!!! I enjoy watching and listening to you and your personality is just great… Best Wishes to you and your Wonderful Family..
Sincerely, Judy